Sorry for the layoff on the Friday Five folks, but it’s a very busy time for me since Thanksgiving. But it’s time to get back to the regular routine and that means the Friday 5 (at least for this week).

Enough talk, let’s just get to the links:

• An Open Letter to Carol Bartz, CEO Yahoo Inc - Thomas Hawk Digital Connection Blog.
• Facebook Brings Facial Recognition to Photo Tagging – Mashable.
• Ping Introduces Social Playlists – TiPb
• 30 Inspiring Ideas To Develop Content for your Blog – Jeff Bullas Blog.
• Nobody Cares About Your Products – David Meerman Scott, Web Ink Now Blog.

Been on an extended vacation and consequently so has the Friday 5. It’s good to be back and share some of my favorite social media links from the past month or so.

• XKCD-Inspired Cartoon Maps the World’s Social Networks. Mashable.
• The Ten Secrets of a Successful Social Media Blog. Jeff Bullas Blog.
• What makes a tweet influential? The HP Blog Hub.
• Creative commons and facilitating mashups to spread your ideas. David Meerman Scott, Web Ink Now Blog.
• 60 Ways to Increase Your Influence Online. Sam Rosen, Copyblogger Blog.

With tax day behind us in the US it’s time for another week of the Friday 5, our look at the week’s most interesting social media links (at least in our opinion). If you have other links, feel free to start a debate. We love having a conversation here at socmedia101.

Without further delay, here’s this week’s links:

• Is Social Media Becoming Boring? by Tamar Weinberg, Techipedia Blog.
• Social Media Demographics: An Analysis of the Leading Sites, Panorama Blog.
• When a Stranger Reads Your Blog by Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog.
• Media Relations is Not Public Relations by David Meerman Scott, Web Ink Now Blog.
• What is the Speed of Social Media by Jeff Bullas, Jeff Bullas’s Blog.

Photo by Myki Roventine on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.

> 11 Ways to Influence People Online and Make Them Take Action. DoshDosh Blog.

> Twitter, Meet the President. Marketing Pilgrim Blog.

> Making Stuff Up. David Meerman Scott, Web Ink Now Blog

> Prioritize Your Social Media Efforts. Chris Brogan, Chris Brogan Blog.

> Building Links “Outside the Box.” Link Spiel Blog

Photo by Let Ideas Compete on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.

> To gate or not to gate. Data from an eBook offer. David Meerman Scott, WebInkNow Blog.

> Now You Can Dislike Stuff on Facebook with Firefox Plug-in. Jennifer Van Grove,  Mashable.

> Twitter Starts Curating Trending Topic Tweets. MG Siegler, TechCrunch.

> 10 Simple Video Blog Ideas. CT Moore, BloggingTips Blog.

>  Your Company May Own Your Tweets, Pokes and YouTube Videos. Jeremiah Owyang, Web Strategist Blog.

Photo by Daniel Spils on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.

> What Facebook Quizzes Know about You.  ReadWriteWeb

> About YOU. David Meerman Scott, Web Ink Now Blog

> 101 Tips From 50 Small Business Bloggers.  Open Forum

> Leaving Friend Prints: How Social Networks are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security. Knoweldge@Wharton

> If There Could Only Be One: Twitter or Facebook? Lisa Barone, Outspoken Media Blog

Photo by UncleStabby on Flickr.

> 19 Presence Awareness Chores You Could Do Every Day, Chris Brogan Blog

> Social Media is the New Punk Rock, Webinknow, David Meerman Scott Blog

> The Difference Between Strangers and Friends, Seth Godin Blog

> Who will be the John Lennon of Social Media, The Inquisitr

> Debunking Social Media Myths, HarvardBusiness.org

Picture courtesy of Paul.Carroll on Flickr

Twitter & LSD – 25 Similarities. Phil Baumann Blog

Facebook Manners video, YouTube

Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead, David Meerman Scott Blog

Are You on Google?, The Other Blokes Blog

Ashton Kutcher is NOT Change, Writing Roads Blog