Things I like about Hootsuite (and things I don't!)

As I mentioned last week, I recently signed up for Hootsuite and whilst still getting used to it but it didn't stop me thinking about all of the things I like about the social media platform and those that I don't:


Pros:


1. You don't have to keep flipping between screens to keep on top of everything - including messages there for immediate access;
2. If you have a private and a professional Twitter account - or just two (or more) Twitter accounts - it is much easier to keep track of the two;
3. It automatically gives you your Klout score - much has been made of Klout recently (link to grit and glamour's post) and Hootsuite gives you the Klout score of anyone you want - including your own without having to sign in to your Klout account or move to another website;
4. Updates automatically and doesn't need you to click anywhere to show new tweets;
5. You can add an RSS feed and therefore don't have to be at your computer - or faffing on your smartphone - to tweet your new post;
6. You can schedule tweets if you know you're going to be away from the computer/internet/whatever reason - in addition to the RSS feed for new posts.

Cons:


1. Doesn't always give you a prompt for the person you want to mention - which can be a pain if you're not sure of their handle;
2. The post to Twitter link button on my blog still takes me automatically to the Twitter homepage, to which I am not usually signed into;
3. Your own tweets that have simply been re-tweeted don't seem to show up in the "mentioned" column.

Do you use a Twitter plaform like Hootsuite? If so, which one and why that one?

LINKS À LA MODE: TECH - 26 April

Time To Think Mobile

Edited by Vyque of Fasshonaburu

Anyone else feel like their lives have begun to revolve more and more about mobile technology? While I still can’t travel without my netbook, I can’t go even an hour without at least one of my smartphones within arm’s reach! So it didn’t surprise me when I read Miss Viki’s post on the prediction that “by 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide.”

As a full-time new media professional, I had heard this before, but I hadn’t really considered how this would affect my blogging. Until I started using the iPad, I never once checked how my site rendered outside a computer or considered blogging from my phone! But as more and more users start accessing content while on the go, it’s important to remember to think mobile!!

LINKS À LA MODE: TECH – April 26th

• Divas & Dorks: iPhone/iPad: Your Worst Enemy?
• Fasshonaburu/a>: Using Windows 7
• IFB: Flickr Photo Pool Collective for IFB Members
• Miss Viki: By 2013, Mobile Phones Will Overtake PCs
• Search & Dresscue: Your Perfect Fit: Choosing a Blog Platform
• Style Confessions: A Few Things You Can Do to Avoid Being Hacked
• Styling You: So You Want to Be a Better Beauty Blogger?
• Sugar & Spice: How to Make Social Media Work for You

How To... Make Social Media Work For You

This is my first ever "techie" post, so please bear with me and let me know what you think! (Just, please, don't be too brutal.)

Last weekend I signed up to HootSuite and thought that now would be the perfect opportunity to explain how I make Twitter work for me and for my blog:


I have been on Twitter for about a year now and have always used it as a social media tool for this blog. It is a dilemma that, I believe, many bloggers face, the dilemma of whether or not to open up a personal social media account to your blog readers. So far, I have chosen to use Twitter for my blog and keep Facebook for my personal use*.

However, keeping my Twitter account professional doesn't mean that it can't also incorporate a personal twist:

- as I meet more bloggers, more of my followers become friends;

- my blog can be pretty impersonal at times (I'll be the first to admit that) and Twitter allows me to be a little more frivolous without it encroaching on my blog; and

- it also helps to engage and interact with others if you give your Twitter feed a little bit of the personal touch.

Just last week, I read Christen Rochon of Divas & Dorks' post on IFB, Twitter Content, Frequency and all that Jazz... in which Christen writes that she has "tried to limit [her] tweet frequency to the following categories, Informational, Epithetical, Resourceful and Basic Banter".


With this in mind, I decided to give some thought to how I tweet and then to share these thoughts with you:

• Keep it personal: I like to ensure that some tweets are about my day - what I've been doing or where I've been - maybe mentioning a company/friend/other blogger.
• Mentions: I like to engage followers/those I follow - it helps to get a blog noticed and to maintain interaction with other social media users.
• New blog posts: as a way to promote blog and new posts.
• Interacting: I endeavour to respond to tweets and to engage in conversation with followers, etc.

Do you use Twitter or Facebook or both to promote your blog and to engage with readers? Do you use a social media platform like HootSuite? If so, which one and why that one? If not, thought about it?


Finally, techie post: hit or miss?


*My Facebook account remains my personal account and, as much as it feels stupid to admit it, there are still friends who do not know that I write this blog.