(Who knew 140 characters could be so complicated?)

Fortunately, social media is fairly forgiving. I think as a whole, we all understand that wireless communication can occasionally make some things lost in translation. As I’ve mentioned previously, we were all beginners at one point – newbies have nothing to be ashamed of while learning the ropes. I’m a firm believer that the best way to learn (from anything, for that matter) is from experience…which includes making mistakes. But of course, you have to know what the mistakes are before you can work to correct them in the future. I’ve complied a short list of some of my Twitter annoyances…some of which you may be guilty of (I’ll admit it, I’m not necessarily 100% innocent either), but that’s okay. Live and learn right? Don’t be too hard on yourself – these are just tips for navigating our favorite little microblogging site.

Automatic DMs

Ever follow someone and automatically get a message in your inbox (called a direct message or “DM”)? The user in question has probably set this up intending to be a form of self-promotion, but it makes them come off as some sort of tweeting robot. If you gain a new follower you’d like to recognize (someone you admire, etc.), feel free to send them a quick tweet – however, make it a little more personal than “Thanks for following!”. But acknowledging EVERYONE comes off as annoying…like an overeager little puppy running around to greet everyone.

Negativity

No one wants a downer! Twitter shouldn’t be a venting board…you don’t want things you say in the heat of the moment to come back and haunt you. Even worse – you don’t want the target of your rant to find out you’re trashing them on social media. If you want to vent, call up a friend – don’t log into Twitter.

Posting only links – no conversation

Let’s go back to the DMs…remember how I said it comes off as being robotic? Posting only links does the exact same thing. Sharing is good – but it needs to be in moderation. Don’t forget to have fun, make conversation on Twitter! You can’t be the only one talking, you need to listen as well.

No profile picture

I typically refuse to follow someone who doesn’t have a profile picture – unless it’s a close friend (and then I mention to them they should upload one). There are too many spam-bots out there, I want to see that a user has a face. Of course, that doesn’t rule them out as a spammer, but it’s a little more comforting to see a face alongside the username.

If it’s something you want retweeted, don’t use 140 characters

One of the most important rules (that I used to be horribly guilty of breaking) is that if you want your content shared, you need to make sure that it’s easy to retweet. The general rule of thumb is use 120 characters at most – a lot of people prefer to use the “RT @username” method to share tweets, you want to be able that they have space to include your name.

Link your profile to the correct website

A good assumption is that if people find your content interesting, they’re going to want to see where else you are on the web. Make sure you have a link available on your profile. And, more importantly, have it be a link to the website that shows off you in the most positive light. While some people feel that Facebook is an appropriate venue, leading people to your LinkedIn profile is much more professional. Want to go a little above and beyond? Develop your own website to show yourself off – About.me, WordPress, Webs.com, and Weebly are great and easy platforms to build on.

Proper “Twitiquette” can take a little while to learn, especially if you’re a beginner. Just keep in mind that no mistake is too big to fix. Learn from your errors – and most importantly, remember there’s always that trusty little “delete” button if you need it

Julie Bluhm, the young activist, is an 8th grader and loyal Seventeen reader. But she takes not that the women you see in the magazine have likely been heavily photoshopped, airbrushed, and edited to look thinner – not exactly the image of the average American woman.

Make makes Blumn’s petition interesting is the fact it’s gone viral. While originally started on Change.org (an online petition website), it has spread to Facebook and attracted the attention of news media.

With the already steady decline in the print journalism industry, I fully understand the desire of magazine’s to alter photos to make the person look more appealing. But should teen magazines fall under that category? 12-14 year old girls are at such an impressionable age that viewing altered photos can fall into dangerous territory. Teenage girls already struggle with body image – shouldn’t we consider the effect this might be having on them?

As frustrating as this is, I don’t feel like the publications are solely to blame. With the majority of news sources slowly moving and more online, print newspapers and magazines have been forced to take desperate measures. As harsh as it sounds, would sales increase if Seventeen used “normal” girls in their magazine? I’m sure their are strong opinions on both sides, but truthfully, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Ethics can be a tricky topic in all forms of media. Beyond journalism, social media and digital marketers need to look at their content. On the internet, it’s all too easy for people to remain anonymous. Rumors can spread like wildfire on sites like Twitter. Journalists and those in these industries need to remember that what’s published on the internet can come back to haunt them – reporting on a story and then ranting about it on a personal blog is definitely not professional.

So what do we do? I’m not going to take a stance on the use of photoshop in advertising because I can really see both sides of the issue. But I do want to stress that you should be entirely conscious of what you are putting out there. Branding yourself involves a fine line – how much can you share to be relateable but also professional? It’s just something to think about…

Aspiring Willy Wonka.

According to a new biography Steve wanted to offer quite the prize to one lucky Apple customer. In celebration of the millionth iMac purchase, Steve wanted to stage his own “golden ticket” contest. A certificate would be placed in the one millionth iMac produced by Apple, ensuring the owner a reimbursement of their purchase and a trip out to the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Unfortunately the state of California decided to ruin all the fun and squash this awesome idea from ever happening. Blame their laws on sweepstakes for raining of Apple users’ parade.

I must say, this contest is not the type of thing I would have expected from Steve Jobs. Personally, I see him as key figure in both business and technology, whose influence is still felt in the industry even after his passing. But you have to admit – Steve was a man with minimalist style and a direct attitude. Did we ever see him at some public appearance wearing anything other than a black turtleneck and jeans? He was extremely to-the-point; while he still managed to be charismatic, he was always in control of the room.

The thought of Steve Jobs rocking the purple Willy Wonka suit (hey, if Apple was going to do this contest I’m expecting they would go all out) floors me. Would there be little Oompa Loompas be singing along to their iPods? Could the rumored Apple TV that’s (allegedly) in development be the coveted prize the visitors receive?

(by the way, the “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” movie absolutely terrified me as a child. We’re talking screaming and shaking – my parents actually had to fast-forward through all the scenes with the Oopma-Loompas to prevent me from having nightmares….)

Setting aside my childhood fears of Willy Wonka’s factory, I do have to say touring the Apple headquarters would be quite the experience. As you can expect, this building is totally locked down. If you don’t have clearance, you’re not coming in. Few photos have ever been released of the interior, though you can view some here. Below are proposed designs for the the company’s new building. Please tell me it reminds you of a spaceship too….

Even though this isn’t the type of promotion I’d expect to hear about Apple considering at one point, it is different. Steve Jobs was always one to think outside the box and had they run with this, I’d imagine there would have been quite a bit of buzz generated. Apple is one of the most secretive companies out there, millions of people would be interested for the chance to go where few have gone before.

So tell me what you think – do you think a “Golden Ticket” contest would have been a smart move for Apple? I’d love to know your opinions. And any stories about how “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” was traumatizing you as a child if you have those as well

Some of you may know – or even checked it out – that my friend Stacy has her own blog. She totally falls into the first category. Stacy will openly admit that aside from personal Facebook and Twitter accounts, her use of social media is pretty limited. A few months ago she mentioned that she was curious about starting a blog. (note: Stace, I can say this because I love you) I honestly didn’t know if she would actually go through with it. Don’t get me wrong, she’s one of the most interesting people to have conversations with and really keeps up with current events – but starting a blog from scratch? Dealing with content, themes, formatting, and all that fun stuff? Building a solid audience? It’s not easy.

That being said – this girl has proven she was meant to blog. Within a little over a month, I believe (last time I checked) she’s gotten something like around 2,000 views. She’s built the audience, through Twitter and Facebook primarily. She’s managed to figure out the basics on the themes, formatting, and settings. What’s the saying? I’m totally eating crow right now.

(disclaimer: I gave some advice for her just starting out – basically what platform to use, etc. – but other than that, I kept quiet and let her figure out her own thing)

Because I’ve wanted to do a blog post on how to develop a blog from scratch, I figured that Stacy’s would be an awesome example. By the way, she has no idea that I’m doing this (surprise Stace! ). But as this is being used for educational purposes, I know she won’t mind.

Let’s start out with the first thing. You need a title. It needs to be something catchy and attention-grabbing, however, it still needs to relate to the content.

Stacy originally started out with “Run, Walk, Crawl”. It had some personal meaning to her, but let’s face it – it’s hard to build a solid foundation around a title like that. She’s changed it to her first and last name since then.

I know some people are a little paranoid about putting themselves out there on the internet but I really think using a blog is a great opportunity to brand yourself. Use it to your advantage! Show yourself off – it’ll be a great resource for when others happen to Google you (more on that later). Important note however: if you’re going to use your first and last name on your blog, you need to make sure it’s appropriate content. While this seems to be common sense, I’m going to mention it anyway. No references to partying, no foul language, nothing you wouldn’t want your boss or grandma to see. This is something that is available to the public – don’t give yourself a bad impression.

After you decide on a title, you need to figure out what kind of content you’ll be featuring. As you can figure out from mine, it’s social media. My other blog has more lifestyle-type posts. Stacy’s is primarily current events (both in our community and nationwide) and helpful tips.

Figure out what you’re good at. What kinds of things do you like talking about with your friends? Are you the type of personal who watches Sportcenter religiously? Or do you stick to C-SPAN?

Finding your niche is, in my opinion, the first challenge you’re going to face as a blogger. However, you need to really focus on one thing. Mark yourself as an authority on that issue.

Like I previously said, Stacy blogs about current events and also lifestyle-type things. She does manage to tie these things together though. Can you tie in a review of “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” to American vs. Swedish modern culture? I know I just mention to find one niche, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create your own. (this is something I wouldn’t recommend to beginners though, wait until you’re a little more experience – Stacy somehow pulled it off but I do think it’s a challenge for most people)

Okay, you got your title, you got your niche…let’s talk about the individual posts. The content in these posts is beyond important. How can you develop some fantastic posts?

Think about what you’re saying. Is it unique? Is it interesting? Is it original? Does it have your “voice”? Does it stick to the topic? If you’re relating one thing to another, can you tie it all in so it almost seems like its own topic?

In all honesty, I think we’ll end probably be slightly biased in answering these questions. My advice is ask a friend to be brutally honest and tell them you’ll accept constructive criticism. If you don’t feel comfortable asking a friend (or you feel that they won’t really be able to give you a helpful opinion), consider asking another, more experienced blogger. They were in your spot at one point. I’ve always felt that the blogging community welcomes newbies with open arms. Don’t be afraid to reach out!

Some people find layout, etc. to be a challenge. If you’re first starting out, I recommend using a more basic theme until you feel a little more comfortable with taking on something else. I’ve always preferred WordPress so I admit, I don’t really have enough experience with Blogger to give advice on that platform. I will say that WordPress offers many, many free themes that are awesome for beginners to start off with.

What I like about Stacy’s is its very clean. The background grabs your attention. She’s put in a righthand column and filled it with a short biography, an appropriate picture, and a few other nice settings. Things like this aren’t too difficult to set up – WordPress has a great help section if you do seem to have trouble.

Let’s discuss building an audience. For both of my blogs, I reached out to the individual communities and have had pretty solid results. I promote this blog through Twitter and Google+, I’ve just started to through Facebook as well. I’ll admit, social media (in the marketing sense) isn’t something that the vast majority of 18-24 year olds are dying to read about. My fellow Communications majors have shown some interest, but I’ve found that reaching out and interacting with the social media community on Twitter has given me the most success.

Stacy has had the opposite result as me. The students on our campus have loved her blog (am I a little jealous? Maybe ). I think the big reason for this is the Greek community (we’re both in sororities here – I’m a Chi Omega and she’s an Alpha Gamma Delta). The Greek community here has had a rough year, particularly in the last 2 weeks. Stacy’s last two posts have focused on this and how they relate to our community – and they’ve gone viral on our campus. I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen fellow Greeks posting links to her blog on Facebook. A local online news source actually ended up posting a link to it in a recent article. One night, we both checked WordPress while lounging around at my condo. She had over 300 views. There is an audience for your blog, you just have to tap into it. Mine is more working adults, hers is the college crowd. Focus on your demographic – in the words of Field of Dreams (as a side note, I’ve never actually seen that movie. However my brother is a baseball player – he’s currently playing college baseball at a school in Wisconsin – and I’ve heard my fair share of quotes from it), “If you build it, they will come.”

I don’t want to get too much into SEO (search engine optimization, in case you’re not familiar with the term) here. But I do want to make a few points: once you build an audience, engage with them, and have them interacting with the content you’re putting out there, you’re going to get some solid results on Google. Any social media marketer will tell you – you want to be above the fold. The fold is the top results you get from any specific term/phrase in search results, before where you have to scroll down (I hope that makes sense). If you’re using your blog as a primary website, this is where using your first and last name is valuable. When you Google yourself, you want to have this be in the top results. You’re marketing yourself through this blog! You’re establishing a personal brand! This will take a little time but it’s very valuable once you get there.

Now, Stacy hasn’t quite gotten there – yet. She is on the first page (which is still good, don’t get me wrong), but for some reason – there seems to be two other women with her first and last name in the United States – it hasn’t gotten above the fold. I do think within the next couple weeks it will get up there and I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t yet. I think it more so has to do with the length of time it’s been posted. Mine gets traffic additionally because I link all my accounts so there’s opportunities to visit it constantly. It’s a good strategy for me and I recommend trying it out.

I hope this post eased some of your fears about blogging. It’s a great resource – and quite a bit of fun once you get into it. We’ve all been beginners at some point, reach out to others if you need to. Once you become a little more experienced you’ll find out how awesome the blogging community is. Come join us!

p.s.

You can check out Stacy’s blog here.

One of the major positive aspects in Timeline is the creation of the cover photo. If you’re aware, the cover photo is the large photo in the background (not your profile picture). This is usually the first thing that users will see, so you need to make this as attention-getting as possible. To give you some examples, I’ve provided some of the more popular brand pages on Facebook. I’ll be providing my opinions of these pages, and I’d love to hear yours as well. Leave me a comment or tweet me at @SarahGrannis and let me know your thoughts!

AT&T

Let’s start out with a positive example. I’m a huge fan of AT&T’s cover photo. To me, it shows the many different locations that AT&T has coverage in. The pictures are small – which normally might run the risk as being almost overwhelming to the viewer…but because they are all so different from one another I think this works.

Takeaway: Diversity is awesome. Show off how universal your brand is – relate it to different demographics.

American Apparel

I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, I’m not sure if I like the focus on the model – I’d rather see the different styles that American Apparel has. But if you are familiar with American Apparel’s ad campaigns, this is consistent. And considering the fans of American Apparel are most likely aware of the brand – keeping with a similar style is important. While it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, for fans it matters.

Takeaway: Be consistent with your advertising campaigns. Your Page should reflect the style.

Dove

What rocks about Dove’s cover photo is how it shows that women of any nationality can use the product. Looking at this one, it makes me feel that I could use Dove – no matter what, there would be a product for me. Smart, smart, smart move for a cosmetics company! The white background kind of adds a “clean” feeling to it. Maybe this is me imagining it? I just get a subliminal (okay – I know it’s not subliminal if you’re conscious of it…I’m just not in the mood to think of a different word) message from it that goes with the brand.

Takeaway: Utilize the cover photo to attract customers of all ages, sizes, nationalities, etc.

Coca-Cola

Disclaimer: I have a serious addiction to Diet Coke with Lime. Like it’s so bad that I actually keep an “emergency Diet Coke” in my Longchamp tote at all times. So yes, I’m immediately attracted to Coca-Cola. They could probably have a completely black background and I could care less. That being said, I will try to be as objective as possible here.

I like how the photo ties in elements of vintage Coke ads and the modern ones. The choice of the profile picture of the vintage bottle (as a side note: I’ve heard Coca-Cola from Mexico tastes heavenly…) was great. Butttttttt I’m not thrilled with some of the pictures. The one of the girl laying down and the woman laughing are just awkward.

Takeaway: Tie in elements from past campaigns. Attract both old and new fans.

Kim Kardashian

For argument’s sake, I’m going to include Kim Kardashian as a “brand” here. And oh my goodness….does anyone else feel like this was basically created in Paint? Nothing about it relates to each other. There’s Kim in some Egyptian costume, a black & white picture of Kim, some text that just looks sloppy (what’s with the K in Kardashian?) and a random background….

Takeaway: Don’t do this. Just don’t. Please.

People

People magazine uses a nice mixture of color and black and white. The highlights definitely make the celebrities more noticeable and create a fun color scheme. This photo makes me WANT to check out People. I’m not crazy about the profile picture using the latest cover issue (it looks a little sloppy) but I can agree that it’s important to tie in with what’s currently on the newstands.

Takeaway: A snazzy color scheme can attract readers. And market the latest product.

I hope some of this was helpful to you. I’d love to see your own pages as well so leave links in the comments!

p.s.

As a little treat, here’s some of the more, um, “creative” cover photos I found… while they might not be the most professional, they will certainly make you laugh.

Why has this site become so popular? When you compare it to other platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, it has a much less interactive aspect to it between other users. Some may even call Pinterest the “anti-social media” – at least in the traditional sense.

No matter what your feelings on the site, one thing is clear: Pinterest is the fastest and hottest growing website right now and is a new essential for marketers.

One of the most attractive features of Pinterest (from the social media marketing viewpoint) is the fact that the images/”pins” are just links to an external website. After gaining a following from users, brands can use the pins to direct traffic back to their page. However the building of the audience is key – no one will be interested in your content if you simply post stock photos from your brand, you need to willing to interact with users and gain a reputable presence on the site.

To succeed on Pinterest, the time commitment must be present. As with all social media sites, if you don’t update or interact you’ll quickly lose your fans. Personally I feel that it’s better to update Pinterest several times a day – much more frequently than Facebook. You don’t need to spend a ton of time on Pinterest – the design is another huge success of the site, it’s remarkably easy to use and navigate around – but you should plan on logging in for 5 minutes or so a few times throughout the day and deliver new content. That content can be in the form of uploading your own pins (and linking them back to your site) or “re-pinning” (Pinterest’s form of re-tweeting). The goal is to be an active face on your follower’s homepage so they receive exposure to your brand.

Seeing as Pinterest’s users are typically adult females (the most popular demographic is ages 25-34), it’s best to market around that group. The average household income is over $100,000 – with over 25% of the total users being considered “very well off” (note: it is unclear if this is the user’s opinion and self declared or Pinterest’s statistics). 50% of Pinterest’s users also have children.

How can you take advantage of these facts? Consider what women in their 20s and 30s are looking for. The most popular boards on Pinterest are themed around fashion and weddings, along with household-related ones. Despite my previous comment about Pinterest being the “anti-social media”, these women are seeking a place to connect with each other. As other networks bombard users with status, tweets, updates, and personal information. Pinterest is a break from all that. It is a simple platform to share what interests you.

I don’t recommend holding contests or too many “special offers” on Pinterest. That’s not what the site is about. Yes, you may gain a quick spike in your followers but those users will likely leave once the promotion is done. Focus on the consumers and get their trust. A user that sees the brand isn’t self-centered and just focusing on its own goals is more likely to purchase from you in the future. Remember this basic rule of marketing: be likeable. Share and engage – it will pay off in the end.

So should you get a Pinterest account? I think the answer is obvious. This network is only going to surge even more in popularity at the rate that its going. Let’s not forget that Pinterest has already surpassed Google+ in driving traffic to a brand’s website and is on the heels of beating out Yahoo! and Facebook (yes, Facebook) in that honor. Did I mention there’s also an iPhone app and a new feature where brands can add “Pin It” buttons to their websites? Get in on this trend while you can!

Plus, it’s extremely beneficial to anyone in this industry. No, I’m not talking about developing ideas for your future wedding (though it could help with that if you’re looking for it). Pinterest is a huge avenue for anyone within the social media industry to find awesome new educational resources. See all the links I attached in this article? All from Pinterest. On my own account – just in case, you’re interested in following me – I have 331 pins somehow relating to social media, at least as of press time. You can find an unbelievable amount of articles, infographics, videos relating to our industry that are extremely beneficial to anyone working within social media on a daily basis.

One last factoid I will leave you with: this is one of the most addictive sites I have ever encountered. I will admit that, at least in my case, part of this may be due to the fact that I nearly fit into the target demographic. But I never expected a site that focused on just “pinning” images onto virtual boards would be so habit-forming. Just yesterday I invited one of my sorority sisters to the site….in less than 24 hours she’s following 161 people, has pinned 53 images, and guesses she’s spent over 4 hours on Pinterest. Clearly you shouldn’t open an account (and attempt to resist the urge to log in) on any day that you want to be productive and get things done.

I hope you use some of these tips and the resources that Pinterest offers to your brand’s advantage. As we discussed in an earlier post, there’s nothing to lose from developing a presence on the network (which only positively increases your overall online presence anyways). Happy pinning!

The vast majority of these apps enhance your Twitter experience by providing analytics and statistics (or even letting you custom create reports within the program), synching with a mobile app, and allowing you to use multiple Twitter handles or even separate social media accounts. As I previously mentioned, the average user may not feel the need to download or create an account with one of these programs. I know they may seem slightly overwhelming at first but if you are looking to really increase your impact on Twitter, I highly recommend looking into one or two of these.

Before we get any further, I should mention I have a MacBook Pro so for me I have to make sure that the application is OS X compatible if I’ll be using it on my laptop. I do use a PC at work, but I primarily rely on a web-based program for anything I do there. I also use an iPhone 4 – but that isn’t a problem as the majority of apps are compatible with that.

I’ll be covering the following apps today:

1. The official Twitter application

2. Hootsuite

3. Echofon

4. TweetDeck

5. Seesmic

I chose these apps based on both popularity and features. There’s a reason they are the primary Twitter clients and are easy to use while still giving users all of what they need. I realize there still other programs out there, but these are the “big 5″ that the majority of people are likely to have access to.

(as a side note, none of the screenshots are from my computer – I didn’t have the energy to take any this morning, sorry)

Twitter

The official Twitter app has a lot of positive qualities. I love how they icon is set up at the top of my screen and turns blue when there’s any sort of update on my feed. It allows me to access multiple accounts (I have 4 set up at the moment) and is simple enough that anyone could figure it out in seconds.

However, my main complaint is that it is too simple at times. The biggest problem is that you’re not going to get any valuable information by using it. It’s solely just for checking Twitter and responding or sending out a new tweet. If you’re interested in just a basic application that will notify you of any updates, this is for you. But for those of us who want to see information and results will need to invest in another app.

I will say however that it is the application that I use on my iPhone. I’ve found that it’s the most reliable for mobile devices (I’ll get into some of the issues I had with other apps as they come up) and I have no complaints on the iPhone version.

Hootsuite

I cannot say enough good things about Hootsuite. This is the main program I use at my work as it is web-based so I can easily access it from both my work computer and MacBook. What I love about Hootsuite is how much it covers in one program. There are multiple columns set up on your handle’s homepage for the live feed, mentions, direct messages, and sent tweets. I also like how easy it is on the eyes, it’s not too much that you’re going to feel overwhelmed and still looks professional enough.

Hootsuite can be linked with multiple Twitter handles, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a few other social media accounts. It’s a nice feature, though I still haven’t linked anything else to it. What I mostly do is use it to schedule tweets to go out at appropriate times – I’ve found that the publisher feature is probably the best one I’ve tried. There hasn’t been a single error that I’ve had with it. I also love the reports that it can create for you. If you haven’t upgraded to the “pro” version, you can only create 2 reports at a time. However, you can simply delete the reports as they become outdated and run a new one. The reports themselves might not be the most extensive ones you’ll have, but for a free version you really can’t complain.

For a while, I had Hootsuite on my iPhone but ended up deleting it. I found it was just more than I needed as I log in a few times a day on a computer to check Twitter. As I mentioned, I just stick with the Twitter for iPhone one because of its simplicity. If you are going to need an app for on-the-go and won’t physically be at a computer to log-in, I could see a lot of pros to using the Hootsutite app – it just wasn’t for me.

Echofon

I was the world’s biggest fan of Echofon for a long time. I had it on my iPhone for the longest time and absolutely loved it. You can easily access everything you need and there are thumbnails attached for photos (a huge plus!). You can set up multiple accounts and conversations between users remind me of the iMessages on the iPhone.

I never downloaded it for my computer, so I can’t really review that. I do know there is one version available for download that does have ads, and another that costs $9.99 but is ad-free.

However, the reason I stopped using Echofon was I found it crashed – a lot. Granted, this could have been some sort of technical issue with my previous iPhone (I had a ton of issues with that one) but even after updates and everything, it just wasn’t working. I don’t really have any interest in trying either version again – Hootsuite for web and Twitter for iPhone work just fine for me.

Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck seems to be the most popular program amongst social media marketers. This program gets rave reviews from everyone. It downloads onto your computer and offers three different widgets for your desktop. You can sync as many Twitter accounts as you like, as well as a Facebook account.

Want a billion columns to constantly keep you updated? Tweetdeck can do that for you. I think it’s very customizeable for your individual needs. If you have a few accounts that you primarily tweet or re-tweet to, you can set them on essentially a “speed-dial”. Plus, if you can’t seem to contain a tweet into 140 characters, Deck.ly is built in already.

Tweetdeck really is one step above Hootsuite. It’s a great program – but I don’t know if the average user will need all the features. I think my complaint is the way it’s set up – the overall design is just annoying for me. I’m probably the only person to have this complaint but it’s caused me to never be a huge fan of Tweetdeck. If – down the road – I feel like Hootsuite isn’t doing enough for me, I absolutely would suck it up and convert to Tweetdeck. But in the meantime, I don’t quite understand the hype.

Seesmic

Seesmic is another popular program that’s been compared as a rival to both Tweetdeck and Hootsuite. You can download it for OS X, Chrome, Windows, etc. The design is another issue with this one – I feel like it comes across as overwhelming. It is easier to switch between accounts than Tweetdeck, but still is a lot within one program.

Possibly because of this, I’ve found Seesmic to be the most unreliable of the Twitter apps. It has crashed a lot (even more so than Echofon). There seem to be a lot of bugs with the OS X version to the point where I’ve just waved my white flag and given up. If the developers were able to fix all of the issues, this could be an awesome program. But it’s not one I would recommend for the time being.

Like I previously mentioned, these are just my preferences. I do recommend trying them out for yourself – programs like these aren’t necessarily a “one size fit all” deal. You might feel like you like all the details that Tweetdeck offers, or that Echofon actually works perfect for you. Since all of these apps are either free or have a free version available, you can’t go wrong in trying each of them out. And finally, remember: the most important detail of an app is how often you will use it. Will it make you want to tweet more? Will it make tweeting easier for you? If you can answer those questions, you’ll know which is the right one for you.

Everything started off (relatively) small, looking back on everything – police were called to a NYC hotel room back in October 2010, a woman claimed Charlie was under the influence and out of control. Eager to brush this incident under the rug, Charlie’s team promptly got him to go to a medical facility and filed legal action against the woman claiming assault. It seemed like things were fine…at least for a few months.

January 2011 rolls around. After reports of hard-partying, Charlie announces yet again that he is entering rehab. This causes the production of “Two and a Half Men” to be halted.

He leaves rehab in February 2011. Let’s keep in mind that at this time, he is separated from his wife. Pictures begin floating around of Charlie with two adult-film actress girlfriends. The women are his new girlfriends – or as Charlie claims, his “goddesses”. He also appears on several late-night tv shows, giving interviews in which he claims that he wants to return to work but CBS executives will not let him. Despite the eccentric behavior, Sheen maintains that he is sober.

Within the next two weeks, the drama grows bigger and bigger. Charlie starts acting as his own publicist – calling radio shows, speaking openly with the paparazzi, hosting online video chats where he trashes “Two and a Half Men” creator Chuck Lorre. Lorre stays relatively silent – but does air a title card after an episode of the show that read “If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I’m going to be really pissed.”

The situation grows more and more out of control. CBS cancels the remainder of season 8 of “Two and a Half Men”. This seems to only fuel Charlie’s fire – his rants get more and more bizarre. He starts claiming he has “Adonis DNA” and “Tigerblood”; that he is not on drugs or suffering from mental illness, he is “winning”. He announces that he doesn’t need to return to his hit sitcom, HBO is developing a series for him (HBO promptly issues a statement denying this).  A judge orders that his twin infant sons be removed from his custody.

By early March, CBS fires Charlie on the grounds of “felony offenses involving moral turpitude” (pretty intense wording there, huh?). Charlie fires back with a $100 million lawsuit against Lorre and the Warner Bros. production company (a settlement was later reached). The Emmy-winning actor decides to launch his own comedy (I’m actually not even sure if it was actually intended to be comedy) tour. It is prematurely cut short due to disastrous performances and horrible reviews.

CBS announces in May that Ashton Kutcher will replace Sheen on “Two and a Half Men”.

After reading all that, did you notice anything? There was only one mention of Charlie’s “team” of people. I’m specifically talking a publicist. Someone employed to handle his public image, his career. Where were they during all this mess?

Well, his publicist quit at the height of the drama back in February. This is around the time that Charlie started to take matters into his own hands and say whatever he would like, assuming no consequences.

Why am I telling you all of this? The great Charlie Sheen meltdown of 2011 is a fantastic example of a public relations disaster – what happens when your client gets out of control and ruins everything.

But even better – it’s (now, of course) a good example of how to break out of the mess, as much as possible.

After the announcement of Ashton Kutcher replacing him, Charlie’s manager (the only person to stay by his side throughout the ordeal) hired to veteran publicist who was already a veteran of PR makeovers and crisis management. If there was ever a time for his services it was now. With tv’s previously-leading actor a disgraced mess, Charlie needed help and fast.

Thanks to a new team, Charlie seemed to go under the radar. With the exception of a few public appearances - no one really seemed to know where he was or what was going on. The appearances that he did make were very smart decisions – presenting at the Emmy’s and publicly congratulating Ashton Kutcher and the “Two and a Half Men” cast; a “roast” on Comedy Central that made fun of his bizarre behavior and acknowledged its ridiculousness. He also began starring in self-deprecating commercials for DirectTV.

Just last week, he appeared on “The Today Show” to publicize his upcoming FX sitcom premiering this summer. But best of all, he acknowledged his mistakes from one year ago. Matt Lauer started off the interview by pointing out to him that many people assumed he wouldn’t even by alive right now, another casualty of drug abuse. This likely would have immediately put most people on the defensive – how are you supposed to react to “We didn’t expect you’d still be here after all the stupid stuff you did,”?

By saying exactly what Charlie did: “I would support that, for sure.“

He commented that viewing videos of his behavior during the meltdown was “cringeable”. That the entire thing seemed like an out-of-body experience, only he “wished it was someone else’s body”. He even admitted that he didn’t blame FX for the new, much more serious moral clauses in his contract.

Looking at all of this, a few things are clear: you can actually survive a complete PR disaster. While things will never be the same, it is possible to revive your career and slowly win back credibly.

The keys that Charlie’s new publicist employed did the trick. He got him out of the spotlight. He arranged appearances that would (1) show a remorseful Charlie who regretted his actions and did not hold grudges against his old show and (2) allowed the public to laugh with Charlie at the whole situation and let them get all the jokes out of their systems.

Next time you find yourself in a messy situation, think of Charlie. Just remember: remove yourself from the situation. Take opportunities to sincerely apologize and get rid of any hard feelings. Be able to laugh at what happened. And, most importantly, acknowledge your mistakes and express how eager you are to put everything behind you.

Can Charlie make a total comeback? Probably not. Realistically, I don’t think he’ll ever be at the same level of public adoration and fame that he was before. Those crazy weeks back in 2011 will always be in the back of everyones’ minds; along with his old catchphrase, “Winning!” – which has now become a part of pop culture.

That being said, I do see Charlie as having a successful career again. This is a man who won over millions of Americans in the first place. While he’s no longer our golden boy of primetime television, audiences still cannot get enough of him. Even if this FX comedy series doesn’t completely take off, I do think he can continue to be a success. The mess was pretty big, but for the most part he has swept as much as it under the rug as he can. And, more importantly, he gave the public time to get over everything and forgive him. Who hasn’t made an embarrassing mistake at one time or another?

(though ideally your mistakes were not plastered over every tabloid or broadcast on CNN for the world to see, I hope)

Even if you think there’s no way to recover from the disaster you may find yourself in, just remember there is hope. Gathering a team of people to do your damage control may help…but more importantly, you just need to make smart (and simple) decisions. A lot of times it seems like companies overcompensate in attempting to rehab their image – realistically, making the basic steps to move on is all you need. Get out of it, apologize from it, learn from it, and move on.

And if that doesn’t work, maybe you can find some Tigerblood? (joking…I promise)

While the latter has since been denied by RIM, it is obvious that Blackberry is clearly suffering.

Smartphones now account for half of all mobile phones and have been the leading phone purchases for months now. Even worse news for RIM, BlackBerrys only account for a little over 11% of smartphones out there – and within the last 3 months, only 5% of consumers have purchased the device.

It’s obvious that iPhones and Androids have completely dominated the smartphone market. But there are still loyal BlackBerry fans out there. My mom has been a “Crackberry” (as we like to refer to it) user for years now. My family – minus my dad, who only recently gave up his boycott of smartphones (claiming they were “too complicated” – he’s also just recently learned to text…this was actually pretty major news within my family) by getting an iPhone 3GS a few weeks ago – first got Blackberrys back in 2008. We all started out with the simple BlackBerry Curve and all had pretty mixed opinions of it.

My mom absolutely loved it. She’s easily the most loyal BlackBerry fan out there. I’m not kidding – RIM should hire her as a spokesperson, the woman just sings endless praises about her CrackBerry. I’ve never quite figured out what it is about the phone that is so amazing to her, but I guess to each their own.

My brother seemed pretty neutral to it. He didn’t really put any apps other than Facebook on there, and just used it for texting and phone calls. Though I probably should add that him and I developed quite the addiction to BrickBreaker.

I had several issues with the Blackberry which ultimately lead to my conversion to the iPhone. First off, I think I either had the world’s worst luck with them or I just received horrible devices. Within the 2 years we were BlackBerry users, I went through 5 (yes, 5) Curves. And no, before you ask, I took extremely good care of them. No water damage, drops, anything.

(my previous iPhone unfortunately wasn’t so lucky on that part….)

The BlackBerry was the worst device I ever owned. I just swore off the brand and the second I was eligible for an upgrade jumped onto the iPhone bandwagon. I’ve become like my mom when it comes to the iPhone…I cannot say enough good things about. Yes, there are little quirks I’d like fixed (mainly the battery life), but I don’t get all the haters out there. I don’t think I’ll ever covert to another phone brand – unless something totally awesome comes out in the next couple years, never say never I suppose.

But back to RIM…the fact is BlackBerrys are a thing of the past. The company’s tried to launch new ones – the Torch (which my mom has), the Bold – but they just cannot compete with the other smartphones out there. Personally, I do think this is a mistake on RIM’s part. They’re not focusing on their consumer market and looking at the trends at what people want. I think they’re too focused on just updating the old style and assuming it’s going to be success like it previously was.

Sorry Team BlackBerry but I think you need to accept that it’s time to wave the white flag and surrender. Even though RIM has said they’re still in the game and haven’t hope yet – it’s obvious that if this trend continues, I’m putting money down that BlackBerry will be gone within the next 12 months. The next round of new BlackBerrys won’t be coming out for a while now and they are going to the be the make it or break it devices for the company. Even if there are somewhat successful, it may be too late at this point.

It is kind of sad because it was pretty much the original smartphone. But all good things do eventually come to an end.

And in case you are wondering, I have not told my mom this news yet. I really doubt she’s read about it and truthfully, I’d rather not be the one to break her heart that the CrackBerry is headed to the big AT&T store in the sky….

Facebook

It’s no surprise that Facebook is the most popular platform out there. Like I mentioned yesterday, my grandma is even on the site. It’s even spawned an Academy Award-winning movie about its founding (which, by the way, is one of my favorites). According to the company itself, as of December 2011 there were an average of 483 million daily active users on the site. Yes, you read that right. Daily.

I think it goes without saying that a Facebook profile is a necessity but I do have a couple stipulations to add here. First off, you need to use your account responsibly. And I’m not just talking about college students here. You need to maximize (most of) the privacy settings to their full potential (in particular, “Friends Only”). Why is this? By keeping it private, you’re showing that you know how the internet works and are smart enough to utilize these settings. In doing so, you are making a good impression that you can keep your personal life separate (not everything needs to be all out in the open – you never know who could be reading that rant about your ex, drunken escapes from last week, or even worse – a post totally trashing your boss or job…obviously the last one shouldn’t be on there anyways but people do lack common sense at times). Having a private Facebook will never be held against you, it really is looked upon very favorably.

However, that being said, you should have a visible profile picture and your name available in searches. Other things like hometown, current city, college, current occupation, even relationship status – that’s find to have visible. I will go into creating an appropriate Facebook profile in a future post, but you do need to remember: Facebook ranks high in search engine results. Trust me, they will find you.

Oh and last thing – activate the Timeline feature. Seriously. It annoys the hell out of me that some people still haven’t gotten with it. I know there’s a lot of conflicting opinions about it, but having the “old” profile just looks dated to me. You might as well still be using a horse and buggy for transportation in that case.

Twitter

Another major player in the social media game. Twitter burst onto the scene in 2006 but didn’t get the huge surge in popularity until 2009-2010. The concept was simple: you have 140 characters to share what’s on your mind with friends/the whole Twitterverse. It’s easily the simplest of accounts to make and let’s face it, highly addictive.

Do you need a Twitter? It depends. Personally, I feel it’s a good idea to have one – because of the popularity, it will likely show up in your search engine results and does provide a good outlet for sharing your opinions, thoughts, and so forth. But of course – like with Facebook – those tweets better be appropriate. If you’re going to be using profanity or making any kind of inappropriate comments (this includes re-tweeting – if it’s on your profile, it reflects on you as a person) you need to make the account protected. Another option – which is something I personally do – is have two Twitter accounts. One will act as a more “public” profile – you can share your thoughts on current events, interact with others professionally or those within your industry, and still maintain a positive image. The other (which is protected) is soley for use with my friends and such. The way I look at it, those that I’m networking with have zero interest in reading about my sociology exam coming up or the latest happenings within my sorority – that’s things I can keep private for my friends to see instead.

So, is it worth making one? Consider what your intentions would be in using it. Would it help you out professionally? Could you use it to interact with friends and family members? Or will it be something you’d likely get bored of in a week? Twitter is my personal favorite of the social networking sites, but I do agree it’s not for everyone.

LinkedIn

If you are over 18 there is zero excuse for you to not have a LinkedIn. This is essentially the “professional Facebook”. You can upload your resume, search for jobs, connect with past and current co-workers, and network with other individuals.

LinkedIn is something I strongly, strongly advise everyone to have. Like Facebook, it usually shows up moderately high in search engine results – however, this account really allows you to show off. Think of it as having someone Google you and immediately seeing your resume. Do make sure to keep the information current though. It’s also a good idea to log into the site at least once a week or so.

I really don’t need to get into anymore detail. You need a LinkedIn. If you don’t already have one, minimize this window and go create an account. You can thank me later.

Google+

I’m slightly saddened by Google+ because I thought it had so much potential. There was the opportunity to share things you found interesting on the web, better privacy settings and it was connected with Google. However, the downfall of it was Google trying to make it stronger than Facebook. Sorry Google, in this case at least, you’re not going to be able to de-throne Facebook as king of the social media sites.

It’s also slightly more complicated to create a profile, which probably turned some people off. I do have an account, but admittedly, I don’t use it nearly as often as other sites.

Google+ really isn’t a huge necessity in my opinion. Unless the site really gets a second wind and takes off more, I don’t think everyone needs to create an account. It’s still a nice one to have but so far it hasn’t lived up to the hype.

Myspace

Unless you’re a 14 year old girl still stuck in 2005, no. Don’t even consider it. In fact, if you still have an account from years ago, delete it. It might sound harsh but Myspace is dead and gone. Time to move on people.

Oh, in case you’re wondering – I did Google “Myspace Tom” (aka Tom Anderson) to see what he’s doing now. He left the site years ago and admitted it’s over. Apparently he is retired since he did make tens of millions from founding Myspace. And yes, he does have a Facebook account.

About.Me

Okay, About.Me isn’t necessarily a social network per se, but it is pretty handy for organizing all the links to your accounts in one place for others to view. It literally took me less than 5 minutes to make mine and has come in handy (I actually have a link to it in my email signature since my mine only lists professional accounts). Because it is so easy to make, yes, I would suggest doing one – however it’s really not that urgent so you could put it off until another time.

WordPress/Blogger

Do you need a blog? Some of my friends have asked me what my opinion is. I have two – a lifestyle-ish one and then this – and I think they’ve been great to boost my online presence.

But like Twitter, you have to decide what you plan to use it for. Is it going to be personal or do you want to use it to your advantage and discuss things in your career field, etc.? There’s no right or wrong answer. Blogs do really give your personal brand a huge boost. If you have the time to regularly update, I think it’s a fantastic idea – but it does take some work.

I’ll save the WordPress vs. Blogger debate for another time. That itself isn’t really the real issue. I’ve never cared which site a blog is hosted on, I’m always more focused by the content itself.

Did this help you out a little? There’s ones I didn’t really touch on, but I figured it was best to just stick with the basic and easiest ones. I know some of it might sound like a lot, but if there’s one piece of advice I will leave you with it’s this: we may have originally been taught that a clean social media presence is the ideal, and while that is obviously very important, I think there’s a bigger rule: you need to have a strong online presence in general. Use the internet to your advantage. Create accounts and actually use them. Think of it as your way to show off your skills to billions of people worldwide. Social media is going to be a strong resource if you make it one. And after all, since it’s both quick and painless to develop these accounts, there’s really no reason not to do it.