I recently wrote over at the new FMJ blog about finding balance between your personal and professional lives in the social media sphere.

Enjoy!

- L

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The Balancing Act.
Laurie Steiner

We recently posted a link on our FMJ Twitter account to this CNN story which created some interesting discussion. Titled “What Your Post Could Cost You,” this particular news segment focused on the Internet screening of current and potential employees–a topic you may be familiar with.

Social media has become a key component of the business agenda. So to me, it makes sense that it would be integrated into the screening process.

What does this mean for employees?

Similar to most of you out there, I have Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc., for both personal and professional use. I don’t have separate accounts for different purposes; I have intertwined the personal and professional to showcase both sides of who I am. If you aren’t showing the face behind the name, brand, company or business, then what have you got to offer? These days, it’s all about establishing a relationship and maintaining a connection on a more personal level, even if you are a professional in your field.

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Read more of this post over at the FMJ blog.

I’m a HUGE fan of Twitter. Not only do I tweet regularly, but I am constantly praising Twitter to my friends and colleagues, pushing them to join if they haven’t already. I’ve made some great contacts through the site. It’s truly a tremendous resource.

But last Friday, I made the biggest mistake ever.

I tried to change my Twitter avatar.

Little did I know at the time that this would be a never-ending, ongoing, frustrating task to achieve. Deleting my avatar was the easy part. But uploading a new one? Yeah, forget it. I’ve tried uploading a new one through a PC, a Mac and through three different browsers. I’ve checked, double checked and triple checked the image size, resolution, format, etc. to make sure it complies with Twitter’s settings. And I e-mailed Twitter support.

They e-mailed me back last night with a link to a page I’d already checked out about 100 times over the weekend, looking for updates or comments on the issue. They say I’m not the only one having this problem. Unfortunately, that just doesn’t make me feel better, Twitter. Thanks though.

I’ve been attempting to upload a new one going on four days now. Honestly at this point, I would be fine with this or this or even this as my avatar. I just want SOMETHING.

The fact of the matter is, if more than 100 million users participate in the Twitter discussion, one would think uploading a picture would be the smallest of Twitter’s issues. Clearly, it’s one that has yet to be tackled. For now, I’ll anxiously, impatiently sit here trying to upload my picture 137 times a day (no exaggeration), until it works.

And this got the juices flowing…

Does this mean I’m too dependent on social media? Do I put too much emphasis on my online profile?

Okay, yes. I’m completely dependent on social media. I place a pretty big emphasis on my online profile because it’s one of the first ways I get in front of my readers, contacts, colleagues, followers and friends. But is it the end of the world when I’m faceless?

For example, when you have a new coworker join your office, what’s one of the very first things you do? Chances are, you Google her. In today’s online world, if we aren’t transparent and there for everyone to access, we are missing out on a huge piece of the puzzle. Right?

So, is it okay to place so much importance on your online profile? Are we too dependent on social media? I’d love to hear your thoughts. In the meantime, if you have any words of advice on uploading my Twitter avatar, let me know because I’m going crazy over here.

- L

I’m excited to announce that I will soon feature a guest post by lovely Texas editor Ashley Erickson. Not too long ago, Ashley and I discovered each other on 20 something bloggers and hit it off right away. She has recently taken on some new endeavors and I’m very much looking forward to hearing what she has to say. Please be sure to give her a warm welcome too.

In the meantime, follow what Ashley’s up to on Twitter.

Stay tuned!

- L

I’ve been doing a lot of browsing lately and have discovered some pretty incredible blogs. Some are hilarious, others are insightful and really make me think, many teach me knew things and a few (okay, a lot) are just random banter–all of which I LOVE.

And after giving it some more thought, I figured… why not write a short post asking YOU to pitch YOUR BLOG?

Here’s the deal: In the comments below, tell myself, followers, strangers, visitors, friends, family, colleagues and crazies a little bit about you and your blog.

Who are you? What do you write about? Why should we visit, follow, stalk or regularly read your blog?

Ready…     Set..     GO.

- L

Your company’s annual conference and expo is coming up and everyone’s looking to you to come up with some “social media strategy.” Social media strategy? What the heck is that? You don’t do the whole Facebook thing and tweeting is as foreign as the things Andrew Zimmern eats on Bizarre Foods.

So where do you start?

While some companies and organizations may have it all figured out, many are just delving into this whole new concept. Who would’ve thought that in addition to making sure you have all the educational sessions, networking events, sponsored parties, book signings, press conferences, exhibition halls and keynote speakers in line, you also have to incorporate a whole new (and necessary) digital expectation into the trade show? Whether your event attracts young professionals or experienced ready-to-retire folks, social media plays an integral part in the success of your show.

Here are 10 DOS and DON’TS for integrating social media into conferences and trade shows.

10. DO create a Facebook event within your company’s Facebook group. Invite group members to attend and keep the group open for those who are invited to invite others. Keep track of those who RSVP “yes” and cross reference the “yes” list with those who have actually registered to attend. If you find that someone hasn’t registered yet, follow up with a personal e-mail or message reminder.

9. DO create a Twitter hashtag for the event. Make sure the hashtag is short and easy to remember. This will help keep track of who’s mentioning your event and will help to build hype before, during and after the event takes place. Of course, use the hashtag each time you tweet anything referencing the conference.

8. DO host a tweet up. If you have the means and there is an interest, consider hosting a tweet up at the show. This will allow those who meet on Twitter to meet face-to-face and match Twitter handles with names and faces. This is also an opportunity for those who are interested in Twitter but don’t know much about it to become more familiar and learn more.

7. DO develop on-site collateral (signage, fliers, etc.) mentioning the various social media outlets your business participates in. This will help to raise awareness and will act as a reminder for your audience to tune in and communicate with each other and your company through these online networks.

6. DO upload photos and videos in real time. Taking photos and shooting video at a conference are key. While there may be professional photographers or videographers shooting the show, having candid camera footage is great too. Posting photos to Flickr and videos to YouTube in real time allows everyone to see the action as it’s taking place.

5. DO create a landing page on your event Web site. By creating a landing page dedicated to social media on your Web site, you can post Twitter, YouTube and Flickr widgets which house everything together on one page. This way people don’t have to find your company on each social media outlet individually but instead can go to one place to see everything at once.

4. DON’T get upset when people RSVP “no” to your Facebook event. Clearly not everyone can come to every single conference and event that your company hosts. Don’t be discouraged by these “no” responses. People are being honest–and that’s what social media is all about.

3. DON’T create a Twitter hashtag and not use it. If you aren’t using your Twitter hashtag promoting your event, don’t be surprised if others aren’t either. The more you use it and spread the word, the more others will consider including it in their tweets as well.

2. DON’T host a tweet up with no plan in place. If you host a tweet up, be sure to have a plan or agenda in place beforehand. Have name tags and markers for people to write down their Twitter handles. It’s also important to remember that the environment in which you host the tweet up must be conducive to generating a successful tweet up in the first place. If you host a tweet up in a library, chances will probably be high that very few (if any) people will show up. If you host it at a bar or lounge, bowling alley, concert venue or art gallery, this creates a more exciting and inviting atmosphere. (You want people to show up, right?)

1. DO remember to have fun and be creative! Social media is a combination of professional, personal, creative, interesting, interactive and intuitive tools used to engage your audience in a variety of effective ways. Exploring these online resources and incorporating them in to your next event or conference will be a fun, new and exciting addition that your attendees, exhibitors, followers, friends and colleagues will surely enjoy.

Have you ever managed social media for an event, conference or trade show? I welcome your experiences, thoughts and pointers in the comments below.

- L

Hello everybody. My name is Cameron Smith and Laurie, bless her heart, has invited me to swap blogs with her for the day. It was originally for the 20 Something Bloggers Blog Swap, but we both decided we were too cool to meet any imposing “deadlines” that they tried to put on us. So we are blazing our own blog-swapping trail, which sounds like an awful-lot more work than I had originally anticipated.

I write for this little blog called Bag Stranded. I created the blog about a year-and-a-half ago after losing a bet and I have since written about 70 articles. The articles are arguably humorous accounts of my past and my current misadventures. Think David Sedaris with less lisping and less talent. These articles range from the extreme sport of workplace soccer (Way Beyond Thunderdome) to my dreaded fear of public restrooms (Lutropublicaphobia); from the damper that my chronic snoring puts on my marriage (Love Snorey), to the constant and humorous epic heartbreaks endured on my way to marriage (Breaking Up with Me is Not Hard to Do, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4).

If you enjoy laughing at someone else’s expense, and who amongst us does not, you might enjoy Bag Stranded. You could even become a follower, which would just make my day. And you don’t just have to read the aforementioned articles. Read any of the stories that you like, linked on the left side of the blog. Just don’t read this one.

So thanks to Laurie and thank you, her devoted followers, for letting me hijack this cyberspace for the day. While you are here, you should really check out her website too. It is so clean and official looking. And scroll down just a little bit… there is that adorable puppy dog. Screw Bag Stranded, I’m sticking around here.