There is plenty of promise and reason for pause when it comes to social commerce, predicted to be the fastest-growing segment of online retail. But the rush to throw up a storefront on Facebook or Twitter is not for the ill-prepared, as Richard Downs of Infosys Europe tells us.

Social media monitoring will evolve towards real-time data-driven business improvement based on socialising customer insight within the firm as a whole, not just within marketing and outbound communications.

We’ve just put the wrap on Social Media Influence 2011, our annual conference in which we bring together the top brands, thinkers and practitioners in the world of social business to discuss the big issues impacting the market today and what to expect tomorrow. The event drew speakers from Google, Dell, Unilever, LivingSocial, Orange, O2, Infosys, Viadeo and many more. Here’s some of the highlights and the first batch of photos too.

Online commerce is one of the few bright spots in retail, once again showing it’s the fastest growing segment in the sector. And what’s the fastest growing part of online commerce? It’s a two-part answer: social- and mobile-commerce, new studies once again show.

In this age, a few positive words about a product or company can make or break a sales outlook. Consumers are making social networks and digital forums their first research reference point before making a purchase. It’s no wonder then that the so-called social commerce sector is booming, expected to top $30 billion by 2015. And yet many companies are unprepared for what could be the single biggest change in retail in a generation.

Is your company a legal-savvy social media player? There may be more to it than you think. The digital legal experts at Pinsent Mason, publishers of Out-Law.com put together a few tips to keep you social media team out of court. Here’s what you should know.

As far as social media integration on the enterprise level goes, these are early days. Scratch that. These are “scary”, early days for corporate executives, says digital pioneer Jeff Dachis, the founder in the 1990s of Razorfish, and now, the Dachis Group. Companies are still in the trial-and-error mode in terms of using the latest social media innovations and technologies to engage with customers and employees. Why the hesitancy?

PepsiCo’s head of social media B. Bonin Bough explains to SMI in this one-on-one video the key to implementing an organization-wide social media structure: it’s getting buy-in from the highest level of the organization. “That’s the win,” he says. And here’s what it means:

Creativity can be a powerful force, particularly in the world of cause-related marketing. But can so-called “good creative” motivate us to change our rigid ways? What if it’s to make the world a better place?

In the growing list of social media marketing #fails, Coca-Cola’s recently pulled Dr. Pepper Facebook campaign marks a new twist on an old marketing axiom: never underestimate your most influential market — moms. Mommy bloggers trump all in influence. That much we know. The Dr. Pepper campaign also proves they even understand raunchy porn references that get giggles from the guys in creative, but go over the heads of the starched shirts in marketing. Busted!