For the last year or so there was a lot of hype surrounding the use of social networks from a marketing and public relations perspective. Then came the question of ROI on Social Media.

Look at how far we’ve come…

I am happy to say that in the world of online interaction… we are moving on.

Over the last year we have figured out to engage, track and leverage social networks as a piece of our organizations marketing and PR efforts. Now that we’ve done that…What’s next, you say?

The Internet is leaving the computer at home. We are taking the internet with us everyday on our blackberry, iphones, droids etc.

We are able to access information on the web from virtually every place on earth, no pun intended…(it’s not virtual, it’s real…)

The Future is in the palm of your hand..in the form of a mobile phone/device…

One day soon, my blackberry will ping me when the dryer is done and my refrigerator will send me a message when it is time to buy more Dr. Pepper after sensing that the refrigerator is low on soda.

When thinking about the next use of mobile devices what do you imagine? I think appliances, cars and tv’s will the the first things to ‘communicate’ with my mobile phone… what do you think?

I believe we are also going to watch our mobile devices become our keys, phones & wallets combined…

Mobile is the pre-cursur to the Semantic Web..or the Personal Web…the cloud?, er  3.0….ohh no…here we go again…

The Future Internet – Web 3.0: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=off08As3siM

Social media took a wild ride last year as businesses and organization began accepting it as a serious business tool.

Tonight, I am speaking to a group of business students at Howard University who are dedicated users of web 2.0 but are looking to be the next ‘gatejumper’ in the world wide web. I plan to talk about Reputation Management online AND the human aspect of becoming a web aficionado. The first point will detail ways you can build online influence using the internet.

“The Internet has leveled the playing field for media, merchandise, communication, location and many other areas.” – Trust Agents

My second point will talk about how involvement in social media will inevitably lead to the risk of “one-way intimacy”- when you are simply pushing your message out to an audience. The important point here is that brands earn our attention through personal intimacy, we must maintain that human touch. We all recognize that companies need to change and begin participating- your job is to find out how to make twitter valuable for your employer or for your own business.

Here is the secret, tie in social media to the overall business goals, not just web-related goals. Track leads and sales from social networking to understands the true impact.

Listen Listen Listen
Lastly and most importantly, don’t focus so much on you and your message.  Figure out how you can help FIRST then speak up.

Website Resources:

Mixergy – Online Business Tips from Successful Entrepreneurs

FastCompany.com – Where ideas and people meet | Fast Company

Books:

Here’s a book I read recently and one that should be in any entrepreneurs bookcase:

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust

From you, to me, to we.

Recently my girlfriend and I took the next step in our journey together.

It’s crazy how much she makes me be who I want to be. I wake up and I want to be the best person for her; I want to be her best friend and companion.

I’ve decided that moving forward in any relationship is a good time to look back and reflect on how much fun you are having together.

Being in a committed relationship is about waking up and making the decisions that will help both of us. It’s about moving the focus from yourself and the wants and needs of you as an individual, and past the selfish me, to we: together.

For Pix: You are the most beautiful and loving woman I have ever met. I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else but you.

Photo by: Stephen Lackey

About a year ago, I bought a MacBook and starting taking crazy mugshots with photobooth, the built-in camera.

I like to think of this as my MacBook’s point of view over the past year and all the faces it has seen:

Welcome to the totally redesigned MikeToner.com! This is the third redesign I’ve been through. The first website I created back in June 2002 was a static iWeb site hosted via godaddy with a blog that was really hard to update. I was having to manually update blog posts to my site via FTP. This made things way too difficult!

I made the decision after graduating college to move my blog to a blogger site that was much easier to update. The link to my blog was sort of cheesy though. It was hosted on the static site (as shown above) but linked to the blogger website- http://mike-toner.blogspot.com/

It made my life easy, but I felt like I was sacrificing design for convenience. I wanted the ability to really customize it.

So, here we are… Welcome to MikeToner.com version 3.0. I have upgraded to wordpress, designed a logo and created a custom theme with the help of Tony at Razolution. Bascially, I wanted a design that demonstrates my unpredictable style but kept the business of the blog in the forefront. What do ya think? Did we accomplish that?

With the redesign comes a re-focus. I have “re-thought” my use of this site and made a conscious decision to be more involved with my friends, colleagues and clients via the internet. I have begun to realize a fusion of my work life and personal life and hope that I can help facilitate the integrations of work and play via my website.

I know that my positive outlook on life is something I want to share. I know that my relationship is something I want to be open about; I know that that I love my job and want to talk about the lessons I learn and share my knowledge of marketing and social media with you.

This is going to be a hard balance to achieve- so stick with me here. Perhaps think about signing up for the email subscription at the top?

On Thursday I’ve got a video which I think you’ll enjoy.

-Mike Toner

www.MikeToner.com

Yesterday I had an opportunity to speak to a group of graduate students earning their degree in Strategic Public Relations at George Washington University. I focused primarily on the Social Media Press Release and what steps they can take as PR professionals to create shareable, interactive news releases.

Here are two questions from the class:

My Answer:

Sure, if you felt it would be well received you could include an SMPR as an HTML document in the body of an email; however, each journalist or blogger will vary on how they prefer to receive press releases.

What’s your answer?

How would you think organizations should email SMPR formatted news? In an email, a link…?

Question #2

My Answer:

I am not sure how many journalists or bloggers are publishing the full text press release to begin with? Of course there are certain news sites have automated, full text postings of the press release in which the SMPR may or not be retained, depending on technical limitations of the news site. In general, I would venture to say that the SMPR does not lend itself to full text re-posting, but rather- it seems to lend itself to well-reasoned and well informed reporting, thus encouraging the journalist or blogger to use the facts presented to craft their story.

Please feel free to leave some comments and help answer the questions from these students.

I am making the move to a new website- stay tuned for the new and (hopefully) improved MikeToner.com!

Today my Mom came to D.C. to visit and we went to the FDR Memorial as well as the WWII Memorial on the National Mall.

I wish all Mother’s the happiest of days.

-Mike Toner

My good friend Nikki is a part of the City Year program in New York City. “City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them skills and opportunities to change the world.”

Check out her video, “Why I serve” and see how she is changing the world!

“Imagine that everyone has an invisible sign hanging from his or her neck saying. ‘Make me feel important.’ Never forget this message when working with people.”

Now imagine this invisible sign every time you meet someone new. Allow it to function as a reminder that everyone you encounter wants to know that they matter and that their role matters. The only way for someone to feel important is for someone witnessing their work to tell them. Whether your outreach comes as a verbal complement or as a written encouragement, the message should be communicated. It is important to remember that this invisible sign does not say, ‘I want to feel important,’ rather it says, ‘MAKE me feel important.’ This means the job is yours. Let someone know how important their role is and without them, the job couldn’t be done. Encourage those around you.

Here’s your sign.