Effective Web Presence

Facebook + Twitter = Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is one of the most popular applications for managing all of the chatter on Twitter and now you can also use this excellent program track status updates from your Facebook friends.

Just when you thought you might have your Twitter and Facebook addictions under control, the social networking powers that be have given us another powerful way to cause self-inflicted informational overload. Have fun.

Are Blogs Still Useful in Building Your Personal Brand?

With all the fuss about Twitter and Facebook, you might wonder if anyone is still using a weblog or blog to further establish and build personal brand and effective web presence. The answer is a resounding yes and here are a few facts to back it up:

• Facebook and MySpace average 41.0 million and 75.1 million unique visitors respectively within a month; Blogs average 77.7 million unique visitors
• Fifty percent of internet users in the US are blog readers and 77% of globally active internet users read blogs
• There are over 133 million blogs in existence with 900,000 posts created every 24 hours
• Blogs have representation in Top 10 website lists across all key categories and are referenced by the traditional media as key sources of information
• Blogs can be profitable with mean annual revenue at $6,000 and popular blogs (100,000+ unique visitors) netting over $75,000 per year

Source: Technorati State of the Blogosphere 2008

The bottom line is that good blogs get attention and have the potential to make money. Blogs are getting even better as microblogging services (Twitter, etc) are used to direct even more attention to blogs that further distinguish themselves with internet video. Blogs are as much a part of our media and news sources as mainstream media websites. In most cases, blogs are even better at providing specific expertise and reference material that helps to address our individual needs. The interactive nature of blogs allows us to converse and connect with content creators in ways that traditional media just can't compare. Blogs build expertise through relationships between the blog owner/writer and the readers who visit the blog. If you want to benefit from the attention that blogs are receiving and will continue to receive, you need to claim your own space in the blogosphere and start making a contribution. Take advantage of other social media tools to enhance and promote your blog and you can be on your way toward greater presence (and potentially profit) as you build your brand.