Friends with Business Etiquette

By Katy Fincham

In a recent national study, The Creative Group found that nearly half of all advertising and marketing executives use Facebook for business purposes; and one out of five Facebook friends are work related.

While social media continues to evolve, I find myself wondering how to best use my own personal networking sites, i.e. Facebook and Twitter. When I first joined Facebook, I used it as a way to simply keep in touch with former classmates and family members. While I still use Facebook to socialize and Twitter to keep up on the latest sporting news and celebrity gossip, I’ve found that I have increasingly started to add “friends” and follow more work related, industry professionals to my list.

The Creative Group offers five simple tips for Facebook business etiquette:

1. Divide and conquer. Not everyone in your social network needs to know about your Friday dinner plans or musings on the latest blockbuster movie. Segment your friend lists so professional contacts aren't inundated with updates they wouldn't want to -- or shouldn't -- see. Also check your privacy settings to control who has access to what information.

2. Be a guru. Share nuggets of useful information with your business contacts, and offer advice when they ask for recommendations or ideas.

3. Give and you shall receive. Be generous with your contacts by offering to make introductions or sharing useful information they post with your own network.

4. Use photo features. Even if you maintain a personal website or digital portfolio, you can provide your online contacts with a snapshot of your latest professional project or even your entire body of work. Creating albums on Flickr or Facebook, or using Twitpic or similar photo-sharing tools, is an easy way to visually show potential clients or employers your career accomplishments and showcase new skills.

5. Resist the urge to rant. Never say anything disparaging about your current or former company, coworkers, clients or other business contacts. You never know who might see your comments and forward them on.

It still amazes me how much a site like Facebook evolved over the past five years, from being an exclusive network for college students, to becoming a world-wide leader in business networking and industry advancement. How many of your friends are work-related?? The answer might surprise you…

Katy Fincham is an Associate Account Executive at Maroon PR. Contact her at Katy@MaroonPR.com.

Chris Daley Discusses Social Media and the 2010 PLAY Campaign

By Chris Daley; Video by Abby Draper

Chris Daley is an Account Executive. He can be contacted at chris@maroonpr.com

Privacy in a Social Media Era

By Matt Saler

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines privacy as “freedom from unauthorized intrusion”… but in today’s evolving world of Google, Facebook, and everything else, it’s time that definition gets modified.

There is a phenomenal article in PC World this week that discusses this exact topic, focusing in on how privacy is at the center of this new social media universe.

The article does a great job of summing it up:


…privacy is subjective. There is no clear answer because my definition of privacy may not be the same as your definition of privacy… people just want control over when and how their information is shared.

Social networking sites are an extreme example because, by definition, they exist to share information socially. However, all businesses are entrusted with data of some kind and have an obligation to protect it. It is important that organizations understand that privacy is not dead, and it is important to keep user concerns regarding privacy in mind while adapting to evolving technology.


The article also talks about a case where a high school was the subject of pretty incriminating accusations. Recently, the high school that I attended (not our proudest moment) was under fire...


...when it implemented the ability to enable the webcam on laptops issued to students without their knowledge or consent. Does the obligation of the school to monitor extend to a right for the school to watch students getting dressed in the morning?


If these allegations are true, the line of privacy has been crossed on a variety of levels and those accused must be punished accordingly.

So must the concept of privacy now have to adapt and change with modern society? Has modern technology killed privacy altogether?

For society’s sake, lets hope not.


Matt Saler is an Account Executive. Contact him at matt@maroonpr.com.






Photo courtesy of Flickr's alancleaver_2000

Google Buzz: Next Great Social Networking Tool

Author: Abby Draper

Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010

As a huge Google fan, I always look forward to what they’re going to produce next. After reading about Google Buzz for the past few weeks, I was slightly intrigued, but remained pessimistic because Google Wave has yet to take off yet.

That is, until I logged into my GMail account and met Google Buzz.

If you are unaware of Google Buzz, it is basically another social networking site, only it is created through your other Google accounts. Google Buzz goes beyond status updates and “what is on my mind.” It automatically pulls images from links, shows videos in line, and allows you to flip through photos. You can connect to your other favorite sites like Picassa, Flickr, Google Reader and Twitter, and your friends are able to keep up with what you are doing on the web… all in one place.

One of my favorite features is when someone responds to your post, their comments are sent straight to your inbox. This ensures that you’ll never miss out on anything said.

Google Buzz also identifies posts from people you are not following yet, who may be of interest to you or who are popular among your friends. Google Buzz recommends them to you so you don’t miss out on the “Buzz.”

Instead of having to add or find friends like you do on other social networking sites, you are automatically friends with those you email and G-Chat with frequently, making it much easier to use right off the bat.

While there are a few kinks to be worked out, I am excited to start a new social networking journey with my “Google Friends”.

Abby Draper is an Associate Account Executive. You can contact Abby at abby@maroonpr.com.