I recently received an email about a new service that’s just been launched. Still in beta, Zooity offers users a one-place stop to share all your online ID’s and networks. Now, instead of trying to remember where you are and trying to get all that info to someone who asks, it’s all in front of you. Signing up is easy and then it’s just a matter of updating your account with your networks. While similar ideas have been done –…

A little while back, I sent out a request via Twitter asking if anyone would be interested in being interviewed for a discussion on social media. With the medium meaning so many different things to so many people, as well as how it can be used, I was interested to hear the views of the people I connect with. My original plan was to run a “round table” style of blog post – raise the questions and then have a…

One of the things I’ve always said about this blog is that it’s as much yours as it is mine. Yes, at the end of the day, I write the content and I have the “voice” that has your eyeballs (or not). Yet it wouldn’t be half the blog it may be without your participation. From occasional visitor to regular subscriber, you help me put words to the page. So now I’d like you to have your voice. Generally I’ll…

I don’t often ask for your help via this blog. I feel it’s kind of intrusive, and almost like I’m being a pimp. While the snazzy clothes of a pimp might offer me a funky new look, I’m not sure what it would do for my (perceived) street cred. So, no pimping. However, there’s something I’d really like to ask of you. A small favour that would mean a lot. I’m in the running to win a contest to choose…

When you were a kid growing up, who was the wisest person to you? Who you’d go to with your secrets and questions? I’m guessing it was probably your granpa. Why is this? Why did we feel that our granpa was the person we could go to? Was it because we felt they offered a safer sanctuary from stuff that we didn’t want to share with our parents? Or was it because they were older than anyone we knew, so…

There’s a lot of talk on Twitter as to how it should be used – Twitter rules and etiquette, if you like. Some of the talk stems from suggestions of how individuals use their accounts and how it might benefit you. Other talk comes from people who say, “You should do this and you shouldn’t do that.” But you know what? Unless anything you do falls within Twitter’s own Terms of Service, then there are no rules on using Twitter….

If you’re a blogger, who do you write for? Is it for you or your audience? Or a little bit of both? In a recent post I mentioned one of the blogging analytics tools I use is Quantcast. I like it because it gives me a really good insight into the type of readers I attract, both regular and casual. It has a breakdown of demographics, gender, ethnicity and more. To give you an example, here are some figures about…

There’s a saying that a picture paints a thousand words – but can it also create a thousand questions? For anyone that’s connected to me on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll have probably noticed that my profile avatar for both sites is blacked out. Far from being the results of a broken browser, it’s blacked out for a reason (the basic gist is a week-long protest at planned Internet laws in New Zealand). It’s led to questions why it’s blacked out,…

This is a guest post from communications professional Arik Hanson. I’ve come to respect and know Arik pretty well over the last couple of months and I was curious how his work in the health-care sector could benefit from social media. Here Arik kindly obliges with his views. When you work in PR in most industries, you go home at the end of the day and wonder, “How did I make a difference today?” The answer, unfortunately, most often is…

As a communication and community-building tool, blogging is up there with Twitter as a key social media platform. A place to both offer and share opinions as well as a view at the person behind an online persona, a blog is more than just a personal or business journal – it’s your voice. There are many blog platforms, tools and plug-ins around, all with various benefits. Some are better than others and depend on your own needs. Here are 10…