These are my links for January 15th through January 24th:

• 5 Trends Behind the Growing Shift to Video Explanations | Common Craft – With YouTube came the potential for video to be more democratized, more experimental. Suddenly there became room for new uses of video, new audiences, new genres. In 2006, anyone with a video camera and an Internet connection could make videos and share them on a worldwide scale for free.
• Facebook to offer free advertising – News – Gadgets & Tech – The Independent – Facebook announced plans today to help thousands of small firms by
  offering free advertising to boost their chances of growing their
  business.
• Pope Benedict praises Twitter-like forms of communication | World news | The Guardian – Pontiff says social media can help people find answers to life questions, but urges relentless chatter be balanced with silence
• Wi-Fi access to be available on London’s Tube network by this summer – Telegraph – Transport for London has announced that commuters will be able to access the internet in advance of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
• Report: Young Urban India Ditches Social Media – India Real Time – WSJ – The young and educated have been largely responsible for the phenomenal rise of Facebook and other social-media networks in India and elsewhere around the world. But a new report suggests urban Indian students are over social media networks and focusing instead on mobile applications that allow them to talk directly and instantly to their friends.
• Lego Launches Its Own Social Network For Fans @PSFK – Lego has launched a social media platform where fans aged 13 and above can upload their own creations and projects, share them, and comment on others they discover. ReBrick is designed to be a hub for all Lego-based works made by the Lego fan community.
• McDonald’s #McDStories Twitter campaign backfires – Telegraph – A Twitter campaign by McDonald's, aimed at highlighting good news relating to the fast food chain, completely backfired when people used the hashtag 'McDStories', to highlight their horror stories.
• Why newspapers are closing the shutters on staff photographers | Media | guardian.co.uk – Newspaper photographers are in retreat. Staff jobs are vanishing as publishers look for new ways to cut costs.
• Facebook applications and opengraph | immediate future. – With the launch of 60 new applications using the Timeline and Open Graph, Facebook is about to expand beyond the Like.  The new functionality will allow users to share perpetual actions (‘love’, ‘want’, ‘need’) via applications through the Open Graph. There are obvious benefits for brands, especially given the buying signals of user actions such as wanting and needing.
• How to Incorporate a Custom Facebook Page Tab to Your SM Strategy | Social Media Today – Facebook has come a long way from the closed social network that started at Harvard in 2004. Presently at 800 million users, recent projections are predicting 1 billion members by August. Facebook is also growing beyond membership numbers. The social networking website becomes more dynamic with each update, increasing features and functionalities like custom Facebook Page tabs.
• How Google’s Social Search Shift Will Impact Your Brand’s SEO –
• 12 Fun Hacks for Getting More Out of YouTube – There’s no doubt that plain old YouTube can be tons of fun, but when you get bored of watching clips the traditional way, there are a ton of sites that can help enhance the experience.