This week here at Aspedia saw a story about statistics, datamining and baby goods get shared and discussed on our Twitter, Linkedin and Google+ accounts. Facebook also appeared in a number of stories, and we read some interesting stuff about interest-based social networks like Pinterest.

Advertising and Datamining; or "How to tell if your customers are Pregnant"
A story of how a father discovered that his teenaged daughter was pregnant has gotten a lot of attention online this week. Apparently the father found out because of Target's effective use of datamining and how they used it to customise advertising material.

The full article is well worth reading if you have an interest in marketing, or data, or both. Even if you do not read it, there are a few points well worth your time:

• Consumer behaviour can reveal far more about the person than you would expect
• Tailoring advertising material to suit the consumer's current situation can be very effective
• No-one likes to think they are being watched with no benefit

Getting the most out of Facebook
Mashable has published nine great tips for getting the most out of Facebook. A good read for small to medium businesses both just getting started and already established on Facebook.

Finding a Social Niche with Interest-Based Social Networks
Facebook is not going anywhere. Like Google, is the mass media of the Internet. If you want access to a large potential audience, it is where you go. However this has not stopped the development of smaller, more focused networks that can exist along side the social media giant. Find out more about how other social networks can succeed by appealing to small, interest-based groups in the same industry as a giant like Facebook.