Are You Using Twitter?

By: Sam Sova

Recently I have been seeing a ton of news about Twitter. The most eye popping to me is Guy Kawasaki saying “I think Twitter is, arguably, the most powerful branding mechanism since television.” Check out the post and video from Robert Scoble here. This is huge guys. Guy and Robert are the guys that you pay to see talk about social media and the future of the space. This is when you stop and really listen.

But if this is so huge, why is it not picking up in the Gen-Y group? When I look, it is mostly colleagues or people digging deep into social media or techies that get it. It is not my college buddy who I drank beers with in college giving his 140 word update of what he is doing. Example – Last week I posted a status update asking about twitter and if anyone is using it to friend me or let me know what they think. The result – no friends and five people within minutes ask me why the hell I use twitter! So does this, and Guy’s comment, mean that Twitter is more of a corporate/business/techie social function?

If you look at Facebook it started as a social function from the Gen-Yers, then was pushed out to the corporate/business world with SOME success stories, but not a lot. This is still where I keep in touch with those beer buddies. This is where I see those friends engaged (or unengaged). So looking at Twitter and just my own little experience here, could it be the opposite? More of a corporate/business function (or something with early adopters of mostly techies and web gurus) that eventually turns into a social function of the masses? 

I’d love to see what you all think. I think it is awesome. I see how it can be HUGE to my employer, but also to keeping in touch with all those beer buddies…but to do so they have to believe in it. Do you?

Are You Growing Your Network?

By: Sam Sova

If you somehow missed it, 533,000 jobs were cut in November – the most in 34 years. Check it out here in the Washington Post. Are you concerned about your job? If not, you should be. But there is one thing that you can do to make yourself ready for a change – build your online network.

In times like these, it is essential to build your network online. Start making virtual friends with those in your field all over the world. Here is a list of some necessary steps to take online.

• Go to Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Bebo, etc. and build your network of friends
• Go to these social networks and join groups that surround your profession and PARTICIPATE 
• Participation is key. Be active and be well known and thoughtful
• Join FreindFeed and subscribe to top professionals in your area (and me if you want!)
• Join Twitter and follow top thought leaders and professionals in your area (@samsova)
• Find top bloggers in your area and put them into an aggregator (like myyahoo.com) and learn
• Search for free or cheap events in your city (like our PRSAYP Bader Rutter event)

The biggest thing to take out of this is to build YOU online. Understand how people follow one another and how to be followed so that you are well know. Start a blog, contribute to a blog (comment). Be thoughtful. Just participate. 

Hopefully taking some of these actions will help you understand more what is going on in your profession and will open up opportunities in these tough times.