We've finally hit it, social officially became mainstream! After years of being described as a flash in the pan or a fad by some famous and not so famous faces: Is Social Media A Fad  Sick of the Hype  Don't like Social Networks (all apologies to Mr Hurst!). The Guardian released the news first and apparently the ASA standards will be in place by the end of this year.

Rae Burdon COO of the AA said: "The industry has delivered a clear mandate that first and foremost will protect consumers and children [and] that will also protect editorial content,"

But what does regulation mean and how is this going to affect the world of social media? Well no more outlandish claims on websites, blogs and twitter feeds, if you're using it for marketing then it has to fit the same parameters as print, radio and TV advertising which is,, lets face it about time. We've all seen some pretty outrageous claims and counter claims and we'll hopefully start to see them scaling back.

The other major area of impact will be in the consulting world as more and more companies will want to bring things in house and develop larger teams in order to ensure they are not only hitting the channels they need to be but also that they are complying with a new set of rules. Smaller businesses will have to start employing people who ACTUALLY KNOW what they are doing too, so it's win/win for the world of social!