Blogs | Social Signal

Part of a series. Original version at AlexandraSamuel.com.

I often talk to people who wonder how they can get started in social media. The typical requirements are:

If part of your job with a non-profit organization is to chase grants, then you may have found the proposal-writing process... well, a little dull at times.

That's especially true if you're applying for support from the kind of buttoned-down funding source that favors turgid, lifeless prose over imagination or creativity.

There's a reason social media analysts and practitioners harp so much on authenticity: it's one of the underpinnings of the "social" in "social media".

Online community works because of our relationships with each other; those relationships can only happen when you feel as though you know the person you're dealing with. Not everything or even most things about the person, but something true... and something significant enough to let you build a certain level of trust. Discover the other person has misled you about who they are or about their motives, and trust dies.

If your site uses WordPress software (as opposed to the hosted WordPress.com site), then you may have heard about the latest upgrade, released just today.

Version 3.1 offers the usual range of improvements - faster this, debugged that, more secure the other - but at first glance, two new features stand out from the pack.

The offi­cial Oscar nom­in­a­tions are out, and there’s a movie up for best picture that has a lot to say about social media and the online com­mu­nic­a­tions revolu­tion sweeping the world.

The Social Network? Hell, no. I’m talking about The King’s Speech.

I've been teaching social media fundamentals in the UBC  and Emily Carr University continuing studies programs for nearly two years now. Early on in every course, I show students how to use iGoogle (and similar services) into a social media dashboard, displaying the latest results from online searches, must-read blogs and other sources.

Ever feel like you're working for a firm called Weneda Communications?

You know what I mean. You have an endless stream of people knocking on your office door and saying, "Hey, Weneda Facebook Page." Or "Weneda blog." Or "Weneda YouTube channel."

(At least Weneda has changed with the times. A few years ago, it would have been "Weneda leaflet" or "Weneda newspaper ad.")

Thing about Weneda Communications is, they're great at production. They know how to crank it out. They're just not terribly strong on why.

Two back-to-back stories on Wired’s Danger Room may well presage a change in the way organizations approach social media.

Unfollowed: Pentagon Deletes Social Media Office: