Here's a shot of Team Newman in the wild at SXSW 2007. Many thanks to Joe Flood for the documentation.

This is the first year since 2006 that one or both members of Team Newman are not making an appearance at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi), the geek conference in Austin, TX.

It’s not that we haven’t loved it. Our SX adventures of yore enabled us to be among the first to try Twitter, discover Ze Frank, meet our good friend Joe Flood and give Gowalla a go. It also did wonders for our sticker collection. But after AT&T’s Great Network Failure of 2009, and attending one-too-many Twitter panels, we’re taking a break.

We wish many a Chris Brogan and Guy Kawasaki sighting, much fabulous swag and free beer to those thousands of social media guinea pigs in attendance. Have fun and consume tons of Stubbs BBQ for us!
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{Today’s guest post comes from my hubby and Web guy, Dave Newman, who shares three things PR folks should know (and practice) if you want to get your arms around the Internet.}

1. Stop trying to control where your message lives. The biggest mistake we can make concerning putting our stuff on the web is trying to rebuild what’s already working. Let’s use video as an example. YouTube has WAY more hits and searches than your site is ever going to have; they know how to deal with traffic and streaming rates; their file hosting is free and putting your video there improves your search ranking. Why would you ever try to do it another way? This guy agrees.

2. Always try the new free social network/web tool/app. I know, there are a million new apps out there every week vying for our attention and begging us to upload our fun little pictures to. How do you keep up and how do you know which to try? It’s easy. Try all of them that either you are interested in or your friends/clients/enemies are interested in. You never know what will catch on but signing up for all of them – even if just to try them – will never hurt your search ranking, exposure or how knowledgeable you’ll seem to your clients and friends. 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 really can’t imagine anything worse than syncing your Twitter account with your LinkedIn profile. The thought of someone’s drunken Tweets perched just inches above their virtual resume simply makes me want to cry.

But there is something to be said for showing future employers and peers that you possess a working knowledge of social and new media, so having a visible link to your Twitter account makes good sense. I just don’t want it streaming my Tweets, even if they are industry-related. Fortunately–thanks to Twitter hashtag magic–we can have our cake and LinkedIn, too: Read More…

When’s the last time you loved on your LinkedIn profile? Believe it or not, HR recruiters really do use it to scout prospects. Does your profile paint a relevant picture of the professional you?

If you haven’t laid eyes on your profile in a while, stroll on over and take 30 minutes to freshen it up with these three improvements:

1. Create a thoughtful “summary” – also known as a bio, these paragraphs should explain how talented and experienced you are, while also hinting at your fabulous personality.  Don’t be afraid to share with the reader the kinds of work you most enjoy. For example, my profile says, “Margie most enjoys cause-related public relations…” It’s also nice to talk about your community service work, or other relevant extracurricular activities. Oh, and when you are finished be sure to add your skills to the “specialties” box. Read More…

Some folks claim Twitter performs all sorts of magic marketing spells. But we all know Twitter was really created to share on the Internet AWESOME stuff like this that makes me some people spit Sprite onto the keyboard: Read More…

I’m excited that you “nailed that interview,” I just hope your soon-to-be boss isn’t following you on Twitter, watching you talk about it like this. It’s not that you’ve said anything patently offensive – and you aren’t alone – it’s just that any and all snarky/job-related comments are now out there for the Whole Wide Web (and HR recruiters) to see.

Folks, you’ve heard me say it a hundred times: there is no privacy on the Internet. All of your social sayings are Google-able. Sooner or later, your co-workers/bosses/peers are gonna see this stuff. And then we’ll all blog about it. And we’re not laughing with you.

So, stop kicking yourselves in the rear and think before you Tweet. You’ll be glad you did.

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• Clay Shirky on Twitter and the social media revolution (onlinejournalismblog.com)
• The 10 Biggest Social Media Stories This Week (mashable.com)
• Bing and Google to Include Twitter Updates in Search Results (geeksugar.com)

I was being asked a bunch of questions about Twitter today (Hi, B!) and found myself saying that the best way to get to know the ins and outs of social media is by testing it out on your own account, on your own time.

And then I thought to myself, “Hey, that makes a lot of sense, Margie. Good one.”

You know, because then when you say something patently offensive or stupid, you’ve done it under your own name and not your employer’s. Even though that can still get you fired.

Like most things, practice makes knowledgeable. So, when you are at the conference table and someone asks you how hashtags work, you’ll know because you’ve used them. When someone, like your boss, says they are confused about what happens when p*rn creepos follow you, or why it matters if one RTs, @s or DMs, you’ll explain it to them with authority – not because you read it on Mashable – because you’ve already done it well (or messed it up).

If you have never been caught up in the World Wide Web, why would your employer trust you with their online reputation?

If you want folks or co-workers to look to you for Geek Guidance you’ve gotta create, play with, and maintain a personal Twitter account; you’ll need to have personally blogged for an extended period of time; you must continuously play around on Facebook and constantly seek to find a purpose for LinkedIn. You’ll need to know how Google rules the world works and “what makes a RSS feed different than an alert.” It takes a lot of work;  a lot of reading; a lot of trial and error.

Agree? Or am I just being snobby?

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• Crossing the Facebook Line – Personal to Business (businesspundit.com)
• Social Media is not about your company. It IS about YOU. (insights-group.com)
• Can Social Media Get You a Job? (usnews.com)

Ever since Team Newman won a free overnight adventure to from BWI to NYC thanks to a Southwest Airlines Twitter contest, I’ve had this urge to just make up a contest of my own. You know, to see if anyone would actually play. So, this morning, I sounded the contest alarm — and people took me up on the chance to win an ugly t-shirt. Word.

I mean, I didn’t take down the Internet or anything, but so far I’ve had about a dozen folks Tweet, DM or email me pictures of Nashville – just because I asked them to.

Some observations:

1. Only one person used the hashtag, which made finding the pictures difficult
2. Even though they read about the contest on Twitter, most folks emailed me their photos
3. People are playing my game – like, really!
4. Twitter contests are empowering

I’m still receiving pics, so I’m gonna let folks have the rest of the evening to get theirs in. But be sure to check Picalicious tomorrow to see our winning photo!

Reader J points out that I’ve neglected to post links to my last three Chic Geek columns here on FlackRabbit. Oops! In my defense, I was sort of going through a few major life changes, which caused me to forget and stuff. And then Wordpress hated me for a bit. Sorry! BUT I never missed a Her Nashville deadline in all that moving and stressing out and whatnot. If it makes you feel better — at least my editor was happy (Hi Ashley)!

So, for the non-Nashvegas readers, here’s what you’ve been missing: Read More…