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Bonus: Value-Added Blog Post Inside!

Okay people, it’s time for one of those “value added” posts you’ve all been reading so much about. Lucky you! Occasionally I’m asked to speak in front of a group on the topic of social media; one of the most frequent questions I’m asked at these events is “where do I learn more about social media?” That’s a great question and I’ve got a great answer – ten of them, in fact, and all free for the taking. So if you’re new to social media or if you’re looking to full your social media noggin with even more good social stuff, proceed full speed ahead and check out these value-added resources. You might just learn something! Many of these resources are applicable outside of the social media universe so there’s something for the whole famn damily, check ‘em out.

10. Addictomatic

It’s not only fun to say, it’s fun to search any topic on Addictomatic (especially brands) to see what floats to the top. An aggregator of all things online, Addictomatic gives you a social media snapshot into the types of content available on the selected topic. From online news feeds to Twitter to YouTube, Flickr and all points in between, all sort of social content pops up on Addictomatic – if you’re looking to see what made the Web today, Addictomatic is a great resource to dip your toes in the pool before jumping in.

9. Wikipedia

Whatever happened to Encyclopedia salespeople? The internet, of course. With Wikipedia around you can know everything there is to know about everything in just a few clicks. Edited by volunteers, you know you’ve made it when you get a Wikipedia page of your very own – as only newsworthy topics are allowed to have a presence on this popular information portal. If I need a deep dive on an unfamiliar subject, I start with Wikipedia first – its an incredibly comprehensive resource with lots and lots of links to other comprehensive, reliable resources.

8. imby

Chances are you’ve never heard of imby (in my back yard) but if you’re looking to connect with local resources, you should check it out – it’s the Craigslist of local networking.  In its own words, imby “was built to allow professionals to optimize their local efforts without asking users to sacrifice any of the power or reach of the services they have already adopted.” In a nutshell, being on imby allows you to connect with other like-minded business folk near you – and to promote your business or personal brand in a small pond vs. a large pool.

7. LinkedIn

Here’s that large pool I referenced in the imby section – but sometimes you want to swim in a large pool, especially if you’re looking to connect with those outside of your immediate community. While LinkedIn offers a great way to connect with other professionals, one of the most useful (and likely overlooked) functions of this business-first social network are the discussions that occur in groups you join. Whenever I’m looking to get more information on an unknown product or service, I open up a discussion in a relevant group and ask for advice. Usually one or two power users weigh in and this feedback is enough to make me dangerous. Sometimes entire groups get involved in the conversation and I get a lot more than I bargained for – but in this business, knowing too much can be a good thing. So check out LinkedIn Groups if you haven’t already – and participate if you are a member, that’s key too.

6. Alltop.com

If you’re like me you love magazines, but you hate to read them – such a time drain! Enter Alltop, a site that helps answer the question “what’s happening” by providing a breakdown of all the news you need to know by category. To make it even easier, Alltop allows you to create a “personal, online magazine rack” of your favorite websites and blogs, pulling content from over 32,000 information sources—chances are if you’re looking for something, alltop has you covered.

5. SocialMention

Want to know where a brand stands in relation to the other zillion brands online? You could pay thousands and thousands of dollars for a social media monitoring and analyzation service/firm, or you COULD use this free site. Just sayin.’ Pretty darn cool for a free service, SocialMention helps anyone get a better feel for a brand’s online presence. You can even create alerts – sweet! (Somebody’s learning a trick or two from Google.)

4. Google

Your Cat Has Issues from Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures

What ISN’T on Google? Seriously. I find everything on Google – from monitoring brand mentions via “Google Alerts” to sourcing humorous images of kittens saying the darndest things. If someone asks me “what do you know about X,” I say give me five minutes and I’ll find out. Then it’s WHOOOOOSH and I’m off to do a Google search on topic X – usually I’m not disappointed in the results. Google makes learning things, anything, pretty darn easy – or at the very least it’ll point you in a good direction to get started. (Bing? Don’t even get me started.)

3. Mashable

The grand daddy of all social media sites, Mashable should become your social media best friend, confidant, lover and wingman. (Or wingperson.) Heck, it practically does windows, it’s that good a resource. With news feeds divided by category (Social Media, Tech, Mobile, Web Video, Entertainment, Business, Apple, Buzz, iPad [!] and Jobs) its super easy to find articles by popularity ranking, relevance or timeliness. If you’re looking to get background on an emerging social media issue or get some tips on the latest and greatest online tool, Mashable’s got you covered. It’s like TechCrunch for social media types – but without the hype. (Don’t forget to follow them on Twitter too!)

2. Twitter

If you’re not using Twitter, you’re missing out on one of the best reference tools known to man. Not only is Twitter great for identifying conversations around brands, it’s great for finding out about near any topic – just enter it into a search window and see what comes up. Twitter works because of the people and brands that participate in this real-time microblogging service, so if you find a good resource make sure to follow them – that way they’ll continue to give you value-added tweets you can take and make your own. Again, if you’re not using Twitter like you use Google, shame on you. And don’t forget to read all about Twitter hashtags, they’re pretty darn awesome too. You should use ‘em. (But that’s a post for another day!)

1. Facebook

At the end of the day if you should find yourself trapped under a bus, it’s your friends that matter. (And getting out from under that bus!) Because Facebook has become the Ma Bell (anyone?) of the social networking world, you need to be on Facebook. To connect with friends, absolutely. But also so you can participate in all the sites and services that now allow you to log in to your account via Facebook Connect. Magical, magical Facebook Connect! Seriously, if your life doesn’t revolve around Facebook yet, give it a year. For this reason alone, Facebook is my number one social media go-to – mainly because in addition to following all my friends’ activity, I can also follow some of my favorite social media resources and blogs on Facebook too.