I’m still learning…
But, Marshall Kirkpatrick over at ReadWriteWeb has done some research and pulled together a great post on the topic:
It’s a critical read for all public relations gurus approaching the blogosphere.
Enjoy!
Twitter really is pretty awesome. It allows you to “eavesdrop” on conversations between leading PR bloggers, strategists and other industry influencers - all the while feeling important enough to let them know exactly where you are and what you are doing. I think of it as “away message stalking” on steroids. I know I’m not the only recent college grad that spent hours reading my friends’ away messages over and over again. How else was I going to find out when that boy I was eyeing on the fifth floor was back from the “library.”
Now for the tips.
Some good reading:
Five Twitter Tools We Love (GigaOm)
Newbie's Guide to Twitter (WebWare)
Remember, we all must be fearless when trying to learn and discover how these new means of communication work. Have fun!
A coworker suggested that I check out a cool “social media” site called StumbleUpon and I love it so much I wanted to share.
Channel surf the internet with the StumbleUpon toolbar to find great websites, videos, photos and more based on your interests. StumbleUpon learns what you like and makes better recommendations.
Getting started. Basically, I set up a StumbleUpon profile, similar to that of a Facebook profile, and selected various topics that interested me. These topics represent my very own online “tags.” I started by selecting just a handful of broad categories, such as music, crafts, cooking and humor. These tags help the software decide which Web sites I might like.
Next, I downloaded the StumbleUpon toolbar and clicked the Stumble button. The system somehow knew I’d enjoy Musicovery.com, a pretty cool jukebox type of Web site similar to Pandora.
If I like a site, I simply click on the thumbs up in the tool bar and the site is saved in my online favorite’s list. If I don’t like a site, I just have to click the thumbs down and StumbleUpon will know not to send me any more sites like that.
I’ve found some pretty awesome sites, including:
Like any other social networking site, StumbleUpon also allows you to add friends and meet other people with common interests. Pretty neat!
It’s happening – and it’s happening FAST. Facebook is becoming a legitimate networking tool for grown-ups and youngsters alike. It’s everywhere and there’s no turning back. Our personal lives and work lives are merging and I love it! But, now what?
So many questions are running through my head? Should I reset all of my personal privacy settings? Should I review every picture that my crazy friends have tagged of me? How much of my “real” personality should I expose? Should I leave any group that might give the impression of any scandalous elements in my real life? Can I “friend” clients and key media professionals? Unfortunately, we’re all still so new at this “Professional Facebook” thing to really have the answers. It’s exciting, but scary all at the same time.
In a recent blog post, Career Columnist Penelope Trunk encouraged readers to “facebook” their Company CEOs, stating that employees should start living an “authentic, transparent” work life.
As of right now, I say we should be as transparent as possible, go with it and embrace Facebook for what it is and what it’s becoming. There are so many awesome reasons to join and participate. For a nice summary of “12 Ways to Use Facebook Professionally,” check out the Web Worker Daily blog.
On a side note, I encourage younger members of the workforce to use this opportunity to emerge as leaders in your agency. You stand at an advantage over many of your coworkers, having spent the past four years getting to know the ins and outs of Facebook. What are your ideas for using Facebook professionally? You might not have much time though; according to a recent MarketingVox report I recently read about on Paul Fabretti's Blending the Mix blog, Facebook’s fastest-growing demographic is the 25+ age group.
By the way, my mom is on Facebook – go ahead and friend her. Tell her I said hello!
Let the People Make the Choice “Regarding ‘Tangled Web 2.0’ (June 19): Andrew Keen’s book, “The Cult of the Amateur,” is of interest to me since I represent the amateurs he is speaking out against. I am 14 years old and my show, ‘Dylan’s Couch,’ is among the most popular series on YouTube. Here’s a great quote: ‘The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite’ (Thomas Jefferson). Keen would probably say that we can not choose for ourselves and need to be ruled by the mainstream media elite. I think I’ll side with – Dylan (via e-Mail to letters@metro.us)
This evening, I found myself sitting on the couch, watching TV, doing a crossword puzzle, helping my sister make flight arrangements AND listening to my husband tell me all about his day. I found myself stuttering as I tried to put words together to tell him about my own day.
I was trying to multitask – but there was just too much going on.
Why does our generation feel the need to do a million things at once? There are just so many things to get done in one day – and the days aren’t getting any longer. As a result we spread ourselves too thin trying to multitask. We should, instead, be prioritizing – prioritizing our family, work, friends and other activities that are important in our lives.
According to C. Ray Johnson, author of CEO Logic : How to Think and Act Like a Chief Executive, "Prioritizing is the answer to time management problems - not computers, efficiency experts or matrix scheduling. You do not need to do work faster or to eliminate gaps in productivity to make better use of your time. You need to spend more time on the right things."
Prioritizing allows us to see what tasks are at hand and then decide how to divide the little time that we are given in a day. With prioritizing, the more important tasks can then, and only then, be given more of our attention, energy and time. This also leaves us with more creative energy to Shake our PR Moneymakers.
Of course, sometimes certain activities must be eliminated from our lists to enable us to focus on more important tasks. This teaches us another important lesson – sometimes we can’t do it all. It’s all about balance.
Any other tips to add?