I’m no social media expert, let’s make that clear right now. The digital PR and social media landscape changes daily, so if anyone tells you they are the social media guru – run like the wind. Tip: these are the same folks who will tell you they can “make something go viral.”

The only thing I can say with absolute certainty about the ever-evolving social media landscape is that successful use of these communication tools isn’t hard unless you are lazy. The more I read up, the more I find social media best practices among those that are smart, active, succinct and sincere. Read More…

This week I mentioned to a friend how I can tell who has been viewing my LinkedIn profile and I thought she was going to pee her pants.

Her: “WHAAAAAAT?” she gasped, slowing realizing that if you can see them, they can see you. ” It’s not all super secret stalking like Facebook?”

Me: “Nope.”

Her: “I don’t believe you.”

Me: “(sigh)”

Attention LinkedIn profile peepers:  if you don’t want folks to know you’re eyeballin their info you’ll have to change your settings.

Look for Accounts & Settings in the upper righthand corner, then click on Privacy Settings, then Profile Views. Here is where you will decide what, if anything, folks see when you peep their profile.

Some folks mark theirs  so that you can see their name and place of employment; for others you can only see their company name and title; still others mark their settings to only show vague references like “public relations professional in the United States.” Mine is set so you’ll see nothing at all.

I imagine that only the most geekly of us actually control our privacy settings for fun on purpose. If you’ve not visited your privacy settings page since joining LinkedIn, make time for it. Accounts and Settings allows you to control what folks see on your profile homepage, what emails you want to receive, and what folks see or don’t see when you look at their profile.

Actively managing your profile is important because, like everything else on the net, it’s all Googleable. And it allows you to be sneaky. Be sure your LinkedIn profile is working for, not against, you. Oh! And if we aren’t LinkedIn, we should be. Shoot me an invite!

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If you are a news junkie and/or communications pro then you must follow my favorite Tweeter of the moment, TheMediaIsDying. They’ve cornered the Twitter market on up to the minute announcements of newsroom layoffs, media conglomerate hires and fires, broadcast network restructuring and print subscription issues. It’s all about keeping folks up to date on the death of big (mostly print) media.

And (sadly) I’m positively addicted to it.

It’s nothing fancy, mind you. There are no links to blog posts, polls or questions. They don’t talk back or engage their audience. Just Tweeting the facts, ma’am. The profile says they are “helping flaks pitch better and update lists.” No matter what its utility, TheMediaIsDying is fascinating and (so far) accurate.

A good death of media companion is It Died, the blog keeping track of internet services, applications and companies “as they lay dying.”

Am I missing other resources that track the evolution and/or extinction of traditional media? Lemme know!

In the comments section of my 100% Nerd post re: geekish glee over finally achieving a complete LinkedIn profile, fellow flack MB shares a great observation and poses a question about proper LinkedIn etiquette:

I requested and was accepted into the LinkedIn network of friend-of-friend, whose business expertise is geeky communications & Web-type stuff.  In perusing the profile of my new-found e-friend, this person’s settings on LinkedIn are set to HIDE visibility access to “Connections.”

Isn’t the whole point of LinkedIn to help folks piece together the puzzle on *with whom* one’s profession leads one to interact? And make introductions, expertise requests etc, knowing we share mutual connection(s)?

Well, yeah. Connecting with peers and LINKING IN to friend-of-a-friend connections is the point, actually.

I keep my connections open for viewing, as do most of my LinkedIn peeps. And I have had peers request an introduction to a couple of my folks, which I happily provide because those requests are sincere.

LinkedIn even provides a one-off count for users. Mine says: 237 Connections links you to 2,458,900+ professionals. See! it’s all about connecting with those relevant 2nd and 3rd degree networks.

To MB’s point, the value of LinkedIn is that one can be validated and connected to other industry professionals or potential employees via a trusted source.  I don’t think you are wrong for hiding your contacts, you’re just missing the point of the communications tool. If you want a private, online address book, go set up a Plaxo account.

So, what say ye, LinkedIn-ers? Do you keep your connections visible or do you mark them as private? Does it even matter?

Hat tip to the hubby for sharing this great post from The Wealthy Freelancer, which suggests a six-step strategy for dealing with the dreaded client-initiated we-need-to-talk-about-your-work conversation.

Obviously, the author is talking to freelancers here. But I find his advice very applicable in any client/vendor arrangement. He begins with the obvious and difficult directive of Don’t be defensive:

You want feedback, not combat. Listen carefully to the client and try to determine what went wrong. Be open to criticism, suggestions and new ideas. Don’t act angry or defensive, even if you disagree. Be the consummate professional.

That’s always easier said than done! Especially for us creative folk who are so passionate about our work product.

The other five steps are great, so check them out here, but for me it’s the author’s first step that’s key. Even the clients who sing your praises most are going give you negative feedback at some point.

The most effective professionals I know have mastered the skill of polishing their creative craft with client candor.

Treasure and carefully process your client’s feedback; your work will be better for it.

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Oh, Google Analytics! Because of you, Feedburner and (the new love of my life) StatZen, I am able to obsess over site traffic, referrers, clicks, attention, subcribers and (rejoice!) how folks actually find FlackRabbit!

There are the obvious ways people get here. Like yesterday, when KamiChat re-tweeted my Twitter about her post. Within an hour or two, lots of new and fabulous eyeballs and RSS subscribers landed here (Thanks, sister! Welcome new folks!)

And then there is the way of the Google Keyword.

Here’s my favorite one:

Sure, some folks find FlackRabbit by Googling flack, public relations, Twitter is Useless and the like. But this guy took the road less traveled by. And you know what  they say about that. Welcome, kind Google searcher!

Second keyword runner up is:

"Margie Newman blog pictures Nashville"

No, this one isn’t funny at all, but it is interesting. No worries, Googler. You may find the great and powerful Picalicious here. But hurry! Only 29 days left to soak in the picture-a-day goodness.

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