Social Media Round-up of the Week – 24 June

Welcome back to our weekly instalment of what’s hot in the world of social media. In case you missed what happened over the past week, here’s a run-down of our top six:

1. In just a little over two years, location-based social network Foursquare has amassed more than 10 million users. To mark the milestone Foursquare tallied up some of its most notable check-ins and fun facts – 225 weddings at NY City Hall, 1,061 birth announcements on hospital check-ins, plus check-ins at 6,230 sake bars in Japan and 1,105 beer halls in Germany (see infographic  – right – for more information).

2. Brands looking to connect on Facebook now have a way to sniff out fans with the biggest social media following. Companies can add the new Klout Coupon App on their Facebook page, which asks visitors for their Klout scores. Based on their Klout “value” (which measures one’s social media use and following), companies can decide what pages the visitors see, and reward the fans with the highest Klout scores with goodies. Audi’s Facebook page was the first to roll out the app on Wednesday. Visitors to the site are offered a downloadable desktop graphic in exchange for their Klout score.

3. At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Leo Burnett released the details of a new interactive ad unit created for Facebook.  Designed by Leo Burnett Chicago, the new Comment ad lets brands spark conversations among friends by posting a video, photo, link or status and allowing people to respond.

4. Twitter is looking at introducing advertisements among the short messages that users see in the most active part of the social networking service, according to people with direct knowledge of its plans. The move comes as Twitter looks at a wider range of options to generate revenues from a service that has so far failed to make money from its audience as effectively as rivals such as Facebook.

5. A police constable has been sacked for posting offensive messages about a colleague on Facebook and harassing a female colleague. The 35-year-old Met officer, who was based in Islington, referred to another officer as a “grass” and a “liar” on the social networking site last year.

6. Social media security took another step forward with news that Chelmsford-based Precreate Solutions claims a number of its clients had announced holiday plans on Facebook or Twitter and then had their properties broken into. For a small fee, the firm will now also run “virtual updates” while clients are away to make sure prospective burglars still think they’re at home.