Last week we reported on new data showing consumers are increasingly demanding that websites allow them to use their Facebook/Twitter/Google+ social login details and how it is likely to be a major impact in influencing social transactions going forward. Here’s more evidence that handing that the social log-in could very well translate to increased sales, or, at least fewer “shopping cart disruptions.”

Fitness label Reebok and social media measurement service PeerIndex have joined forces to reward Facebook and Twitter’s most influential sporty types.

As predicted, Pinterest has proved itself a formidable presence in the f-commerce arena following figures showing it’s the fastest growing social media traffic source for e-commerce websites in terms of revenue.

A few weeks ago we wrote about the “mission-critical” importance of Tweeting business leaders. Why is that? Put simply, CEOs who communicate freely using social media are held in higher regard – not just by employees, but by customers too, study after study shows. An organization where the boss Tweets is an organization where internal communications is more dynamic and transparent. That then has an impact on external comms, or the brand image portrayed to the public.

If you’re like most of us, you cannot keep track of the varied username/password protocols required to log back into a particular website. Is it the four-digit password or the eight-, you wonder? Is it the alpha-numeric version? Are symbols required? Right. I forget. Send me the change password details to my in-box and I’ll start over. And so the cycle repeats itself again and again. It’s not surprising then that a new piece of research tells us consumers want to do away with this game of guess-the-password in favor of social logins.

Last week we got the latest IAB figures showing a booming digital ad sector, helped by the continued rise of social + mobile + video. Today, a new global digital ad report is out, showing social search is one of the fastest growing segments of online search, which itself is still far and away the largest revenue-generator in digital advertising.

Social networking has been accused of many things, but degrading humanity? It seems that Skype has some strong feelings on the matter.

A billion dollars for a 13-person app-making startup that’s never made a dime? That’s the headline head-scratcher coming out of yesterday’s blockbuster acquisition of the super-popular photo-sharing app Instagram by Facebook. But take a closer look at the numbers and you see what Facebook gets out of it: a global, mobile powerhouse.

Banks like BBVA, Bendigo and Adelaide, BNP Paribas and VanCity have proved themselves leaders in social media sustainability strategy. Their approaches could help David Cameron’s Big Society Capital.

If we sound a bit too cheery here at SMI lately, I can assure you our optimism around the social sector is well-founded. The trifecta of social, mobile and video are transforming not just the world of marketing, but business as well. This powerful trio is driving sales, helping brands hone their marketing and improving customer relations, building deeper bonds that could lead to improved messaging and improved products.