Social Media: Government is "Getting It"

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

I’ll be honest. I try not to let my politics mingle with my business. I don’t always agree with the what politicians say or do, but I do pay attention to how they convey their messages. Social media has created a fascinating new way for politicians and government agencies to deliver information to the public… and it’s working.

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Should You Ask for Referrals from Your Clients?

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Should you ask for referrals from your clients? For some professional services providers this is not even a question they consider. Conventional wisdom from the popular business press demands that you ask all your clients on a regular basis. To not do so would be akin to marketing malpractice.

One of my partners recently circulated an e-newsletter article by Michael Katz that raised a relevant argument to the contrary. He likened asking your professional services clients for referrals to asking someone to set you up with their sister — uncomfortable, pushey and even “a bit creepy.”

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BusinessWeek.com: CEOs Who Use Twitter

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

BusinessWeek.com has published a wonderfully eye-opening slide show entitled “CEOs Who Use Twitter”. While I wasn’t surprised that CEOs are using Twitter (I follow several myself), I discovered that this was a follow-up article to another published back in August 2008. The original 2008 article reported that only 18 prominent CEOs were using Twitter (while I’m sure there were more, BusinessWeek.com profiled 18).

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The Facebook vs. MySpace Smackdown: Should You Care?

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Nielsen-Online just released their latest report on the year over year growth in social media site usage. From my perspective the biggest point was the overall increase in social media usage. They reported an 83% increase in total time spent on these sites from April 2008 to April 2009. The big winners, in terms of sheer popularity, are Facebook, with a 699% jump to 13 billion minutes. MySpace, the second most popular site was actually down by 31% (I believe this highlights the fickle nature of the whole space). Other big winners are Twitter with a 3700% increase and a respectable 69% jump in usage by LinkedIn.

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Facebook Profiles – How Much Info is Too Much?

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

Recently I’ve had many discussions about creating a professional presence on Facebook. What information should we share with clients, colleagues and other business acquaintances? This is a very personal decision, but in general there are two schools of thought: 1) those who choose to share some of their personal lives with their professional colleagues, and 2) those who choose to keep things strictly business.

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