Thus, to answer some of those questions, I want to present my"Social Media For Beginners" overview. Are you wondering:
Which networks to combine?
How to take part?
What is enough, or too much?
How can it help my business?
First, a quick recap of my favorite networks and what they are about.
Facebook - The ultimate platform for keeping up with (stalking) friends. I joined Facebook way back in 2005, you know, when it was only for school students and before you can even share photos (gasp!) . I've seen the evolution of this mega-network through time, and it has become, not just the 4th biggest website in the world, but the best place to discover people, keep them up, and notify them. It's the son of Classmates.com on each potential steroid ever ingested by people. The ability to share and communicate with friends and coworkers is seamless. In general, Facebook is a superb place to begin your social media endeavors.
LinkedIn - A must-have in every business person's arsenal of tools. If you are (or expecting to be) in business of any type, LinkedIn is a superb place to set up shop. Very like Facebook, minus the annoying applications, also job postings and resumes. This is where you network with those in your business, combine groups, research providers, and potential clients. Build you credentials by asking colleagues for recommendations or visit the"Q&A" department to provide advice.
Twitter - Share, Learn, Meet. I would not be surprised if Webster adds a new definition for"tweet" this season. Over the first half of 2009, Twitter has gone from almost 5 million consumers to over 23 million. It's the social media platform of choice at Fortune 100 companies. Easily share links, videos, pictures, articles... Oh, and individual updates... with followers. Twitter is kind of like the cocktail party of social networks. Here, it is easy to reach strangers out by tuning into their tweets or immediately replying to them. A limited amount of customization keeps annoying ads and eccentric profiles in bay, unlike the obsolete MySpace.
Digg, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, reddit, etc. - Social Bookmarking to share and store your favorite links. You just read a post over at NYT.com that you adored. Use at least one of these bookmarking websites to discuss it with the world. On the lookout for articles or information on a specific subject? Head to one of those websites and search your subject, you will be able to peruse a list of sites or articles that others have found interesting or useful. Not only are these great for sharing, but keeping sites for later use too. Say you have a house desktopcomputer, a netbook for traveling, and a work computer... personalize your own bookmarks and easily access them on every computer without upgrading each machine.
FriendFeed - All of your networks in 1 place. FriendFeed lets you place all your networks in one big stream. Users can see your FB status, newest Tweet, pictures posted on Flickr, blog post, bookmarked article and even more when they follow your own feed. Much like Twitter, but a good deal more. These are the networks that I tend to spend the majority of my time on and are probably some of the major ingredients that ought to be in the bud. Every individual and business is different and might need to modify their recipe accordingly, but the secret to all of them is to donate and become a part of the conversation.
