Carrie on Blogging

Did you ever watch Sex in the City? I was a fan of the TV show. One of the aspects of the show that appealed to me most was Carrie’s writing career. There she’d be, tapping away at her laptop at the window of her New York apartment, happily (and apparently, easily) earning a living [...]

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Twitter: Pet Peeves

Twitter is my favourite social media platform. I appreciate how it brings new people into my life, enables me to keep learning and keep up to date with breaking news. But like anywhere you spend a lot of time, there are some things that are annoying about Twitter. I recently asked online friends what vexed [...]

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How to Recognise the Signs of Venting

It seems you can’t switch on commercial TV without seeing an advertisement discussing the signs of ageing. Stuff the signs of ageing! They’re written all over our face for everyone to see. I’m more interested in the ‘signs of venting’, which are more difficult to recognise and which can lead you into trouble. So, what [...]

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The overlooked benefit of social media for business

 When you use social media for business, there are a lot of benefits. But one of those benefits is often overlooked. And that drives me nuts. And that’s the benefit to yourself, as an individual. Take one of my clients as an example. Last year I worked with a government health body to deliver a [...]

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My year in social media

2011 was a year of hits and misses, in terms of my personal use of social media. I stuck with platforms I love – Twitter and WordPress. I committed to new loves – Instagram and Miso. I maintained platforms I couldn’t do away with – Facebook and LinkedIn. I continued to use Foursquare, despite some ups [...]

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The great and the scary things about Foursquare

Foursquare’s a funny thing. It’s one of those social media tools that polarises people.  It’s also one that Joe Public still hasn’t heard of. But if you’re  social media fan, it’s likely you’ve used this location-based app to share where you are, leave tips, read recommendations and meet up with friends. Almost two years after [...]

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Is the new Twitter a mirror image of the old?

Social media is a competitive space. Our favourite platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, are continually working to keep us engaged and loyal. They’re also looking for more ways to monetise their platforms. That’s why they regularly change their user interfaces and service offerings. Twitter.com has changed again, this time to quite a marked new layout. [...]

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Community management not for fainthearted

There’s an old saying that doctors bury their mistakes, lawyers gaol their mistakes and journalists publish theirs. Social media managers not only publish their mistakes – they have their mistakes raked over in real time for all to see. And if your ‘mistake’ hits the big time, you can expect opinion columns, analysis and derision [...]

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The power of your own Page

I’ve managed a lot of Facebook Pages over the past few years. They’ve always been owned by my employer or my clients.  Occasionally they’ve been owned by a community group that I’ve been part of. As the Page manager, I was always careful to retain that Page’s brand voice, to protect its business interests, keep [...]

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My big fat, not-so-secret news

I’m excited. About lots of things. Including the Foo Fighters performing in Adelaide this Monday. And Christmas approaching. (Yes, I love Christmas). But there’s something I’m even more excited about. SO EXCITED I AM MOVED TO USING CAPS WHICH I DON’T DO LIGHTLY. Next week, I become Prakky, sole social media consultant. For the past [...]

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