Here is this comScore study about gender differences in social networks:

A look at gender differences in social networking engagement found that, across global regions, females age 15 and older spend more time social networking than their male counterparts. In North America and Europe, women spent an average of nearly two hours (30 percent) more than men on social networking sites in October. Latin America saw both females and males average the most hours on social networking sites globally, with females averaging 8.2 hours social networking in October and males averaging 6.9 hours.

Intuitively, we know this to be true. And, I think this will only keep growing.

How do you interpret these findings?

From John Medina’s Brain Rules:

We are incredible at remembering pictures. Hear a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you’ll remember 65%. … Pictures beat text as well, in part because reading is so inefficient for us. Our brain sees words as lots of tiny pictures, and we have to identify certain features in the letters to be able to read them. That takes time. … Why is vision such a big deal to us? Perhaps because it’s how we’ve always apprehended major threats, food supplies and reproductive opportunity.

Some pictures require context, that is where text comes along.

Bottom line: Vision trumps all other senses. Marketing chops matter, but a social media team requires a designer.

Today is Mabel’s Labels‘ 10-year anniversary! I’m so honored to have been able to work with this team of moms to help share their expertise and product offerings through both media placements and celebrity attention to other parents around the world. Mabel’s Labels holds a particularly special place in my heart because they gave me a shot to be their publicist when I had only one previous client at the time.

Although I had been a sort of “publicist” for my own brand of clothing for years before, I was still green as the owner of a boutique PR firm. Co-founder Tricia Mumby met with me for coffee in San Diego to interview me, and we automatically connected. I remember her asking me why I think I should have the position over more experienced, larger New York-based PR firms, and I asked her to give me the chance to prove myself.

She and the other co-founders gave me that opportunity, and it is something I will always be grateful for. I continue to learn a lot through them, and have never run low on my passion to share Mabel’s Labels’ product launches, news, “Mama of Many” Julie Cole’s personal and professional expertise, Mumby’s marketing expertise and the Mabelhood story with anyone who will listen. I love this brand; even more so, I love the people behind the brand! I have the pleasure to work daily with their marketing manager, my sweet, amazing Karma, as well as Blais, who is on top of everything at all times. (I miss working with Melissa Madden, too!) I know business is supposed to be business, and that we aren’t supposed to be emotionally attached, but I am! I sincerely, genuinely adore Mabel’s Labels and everyone I have had the pleasure to get to know over the past few years. Here’s to another 10 years.

With the intent of creating ongoing dialogue with you, every Wednesday, I’ll be posting commonly asked questions and then provide an answer to them.

Easy. Engage and listen to your customers. Talk with them and not at them.

This is the holy grail; it always has been. Social media has simply made it more obvious. But, companies are having difficulty adapting.

Why?

The problem is that most companies still approach social media with a “promote first, second and third” mindset. It like they see people on these channels, and they immediately think “let’s broadcast as much as we can”.

People turn these types companies off. It isn’t difficult, they can just block you from their feed.

That is why acting and being social is so hard. If you think that simply setting up Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest accounts makes you “social”, you are wrong.

People don’t want ads, they want a conversation. This is the key insight, and, you must take it to heart. To be social, you have to care about what people are talking about. You have to find out what they like. Be interested in them.

This is why knowing the laws of influence is important for you. You are easily influenced, and you can influence too.

Here’s the video once more:

BabbaCo founder Jessica Kim is no stranger to charming DIYs, and her her aptly named Rabbit Runner is no exception. In the BabbaCo blog tutorial, Jessica shows us how, with just a simple rabbit silhouette, you can create a festive and colorful runner for the dining table.

Painting eggs is a time-old tradition, but that doesn’t mean the designs have to look stale. Jazz up the Easter favorites with some glue dots and a dash of glitter, as A Pumpkin and a Princess shows us. But word to the wise: We can’t promise your little ones won’t walk away with hints of glitter on their faces!

Nothing calls to mind Easter quite like Cadbury Eggs for me, and that’s why I fell hard for i heart naptime’s Easter cupcakes. Toasted coconut serves at the “bird’s nest” and Cadbury eggs serve as, well, the “eggs,” and with her easy recipe, you have a delicious — and visual — treat.

Making stuffed animals sounds like a labor-intensive DIY, but One More Mushroom assures us that these Bunny Brother Sister Dolls are easier to make than you’d think. All you need is white canvas fabric, a black marker and fabric paint. With a little stuffing and hand-stitching, your kids will have a fun new toy to add to their collection.

You can’t really go wrong with any of Bakerella’s Cake Pops, but this bunny-version is a definite stand-out. We love that she found pastel candy corn and heart-shaped sprinkles to bring her Pop to life. And scroll down her post for a bonus Easter egg Cake Pop recipe!

How will you be celebrating Easter with your kids this year?

When developing a product, market feedback is important. But, what if you could get that feedback before you actually launch? What it you could create a product, while in development, with your customer? What if salespeople and the people on the front lines had a say in the ultimate product outcome?

Technology startups have been doing this for a while. Web based businesses, have the unique advantage of being able to change the product after receiving feedback. Offline businesses didn’t have this luxury, until now.

Consider, for example, how Chubb used to social media tools to accelerate new product development:

“Chubb has been able to democratize innovation on both the product and process side. “People suddenly find they have a voice, have an identity and can be acknowledged for their input,” says Myers. “We’ve discovered that the best ideas, or idea fragments, come from people closest to the customer and broker, usually inversely related to title. We’re finding that sales representatives or office clerks are probably in the best position to know where the pain points are of people you’re trying to sell policies to.”

It is the statement in bold which is important. As the example illustrates, social media tools helped accelerate product development because it gave a voice to the people in the front lines.

The best ideas come from people closest to the customer. Social tools help you bring these ideas to the surface.

In case you missed last week’s Twitter party with zulily, Jenny McCarthy and Hollywood Hot Moms co-founder Natalie, Klein, today we have an excerpt from the recap with nursery style tips, tricks and trends! Check out zulily for the full scoop.

What was your inspiration for the Too Good nursery line?

‏@JennyMcCarthy: The inspiration was to make great, safe, fashionable bedding that all mothers could afford

Q1: What are some creative accents to add in a nursery?

‏@JennyMcCarthy: Wall art is fun! But less is more. The focus on my bedding is on the bedding. It’s not good to clutter a room. The butterfly bedding is another one of my favorites!

‏@Clarissa_Laskey: some creative nursery accents are murals (stick on or hand-painted), esp. with a pretty tree! I also love writing my kids names in the snow & sand and framing photos of that for their rooms.

@HollywoodHotMom: fun lamp shades

@PhyliciaSP: I love fun bedding It always makes the nursery. Wall art, mounted bookshelves

‏@vanrobmac: Ruffles and flowers for my girl

@Butterflybab: Decorated with a butterfly mobile

Q2: What are some fun ways to decorate a girl’s room?

‏@JennyMcCarthy: Rug accents and decor blankets because they’re both cute and useful.

@mellanhead: Butterflies, pinks and browns like a plaid. we did monkeys, my mom made the blankets and crib skirt.

‏@Clarissa_Laskey: I love a beautiful, but simple chandelier. I also love a canopy over a little girl’s crib/bed. I also love a simple chair with your little girl’s name or monogram on it. [Another] fun way to decorate a little girl’s room is do a tree or something similar with her little handprints as leaves.

‏@vanrobmac: Mine is animal safari with lots of zebra! And I made some big tissue pom poms for the ceiling

@PhyliciaSP: I don’t want alot of pink but if I have a girl I’d love a cute pastel theme. My sister had a ladybug theme — red black and white so my niece could grow with it and not look like a nursery anymore

@S_thirtymommy: Mirrors everywhere

@martiferg: my girls share a room & it’s the princess theme!

Q3: What are some ways to get the most out of a small nursery?

@HollywoodHotMom: maximize space! Lots of storage against the wall

‏@mellanhead: add rolling drawers under crib, use top of dresser changing, shelves on the wall. my daughter’s room is small so we used book cases for items and storage under crib

@PhyliciaSP: Shelving! We found cute shelving squares to put keepsakes in and another shelve for wooden letters. And we love our stuffed animal net that’s in the corner of my sons room. Out of the way and looks cute.

‏@Butterflybab: Be organized-get an under the crib storage bin for blankets, clothes, or diapers. skip the diaper changing table and get a good dresser, then put a pad on that

@Clarissa_Laskey: buy a convertible crib and lots of fun storage bins in neutral colors that can grow with your baby. And a bench style toy box that is functional for storage, but also offers storage is great for a small nursery.

@S_thirtymommy: Multifunctional pieces & utilize wall space

@vanrobmac: I have two shelves under my changing table, I have 6 baskets there to organize diapers, wipes etc!

‏@bybreenah: We have the dresser in the closet

@martiferg: look for multipurpose furniture. That’s what we did.

Click on over to zulily for the rest of the recap!