The news that both Facebook and LinkedIn are preparing to take their shares public has created a froth of both investor and media excitement. Facebook’s projected $50 billion valuation would be more than Starbucks and Dell. Combined! And the head-scratching headlines don’t end there.

That’s what we’re wondering today as we analyze the end-of-year numbers for 2010 as it pertains to our favorite online creative/socializing activities. Roughly 26 million new blogs were started last year. Not bad, but nothing compared with the growth happening in other areas of social media. Take a look.

What is the plural of Prius?, Toyota asks. It’s not meant to be rhetorical. In fact, the beleaguered carmaker is turning the question into a type of public vote being promoted these days throughout the social web.

Twitter has posted to its blog this time-lapsed video of the world celebrating the arrival of the New Year last weekend. The occasion marked a new record in Tweets-per-second, set yet again by the Japanese, the new Twitter-mad nation, with 6,939 TPS wishing friends and followers a fond “Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu” (“Happy New Year!”).

We had our doubts it could be done, but it appears this year’s e-Christmas shopping tally of $32.6 billion was not just a record, but it exceeded very ambitious pre-season expectations as well.

The online sales tallies coming in look better and better, even while sales remain flat at actual stores. The latest indication that e-Christmas sales will come in above forecast comes courtesy of robust Cyber Monday sales figures.

Nearly two months after its debut, Twitter’s “Promoted Account” marketing scheme has provided companies with newer ways of upping their follower numbers. But is investing in a place on the “Suggestions for you” listing worth it? We look at three brands who’ve taken the early plunge. If time has taught us anything about this new program it’s that money can’t buy you followers.

Do you recall back in 2006 when eco activists hijacked General Motors’ big Chevy Tahoe online marketing blitz, using the campaign to post their grievances with the automaker’s environmental track record prominently on its own web site? We didn’t know it then, but this savvy counter-attack kick-started the social media activist movement. It’s also motivated companies to better communicate their CSR accomplishments with the public. How are they doing? We tell you here.

Overwhelmed with the vast numbers of people tweeting about sustainability and CSR? We’re here to help. We’ve compiled the Green Twitterati – a list of 100 smart and informed sustainability Tweeters. It is all part of of our special report, co-produced with Custom Communication: the Social Media Sustainability Index.

Dell LogoIt’s a question that gets posed regularly within an organization: just how many people within the company should be trained to blog, Tweet or post on behalf of the brand? The answer?