Sure, Google is taking over the world, but how they’re doing it is so freakin cool.

Have you seen Social Search? Check out the video below and then tell me you don’t think this is about the neatest/ slightly creepiest/ a tad too personal-ist thing you’ve seen in a while.

I ran a social search for “Nashville” and got a list of all the relevant blog posts, news articles, Tweets, etc. that my social networking connections (that I have given my Google profile access to) are associated with. IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND.

I love it; I’m using it in Google Labs right now and I’m about to pee my pants — in a this-is-all-too-close-for-comfort kind of way.

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Tonight was the Nashville Twestival, a southern version of the 175+ cities around the world hosting Tweet-ups tonight to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

Team Newman and about 200 other local tweeples joined in for the party and fabulous time was had by all.

Of course, the best part was finally putting faces with Twitter usernames and blog posts. Who knew @JimReams was so tall? Or that each Tennessean Twitter account is manned by its own real-live person? The Tennessean even sent a reporter to cover the event! Oh, and @DaveDelaney…he’s from Canada! 

AND did you know that the folks behind Nashvillest are two fabulous ladies, Morgan and Christy? Here they are to tell you about what went down at Big Bang for the Nashville Twestival:

Oh, and hey, Nashvillest: please do this again! It really was a great event. Congratulations to you! 

And in other news: The Preds won in a shootout! GO SULLY!

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There’s a whole lotta Twitter and Facebook phishing going on and I’m freaked the heck out that my peeps will get hooked.  Some of them already have. I’m worried; is my enthusiastic go forth and micro-blog! approach part of the problem?

When used correctly – communications tools like Facebook, Twitter,  blogs and RSS feeds can make you more productive and just plain better at your job.

But just like any good relationship, there should always be a little mystery between you and the interwebs.

DATA:  Do not give your entire self over to the Facebook Info tab, your blog or a Twitter account. It’s great for the internet to know your profession, favorite music, thoughts and opinions – but don’t hang your home phone number, home address or the year of your birth out there for the whole world to see. Every time I see someone who has literally filled out every. single. line. on their Facebook profile I cry a little.

PASSWORDS: As for the web’s little friends — those ridiculous Facebook applications and “helpful” Twitter tools — they certainly don’t need access to your passwords. It’s not that I don’t want to join you on the Oregon Trail or in the Auburn wave, it’s that I don’t want my account hacked.

PHOTOS: And Lord knows the web can’t be trusted with those sketchy digital photos of you and your friends in Vegas. You already know how I feel about that one.

What I’m trying to say is get comfortable with social media, but don’t sleep with it. If you give it all away, you’ve just empowered some moron to take advantage of your trust.

Just this morning a friend forwarded me an email he’d received touting a Twitter service scam:

…In fact, once you start taking advantage of Twitter.com using the proper tools and techniques you might be pleasantly surprised by the number of paying clients that you will have from Twitter as well as the people that they refer to you…I am prepared to offer you our service for only $199 a month and you get a full 30 days to try out our service to see just how great it is…

Keep in mind: if it sounds too good to be true, it’s spam.

I’m sure this dude will get a few takers, especially among folks who are newbies or are intimidated by social networking sites.  He’ll either run off with someone’s money, or he’ll just spam the crap out of folks until someone figures him out. Either way, he’s a crappy malicious person.

Feel the same way about this guy and the 20 batrillion idiots like him who will bait folks to porn or some get-rich-quick scam:

Don’t get me wrong — I’m still a technology advocate.

Should you Twitter? Absolutely! Should you Facebook? Indeed! Share, connect, engage and voice your opinions online – but proceed with caution and as a vigilant protector of your personal data.

As much as I love seeing folks get comfy with technology – I loath the thought of some jerk taking advantage of it. It’s a tangled web out there, folks. Please be careful.

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So, you are new to Twitter and wonder where to begin. No worries, as it is with all new and uncharted communications tools there are plenty of blogs ready and willing to tell you exactly what to do. Enter TwiTip, the blog focused solely on helping you making the most of Twitter.

Here’s a sample of two great how-to posts:

10 first steps for beginners – this will walk you through setting up your profile, how not to be an idiot (read: spammer) and how to join in the conversation (this is social media, after all).

10 people beginners should follow – if you want to make the most of Twitter, you’ve got to follow folks; the more you follow, the more followers you get. The more you follow and follow you, the more conversations you have, etc. You can’t expect to get anything out of this communication tool if you don’t communicate …

Now, if you are in PR or Marketing, I suggest you peruse the 50 tweeples to follow list, complied by Sarah Evans. It’s a pretty decent list and should get you started with folks who talk about things you care about AND have a good mastery of Twitter usage.

And don’t forget to follow my favorite Twitter user, Shaq. You can find me here; the hubby here. And the list of all Nashville Twitter users here.

___________________

CAUTION! No matter what you do or how much you use Twitter, please keep in mind that your Twitter account and updates are PUBLIC unless you mark your account as private. Also, if you use your full name on your Twitter accout it will turn up in Google searches of your name.

I take for granted that folks know the power of their digital footprint; clearly they don’t. It’s all on the record folks – so use it wisely.

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