Codero was recently featured in a book about social media. The book gave insight about our expertise in using social media for a public relations matter. The NOW Revolution explains how you should retool your organization to make real-time business work for you…rather than against you.

A blogger on Fast Company who references the book says business has changed more in the past three years than it has in the prior 30 years. Communicating in real-time through social media is turning customers into reporters and employees into company spokes people.

But is social networking for everyone? It is big with the younger generations, but what about more mature users? A study by comScore shows that in the 12-17 age group, webmail usage is down 59%. However, among users aged 55-64, usage is up 22% and, in the 65+ set, usage is up 28% year over year. The reports shows young people are spending more time on social networking and using tools such as SMS and IM rather than long-form email.

What trends are you seeing as far as social media?

Real-time information and social media are changing everything … especially the way we do business. is a post from: Codero dedicated hosting blog

That’s something I learned from the social media boot camp Codero co-sponsored featuring Sarah Evans. Sarah pegs herself as a “social media freak”…she has turned her passion into a career as a public relations and new media consultant of her own Chicago firm, Sevans Strategy. She considers social media a tool that allows user-generated content.

I learned a lot from this social media guru and really did come back to Codero with practical ideas to launch immediately.

My colleague and I are already eager to break out a contest idea using social media to launch a new product. And we have another idea up our keyboard to use when Codero co-sponsors industry conferences. 

The interactive sessions with Sarah really were “less theory, more action” as Ben Smith, from Social: IRL blogged.

It was also amazing to watch as more than 859 tweets about the event were projected on a large screen in real-time from some of the 127 participants. Questions were asked and answered during the six hours covering Facebook, blogging and Twitter. Sarah also gave us ideas for social media workflow and provided many statistics I found interesting:

• 51% of people get news from people they follow, according to Pew Research.
• 95% of online shoppers conduct research before making a decision.
• The average social networking user is 37 years old.

In the U.S., our relationship with news is portable, personalized and participatory, which really reinforces why print advertising is declining and why online and social media are the channels to be watching.  Ad Week published statistics from eMarketer estimating that one in three companies will have a public-facing blog for marketing this year, rising to 43 percent by 2012.

So armed with my inspired faith in social media, here is an incentive for you to write a guest post on our blog relevant to social media. Email your idea to marketing@codero.com.

If your guest post is chosen to be on this site, we will also mail you a free green Codero bag…just like the ones we gave out at the boot camp, but this one will be filled with goodies.

No trick...our treat...FREE bag with goodies.

In the meantime, look for another Codero blog here soon with comments from the three participants Codero sponsored and the link to Sarah Evan’s boot camp presentation.

Sarah recaps parts of the event here in this video.

Social Media Is Not About Return On Investment. is a post from: Codero dedicated hosting blog

• John Ary – @John_Ary
• Lesley Heizman @lesleyheizman
• Scott Johnson @SpotJ

Congratulations, and we hope that you walk away with a better understanding of how social media can impact marketing communication strategies for your business – and for those of you who are students and job seekers – may it give you that extra edge in finding a job.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Social Media Boot Camp Winners is a post from: Codero dedicated hosting blog

Codero is a proud sponsor of the event and would like to give three people the opportunity to attend for free.  To qualify for one of the three tickets donated by Codero, you need to be a full or part-time student, self-employed or an active job seeker. To enter, simply describe in 200 to 300 words what you would hope to gain from attending the social marketing boot camp and how you would apply what you learn there.

At the event, Sara Evans will take an in-depth look at social media marketing. For more information, see: http://www.socialirl.com/events/.

Entries should be emailed to marketing@codero.com and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 9, 2010. Three winners will be selected from the entries received and will be announced on Friday, September 10, 2010. Registrations are not transferable.

So start kicking around some ideas about why you should attend the boot camp and enter by September 9th…good luck!

Free Passes To Social Media Marketing Boot Camp…From Codero. is a post from: Codero dedicated hosting blog

We had the great opportunity to attend Free State Social, which was hopefully the first annual of many Free State Social events to come. While there have been a vast number of recaps, write-ups, etc. following the event (and you can find most of them in the recap section of the Free State Social website), below is a small collection of the things that impacted us most.

Chris Brogan (follow on Twitter: @chrisbrogan)

• Having a social media department is like having a phone department. 100% agreed.  Regardless of how a company decides to utilize social media, it’s a responsibility that can fall on the entire company – not just one person/department. This gives a more honest, personable view of your company/brand to the world. Not the filtered, often diluted view.
• “Would you say that at a party?” – Things to think about before you post/comment in social media. Too often we scream/broadcast information out in social media. No one wants to hear how great we think we are. Have conversations and make connections to prove it.

 
Shawna Coronado (Follow on Twitter: @ShawnaCoronado)

• In social media – you are the brand. I think too many people forget this. If the content you provide via social media is stiff or stodgy, people will view your brand as such. If all you ever talk about is yourself (as a company/brand) people will get turned off and view you as arrogant. By being nice, personable and most importantly – being yourself, people begin to identify with you and stop viewing you as that looming corporate entity.

 
Sarah Evans (Follow on Twitter: @prsarahevans)

• Think like those you’re trying to reach. Too often corporations utilize social media and come off sounding, well, too corporate. With social media being an easy way to reach out and engage with people, companies should think and speak like those that they’re trying to reach.

 
Jeremiah Owyang (Follow on Twitter: @jowyang)

• Always ask why. When contemplating a social media tactic, companies should stop before jumping in and ask why. Don’t create a Facebook page or a Twitter account just to have one – you must realize how your customers will interact with it, and set aside time to really interact back with them. A passive social media strategy is a bad strategy because if you’re out there, people expect an immediate response, as too often in social media “real-time is not fast enough.”

 
What was your favorite moment(s) from Free State Social? Share with us!

Free State Social #FSSocial. is a post from: Codero dedicated hosting blog

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

The Internet Take Over. is a post from: Codero dedicated hosting blog

While cloud computing seems to be a fit for many social networking sites, it may not be for everyone. Companies tend to lean towards more traditional forms of hosting when a high level of security or control over their hosting environment is needed as seen in a recent tip on ITworld.

What do you see being a hosting trend for 2010?  Let us know your thoughts!

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Cloud Computing: Behind Every Cloud is Another Cloud. is a post from: Codero dedicated hosting blog