I was recently approached by the team at Vpype to test out their brand new Facebook app that allows you to stream LIVE video directly from your Facebook profile or fan page to your friends and fans!

This app is a gamechanger! Live video streaming meets Facebook. and the best part? It’s FREE!

Vpype allows you to:

• Schedule regular shows
• Broadcast live anytime
• Broadcast as yourself or broadcast as your fan page
• Select specific friends to broadcast to (think private conferencing, trainings, etc!)
• Archive your shows
• Embed any show
• Browse through your Facebook friends’ show recordings
• .and more.

So, last night around 7:30pm PST, I put out a tweet, updated my Facebook profile status and began broadcasting – within a few minutes, we had over 40 participants view the show (ultimately 247 live views) and engage in the chat room from around the U.S. and as far as Singapore, Iceland and Gold Coast, Australia! (See this prompt recap of my Vpype debut by Marianna Fridjonsdottir in Iceland!)

The Vpype Facebook app displays on your Fan Page as a tab called "Shows."

By the way, here’s a hot Facebook fan page tip: All tabs to the left of Wall and Info can be reordered by dragging and dropping. In the screenshot below, I’ve placed my Shows tab inbetween my Blog and Welcome tabs:

Possible uses of the Vpype Facebook app – some are my ideas, some I asked my peeps in the chat room:

• Live Q&A for fans on your fan page
• Private conferences
• Family chats
• Daily/weekly show with guest experts
• Short tips/tutorial videos – live or pre-recorded
• New product demos
• Classes
• Video book reviews
• Virtual party
• Cooking demonstration

And a few excerpted enthusiastic comments:

We only ran into just a couple hiccups; for some viewers the stream was sticking from time to time (but that depends on variables such as internet speed on the viewer end, of course). Also, the chat area froze one time and I ended up hitting refresh – which temporarily stopped my live broadcast, but the users stayed connected and we ended up picking right back up where we left off. However, the second part didn’t seem to record.

Also, I first published this post with the video embedded – but was a wee bit alarmed to see the video plays on load! So, I took it out.

You can watch the show here. And, I’ve pasted below a screenshot of what the embed looks like. (Btw, the default width is 750px which is rather wide and needs to be sized).

A few items on our features wishlist as a result of this debut show:

• Embedded player does NOT play on load
• Default embed size is 600px
• Notification of who joined/left
• Participants’ names/avatars linked to their Facebook profile
• Ability to pause the chat area (similar to Tweetchat)
• Broadcast inside the "frame" of a fan page tab
• Ability to assign mic/webcam rights to others for live video interview

Vpype officially launches on Monday, March 15, 2010 at the Social Media World Forum in London.

So, what do you think? How will you use live video broadcasting on Facebook? Let me know in the comments below!

At the recent 140 Twitter Conference, I sparked a bit of controversy on the branding panel that I participated on: I brought up a point that reminds me of the line in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross “ABC, always be closing” and I framed it as “ABM = always be marketing” and “always be me.”

I was fascinated to see the polarized responses from the audience, Twitterverse and one of my fellow panelists. (I’m a big fan of expressing opinions, but it’s not my style to polarize! Oh well!)

To me, Always Be Marketing means that I am extremely mindful and strategic about everything I do online and in public. For example, turquoise and bling is my signature branding color/look/feel – so that’s what I present in public. (Eight percent of my wardrobe is a shade of blue!) And, my persona is upbeat, open, caring, genuine and always helpful, always willing to answer questions particularly about Facebook. This is all part of my brand.

In fact, the greatest compliment I receive is when people meet me in person and say I’m exactly like they thought I would be from how I am online.

With social media so prevalent we are all EXTREMELY visible. Your prospective clients, your peers and your competition can drill as deep as they wish searching, reading and gathering information online about you and posted by you without you ever knowing who’s searching. Depending on what they find, your prospects may choose to do business with you or not.

Being mindful and in “ABM” mode helps with reputation management. To me, ABM means you’re never careless about what you put out there. You see the longevity of everything that’s published. (For the best book on reputation management see, Radically Transparent by Andy Beal and Judy Strauss).

To some folks, the word “marketing” has negative connotations. It’s a word often misinterpreted as meaning “hocking your wares,” “pushing” and being like a used car salesman. That’s unfortunate. There’s a big difference between ABP: always be pushing and ABM: always be marketing!

I unfollow the “ABP” types on Twitter and unfriend or even block them on Facebook. I’m all about connecting and building relationships… and yes, there’s strategy to all that too. What may seem as idle chit-chat on Twitter is 100% visible to the whole world on Twitter. It’s important to always do your best, because you just never know who is watching you.

Perhaps some folks have negative feelings associated with the movie, Glengarry Glen Ross – it’s an intense movie and the question of ethics and integrity in sales is a theme running throughout the film. I certainly would never recommend doing “whatever it takes” to market. It has to be genuine, positive and contribute to your community. Like I say, the ABM also means “always be me” (or, for me, “always be Mari!”

In fact, here’s a couple of my fave nuggets from the #140tc:

What are your thoughts? What does ABM mean to you? Do you consider yourself to be in “marketing mode” at all times – or is it something you turn on and off? Do you apply a special formula to your tweeting style with x% personal and x% business? Is there a clear line between the two, or are you like me and completely blend your social media personal/professional style because you know ultimately people are buying YOU first?! I’d love to hear from you – add your thoughts in the comments below:

I’m often asked how I got started in social media and became so successful and well known. Well, first I like to think I’m humble and am just “one of the peeps” like everyone else, which is true. But I do recognize my business has really exploded in the past eighteen months, and so I thought I’d come up with a list of contributing factors that you might find of benefit too:

1. Get lucky!

My definition of luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Since ‘99, I had pursued a path of relationship marketing, internet marketing, and success coaching… all of which culminated in social media when I got invited to join an alpha team of a Facebook app in 2007. I joke about being an “overnight success ten years in the making” – perhaps you can relate?! But all these years were preparation for my passion and purpose to intersect. I’d been preparing for many years, then an opportunity presented itself and I took ACTION!

2. Self-knowledge.

I’m a raving fan of personality assessments. I’ve taken over fifteen assessments, including Myers Briggs, DISC, Reiss, Kolbe’s, iWAM, PIAV, the Enneagram… you may be familiar with some of these. I believe it’s not enough to just do one assessment. By understanding yourself – and ultimately others – at a deep level, you’re better able to design a lifestyle and career that motivates you and meets your needs.

3. FOCUS.

I love the acronym for the word “focus”: Follow One Course Until Successful. Every year I choose a one-word theme for my entire year. In 2008, my word was focus – I did not deviate from my path of predominantly Facebook education which lead to many, many doors opening.

4. Influence.

My one-word focus for 2009 is influence. I ask myself, “Who and what am I allowing to influence me?” In terms of social media, we all have equal opportunity to build up significant influence. Your “tribe” is made up of people who know, like and trust you. They may hang on your every word. That’s a responsible position to be in!

5. Be yourself

“Be yourself because everybody else is already taken.” I love this quote almost as much as I love this Dr. Seuss quote: “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” This goes along with my notion that there is no competition. Nobody can offer the exact same product or service in the way that you offer it with your personal touch. This goes for big brands too. Be yourself is also all about authenticity and transparency in social media.

6. Know what you want.

One of my mentors, T. Harv Eker, used to say the #1 reason people don’t get what they want in life is they don’t know what they want. Hmm. So, of course, the secret is to get super clear on exactly what it is you want. This goes for personal, life and business goals whether you’re a solopreneur or CEO of a big company. In social media, what are your objectives – more visibility? Increase in traffic, subscribers, fans, followers, friends? Then what? How will you convert them to paying clients?

7. Have a plan

The main reason people fail in social media is lack of a strategy. There’s so much confusing and conflicting advice out there, it’s easy to get lost in the social media jungle. By having a clear objective, developing a strategy to accomplish that objective, and measuring milestones along the way, you’re bound to have better results.

8. Stay on track.

This goes along with #3 above, FOCUS. It’s all too easy to get distracted and go down a million rabbit holes as I call them. Or to have “multiple-hat syndrome” where you have about six different businesses. Much as it’s fine to have multiple streams of income, I strongly recommend you stay on course with one primary business until that venture is at the level of success you want.

9. Add value.

R. Buckminster Fuller talked about the importance of adding value and that your financial wealth is a direct reflection of how much value you add to the world. Sometimes it’s easy to think you don’t want to give away the store. But I really think we cannot give it all away because every day new ideas, techniques and strategies come along… so give generously. And help promote and build others up.

10. Broadcast the postive.

I love to focus only on updates that are upbeat and positive. I’m a glass-half-full type of person anyway. What often gives Twitter a bad name is people think we just sit around and share about trivia… well, some people do! But I like to say nothing at all if I can’t think of something of value to say.  We have a position of responsibility to influence others in a positive way, to create positive ripples. At the end of the day, you want to be the voice that is remembered, not just heard. (Kudos to my friend, Nancy Marmolejo, where I first heard this awesome saying!)

11. Surround yourself with successful mentors.

In order to get to the next level in life and business, it’s important to seek the counsel of experienced mentors who are several levels above where you are now. The best investment you can make is in yourSELF. Not just business, professional and financial training. But in deep personal, spiritual and emotional growth too. Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world, so the more you grow yourself the more successful you’ll become.

12. Take imperfect action.

One of my mentors last year, Kevin Nations, has this great saying, “Winners take imperfect action while others are sitting around perfecting their plans.” Well, I’m a recovering perfectionist! I used to have to wait until every duck was in a row. Now, I make myself just GO for it. When I first announced my social media certification program earlier this year, I really wanted to wait awhile longer, but I went for it anyway because I’d already waited 18 months… and was simply astounded by the overwhelming response! (I’ll be announcing dates for the next program just as soon as possible!)

13. Correct and continue.

Did you know a rocketship is only on course 3% of the time? The remaining 97% it’s course-correcting. This is true for us. At every turn, we have an opportunity to put something out there, test it, make a correction, test again. But if you keep waiting for things to be perfect, you’ll never launch. So, for sure, due your due diligence, then take imperfect action, then correct and continue!! And, the faster your correct, the better… especially with social media being so prevalent because people notice your mistakes quicker!

14. Be willing to be a bit “out there.”

By this I mean, be a bit off the wall, a bit crazy. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Have fun. I love to goof around with my avatars on Twitter – I call it my avataritis and my favorite is my avatiara! Check out my avatar slideshow here and this great post What does your avatar say about you by Maureen Birdsall.

15. LIVE WITH PASSION!!

“Live with passion” is one of my favorite Tony Robbins sayings! Tony certainly embodies passion, as does my friend, Gary Vaynerchuk. If you ever get the chance to see Tony or Gary live on stage – GO! Both are hugely vibrant, larger-than-life, passionate peeps!!

I hope you found a few good nuggets in here for yourself. What are some of your secrets to success? Feel free to share below:

I created this five-part model – the ABC’s of Social Media – to simplify your social media efforts. Many folks come to social media and attempt to short-circuit the process by over-automating, over-broadcasting, over-delegating and miss out the vital component of connecting, engaging and building relationships.

Once you’ve confirmed your target market uses Facebook and Twitter, and you’re happy with your brand, messaging and systems for capturing leads, etc., here’s how the ABC system works:

Automate

First, set up systems to automate your broadcasts, feeds, updates, content. On Twitter, this could be using Twitterfeed to automatically post your blog feed as tweets. To pre-schedule tweets, use TweetLater and/or Hootsuite.

To update multiple social media sites, including Twitter, your Facebook personal profile, multiple Facebook Fan Pages, LinkedIn, FriendFeed and many more, Ping.fm works extremely well. To pre-schedule updates to multiple social sites, the best choice is HootSuite > Ping.fm.

Import your blog post on Facebook using the Notes app and/or the Networked Blogs app.

Aggregate all your social feeds into FriendFeed and add the FriendFeed app to your Facebook Profile.

There are many more ways to automate; these are a great start. However, I do recommend not over-automating. Pre-scheduling and auto-broadcasting are great to ensure you at least have some content going out daily. But you’ll also want to generate real-time content/broadcasts too.

Broadcast

Broadcasts are what I call regular tweets (as opposed to @ replies), Facebook status updates, posts on Facebook, blog posts and more. In fact, any way of pushing your message “out there.” This could be seen as more traditional “push marketing” though you’re not being pushy, per se. It’s important to broadcast your content and, in fact, broadcast others’ content in the form of retweets, favorites, social bookmarks and the Links app on Facebook.

Now the challenge with many businesses using social media is they stop at “B” – in other words, they just repeat the cycle of automate and broadcast, automate and broadcast. It’s hard to know who’s behind the Twitter account or Facebook page. It’s all about pushing content and there’s hardly any engagement. So the third step is vital to your success in social media:

Connect

On Twitter, this is the art of joining, initiating and responding to conversations via @ replies. Using popular third party clients like Tweetdeck, Twhirl or Seesmic Desktop, you can easily track and respond to @yourname mentions.

On Facebook, create Friend Lists with your key contacts, drag that friend list to the top of your News Feed and now that’s your default view [see screenshot to the right]. Then, even in just a few minutes a day on Facebook, you can easily connect by commenting appropriately.

Acknowledge your friends’ birthdays on both Facebook and Twitter. [On Facebook, all your friends' upcoming birthdays are listed on your Home Page on the right; you can also receive a weekly list of upcoming birthdays via regular email: click Settings > Account Settings > Notifications > under the first segment (Facebook) click Show More > make sure "Has a birthday coming up" is turned ON.]

Look for other occasions to celebrate and acknowledge. And, look for ways to introduce and promote others, compliment, add value.

Subscribe to a number of popular blogs and regularly post your comments. When writing your own blog posts, encourage your readers to comment by asking stimulating questions.

Delegate

If you’re serious about integrating social media into your marketing efforts, before long you simply cannot manage everything yourself. Depending on the size of your company, you may well have a member of staff who’s sole responsibility is to be the voice and face of the company, often called a “brandividual.”

Or, you may choose to hire a competent, trained VA (Virtual Assistant) or social networking assistant – at least to help set up and manage the basics. I usually recommend you do not delegate your voice, though most of us know some celebrities have “ghost tweeters!” [There are many sources to find good VAs, including on Twitter via the directory Twellow.com - that way you can find, follow and monitor their style before even contacting them.]

One major task you can delegate is to track and monitor your reputation by setting up Google alerts and tweet alerts (via TweetBeep and/or TweetLater which is a suite of helpful Twitter tools). Look for your evangelists who are always singing your praises so you can connect, empower and incentivize them more. And, also look for negative activity that needs to be responded to and ideally nipped in the bud. [The best book on reputation management is Radically Transparent by Andy Beal and Judy Strauss.]

Evaluate

As quickly as you set up your social media systems, something new comes along or the big sites introduce new features. Facebook are constantly adding a tweak here and there, sometimes minor but often major. It’s important you stay informed and regularly evaluate how your systems are working for you. Are you meeting your objectives? Are you getting a good ROI (return on investment) and ROT (return on time). Have you thoroughly researched where your target market hang out most and are you reaching them effectively? How can you think outside the box, get more creative and innovative to stay ahead of the curve?

Let me know your thoughts on my ABC’s of Social Media model – did I miss anything critical? Does it help you better understand how you can effectively use the giants like Facebook and Twitter? Please do retweet this post too, assuming you found it valuable!

Today is a BIG day: a seven feet tall day! My giant friend, Dave Lakhani, releases his book How To Sell When Nobody’s Buying (And How To Sell Even More When They Are).

This book is a powerful step-by-step guide to generating significantly more sales using many proven techniques, along with tapping into the power of social media, how to be seen to sell, and how to build lasting, prosperous relationships!

I am thrilled and honored to be one of only four contributing authors. My chapter is called, How To Effectively Use Facebook To Find Your Ideal Work, Build Your Brand, and Increase Your Sales.

Hop over to Dave’s book site now and be sure to first order your copy of this awesome new book today. And then enter your name, email address and receipt number on Dave’s amazing bonuses page for lots of free goodies and plenty chances to win BIG!

Today, Dave will be randomly choosing winners each hour to receive free cameras, iPods, products, and private consultations. Plus, three peeps will win Dave’s $10k Grand Prize of a one day in person consultation to transform your business. Whew, that rocks! As the saying goes, you have to be IN to WIN!

As my own special bonus gift, here’s another super-duper special opportunity for you: a chance to WIN a scholarship to attend my Fast Track to Social Marketing Mastery program! (Worth $5k).

It’s an intense six-week program, very limited in size, typically only available via invitation. (See a quick overview of Social Marketing Mastery here). The next program is coming up fast on June 11th. We meet for six consecutive weeks via my private webinar room, plus one-on-one time with me to help you get big and go viral using social media!

Here’s how to enter:

It’s real simple; just write a comment here on this blog post (or in the comments section below if you’re reading this inside Facebook) telling me these THREE things:

1. Where you’re feeling stuck with Facebook/Twitter/social media.
2. How you think your business would benefit most from a rapid immersion in high-level social marketing training.
3. Why I should pick you as the winner of this scholarship.

That’s it! I’ll choose a winner by midnight tonight (June 9th) and will contact you via email. (I will be verifying with Dave that you got a copy of his book!)

NOTE: if you wish your comment/entry to remain private, please include the words “don’t publish” and I will read your comment offline and it won’t be published. (Of course, this only applies on my blog, not on Facebook).

Good luck!! Now, STEP #1: go get your copy of How To Sell When Nobody’s Buying FIRST!

I wanted to give you a glimpse behind the curtains of my business. First, I have to say I feel extremely blessed to be so supported in my community. I’m deeply grateful for all the amazing connections I’ve made over the past two years through Facebook and Twitter.

My business is absolutely exploding through the roof these days. I have a competent team of assistants and project managers. I’m in two powerful masterminds. I have mentors, advisors and role models. Plus, I recently hired a systems expert to help streamline all my processes this year.

And, some time ago, I had the idea to start an international association for social media specialists and to offer certification training programs for both coaches / consultants / marketers and for virtual assistants. I kept waiting for my ducks to be in a row, for everything to be perfect. But that day never comes. As a recovering perfectionist, I figured it was time to take imperfect action.

So, I recently quietly opened up MentorWithMari.com – my new protege program to certify social marketing specialists. The response has been astounding. Truly astounding.

I’m also about to embark on an intense two month speaking tour in the US and UK. I am so honored to speak on the stages of such accomplished leaders as Fabienne Fredrickson, Adam Urbanski, James Malinchak, Bernadette Doyle (in Belfast, Ireland!), Terry Wygal, Mike Lathigee, and more in the fall – Arielle Ford, Bill Glazer, Dan Kennedy and more. [See my public calendar of events here.]

(I should also mention part of my two months on the road includes a wonderful five-day cruise to Mexico with my Mastermind partners!)

[Update from Mari: due to my calendar of events and speaking schedule being uber squeezed, I made the bittersweet decision not to go on the mastermind cruise. I need this one week to laser focus on all the moving parts of my business, my team, and my new systems. I may take my whole team on a cruise in the fall, then!!]

Meantime, for many months, I had this week blocked off for a special retreat for myself, my team and my systems specialist to laser focus on tightening up all my company processes.

So, in order to truly focus, I’m also going to "go dark" on Twitter and Facebook. This will be a first for me in about two years.

[Update from Mari: Ha! Now I see where the misunderstanding came from - many people have been saying to me, "Mari, I thought you were retiring for two years?!" Um, what I mean was I've never once unplugged from Twitter or Facebook in the past two years!! And it was only ONE week that I was unplugging. I lasted a whole 72 hours, you know!]

I have to say, I have a sense of discomfort about unplugging! It’ll be an interesting experiment. But a very worthy and important one.

See, it really troubles me when an important email goes unanswered or direct messages are missed because I simply don’t have enough hours in the day to personally respond to all (even though one of my assistants spends four hours a day reading, managing and replying to much of my email for me).

It bothers me when I’m unable to reply to all @ messages that so many of my wonderful followers on Twitter send to me, or when I’m unable to reply to each friend who emails me on Facebook or writes on my wall… because there are just not enough hours in the day.

Such is the nature of social media. Suddenly, we open ourselves up to a multitude of touch points. There is a new expectation of availability. I love to engage and connect and I know you do too. Yet, where do you draw the line between being available and making sure you have enough focus time and personal time?

In any case, just know that if you’ve ever tried to contact me for any reason through any medium – whether Twitter, Facebook, regular email, Skype or phone – and I have not gotten back to you in a timely manner, it’s not personal. There’s a good chance I’ve read your message but it’s been very late at night or I’m rushing to a commitment so haven’t been able to reply.

Over the coming weeks and months, my systems will be so much more robust that I’ll be able to provide even better service to both my clients and community at large.

I’m happy to share with you what new systems I put in place over the coming weeks as a result of my retreat.

How about you? What do you find most overwhelming about managing a growing business? Are your follow-up systems solid? Where do you most need support? Though social media may have increased your business, have you still been able to maintain plenty time for your personal life? I’d love to know! Please share below:

Online social networking giants like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube allow us to expand our community exponentially… without ever leaving the comfort of our home offices.

However, to heighten and accelerate your success, attending live events is equally important. You get to see and be seen. You’ll have meaningful conversations in person. You take photographs and upload them to Facebook, Flickr, Twitpic. Of course, you get to learn valuable tools, strategies and secrets to success.

And, you get to meet some of the most amazing people you may never have been able to connect with otherwise… in person. [Pic R: Les Brown & Mari Smith. I had the honor of sharing the stage with Les Brown at SANG] [Pic below: Stacey Hylen, Dorcy Russell, Yanik Silver, Mari Smith - all dressed up for Yanik's Underground5 Bond night!]

By first connecting with new people via online social networks, it’s easy to create what I call "virtual rapport." Oftentimes, you may feel like you have an incredibly close relationship with a social networking friend… all that remains is to meet them in person and it’s like you’ve known each other for years!

Or, conversely, what’s happened to me a few times too is I have a certain picture in my mind’s eye of how I think someone is like in real life. Then I meet them face to face and there’s this instant chemistry. I suddenly morph the image of who I thought the person was into who they really are, and I’m pleasantly and warmly surprised.

This anchors my point that you simply cannot afford not to attend live events. All the online social networking in the world (even including video conferencing) will never replace face-to-face networking. Everyone has an energy field and you cannot get a true sense of that without physically being in their presence.

I absolutely love to attend, support and speak at live events; personal and professional growth seminars have been a passion of mine for decades. See my calendar of upcoming public events here.

Just in the past couple months, I’ve attended and/or spoken at these amazing events:

• Affiliate Summit West 2009
• David Neagle’s Million Dollar Achievement Award Ceremony
• Your Best Year Yet
• Christian Mickelsen’s Coaching Business Empire
• Conscious Entrepreneur Experience
• Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar 5
• SANG: Speakers and Authors Networking Group [link goes to my blog post with Twitter ID's of attendees!]
• Alex Mandossian’s TeleSeminar Secrets Reunion [page to follow with Twitter ID's of attendees]

I can honestly say attending a variety of events and speaking at events about Facebook/Twitter/social media this past year or so has lead to more and more consulting, training and speaking contracts! Love that.

What events will you be attending this year? What has been your most enjoyable event to date? Do you attend Tweetups in your area? If not, would you consider organizing/hosting one?! Do you think online social networking can ever replace live events? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

Last week on Twitter, Viveka von Rosen [@linkedinexpert], Peggy Dolane [@freerangemom] and I [@marismith] hosted the first "#lion" Twitter discussion: a tweet-in that asked the question: How open a networker are you on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter?.

[#lion = LinkedIn Open Networker - a person who grows their network as broadly as possible.]

This week we’re continuing the #lion conversation with this question:

Do you limit what you share about yourself on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?

To get the conversation started, here’s some food for thought:

• Lisa Nova poked fun at the over-tweeters among us in her YouTube satire Twitter Whore (viewed by over 730,000 to date.) None of us want to be that person, do we?
• Smart businesses know that a real person tweeting will win you more loyal followers. Just ask Scott Monty at Ford, @Zappos’ CEO, Tony Hsieh, or @TypeAMom, Kelby Carr who wrote a great post about this issue last summer.
• On a more serious note, Canadian child protection authorities were contacted by Twitter recently when a mother made comments about how she might get her children to go to sleep.

There are many aspects of my life I choose not to Tweet about. Everything I do online and offline is with deliberate and strategic intent. "Mindful" you might call it. My underlying questions when sharing are "Would I be comfortable with this information being on the front page of the New York Times? (or found in a Google Search!)" and/or "Would I be proud for my grandchildren to read this information in 20-30 years’ time?"

Here’s the thing, I don’t believe you need to live in a glass house. Sure, many business owners and independent professionals have personal lives very much merged with their personal lives; the lines are blurred between personal and professional. BUT, you must still have a private life as I wrote about here last year.

Does your tweeting have any limits? [Did you know every single tweet is an individual web page indexed by Google?!] Or do you share every minute detail of your life online? Or, perhaps you save more personal information for Facebook and Twitter and keep LinkedIn strictly business?

Join Viveka, Peggy and Mari LIVE on Twitter on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 5pm PT / 8pm ET to explore more about the pros and cons of open vs. strategic networking.

HERE’S HOW: To read and participate in the live networking tweet-in, log in with your Twitter username at http://tweetchat.com and enter the room for #lion.

[Or, watch the tweets at this search string and chip in with your own #lion tweets from your favorite Twitter app.]

Related posts:

• Facebook: Personal, Professional… and Private!
• Be Careful What You Post

[Blog jointly written by Peggy Dolane and Mari Smith.]

Peggy Dolane, @freerangemom:

Peggy Dolane,  principal at Provient Marketing, designs  affordable marketing programs and writes engaging copy that turns your audience into customers.

Viveka von Rosen, @linkedinexpert:

Viveka Von Rosen is the CSMO (Chief Social Media Officer) of Integrated Alliances, and the Social Media and Marketing Director for The Executive Center.  A victim of expensive and ineffective traditional marketing, Viveka was able to double TEC’s business through social and F2F (face to face) networking.  It is now her passion in life to help others build their businesses through social media strategies. 

Mari Smith, @marismith:  

Mari Smith is a Relationship Marketing Specialist and Social Media Business Coach.  Dubbed the Pied Piper of Facebook by Fast Company, Mari helps entrepreneurs grow their business profits using an integrated social marketing strategy with particular focus on Facebook and Twitter.

If you’re reading this post after the #lion Twitter discussion [quite possible as I'm posting it at DFW airport just as the discussion is starting, lol!] – you can still view the tweetstream here or here.

Do you accept all friend requests on Facebook? And all contact requests on LinkedIn? Do you follow anyone on Twitter?

Or, are you more strategic in who you befriend?

Those people who tend to accept everyone into their network are typically referred to as "wide-open networkers." Those who are more particular about who they let into their circle of friends may be called "strategic networkers." (Then, there are those who use LinkedIn for professional purposes and Facebook for close personal friends and family, for example.)

Whether you’re a wide-open networker, like Viveka, or a strategic networker, like Peggy, or a bit of both like me, you’ve probably had to spend a little time deciding who to befriend and who to ignore on your various social networks.

[Blog jointly written by Viveka Von Rosen, Mari Smith and Peggy Dolane.]

Viveka Von Rosen, @linkedinexpert:

Viveka Von Rosen is the CSMO (Chief Social Media Officer) of Integrated Alliances, and the Social Media and Marketing Director for The Executive Center.  A victim of expensive and ineffective traditional marketing, Viveka was able to double TEC’s business through social and F2F (face to face) networking.  It is now her passion in life to help others build their businesses through social media strategies. 

I am what you might call a promiscuous networker.  In fact, I never say no to anyone (on LinkedIn that is!)  Folks like me are known in LinkedIn as LIONS (LinkedIn Open Networkers).  And to be completely transparent, LinkedIn doesn’t like us much.

Since I am in the field of social media strategy and marketing, I feel I need a giant network as a service to my clients.  In numbers this means I have 4200+ direct connections and 17+ million in my LinkedIn Network (and growing).  Both my Twitter and Facebook networks are significantly smaller only because I am a late-comer to both. 

In my experience, the larger the network the bigger the portal into the LinkedIn world, and the more likely I am to find the diamond amongst the gravel that my clients are looking for.  It’s true I might not be able to give the warmest introduction to someone I don’t know well, (unless I do) but I am at least able to give an introduction.  A large network is most useful for Job Seekers and people in Sales and Recruiting where it is a numbers game. 

“C” level folks will probably want to remain “LaMBs” (“Look at My Buds”) LaMBs (like Peggy) know everyone in their network, and if you are lucky enough to connect with one, you will find their network much more useful than a LION network.  LIONs love LaMBs. I can contact Peggy and I know she knows everyone in her network and could – should she choose – give me a very warm written, perhaps even verbal recommendation.

Peggy Dolane, @freerangemom:

Peggy Dolane,  principal at Provient Marketing, designs  affordable marketing programs and writes engaging copy that turns your audience into customers.

My strategic network isn’t huge – it’s somewhere around 300 people.  That includes about 100 people I follow closely on Twitter, about 100 LinkedIn contacts (all of whom I have worked with or know personally), about 100 Outlook contacts, and perhaps 50 friends on Facebook.  I’m not counting the hundreds of families I know through my kid’s school, church or community service projects I’ve been involved in – but I probably should!

What it doesn’t have in numbers, it makes up in relationships.  I define my strategic network as my community – people I know well enough to ask for a favor.  My goal is to build relationships, not numbers of contacts.  I don’t accept every invitation I get on LinkedIn, for example, because every one of my LinkedIn contacts are people I’d feel confident in recommending their work and having it reflect back on me.  But that doesn’t mean that I don’t actively mine LinkedIn via participating in groups and answering questions as opportunities to connect to new people. 

I’m an open networker on StumbleUpon, Digg, and BizNik.  I use these networks to reach out to new and broader audiences.  Frankly, I’m still growing into my open network strategy.  I believe open networking has great value, but I’m still cautiously opening my network doors.  I’m fairly open on Twitter – following back nearly anyone who looks like I have something in common with and who isn’t just amassing followers. 

Mari Smith, @marismith:  

Mari Smith is a Relationship Marketing Specialist and Social Media Business Coach.  Dubbed the Pied Piper of Facebook by Fast Company, Mari helps entrepreneurs grow their business profits using an integrated social marketing strategy with particular focus on Facebook and Twitter.

For Facebook, I would call myself a strategic networker more than an open networker. Unlike LinkedIn or Twitter where there are no limitations to the size of your network, Facebook caps your friends at 5,000. (Which is why I strongly recommend setting up a Facebook Fan Page – where you can have unlimited fans). I reached the 5,000 friend limit after about 16 months of strategic networking on Facebook.

My strategy from the beginning of my Facebook journey (July 2007) was to reach out to many well-known influential people in my industry: authors, speakers, trainers, internet marketers, even celebrity actors. (Leonardo Di Caprio was one of my first Facebook friends!)

If certain people were not yet on Facebook, I would find a way to contact them and help them understand the power of Facebook (which is why Fast Company calls me “the Pied Piper of Facebook!”)

Then, what I endeavor to do consistently is what I call "Radical Strategic Visibility" – that is, to be seen in all the right places at the right time by the right people.  Because of the News Feed feature of Facebook, by deliberately and strategically choosing all my activities, I can consistently appear in the Feeds of these highly influential friends and – over time – position myself as the industry expert.

I like to say “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know… and, more importantly, *who knows you.*” Facebook provides an unprecedented opportunity to position yourself consistently as THE go-to person in your niche/industry.

I’m also a huge advocate of the micro-blogging site, Twitter and tweet heartily in conjunction with being active on Facebook.

People to Follow

One of the great aspects of networking is meeting new people. With that in mind, here are a few recommended peeps to follow:

See also Twitter follow recommendations by Viveka and Peggy.

Twitter:

• @guykawasaki
• @garyvee
• @scobleizer
• @dhollings
• @coachdeb
• @unmarketing
• @simonleung
• @problogger
• @copyblogger
• @chrisbrogan
• @denisewakeman
• @mike_stelzner
• @alohaarleen
• @lizstrauss
• @nancymarmolejo
• @websuccessdiva
• @chrisgarrett

LinkedIn:

• Mike O’Neil, http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoneil , CEO of Integrated Alliances – premier LinkedIn training site
• Lori Ruff, http://www.linkedin.com/in/loriruff, CAO of Integrated Alliances
• Stan Relihan, http://www.linkedin.com/in/stanrelihan — Great blogs on LinkedIn – LinkedIntelligence
• Shally Steckerl,  http://www.linkedin.com/in/shally, another LinkedIn Expert
• Dawn Todd,   www.linkedin.com/in/executivelifecoach , Excellent Networking Maven

Digg:

• Mike Witt, http://digg.com/users/wittmc — Mike’s passion is helping people grow their at-home businesses.  He has a network of 750+ friends on Digg that he uses judiciously, without spamming.

Facebook:

• Chris Brogan – President, New Marketing Labs, a social media agency and education company.  Facebook Fan Page.
• Jeremiah Owyang – Senior Analyst at Forrester Research and popular web strategist. Web Strategy Facebook Group.
• Ali Brown – Founder & CEO of Alexandria Brown International, leading women worldwide to create amazing lives for themselves via entrepreneurship.  Facebook Profile.
• Kevin Nations – Specialist in Big Ticket profits. Facebook Fan Page.

Join Viveka, Peggy and Mari LIVE on Twitter on Wednesday, January 14, 2009, 5pm PT / 8pm ET to explore more about the pros and cons of open vs. strategic networking.

HERE’S HOW: To read and participate in the live networking tweet-in, log in with your Twitter username at http://tweetchat.com and enter the room for #lion.

[Or, watch the tweets at this search string and chip in with your own #lion tweets from your favorite Twitter app.]

What type of networker are you?  Open ("lion"), Strategic ("lamb"), or your own hybrid style? Write your comment below about your networking style.

I love to choose a specific theme for each year which guides my major decisions. 2008’s theme was FOCUS and I’m very pleased with my results as a terrific reflection of that theme.

For 2009, I’m choosing INFLUENCE as my guiding theme. Here’s my key question:

Who and what am I allowing to influence me?

Notice the key word "allowing." We do have choice as to who and what influences us. However, it can often be easier to follow the path of least resistance and just keep hanging out with the same under-achieving friends or non-supportive family members.

I certainly don’t mean this disrespectfully, but you may have heard people like Joe Vitale say: "Your income is the average of the five people you hang out with the most." Many people might suggest you need to change your friends if you’re not happy with your income. While that would certainly be one choice – and could be the best one for you – an alternative is to help your friends get wealthy too! As Zig Ziglar says, "You can get anything you want in life by helping enough other people to get what they want."

For me, my 2009 theme of influence includes the books I read, audio programs I listen to, seminars I attend, mentors I follow, consultants I hire, and all my team members.

What’s influencing me also includes the collective social influence from social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Influence may also include my physical environment and my thoughts, feelings, beliefs and intrinsic motivations.

Equally, I strive to be aware of my own influence on my community of friends, clients and colleagues. My intention is always positive, always timely, and always value-adding.

I’ll be closely monitoring my decisions and direction as 2009 rolls in and on to make sure my influence factors are the highest and best for me.

Now it’s your turn! What’s your theme for 2009?