I have to admit that in many ways I do fall into the tendency of being addicted to gadgets.  The fact that I am practically counting down the hours until I can get my hands on the new iPhone G4 is testament to my level of addiction.  That said, I have taken very conscious steps in the past couple of months to find a balance and schedule in OFF-time from my various gadgets every day.  Gone are the days when I would sit in a meeting or presentation and check my email, Twitter/Facebook accounts regularly on my iPhone while also trying to focus on what was being said.  I used to think that I could juggle it all, that I was a master multi-tasker, but now if I’m truly honest, I realize that I wasn’t giving my full focus to any of these tasks and that really, in many ways, I was only adding to my stress levels and ADD tendencies (incidentally, I do believe that all of us suffer from some degree of ADD nowadays).  One other thing that I make a point of doing now whenever I have a particular work task to do, is log out of email, Facebook, Skype, Twitter for a couple of others to get the task completed.  Sometimes I also switch off my phone.

Learning to be more mindful and present in the moment is something that we all need to work on if we are going to survive this ever increasing digital information revolution.  I am currently reading this great book that I wish to recommend: “The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems” by Dr. Ronald Siegel.  What I love about this book, is that Dr. Siegel has done a superb job blending in science along with psychotherapy and spiritual tradition into a very easy-to-read format with lots of examples and helpful exercises.

The next time you hear of or get approached about a workshop or services in social media, I recommend that you do a quick check online of these people/companies and their services. See if they are actually running in the race. Are they showing up on the first page of Google searches? Are they active on blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook?   Ask for a portfolio and examples of their work in social media.  If they cannot provide you with this basic evidence, then move on find someone else to assist you with your social media needs.

I want to elaborate on the two tips about timing and using hashtags.  Both go very much together.  Keep an eye out on what is a popular hashtag in any given geographic area at any given time.  You can set your area hashtag settings on your Twitter home page on the bottom right sidebar.

Social Media Icons courtesy of Webtreats.mysitemyway.com

As the impact of press releases continues to steadily decline, companies and organizations are having to develop more creative means to reach traditional media outlets.  At the end of the day, the most effective way is to build a relationship with relevant reporters. With the advent of Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc, opportunities to access these reporters have increased substantially.  Many journalists are now running blogs, and have Facebook and Twitter accounts.  You just have to do a little research work and keep up to date with their work.

Here are two helpful posts on Social Media etiquette and pitching stories:

HOW TO: Use Social Media in Your PR Pitch Plan – at Mashable.com by Susan Payton, the Managing Partner of Egg Marketing & Public Relations.

Ten Commandments of Social Media – at Noupe.com

Twitter Guide Book

The good folks at Mashable have developed a nice interactive guidebook on how to use Twitter.  I highly recommend it for folks who are starting out on Twitter or for those already on that wish to expand their Twitter presence.

Check out the guide book by clicking on blue bird ->

Oh and you can also follow me on Twitter by clicking on the “Follow me” button to the right of the blue bird!