Over at Web Worker Daily, one of our favorite ways to keep on the cutting edge, has a great post today:  6 Ways to Revive a Dead Social Media Channel.  Take a look at this great tip:

5.  Post consistently and relevantly. Another aspect of gaining back the trust of your connections is to show a commitment to engaging in and updating your channels. Jumping in once every few months appears haphazard and careless. If you don’t show you care, why should anyone else?

Here’s the link to the story.

His post springs from Pizza Hut hiring an intern to manage its social media strategy and this sparks … well … a rant from Goldsborough that hiring an intern to manage social media is tantamount to hiring an intern to manage customer service. Take a quick look:

Would you ever put an entry-level employee in charge of your brand perception, advertising or customer service? That’s what you’re doing when you hire a twintern or someone who’s new to the professional world to manage one or more of your key online consumer touchpoints. Try putting that last sentence in a PowerPoint deck as your strategy and present it to your boss. Then let me know what the reaction was if you still have a job. [entire post]

At High Tech Connect, we’ve seen a dramatic surge in demand for consultants with social media skills and experience and we’ve drawn the conclusion that anyone in marketing MUST be fluent in social media.  But we’re also seeing an economic squeeze that’s driving the work to the millenials who may know how to talk social media but don’t have the more important skills of how to help a company create demand.

We’re watching this topic very closely.  What do you think?

One of the challenges in our ever more connected world is that social media is one, full-on, constant coffee klatch.  The party’s on, whether you’re ready or not. Sign into Facebook and all your friends might know you’re there … and ready to chat.  Sign on to Gmail and Yahoo mail and the same thing happens and the next thing you know, you might be involved in two simultaneous chat sessions as you’re trying to clean out your inbox.  And nothing much good is going on.

One of the blogs I follow, Freelance Switch, had a great article last week about how to use social media and protect your focus all at the same time. Here are some of the lessons to learn:

1. Have a plan
2. Track your time
3. Maintain fueling stations
4. Take breaks
5. Delay reactions

…and here’s a link to the entire post. Do you have a way to manage the social media firehose? I want to know. Pass them on and I’ll share them with everyone here.

Sharlyn Lauby writes: One of the keys to being a successful consultant is information – having it at your fingertips the moment you need it.

While some sources might come and go depending upon the projects I’m working on or the hot topics of the day, there are a few that I keep bookmarked and ready, because I seem to need them on a regular basis.

My top 11 suggestions for online resources that cater to the needs of consultants are listed here. This is just a starter list — add your own suggestions in the comments.

Contact us if you need some help, or know someone who does. No fees from High Tech Connect. Just part of the community trying to get more talented colleagues to work—especially in this challenging economic climate.

And follow us on Twitter #HAPPOSV and #HighTechConnect.

• Between the announcement on Feb 5 and Feb 20th HAPPO had more than 10,000 mentions in social media!
• More than 250 mentions of HAPPO in blogs
• More than 9,693 #HAPPO tweets
• 4,334 Tweets the day of the event

HAPPO Facebook Site

• 1,218 Fans (61 active fans)
• 84 interactions this week 43 likes, 12 comments, 51 wall posts

HAPPO Twitter handle

• 1,038 followers, 73 lists, 315 tweets, 672 link clicks

We are all looking forward to the next HAPPO event, prepared with even more open jobs and information for the PR crowd.

High Tech Connect’s Michelle Stewart and René Siegel are proud to be the Silicon Valley market champions, and will participate in this virtual event via Twitter. HAPPO “market champions” like High Tech Connect will help by retweeting and connecting job seekers on Twitter with potential employers in their specific market.

Leading up to Feb. 19, job seekers are encouraged to develop creative blog posts, pitching themselves to prospective employers and sharing via Twitter during the event on Feb. 19 using the hashtag #HAPPO. Please join us and help spread the word so we can get more people working.

Social media at its core, means sharing, participating in a community, and as counter-intuitive as that feels to private citizens, it’s critical for a social media manager or CEO when creating a company’s social brand. Of course, you do need to be careful if you have young children and not disclose sensitive personal information. But professional communicators need to understand the playing field has changed and if they can’t find you or see your contacts and credentials, they assume you have something to hide. Or you simply don’t “get” social media yet.

For example, why would High Tech Connect allow hundreds of clients to have direct access to 1300 carefully selected consultants via our LinkedIn and Facebook pages? It’s the core of our business model, after all! But our business is not just tossing names and résumés based on keyword searches. Clients trust us to sleuth out the perfect ones with exactly the right skills and personality. They don’t have time to screen everyone who claims to be a writer in our Friend list, and they certainly don’t know who might be exaggerating. We do.

So despite our initial reservations, High Tech Connect is now quite open with our connections in social media. We’re certainly more open than our competitors. We are very honest about collaborating with candidates and clients to create a three-way-win. And we use social media to bring us closer to our colleagues: giving career advice, listening to their suggestions, supporting their families and interests, and keeping our friendship alive.

In social media, you first have to give. And the benefit of that goodwill and generosity is priceless from a brand perspective. So if you want to position yourself as a social media expert, you need to unlock your connections. Share your contacts, your ideas, your advice. In return, you will receive unexpected gifts from those who want to help you to succeed.

What did the attendees think? Here are some of their comments:

“The crash course was singularly one of the most impactful I’ve ever attended in relation to helping me grow business in 2009. Great job all round. Brian was brilliant.”

“My head is still spinning from all I learned!”

“You guys are awesome! You need to do this on the next level, like Lesson 2.”

“You guys cut thru a lot of clutter and techno-babble. For me, the approach was right. This ain’t about technology. It’s about information. Linking people and ideas. Ease. Sign me up for the grad course.”

“The HTC crash course is worth every penny. I suggested a client build their online presence…we’re talking about it…I absolutely could not have made the proposal pre-crash course.”

“In 7 hours I learned what it would have taken me months to figure out on my own. Your presentation was densely packed with answers to questions I didn’t know I had. Thank you for offering this timely class – it has really boosted my value to clients.”

“As a result of attending the seminar, I imported my Outlook calendar into Linkedin and have increased my connections by 30% from just an hour of activity on Lilnkedin.”

“I feel like I finally get it! Now I just need to let go of the fear and jump right in…”

“GREAT seminar. Tons of material covered in a very short time. Again, I just needed more time to absorb, ask questions, and have hands-on experience.”

“The High Tech Connect staff brings expertise and enthusiasm to their workshops. They have real world experience with the subject matter, and check in with each individual attending to ensure they gain what they need from the information presented.”

“The event not only presents a lot of ‘dots’ but more importantly helps ‘connect’ the various dots: Facebook, Twitter, blogging, RSS…”

“This was definitely as advertised! I’m glad I parted with dough to be here.”

“High Tech Connect continues to work with its team to arm them with the latest innovations and techniques. Their Social Media Crash Course is a great example of how they keep their team ahead of the curve.”

“Very good and frank overview of most popular social media tools. Nice to be able to experiment in real time – definitely worth my time!”