Social Media: Obama Gets It

by Deb Ng

A hat tip to Wendy Piersall at Sparkplugging for tweeting this story.

I promise, this isn’t a political post.

One thing that impressed me about Barrack Obama is how he realized the importance of a web presence. He and his team embraced social media and used it with positive results. Obama had a presence on Twitter (with 130,000 followers, mind you) and other social networking sites. He knew it wasn’t enough to stump to the crowds in person, he had to do reach out to the online community as well. In fact, most of Obama’s campaign funding came from online donors, the result of an effective social media campaign. This tells me he’s in touch with the real world.

I learned today President-Elect Obama signed on two Web 2.0 savvy social media experts for his transition team. It’s refreshing to see he continues to get it. Having a web presence will allow Mr. Obama and his team to reach out to even more people. Not just during transition time but for his entire term in office.

I understand the President-Elect himself won’t be doing all of this community outreach, he’ll be very busy after all.   Knowing there are people on his team who will be reaching out to the online community makes me feel a little more secure. Not in a “national security” kind of way, but instead it shows me the future President and his team are in touch enough to know what is needed to succeed and communicate with the American public.

Having a web presence will allow the team to see what people are saying and what areas need fixing. The team can discuss issues and causes, answer questions and soothe fears – all in real time. It’s clear Mr. Obama is setting the bar for future political campaigns and this should be applauded. It’s not enough to be in touch part of the country, Obama found a way to reach us all.

Your turn: What are some of the ways you feel a President or person in office can use effectively use social media?

Why Freelance Writers Need Social Media

by Deborah Ng

Social media is the practice of using online tools and resources to share and discuss items of interest.  As a freelance writer you may think this isn’t your problem, but I’d like to play devil’s advocate, if you don’t mind. Freelancers need and should embrace social media if they want to be a success.

Social Media Ensures an Online Presence

You may have noticed more businesses are looking to create an online presence. They’re hiring bloggers, web content writers, community managers and social media strategists. Some of us predicted this trend years ago. You see, the Internet is too big to ignore. Businesses of all sizes are learning they have to have a web presence to succeed. They can do this using social media. You will also need to learn social media if you want to work for one of these businesses, or noticed by them.

Network with Movers and Shakers

If you worked at home without the benefit of an Internet connection you reach a limited circle of people. When you create an online presence for yourself, you have the opportunity to network with people from all over, and many of these people are in a position to advance your career. For example, A couple of years ago I heard Darren Rowse was looking for guest bloggers to fill in while he went on vacation. I sent him an email asking if I could write a guest post and he encouraged me to do so. When the post went live, I mingled with Darren’s community and gained a many new readers and friends in the process. In the real world, if an editor of a large well-known newspaper was looking for someone to fill in for him on vacation, he certainly wouldn’t have chosen an unknown freelancer. Read more