Returning home after a “mostly unplugged” vacation. Being away and unplugged means being out of touch and that’s a little uncomfortable. What new social media tools will have launched in my absence? Will my clients have forgotten me or found they can do without me?

For the past 25 years, my husband, Jesse Mireles, has served as art director and graphic designer for Metroparks of the Toledo Area. His creative genius has produced the visual images we have come to associate with our Metroparks system; the posters, flyers, signs, magazines, maps advertisements, web site, logos, television commercials, videos, t-shirts and related graphics.

Survey: Does Twitter have a personality? If it does, could you describe it? I am working with Assistant Professor, Iryna Pentina, Ph. D., of the Marketing and International Business department at The University of Toledo on a research project to determine exactly that. We want to understand if personalizing social networks, starting with Twitter, may lead to increased activity by those who think their personalities match their social network

As a social media consultant I have often cited Dell for its work in social media. This week, in the same week that Dell earned the prestigious “Voice of the Customer” award from Forrester Research, its social media team released “CAPtivating Conversation: Dell CAP Days Participants Speak Their Mind”; video of the participants in its inaugural Customer Advisory Panel.

Every really good conference or meeting offers up a new phrase, a moment of amusement, and a reason to ponder. Our session with Dell earlier this week was no exception. New phrase: “digital hoarder”. Moment of amusement: Darth Vader using his social media lightsaber to take Dell down. Reasons to ponder: too many to list here.

Dell’s first Customer Advisory Panel (CAP) was a day filled with discussion, brainstorming and idea sharing on topics including purchase process, product use, Dell.com, customer support and even recycling. Dell has stated that it is committed to delivering on their promise to execute ideas and key changes where possible and to stay accountable for customer feedback.

The other night I was immersed in my work when my 17 year old came into the office. One look at his face told me it was an emergency. And it was. He had just learned of the murder of one of his friends. He was devastated. What I find disturbing is that he found [...]

Social media is all about building relationships. Reaching out and connecting over the phone, or over coffee or a meal, is a valuable step in getting to know someone better. How often do you reach out to social media friends and followers? Have you had success in building stronger business relationships in this manner?

As a social media consultant, I have used my name as a search term to demonstrate that social networking sites come up early as search results.Until recently a search on my name in either Google or Yahoo produced the same results: my website and blog, my profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and my fledgling Facebook fan page for my social media consulting business. Earlier this week, while searching on my name in Google and Yahoo!, I realized my Facebook fan page did not come up in search results. What has changed?

Last week the popular social networking site, Facebook, revised its promotions guidelines. The new terms of services restrict your ability to use your personal profile or page to conduct contests, giveaways or other promotions. How will the changes affect your company’s planned Facebook promotions?