It's the time of the year when brands are glued to their social media analytics to try and decipher if the millions of dollars spent for a 30-second spot was extended, enhanced and otherwise optimized by the traction that it may (or may not) have received in the social media space. But, here's the thing: what were the best two ads you remember from last year's Super Bowl? Any idea? Did it roll off the tip of your tongue? Are you currently a valuable customer of theirs?

There is a major shift in business focus that is under way. Digital media has forced businesses to change. Dramatically. This is nothing new. What's interesting is that we're seeing two, distinct, breeds of business being born: product-focused businesses, and customer-focused businesses. Which one do you work for?

BlogHer.com started out as a forum where women could feel involved and included in the world of technology which was predominantly dominated by men. Today, BlogHer.com has grown into the most important community of mostly female bloggers on the Internet. The accomplishments these women have achieved in the last few years is nothing short of mind-blowing. Check out my interview with one of BlogHer.com's co-founders.

Connecting with your target market by incorporating publicity efforts into your day-to-day operations is increasingly important in an uncertain economy, even if you can't afford to hire an agency, or consultant just yet. Here are some useful tips small business teams can implement to stand out in the crowd.

The true humility and humiliation of social media is not what the web analytics tell us: it's what the audience does (or doesn't do) with the content. You can buy audience, links, and clicks, but you can't buy people who care and want to share whatever it is that you are doing.

While it's nice to get drunk on the social media Kool-Aid and point fingers at those who have gained exposure and popularity through it (both positive and negative), all of that pales in comparison to the fact that we still don't even really know just how powerful this new media is.