Calling All Social Media Phobics!

My growing online presence

It started with an old-fashioned email from a friend...

"The Blogger user stevensonberg has invited you to contribute to the blog: bigups/smalldowns."

Blogger? No way, I'm not a blogger, never have been, never will be. I always viewed blogging as narcissistic and unimportant. A way for people to promote their ideas in an innane and irrelevant manner.

I was so, so wrong... and so began my immersion in social media. My basic unit of currency, "my story", needed some work. I needed to get more connected.

I was already on Facebook (like the rest of the world).  I agreed to collaborate on bigups/smalldowns, but didn't post anything for months. I felt I didn't have the courage to take the next step. 

Then came Michael Cayley's class on Social Digital Media. It was time to get serious.

Being a beginner , I started with a blogger account. Though SMOJOE calls blogger "the Fisher Price blog platform", I found it a less daunting place to start - and the centre of my story funnel. I decided to call it "Rachael May Blog", a play on my first and middle name while also awknowledging my apprehension to blogging.It's been mostly school-related posts so far, but as I get more ideas I hope to build on this. My review of Alice in Wonderland was a more personal project (and for those of you who haven't seen it, check out my post here). 

At this point, I've got the basics down. I can tag, embed:

    

and can add photos.

So now I can create a blog - but I needed to get connected through a more professional network. It was time to get...

LinkedIn is a social networking site aimed the business professional.  I've connected with former employers, collegues, and classmates through this website. So now that I'm LinkedIn... 

I'm tweeting as well. Trying to network and make connections is an essential part of P.R. 2.0., and social media is essential. Feeling like my online presence was scattered, a friend (the lovely Laura Teed) sent me an invitation to Flavors me, which:

"allows anyone
to create an elegant website using personal content from around the internet

Ideal for personal homepages, lifestreaming, splash and microsites, celebrity fan pages, commercial promotion, brand marketing – and everything in between."

Here's how it works:

Flavors.me from Jack Zerby on Vimeo.
  
Phew! Now you can find me all in one place at http://flavors.me/rachaelcollier

Now that my story has a more cohesive narrative on Flavors me, I am working on developing my brand. Personal Brand Camp 2 - hosted by Michael Cayley and featuring guest speaker Joseph Thornley, was a fun, informative, and interactive experience that helped to clarify the idea of personal brand. This brief video really conveys the energy of the event:

Find more videos like this on HumberPR

I have learned that my story is evolving - just like people, it will grow and change, but the core of who I am will remain. I refuse to pigeon hole myself into saying I am one thing - because no one is one idea. I will focus on being who I am, and my brand is emerging from this. I am a student. I am a music lover. I'm a foodie, an enthusiastic social media newbie, and I'm ready to work hard for positive change in this world. Please follow my emerging story through any of my social media platforms, and feel free to make comments and suggestions - feedback can only help me further analyse myself and grow. Till next time...

Get LinkedIn or Get Left Out

It’s the social networking site that everyone is talking about...

It can be found in over 200 countries and territories worldwide...

You can use it to connect with friends, fellow students, and colleagues...

Anyone can join...

It’s Facebook... in a suit.

It’s Linkedin!

With over 55 million users as of December 17, 2009, LinkedIn is THE social networking site for the business professional, and those who aspire to be. While it is possible to use social apps such as Facebook for business networking, LinkedIn is primarily used for this purpose . Membership is growing quickly and it can now be found in English, French, German, and Spanish. Basic membership is free, so there's no reason all of us student's can get involved and start networking! But what exactly IS LinkedIn? This short video explains it clearly...

But how is it different from other social apps?

The thing that really made this social app stand out is that executives from all Fortune 500 companies are members. Ignorance of LinkedIn is not only a detrement because of the missed networking opportunity but it will make you look unsavvy to anyone who asks. In a business like public relations, it would be especially foolish to miss out. Public relations is all about connections and relationship management, and LinkedIn is an effective, timely, and essential tool for the new business climate that PR is facing. As students we need to use this tool as part of our currency in the workplace is our technology and social media savvy. It is a gamechanger, and we need to be a part of it.

A quick example: within minutes of creating an account, I had connected with classmates and my former manager at the not for profit organization I worked for several years ago. She messaged me and said she will keep an eye open for internship opportunities as she is very connected within that sector. It took little effort on my part to bring potential significant results.

Aside from connecting with others, you can also join groups. There is an astounding variety, from your university alumni grop to an official white house group for people who work within the white house.

The other major feature of Linkedin is the job search engine. It is has a clear, attractive lay out and is user friendly. Take a look at the LinkedIn job network for more information.

And onto the big players...

The company’s business profile packs some serious might. Unlike some social apps, it is not run out of some wunderkind’s basement. Linkedin was founded and launched in 2003 by Reid Hoffman, who is now vice-president of PayPal but still overseas operations and is the currently chairman of the board. He handed the CEO position over to previous Yahoo! executive Jeff Weiner in 2008. Linked in has 480 employees total. Since the company turned a profit in 2006, revenue has skyrocketed. With the help of such high profile investors such as Greylock Partners and Goldman Sachs, the company is now valued at about 1 billion.

There are two main ways that this revenue is generated. One is through advertising, offering smaller companies the opportunity for direct advertising and advertising solutions for those with a bigger ($25,000+) budgets. They do well in this because they have access to a very desirable market - the business professional. Most of their users are relatively young and internet savvy with disposable income to spare.

They also have different account types. The basic personal account is free, but business accounts range from $250- $5000 per year. You can learn more about the different levels of membership and costs here.

Now To Connect The Dots...

LinkedIn also integrates neatly into many other apps that we are familiar with. You can follow LinkedIn on on twitter at http://twitter.com/linkedin. Don't forget to also link your own LinkedIn profile to your twitter account. They also have a free iPhone application. It offers a new search interface and an attractive layout. You could use this app before a meeting to find a summary of the person or company you are about to meet within minutes. You can find out more about the app here. It's also worth looking at the LinkedIn Blog as it contains many useful PR-related articles, such as Tips on Personal Branding.

And of course, they have a facebook page. So let's get connected! You should also check out my 1C partner Maram's blog for her insights into the usefulness of LinkedIn.

So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself a LinkedIn profile - and don't forget to add me to your network!