Social media has long been a strategic element within online retailing, long before the marketing term for this activity became fashionable. But which is best: using social media to help you sell, or solely relying on selling through social media?

Augmented Reality (AR) is the next keyword wet dream for the online industry buzz word bingo enthusiasts. As social media becomes more ingrained in commercial planning and the excitement fades into practical solutions, it’s inevitable that the new kid on the block will start to make headlines.

A couple Google Buzz experiments with long-form posts hint at a new use for the service. It's emerging as a hybrid option in the social/publishing space; a spot that's well equipped for deeper inquiry and conversation.

A couple Google Buzz experiments with long-form posts hint at a new use for the service. It's emerging as a hybrid option in the social/publishing space; a spot that's well equipped for deeper inquiry and conversation.

If Facebook gets the implementation right and makes it easy for Facebookers to use, this could be a huge step for QR code adoption.

Free to download, PayPal's new app gives users an easy to way to share restaurant bills, calculate tax and tip and view their payment history. But the Bump integration is the most interesting feature. Bump allows users to share contact information between nearby phones.