Anyone using Facebook knows the navigation is not very user-friendly, but newsome.org has some great tips on how to manage Filters and Lists to get the most out of your social networking on FB.

Learn How To:

Filter out unwanted content, like Farmville or other applications you don’t care about.

List your friends together under different groups, so you can customize posts and direct specific messages.

Protect your personal information so you only share what you want others to see.

Check out his post on cybercoded.net/

Google also has a Channel on YouTube so you can see the Buzz!

www.socialmediamentoring.com

On Twitter @colleenpence

He makes some good points about how to present yourself online and network toward your next job.  Also useful…how to save and downsize your home budget when unemployed.

I’ve got a few of those ideas from personal experience.

scobleizer.com/2009/01/12/if-you-are-laid-off-heres-how-to-socially-network/

I had the following reply on Twitter recently…@mikiesoft How did you double your followers in such a short time?  What’s your secret?

I recently started using Mr. Tweet, which has two advantages.  It suggests which followers YOU should be following in return, AND what influential people SHOULD I be following?

I also look for interesting names and browse through their followers list to see who THEY are following.  I’ve found some good people to follow that way, some I didn’t even know were ON Twitter.

And finally I use an old rule of the internet.  Link Love.  If someone links to your page, link back to them if at all possible.  Use your ethical guidelines and common sense, and avoid those you’re not sure of.

I had 73 followers on Twitter on New Year’s Eve.  I just broke the 200 mark today, using these simple guidelines.  Make it interesting, make it short, and help those you can by sharing your knowledge.

I love using social networking tools like Twitter because it gives me an audience with people I probably wouldn’t interact with otherwise.  I can reach across town or around the world in a single reply.  It can be time intensive, but it grows your personal network of friends.  Who knows?  It might even lead to your next job opportunity or freelance project.

Follow mikiesoft on Twitter!

The Social Media Club states the four areas of their core mission are:
Expand Media Literacy
Share Lessons Learned Among Practitioners
Encourage Adoption of Industry Standards
Promote Ethical Practices through Discussion and Actions

Check their About Page…I like the way the last paragraph reads:

Social Media Club will bring together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaboraters. Essentially the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit. We are more than just USERS, we are the reason the tools exist – we are the people who communicate our thoughts and ideas near and far.Join us and let’s shape the future together!

Their tag line is “if you get it, share it,”  (explained here.)   I’ve always subscribed to the mindset that it’s usually more beneficial to share information than to keep it all to yourself.  Help those around you, and you’re helping yourself as well.  I see examples in action almost daily, so I know it works.

The whole idea of social networking and the huge collective it’s bringing together is pretty exciting.  As a blogger and freelancer, it’s an important bridge toward my future.

Support the Social Media Club and become a member today.

www.socialmediaclub.org