Welcome to this week’s round-up of all things social. Read on for your weekly dose of key stories, cutting-edge campaigns and engaging infographics…

SOCIAL NEWS DOWNLOAD

• Following in the footsteps of Qantas a few weeks back, McDonald’s has become the latest major brand to underestimate the power of Twitter and lose control of a hashtag campaign in spectacular fashion, inviting followers to share #McDStories with all too predictable consequences.
• Facebook is to roll out its new timeline profile layout to all users in the next few weeks – this article tells you everything you need to know about the switch and hiding those potentially embarrassing posts that you thought you’d banished years ago.
• President Obama’s campaign team made full use of social media to help get their man into the White House in 2008. Four years on, Obama is to host a Google+ hangout following his State of the Union address on 30th January. He will answer pre-submitted questions with the session live streamed on his Google+ page and YouTube.

THE TOOLBOX

Frequency, a new website and iPad app, allows you to create your own personalised video channel with live updates from the news websites, blogs and social media channels you follow the most. It’s potentially very useful for all of us in PR who want to monitor a particular topic, market or competitor brands, and although largely US-focused for now, it is likely to develop in scope as more users sign up.

VIRAL AND CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Nike launched its “Make It Count” campaign at the start of the year, cleverly sidestepping the fact that it isn’t an official Olympic sponsor by encouraging consumers to join a range of top British athletes in making 2012 a year to remember. This latest viral builds on the concept of “making it count” in everyday life by mashing together clips of top sports stars with popular films and music to launch the new Nike Fuelband, a wristband which tracks and scores your daily physical activity.

INFOGRAPHIC OF THE WEEK

Forbes believes that 2012 will be the year of social business. Handily for the 99.9% of us that have no idea what that means, they have created this infographic that illustrates what social business is and how it has evolved since the 1980′s.