Facebook still rules the social media world, but an impressive 42% of users are branching out into other platforms as well, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center‘s Internet Project. The study finds that 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind. Facebook still dominates, with a whopping 71% of adults using the site, and its senior sector is growing as well, with 45% of adults aged 65 or older now using the site, (up 10% from last year.)
Eighteen percent of adults currently use Twitter (a 2% increase from last year), while 17% are now using Instagram. Instagram users are nearly as likely as Facebook users to check in to the site on a daily basis, according to the findings, while Pinterest also noted a huge increase in users from 2012-2013, jumping from 15% to 21% in just twelve months.
Twenty-two percent of online adults use LinkedIn, according to the study, and it is also the only social networking site measured where usage among those ages 50-64 is higher than usage among those aged 18-29.
The results in the report are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from Aug.  7 to Sept. 16, 2013, among a sample of 1,801 adults, age 18 and older.  Telephone interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (901) and cell phone (900, including 482 without a landline phone).
For more stats on social media usage, see below.

Mandy Barnett discussed and performed songs from her new album, I Can’t Stop Loving You: The Songs of Don Gibson, and her Christmas CD, Winter Wonderland, last Saturday, Dec. 21 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum‘s presentation of “Sweet Dreams And Holiday Cheer With Mandy Barnett.”

The Gibson tribute album release coincided with the 10^th anniversary of Gibson’s passing on Nov. 17, and fulfilled a promise Barnett made to the singer/songwriter before his death. It contains 12 songs penned by Gibson, including hits like the crossover smash “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” and “Sweet Dreams.” The CD was released through Cracker Barrel.

Shazam® recently launched a new version of the app, enabling users to automatically identify songs, TV shows and advertisements without having to reach for their phones. Auto Shazam works when the app is open, or in the background while any other app is being used, and even when the screen is locked, effortlessly saving matched content in the Shazam app.
When the user turns on Auto Shazam, the app notifies the user whenever it identifies a new song, show, or advertisement. All matches automatically go into the user’s collection and are listed by date, so users can browse through the list, opening the Shazams that interest them. This history reflects the playlist of a user’s commute, road trip, or evening out, making it easy to rediscover favorite moments, “star” songs to save the best ones, buy the music or TV content, or get more information.
“The one thing we have with us all day, every day, is our phone,” said Daniel Danker, Shazam’s Chief Product Officer. “With today’s Shazam update for iPhone, our users can now capture all the media playing around them in the car, at a café, in a cinema, or while watching TV, even when their phone is locked or they’re using it to do something else. This update is another leap forward in achieving our vision to help people effortlessly recognize and engage with the world around them.”
For Shazam users in the United States, Shazam can also identify advertisements and TV shows, allowing users to find out more about the cast and other information.
Auto Shazam defaults to the “off” position within the app, which requires users to open Shazam and choose when to turn it on, activating it with a countdown timer. To extend the time, the user can restart Auto Shazam.
The new feature is available in the Free and Encore versions for iPhone, and iPod touch. Auto Shazam is already available on iPad.

The Zac Brown Band is toying with the idea of creating another project with Dave Grohl, following the success of The Grohl Sessions, Vol. 1, which was recorded at Brown’s Southern Ground studio in Nashville, according to Billboard.
“Vol. 1 is literally everything we recorded, but we liked the idea of adding to this at some point,” Zac Brown Band member Clay Cook said. “We don’t know what the future holds, but we like the idea, and Dave loves the idea of making more music, too. It’s as open-ended to us as it is to you, but Dave was cool with calling it Vol. 1. So maybe Vol. 2 comes in 30 years; we don’t know. But we love the idea of the intention to do more, that’s for sure.”
Cook says the band is also considering re-releasing some of its pre-Atlantic Records projects. The band will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its self-released debut, Far From Einstyne, in 2014, and is discussing ideas on how to commemorate the project, as well as ideas to get that and other material to fans.
“We’ve always been talking about putting out the old (pre-Atlantic Records) stuff, like Einstyne and (2005’s) Home Grown,” Cook said. “We’re still discussing what format to put it out. Do you re-release it? Do you try to go back in and make it better? Do you put out a double album? There’s been all sorts of discussions about what we want to do with that stuff, and we may just even put it out there, kind of like what Beyonce did, with no promotion beforehand. But there’s really no definite plans yet.”
The band will ring in the New Year in Detroit and perform the National Anthem at the NHL’s Winter Classic game in Ann Arbor. They join Grohl for a show with the Foo Fighters for Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 1 in New York.