Do you have time to search the web everyday to find the newest social media tools? If the answer is no, then you have come to the right place. I have searched the World Wide Web for social media information all week, and stumbled upon a few favorites along the way. Here are my picks of the week:

Facebook Places:

On Wednesday evening, Facebook announced the much anticipated new feature, Facebook Places. Places allows you to share your location with current users by checking in, and see if anyone has checked in nearby. Places is now incorporated into to Facebook iPhone App or can be used by visiting touch.facebook.com

Foursquare After Places:

With over 500 million users on Facebook being introduced to Places, many are wondering what will happen to Foursquare, the leading check-in application. Well, if the day after Facebook’s announcement is any implication, Foursquare will be fine. Thursday Foursquare had its biggest sign up day ever. We must keep in mind, though, that this was probably due to the buzz over Facebook Places (and the mention of Foursquare as the leading competitor in many articles).

Twitter Tales:

On Tuesday, Twitter launched a new feature called Twitter Tales. Twitter Tales highlights people and companies that use Twitter and “Help make Twitter awesome”. They started with a life, community, and humor section, where they have already shared 3 stories. If you have a tale, you can email Twitter at tales@twitter.com.

ShopKick:

A new mobile application called Shopkick became available this week. Shopkick is like the shoppers Foursquare. Checking into participating stores gives you kickbucks, which can be used towards promotions and rewards such as gift cards, music etc. Best Buy plans to roll out shopkick’s in-store mobile couponing system in 257 stores by October 1, 2010. Other participating companies include American Eagle, Sports Authority, and Macys. The bad news is, right now it is only available in 4 major markets.

YouTube Charts:

YouTube released a new feature this week called YouTube Charts. For those of you who want to keep up with what’s trending on YouTube, this will be a great tool for you. YouTube charts showcases the top videos trending on YouTube and you have the option to see the most viewed, most subscribed, or most liked videos, within the time period of today, this week, this month, or anytime.

-Anna (alucas9)