Beep - beep - beep - beep - beep - ___________

If you thought you were the only one getting flat-lined by Shonda Rhimes-produced medical dramas, you're not alone. And thankfully, ABC might agree.

Ordering the network's first new pilot of its next development season, ABC has tapped Rhimes, the creator of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice," for a show revolving around something other than promiscuous doctors.

The new show focuses on the real-life adventures of African-American PR professional and crisis management consultant Judy Smith. (As a side note: Smith had her own stint as a senior VP of corporate communication at NBC.)

Thus far, the new drama remains untitled.

While Rhimes is probably leaning toward something like "Spin Docters," we'd like to extend ABC our own suggestions. If used, we only ask a reasonable 10 percent cut of the deal. You're welcome.

1. Publicity
2. Spun & Pressed
3. Consultry
4. Off the Record
5. In Between the Coverage
6. Pitch & Release
7. PRetty & PRimal
8. Spinster

Any ideas you'd like to add?

The holidays are a great time to get everyone together, toss back a glass or 12 of celebratory eggnog, warm your chestnuts by the fire--not too close, mind you--and exchange the perfect gift that lets your loved ones know how much you appreciate them.

Too bad with only four shopping days left until Christmas, you don't have time to appreciate them. You've got last minute gifts to buy. And among those left on the list are the friends you learn more about via Facebook status updates than actual face-to-face.

If this is the hidden-pickle on the Christmas tree you're in, don't fret; we've put together a list of five easy gifts you can get them, and all without leaving the house. Just finish your shopping online, and even ship it their way--probably like they're going to do.

YouTube tube socks. If the irony of these "Tube" socks is wasted on them, it's probably best to unfriend them.

'@' cufflinks. For all those red-carpet premieres they'll be watching on their laptops and then live tweeting.

Adjustable laptop lap desk. Now they'll never have to leave the bed.

eHarmony subscription. You can't put a price on love, but if your friend won't step away from the computer, he or she will never find it.

FarmVille Mousepad. Virtual farming isn't something that should be encouraged, but hey, it's the holidays.

And since no Christmas present would be complete without the whole package, how fitting is this personalized Twitter wrapping paper from Samsung to help promote its RF510 laptop? Tweet wrap is a site where you can add just the right personal touch to your gifts, customizing your very own wrapping paper with your very own tweets.

We know, kids.

Hearing that your parents are still socially active must seem like a nightmare. We only hope someone taught them how to use protection--at least a tutorial on how to change their partial profile-view security-settings on Facebook.

A recent study by Child's Play Communications shows that moms might not be as inexperienced with social media as their naïve sons and daughters may think.

Of the 2,000 U.S. mothers surveyed, 79 percent with kids younger than 18 are active on social networking sites, such as Facebook, with 43 percent of these moms using it on a daily basis.

What does that mean for marketers?

Almost one in four moms (23 percent) considered active on social media say they've purchased a children's product based on a networking site or blog recommendation. Broken down even further:

• Moms purchasing kids items based on Web recommendation do so, on average, five times a year.
• 40 percent of these moms made their purchase(s) based on personal review blogs.
• An additional 40 percent made their product buys based on Facebook recommendations.

Worried your honey is souring on that relationship? Facebook might know the ax is coming before you do.

A must-read GQ story ("Viral Me") about the spread of social media, written by a social media luddite, includes this nugget:

FB [Facebook] knows a lot about you. Like, more than you tell it. ... One of the founders of a ... company called 1000Memories.com (it's FB for dead people, only more interesting) says he heard FB can already tell when you're about to break up with someone: certain communication patterns emerge.

Like what? Poking other people? Sending virtual flowers to someone else? The silent treatment?

What are the patterns?

Every December, Fineman PR in San Francisco releases a list of the year's top 10 PR blunders. Sure, lots of media organizations, agencies, and bloggers publish a best of/worst of yearend list, but Fineman's been doing it for 16 years. That's right; this list has street cred.

Here is this year's list. I simply copy and pasted it from the original press release.*

I offer it without further comment.

1. BP execs pass the buck. All eyes were on British Petroleum this year for its role in the protracted oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. Although credited by some public relations professionals for speaking out early and often, CEO Tony Hayward hurt BP's corporate image by downplaying the damage and issuing thoughtless sound bites, including "it wasn't our accident" and "I just want my life back"--after 11 workers lost their lives in the explosion of oil rig Deepwater Horizon.

2. "Moving forward ... uncontrollably." "Unintended acceleration" in best-selling Toyota vehicles plagued the world's largest automaker in 2010, with The Los Angeles Times attributing over 100 deaths to crash-causing manufacturing defects. Like the affected models, the public relations debacle quickly escalated, with Toyota eventually "at the center of the biggest product recall since the Firestone tire fiasco in 2000," according to Motor Trend. The company stumbled through months of multistage recalls and poor communications, promoting inconsistent solutions that had few discernable effects on the situation, blaming parts suppliers and at one point targeting drivers themselves with the help of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report. "If you look at what they did it was clear that they didn't really understand the magnitude of the issue and the potential PR risk," Tim Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University, told MSNBC.com.

3. Fired up over NPR action. Although National Public Radio commentator Juan Williams raised eyebrows when he told Bill O'Reilly of FOX News' "The O'Reilly Factor" that flying on airplanes with overt Muslims made him nervous, it was NPR that took the damaging reputational hit. NPR CEO Vivian Schiller dismissed Williams over the phone and, according to The Washington Post, later publicly implied that Williams needed psychological help. His supporters framed the firing as a First Amendment issue and called for cuts to NPR's budget while FOX News capitalized on the situation by awarding Williams a multi-year contract and promising to protect his freedom of speech.

4. Craigslist "missed connection" on "adult services." Popular classifieds website Craigslist came under public, media, and governmental scrutiny for longtime insistence on retaining its "Adult Services" category. Andrea Powell, founder of human rights organization FAIR Fund, called the website "the Wal-Mart of online sex trafficking," as reported by The Washington Post, among others. Founder Craig Newmark performed poorly when interviewed on the topic by investigating CNN reporter Amber Lyon, eventually falling silent and walking away.

5. Amazon bans porn but promotes pedophilia. While public relations and the practice of law both involve client defense, it's important to select the correct tool for the job. When Amazon.com employed anti-censorship arguments in a stilted statement to the Business Insider to defend its decision to sell an author's self-published guide for pedophiles, the online retail giant left itself open to massive public retaliation via social media, including calls for a boycott of the site.

6. Sticky situation at Nestlé. Besieged by Greenpeace supporters protesting its use of environmentally questionable palm oil, international food giant Nestlé dropped the social media ball. Instead of immediately addressing public concerns, the company first lobbied to have the video removed from YouTube and then accused Facebook posters of copyright infringement, initiating a combative online exchange with opponents and publicly debating the "rules of engagement." This heavy-handed approach won Nestlé no sympathy and, as reported in The Wall Street Journal, drew thousands of protesting "fans" to the company's Facebook page.

7. Public recalls trust in Johnson & Johnson. Misleading claims from healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare may have originated a damaging series of issues with well-known products such as Tylenol, Motrin, and Benadryl, but delayed corporate action, "phantom recalls," and a glaring lack of corporate transparency turned a bad situation into a nightmare crisis culminating in social media uproar and a congressional investigation. Mina Kimes of Fortune reported that House Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) took the giant to task in a May hearing, saying "the information I've seen during the course of our investigation raises questions about the integrity of the company ... it paints a picture of a company that is deceptive, dishonest, and has risked the health of many of our children."

8. James makes "The Decision." Reigning NBA MVP LeBron James made news for the clueless handling of his free agency choice, when he announced that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat during a highly publicized, live ESPN special entitled "The Decision." He did all of this without giving the Cavaliers any prior notice. James' actions enraged his most ardent supporters and drew media criticism for perceived arrogance.

9. Glenn Beck: Beyond belief. Political commentator and prominent conservative Glenn Beck offended many by holding his "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington D.C. on August 28, the same location and date as Dr. Martin Luther King's historic freedom march. Beck claimed that the event, which was dominated by high-profile conservatives such as Sarah Palin and attended by Tea Party members, was non-political and not racially divisive.

10. "Alaska Airlines Hates Families." Alaska Airlines stranded Dan Blais' family in Las Vegas when his wife returned to the gate after rushing away to deal with a diaper emergency, coldly informing him that he could still board the waiting plane but that his wife's ticket had been given to a stand-by customer because she was "one minute late." Unwilling to abandon his family or wait two or three days for a stand-by flight, Blais purchased seats with an alternative carrier, returned home, and then detailed his unsatisfying experience in the now defunct blog entitled "Alaska Airlines Hates Families" (excerpts from the original post can be found on Business Insider). When the media caught wind of the couple's experience, their story began appearing in daily newspapers such as the Vancouver Sun and the Edmonton Journal and among mommy bloggers. While Alaska Airlines social media manager Elliott Pesut did respond promptly in the blog's comment section, he did so without compassion, citing rigid policy and offering a future travel voucher for less than half the family's losses. Alaska Airlines later agreed to give the couple the amount spent on new plane tickets.

*I edited some of the items for length. If you'd like to see the list in its full glory, click here.

Two firms--one based in Italy and another in the U.S.--are joining forces.

Burditch Marketing Communications (BMC), a San Francisco-based firm that specializes in travel and dining, inked a deal with Imagine Communications, a firm out of Rome, so both companies can increase their reach abroad.

"A partnership with Imagine Communication ... will allow each of our companies to introduce the other to more trendsetters and tastemakers worldwide," said BMC President Paul Burditch.

Imagine CEO Marco Ferrari said his company wants to expand its network of "American editors, producers, and freelancers that are interested in cover our top-tier Italian hospitality clients."

Ferrari cited a Harris Interactive Poll that said Americans most want to vacation to Italy. Looks like this deal will make that dream come true for some employees of BMC.

This is a guest post from Jeni Chapman, EVP Harris Interactive Global Brand and Communications Consulting.

Brands must listen to consumers.

Of course, that's easier said than done. The number of places online where consumers voice their opinions is growing at a dizzying place--thanks to social media.

For instance, from January 2008 to July 2010, adoption of Facebook increased from 65 billion page views per month to approximately three trillion page views per month. The number of companies with Facebook pages has grown, too. Currently 1.5 million businesses have active pages on Facebook; 20 million people become fans of Facebook pages every day.

A recent Harris Interactive poll found that 60 percent of consumers on social networks say they know what's going on in friends' lives even though they do not personally interact with those friends. More than two in five Americans said they prefer social media to face-to-face interaction with acquaintances.

What does all of this mean?

Your audience is online--via their computers, mobile phones, tablets, et cetera--and they're talking. Sometimes, they're talking about you. So, the question becomes: How do we know when to listen to consumers and when not to?

"Mad Men" and the Gap ignite chatter online

Take two recent examples of brands that received a significant amount of attention in social media circles for their marketing efforts. One is the Unilever "Mad Men" campaign--a series of ads that included iconic brands Dove, Breyers, Hellman's, Klondike, Suave, and Vaseline. The second case is the social media tumult, which resulted in Gap retracting their new launched logo in fewer than five days.

In the first case, Unilever picked the second episode in the fourth season of "Mad Men" to launch the campaign, which is akin to an advertising miniseries. According to an Advertising Age article from August, "The first reactions from viewers and bloggers [to the Dove campaign] haven't been positive, with some complaining about how the ads too closely mimic the show."

With the Gap logo launch, there was the same outcry, along with numerous call outs and protests posted on the company's Facebook page and on Twitter. And yet, 80 percent of consumers said they had no idea the logo had changed, according to survey of 1,000 consumers that was commissioned by Ad Age.

One post noted: "Gap may have been quick to react to the outcry of a smaller, yet louder demographic. Social media is a great tool, but can amplify the voices of a smaller, more vocal group. The question is whether their voice represents the opinions of Gap's larger target market segment."

As someone who helps clients use research to inform their branding decisions and amplification decisions, I decided to use data that we have through our Harris Poll Research Lifestreaming Panel to answer the question, "How do we know if what we are hearing represents the opinions of your target customers?"

First, we looked to confirm if real people (that is, people who aren't bloggers, marketers, and brand fanatics) were talking about each marketer's perceived misstep.

Here's the thing about Harris's data: It collects these conversations from real people.

We not only collect comments that are publicly available on places like Twitter and Facebook, but through our panel we can yield the brand dialogues on these sites that are not publicly available. Since most people are talking on Facebook with their friends and family--but not necessarily posting comments, writing blogs, or giving reviews--we are able to explore and deliver insight based on the real postings of everyday people.

By virtue of being panel based, we can profile these dialogues by demographics such as sex, age, income, region, and brand loyalty among other targeting metrics.

Crunching the numbers

In the case of "Mad Men," we had extensive posts about the show, but only one post concerned the Unilever ads. Essentially, we identified that all the conversation about this topic in social media was not by typical consumers; real people were not talking about the ads with family or friends. (See chart below.)

Gap was a different story. We noticed that there was a spike in conversations during the logo launch, and that chatter was related specifically to the logo. The sentiment was negative overall. (See chart below.)

On the other hand, we quantified that while specific comments about the logo increased, the comments around the logo debacle represented only 16 percent of all conversation about Gap in the month of October.

Question is: Were those posts representative of their target market? (See chart below.)

Chart 3 shows that more than 40 percent of commenters were 35 years of age and older and that 29 percent were 25 to 34. Only 12 percent were from the Gap's core target market of 18 to 24 year olds.

We know that groupthink exists. It is a well documented phenomenon: If everyone is attacking something, people will feel freer to adopt that point of view and vice versa. So, managing a brand by the whims of the crowd is not a long-term strategy (hey, just think how well that worked for the French Revolution).

In the case of Gap, we noticed that the company heard the outcry of many customers that "were" rather than "are." We saw there was a segment of people that were talking about the logo, but it was by no means everyone. Those who were talking were both vocal and loud--a testament to the historical equity of the brand--but the outcry was from many people that are not part of their core target market of today.

3 important lessons

Maybe the whole thing was about reaching out to their customers of yesterday and bringing them back into the franchise? Only time will tell, but we can take away four lessons on how to use social media--or rather social intelligence--to inform marketing and branding decisions:

1. Listen. But make sure you know the magnitude.

2. Determine if those talking about your brand or product actually represent your core franchise; the voices of the "connected" or loyal consumer are important but may not always represent your wider customer group.

3. Create a two-way dialogue with those who talk about your brand; dive deeper to understand what is driving their opinions. At the risk of stating the obvious, have them come along the journey with you and use research that is socially intelligent to gather input.

Five, four, three, two, one --

No, I'm not counting down to the moment we crack open a fine bottle of bubbly on New Year's. Instead, I'm taking a crack at guessing how much hiring will improve in 2011.

If you guessed "up one percentage point," congratulations, you're correct. You might find yourself still unemployed next year, but you're correct, nonetheless.

A national study by The Creative Group found that 12 percent of marketing and advertising executives anticipate an increase in hiring within the first quarters of 2011. Meanwhile, 8 percent of respondents expect a decrease in hiring, and 80 percent anticipate no change.

That four percent variance between an increase and decrease in hiring only accounts for a one point jump--well, more of a slight hop--from the same survey last quarter.

One percentage point.

Though the results, which were based on more than 500 phone interviews, don't exactly paint a sunny picture for 2011, they do offer some good news--especially if you work in PR or social media. The survey asked respondents which areas they plan to add staff.
Here's how it broke down:

• Account services (16 percent)
• Public relations (15 percent)
• Social media (15 percent)
• Interactive media (14 percent)
• Media services (13 percent)
• Brand/product management (13 percent)
• Web design/production (12 percent)
• Print design/production (12 percent)
• Create/art direction (12 percent)
• Marketing research (9 percent)
• Copywriting (7 percent)

Take heart new graduates. This data demonstrates that--despite high unemployment--recruiters and HR chiefs are looking for skilled professionals. So, for those with specialty skills to offer--sans the ability to cram your whole fist into your mouth--I guess, Happy New Year?!

Stockings above the fireplace. Candy canes on the tree. Waiting for Nana to fall asleep in her chair--teeth out--so you can string her in a monsoon of sparkling garland and twinkling lights.

We all have our holiday traditions.

But this year, one ritual of some Chicago residents has neighbors more at war rather than at peace.

Every winter, as the first of many inevitable snows fall, Chicagoans flood the streets of their neighborhoods to shovel their cars out from that (momentarily) pretty white stuff.

And after risking frostbite in places you haven't seen on your poor old body in years, residents stake a claim to their hard-earned spots, decreeing parking "dibs" on each of these spaces with the placement of a mere chair or two.

But not this year, hopes Proximity Marketing, a Windy City firm that launched a community-wide effort, Chair-Free Chicago, last week, asking city-dwellers to keep public spots strictly that--public.

Through their website, ChairFreeChicago.org, the firm encourages--in true neighborly fashion--that residents instead embrace more of another time-honored tradition in the The City of Big Shoulders: Kill them with simple, old-fashioned kindness.

"A Chair-Free Zone is a place where neighbors act like neighbors," the website says. "A place where we all hope our shoveled-out parking space is available when we return, but we aren't selfish enough to try and save the spot."

Paints quite the snowy picture, if you ask me.

If you'd like to help, you can go to their website to printout or order flyers for your own neighborhoods--and, of course, relay the message to all those Facebook and Twitter followers.

Image via.

Champagne chilled. Confetti cannons loaded.

While the world preps for another year's end, the close of 2010 means more than just another night to avoid Times Square at all cost. It's a time to look back, to reflect, and -- if you work in public relations or marketing -- to consider social media.

And how do you like that? Vocus conducted a survey in which it asked 508 PR pros and marketers what they plan to focus on next year. Social media, measurement, and strategic communications planning top the list, according to the survey.

But that's not all the survey found. Here are four things survey respondents expect in 2011:

1. PR will get harder. Sixty percent of respondents said PR will be more challenging in 2011.

2. Budgets will improve. Forty-two percent said they expect budgets to "increase somewhat" or "increase significantly," a 13 percent bump from last year. Meanwhile, 20 percent said budgets would "decrease somewhat" or "decrease significantly." Last year, 29 percent said budgets would drop.

3. The battle to run social media will heat up. Who's going to run this growing discipline? According to the survey, 23 percent think marketing will take charge with PR lending a hand. Twenty-two percent said PR with several other departments pitching in.

4. Organizations will continue to use social media. Why? Because they think they're doing a great job at it. Sixty-seven percent said they are participating, sharing, and contributing to social conversations.

You can read the full study here (but you have to provide Vocus with a little info first).

For most of you, May 1, 2009, was as indistinguishable a spring day as any 24-hour block would be in the calendar of your life.

Well, let me assure you, it was a Friday.

I got up. I worked out. I grabbed my coffee and went to the office. When the clock struck five, the workweek ended and my weekend began--and it dragged on for eight grueling months.

Eight-month weekend, you say? Sounds fantastic. Not when you're unemployed.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, college graduates are getting a taste of this permanent vacation. Unemployment among people 20 to 24 years of age--your typical college grad--is nearly equal to the nation's 9.8 percent unemployment rate, fairing only slightly better at 9.3 percent, reports the Tribune.

The good news for job-seekers is that things can and will get back on track, but it can take time and will mean getting your butt off the couch to ensure it does. So, from the formerly self-unemployed to those currently looking, here are six tips to help get and/or keep you motivated while on the job-search.

1. Routine. Routine. Routine. When you've got nowhere to be, it's hard to find stimuli to keep yourself going. It's easy to park yourself in front of the TV--or just stay in bed. If this is the attitude you take, you're doomed to fail. You've got to treat unemployment like a job in itself. Get up every day and get ready as if you were going into work. A routine keeps you busy and can keep you progressing in your search.

2. Take what you can get. Depending on your situation, you don't always have to take the first thing that comes along, but at some point, be realistic that perhaps the perfect job isn't in the cards just yet. Maybe the perfect job is the one you can get right now. Whether that means taking what freelance gigs you can to stay afloat or possibly something part-time at the neighborhood bar & grille up the street--beggars can't be choosers. But they can go hungry.

3. It's okay to cry. The job-hunt can be a stressful time for anyone. Sometimes you need to let it out. Just remember that briefly succumbing to emotion is different then being consumed by it. You've still got work to do, so don't grieve your own misfortunes too long.

4. Network. It's commonsense, but you'd be amazed at how many people don't use their Web of connections. And since it is 2010, might I suggest adding a social media element to your search. Networking sites such as LinkedIn are fabulous tools to use, as are your current e-mail contacts, your Facebook page, and even your Twitter account. Let people know you're on the lookout. Talk to friends, your family, former classmates -- depending on how desperate you are, perhaps even a former flame. Before you know it, you'll see you have a budding list of people willing to help.

5. Stay current. This goes beyond what's in the news to include what's happening in your desired industry of choice. For some job-seekers, it also applies to the skill-set in your arsenal. You can't rest on the laurels of your talents. Not a single day goes by that I don't write--and the same was true while I was unemployed. I'm not saying if you don't use it, you'll lose it, but your skills could get pretty rusty.

6. Take a chance. The two best jobs of my life I landed in questionable fashion. Whether it was an outrageous personal confession in the interview or a crazy introduction at the start of your cover letter, sometimes standing out is just a matter of doing something a little unusual. I won't tell you want I did exactly, but let's just say it might've involved taking off my shoes and socks. While "different" understandably might not work for all people, for me, the risk paid off--literally, I have the paycheck to prove it.

This week, we offer our condolences to the family of the late Alicia Augello Cook.

Unfamiliar with Ms. Cook? Don't worry. Her fans didn't seem to care that she died either--at least not in the digital sense.

Better known by her stage name of Alicia Keys, the Grammy-winning songstress used her connections to launch the Digital Death campaign--an effort coupled with World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 in which Keys and some of her Hollywood friends pledged to stop tweeting until fans had donated $1 million to Keys' Keep a Child Alive charity.

Great cause. Terrible social media marketing plan.

The digital funeral procession, which started on Wednesday, has raised slightly more than $200,000 (as of 2:30 pm Central time on Friday). It appears these stars will mourn the loss of their Twitter accounts for a while longer.

Amid the current social media frenzy, it's completely unfathomable to think how wrong this campaign went--just terribly, terribly wrong. Nauseatingly wrong. Someone should be fired wrong. Yes, that wrong.

This campaign is the exact opposite of what they should have done. Twitter is among the most powerful communication tools these celebrities have--maybe the most powerful.

By tapping on their smart phones, they blast a personalized message to millions of fans.

Imagine if your organization was launching an important campaign, and you walked into your boss's office and said: "I have a novel idea. Let's not use social media--at all!" At best, you'd be laughed out of the office; at worst, you'd be fired.

Kim and Kourtney Kardashian could have asked their 7 million followers (collectively) to donate $1 each, and Keep A Child Alive would have reached their goal in minutes. An hour, tops.

And while I dare not call these celebrities vapid or shallow--I am thinking it, really loud--anticipating that the world will swoon over the loss of a few self-absorbed tweets isn't really an incentive that'll get me making withdrawals from my bank account.

Worst part is that (alleged) vapidity and shallowness is preventing families in India and Africa afflicted by HIV and AIDS from getting the money they need.

While some say rules are rules--as this silence in the Twitterverse has been pleasant for the last few days--I say rules are meant to be broken, and the needs of those suffering can't stay mum. I say the Twitter world forgive these failed celebrities, as their hearts were in the right place, and allow them to once again tweet until the money is raised. And then they should DOUBLE that amount with their own money.

Let us not forget the great deed Justin Timberlake once did in bringing sexy back to the world. While salvaging their marketing plan is out the window, perhaps JT--along with Keys and the rest of the "deceased"--can still manage to resuscitate some sort of life back into this terrible, horrible, no good, lousy campaign.

Top searches ... search engines ... engines that run on water ... running water ... Waterworld starring Kevin Costner ... costs ... find a Costco location near you ...

Search engine overloaded is a common affliction. It can start with simply looking up the lyrics to a song you heard on the radio, and before you know it, you're getting tips on how to properly baste a rotisserie chicken in the upper rack of your dishwasher.

(I don't recommend trying that, by the way.)

While the latter might not be a typical search for people--don't judge me--popular search engines Yahoo! and Bing have both released their top 10 searches of 2010.

And the winners are--

Yahoo! Top Ten:

1. BP oil spill
2. World Cup
3. Miley Cyrus
4. Kim Kardashian
5. Lady Gaga
6. iPhone
7. Megan Fox
8. Justin Bieber
9. American Idol
10. Britney Spears

Bing Top Ten:

1. Kim Kardashian
2. Sandra Bullock
3. Tiger Woods
4. Lady Gaga
5. Barack Obama
6. Hairstyles
7. Kate Gosselin
8. Walmart
9. Justin Bieber
10. Free

If these lists are any indication of our future, we're all losers. And just look at Bing's number 10, evidently Bing users are prisoners of their own search engine.

In a perfect world, I would reign as Master of the Universe and carry out the rest of my days in a kingdom void of pop-up ads and Toby Keith music. Turns out that wouldn't be the case for many Web users, at least when it comes to the ads.

According to a new study titled The Face of Social Media:

• 59 percent of social media users said ads are a reasonable price to pay for sites like Facebook and Twitter.

• 15 percent said they are more inclined to purchase brands that are marketed on social networking websites.

• 32 percent of 13- to 54-year-old smart phone users who have apps on their phones are more included to purchase brands advertised in the app.

• 70 percent said ads are a fair price to pay

• 40 percent of these smart phone users said these ads are usually pertinent to their personal interests.

Roughly 82 percent of all teens and adults use these sites, an increase of 13 percent from last year, the study noted.

Now, I wonder how they feel about Toby Keith.