One Thousand Casmurros from LiveAD on Vimeo.

Your privacy has been a hot topic lately.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has decided to allow software developers access to your click-through patterns in order to track interests, and ultimately spending trends.

It’s called data-mining and it’s big business.

Mr. Z stands to make a lot of money by creating statistics out of your clicks.

Personally, I’m okay with that. I really am.

I understand that by participating online, I am revealing information about myself that can be viewed by marketers, hackers, ex-boyfriends (the entire world) to see.

I participate online knowing that what I put out there can and will be held against me in the court of opinion and statistics; that advertisers will harvest my email and personal stats so they could send me unsolicited offers.

In this day and age, a digital trail is hard to avoid.

With that said, we all want to be safe.

Take a look at http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/. This free software will review your current Facebook settings and will make suggestions on what you need to change to be as safe as possible.

Your Unique Verification Code:
EAVB_XEHXOEAUSD

As Social Media gains popularity, we start to see newfangled ways of automating an online presence and creating short cuts to maintaining a virtual existence.

While automation may have a small role in our online strategies, it’s important to remember that good manners and common courtesy have more to do with a thriving online presence than scheduled tweets and automated blogs posts.

Here are four extremely simple points to keep in mind when building your own online presence:

Reciprocity.The heart and soul of social media is the act of reciprocity. If someone says hello to you, take a moment to say hello back. If someone retweets one of your tweets, return the favor. Respond to those who initiate communication with you and do it promptly. It seems simple enough, but you’d be surprised how few people actually take a moment to give back. The art of reciprocity will help you develop relationships with your online community.

Respect. Think twice about sending automatic direct messages. It’s disingenuous and downright tacky. Instead, think about sending a personalized message manually and leave out the business details, allowing people to get to know you first. If Friends and Followers sign up for your newsletter, make sure that you’re not inundating them with emails. We all get a lot of emails and the last thing you need is to get five emails in one day. Time your emails in a way that won’t be perceived as spam.

Courtesy. Without a doubt, a simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way. Take a moment to thank people for posting to your Wall, retweeting your links, and commenting on your Page. Acknowledging people and showing appreciation is the best marketing tool to date. If you want people to continue engaging with you, it’s important to acknowledge them and interact with them on a one-to-one basis.

Consideration. Wish people a happy birthday. Ask people how they are doing. Post links to your friends’ Walls that they might find interesting without any regard to business. Be friendly and help others without thinking about the bottom line. Business will come from these simple gestures. Be consistent and take a genuine interest in people. They don’t call it Social Media for nothing.

“Friends and good manners will carry you where money won’t go”.

Margaret Walker

We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent’s research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.

“When it comes to job search, the power of Facebook can’t be ignored. This Facebook guide is for job seekers to get the most out of this platform.”

If you use Facebook to promote your teleseminars and other e-events, I highly recommend using this prototype application called Enhanced Events Emails.

“Enhanced Event Emails will attach an iCal file to your Facebook Event Invitation emails. This allows for seamless integration with any external calendar product you may already use. With one click from your email client, you can add a new Facebook Event directly to your personal calendar in Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and many other calendar products.”

You can’t ignore the power of Facebook Pages. They are indexed on search engines and can be a primary factor in driving traffic to your website.

The key is to create one.

BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE: Create a title for your Page that is rich in keywords.

What keywords would people enter into their favorite search engine to find you?

Make sure to include those keywords in your title so that you can be found online.

Once you’ve created your title for your Page, there’s no way to change it so make it good!

I’ve put together a list of resources that will help you get up and running quickly and efficiently.

You’ll need to have a Facebook Profile in order to create a Page (a Profile is a personal account and a Page is a professional account).

Facebook requires that you have a personal account before creating a professional Page.

VA TIP: If you’re creating this Page for your client, you’ll need to do so through your Client’s account, not your own. There is no way to change the ADMIN on the Page once it’s been created. If/when you part ways with your client, if the Client’s Page was created through your personal profile, there’s no way to change ownership at that point.

If you need help creating an account, take a peek at this e-product I created: FACEBOOK – The Quick Set Up Guide.

• SQUIDOO: How to Create a Facebook Page
• MASHABLE: How To Set Up a Winning Facbook Fan Page
• VIDEO: 10 Tips to Build a Better Facebook Fan Page
• Setting Up a Facebook Page Without Blowing a Gasket
• How to Develop a Facebook Page That Attracts Millions of Fans
• 5 Elements of a Successful Facebook Page

When you’re ready to create a Page, log into your Facebook profile and click on this link to start.

Teachers are quickly harnessing the power of the Internet to disseminate information and connect with their students quickly and effectively.

I’ve created this blog post as a way to aggregate links as they pertain to Social Media and Education.

• 4 Tips for Integrating Social Media Into the Classroom
  
• 50 Terrific Twitter Tutorials for Teachers
  
• 25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Teachers
• How to Use Twitter on Campus
• Cautionary Tale For My Fellow Teacher
• Connecting Students, Teachers Through Social Network
• 85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media

• Free Social Media Tools for Educators