We wrote last year about Atlanta’s phenomenal growth in Facebook users, which moved the area up to second, only behind New York. Now Chicago is experiencing similar growth, closely behind L.A. at No. 3. Chicago’s Facebook users have almost doubled in five months.

iStrategyLabs has been tracking Facebook use since 2007, using data from Facebook’s social ads platform. The agency’s CEO, Peter Corbett, correctly points out that concerns over privacy have not had an impact upon Facebook’s growth, with the U.S. user base growing 21.8% between Jan. 4 and June 8.

Which age group had the highest growth rate? That would be those over 55.

A quick note about our webinar…

OK, I’m going to depart from normal practice here to plug an upcoming webinar in which I’ll be participating. I’m partnering with good friends Tim Morrison and Brownell Landrum on a series of classes devoted to helping writers perfect their craft, build websites for themselves and their books, and market themselves and their writing through social media. Tim is a writing coach and Brownell helps people set up websites using the power of the WordPress platform. And, naturally, I’m the social media coach.

We’re having a free, one-hour webinar next Tuesday, July 13, at 8 p.m Eastern. You can find out more about our classes — and us — at our website. And you can sign up here.

I try to show them that people of all ages are adopters of social media. Facebook alone has had dramatic growth this year at nearly all age levels, none more pronounced than women over 50.

Now there are new numbers available on social media users. The median age of a Facebook user has now risen to 33, seven years older than in May 2008. That’s not far behind LinkedIn, the business networking site whose 50 million-plus users have a median age of 39. The median age of a Twitter user has dropped to 31, which shows that Generation Y, which was not an early adopter, is now turning to the microblogging service. There had been numerous articles earlier in the year that Gen Y thought Twitter was pointless. Apparently, that’s changing.

Facebook getting older? Twitter getting younger? What does this mean? It means the old adage is no longer true that only the young are the early adopters of technology. And new social sites designed to attract the young away from Facebook and Twitter are reportedly not having an impact. The young are willing to use the same social media now used by their parents.

So much for age creating a digital divide in social media. (Yes, MySpace remains decidedly young — a median age of 26 — but its focus has shifted to mostly music and entertainment. And it’s certainly not the dominant influence it once was.)

While we’re debunking myths, let’s burst another bubble. Remember the study which found people were becoming more socially isolated because of technology, especially mobile phones and the Internet? Not so fast, according to a new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Pew found that these technologies do not have a harmful social impact upon people.

In fact, Pew found social networking sites provide an outlet for “discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds.” In other words, people have digital contact with a more diverse group of people.

Boomer business owners, isn’t that one of your company goals? Don’t you want to expand your reach to new people, new contacts outside your regular sphere?

Can’t wait for the next business owner to bring up age, or dismiss the merits of social networking. I’ve got some new research to share.

There was a time when that tactic might have driven significant traffic to your Web site. Or posing a question might have actually led to a good discussion.

There may be some Groups on LinkedIn where quality discussion takes place. However, those places are few and far between. Many people tell me they no longer open e-mails from the Groups. I’m about to join them.

What’s happened? LinkedIn Groups have mostly been hijacked by self-promoters whose idea of “discussion” is to endlessly promote their “free” seminars, blogs, products and themselves. My interest, naturally, has been social media, but there is very little “discussion” in those groups. There are plenty of people, though, who want to “help” me with their pitches, which they have the gall to present as discussion.

This morning, I received an e-mail from someone obviously involved in setting up a Group, inviting me to their “free” teleseminar. The e-mail subject line said it was an “announcement” from the Group. They said to hurry, seats are filling up fast. Impressive, since just recently this same individual was spamming me with another free session, and the seats were going quickly. I have serious ethical issues with an e-mail coming from a Group with an individual using the Group name to tout his business. Where is LinkedIn on this?

Another problem with LinkedIn Groups is that it’s hard to find true discussions that are all that informative. I can only speak for social media topics, but I can tell you most of the talk there is behind the curve. I find much more valuable — and current — information on Twitter or elsewhere. Yes, there are tons of spammers on Twitter, but I have the flexibility to unfollow or block users if need be.

Sorry, LinkedIn, no disrespect. I still think there is great potential for businesses in using the social networking site to grow connections and get introductions. They’ve established clear guidelines in that section of LinkedIn and crack down on people who violate the rules. (I also still think the Advanced Search feature is a goldmine of business intelligence.) However, I can no longer recommend that business people join Groups unless their business is a rare case where the self-promoters haven’t already poisoned the atmosphere.

Small businesses and professionals, what do you think? Are LinkedIn Groups relevant any more? Do any help you in your business?

1. Internet usage is peaking.
2. Social networking sites are on the rise while social sites with a single focus, like Flickr or Blogger, are not (except YouTube).
3. The blogging audience is peaking.
4. Video watching and sharing continue to grow, especially among young adults.

These are some of the findings from reports this week by Forrester Research, Universal McCann and the Pew Internet and American Life Project. What they tell us is that our media habits have somewhat stabilized. While Internet usage doubled in the past five years, TV viewing habits haven’t really changed, according to Forrester. People still spend more time watching TV than online. Radio, newspapers and magazines have been the victims of Internet growth.

So what does this mean for small businesses and professionals? They’d better be thinking about Nos. 2 and 4 and what strategies they can use for these worlds. Social networks and video-sharing sites are the hot zones.

It also confirms my experience. The best way to draw people to your blog or company Web site is through social media. Otherwise, people won’t come looking for you.

The audience, mostly young and very smart, asked great questions. Several attendees hung around afterwards and asked even more questions. Someone pointed out that an employee had walked out after eating and avoided the talk. Someone else quickly added, “That’s all right. He’ll never use it [LinkedIn] anyway.”

Another professional showed similar skepticism during a talk I gave. He didn’t leave the room, but he was openly dismissive of social media. And I guess he dismissed me as well when he asked “You actually make money off this?”

Anderson Analytics’ recent research found three groups of people least likely to embrace social media — the time-starved (although Anderson says nearly half of that group will be using social media by year’s end), those concerned about computer security and, finally, Group 3, those who think social media are stupid. The research found 94% of this group will never use social media.

Both skeptics I’ve mentioned undoubtedly fall into Group 3. So there’s a 6% chance their minds can be changed. How do you reach those whose minds are made up?

First, I’ve seen too many people change their mind in the past year. In the Atlanta area, the statistics prove it. Those over 25 and even over 55 are flocking to social media, especially Facebook. We’ve previously written about that phenomenal growth, pushing Atlanta to No. 2 in registered users in the U.S., trailing only New York. My guess is that both of these skeptics have been getting — or will get — pressure from associates and friends to communicate more through social media, whether they want to or not.

Second, the business case studies are coming like a flood. Every day, you read accounts of new success stories in the media. See last Friday’s New York Times piece on Twitter and small business, for starters. Twitter is being used successfully in … Blowing Rock, N.C.? Books and studies are proliferating at a rapid rate, detailing strategies that lead to results.

In short, using social media as part of an overall strategy is a must for most professionals and small businesses. I’ll probably never know what happens with these two skeptics, but I’d wager at least one of them eventually changes his mind.

Now those are odds that I’ll take any day.

Last night, I tweeted: “If you use Malcolm Gladwell’s definition of an expert having 10,000 of practice, then who can honestly claim to be a social media expert?” (Haven’t seen anyone raise their hand yet.)

Ironically, at the same time I was tweeting, two blog posts were making the rounds in the Twittersphere. Peter Shankman and Sarah Evans wrote a delightful piece with 25 “Ways to Tell Your Social Media “Expert” Might Not Be An Expert After All” while Ian Lurie at Conversation Marketing has an amusing “10 Questions to Evaluate a Social Media ‘Expert’.” My favorite way to spot a non-expert, from Shankman/Evans:

Everything they learned about social media they learned by reading blog posts (i.e. no application). You can learn a ton about sex from reading Kinsey’s manuals, but I’d still rather be with someone who has some practical experience.

For years, the most overused term in business has been subject matter expert. I’ve cringed too many times meeting people who’ve been too quick to play the expert card. However, in a new economy based upon relationships and openness, people now can see through the poseurs, whether we’re talking social media or anything else.

The truth is, there is a growing number of specialists and consultants who are now getting results for clients through social media. Those pioneers will be the first to tell you that their successes came after countless hours of experimentation and changes in direction. Those of us newer to the table are now benefiting from their lessons learned.

There are plenty of qualified people out there who can help a professional or small business create a social media strategy. There are plenty of people willing to work their butts off for you. Just watch out for the snake oil salesmen.

I ask after stumbling upon a post reporting that a new social networking site is coming in August that combines the best of what’s out there under one umbrella. The slogan for the new site reportedly will be “better than just nice.”

I have no way to verify the report. However, it’s interesting to see the list of features for the new site, which include:

1. Embedded Music Player 2. Private & Group Chatting  3. Personal Blogging  4. Photo/Video Uploading & Sharing/Tagging  5. Customizable Personal Pages  6. Group Creating  7. Apparel – T-shirts, hats, jogging pants, etc. 8. Hundreds of Widgets and Applications to add to your personal page.

Not sure I need my own line of hats and T-shirts, but maybe you do.

What if you had deep pockets (or willing investors) and could create your own social networking site? What features would you have? Anything different than what you see on this list? Small business owners, what you you like to have?

Let us hear from you.

Her question: If companies engage people with social media, aren’t they opening themselves up to possible critics?

My answer: Of course, they are. But that is not a reason not to try it.

Why? Those critics have loads of places they can go to online where they can complain, hurl abuse or speak their mind about your company, products and services. If your company is not already participating in online conversations, the critic has the upper hand.

However, if you participate in social media, you can establish your credibility. If a critic strikes at you, you can — at minimum — maintain that credibility through openness, communication and answering questions or concerns. At best, you can turn a critic into a fan. Actually, that happens a lot. Check out the book “Groundswell” for several case studies where company critics became invaluable supporters of brands because they felt their voice was being heard.

In short, yes, there are risks in using social media. However, there are bigger risks if you don’t.

Hopefully the questioner will get her answer from here, someone reading this or elsewhere. The rewards far outweigh the risk — if you use social media properly.

Even though my beef today includes a reference to a Microsoft product, the main point is one of the biggest frustrations in social media — marketers using automation to spam you.

This afternoon, I made a joking comment on Twitter after reading that Microsoft plans to start a music streaming service. I wondered what “tone deaf” name they would give to this service after earlier inane product names such as Zune and Bing.

Shortly thereafter, I had a new follower — someone selling Zunes on eBay. No damage done, I simply blocked them. This follower apparently automatically follows anyone who uses the word Zune in a tweet, then post links to the music players for sale.

I say this was all automated, but who knows, there are some really dumb salespeople out there.

For those just getting into social media, don’t despair. There are actually fewer cases like this than you think. Don’t let experiences with spammers drive you away from the greater good social media offers. Ignore the spammers.

The other buzz surrounded the news that the number of moms using social media regularly has grown from 11% in 2006 to 63% today, a 462% increase. The research came from BabyCenter LLC, which runs several parenting Web and community sites, in conjunction with the firm NovaQuant. Their research also found that 44% of those surveyed used social media for recommendations on brands and products.

Neither story should be a surprise to anyone halfway familiar with social media. Businesses are adopting social media strategies at a dizzying pace. And it’s no secret that women over 25 are flocking to Facebook. (See chart mentioned in Tuesday’s post.)

I can confirm those numbers just among moms I know. That two-thirds of moms on Facebook figure rings true among my own circle of friends and acquaintances.

What does all this mean? Do you really want to ignore moms in your business? It’s just more evidence that professionals and small businesses better get together their social media plans. Or your competitors will leave you behind.