It seems Microsoft is listening intently to Google’s Chinese whispers: chief research and strategy honcho Craig Mundie this week added his voice to that of boss Bill Gates, who recently appeared to back Team China by criticising Google’s behaviour in the PRC. The Wall Street Journal speculates that Microsoft is rubbing its hands at the big space in search, which will open up if Google leaves China. Welcome to eModeration's round-up of all that is intriguing, alarming or odd in the world of social media, compiled by Kate Williams. For more social media snippets, follow her on

Iphone apps have demonstrated that in a special environment (on the move or within an application) people will pay for a better experience - Advertising:  it looks good! - The form factor : it’s handheld, relaxed, lends itself to consumption as much as production - There’s a hugely rich design potential : nothing points up the poverty of point and click internet browsers (thank you Microsoft) like iPad or iPhone apps. The magazine’s very profitable, and Abril had its’ best ever year for print magazines in 2009, with credit crunch effects more than compensated by a soaring

Facebook’s stats leapt a chunky 112% over the last year – while access to Twitter went ballistic: a 347% rise on 2009. And a separate survey by Neilsen makes the surprise find that teens account for a diminutive 7% of mobile socnet use. Microsoft appear to have struck oil on the farm: after they ran an ad inside Farmville which offered virtual currency in exchange for joining Bing’s Facebook Page, they gained an astonishing 400,000 new fans in the space of just one day. That’s all folks! ...Tags: Welcome to eModeration's round-up of all that is intriguing, alarming or odd in the world of social media, compiled by Kate Williams.