Nowadays information comes at us in a flood. Multiple TV stations run news 24-7, Twitter provides an unending stream of two line summaries of the universe, and no matter what topic interests you, there will never be a dearth of relevant blogs bringing out yet more stats and figures.

Sometimes it would be nice of somebody would just stop and take the time to take all this data that our ever expanding infosphere has made available, and turn it into something understandable.

Worry not: relief is in sight!

Designers and data analysts from around the web have been finding ways to fit this information into familiar visual paradigms so that the rest of us can start to make sense of it all.  What follows are ten of our favorite infographics on social media.

1> The Art of Listening

Social media is something of a catch-all term that can be applied to several different types of sites.  The Art of Listening does a good job of listing the best known social media sites and identifying where they fit within the social media spectrum.

Source: www.pamorama.net

2> Building a Company with Social Media

Even if you can name and identify the different types of social media, it can be difficult to pick out which ones will be most useful to your company or department.  These colorful administrators would be glad to help!

Source: searchengineoptimization.elliance.com

3> Life Cycle of a Blog Post

We especially like to help businesses craft their first branded company blog.  But what happens to those posts once you put them online?  This interactive picture published by WIRED Magazine helps you see how your post gets to readers and other interested parties, and also the routes it takes to get to them.

Source: www.wired.com

4> Donut Marketing

As you develop a more expansive social media presence, you should think about developing your website into the hub that connects all of the pieces in one place.  If you hear Scott or Marissa mention Social Media Integration, this is what’ they’re talking about.

Source: searchengineoptimization.elliance.com

5> People Streams

Donut Marketing showed you how to arrange your online presence, People Streams shows you why.  Each social media network that you join can become an ingress to your website, where you can control the message, the display, and the overall visitor experience.

Source: searchengineoptimization.elliance.com

6> Air Force Web Posting Response Assessment

An important part of maintaining a social media presence is knowing when and how to respond to other people’s posts.  If someone is out there looking for a fight, trying to “correct” them can sometimes be the worst thing you can do for your brand.  When in doubt, you can probably find guidance in this flow chart put out by the U.S. Air Force.

7> Social Network Map

A slightly more tongue in cheek approach to social media can be found in this 2010 “map” inspired by the comic XKCD.  Each “continent” has been sized according to the amount of traffic the corresponding social network receives.

Source: www.flowtown.com

8> Twitter Territory

Twitter makes a fairly big “continent,” doesn’t it?  If you’re curious how it shapes up in the real world, this map shows you the adoption rate by state and highlights which states are above and  below average for the USA.

Source: www.hubspot.com

9> Ages of Social Network Users

Knowing the age of your desired audience can also play an important roll in deciding which social network is right for you.  This chart uses vibrant colors and an unambiguous layout to make that determination easy.

Source: royal.pingdom.com/2010/02/16/study-ages-of-social-network-users/

10> World Map of Social Media Networks

We all know that Facebook is the current king of traffic in the United States, but those who serve a wider client base will want to consider each of their client bases.  This map based on 2007 data shows which network dominates each country.

Source: manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com

Have you found another valuable infographic?

Please take the space below to tell us all about it!