What's in a word? A lot, more often than not! Language is a powerful reflection of the world in which we live and the realities we must embrace, a fluid and ever-changing reminder that neither time nor progress stands still. This post shares some of my favorite Digital Era terms and expressions and invites others to participate in a crowdsourcing exercise to expand the…

Like many professionals - especially those who have attained "senior" status - you are probably unsure of the steps you need to take to enhance your skillset to include digital competencies. If that's the case, you may benefit from participating in a discussion group focused on Digital Era opportunities and challenges. This post provides details and an…

At the risk of inspiring unresolvable semantic discussions, this post addresses seven Digital Era terms that should probably be replaced and/or removed from the lexicon and suggests both existing and new alternative terminology to use in their place. What other proposed changes would you make?…

It’s probably no surprise that over 500 books have been written about social and digital technologies over the past 15+ years, and that many of these focus on social media marketing. What’s more intriguing are the topics that have not received much attention yet from thought leaders and authors. This post offers a brief introduction to a research project that explores…

Most people have heard of SlideShare, but they probably don't realize how powerful and diverse the platform is, or the important role it can play in their content marketing and digital engagement efforts. This post offers seven reasons for taking another look and considering an upgrade in 2013.…

For individuals and organizations using Pinterest for professional purposes, creating and managing a “pinventory” is a recommended best practice that enables you to reduce unnecessary duplication, improve board focus and content, and better manage new pins going forward. This post provides suggested steps

and related…

I feel as if we've spent the last few years slowly climbing up the first (very large!) incline of the social/digital technology adoption roller coaster. I think we're finally going to hit that first crest sometime in 2013 and things will really start to take off. I. can't. wait!!!

If you’re contemplating establishing a Pinterest presence for your organization, or are just getting started, the eight pointers in this post will help you develop a plan for managing your engagement both initially and over time. Individuals looking to use Pinterest for professional purposes can benefit from these tips as well. Additional suggestions are…

Using the “Senior Superlative” format from high school, this post shares some of the best social media and digital technology Pinterest boards for Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs). Categories include Most Original, Class Clown, and of course Most Popular. We also share related resources and invite everyone to “Come Pin with Us!”…

LinkedIn (LI) polls are an undervalued feature of the platform. My latest blog post highlights their power to reach and engage people, as well as some of the benefits they can generate. The heart of the post is a checklist of 21 tips for creating and promoting LI polls, as well as sharing the results. Related LI resources (addressing individual…

If you haven’t considered adding Tumblr to your social media portfolio yet, my latest blog post offers seven reasons why it hits a “sweet spot” for established individual and organizational users, complementing and augmenting engagement on other platforms in unique and effective ways. Additional reasons are welcome.…

The results of a recent LinkedIn (LI) poll (n=482) offer strong evidence of people’s preferences for quality over quantity when it comes to Twitter. For 58% of the respondents, the “sweet spot” is 0-5 tweets a day, and a cumulative 79% said that ten per day should be the max. The quantitative results are enriched by dozens of comments that offer best practice insights via…

Although Twitter continues to grow and mature, many users still engage in some questionable practices when leveraging it. Targeted primarily to Twitter novices, this guide helps people maximize their ability to maintain a high signal/noise ratio and avoid making mistakes that can hurt their individual professional and/or organizational brands.…

As part of SMinOrgs's ongoing effort to provide resources to folks regarding the organizational implications of social media and other digital technologies, we'd like to collect and share a list of books that people have found valuable. We appreciate your letting us know your favorite(s) and/or must-read recommendations, adding a few words about why you like…

On June 14, 2012 at 1:30 pm ET, I'll be leading a free webcast for HR.Com enttitled Recruiting in the Digital Era: Guidance for HR Professionals, Recruiters, and Hiring Managers.

I just uploaded the presentation deck to SlideShare and thought I'd…

Though the hashtag has been around almost as long as Twitter itself, many people still do not understand what it is – or more importantly, how to use it appropriately. This post offers six tips to enable Tweeters to not only avoid looking like a Twitter rube, but to maximize the value of hashtagging for both themselves…

Many people are critical of the notion of social media experts, falsely claiming they don’t exist – and by extension implying they aren’t necessary. These criticisms, combined with the pervasiveness, low cost, and relative ease of use of social technologies, lead many people to assume (also falsely) that DIY and “give it to the intern” approaches are…

Earlier this year I wrote a series of
SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog posts targeted to social media rookies and others who want to engage more efficiently and effectively. These posts capture many of the "Welcome to the Digital Era" themes I highlight in the presentations I give. Scroll down to read more about: