These are my links for January 13th from 09:54 to 13:34:

• Digital Strategy: It’s Not About The Tools – Hear hear! Ace article by Digalicious that speaks to me: marketing teams are under pressure to dive into social media, but they need to think about the strategy, not the tools. Resist the allure to dive in and plan, the results can be unforgiving: "The difference is that if you try a test in the cable TV channel and it doesn't work, nobody notices. (If a TV ad runs on cable, and no one sees it, is it still an ad?) Social media and the Web are not so forgiving. If you jump into social media, and don't give it the proper attention, people may notice for a long time."
• Can businesses monetise social networks in 2010? – The question everyone is asking me lately: it's still looking tough, but Dell and Debenhams have monetized social media presences, but on the flip side Facebook is dropping banner ads as they don't work for 'user experience'. So social network involvement is proving 'exciting' for cash-strapped brands, but with limited effectiveness.
• Coca Cola: Online Social Media Principles – I was talking at a CMI event yesterday and asked the group what their business's social media policy was: 'we can't use it at all, or will be disciplined' several said (including Barclay employees). How very sad. However, this document on guiding employees as to how to use social media when representing the company or refering to it by Coca Cola is a little more enlightened: it acknowledges people will be talking in these spaces, and advises what they expect of their relationship with employees. I like the idea of people being 'scouts' to pass up both good and bad conversations to experts internally.