New technology is providing a wide range of ways for people to make money. Social media is offering a special challenge, though, since it can be difficult to measure revenues and return on investment. This is precisely why three of the major social media companies, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, are offering new tools and features that focus on revenue implications.
The idea is that you can measure — sort of — the financial benefit of some social media networks. And these three social media sites are chomping at the bit to prove themselves worth an investment, since they are expected to …read more

I love the annual year in review video put together by JibJab. It’s funny, and it offers some great perspective on what has happened in the past year. And there was plenty of financial shenanigans as well. The good news was that consumers, at least, began to exercise some prudence. While the government continued to spend its way out of recession (something that has been going on for decades, no matter which party is in the White House), consumers realized the folly of digging the debt hole deeper. Of course, only time will tell whether or not they conversion to …read more

The day after Christmas is always a bit of a letdown. The festivities are over. The Christmas tree looks sad and alone, with no more presents beneath it. The anticipation that has been building up for a month or more has been fulfilled and you’re left with this sort of empty feeling. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. Before you go out and try and fill the hole with the after Christmas sales (shopping therapy – it’s real), take a few minutes to enjoy this Christmas video. It features the way Santa scares kids. And some of these …read more

Every now and again it’s fun to just post something…fun. And this video from South Park is a classic. Eric Cartman attempts to sing O Holy Night. This is a very beautiful carol, and one of my favorites. But, in spite of the fact that I love this song (and usually to hear a nice tenor voice sing it straight, rather than some soprano embellishing the hell out of it), I couldn’t stop laughing at this hilarious version. Great stuff.
So remember, there are plenty of things to laugh about this holiday season. And even if you are having difficulties in …read more

This is a great time of year to try and relax. While it can be financially, emotionally and physically stressful to get through the holiday season, it is important to find time to relax. And there are plenty of free ways to do that, so that if you are financially stressed, you aren’t spending a great deal. (This can actually be tempting in tough times. You figure you are hosed, so you spend more money with abandon.)
Anyway, here is a great break from holiday stress. It’s a fun rendition of “Carol of the Bells” from the Muppets:
Hope you are enjoying …read more

When you spend a lot of time on twitter, you’re probably making lots of friends. One of the features that I think is great on Facebook is the mutual friends display. I use this frequently to determine if I should already know this person or perhaps what the context is of the reason I should know them.

Although not quite as easy to do within the twitter interface, there is a similar tool available from the Who Follows Whom website.
Who Follows Whom allows you to put in multiple twitter usernames, up to 5, and see who are the people that …read more

By some estimates, this is the toughest job market in two decades. Indeed, the fact that the unemployment rate just topped 10% indicates how difficult things are right now. Which means that relying solely on the job boards may be a bad idea. Indeed, CNN Money points out that this is not even close to enough if you are serious about succeeding in the job hunt:
According to Paul Bernard, a veteran executive coach and career management adviser who runs his own firm, many job seekers make the mistake of relying too heavily on online job boards, particularly at the start …read more

Twitter, the micro-blogging service, recently release a new feature that allows users to create lists to categorize and group the people they follow. One of the really helpful features of the new twitter lists functionality is that you can set the lists to be public or private.

Public lists can be shared with other twitter users and the NHL has taken this functionality and created a very targeted business use for hockey fans. The NHL (@NHL on twitter) has created lists for each of the active NHL teams, as well as some older teams that no longer exist.
When the Twitter …read more

Business has always been a personal experience as it is people selling, buying, dealing with people. Social media has helped business hugely to connect on that personal level with the investment now being time rather than money.
If business need a reason to invest in social networking then look at this fact
“According to Brand Reputation, 84% of the consumers they surveyed are more likely to look for online product reviews than they were just a year ago”
That fact is powerful enough as you realise that Google is your primary advertising tool but then if you add
“And those who have had a …read more

When using social media, there are a few things that one should keep in mind when connecting with others. Being able to use social media wisely is very important.
To help you think about a few things when using social media, I have created a short list below:

Respect others and don’t SPAM with links.
Don’t always push information our to people, connect with others by responding to others.
If you come across helpful information, be willing to share it.
Be open to answering questions that you friends may ask.
Look at ways where you can automate or manage your social media efforts.

As you apply these …read more