1.I like that...era of what one writer called ?survival of the optimized.?

That was an interesting read as I am still getting my head around social media.

2.Nice post Shel. I was just discussing this with a client yesterday, and as always you see the point more clearly and quickly. Thank you for sharing.

3.Forgive me but I'm not seeing the final point here. Why should companies, for example, get more social? So their tweets by chance get seen on the front page of results as well?

I guess where ny confusion lies is actually in how the algorithm works, I.e. what is deemed worthy of being on page one tweets, so to speak?

There will be a fine line to balance between tweeting enough to stay on page one results (which will likely take many tweets, and I'm sure google has something built in to prevent spamming) and flooding the stream, in the sense of how people regard your Twitter account and therefore your entire brand.

4.Great post, Shel. I think you and I are in agreement more than you know.

You know what's funny? When I dive deeper into this topic in my seminars, I always use YOU as an example.

"You've all heard of Shel Holtz, right?" I ask the crowd, and every hand goes up.

"Well, you can't hear the words 'Shel Holtz' without hearing the words 'Social Media Guru' attached to them. I think Shel had to change his driver's license to include 'Social Media Guru' at the end of his name."

But what people sometimes don't realize that you have been a COMMUNICATOR for 30 years. And a damned good one.

It's that experience that allows you to be a legitimate social media guru in the first place.

And, as BusinessWeek recently pointed out, there ARE a lot of snake-oil social media gurus out there, who have NO experience in helping organizations communicate.

They're "gurus" because they were early adopters of technology. And they understand the technology, but they have no idea how organizations function, and as such can do more harm than good when they push their clients into the social media space without thinking things through first.

I agree with you 1000 percent: There really isn't a choice anymore. Social Media is part of the job description.

But it's HOW communicators approach it that concerns me. I don't think it benefits us or our organizations if we go in there as wide-eyed, drooling "evangelists" telling our leaders "we have no choice" but to embrace this BRAND NEW, VERY VERY SCARY (to many executives) WORLD.

I think we need to go in there as communicators, first and foremost, and identify the problems Social Media can help the organization solve, and the opportunities it can help the organization exploit.

Steve C.

P.S. I realize we may be quibbling over the word "evangelist." To me, as no big fan of organized religion, I see evangelists in a negative light. Maybe we should come up with a different word. Social Media Champions? Social Media Proponents?

5.Steve, "evangelist" means to preach the gospel, which in Christian terms means the truth about Jesus Christ.

I think your point would be better made with a word like "fanatic" (marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion).

A fanatic would harp on the boss to get into social media "just because," rather than take the strategic approach that you and Shel wisely recommend.

As a side-note, we get the word "fan" from fanatic, which makes sense to any Cubs or Bears fan, who supports those teams unconditionally, regardless of much they suck. Go Bears!

6.Tyler, each company will have to decide the approach it takes to social media. I've written hundreds of posts on that topic. But adopting a strategic approach to a required communication is nothing new; public companies have been doing it for decades with their annual reports. The back of the book -- the numbers -- is required in the U.S. by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since it has to be published anyway, the annual report is shaped by each company into a document that serves its communication interests. For many organizations, it has been the premier communication piece of the year.

The challenge for companies who recognize that they need to be in the social media space, like it or not, is to do what they have done with the annual report: Take advantage of the requirement to serve their business interests. Spamming Twitter would, obviously, have the opposite effect.

As for incorporating keywords, for now companies should embrace the same ones that have worked on Google for their static websites, evaluate the results, and continue to tweak and experiment. But the companies that have embraced the best SEO practices have produced relevant and useful content that also elevates their content to the top of the Google SERPs.

7.Over the next year or so, users will find a way to reduce, eliminate, or bypass the commercialization of social media. It will be akin to how videotape, time-shifting, Tivo, and peer downloading sites are all used to bypass commercials and advertising.

8.G'day Shel (and Tom and Steve C and Tyler).

First off, I think Tyler has a point with the flood-like nature of the river. But I also see that good SEO could and would work in your favour; after all, google me and I dominate my name -- at the moment, 'tis true. Google Shel's name and you don't get too many pizza bar owners or Hells Angel members.

I guess how it will actually play out for the hapless punter trying to find a genuine social media guru like our good selves (ahem) or the genuine punter searching for [insert product/service of your choice] will take time to see. But as in all things webby, that time to see will be shorter and shorter for the 'pulse' but still worth monitoring over a quarter or two for the longer-term impact.

Fwiw, Lee.

p.s. Miss those heavenly surrounds of Camp Holtz, Shel. Am doing my best to get a paying gig that will ship me back temporarily to your climes. Love to M

9.It is a fact that social media is playing a bigger part every day and needs to form part of any marketing strategy. Thank you for the excellent article.

10.I see more and more small businesses realizing they must be online to survive and compete.