Not Sure Yet if Social Networking is for You
Published August 14, 2009 | 
So you have been looking into LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Blogs to try and figure out what the importance of social networking is to economic development organizations, municipal organizations and businesses, and you are still trying to determine if you need to take that first step towards the development of social media technology for yourself and your organization.
Of course, there are many people that have embraced social media, find it a lot of fun, and have connected with hundreds of others that they would not have thought possible just a few months ago, and they represent the majority of users and members of all social media platforms, which leaves the remainder that are still trying to figure out if it will really help in growing their specific organization or business.
There are a few good reasons that indicate why all businesses and organizations should begin using social media platforms if they have not already:
- Social networking sites have become the easiest way that people can share information about your organization, as you can easily upload any of your presentations, pictures, documents, and videos that people will be more than willing to share with their friends and associates.
- A critically important reason is that social networking sites is a great way to increase your search engine optimization (SEO) and rankings of your organization’s website, since every link that points back to the organization’s website adds to the improvement
of the websites page rankings, and organizations should most definitely take advantage by including links to their website in other posts and any of their social networking pages. - As a source of gathering information, social networking can be used to both gather and share customer feedback, and in the future, links to social networking sites will become a standard piece of information along with phone and fax numbers as ways to communicate with any company or organization, and in addition to gathering customer feedback, social networking platforms can be used to share this information, because customers can quickly find and read recommendations from their friends, associates and peers.
Finally, one of the questions that most comes up, is how much time is required for social networking? It really all depends upon what you define as your social networking goals, at a minimum, you only need to check in a few times a week to add comments, pictures, 
videos or other documents and information, and to quantify the time it takes on a daily basis, for those who want to find new friends or generate leads, one or more hours per day will typically be they average time spent, and people that are most involved with social networking and add least 10 comments per day, will of course spend more time.
Now that you realize social networking is for your organization or business, rest assured that it is not too late to start taking advantage of the benefits social media technology offers and can bring to you in greater awareness and connectivity with your market, the first step to starting the social networking process is developing a well thought-out and focused strategic plan of the results you want and expect, and how you are going to accomplish them, so what are you waiting for, get started planning.
Facebook: Closing in on Largest Site on the Internet
Published August 6, 2009 | 
The march of Facebook towards becoming the most visited global Internet website rivaling Google, Microsoft and Yahoo sites for Wide World Web domination, with 250 million officially active registered users (remember that some Facebook pages are open for visits from unregistered Internet users), with over 50 Million registered users added in the past three months alone.
Facebook mirrors the phenomenal growth of global social networking, with over 55 Million Adults in the U.S. alone that now visit social networking websites including Facebook, which as reported, has become the Internet’s “ultimate time waster” with Internet users average spending more time on Facebook then any other website.
To Read more About Facebook’s Phenomenal Growth: 4th Largest Site in World
More Global Entrepreneurs Use Twitter to Connect
Published August 5, 2009 | 
Twitter is no longer the latest social networking fad that skeptics snickered at, while at the same time trying to figure out how to use it, and as it continues to evolve, Twitter is also continuing its phenomenal growth trends, by from the beginning letting its users determine the many different ways Twitter can be used to meet global social network and market connectivity needs.
The value of Twitter is measured differently from user to user, but recent numbers that put the total number using the platform on a regular basis approaching 50 million, and recently the advertising value of market exposure for businesses to users approached approximately $50 million.
Recent statistics that indicate approximately 55% of current Twitter users are located outside the U.S. market show the truly global nature of the micro-blogging platform, and the extent of the exposure and reach that is so important to global Entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes. 
Twitter along with Facebook, represent the tremendous growth in social media technology, and the acceptance and active participation in social networking by millions globally, has quickly become the focus of attention for Entrepreneurs, businesses, and communities throughout the U.S. and across the globe.
People are coming up with new uses for Twitter almost every hour of every day, from reporting and taking part in events, to business, to plants letting owners know when they are thirsty, expectant mothers knowing when their babies kick, and many other uses that is limited only by the creativity of the users in the market.
Read more About Twitter’s Growth: Why Twitter Continues to Grow