With a potential market of 108 million online shoppers, China is an e-commerce force to be reckoned with. With an extremely young, social media-savvy net population, it’s become a social commerce force as well.

Two iconic alcoholic beverages, Guinness stout and Jack Daniel’s whiskey, are celebrating their birthdays this month widely across social media channels, inviting all of us in on the festivities. The similarities don’t end there.

It’s no surprise that increasing numbers of retailers are establishing a presence in social media. The surprise lies in their reasons for going social – most say they were pushed into it by customers and rivals.

Dear Blockbuster customers, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as the struggling movie rental chain did last week, does not mean you’re off the hook on your escalating late fees. And, yes, you do have to return that crappy DVD version of Robin Hood with Russell Crowe that your girlfriend made you take out. To keep up its part of the bargain, Blockbuster has not quite abandoned you either, admirably keeping the Twitter and Facebook feed up to date even as the public concludes the brand is just about dead. Just don’t mention the B-word.

It’s no surprise that Asia is one of the biggest growth markets in social networking. So you might think that’s where Facebook is gaining its new ground, right? Well, actually no. In much of Asia, and some other parts of the world, Facebook is trailing badly in the social network stakes.

Since 2004, Technorati has been publishing its annual State of the Blogosphere survey, an insightful look at how blogging habits of individuals and companies continue to evolve. The details for the 2010 survey will be released in November, but Technorati is asking for your input now.

Facebook’s virtual currency, Credits, has emerged, seemingly from nowhere, as a huge potential money-spinner for the social network. Now we are getting a picture of just how big it could be, but can it ever hope to eat into PayPal’s lucrative market as the de-facto online payment system?

Corporate social media deployment has to start somewhere. Deutsche Bank, in a new piece of research, traces it to its origin to find out how companies are benefiting from web 2.0 investment. Some of its findings may surprise you:

Games on Facebook such as Farmville or Mafia Wars: chances are you either love them or hate them. Either way, the announcement of a dedicated games team for the social platform looks set to be good news. For the haters, say goodbye to annoying updates about your friends headed to the country market to sell virtual pies. For the gamers, there’s more reason to talk up your latest gaming exploits.

American Express is the latest brand to embrace social media publishing as a way of connecting with potential customers. The credit card giant has recruited money experts to help in its launch of a new financial services site called, simply enough, Currency, aimed specifically at helping recent university graduates better manage their income.