If you Twitter, do you care whether celebrities are posting their own tweets or using a ghost twitter? That's a question posed by Amy Dean at her Key Word Communications blog. She has a site that looks into whether celebrities are tweeting or using someone else (www.tweetexorcist.com).  The indication so far is that most people want the posting to be from the actual celebrity, although time demands can make that tough. If it is a ghost twitterer, hopefully they are staying true to the celeb's "voice".

One also wonders about companies using Twitter for marketing, branding and communication to customers. Naturally it would be difficult for key people in an organization to handle all the messages, just as nobody really expects President Obama to respond to all his mail, email, messaging, et al.

Certainly there are people who are capable writers and communicators who understand the new media and could provide the "voice" and service by ghost writing for companies, brands, products and services. So, if you are holding back from using the social media because of time constraints consider finding someone who could be your spokesperson and provide that public relations method for you.

        

We always hear a lot about the importance of customer service, but do you realize it is more than a way to do business? Essentially, it is a way you approach life.  Taking care of your customers' needs is really helping people.

And helping people has its own reward. Doing for others gets us out of our selves.  We focus on others and become less absorbed. And ultimately we feel good about the action. Plus, it is good for your business. You should not focus on helping others out of a manipulative way of getting what you want. But people will ...<< MORE >>

When it comes to creating a presence online that attracts return visitors (that ideally translate to customers, partners or friends) you need to think about what personality you are projecting?

Are you the expert? Intellectual? Funny? Sarcastic? Social commentator? Problem Solver?

The blogging and social media networks give you the opportunity to present your personality. But I think you need to consider how that personality changes - or stays the same - depending on the platform. What you tweet on Twitter or post on Facebook can be different than how you present your professional image via Linkedin or your company blog.

People are attracted by honesty and integrity, but it's not often easy to ascertain from online communication. As virtual as the world has become there is still need for conversations and face time. So we'll continue to see video and voice communication grow.

More important than being a social media expert is knowing and honestly communicating your band personality.

        

There continues to be innovation in the active world of Twitter and a tweeting star became a character from a popular TV show (Mad Men) and engaged thousands of followers.

Carri Bugbee was already an active participant on Twitter. She got the inspiration to "be" the Peggy Olson character and started posting. As this Ad Age video demonstrates, it was so successful (she won a Shorty Award) that she is now building a Twitter Ad Agency for entertainment companies.

Seems to me entertainment properties will want to start guarding who can have their Twitter character names (kind of like the rush in the dot com age to register celebrity domain names). This will be interesting to watch.

        

Because of modern technology, and especially business on the web, it no longer takes as many employees or as large a company  to be successful as might have been true just a few years back.

Independent agents - freelancers, writers, contractors (myself included) can often being solo-preneurs and hire out their services when and where needed. Other companies have fewer employees but an agile business model.  Naturally with the current economic climate we are seeing lots of downsizing.  Seth Godin chimes in with a timely entry about business size, scale and units of measure (here).

Much of my work involves << MORE >>

One of the fastest growing sites is Examiner.com.  According to Quantcast the site is now ranked 316 in overall traffic - pretty impressive growth for one year.  They post news and information contributed by writers in cities all around the US.  You can find out what is going on in a lot of different cities and get plugged into the various culture, news, events, religion, sports and other aspects of a cities' life/activities.

It is also a great way for those of you who are interested in a particular area to write, raise your profile and even make some money.  Examiner.com is seeking writers.

I've just been accepted as the Albuquerque Christian Examiner and I've started posting articles and info.  If you are interested in exploring the opportunity visit Examiner.com and look for the "write for us" link.  Indicate you were referred by me, Tom Gilbert, and include my ID# - 4590.  Good luck and maybe we'll see your byline soon.

        

Everybody likes a freebie - especially food.  Restaurants are discovering the benefit of promoting food giveaways through social media like Facebook and Twitter.  Yes, sometimes combined with other media, but ultimately we are seeing that social network sites are having an impact.

This does not surprise me.  It is the power of the referral.  We all like to hear about the latest movie, travel spot, place to eat and so on, and we give lots of credence to what our friends tell us.  Freebies + Social Media = Hot Restaurant Strategy by Karlene Lukovitz, online here at MediaPost, relates recent successes by Denny's, Quiznos and International House of Pancakes.

        

It looks like some good things may be coming out of the recent uproar over Facebook and their previous terms of service changes (since reversed) that would have allowed them to own and potentially exploit user content.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a press conference today to discuss how Facebook will take steps to improve user understanding and ownership of Facebook terms of service.

Looks like users will get a participating voice in all this, which is a good sign.  According to a CNET post, "The Facebook Principles, a set of values that will guide the development of the service, and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities that make clear Facebook's and users' commitments related to the service" - see CNET

        

What an uproar Facebook caused when it changed its Terms of Service recently to exercise much more control over users content - many people thought they were taking it to an extreme.

There wasn't a message sent out to members, but the news quickly circulated about the TOS update (see this "Q&A" article from the BaltimoreSun.com.  It is not unusual for sites to not notify members when changes in TOS are made - you are supposed to monitor it on a regular basis.  I found out about the change from a Facebook friend who invited me to join a new group, People Against the new Terms of Service (TOS).

It is a good idea to read the privacy terms and other terms of service on various sites, especially social networking.  Yes, I know it is usually long and intricate legalese, but, hey, you need to be aware.

At any rate, Facebook reversed their new terms and is now inviting members to participate in a discussion on how to move forward in this area.  There you go - invite your members into the process!  Here's a news article from CNET about the Facebook "about face".

        

Reading the latest issue of Working Solo newsletter I found Terri Lonier's points about people being either a "searcher" (the soloist who pursues goals with laser-like focus) and the "discover" (those who are willing to scan for opportunities and open to uncertainty) to be interesting.

I think I probably do a bit of both, but the danger in being the searcher (for me) is to get obsessive.  I like the idea of "letting go to the flow" of the discover, but that also has potential pitfalls, like wasting time instead of exploring with a  purpose.

But I did discover in reading the newsletter and then clicking a link to one of her partners (The Marketing Mentor) a site by someone who calls herself the "communicatrix".  Colleen Wainwright uses all types of various web apps and social networking to market her message, but her main point is that she resonates with the use of "story" to connect and get her message across.  And that resonates with me - as what I most enjoy doing is capturing life stories of others.