Tal Ben-Shahar: Is Facebook Making Us Sad?

Tweet Your Way to a Writing Job! (Updated!)

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsinUSA
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs_in_media
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs4bloggers
Click here

http://twitter.com/newmedialinks
Click here

http://twitter.com/publishingjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/media_jobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/seojobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/journalism_jobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/themediaishuntn
Click here

http://twitter.com/themediaishirin
Click here

http://twitter.com/GetFreJournJob
Click here

http://twitter.com/wFreelanceJobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/newmediajob
Click here

http://twitter.com/JobsForWriters
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs_NY_writing
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsNYC
Click here

http://twitter.com/writingjobsNYC
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsinLA
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobSanFran
Click here

http://twitter.com/bloggingjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/mediabistrojobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/media_pros
Click here

http://twitter.com/journalismjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/GetTecWritiJobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/freelancewj
Click here

http://twitter.com/dnzWritingJobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/writersjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/writingjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/Writing_Jobs
Click here

Know any others? Please let me know!

Sandra Lee Schubert's One-Minute Interview with Gary Vaynerchuk

Sandra told me about this video:

"One of the new exciting things I get to do is interview wonderful people on my radio show. Some of my guests are million dollar authors. Since I co-facilitate a writers group I am always interested in hearing the stories of how people can take their book ideas and make them a reality. The other day I went to the book signing for Gary Vaynerchuk and the launch of his new book CRUSH IT! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion. He has a huge following of devoted fans and then turned out in force to hear him talk about just getting out there and doing it. It makes a difference to hear someone who walks the walk. After all if your publishers signs you to a ten book deal it must mean you are doing something right.

"Much later, at the after party, I was able to get a one minute video interview with Gary as he discussed not being different then you or I (except for the 10 book deal). In essence I may not have his huge personality but I still have passions, dreams and goals that can be achieved with hard work. At the end of the day it gives me hope to see someone make it. I’ve got passion. Don’t you?"

Build Platform and Find Opportunity by Listening to Your Network

Build Platform and Find Opportunity by Listening to Your Network
By Don Lafferty

Most writers I talk with are concerned about the time suck when it comes to the effective use of online tools. When you add up all the resources available to us online, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the constant deluge of updates piling in from email, Google, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other online community outposts.

Follow these step-by-step instructions to maximize the time you’ve budgeted for online business development. You’ll wind up with a professional-quality “listening post” that will filter out most of the noise, and provide you with an effective tool for building platform, deepening your key industry connections, and creating highly targeted business development tactics.

1. Build a list of Key Words

Do you write YA Vampire books, or health related magazine articles? Heart-stopping military thrillers or political satire?

It doesn’t matter who your target reader is, a growing number of them are out there “talking” in millions of Internet-based conversations every day.

What words are people using when they talk about your stuff? What other authors, titles, publishers and industry terms tip you off to conversations your readers are likely to be having?

Brainstorm that Key Word List and come up with your top ten. Tuck the list away in a folder with your other social media tools. You’ll revisit this important list from time to time to keep it relevant, so remember where you put it.

2. Set up a FREE Google Reader

Go to Google.com [http://bit.ly/82uRW] Click here and take the Google Reader tour. There are plenty of articles out there on the Net that can guide you through the simple process of setting it up. Once you have it set up, check out my instructions for the simple process of setting up RSS Feeds here: http://bit.ly/ZrN23 Click here

Then every time you find a blog or a website you want to monitor, you simply click the little orange RSS subscription button that you’ll find in the address bar of your browser, click through the simple subscription process, and place the feed in the appropriate folder in your Google Reader.

You can also create RSS Feeds for the various searches you do, but I’ll go into more detail on that later.

3. Install a Twitter management application.

I use TweetDeck and it’s awesome. Go to www.tweetdeck.com Click here where you’ll find instructions for downloading and installing the application. Connect all your Twitter accounts to TweetDeck and create groups to which you’ll add the people you follow on Twitter.

I create my groups starting with the people closest to me, and categorize from there: Family, Colleagues, Authors, Indie Booksellers, Publishers, Agents, Reviewers, etc…

TweetDeck arranges groups in columns, enabling you to log on and quickly determine who has tweeted what. So instead of signing on to Twitter via the web and hunting down each person of interest individually, everything you care about is delivered right to the TweetDeck dashboard. You can quickly assess which messages you want to re-tweet, respond to, or dig into a little further.

If managed with discipline, a Twitter application like this will eventually become your primary source of new business opportunities.

4. Set up Twitter Search Feeds.

Grab that list of key words and combinations you brainstormed in step 1, then go to www.search.twitter.com Click here and do a search for the first key word.

You can scan down through the search results as you find them, or you can create a feed to your Google Reader. In the upper right corner of the screen you’ll see an orange RSS button next to the words “Feed for this query.” Click on the link and it’ll step you through the process of feeding the Twitter search for this key word into your Google Reader, where the most recent search results will always be refreshed and waiting for you.

Do this for all the key words on your list, and then again every time you come up with a new key word or key word combination.

Be sure to direct the feeds to the correct folder in your Google Reader so you can easily access the search results during your regular business development session.

5. Set up Google Alerts

Browse your way over to Google Alerts. http://bit.ly/z66No. Click here Using the key words from your master list, create Google Alerts for each term. In the drop-down menu under “Type,” choose “Comprehensive,” and under the drop-down menu “Deliver to,” choose “Feed.” After you click “Save,” click on “View in Google Reader” and finalize the subscription, making sure to direct the feed to the appropriate folder.

LinkedIn provides options to subscribe to RSS Feeds for groups, answers and news. If you’ve done your homework on LinkedIn and participate in these places, subscribe to the feeds and direct them to the appropriate folders in your Google Reader.

Okay, your basic listening post is built. The following description of my work process will give you a feel for the way you can customize this tool to meet your specific objectives.

I open Google Reader. The first feeds I look at are the Twitter Search feeds I built with my key word list to see who is saying what about each key search term.

I scroll down through the Twitter search results, discovering people I should be following (listening to) which usually leads me to more people I should be following, and blogs to which I subscribe using the RSS Feed. I find opportunities for work, people who need help, companies asking questions I can answer, and all manner of material I can use as writing prompts or for research.

As I follow new people on Twitter I keep a text document open where I note their Twitter username for later when I open TweetDeck.

I run through my Google Alert and LinkedIn feeds in the same way, subscribing to blogs, following people on Twitter, and bookmarking websites where I find something I can use later. I do this as time permits, usually for 15-30 minutes, and then I open TweetDeck.

As I mentioned earlier, I work in the publishing world so my TweetDeck groups are designed to capture the activities of publishing industry people on Twitter. Instead of sifting through the tens of thousands of tweets in my network in the hopes of find out who’s doing what, I’m able to go right to one of my TweetDeck groups and engage as appropriate.

This is where I have to filter what I find through the lens of my objectives.

If I’m promoting an upcoming event I may write a blog post about it, find everybody tweeting about the event, or about similar events, or about an author attending the event, or something else related to the event, and engage each -- again, as appropriate. Sometimes I’ll direct a person to my post with a link. Sometimes I’m more subtle, leaving the link on my own Twitter feed with an introductory headline designed to catch my target connection’s attention. Then when I mention my target connection in a re-tweet or a reply, they’ll find my link waiting when they come to check me out.

If I’ve done my homework right, chosen my key words wisely, and engaged appropriately, there’s a high probability I’ll connect with a new group of followers every time I execute one of these tactics. More importantly, I’ll be on their radar where they can engage me when they’re inclined.

This is where individual objectives, personal style, and social skills shape your moves and lead you to a completely different discussion.

Research has determined that you’ll receive 1 piece of social media love for every 12 you give. As you pick up momentum, the ratio shifts more into your favor.

This is why a well designed listening post is such a critical piece of your social media tool kit. It compresses the front end of your business development cycle, providing you with a focused, steady stream of high-value leads based on the key words you created which were, from the outset, designed to find the conversations being had by your consumers, your colleagues, and interested media.

The first step in every Internet-based strategy is finding the people you want to connect with, and the first step in accomplishing this is listening well.

Set up this simple listening post to get a handle on your social media activities, refine it every time you use it, and soon you’ll be hard pressed to keep up with the opportunities that’ll come your way every day.

Don Lafferty is a sales executive, writer and, social media marketing consultant. He's the Social Media Director of the Wild River Review, and the Web's wackiest canine comedy series, It's Todd's Show. You can find his blog, Don Lafferty’s Strategies, Thoughts and Instructions for Including Social Media in Your Marketing Plan, at:

http://www.donaldlafferty.com./
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Chris Brogan: Overnight Success

Gary Vaynerchuk: New Media is Serious Business

Penny Power: Elements of a Great Blog

Five Ways for Journalists to Use Facebook

Five Ways for Journalists to Use Facebook
http://www.insidefacebook.com/
Click here

Distribution dominates many discussions about the future of journalism on the web. Should newspapers charge for content? Should they link to each other? The list goes on. But at the same time, especially with the rise of social sites like Facebook, journalists now have a new range of free, easy-to-use tools to help them do their jobs better.

Today’s journalists must be everything they once were but also tech savvy. Students in college journalism programs are already being trained to navigate the social web. In the list below, we offer tips on using social features like Facebook fan Pages to help journalists find new stories, check facts and interact with readers.

Read the rest of this post here:

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Future of Journalism: David Mathison

David Mathison Publisher at BE THE MEDIA
CEO at natural E creative group, LLC

I asked:

Is print journalism dead? Will newspapers shrivel up and die? Will magazines survive? Or will everything simply go online eventually and read for free? And what does that mean for those wanting decent-paying careers in journalism?

Mr. Mathison's response:

In most media fields the container maybe dead, but the industry is thriving. The CD is dead but music is thriving (see MySpace, iTunes); Books are dead but publishing is thriving (see web sites, blogs, wikis, eBooks, POD); VHS/DVDs are dead but video is thriving (YouTube, Blip, iTunes, iPods); Newspapers are dead but journalism is thriving (citizen journalism, blogs, web sites, etc). There's also the explosion of creative writing via social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, digg, reddit, blogs, etc. We are in the middle of a renaissance period unlike any other.

Join Me on LinkedIn and Twitter

By TwitterButtons.com

Twitter: The Swiss Army Knife in the Writer's Toolkit

Twitter: The Swiss Army Knife in the Writer's Toolkit
By Christine Taylor

Remember MacGyver, the super-cool genius adventurer from 80's TV?

He could get out of any perilous situation, just by using the objects he had at hand. A stick of gum, a roll of duct tape, those hockey sticks in the corner...give him a few minutes, he'd come up with something.

Each episode gave MacGyver a combination of new and old objects to work with. Yet of all his tools, there was only one that he absolutely couldn't do without: his Swiss Army knife. It became his trademark. If Mac lost his knife, the conflict in the episode went up a notch.

Flash forward to the present.

There you sit, in front of your writing. With today's instant information age, you've got access to many unique resources. But there's one tool that can make them all work together.

Welcome to Twitter, the writer's Swiss Army knife.

Social networking site Twitter.com has become famous for an as-it-happens exchange of conversation, news, and information. How can a writer benefit from that miasma of tweets? Think like MacGyver—look at what's there, and see how you can use it differently.

Community and resources FTW.

*Twitterers are a phenomenal source of support and encouragement. Your friends will keep you going, keep you accountable to your goals.

*The time to promote your book is while you're writing it. Share your joys, sorrows, and progress. Build buzz. People really do care.

*When you need help, ask. Tweet a request for character names; see what you get.

*Writers are on Twitter, freely sharing thoughts and information. Join the chats listed in Mike's newsletter.

*@MikeGeffner (http://twitter.com/MikeGeffner Click here), @motsjustes (http://twitter.com/motsjustes Click here), @grammargirl (http://twitter.com/grammargirl Click here), @Iwhodareswins (http://twitter.com/Iwhodareswins Click here) and @thecreativepenn (http://twitter.com/thecreativepenn Click here) are great to follow for helpful writing tips.

*Published writers tweet, too. Check out this Mashable.com article for over 100 of them:

http://mashable.com/2009/05/08/twitter-authors/
Click here

Space to find your voice.

*Having trouble getting a handle on your main character's personality? Try setting up a Twitter account for them.

*Until I tweeted the daily life of Jeff Barrister (http://twitter.com/jeffbarrister) from my mystery novel, he was a mystery to me. In finding his voice, I found his character.

*Live tweeting for a character while others watch is scary...and thrilling. It makes your creation seem real, and gets you valuable feedback.

*Watching others tweet is valuable, too. I'm neither a teen nor a man, but I can write them convincingly by reading their conversation.

Fiction free-for-all.

*Twitter fiction is gaining popularity, whether in role-playing events hosted by @MassTwitFic (http://twitter.com/masstwitfic), or spontaneous #twitfic stories by users.Click here

*Try participating with a character. It's a heck of a lot harder to reply to someone else's dialogue and plot twists than to your own.

*TFEs (Twitter Fiction Events: http://masstwitfic.wordpress.com/) are a great way to introduce your characters to the world. They'll be old friends when readers buy your book.Click here

Brevity. 'Nuff said.

*Twitter's 140-character limit forces writers to edit down to the important words. You'll learn to identify your fillers pretty quickly.

*A recent #twitfic challenge had participants write a story in 20 stand-alone paragraphs of 140 characters or less. That's tight writing.

*Plus, you may have noticed—each of these Twitter tips has been less than 141 characters long. I'm doing it instinctively by now.

Like all social networking sites, Twitter may not be for everyone. If you can't make it work for you, try these ideas out in Facebook updates, e-mails with friends, even between you and a document or journal. Twitter pages and search results have RSS feeds available, so you can have the wisdom of others delivered to your feed reader every day.

But first, give Twitter a try.

There's no substitute for the community experience you'll find among others.

Who knows? You just may find it to be the best thing since duct tape.

Christine Taylor (aka mousewords) is a California writer, artist, and social media consultant who loves mystery and adventure, is convinced that dreams can come true, and considers it her mission in life to help others realize that fact. She and her sister Stacy survived carbon monoxide poisoning, and used the experience to inspire a mystery novel, The Rosewood House, coming in Fall 2009. She Twitters at http://twitter.com/mousewords Click here and blogs at http://mousewords.net.
Click here

Tweet Your Way to a Writing Job on Twitter! (Revised)

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsinUSA
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs_in_media
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs4bloggers
Click here

http://twitter.com/newmedialinks
Click here

http://twitter.com/publishingjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/media_jobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/seojobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/journalism_jobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/themediaishuntn
Click here

http://twitter.com/themediaishirin
Click here

http://twitter.com/GetFreJournJob
Click here

http://twitter.com/wFreelanceJobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/newmediajob
Click here

http://twitter.com/JobsForWriters
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs_NY_writing
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsNYC
Click here

http://twitter.com/writingjobsNYC
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsinLA
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobSanFran
Click here

http://twitter.com/bloggingjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/mediabistrojobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/media_pros
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http://twitter.com/journalismjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/GetTecWritiJobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/freelancewj
Click here

http://twitter.com/dnzWritingJobs
Click here

NY Post: Unsweet Tweet

$1B Twitter is a cash cow - for everyone but itself
By Paul Tharp
New York Post

Twitter may make millions of dollars this year -- just not for Twitter itself.

Founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams are reportedly shopping for $50 million in funding for the social media site, touting a $1 billion valuation. That's despite the fact that Twitter has not yet released or implemented plans for turning a profit.

Meanwhile, other online ventures have already come up with ways to make money from Twitter, leaving the free service in the dust.

Read the rest of the story:

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Tweeting My Life Away!

By: Twitter Buttons

Tweet Your Way to a Writing Job on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsinUSA
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs_in_media
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs4bloggers
Click here

http://twitter.com/newmedialinks
Click here

http://twitter.com/publishingjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/media_jobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/seojobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/journalism_jobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/themediaishuntn
Click here

http://twitter.com/themediaishirin
Click here

http://twitter.com/GetFreJournJob
Click here

http://twitter.com/wFreelanceJobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/newmediajob
Click here

http://twitter.com/JobsForWriters
Click here

http://twitter.com/jobs_NY_writing
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsNYC
Click here

http://twitter.com/writingjobsNYC
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobsinLA
Click here

http://twitter.com/MediaJobSanFran
Click here

http://twitter.com/bloggingjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/mediabistrojobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/media_pros
Click here

http://twitter.com/journalismjobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/GetTecWritiJobs
Click here

http://twitter.com/freelancewj
Click here

Who Are Your Favorite Writing-Related Tweeters?

They could be writers, editors, literary agents, etc. Please leave your choice or choices as comments. Thanks so much! Mike

Twitter Hashtags Writers Should Know

1) #journchat
Journalist-to-Journalist, Journalist-to-P.R. People Chat
http://twitter.com/journchat
Click here
Host: Sarah Evans
http://twitter.com/PRsarahevans
Click here

2) #editorchat
Writer-to-Editor Chat
http://editorchat.wordpress.com/
Click hereCo-Host: Tim Beyers
http://twitter.com/milehighfool
Click here
Co-Host: Lydia Dishman
http://twitter.com/LydiaBreakfast
Click here

3) #journ2journ
Journalist-to-Journalist Chat
http://twitter.com/journ2journ
Click hereActing Host: Chuck Welch
http://twitter.com/chuckwelch
Click here

4) #writechat
Sunday Afternoon Writing Salon, 12-3PM (PST)
Host: Julie Isaac
http://twitter.com/WritingSpirit
Click here

Watch What You Say Online - Or Pay the Consequences

Watch What You Say Online - Or Pay the Consequences
By Angela Wilson

Alice Hoffman acted like an idiot when she Tweeted nasty comments about a book reviewer who was just not that into her latest, The Story Sisters.

For those who didn't see it, the author of Practical Magic called the reviewer a "moron" and urged fans to call and email the reviewer to tell her the same thing. Hoffman even went so far as to print the reviewer's telephone number and email address. The author apparently didn't realize the reviewer only echoed things said by readers who commented on the book at Amazon.

Hoffman's chaotic, viscous comments ended up on sites like Gawker.com, and the L.A. Times did a story on her erratic, unprofessional behavior.

(Read more in Alice Hoffman Goes Ballistic on Twitter: http://www.marketmynovel.com/2009/07/alice-hoffman-goes-ballistic-on-twitter.html)

Soon after, Hoffman's Twitter account was deleted. However, her comments live in virtual infamy thanks to technology that allows us to grab screenshots to share with the masses.

The Hoffman episode is part of a growing trend of virtual social media rage, where someone who is insulted uses sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace to get back at those who wounded them.

More and more, I see authors responding hatefully to bad reviews on Amazon, or sending snarky messages with their contempt for reviewers at Pop Syndicate who just didn't like their work.

Face cold, hard facts: Not everyone is going to love your work. Only your parents are going to fawn over every drag of the pencil you make while cultivating the next bestseller.

Hoffman's been around long enough that this may not have an impact on book sales. In the virtual universe, things happen quickly - and are forgotten just as quickly. Devoted fans may not feel the need to stop reading her for being stupid about one lukewarm review; however, some book reviewers tired of getting trampled on by ego-maniac authors have already said they won't bother requesting Hoffman's future works.

Newbie authors who pull a stunt like this could very well derail a promising career in publishing. If you do not have a proven track record with reviewers or fans, your attitude could easily crush any future interest in your work. People are pretty forgiving if you have a bad day and blog about it; they are not nearly as forgiving if you single out one individual and attempt to slaughter them in chat rooms, forums and social networks.

Before you sound off about a lukewarm or bad review, take a deep breath. Call a friend to vent. Write up a text file - NOT in your e-mail compose feature - about how you feel. Journal about it. If you must blog about it, be sure not to mention any specifics about the reviewer or site or publication, but share your feelings with your fans.

Then let it go. Don't waste time getting mad enough to get even. Focus your energies on networking with reviewers and fans that truly enjoyed your work. Build on this positive network to develop a devoted fan base that helps sell books - and keep you swimming in contracts.

Angela Wilson is a social media consultant who blogs about author marketing at Market My Novel (http://www.MarketMyNovel.com). She is the editor of Pop Syndicate's Book Addict Blog (http://www.popsyndicate.com/books) and pens dark paranormal romance when she's not catering to her 27-year old cat.

How to Manage Twitter

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/how-to-manage-twitter/
Click here

What Kind of Twitter User Are You?

Source: http://mashable.com/2009/08/14/social-mojo/
Click here

Headliner – You’re the star of the Twitterverse, have tons of followers, and have retweets the likes of Ashton Kutcher and Perez Hilton.

Crowd Pleaser – You use lots of hashtags and are in on all the hot conversations.

Cheerleader – Retweeting is how you roll.

B.F.F. – Your volume of @replies makes you everybody’s best bud.

Party Animal – With so many followers, you’re the life of the party.

Private Eye – Like any good investigator, you’re following a boatload of people.

Concierge – You live for links and sending people to the best stuff.

Word Whiz – You’re a natural wordsmith and make the most of your 140 characters.

Lone Wolf – You’re more of a low-profile type (some might even accuse you of lurking).

Name Dropper – You use lots of @names when you tweet.

Matchmaker – You pass along lots of URLs to make sure everyone’s connected.

Wall Flower – You don’t tweet much but you’re still in on the party.

Novelist – You have a lot to say and tweet with a lot of characters to prove it.

Shadow – You follow lots of people like a good shadow would.

Scenester – If there’s a hashtag conversation happening, you’re there.

Tweethead – Your high number of retweets shows you like to spread the good stuff.