Social Media

Anatomy of a Social Media Policy. “I need your help!” He wailed over the phone. “An employee of ours just posted a YouTube video with really negative comments about our company. What do we do?” Over the past 24 months, my phone rings on an almost daily basis with clients, colleagues and friends in a panic about something to do with social media. That led me to start working with organizations to help them develop and then roll out social media policies for their organizations. One size does not fit all A hospital needs a very different social media policy than a literacy organization. Focus on personal responsibility What an individual posts on line is ultimately his or her responsibility.

Understanding the permanency of a digital footprint Employees need to know that what they post on line leaves a digital footprint, even if they modify or delete it. Reputation management Along with the permanency of a digital foot print goes the management of personal and organizational reputation through the use of social media. Connect: How the Australian Open Is Acing Digital Media. The 2012 Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament may just be the most digitally connected major sporting event of all time.

A Slamtracker already provides real-time updates of qualifying play that began on Wednesday, and fans can relive and share their favorite moments via Facebook and Twitter through a database of classic matches. But the real fun begins when the tournament officially begins next Monday. Tournament officials plan to man the @AustralianOpen Twitter feed 24 hours per day all the way through final matches on Jan. 29 for the event's global audience. Are We Too Obsessed With Facebook? [INFOGRAPHIC] Facebook profiles are like belly buttons: Everybody's got one.

How Small Businesses Can Use Quora. The Q&A site Quora has been blowing up with new users for the last few weeks, initially thanks to some much-due love from Robert Scoble, and then by growing enthusiasm for the site among the tech press.

While tech writers, VC's and geeky enthusiasts of all stripes have an obvious, immediate use for the site, it may not be as clear how owners of small and medium-sized businesses can take advantage of Quora and Q&A sites in general. It's worth noting that Quora is not the only player here. The Q&A space has been heating up for awhile, with Google acquiring Aardvark and a slew of other offerings from the likes of Yahoo, LinkedIn, and Mahalo.

Social media strategy

Testing Content. Nobody needs to convince you that it’s important to test your website’s design and interaction with the people who will use it, right?

But if that’s all you do, you’re missing out on feedback about the most important part of your site: the content. Issue № 320 Whether the purpose of your site is to convince people to do something, to buy something, or simply to inform, testing only whether they can find information or complete transactions is a missed opportunity: Is the content appropriate for the audience? How WordPress Themes Actually Work [INFOGRAPHIC] WordPress developer and all-around web geek Joost de Valk has just graced the Internet with a highly useful infographic.

For a medium that leans toward the amusing, infographics can occasionally be enlightening or even helpful for later reference. This one serves as a sort of "cheat sheet for how your blog works" and takes the reader through the basics of a normal WordPress theme. The State and Future of the Social Media Management System Space. Social Media News and Web Tips – Mashable – The Social Media Guide. NounProject. Instapaper: Save interesting web pages for reading later. 44% of Online Sharing Occurs Through Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC] Sharing widget AddThis, which is installed on more than 7 million domains and reaches more than one billion users per month, released an infographic Wednesday with some interesting statistics about about our sharing habits.

Impressively, 44% of shares occurred through Facebook in 2010, up 33% from last year. That number does not include shares done via Facebook's "Like" button, which means the actual, universal percentage of shares through Facebook is likely higher. Shares over Gmail increased by 395%, outpacing StumbleUpon, Facebook and Twitter. Shares via MySpace and Friendster dropped 20% and 31% respectively. Debates: Health 2.0. 10 Chrome Web Apps to Check Out.

One month with Google+: why this social network has legs. If you're a stranger who follows me on Google+, you might think I rarely use the service.

That's because the majority of my posts have been limited to the seven circles I created for friends, acquaintances, family, Ars staffers, and other people I like to expose to various aspects of my personality. You had no idea? Bloggers & authors. The Social Media Strategy Primer: Start at the Beginning. Part 1 of 3 Square one.

The basics. First step. When it comes to planning an effective social media presence, most minds drift to the tool box. Technology. Why Posterous Is a Smart Tool For Informal Government Blogging. For a few weeks, I’ve been testing a tool called Posterous, and I’ve come to like it a lot.

You can see my account here. If you’re not familiar with Posterous, it is essentially a very simple blogging platform. It may in fact be the most simple one; yet it is very feature-laden. And it has one relatively unique feature that could make it the most powerful tool for informal blogging by government employees. That simple, amazing, singular feature is email as a primary interface. You see, many government computer systems block domains like YouTube.com, Facebook.com, Twitter.com, and so forth. As information is more decentralized and as more computing is done on mobile devices, quickly communicating information will be more commonplace – and more in demand by consumers of it. How Social Media Is Positively Impacting Our Culture [OPINION] This post reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Mashable as a publication.

Josh Rose is the EVP, digital creative director of ad agency Deutsch LA, who -- when time permits -- moonlights as a photographer. Follow him at @joshrose. Two events today, although worlds apart, seem inextricably tied together.