This article hashes out the stats on why social media is not a waste of time:

Americans spend more time on Facebook than any other website. But does that mean social networks are a waste of time?
They’re not, argues Schools.com. Americans use social media for everything from the job search to finding a soul mate.

One reasons Americans use social media is to enhance their social lives. More than half use social networks to stay in touch with friends (67 percent) and family (64 percent). Seventeen percent use it to find love, and 18 percent use it to make new friends.

The infographic also points out that social media can help in a job search. Almost half (41 percent) of the class of 2011 used social media to look for jobs, and 71 percent expect employers to look at their social media profiles.

Check out the snazzy infographic here.

Which social media site are you most inclined to visit daily?

This article from PR Daily lays everything on the line:

Sharing and social sites

SOPA threatens all that content, as long as it resides on a .com, .org or .net domain. All it takes is for a user to upload a video, a photo or a presentation that violates someone’s copyright—even if it’s someone singing a cover of a song at a party—and under SOPA, Internet service providers could be ordered to block the domain name.

When YouTube goes dark, so will the links embedded on your own site and any others that lead to your YouTube videos. Ditto photos on photo-sharing sites and presentations on sites like Slideshare and Scribd.

Let’s take it one step farther. Imagine launching a contest for your fans to submit content (like Doritos does for its Super Bowl commercial). And suppose one of those videos includes a snippet of a song used innocently and that you don’t recognize as copyright-protected. Your client’s own site should be blocked as a result.

The legislation includes no due process at all; there is virtually no appeal process for an organization whose site is blocked.

Search engine optimization

Your clients have probably spent a fair amount of time and money optimizing for search. Some of that expenditure may be your agency’s own billable time. Under SOPA, however, sites like Google would be required to alter their search results to exclude non-U.S. websites that host offending content. The investment those clients made will vanish if their sites no longer appear on search engine results pages.

Advertising

Ad services like Google AdSense would be required to reject ads or payment from the sites that host offending content, which could affect your clients’ strategies for generating income.

Payments

If your client accepts online payments via their websites using PayPal or other services, those payments could stop. PayPal and its peers could be required to shut down the accounts of non-U.S. websites that host offending content.

Finding talent

PR practitioners are finding greater uses of voiceover talent for everything from podcasts to videos. Voice casting sites host clips from voice talent. Sometimes these individuals read copyrighted works, which would lead to an order for ISPs to block access to the domain.

These sites have led to voice talent from rural areas getting work, but according to one of these sites—Voice123—the result would be to “drive work back to cities and put thousands out of work.” It would also limit the range of talent to which you have access.

The voice talent issue is also an example of the scorched-earth approach SOPA takes. It would be only a matter of time before other legitimate content that communicators need vanishes from the Web.

What do you think about SOPA? 

Gerard Corbett, the new chair and CEO of PRSA, said this:

“From the beginning, PRSA’s goal has been to create a definition that the entire profession has a role in shaping, which professionals, organizations and academics alike can appreciate and own.”

What is your definition of public relations? Read more about PRSA’s campaign in this article.

Resolve to be a better writer—in 140 characters or less. In an age of tweeting, being succinct is key and helps in making your content viral.

Resolve to think outside the confines of “traditional” PR. Instead of relying on an age-old press release, ask if a topic is better suited to a blog or social media post.

Resolve to know your audience. “Beats” are fluid in these days of the continuous news cycle. Know your audience and their of-the-moment interests. Resolve to check your contacts’ latest posts and tweets before reaching out with an idea or topic.

Resolve to be a storyteller. Some media deal in straight facts and figures; others paint with a different brush. Don’t bore with market potential for a new widget if that’s not their bag; instead tell them what they want to hear, which typically boils down to how it will impact their reader’s life.

Resolve to speak measurement upfront, not when asked by the client. What does the program, strategy or tactic you’re suggesting really do to impact the bottom line? If you can’t answer that question, both qualitatively and quantitatively, then perhaps it’s not the great idea you thought it was.

Resolve to be SEO friendly. Why make it hard to find the product or messages you’re trying to convey? Think of keywords that matter and use them in your blog, release and outreach so they can get crawled and drive traffic.

Resolve to be more visual. If a picture is worth 1,000 words then why not? Multimedia is the new text; incorporating photos and video makes a story more impactful.

Resolve to stay ahead of the game. This is one of the hardest challenges in PR. As fires, last-minute deadlines and “urgent” requests fly into the inbox hour by hour, it’s important to dedicate a portion of the day to ensure you’re staying ahead—or at a minimum on track—of your regularly scheduled program.

Resolve to slow it down and clean up your act. In this age of short, snippy emails and social media postings, it’s easy to post quantity over quality. Before you hit “send” take a second (or even third) look. It pays not to be sloppy.

Resolve to clear your head. When the going gets tough, the tough can get stressed. And what good does a foggy, frenetic brain do when push comes to shove? Little. There’s something to be said about the five-minute break. Try it. You’ll be better at your job because of it.

Resolve to give good counsel. Tell your boss or client(s) what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. This can sometimes be intimidating, but it’s important, and only right. We’ve all been there—there’s an expectation that PR will simply take orders—but you know in your gut the effort at hand will net nothing but peeved media and bloggers and worse, backlash that could damage several reputations, both the company and yours.

South Korea went in the opposite direction. Democracy and open economy.

The results are very clear: South Korea now is the world’s 12th-largest economy, its IT and automotive industries are among the most advanced in the world, while its pop culture (Korean Wave) is sweeping many parts of the globe and many young people, especially women, are crazy about Korean movies, soap operas and music.

The government of President Lee organized an all-out global public relations campaign to show to the world the advanced achievements of the country’s economic, technological and modern cultural development. The government never hesitates to take massive PR moves, including inviting journalists from various parts of the world. The government agencies also regularly holds international seminars on various subjects.

Read more about South Korea and their use of public relations in this article.

8. Liberal host Bill Press equates Jerry Sandusky with Herman Cain

7. Herman Cain spokesman dodges and weaves

6. Child abusing judge blames daughter for her own abuse

5. Jimmy Fallon’s band disses Michele Bachmann

4. President Obama and French President Sarkozy caught on open mic

3. Herman Cain has all this stuff twirling around in his head

2. Rick Perry’s “oops” moment

1. Alleged Penn State child rapist Jerry Sandusky speaks

Visit our website to see what BAM Communications can do for your brand.

Facebook’s news feed works by filtering and ranking posts  based on what things a person finds interesting. What happens is the more users interact with a person or a page, the more likely that person or page will appear as his or her “Top New Story,” or until recently, the “News Feed.”

Any kind of business, as long as it has a plan and invests some time, can effectively use Facebook to reach and interact with its customers. Read this article for tips on how to use your Facebook effectively.

- A variety of peppers as a way to spice up dishes, from an old standby like black pepper to more complex smoked paprika or Spanish pimento
- Simple meals can be made special with the addition of an artisan product, with unique cheeses, honey and vinegars
-A revival among Bordeaux varietals, including Carmenere, Merlot and Sauvignon blanc, to name a few
-Experimenting in brewing will continue, particularly in creating flavored beers
- Fresh herbs and vegetables will be found behind the bar as ingredients for cocktails
- Fussy buzzwords like foodie, locavore and molecular gastronomy are on their way out
- Comforting buzzwords like homegrown, homemade and local are on their way in

Read about more of this article about upcoming food trends here.