@Kathryn, the 80/20 rule is definitely awesome, and totally agree with it. I'm glad you like the charts, it's good to know that they help. @Joel, MSM (Mainstream Media) definitely picks up on buzz-worthy news. Getting on a newspaper or TV can really push your reach. Thanks for your comments!

I don’t usually blog about other blog posts, I tweet them but I found this blog post valuable to all of us – agencies and companies – planning and executing social media marketing that I thought, heck, its worth expanding my tweet and sharing the knowledge. So, Samir Balwani has a blog called Left The [...]

@Yasmin @CV - Thanks so much for your comments. Yasmin were you hinting to me to write a best practices blogger outreach post? Because if you were - I'll happily begin writing it. I don't want to take away anything you might have been writing. CV it is 100% true, connecting with actual people is the best part of marketing. I enjoy pitches, I don't follow through with most, only the best. It's simple to get my attention though, don't look like spam.

When so many of us talk about social media, we talk about “the conversation”, as if it’s some kind of holy grail. The problem I have with the term is that, not only is it short sighted, but also ties us to the idea of message control. So what’s wrong with “the conversation”? Well the simple [...]

A 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle is probably not your idea of a dream car. At 25 mpg, it's probably also not your idea of a green car. But a group of mechanical engineering students at the University of Kansas have completed a year-long project aimed at making a Bug much more eco-friendly... with an eventual goal of creating a 500 mpg vehicle. Other posts like this:

• Project P.U.M.A: a greener solution for urban mobility?

In a few minutes Facebook will become the biggest example of a social network that allows users to log-in with OpenID credentials granted to them by other companies' websites. Major networks have said for months that their ID could be used as OpenID, but becoming "relying parties" that accepted OpenID from elsewhere was the step everyone was waiting for. The dam has broken.

It's ironic that it's Facebook that did it. Facebook is probably the most closed of all the major social networks (other than LinkedIn) and Facebook is so far ahead of everyone else in market share ...

So many marketers talk about conversations, engagement, interaction, and relationships. They’re definitely, great buzz words, and a necessary part of social media; but I think many people forget the second part of, “guiding the conversation.” Because of social media, a brand does lose control of their message, but they can and should try to frame the [...]

If you’re a small business owner, brand marketer, or an Internet marketer that need a better understanding of social media - I’ve created a program for you. ‘Left the Box’s Membership Content’ is geared to help people learn exactly how to interact with their consumers using social media or how to build out a successful [...]

This morning I set Outspoken Media up with it’s own URL “shortening service” so to speak and Lisa thought you guys might want to know how I did it. With all the talk of Tweet-Jacking and concerns regarding the branding you’re doing for URL shortening services instead of yourself, it only makes sense to create [...]

People say there aren’t rules to social media, but I disagree. There are fundamentals to communicating and marketing on the web. The online consumer expects something different than the offline world. So I figured I’d put something interesting together, to help people understand and remember the fundamentals. A good way to help people understand something is [...]

When large companies talk about word of mouth marketing, they generally don’t care about simmering buzz - they get that naturally. Instead, they want something viral, something that spreads, something that sticks in a consumers mind. So how can you deliver that? By making sure you give people something they thing they have to share. The [...]

Samir Balwani is a social media marketer who helps businesses create effective web strategies. You can follow him on Twitter and get his newsletter.

For many companies a Facebook fan page is an integral part of their social media campaign. But, what elements help fan pages build up large followings and what can brands do to emulate the success of others? I’ve put together a list of specific elements that I believe have helped create fan pages with large, engaged, followings.

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A CEO blogger? Really? They’re the best, but how many can actually write? How many have the time to actually do it? So if they’re out, then who? I guess the CMO is next on the list, but why not just get a dedicated blogger? Corporate bloggers are blessed with a special skill set of engaging [...]