S.M.A.R.T. Resources

With so many advocates shouting from their cyber rooftops about social media’s virtues, it’s easy to forget that the vast majority of folks are still trying to figure out what the hype is all about - and what it means for them and their organizations.

The first steps in determining how to leverage social media are to identify your strategic goals and assess whether and how social media will enable you to achieve those goals. But before you can do that, you need to understand the technology itself, as well as the opportunities and challenges it presents.

As indicated by our mission, SMinOrgs is dedicated to providing S.M.A.R.T.* resources to organizational leaders and professionals in all functional areas. We have grouped these resources into six main offerings. To learn more, scroll down to the following sections and/or visit the products tab on SMinOrgs’ LinkedIn profile:

SMinOrgs on the “Big Three:” LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook
S.M.A.R.T. Blog
S.M.A.R.T. News
Social Media Primer
White Papers and Research Reports
SlideShare Channel

(*S.M.A.R.T. = Social Media And Related Technologies)

Courtney Hunt, SMinOrgs’s Founder, is frequently asked to share her expertise with organizations and professional groups via webinars, speaker panels, presentations, keynote talks, workshops, and training courses. She has spoken to groups throughout the United States and in the international arena as well. Visit the Public Speaking page on the Renaissance Strategic Solutions website for sample presentation topics, as well as a select list of presentation partners and sponsors.

SMINORGS ON THE "BIG THREE:"
LINKEDIN, TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

SMinOrgs leverages LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to create a forum for exploring the organizational implications and applications of social media. Going beyond marketing/branding, sales, public relations and customer service, we focus on how social media will impact employees and organizational functioning, as well as general social and economic trends. Our focus also extends beyond the business-to-consumer orientation that dominates discussions in other forums.

Participants on these channels represent all functional areas and are employed in organizations ranging from solopreneurships to global conglomerates, as well as the public sector and non-profit organizations. Though most members are in the US, international representation is quite high.

Participation that conforms to SMinOrgs' posting rules is strongly encouraged. These channels have been virtually spam-free since their inception, and we plan to keep them that way!

HIGHLIGHTS of what you'll find:

Current news
Educational resources
Dialogue and thought leadership
Opportunity to share resources
Venue for asking questions
Networking
Job opportunities
Upcoming events

Click here to visit the LinkedIn products page for SMinOrgs on the “Big Three:” LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You can view other people's recommendations and add your own!

SMINORGS S.M.A.R.T. BLOG

The SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog is an educational blog about the implications and applications of social media in organizations. Focusing on both opportunities and challenges, it is primarily targeted to organizational leaders and others who are in the early stages of climbing their social media learning curves. People with more advanced knowledge can also benefit from the ideas conveyed, in addition to adding their own expertise and perspectives by commenting on specific posts.

Here are links to some of the most popular blog posts:

Click here to subscribe to the SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog to learn about new posts as soon as they're published.

Most blog posts are written by SMinOrgs' Founder, Courtney Hunt; however, guest bloggers are always welcome. Read this blog post to learn more about the kind of help we're looking for and contact us if you have an idea for a post you'd like to share.

KEY FEATURES:

Thought leadership
Trend analysis
Social Media Primer updates
S.M.A.R.T. News Digest updates
Links to SMInOrgs articles/white papers/presentations

Click here to visit the LinkedIn products page for the SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog. You can view other people's recommendations and add your own!

SMINORGS S.M.A.R.T. NEWS

Each day we review news articles, blogs, white papers, videos and other resources brought to our attention through sources such as LinkedIn (LI) groups, websites (e.g., Social Media Today), Google alerts, Twitter, and SMinOrgs Community members. We screen these items and identify those that reflect the focus and mission of the SMinOrgs Community.

In addition to sharing these items through the platforms on which SMinOrgs has a presence (specifically, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook), we also share them via the SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog through periodic News Digests. For each item, we provide a hyperlinked Title, along with the Source, Author, and a Lead Paragraph, followed by Brief Commentary from SMinOrgs Founder Courtney Hunt. Each item also includes a link to the corresponding discussion on LinkedIn, and beginning in late October 2010 we also identify the blog categories for each item.

Visit the S.M.A.R.T. News Digest page to learn more about why we created this feature, how you can leverage it to achieve your goals, and how you can help enhance it.

Click here to subscribe to the SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog to learn about new News Digests as soon as they're published.

If you have a specific topic you'd like us to focus a News Digest on, and/or you'd like to offer your services as a News Digest editor, please contact us. Read this blog post to learn more about the kind of help we're looking for.

KEY FEATURES:

Current, trending topics
Comprehensive coverage
Prescreened for quality and relevance
Incorporating brief expert analysis
Categorized by key topics
Searchable

Click here to visit the LinkedIn products page for SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. News. You can view other people's recommendations and add your own!

SMINORGS SOCIAL MEDIA PRIMER

Are you among the majority of folks who still know extremely little about social media and have almost no clue how or where to begin to climb their individual learning curves? Or perhaps you have a basic understanding but would like to increase your sophistication. Or maybe you "don't know what you don't know" ...

Realizing that people need to develop a solid understanding before they can move forward, SMinOrgs' Founder Courtney Hunt is developing a Social Media Primer. Targeted to organizational leaders, the initial parts of the primer emphasize the conceptual and strategic issues associated with social media. Future parts will focus on more tactical issues.

Visit our Social Media Primer page to learn more and access the parts that have been completed. The primer parts are available through the S.M.A.R.T. Blog and on the SMinOrgs SlideShare channel. Please check the blog regularly for updates – or subscribe to get notified whenever a new post is published.

KEY FEATURES:

Strategic perspective
Holistic
Conceptually and historically grounded
Comprehensive
Insightful
Pragmatic

Click here to visit the LinkedIn products page for the SMinOrgs Social Media Primer. You can view other people's recommendations and add your own!

SMINORGS WHITE PAPERS AND RESEARCH REPORTS

Some social media topics are too complex for blog posts, and/or are more sophisticated than the Social Media Primer can accommodate. SMinOrgs white papers are designed to address these topics, in addition to reporting the results of research we've initiated.

Here are the white papers currently available:

Click here to subscribe to the SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog to learn about new white papers and research reports as soon as they're published.

If you have a specific topic you'd like us to address in a white paper or through a research study, or you'd like to offer your services as a researcher and/or author, please contact us. Read this blog post to learn more about the kind of help we're looking for.

KEY FEATURES:

Strategic perspective
Comprehensive and thorough
Focused on significant issues
Innovative
Provocative and insightful
Pragmatic

Click here to visit the LinkedIn products page for SMinOrgs White Papers and Research Reports. You can view other people's recommendations and add your own!

SMINORGS SLIDESHARE CHANNEL

The SMinOrgs SlideShare channel serves as a library for Social Media Primer parts and select blog posts, as well as our white papers, research reports and other documents. Listed below are some of the key benefits of making these materials available on SlideShare, plus a brief list of what you can find. All the material is publicly available.

If you have a SlideShare account (they’re free), you can “favorite” documents (to save them for future reference), and you can follow SMinOrgs to receive updates as soon as new material is added.

KEY BENEFITS AND FEATURES: