How Not to Use Twitter for Business (FroYo Edition)...

I was a rabid frozen yogurt fan when it was all the rage in the 1980s. Then, like all good things I loved, it was sent out to pasture with my severely wide-legged pants, sweaters with shoulder pads and my Lionel Richie records*. The period of mourning has long since passed, but imagine my delight to see that frozen yogurt is now *in* once again. I was thrilled to see a new frozen yogurt shop open within walking distance of my home. OK, so it is wildly overpriced, but it's there and that's all that matters when I want a fix.

New Tool Makes My Email Work Harder and Smarter...

Remember the old days when we began to use email for business communication and to send messages to multiple people simultaneously? Ok, so maybe I'm the only one who remembers when that was a big deal. It seems like eons ago, long before we tweeted and poked to get someone's attention. Not so fast. Email is still as important and relevant as it ever was. Two primary differences between email then and email now for me are:

LinkedIn-apalooza! Ready to rev-up your profile?...

If you're a professional or business person, you know you need to be using LinkedIn wisely, right? And, college students, that goes for you, too. If you don't know why it matters or know deep-down in the pit of your stomach that you're really not all that sure what to do with LinkedIn, then this is for you......

Who Influences You? (Plus, get a free book)...

One of the best ways to learn is to watch others; see what works, what falls flat, what suits your style and what doesn't. Learning how best to communicate and influence others is no different. Don't we all hope to influence others? Whether it is to market our business, persuade a client, motivate an audience or capture the attention of potential employers, influence is important.

Yet Another SXSW Post (And, No, I Don’t Know If You Should Go Ne...

I wasn't going to write about SXSW (South by Southwest). After being asked by countless people what I thought of it and whether they should attend next year, I gave in. Rather than write a comprehensive overview, I decided to just fill in the gaps with some points which may be helpful and different than what others have said.

Do You Have a Digital Business Card? (Register for .tel for free)...

We all want to be found more easily online when our friends, potential clients and employers Google us. We've set up our LinkedIn profiles, started blogging, created websites, invited others to be our friends on Facebook and tweeted like crazy on Twitter. With all of these fragmented presences online, wouldn't it be nice to have a directory of all the places we can be found, plus the option to include our email address, phone number and tags which help the right people find us and get in touch?

LinkedIn Lets You Show Off Your Best Assets...

So you think LinkedIn isn't as sexy as Twitter, Facebook or other networking sites? I encourage you to think again. If providing the most powerful professional networking and job search platform around is sexy, then I'd say it's pretty sexy. And, it just got a little sexier in that you can now show off your best assets more prominently. No, I'm not talking about push-up bras; the change I'm talking about allows you to bring more attention to your professional assets.

Happy Holidays! Please Enjoy This Spam...

Over the last few weeks, I have been inundated with holiday cards and greetings of all types. While this is typical at this time of year, this is the first time I received so many automated cards and emails, most of them from people I don't really know.

What is Your Favorite “Real-time” Tool?...

The theme of LeWeb '09 was "The Realtime Web," but what exactly "is" realtime? And, at what point, do realtime tools stop being new toys which only geeky people use and start becoming so embedded into our everyday lives that we don't really think about them, but can't imagine living without them?

LeWeb Bingo! Watch and Play Along!...

Here in Paris, the excitement about LeWeb is palpable. While the actual conference will take place over the next two days, there are many pre-conference parties and activities today. For those of you who aren't lucky enough to be here, the entire event will be streamed live. If for any reason, that link doesn't work, just go to the LeWeb homepage, I'm sure there will be an updated link, if needed. Whether you are participating in person or via the web, I invite you to have a little fun with the content by playing LeWeb Bingo. If you've never played bingo, it works like this: