This was a guest post on “The Buzz by Mike Schaffer.” Mike writes about public relations, social media, pop culture and sports. Mike is AMAZING. Stop by his blog and follow him on Twitter. Tell him I sent you!

Hi, my name is Andi Narvaez and I’m addicted to LOST. Like some of you, I was told by the rest of you, “you HAVE to watch it. It’s sooo good.” And not only did I watch it, I’ve devoted the last seven weeks of my life to catching up from the very first episode. That’s right. If there are six seasons, a total of 121 episodes, each 45 minutes long… you do the math. The sad thing is that after the second season, it wasn’t even worth it. But like a good addict, I couldn’t quit it.

Is this sounding familiar? That right. Social media. Hey, if I’m going to make those 5,445 hours (holy waste of time Batman! I wish I hadn’t done the math) worth my time, you bet your life I’m at least going to get a blog post out of it.

LOST is like social media in many ways.

If you think of the island as the Web, think of the passengers on Oceanic Flight 815 as everyone who ends up here either intentionally, by accident, or fate – who knows really. Some of them die. Some survive on shore (the people who get on Facebook, open a Twitter account, but you ultimately stick with Facebook and quit Twitter because it’s stupid and who cares what you had for breakfast, right?) Some of them move into caves and start living on the island rather than surviving on it (most people who use some of the basic social networks and update them pretty frequently). Finally, others explore the island and they find the hatch. They move in and the island becomes home (people on Facebook, Twitter, those who blog, upload and share media, etc.).

And though we sometimes thinks the Web belongs only to us because our experiences via social networks and niche sites are increasingly more personalized, the reality is that there are Others who also live here (and have lived here longer too!) and they do their own thing. But we can only learn that by exploring the Web and bumping into what’s out there. Then we learn that by creating our own realities within this virtual space, we affect the lives of others’ in many ways even if we do not see it.

And then season 3, 4, 5, and 6 happen and we don’t know whose live ends where.

When a show jumps the shark that many times we need to ask ourselves, “why am I still watching this?” And the answer is – those characters and that island. Social media has had its ups and downs too. We’ve seen social networks come and social networks go. We have had to adjust to changes on our social media platforms. Most recently, our privacy has been the victim of a social network’s fickle terms of use.

But six seasons later, we’re still here because we know and love the characters and we care about our island. And in one way or another, we think of ourselves as candidates.

Some weeks ago Mike Schaffer, the proud owner of this blog, asked which LOST couple we like the most. I jokingly said “Hurley and Charlie” but I’d like to officially take that back and say, “The people and the island.”

The final episode of LOST will air on Sunday, May 23. None of our questions will be answered. But at least we’ll still have social media where we’ll endlessly debate and ask the infamous question – WTF?

UPDATE: The final episode aired but I only saw it a few days ago because I’m out of the country. I’m still wondering WTF.

As a public relations graduate student and a very active (annoyingly so? please don’t tell me ) social media user, I’m always interested to learn more about both fields and the neat things we create using social media.

Enter Help a PR Pro Out (HAPPO).

HAPPO is designed to help connect PR job seekers with employers looking for top talent.

The conversation has really taken off on Twitter. Using the #HAPPO hashtag on designated dates as well as on a regular basis, public relations job seekers and employers are benefiting from each others’ participation.

I’m preparing to do a graduate study on the uses of the #HAPPO hashtag. Please help me out during the initial phase of the study by answering one question: Regardless of how frequently you use Twitter or participate in HAPPO, Why (for what purpose) do you use the #HAPPO hashtag?

Submit your answer(s) in the form below. If you use the #HAPPO hashtag for more than one purpose, I want to know all about it. Feel free to be as concise or elaborate as you’d like. All answers are confidential.

THANK YOU!

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Albeit a few days later than I had originally announced due to a few changes to the syllabus, my students have turned in some great social media case studies. But don’t take my word for it!

Each group picked a brand and wrote a case study that illustrates how social media humanizes brands and helps them be a part of the same communication process and the conversations that everyday individuals, like you and I, engage in. Please check out their brief abstracts below and vote for your favorites! The authors of every case study that earns at least three votes will earn 2 extra credit points on their FINAL course grade. My students’ fates are in your hands!

Let me know if you LOVE an abstract and wish to publish the full post on your blog. The full case studies are archived under the “social media case study” category on the COMM 2301 and COMM 2901 class blogs. Thanks for contributing to my students’ education! Don’t you love molding minds?

Now for the good stuff:

The Miley Cyrus brand

Brand name is a powerful tool and the more recognizable it is, the more success it has. This is especially true for entertainers like Miley Cyrus. Miley is a product of the Internet generation and her brand marketing reflects this. Her use of social media brings the Miley Cyrus name alive to anyone with a computer. She connects with fans on a personal level and interacts the way a friend would online, thus humanizing her brand in a real way.

Pepsi: Rockin’ it new school

Pepsi has emerged as one of the most successful international food brands. Our college acts as an example of this prominence, boasting to be “a Pepsi campus”. Taking full advantage of social media outlets to promote their brand, Pepsi has been able to promote themselves to a larger audience. Networks, such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and mobile applications are able to provide information and advertisements that would otherwise not be accessible to our “on the go” society.

The King and you

It seems like every marketing tactic we see today is exactly the same. Other companies advertise products in mundane ways that have already been used a myriad of times. Burger King though has broken away from this strict routine. Anybody who has seen a Burger King commercial can agree that they are all odd in every way possible, yet each one leaves a distinct effect about the brand on the viewer.

Starbucks: Creating a bolder world

Since Starbucks’ appearance on the coffeehouse scene in dreary Seattle in 1971, they have become a coffee powerhouse, now owning over 16,000 stores worldwide.  While much has changed since Starbucks’ humble beginnings, the company has adapted to these social changes with ease.  So how has Starbucks controlled the coffee industry for so long?  Their success can be attributed to their capability to change with the times, to incorporate their name and logo into today’s social media age.

Bieber Fever

What is it that has teenage girls, some grown men, and menopausal women going crazy? Is it a new Apple release? No! It’s the new teenage sensation Justin Bieber. The 16-year old who makes Miley Cyrus look like a thing of the past. From his innocent and playful singing voice, to the side sweeping hairstyle that you can’t help but to love Bieber is slowly taking over the technological world. Having various media outlets for fans to reach him Bieber is never far from the public eye.  Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube, it’s Bieber TIME!

Ben & Jerry’s: Happiness in a cone

Chewy. Gooey. Sweet, and cold– what more could you ask for? Ben & Jerry’s offers a one-of-a-kind ice-cream experience. And thanks to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, mobile applications, and much more, you can figure out where to grab that cone of Cherry Garcia, learn of Ben and Jerry’s philanthropic activism, never miss a Free Cone Day, and even discover a new flavor and its nutritional information! Get the best treats from Ben & Jerry’s tweets.

Think Verizon, Think big

Can you hear me now? Good.” The infamous communication network, Verizon is a company that provides home phone, cable, internet, and cellular phone services for millions around the world. Verizon has been successful in reaching its customers through various forms of social media. With over 872,848 fans following Verizon on Facebook to daily conversations regarding their products and services on networks such as Twitter, Youtube, and Flickr, Verizon has become incorporated into people’s everyday lives.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

The Mexican food frenzy that has swept the nation began with a man, an idea, and a promise for food with integrity. Establishing itself as a cultural phenomenon, Chipotle Mexican Grill has become integrated into every aspect of society, from online ordering, to blogging, to even the celebration of holidays, all with the help of social media and smart marketing. Keeping the spirit of the burrito alive, Chipotle is sure to make your mouth water.

Sephora

Ladies, can you honestly say that you woke up looking this gorgeous?  And come on guys, we know you didn’t smell this good after that 6 am workout.  Sephora is a brand that reaches out to both men and women, to improve their appearance and boost all levels of self-confidence.  I mean, who doesn’t feel sexy when wearing the latest scent from Vera Wang or those insanely bright OPI nail polishes that make you visible from a mile away.  Sephora reaches out through multiple channels to customers, which allows it to be not only user friendly, but accessible from almost anywhere.

Rita’s Italian Ice

A presence in social media is no longer an option; it is an obligation. Rita’s Italian Ice uses different social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, to reach its customers in a variety of ways.  Through its use of social media, Rita’s has humanized itself, allowing the company to communicate with individual customers in a friendly and engaging way.  Rita’s solid foundation in social media is a critical component of its successful business model.

McDonald’s

As technology has leaped forward over the past decade and social media has become part of everyday life, McDonalds has stayed on the cutting edge of technology. By harnessing the power of the internet and social networking sites McDonalds is able to address concerns, take suggestions, and create a more personal relationship with its customers.  The phrase “I’m lovin’ It” no longer applies just to the food it serves, but to the way McDonald’s is reaching out to its customers.

Doritos

Doritos is a company that has been established since 1964. Although the 60s seems so long ago the Doritos incorporation stays up to date with the time eras and their consumers through social media. The blogging, social sites, and multimedia allows them to keep their consumers informed with their products why also getting their feedbacks and some new idea. Social media has become more than just advertising, it’s a source and way of communication.

BioWare

BioWare is a developer and publisher of video games. Since 1995, the company has developed many popular titles. In particular, Dragon Age: Origins and the Mass Effect series are two recent role-playing game (RPG) titles that are widely popular among gamers. Alike other major digital entertainment companies, BioWare has branched onto social media networks (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) in order to further reach their fans on another channel, outside of the games.

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This was a guest post on “The Buzz by Mike Schaffer” this week. Mike writes about public relations, social media, pop culture and sports. Mike is AMAZING. Stop by his blog and follow him on Twitter. Tell him I sent you!

Two years ago, my best friend came to visit my home country of Ecuador for the summer. One night, we went to a bar because an Ecuadorian soccer team was playing the semifinals of the 2008 Copa Libertadores. The final score was 0-0, which helped Liga de Quito, the Ecuadorian team, advance to the finals where they destroyed their Brazilian opponents and won the cup. Needless to say, this was the most anticlimactic day of my best friend’s life. And to this day she can’t understand how it can be possible for people to get as rowdy as we did that day when, for 90 minutes, not a single point was scored. Basketball has spoiled her.

In 59 days and less than 10 hours — give or take — the moment I’ve been anxiously waiting for four years will finally be here. And my friend couldn’t care less.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is the greatest sport tournament in the world to me. And after a semester in my “Global Public Relations” course in graduate school I finally have an argument to support this statement that is not, “because soccer is the best sport in the world… and shut up.”

For those of us in public relations and social media, the world matters. Others matter. The beautiful thing about culture and diversity is that they make the world we live in a lot less boring and predictable; however, that is also the greatest challenge we face.

The FIFA World Cup gives us the rare opportunity to learn more about other cultures by either observing or, in my case, participating in UBER fandom. I’m talking body-painting, screaming, perspiring, crying, drinking, cursing… fandom. You might be thinking, “umm, it’s called the Olympics! Hellooo!” But to that I say, nay. The thing about soccer is that people live it and breathe it. Back home, in Ecuador, businesses shut down for it. Additionally, the researcher in me thinks that the World Cup is our chance to see all attributes of all the different cultures under the influence of a single variable — soccer.

Public relations and social media professionals should pay special attention to what will go down in about two months. In fact, start paying attention now to how FIFA is communicating about this event and turning it into not just a soccer tournament, but a global public relations phenomenon and case study:

Por ejemplo:

(a blog post AND a Spanish lesson?? You’re welcome)

• FIFA has a hospitality program set in place, ready to welcome everyone who comes to South Africa for the World Cup. This the the first time an African nation is hosting the World Cup and FIFA is making the most of this opportunity by showcasing a culture and embracing everyone who will come into contact with it for the very first time.
• Over the past few years, the most amazing stadiums have been built for the soccer matches. South Africa’s infrastructure has benefited from this event. Jobs were created. Tourism will bloom. And that, folks, is how a soccer tournament becomes a public diplomacy mission.
• Although the World Cup is a competition, if everyone has fun it doesn’t matter who wins in the end. Ok… I’m not even buying that one. Still, it’s interesting to see how FIFA and the fans deal with rivalries while still promoting togetherness.
• Coke and Hyundai, two major sponsors, have already launched worldwide initiatives with crowdsourcing and digital/social media components. The values of cultural diversity and togetherness are both present in these campaigns. Global public relations FTW.

I leave you with the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Now, if this doesn’t inspire you to take your public relations practices to the next level and think outside of your own culture’s box, I don’t know what will.

PS: The guy singing in Spanish is David Bisbal, a winner of Spain’s “Operación Triunfo” (a.k.a. American Idol). Boom. Right when you thought I would end without a global pop culture lesson.

This week I’m teaching my COMM 107 students all about social media . Well, as much as I can teach them in such limited time. Check out the presentation I built using Prezi (posted below).

Just as I was racking my brain for a social media-related homework assignment that would help my students see the same light I saw about two years ago thanks to my teacher, Vidya Ananthanarayanan (@mapetite) … I get a DM from @MikeSchafer

I’m having my students (who are GREAT writers) write short case studies to illustrate how social media humanizes brands and makes them part of the same communication process and the conversations that everyday individuals, like you and I, engage in. They will write these posts in groups (I’m trying to get them to use Google Docs or some other site to collaborate on papers in real time )

Each group will pick a brand, company, music artist/band, television show, service, organization, etc. and find:

• The brand’s social media profiles
• Mobile applications associated with the brand
• Three blog posts that mention the brand
• Three tweets that mention the brand
• Three examples of multimedia content (audio, video, or images) featuring or mentioning the brand

Finally, each group will write a short discussion based on this evidence.

Here is where YOU come in!

I’d like to offer my students the opportunity to publish their work as guest posts (idea, courtesy of @MikeSchaffer). If you have a blog where you write about social media, will you let me know?

On April 4th I will post abstracts of my students’ posts on my blog. I’ll share them with the hope that you’ll be interested in publishing any one of those on your blog. The authors of every case study that gets selected for online publication will earn 2 extra credit points on their FINAL course grade. My students fates are in your hands! (Like how I just passed that on to you? Haha!) Please share this with your fellow social media bloggers

Thank you! See you here on April 4th!

Whether launching right around Valentine’s Day was part of Google’s strategy for Google Buzz remains an unanswered question; however, after turning Google Buzz back on to see its progress, I caught two “buzzes” (is that what we’re calling them?) that made me post an update to my followers:

If there is something this whole Google Buzz episode has taught us, it is that the community of early adapters that is connected by social media REALLY wants to see things improve and move forward for everyone . Whether or not they will use this product themselves is irrelevant… someone else might find that it’s the perfect fit and that is reason enough.

Lots of respect.

Check out the Google Buzz update by Steve Rubel ( @steverubel ) and the extensive thread of comments  and this collection of the best suggestions for Google Buzz from Doriano Carta ( @paisano ). Please consider leaving comments on both of these posts so that their authors can relay your suggestions for how to improve Google Buzz over to Google.

Social media skeptics, this is what it’s is all about.

Google, you guys are lucky social media folks have a lot of love to give. Though you tend to be consistently top notch and you have the resources and the talent to create products to help advance communications and society, you must not take our love for granted… or it will be off with your heads (shameless plug, I really want to see that movie when it comes out March 5th).

Image source: CodePolice.net

This weekend, I read a few articles on public relations research that got me thinking (I think that’s what my professors were going for ) The general consensus is that public relations research is often limited to the evaluation of the products of short-term communication programs when what it should be doing is evaluating the products, processes, and the outcomes of both short- and long-term programs (Grunig & Grunig, 2001; Michaelson & Macleod; 2007). Of course, this statement assumes that organizations are conducting research in the first place…

Social media ROI has been an ongoing debate ever since those who were dabbling in the space realized that they needed to come up with something measurable in order to convince reluctant executives that social media was a worthwhile investment of their organizations’ time and resources. Unfortunately, number of page views, clicks, conversions, tweets, mentions, fans, blog posts, etc. are all examples of products, not processes, not outcomes, and not necessarily long-term.

Processes refer to things like relationship-building and outcomes refers to the quality of those relationships (Grunig, & Grunig, 2001).

A few days ago, my friend @AlanWeinkrantz tweeted:

The types of data we are used to capturing are numbers; we need to capture conversations and more importantly, streams.

I couldn’t agree more. I also think that words like “measurement” and “metrics” are stifling. I agree with scholars and think “research” and “evaluation” are a better fit. The idea is that organizations are conducting investigation that is purposeful, systematic and rigorous in nature and that they will use the results of said investigation to evaluate strategies and tactics.

So I’m sorry for using “measurement” to title this post. Dang SEO keywords, rankings, and the very vicious circle I’m trying to argue against.

To clarify, I don’t think measuring products is a waste of time. I think we need to pay more attention to the processes and outcomes dimensions of social media research and evaluation. If we conceptualize social media as what lies at the heart of the Web 2.0 phenomenon – user collaboration, networking, sharing, and interaction; then it makes sense that in addition to counting the number of “X”, we research the quality of what is being said about our organizations’ efforts, programs and campaigns. Because quality is in the eye of the beholder, interpretative, and subjective in nature; the key is to know who you are, what you’re looking for and what you will do when you find it.

Super Bowl XLIV is in just a couple of hours… I’m SO VERY MUCH looking forward to Brand Bowl. The companies that spent gazillions of dollars on those commercials are going to get all sorts of ratings charts, bar graphs, and spreadsheets with numbers on them in the morning. The numbers will be huge and the companies may decide to buy ads in next year’s Super Bowl… But the kind of qualitative feedback they will get from listening to viewer’s *actual* conversations might make them reevaluate their approach (think Pepsi).

REFERENCES

Grunig, J. E., & Grunig, L. A. (2001). Guidelinesfor Formative and Evaluative Research in Public Affairs: A Report for the Department of Energy Office of Science. Department of Communication University of Maryland.

Michaelson, D., & Macleod, S. (2007). The Application of “Best Practices” in Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation Systems. Public Relations Journal. 1 (1).

Image credit: http://futureperfectpublishing.com/2009/02/

This semester I’m taking “Public Relations Publics” at university of Maryland, which focuses on what matters (or should) the most to public relations practitioners — the people.

We discussed the difference between the terms “stakeholders” and “publics” and agreed that stakeholders are those who are affected by what the organization does and have stakes in the results of those actions. Publics are not only affected by organizations’ actions, they also have the potential to become involved in those actions and to influence organizations that way. This concept of publics comes from the Situational Theory of Publics, developed by University of Maryland Professor James E. Grunig (yay Maryland).

The idea behind this theory is that individual members of the public exercise problem recognition, constraint recognition and level of involvement with organizations to different degrees. The publics who exercise these three factors to the greatest extent are considered “active publics.” Active publics seek and process information to a greater extent and, should they ever decide to coalesce, these publics have the potential to affect an organization. According to the theory, it would be wise for organizations to dedicate their resources to those who will affect them the most.

That makes sense.

Then, Obama came up. He has been criticized for campaigning for the Democratic Senate candidate in Massachusetts, where a republican was about to (and did) take Kennedy’s senate seat, and not being in Haiti, where an earthquake had just shattered the nation and where help was still taking time to get on its way. My professor spoke about public opinion — a prime example of what happens when publics coalesce. She said the Obama administration was catching so much flack from its publics because it failed to recognize that they were very much active and — here is where I had to chime in — active publics can create problems for organizations, which is why organizations have to keep a close eye on them and make sure their needs are met.

Enter social media. I see publics as SOLUTIONS, instead.

When news about Haiti broke on Twitter I witnessed IMMEDIATE response. People like Danny Brown started to raise funds through 12for12k, people like Ed Shahzade were making sure that everyone trying to help and donate had their facts right. On Monday, I also found out all about CrisisCamp, which extended to 12 cities in only two weeks.

Publics can be a problem if they allow themselves to be that way. Regardless of what was happening in American politics and what Obama should or shouldn’t have been doing… what I saw coming from social media were SOLUTIONS.

If publics are the solution and organizations empower them to be so… more people win.

Flickr user Just Sarah

It is true what they say. The good ones are worth the wait.

Christmas came early for those of us — in fact, most of us, according to a November 16, 2009 article on Read Write Web — who use TweetDeck as oru third-party Twitter client of choice. This week, TweetDeck released a series of several updates including Twitter lists, geolocation, more Facebook support, and brand new LinkedIn support. A great article on Read Write Web covers the most significant changes in the new version of Tweetdeck. Here, I will discuss some implications and considerations for those of us who plan on continuing to use TweetDeck now that it has been cranked up to 11.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace integration

Because Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are now integrated, those who know that most of their friends and followers are shared across networks should consider NOT updating Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with the same thing. TweetDeck is now TRULY a deck, so use it as such. Instead of finding thinking of using the new TweetDeck as a shortcut to cross-posting the same thing all over the place, think of how to tailor your message accordingly to where people are going to care to read about it. If it’s work-related, Link it in, and so on and so forth.

Now that you can easily access your Twitter lists AND your TweetDeck groups, be smart about how you build them. TweetDeck groups aren’t public, so save your “cool people I tweet with all the time” list for a TweetDeck group and use Twitter lists, which are public, with a little more purpose in mind. Use them to add value and become a point of reference.

The new TweetDeck lets you write on the wall of the Facebook Pages with the same ease with which you tweet. This means that you can be more proactive and engaging with your fans on Facebook. Time to be more consistent about showing fans some love, as opposed to only updating the page every time you need something from them.

Should you choose to activate the Facebook news updates column on the new TweetDeck, be strategic about it. I don’t check Facebook as often as I do Twitter and when I do, I tend to see what a few number of my friends are up to  — I write a few witty wall posts, comment on pictures and then I’m off. Now, I’m using TweetDeck to try to catch what some of my new friends or old friends whom I have lost a bit of touch with are up to. In other words, I’m using it to maintain relationships that I may be giving less attention to simply because I’m not on Facebook as much and when I am, I default to commenting on the walls of friends with who I interact more often.

LinkedIn updates come in with less frequency than everything else, so why not activate that on the new TweetDeck? It’s information that I rarely, if ever, was paying attention to. Now, I can tell who is on the move and maybe some opportunities to connect people or connect with people will arise. I haven’t gotten there by using LinkedIn yet but maybe the new TweetDeck will make all the difference in that world.

More updates

TweetDeck’s new profile view includes geolocation; your bio; your link; and followers, following, tweets, and lists information. Don’t set your geolocation as “global” or “wherever the wind blows,” because that tells me nothing and it won’t help you make local connections — and the potential to scaling things back to local is where social media eventually wins and rules above everything else. Also, make sure your link actually goes somewhere, because it is now featured more prominently on your profile view and I might just click on it.

The infamous retweet function is opt-in on the new TweetDeck. All I have to say about that it… you guys are smarter and now your users better than Twitter. And, thank you.

Final Thoughts

TweetDeck, if you’re reading this, Flickr integration would be the cherry on top

February 8, 2010 Update: TweetDeck is now allows you to view Flickr, YouTube and Posterous media within the client.

Watch a video of the features in TweetDeck’s latest version below.

Your turn. How is the new TweetDeck fulfilling your every need? Or is it still coming up short?

More screen shots of the new TweetDeck here.

I spent a few days of my COM 107 class talking to my students about social media. My point was to help them see the light and encourage them to get involved in the social media space because, let’s face it, we’re not ahead of the curve anymore. To illustrate, Mashable and TechCrunch are mashing and crunching up dozens of new blog posts on a daily basis, which — correct me if I’m wrong — means we are all technically dropping the ball and having to pick it back up constantly.

I was very concerned to learn about the social media usage habits of my classes of 48 (total) 18 – 20 year olds. Their use of social media is limited to sites like Facebook where they post on friends’ walls, update their status and, most recently, become virtual farmers of pink cows that I believe, when processed and canned, make spam. They have heard about Twitter but have no clue or interest in “knowing what people have for breakfast” (sigh). Of course, they know all about YouTube and how hilarious it is. A few of them have heard of Flickr. None of them had heard about LinkedIn… Honestly, none of this should have come as a surprise after I asked who had an email account outside of their university account and only 7 out of 48 students raised their hands.

Needless to say, all of them were simply AMAZED when I showed them the Conversation Prism.

My concern is that my students are caught in a sort of social media limbo. While they are worried about turning in papers, attendance policies, homework and exams the world outside of the university microcosm is rapidly changing. The problem is that those of us “out there” are also learning. This is where initiatives like the Social Media Club‘s “ad-hoc” Education committee (#SMCEDU) are very commendable. They are getting educators together to talk about introducing social media curricula at higher education institutions so that students — not all necessarily majoring in communication, public relations, journalisms, etc. — can catch up. However, while we might be able to institutionalize and pass on our knowledge about social media to future students (those who are currently in their teenage years or just about to start college) … what happens to those in school now?

In his post, “Revealing the people defining social networks” Brian Solis indicated that the 18 – 24 year old demographic comprises the smallest percentage pretty much all across the board. Not good.

Firs-years, sophomores, juniors and seniors of the world. I urge you to get a clue. It doesn’t matter what your major is, social media WILL affect your life WAY beyond Facebook. Don’t be surprised that your parents are on Facebook either, be surprised (and very concerned) with the fact that they might be BETTER at Facebook than you. A few more suggestions:

• Get a Gmail account and start using Google. You can forward your university email there so that you can check everything from one place. Once you are on there learn to love: Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Reader and make sure you fill out your Google Profile
• Get smart about your Facebook privacy settings. You don’t want to be the kid who doesn’t get hired for an internship because your Facebook pictures gave a bad impression of who you really are
• Get an internship, or several! (I know, not social media-related but important nevertheless)
• Hop on Twitter and realize that it is not all babble
• Figure out what RSS means and use Google Reader to subscribe to blogs that interest you for fun, subscribe to at least a couple of others that post useful news information on a regular basis, and get comfortable with the idea that you will be a student for the rest of your life — the learning process never stops
• Create a profile on LinkedIn and start building your resume there. You may not use it as often as other networks but it will come in handy at some point
• After the “magic three” – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – you should take some time to see what else is out there and then make the most of all of this by synchronizing your life. For example, if you like photography, upload your pictures to Flickr and synchronize your account so that it will publish on your Facebook wall and send a tweet with a link to your Twitter account. Who doesn’t love more exposure?

I’m sorry if this sounds like homework and I’m sorry if it was an overwhelming post that I had to get off my chest. I promise that once you get to know the social media space for all the great things that it is you will actually think it’s fun.

Teachers, parents… encourage your students and kids to get our there. Heck, teach us the way… you are the fastest-growing demographic here after all.

Everyone else, sorry if I just beat a dead horse to the ground, however, it might help you to know that this is still a pervasive issue among the group of people you will very soon be hiring from.

Flickr user shutupyourface