Go for Iphone dude. I believe Samsung's dominance in smartphone market would end soon as they are launching a crap number of phones everyday with similar features.
Even though I am not using Commission Junction, I would prefer both links and banners for affiliate marketing as they work in two different ways. But I believe links can bring more conversions than banners.
In my opinion, simplicity is the main advantage of blogger. The simple user interface is a boon for the beginners. The next advantage is the easy Adsense approval.
I haven't used the platform Joomla and I would like to test it. Before that, I want to know what makes you to stick with Joomla and what are its unique features.
Make sure your site has enough amount of good quality content. Never add any copied content to your site. If you are using blogger platform then Adsense approval is easier.
Stick to the basics and earn some loyal followers. I think the following article will give you some general strategies.
5 Strategies for Using Twitter Effectively
Yes, I had used twiends for sometime. Indeed it's a good way to get plenty of followers for free. But the problem with Twiends is that you have mentioned. I think Twiends should do something to block those who unfollow quickly.
You can use either official Facebook app or browser to open facebook.com . I use both. For just checking notifications and my timeline I prefer browser way and in case of chatting and uploading I use the app.
I love the simplicity and hence I have been using blogger for last two years. I am not an expert blogger or web designer and hence I don't prefer blogger.
I don't know any special way to get quality backlinks. Use high PR websites, blogs, directories and forum so that the backlinks would be of high quality.