I keep arguing in conversations with friends that – once some solid metrics start emerging about the cost/benefit of investing in social media – I think we’ll see cooler heads prevail.

This sort of sets the stage for that kind of scrutiny. Business Insider has an article about some Twitter API data that someone collected and analyzed. Twitter boasts 175 million registered users, but according to their own measure of an “active user” (following at least 30 accounts with a third of those following back), the API data showed that less than 21 million Twitter accounts are active.

The data from the API also showed that 56 million Twitter users are following zero accounts, while 90 million users have zero followers.

I think it would be interesting if someone figured out how to sort by type of user – whether they’re essentially selling or buying. I think that if you were able to pull the sellers out of that pool of 21 million active users, you’d see a dwindling audience that is actually listening.

I’m not saying it’s useless. But it’s a tool, not a solution.

I’m hearing it’s going to be called SkankJank this year.

I repeat my prediction: 2011 will see a marked decline in participation and the perceived value of social media. just saying.

This story from NPR doesn’t answer the question, as scientists don’t really know why we can’t walk straight without a fixed point of reference. But it’s a perfect piece for visualization:

talk about putting it into perspective

Dimensions offer a wide variety of historical events, environmental disasters, spectacles and festivals whose geographical areas you can overlay over any location using Google Earth. What if Burning Man took place in your town (I bet it’s a lot bigger thank you think)? What if the Great Wall of China started in Texas? (It would stretch from the Gulf of California to Kentucky.) What’s the flight range of a Predator drone?

Pretty cool stuff.

We just aired our July 2010 episode on rural health in Northern California, featuring stories from people living and working in towns all along State Route 299. The map features photos and interviews with people who are in the radio broadcast, plus many more we couldn’t fit into the hour.

I grew up fly fishing on the rivers and streams in this far northern section of California, and have spent some time in many of these towns. It was great to hear host Scott Shafer and reporter Sarah Varney file stories from Weaverville, Trinity Center and Fall River Mills, among other places.

Even greater, in my opinion, is that rather than talking to “experts” on rural health issues from the comfort of a radio studio, we took the show on the road and did all the reporting in the field. I think the show really worked, and the map helps bring a sense of place to Scott and Sarah’s terrific reporting.

Meanwhile, director James Cameron organizes a meeting to brainstorm solutions.