What a massive year it’s been! GFC, new Web 2 launches, lots of great training sessions and now a little bub.

I am signing off for a while and the business is closed but never fear, I’ll be back on board in the first half of next year for more fun, digital action!

Wishing you all the best for the holiday season (is it too early to say that yet?) and a really thrilling 2010.

Libby

I came across a really interesting blog today. The writer is a social media strategist who’s posted some great insights about topics such as ’listening’ (whereby you sit quietly and observe what people are tweeting and discussing about your brand) and online transparency.

Great, I thought. I’ll follow him on Twitter.

So off I go to Twitter to check out his page and guess what he’s talking about (and does so a lot): football.

Being an inner-city type, football is not my favourite topic of conversation. Especially not American football (all that armour!).

So do you think I’m going to follow him? No way. I want the good stuff but it seems he keeps that mostly for his blog. Perhaps his Twitter target audience are social media strategists who like football – but what about those who don’t?

Do they really want to know?

This is one element of social media that really confuses me. The blend of the personal and the public. I’m okay with a little bit of it (in fact, I think a smidgeon makes things interesting) but if you do it a lot you end up polluting the message, and even your credibility.

Don’t spill your beans

So my advice is keep things as professional as you would in the real world. Don’t be disarmed by the apparent openness of the online community because just as in the real world, people are pretty quick to judge. If you’ve got a business blog, make sure your professional thread extends to other social media.

You don’t have to write about the same things but the general gist of what you discuss should follow the same narrative and tone.

Agree or disagree? I know there are definitely two camps out there. Which do you fall under?

There are a few spots left for my final public web writing course for the year.

Where: Editor Group Head Office, Pitt St, Sydney

When: October 22 2009, 9am-5pm

Why: Because everyone needs to think about their web copy critically from time to time!

Cost: $550 pp includes yummy catering and workbook.

Hope you can make it. It’s always an interesting and stimulating day.

Check what the course covers

Book online here

Got a question? Get in touch with Libby.

I’m very pregnant and possibly a weenie bit grouchy at the moment so here’s my chance to get a few things about bad-website-habits off my chest.

‘What’s new’ without a question mark.

Isn’t this a question? You see this one everywhere and it seems to have become a norm. Adding a question mark makes it a ‘hotword’ statement (stands out, promotes curiosity etc) and I believe is grammatically more correct. So let’s unite and bring back ‘What’s new?’

FAQs not FAQ’s

There is no apostrophe necessary in FAQs. Full stop.

Meaningless About Us page

Please… don’t tell me your mission statement or not mention the names of the people who lead your company. Tell me who you are, what inspires you and how your organisation came to be. I don’t want a thesis. Just a simple little story that makes me want to get to know you better.

Hidden Contact us page

I know this is sometimes a tactic to encourage us to self-serve on your site but chances are I still want to know where you are and how we can get in touch if need be. Don’t be shy. And whatever you do, don’t give me a form as the only contact option.

I think that’s enough now.

What irks you?

Before I incorporated this blog into my company website, I tested the waters by setting up a free wordpress blog. I linked this blog from my old site. This was a cheap and safe way to see if it was worth pushing the blog envelope a little further. And it was!

What I’ve learnt about company blogging:

You have to have something to say (and some weeks, you simply don’t). In these cases, it’s great to get inspiration from something you’ve read or watched. Even a good image can do the trick.

People may not comment, but they still check it out. I had a number of conversations with clients saying they’d enjoyed a particular post and in some cases, even passed the link on to colleagues. So don’t be disheartened by a lack of comments. They may be silent but they’re watching…

It’s an authentic and effective marketing tool. With consumers turning further away from traditional marketing messages, a blog gives me the chance to speak openly and (hopefully) intelligently to my target audience. I often learn something myself as well. Never a bad thing.

My old blog is still up (though not getting updated). So if you want to read my old posts, feel free.

See my old blog

• Project where you are right now and where you want to go.
• Make you feel warm and fuzzy inside when someone says they’ve looked at it.
• Encourage the right kind of clients to pick up the phone and chat to you. People who don’t get your site are not really your people.
• Have some new feature that makes you feel like you’re moving forward.

Early 2000s

First write-minded website