This Month in Social Media

Here's a round-up of my social media news and analysis from the last few weeks.

As you know, I write about social media for Examiner.com. Instead of re-posting everything I write there on this blog, I will offer my readers useful summaries every month. After all, social media/technology is an important part of Y-rd.

So here's what's been going on in the social Web...

What is social media?: Do you ever need to explain social media (which is way beyond Facebook) to your boss or your mom (or even just want to figure it out yourself?). Check out my definition, and please leave your input. This month I also argue that podcasts are not necessarily social media. What do you think?

Companies shouldn't over-direct social media: Social media can fail at companies that like to over-control everything. Smart companies are paving the roads and providing the traffic lights, but not trying to drive the car. Read my tips for how companies can avoid over-directing social media.

Marines ban social networking: Because of security risk, the U.S. Marine Corps. pulled the plug on social networking sites for one year. It might be ironic that meanwhile the Department of Defense is trying to be more Web-savvy.

Google introduces social gadgets: iGoogle introduced 19 new social gadgets on its Web site. I admit I haven't tried any of them yet, but would like to hear your reviews.

Tweets that get you in trouble: Here's a round-up of a few "rogue tweets" in the news that you might want to consider before you next tweet. After all, you don't want to get sued, robbed or fined $2,500.

Please let me know if there are angles of social media you'd like to hear more about. I'm always up to research and/or bloviate about the topic.