“Why did they make a movie about Facebook? It’s just Facebook.” college junior watching trailers for “The Social Network”

Facebook. Is it just Facebook? Or, is Facebook something bigger than Facebook? How will “The Social Network” profile the business of communication – and capture the spirit of our time?

On October 1, “The Social Network” premieres in theaters. I first heard about this movie from an independent film producer who predicted social networking in movies would be a trend to …

How do you handle negativity, privacy, branding, security on Facebook? Thanks to a reader who asked these questions about Facebook and their business. Have IRL [in real life] questions you need answered? Leave them in the comment box, text 630.207.7530 or email corywestmedia @gmail.com.

1. How do we manage negative feedback about our product/services?
Monitor comments, respond immediately online and contact personally. Most blogs give you the option of approving all comments before they go up. On Facebook, you can delete …

Let’s take inventory, okay? Get out a sheet of paper. Make three columns. Label one “group,” a second “connected” and the third “disconnected.” Connected means plugged in online via twitter, Facebook and Linked, etc. Disconnected means analog or email only.

Now, list all of your groups in three categories: business, social and peripheral.

In each column, check either connected or disconnected.

What do you come up with? How connected are the groups you care about?

You, yes you, can be the catalyst to getting …

A reader writes: We’re an eco-friendly baby products company. How can we use social media? We plan to start a blog, but do you have any other ideas?

Answer: [Have a question you’d like answered? Email connectATcorywestmedia.com with Question for Wired PR Works in the subject line.]

Starting a blog is a good start, but it takes time to build traffic and prominence.

Here’s an energy friendly way to approach your marketing: repurpose your content by taking the same information, reshaping it …

It’s almost ceremonious.

Sitting at a meeting, I watched Dave fix his coffee. He opens and pours in a packet of sweetener. Stirs. Opens and pours in a container of hazlenut creamer. Stirs. Folds up the sweetener packet. Inserts it into the creamer container. Opens and pours in sweetener packet two. Stirs. Opens and pours in a container of half and half. Folds up the sweetener packet. Inserts it into the creamer container. Stirs. Drinks.

My way? Pour in some milk …

For the 241 people who registered interest in attending SMC Chicago’s March event, business to business and social media is a hot topic.

It all comes down to listening. But, first you have to have the tools to tune in.

And, you have to go where your people are, which is most likely one or all of three places: LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter.

Then, you have to be there to answer.

Thanks to Allan Schoenberg and CME Group, our event sponsor, for …

On Friday, the first day of spring!, I’ll be presenting this 20 minute social media mashup to the National Speakers Association’s Illinois Chapter. My inspiration comes from a play our family saw called “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged.” On our family trip out west a few years back our daughter – who was into Shakespeare and theater at the time, insisted that we see this play on the last night of our trip.

We had many reasons to say …

Here’s the biggest question I get about Facebook: How do I separate my friends and my family from my business?

The biggest concern? A clash of the multiple personalities that exist in one’s life.

You know who you are: a mom, a sorority sister, an aunt, a book club member, a church-goes, a music fan, a fashion fanatic, a gardener groupie, a volunteer, a blogger, a writer, a consultant, an organizer, an entrepreneur, a cat lover, etc. etc. etc.

This just in: …

Problem: You have a fabulous presentation, but the only people who ever see it sit in your audience

Solution: Upload your presentation with or without audio to Slideshare and reach the world – along with more than a few new prospects

Almost a year ago today I wrote those words about SlideShare as a cool tool that speaks and makes marketing presentations for you. And, today I uploaded my first presentation ever: New Age Public Relations: Press Releases Online

It’s also live …