The wait is over, Top Gear fans. The long-running speculation about The Stig’s true identity is now revealed. Regardless of who he actually is (cough… Ben Collins), the build-up of speculation and subsequent controversy has sent viral discussions throughout the social media landscape.

The leash on the UK’s advertising watchdog is being loosened and it will finally get its teeth into social networks, with an expanded remit covering Facebook, Twitter and advertisers’ own websites. It’s a move which is long-overdue, though it won’t take effect for another six months.

“Location” has become the new keyword over the past few months with the rise of geo-based sharing services, most notably Foursquare. But many observers are skeptical, and a new report by Forester Research has everyone wondering: if they build it, will users actually end up checking-in? We think they will.

Social networking use in the US by the grandparents crowd is on the rise yet again. According to a new Pew Internet report, the number of Internet users born before John F. Kennedy took the Oval Office who now regularly go on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks has nearly doubled in recent months.

With bad eggs around, you might expect something of a stink, but the American Egg Board’s smart use of social media during the US egg recall is producing the sweet smell of a PR success.

England’s cricketers are the latest professional athletes to face the prospect of a ban from social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. What do sports organizations fear from social media? And what are the lessons for business from these high-profile ‘gag orders’?

Ad spending on social networks in the U.S. will grow to $1.7 billion this year and $2.9 billion in 2011, estimates eMarketer in a new report published today. That’s much improved on its previous estimates for 2010. Facebook is the major catalyst, but it’s but one driver. Here’s our take on which social media channels will be the primary drivers of social ad growth.

Three days after the most epic on-the-job resignation of the decade, the Steven Slater Facebook page has grown to 172,500 supportive fans. The mainstream press has been all over it. The Late Night With Jimmy Fallon show produced a song in honor of Slater, and even ex-autourny Headline News host Nancy Grace publicly cheered Slater on. But who’s the only one not talking about Steven Slater? Jet Blue airlines, one of the most social media-savvy and customer-friendly companies out there.

When companies want to advertise on Twitter they will now have someone to call. Twitter is hiring an ad sales team to boost its revenues through Promoted Tweets, and it is giving advertisers and third-party developers an open application programming interface (API) to develop the catchiest pay-for-view Tweet tactics. With Twitter’s popularity going through the roof and easier access for ad-hungry brands, we may finally be seeing the start of a profitable ad platform.

What new insights can we learn about the mercurial properties of influence from Hewlett-Packard, a company who’s chief influencer, Mark Hurd, is now out of a job for wining and dining a former B-movie actress on the company dime? Well, as Hurd now knows: don’t be seduced by fleeting fame. What really matters is who listens to you, respects your opinion and repeats what you have to say. That’s the true definition of influence. Yes, there’s a a Twitter angle here.