Last week, I sat 800 miles away and watched as my hometown drowned. I’ve lived in D.C. for one full year now, but Nashville is home. I’m a communicator–a good one–but I don’t know how to express how much my heart hurts for my city. I can’t find a way to verbalize it. My fingers refuse to put pressure on the keys when I try to type it out.

The good news: I don’t have to worry about my inability to explain how I feel, folks like Patten Fuqua,  A.C. Kleinheider and countless others have said it all for me–for all of us. Powerfully, honestly, beautifully.

My one contribution to the discussion is over at Her Nashville magazine. As the post says, I’m completely in awe over the way Nashvillians are using social media platforms to communicate, connect and share information in such a meaningful way. Facebook, Twitter, text messages, YouTube, Flickr, blog posts, websites.  Nashvillians have taken to the Web and it’s working. Read More…

…it’s not merely a business mantra, it’s the latest social media trend.

In the May issue of Her Nashville magazine, you’ll find a brief tutorial on location-based social networks Gowalla and Foursquare, which utilize GPS and those fancy smartphones to allow you to “check in” to places you visit, tell folks where you are, and post your thoughts along the way. Here’s a teaser and–of course–a little “surf with caution” reminder:

Both Gowalla and Foursquare give you the option to share your check ins and travels via Facebook and Twitter. I don’t do this, but you may want to. How much info you share and who your “friends” are is all yours to control. For these location-based networks — unlike Twitter, which is designed for stranger-to-stranger info sharing — I only friend my actual friends, but I’m sort of protective like that … with who knows my whereabouts at any given time.

Like most technological wonders, what the Gowalla and Foursquare creators conceived now makes up only a fraction of what they actually do. Just think about Twitter as geeks knew it in 2007 compared to Twitter as the world knows it today. What started out as an odd text messaging service known to a few thousand people is now a global, real-time, information-sharing phenomenon. READ THE FULL COLUMN!

I usually base my Chic Geek columns on reader questions, ideas from co-workers and/or brainstorming sessions with my husband, but no one has really asked me to write about location. In fact, no one outside of my geek friends ever mentions location-based apps, which makes me think it’s time I wrote about them. Read More…

Overheard in D.C.:

“If YOU ask me to be a fan of YOU on Facebook, I’m not going to do it. That’s like handing out foam fingers with your own name on them.” Read More…

{Our next guest post is courtesy of D.C. flack and photographer Stacey Viera, who ponders how much disclosure to provide when promoting your clients on social networks and/or entering into partnerships with other vendors.}

“In the interest of full disclosure.” How often do you use those six little words? I would argue, probably not often enough.

I acknowledge that full disclosure can be overused. “In the interest of full disclosure, I’m married.” Hey, I didn’t ask if you wanted to go on a date. I just wanted to know if you were done with the Metro section of the paper so that I could read it!

But how often do we see a Tweet from a PR person promoting their “friend,” only to find that it originated from a paid client relationship? Or a Facebook link for a “beautifully designed new blog” that we only later learn was designed by the same person who posted the link? Read More…

I’ve often wondered how one goes about creating a LinkedIn group. The other day, I found out by starting one for DC Flacks. Now, if someone at work asks me about the pros/cons/ins/outs of this particular tool, I’ll be able to speak with some authority because I’ve actually done it.

Some goes for the social media consulting I do on the strategic use of blogs, Twitter, PitchEngine, Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp, etc. I know how to do these things well because I’ve used them for myself and continue to explore their uses.

It’s the story of Team Newman‘s life, really. Dave and I play around on the Internet and try out new things. The stuff we try personally often ends up benefiting the folks who hire us. It’s not that we magically know geekery, it’s that we get a lot of practice. Read More…

From the latest issue of the Levick Strategic Communications e-newsletter:

While social media sites are as diverse as the millions of people that use them, they are all, for the most part, interrelated. This is precisely what makes the digital space ‘viral.’ Today, a single reputation-damaging blog post, Facebook update, tweet, or YouTube video can reach around the world in a matter of minutes. If you’re not actively watching and listening for mentions of your company, its brands, and your own leadership, you lose critical intelligence that can be utilized to stem a crisis before it happens. Read More…

This is a morbid, buzz-killing topic, but it’s really important. My January Her Nashville Chic Geek column pushes you to  think about who–if anyone–will take over your online identity, accounts, etc. when you leave this world.

Here’s teaser; read the full thing at HerNashville.com:

If I should die before I wake, my Facebook password my husband should take. Oh, and an auto-reply message on my Gmail he should make, but my Twitter, LinkedIn,eBay, and PayPal accounts he may forsake … Read More…

Image by K!T via Flickr

Good grief. The mayor of a tiny Tennessee town outside of Memphis is throwing a tantrum about missing the end of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. I love Charlie Brown as much as the next guy, but seriously? Does this really warrant publishing a Facebook rant about how the President of the United States is a Christ-hating, Charlie Brown-interrupting Muslim?

I’m embarrassed for three reasons:

A) this guy is an elected official, and

B) he is making important decisions on behalf of folks in my home state, and

C) dude clearly doesn’t understand there is no privacy on the Internet. Not that he was seeking privacy when he posted this insanity for 1,600 “friends” to see. Read More…

I’ll never tire of folks emailing, DMing, Facebook messaging and calling with geek/productivity/PR questions. It’s amazing what a little perspective and encouragement will do for a person; I’m honored to be someone you call on when you need that.

Here’s the thing though: you seldom ask your question in the comments on my blog(s) or on Twitter. You seem to like your privacy. That’s cool, but I’d like to encourage you to share the Q & A luv; that’s what makes the Internet so fabulous, ya know? Wisdom of crowds and what not. Read More…

Ah, Twitter. I don’t know if it has jumped the shark, or become legit. Either way, when I witnessed its launch in March 2006, I never imagined that chatter on this texting platform would one day be – among other things - used as a source for Governor Schwarzenegger’s spokesperson when being interviewed for a CNN story:

The legislation has been divisive, with the governor’s office receiving more than 100,000 phone calls and e-mails, most of them in opposition, spokeswoman Andrea McCarthy said last month.

But she added that most of the Twitter posts the governor received were in favor of the bill.

Do you think Twitter feedback counts as a legitimate talking point? Would you use it in the way this spokesperson has?

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