It's that time of year where the internet is crowded with "best of 2013" and other end of the year lists. Here are some of the best 2013 wrap ups to close out the year!

Here's what you may have missed if you weren't paying close attention:

• Facebook Brand Pages Suffer 44% Decline in Reach Since December 1 - Facebook’s December newsfeed algorithm change is so far punishing brand pages, regardless of how interested fans are in that page’s content. Analysts reviewed 689 posts across 21 brand pages and found that, in the week since December 1, organic reach and organic reach percentage have each declined by 44% on average, with some pages seeing declines as high as 88%.

This week TIME released their annual "Person of the Year" edition, an award given to Pope Francis for 2013. Since the announcement there has been a lot of buzz about the number of female awardees since TIME started this tradition in 1927, 89 years ago. Sadly you can count the number of female award winners on both hands.

Every year a person is given the namesake "Person of the Year" by, for good or bad, most affecting the news and our lives. Past winners include almost every president, international political figures, and business figureheads—but these are seldom every women. The women that have won usually made the cut due to their status by marriage (Madame Chiang Kai-Sheck shared her "Man and Wife of the Year" award in 1937 with her husband) or by hereditary (Elizabeth II in 1952). "American Women" as a whole also won the award in 1975 but that felt a little patronizing.

To address the backlash TIME has been receiving about being behind in the times by not recognizing the efforts of individual women around the world, Radihika Jones, Deputing Managing Editor of TIME, published an article to address the gender imbalance of the magazine's Person of the Year award. Her statements, however truthful and blunt, are a harsh reminder of what women are up against:

"It seems like too few women, over the course of nearly nine decades. But it’s a fair reminder that for much of TIME’s history, women seldom held the kinds of positions of power that would set them up for Person of the Year status. But we still haven’t seen a female President, nor are our corporate ranks exactly overflowing with female CEOs—two job categories that often feed the Person of the Year machine. As long as those imbalances exist in the real world, it would be wishful thinking to try to balance them on an annual cover of a magazine."

Love it or hate it—it's the truth.

I find this statement especially interesting considered the timing. Jones published this article one day after General Motors named Mary Barra as its new CEO succeeding Dan Akerson. This change in leadership makes her the first woman CEO in automotive.

In September I had the pleasure of hearing Akerson, then Chairman and CEO of GM, speak about the gender imbalance in automotive at the 2013 Michigan Automotive Summit—an event that change my perception of the industry. Akerson admitted:

"Right now they're car guys. Someday one of the Detroit Big 3 will be run by a non-car gal."

I think a lot of us saw this as foreshadowing to Barra's rise, she was already one of the highest ranking women in the industry, but I was surprised by how quickly this statement became a reality!

What do you think the new big trends in social media will be? Do you have any predictions for 2014? See how your predictions stack up against what the pros think with Social Media Today's Social Media Predictions for 2014 webinar...

In January 2013, a 6-second video app debuted as a free iOS app on the iPhone and iPod Touch; 11 months later, Vine is the most-used video-sharing app on the market, available for Android and the Windows Phone as well. Instagram video also came onto the scene this year. Facebook introduced hashtags, photos in comments, and followed up on its promise to cut the privacy setting “who can look up my timeline by name.” LinkedIn recently announced members can follow brands’ Showcase Pages.

We’ve seen many more social media leaders and changes emerge in a matter of months – and we should expect no less in 2014. As varied as the social platforms are, they are taking social media into deeper, more focused directions.

In a webinar hosted by Social Media Today, panelists will ring out old trends in social media, and ring in their predictions about where social media is headed in the new year. Join the webinar to hear about:



• Empowering your team with social media and the necessary skills as the need for social media managers continues to decline
• Leveraging the growing use of mobile with mobile friendly content and social ads
• Getting on board the fastest-growing social platforms as a necessity—not an option
• Communicating with your audience with more cutting-edge photo and video messaging
• Dedicating time and resources to a measurable social media strategy

Here's what you've missed:

• Amazon Announces Amazon Prime Air - Packages at your door within 30 minutes? Amazon testing drone delivery
• HBO Go Finally Comes to Google Chromecast - Big news for fans of Game of Thrones and Girls: HBO Go will finally offer support for Google's Chromecast device, which plugs into any HDTV to stream online videos and music, controlled from your tablet or smartphone.
• UPS Also Said To Be Testing Drone Delivery - UPS is also looking into getting flying robots to deliver packages, according to The Verge, along with Internet ecommerce giant Amazon.
• Computer Driven Cars Will Convulse the Automotive Industry - You’ll have to rethink everything you thought you knew about cars when they start driving themselves.
• Apple Purchases Topsy - So Apple bought Topsy, a social media analytics firm looking at conversations on Twitter, for a rumored $200m. But why?
• Cards Against Humanity’s Sales Increased During Black Friday Price Hike - Even though it brazenly advertised itself as costing more than it normally does, the game outperformed its sales from both the previous Black Friday and the week of normally priced days before the “sale.”
• Facebook Tweaks News Feed for More 'High Quality' Content - Facebook updated its News Feed algorithm yet again, this time with the hope of presenting users with more "high quality content" like news articles and current events.
• SpaceX to Make Third Launch Attempt Tuesday - The private spaceflight company SpaceX is counting down to launch a critical commercial satellite mission from Florida Dec. 3 after two delays due to technical glitches, and you can watch the liftoff live online.
• Google Wants to Build a "New Generation" of Robots for Same-Day Delivery - Forget Amazon and UPS drones; Google is working on robots that could one day deliver items to customers.
• Snapchat Snaps Up Instagram Director Of Business Operations - Photo-messaging application Snapchat turned down a $3 billion-plus acquisition offer from Facebook last month, and now the company poached Instagram Director of Business Operations Emily White, who was named its new chief operating officer.

I always come across these really great webinars online and most of the time they are free. Social Media Today continues to always put out some of the best. So if you have the time and you're interested in new customer service models for the digital age, I totally recommend this one.

Customer Service for the New Customer: Transitioning to a Real-Time Service Model 
An exclusive, live webinar from Social Media Today 
December 5th at 12pm EST / 9am PST

The difference between the “new” and “old” customer centers on relationship control. As GetSatisfaction's Wendy Lea notes, the new customer engagement model is the “opposite of cold calling. Your customers decide if and when to communicate. Your job is simply to give them the tools that make the interaction and communication easy and natural.”

The transition to real-time service means being there when your customers decide to engage. This is much more than manning a Twitter account - it requires a psychological and strategic shift in how your corporation views customer engagement.

Join in to learn how to:

• Create new channels of communication between you and your customer
• Develop a holistic view of your customer
• Leverage analytics to track your customer service
• Set best practices for your employees to respond in real-time to your customers
• Utilize customer service to develop business leads

Click here to register for free!

I have a really hard time shopping for others at Christmas time. Blame is on being a selfish, only child but I just can't resist the deals and the sparkly marketing!
Pebble Smart Watch - $150
Mophie Backup Charger Keychain - $26
Power Strip with USB Ports - $60
iPad Projector - $250
Portable Solar Panels for Device Charging from Voltaic