Love it or hate it, Twitter’s Follow Friday is still around. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the micro blog’s practice, it’s a way for users of Twitter to publicly recommend people they follow. Due to time constraints, I don’t participate much in this Friday ritual. But I DO like to give a shout-out to those who inspire me to know more, do more and be more.  So, this is my version of Friday Follow.

I just had lunch with Dee Honner, @thehrmaven and we discussed how very grateful we feel for all that we have, so she’s a great person to lead off this blog post. You’ll want to follow Dee at this twitter handle if you like someone with a wicked sense of humor and a passion for photography, food and HR.

Paul McConaughy, @minutrition is with the Michigan Nutrition Network. I heard him tell someone that he considers himself a “curator” on Twitter—he loves to pass along relevant content that he thinks his followers will enjoy. He’s a true “go-give” person. For more on Paul, check out this write up by another of my favorite folks Jane Perdue @hrgoddess on her blog Get Your Big On in her Spotlight Series.

One of the most consistent supporters of the online HR community is Jay Kuhns, @jrkuhns. He’s a VP of HR and blogs at No Excuses HR.

Over the last several months, I’ve learned of a “superpower” that Tara Alemany, @eandtsmom possesses: project management. We’ve been working on a project for the Lead Change Group and she has really demonstrated excellent leadership skills when working with a group of professionals who are located all over the world.

Suzie Poirier – @AceConcierge – Best. Virtual Assistant. Ever.  Check out her services.

Meet William Tincup, @williamtincup – an original thinker who likes to encourage people to think deeply about the way HR professionals interact with their technology. Or, as he puts it, “I like to make people’s heads explode.” I can only assume he means that figuratively.

So—way beyond 140, but still keeping it short-n-sweet. Hope you enjoy interacting with these folks as much as I have over the past few years.

Like this list? I did another Extended Friday Follow awhile back. Check it out here.

During the month of December the blog world lights up, like a Christmas tree, aglow with “Best Of” lists and predictions for the new year. The People Equation even scored a nod this year with DDI World’s 20 Best Leadership Blog Posts for 2010.

Of course, these lists are highly subjective and many people discount them. There is one list that I vouch for 100%: those who have influenced this blog. I started The People Equation Influencer “awards” last year and found it was a great way to review the blog’s progress and simultaneously give thanks to those who’ve helped shape it in one way or another.

So, without further delay, here are the awards for the 2010 People Equation Influencers. Please hold your applause until the end of the presentation.

Most Encouraging: Erin Schreyer.  Erin is a fellow leadership development consultant.  Some might say that we’re “competitors” but that’s not the case with this supportive dynamo. We share ideas and challenges, bouncing ideas back and forth. Each time we talk, I have an “aha!” moment and come away energized and ready to move forward. Erin is a role model for professionalism in our field and she inspires me to do my best—including on my blog.

Most Informative: David Brand. Dave is a Learning Specialist for the 3M Corporation. I admire his insatiable curiosity for learning. He’s a walking library of information about the leadership development field, consistently researching best practices and reading the latest literature. Many of the offline conversations I’ve had with Dave have served as inspiration for blog posts.

The Blogging Role Models: (Tie) Dan McCarthy and Sharlyn Lauby. I had a hard time choosing, so I didn’t— I confer the title to both of these excellent bloggers in the talent management field. Dan is the author of the leadership development blog Great Leadership. Sharlyn is the creator of The HR Bartender, which focuses on issues in Human Resources, leadership and training. Both blogs are deserved winners of numerous awards. What I admire most about Dan and Sharlyn is how they steer away from the hyperbole that pervades the blog world and instead provide practical, factual information for professionals interested in the people side of business.

The Conversationalist: Kevin Grossman Hands down, Kevin, has been the most frequent visitor to The People Equation, offering clever commentary with a dose of humor. The guy is everywhere online, which garnered him the #1 spot on The HR Examiner’s Top 25 HR Digital Influencers 2010. 

The Conversationalist: (Honorable Mentions): Roy Atkinson and Susan Mazza, who were tied for most comments (after Kevin) on the blog. Roy and Susan have been very  supportive of my professional efforts, on the blog and in person. They both bring a very unique perspective to the digital space, offering an alternate viewpoint that adds value to the conversation.

The Gardener: Jane Perdue.  My heartfelt thanks goes out to author and fellow leadership consultant Jane for providing the “seed” of a blogging project that grew into so much more. You can read about that project here.

The Informal Leader: Mike Henry. Mike’s name appeared last year in the Big Thinker category for instigating a leadership “revolution” through the Lead Change Group. The group continues to grow and attract a diverse range of people dedicated to character-based leadership. Mike is a wonderful testament to how to provide leadership without a title; he’s also provided me with counsel on blog administration.

The Instigators: Trish McFarlane, Shauna Moerke and Lisa Rosendahl. This trio of get-it-done women has my vote for influencing The People Equation via their blog the Women of HR, which they launched this year. I’m grateful to them for the opportunity to contribute to the Women of HR, allowing me to develop a different aspect of my writing voice, which in turn strengthens the writing on this blog too.

The Technology Magicians: Mike Devarenne, Darcee Sellers, Rick Harlow, and Alexia Petrakos. It takes a village to keep a blog running and each of these individuals has lent their unique technical expertise to the development of The People Equation. I vastly admire their behind-the-scenes technical wizardry that allows me to focus on my passion— writing. Thanks, guys!

So that wraps up this year’s awards ceremony. If you’re intrigued by any of these folks, be sure to follow them on your social media platform of choice. I’ve created a link to their blog (or profile) in the hyperlink of their name so that you can check them out.

I look forward to yet another year of learning, growing and being influenced in the coming year. What about you— how will you be an influencer in 2011?

Read The People Equation Influencers 2009 list here.

Don’t Wait For Your Company to Embrace Social Technologies

American business leaders have long grappled with societal changes that influence their business practices. The advent of organized labor in the late 1800’s and the entry of women into non-traditional factory jobs during World War II are but two examples of large societal shifts that have had a significant impact on how companies do business in our country. The rise in the use of social technologies like Facebook and LinkedIn are just the latest societal trend that leaders are grappling with.

Social Technologies Are Daunting to Corporate Leaders

It would appear that many leaders are choosing a default approach to addressing social technology use in their companies.  According to research released by Robert Half Technology last year, over half of all companies surveyed (54%) completely restrict access to social media sites. Another 19% permit access to sites for business purposes only. There are a myriad of reasons for restricting access including concerns about security and decreased employee productivity. And if that’s not enough for busy leaders to think about, consider free sites like Glassdoor.com where people can “rate” the company they work for, including the performance of the CEO and the quality of the company’s culture.

Indeed, my experience with corporate leaders mirrors the research findings. In addition to legal and brand management concerns, many leaders are fatigued with the additional layer of communication social technology provides.  While discussing the use of LinkedIn Groups feature as a possible way to connect a geographically dispersed management team, one of my clients exclaimed, “LinkedIn? I want to be LinkedOut!” He went on to say that there were already 14 company-sanctioned communication channels in his company; adding another mode was more than he was willing to take on.

It’s a Question of Openness, Not Technology Use

In her book Open Leadership – How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead author Charlene Li acknowledges that the “open microphone” culture of instant, free information sharing can be daunting to leaders. It’s understandable why many companies take the easy way out and simply say “no.” Hold up a minute, says Li—there are benefits to adopting social media practices within a company.

From her research with organizations Li believes that leaders who fail to harness the “groundswell” of employee sharing are missing a huge opportunity.  The key issue, according to Li, is that leaders are concerned about giving up control. Social media seems so chaotic; how can a leader achieve results without some measure of control? She says this is the wrong question to ask. Instead, the question leaders should ask is, “How do I develop the kind of new, open, engaged relationships I need to get things done?”

How Leaders Can Be Open, Even If Their Companies Aren’t

This question serves an as excellent guidepost regardless of a company’s social media stance. Most people in leadership positions aren’t calling the shots on whether or not Facebook can be accessed via company servers. However, all leaders can encourage openness with their direct reports by following these suggestions:

Encourage learning. If a project fails ask, “What can we learn from this?” Listen carefully to the answer. If the undercurrent is “I learned not to take risks because there will be retribution” you have some work to do in fostering the open, collaborative environment you’re looking to build.

Admit your uncertainty.  Organizations value decisiveness in their leaders. This is a valuable trait, but there are times when it’s also beneficial for your team to hear “I have reservations about X and here’s how we’re going to work through those concerns.” Showing that you have occasional hesitation helps your team relate to you and shows that it’s ok to talk out loud about the drawbacks of a situation.

Share company goals. I was stunned when a division leader recently asked me, “Should I share our company’s quarterly goals with my staff? Would they really find this helpful?” Yes, they would. Beyond simply sharing data, as a leader you must help people “connect the dots” to understand how their job contributes to the overall company objectives. Doing so helps people see how their daily actions matter and reduces the impression that only the company benefits.

Ask, “How Can We Make This Even Better?” Striving for continual improvement sends the message that you’re open to enhancing the way your department functions. Want to really show them you value feedback? Get feedback from a peer (or better yet, your team) on how you can improve something in your own work life. One caveat: if the team senses that you’re asking because you’re disappointed in their initial performance, this tactic won’t be very helpful. Be sure to stress that improvement is an ongoing process; the “how to make it better” question aids in that process.

There’s no need for you to wait for your company to integrate the new social technologies into its daily operations. Make a pact with yourself to start being more “open” today with your staff. When your company finally catches up, you’ll be just that much ahead of the game.

Chris Ferdinandi, author of Culture Convo

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Chris Ferdinandi, asking if I’d check out an advance copy of his new e-book, Culture Convo.  Chris is an HR Generalist with a learning and development focus for EMC Corporation, a global Fortune 500 company that helps organizations store and manage their digital data. As part of his role for EMC, he does some really cool development stuff using new media tools. He creates interactive career paths, produces weekly video podcasts, and provides training and webinars on career related issues. Check it out: http://youtube.com/emccareers, under the playlist “Global Services.  Chris also shares his personal observations on the human resources world at Renegade HR.

I love a good book, so I said “Sure!” and he sent me a copy. The book is an easy-to-read primer on how companies can incorporate social media practices into their existing corporate communication strategies.  When you purchase the book, you also get all sorts of cool freebies, like interviews with corporate culture powerhouses Zappos, Sodexo and DAXKO.

To give some context, I also asked Chris to share a bit about his new book with the readers of The People Equation. What follows is excerpted from a series of emails Chris and I exchanged last week.

TPE:  You have a full-time job. Why bother with a blog?

CF: For me, blogging started as a way to share my ideas about the profession of HR beyond my immediate network.

Over the last two years, though, it’s become something a lot more powerful. Blogging has given me a global network. It’s connected me to some amazingly brilliant, insightful and talented professionals I otherwise would have never met. It’s helped me personal and professional development in ways I couldn’t have imagined when I started.

TPE:  Your blog is promoted as “a blog about simple, back-to-basics human resources”. What does “back to basics” mean to you as it relates to HR?

CF: I think great human resources is really about giving people the tools they need to be successful, and then getting out of the way so people can do great work.

That means writing spending less time writing policies and more time helping managers become effective leaders.
 
TPE: Readers of The People Equation visit the blog to discuss workplace dynamics and leadership in the corporate world. How might your new book be of help to them?

CF: For readers who have great cultures and want to make more people aware how awesome it is to work at their organization, Culture Convo is a step-by-step guide to using social media to spread your “employer brand.”

For people who work at organizations with less-than-great cultures, or who are already well versed in social media, this book might not be for them.

TPE: Thanks, Chris, for sharing a bit about the world of social media and employer branding.

CF: My pleasure.

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of the book, it’s promotionally priced for $19.00 until Friday, September 10 at midnight EST. After that, it’s $27.00. Click here to learn more.

Disclosure:  As mentioned, I did receive a complimentary copy of Chris’ book to review.  Other than that, I receive no compensation for the publication of this blog post.  Other than the positive feelings I get from helping out a fellow HR pro.  Which is payment enough for me.

On June 5, 2010, I was welcomed into the  Women of HR community as a contributor.

I can almost hear it all the way from Minnesota.  Polite, yet insistent, it’s Women of HR’s Editor-in-Chief Lisa Rosendahl tapping her foot, waiting.  Jennifer, when will your first Women of HR blog post be ready?

It’s an honor to be a contributor to the newly formed Women of HR site.  So what’s the hold-up? I want the first post to be good. No, I want it to be great, so that it speaks to the nascent readership and inspires them to come back for more. The only “inspiration” I can seem to summon at the moment is writer’s block, so the project goes unfinished, for yet another day.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Finally—inspiration hits. So I draft up a blog post and let it sit for a few days.  I tweak it, add a photo and submit it to the Women of HR site. As I write this, it’s awaiting approval.  Will the article be well-received?  Will it be deemed “great”? Time will tell.

This process has revealed something of a surprise to me: I’ve been looking for an outlet that honors my status as a woman.  In general, I don’t blog about gender issues; it’s not really my “thing”. Yet, when presented with an opportunity to weigh in on women’s issues, it became really important that I produce a quality product. Hence, the foot-dragging around publishing my first post.  So I guess that Being a Woman matters to me. Huh. Go figure.

I want to thank Women of HR founders Lisa Rosendahl, Trish McFarlane and Shauna Moerke for affording me the opportunity to help me find yet another voice. . .that of Jennifer V. Miller, a woman of HR.

I just returned from a quarterly management meeting being hosted by a client.  It’s a two-day meeting being held offsite for 30 mid- to senior-level managers of a business unit.  During the meeting, Pete, head of a 1200-person business unit, unveiled his brand-new blog.  I really admire Pete. He’s been taking risks and encouraging his staff to do the same.  When he revealed the blog today, his group gave him some good natured ribbing– “So, can employees ‘write on your wall?’ ” and “Yeah, SURE they can post anonymously.”  And: “What? Are you going to go on Twitter now too?!” Pete openly admits that this experiment may not work.  In general, efforts to use social media have not taken hold in his company.  However, Pete remains undeterred. He wants to fully explore the opportunities that a social media platform can bring to his workforce.

Now, I’m not a social media expert.  I’m not specifically advising Pete on his social media use.  But if I can help him somehow figure it out, then I’ve helped him in his larger goal, which is to communicate with his employee base.  And he did hire me to do that. 

So, I’m doing a bit of informal research on Pete’s behalf.

First, I posted this tweet before I left the meeting:

I chose to do so discreetly, as nobody in the room is on Twitter.

So far, I’ve had this suggestion from colleague MaryJo Asmus:

I’m also going to check in with my LinkedIn and Facebook networks to see what they have to say.

Are you a part of a large corporation that’s incorporating social media into its business practices?  In particular, are any executives or senior managers doing an internal blog?  If so, what advice would you offer to Pete so he can make this endeavor a success?

Build on existing blogs for your success

We’re closing in on nearly a year of blogging here at The People Equation. It’s been a fantastic journey, one that Alexia Petrakos (aka The WPChick) recently chronicled in a case study. (Thanks, Alexia, for helping launch the blog!) Blogging has opened up my professional horizons and increased my visibility within the online community. It’s led to some great opportunities, including  a stint as an Office Politics Advisor and a feature article on Forbes.com last month. Still, when talking with my non-blogging work colleagues, I shy away from mentioning that I write a blog.  Why?  I’m not sure, but somewhere in my mind, there’s a stubborn perception: “Blogging isn’t real work.”

Tonight, at the inaugural meeting of the West Michigan Inforum Social Media Affinity Group, I’ll have a chance to break out of that mindset once and for all.  I’m honored to have been asked to participate in a panel discussion along with four social media and corporate communication professionals: Laura Bergells, Nemo Chu,  Cindy  Droog, and Bob Taylor.  Event organizer Penny Rosema asked me to discuss how blogging has helped build my professional brand.

Here’s an expanded version of what I shared with the audience:

Blogging can provide any business professional with a key competitive advantage: expert status.  Whether you are marketing your small business, building your portfolio in a corporation, or even job seeking, it’s beneficial to be seen as an expert in your chosen field.  In my mind, the correlation looks like this:

Expert Status –>Leads to –> Increased Opportunity

Here’s the great thing about blogs.  You don’t have to expend the effort to create your own blog; you can leverage someone else’s blog. If you become aware of influential bloggers in your area of expertise, you can then invest just 30 minutes a week making comments on those blogs to build your credibility and your visibility. You benefit by gaining visibility and the blog owner benefits from your expertise.

Yes, I did say “post comments”.  In order for this to work, you must participate.  The purpose of most blogs is to invite conversation, which requires that you join in. Being “visible” is part and parcel of being a member of the online community.  When I say be “visible” I don’t mean “let it all hang out”. Rather, I mean be confident in your ability to share your well-considered and diplomatic business-related content with the world.  If you read a post and have additional information or an opinion to share, then by all means, do so! A word of warning: “selling” of any sort, rants and general “TMI” sharing does nothing to help you build your status as an expert.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few tips to get you going:

• Find relevant blogs: Google “Top blogs + [fill in your industry key words]”
• Put 4-5 blogs you like into your Google Reader
• Set up a few Google Alerts regarding your specific keywords
• Invest 30 minutes per week reading scanning blog posts. Write 2-3 comments per week.
• If you enjoy writing, you can take it a step further: some blogs have a “guest post” tab or sidebar. If you have relevant content to contribute, don’t hesitate to ask to submit a guest blog post. Most blogs have reasonable editorial standards; it’s not as difficult as you might think.
• Not a big fan of writing? Ask to feature a blogger’s article for your newsletter, or some other source of written media.  Bloggers are typically receptive to having their content shared, as long as you get permission and don’t alter their content or bylines.
• Are you a member of a LinkedIn group, Facebook or Twitter? Share business-related content from blogs that you found helpful with those groups. Go one step further and reach out to the blogger to let him/her know that you shared the content. Building relationships with bloggers is a great way to learn about other opportunities.

If you like to write (even just a little bit) and can overcome any shyness you might have about making public comments, using blogs can be an effective business tool to help you gain visibility and learn about developments in your field of business. I wish you great success!

Photo credit: istockphoto.com © Vaide Seskauskiene

Sometimes a 140 character limit just won’t cut it, so today I’m trying something new with the Twitter’s Follow Friday. Here’s my #FF for this week, in alphabetical order and sans the 140 constraint.

Roy Atkinson, known for his witty Twitter “Groaner” puns, is as funny in real life as he is in the digital world.  A former musician, he is now an IT supervisor in Maine near Acadia National Park. He’s committed to exploring character-based leadership and does so with a buoyant energy that’s contagious.

The Lead Change Group connected me to Dave Brand. He’s a scientist by trade who now works in 3M’s leadership development department. Dave’s a talented researcher; I can always count on him to have an extensive list of best practices for any leadership-related topic.

For a truly go-give HR person, follow Steve Browne.  What I appreciate about Steve is that he’s constantly looking for ways to connect people for business purposes. Steve sends out a fantastic newsletter, the HR Net, which is also an online discussion board. Steve works as an HR director for a company that “gets” social media and fully endorses his online networking.

Franke James and I met via Twitter just a few short months ago. She’s the editor of the Office Politics website and author of Dear Office Politics: The Game Everyone Plays. She’s a wonderful collaborator and I’ve enjoyed getting to know her while we’ve worked on a few projects.

There are many reasons I follow Dan McCarthy. One is his excellent leadership blog Great Leadership. A second reason is that he’s in the trenches every day as a developer of leaders and I appreciate his “real world” take on our profession. Thirdly, even though he has a full time day job, he’s always willing to give advice and share ideas. Oh, another thing—he laughs at my jokes.

Anne Perschel is a business psychologist who recently wrote Fixing the Hole in the Corporate Soul which spurred her to start the Corporate Soul Movement on her blog.  Some people get a bit freaked out by folks with a PhD in psychology, but with Anne, you needn’t worry. She’s funny, smart and always willing to engage.

I follow Erin Schreyer because she’s enthusiastic and gets things done.  As a leadership consultant in the Cincinnati area, she’s worked to unite the leadership community by organizing some great networking events. She just finished up a certification in Marcus Buckingham’s Simply Strengths program, so if you’re in the market for that type of leadership development, give Erin a holler.

During my presentation to the Grand Rapids Entrepreneur’s Club today, I compared social media options for the small business owner to stepping up to an all-you-can-eat buffet.  There are a slew of choices—how do you choose those that are most healthy for your business? Following that analogy, I offer you, the small business owner, a “diner’s guide” to getting the most out of your social media fare.

[Disclaimer: The recommendations below are a result of my personal experiences as a small business owner.   I make no claim to be a social media “expert” but I am a consistent user of several platforms. The list below is not complete. The links below were active when I published this post.  Also, I receive no compensation from mentioning the people/blogs below. These are simply resources that I find helpful and hope that you will too.]

Appetizers: Social Media Starters

Two bloggers that I’ve followed closely that have some great general information about social media are Trish McFarlane, a Human Resource professional who blogs at The HR Ringleader and Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson publishers.  Their posts on social media are helpful because they come at it from an “every day user” viewpoint rather than as a highly technical blogger or social media guru.

Check out Trish’s blog on how to get started in social media and Mike’s blog category of social media.

Mashable.com. Mashable is one of the most widely read social media blogs. It can be quite technical, but there are still posts that are helpful to the average user.  Keep in mind: when you use the site, the most current blog posts are the ones that are most technically accurate.  Older posts were correct at the time of publishing but may have since been replaced with new information. There’s a tab called “How To” at top of Mashable home page. Check this out for useful social media tips, including the How To Connect with Other Entrepreneurs post.

Salad Course: Facebook

Just like any salad, you need to know how to choose the healthy Facebook items (Fan Pages) and stay away from the fat-laden ones (Farmville). Facebook started out as a site focusing on connecting friends and family, providing an easy way to post photos and find long-lost friends.

As Facebook’s popularity has grown, the business community has latched on with applications allowing business friends to stay connected.  Facebook may or may not work with your social media diet; you need to decide how many social media platforms your company can maintain.  These days, several of the platforms are linked, making it easier to post to multiple accounts at one time, but it still can be time-consuming. Keep in mind that many of your business colleagues may want to keep their personal lives and business lives separate, so they may not want to “friend” you on Facebook  for business purposes.

If you do decide to give Facebook a try, start with Mashable’s guidebook.

Concerned about privacy on Facebook? Fellow HR blogger Lance Haun shared this site with me for Facebook privacy tips.

Main Entre: Linked In

If you only choose one social media platform, start with LinkedIn.  Some social media pundits are signaling the decline of LinkedIn, due to Facebook’s rising popularity with business users, but I don’t think that’s coming anytime soon. Last fall, LinkedIn wisely collaborated with Twitter to make it easy to share updates across the two platforms. At a minimum, small business owners should:

• Have a complete personal profile
• Create a company profile for their business

Another blogger friend of mine, Sharlyn Lauby who blogs at The HR Bartender was featured on Mashable with a very popular post called  7 Ways to Get More Out of LinkedIn.

New more advanced LinkedIn tips? Two social media bloggers, Neal Schaffer at Windmill Networking and Scott Allen at Linked Intelligence have generously agreed to have their excellent summary posts on LinkedIn featured here on The People Equation.  See Neals’s 25 Most Useful Linked In Blog Posts and Scott’s 1o0+ Smart Ways to Use Linked In.

Dessert: Twitter

Most of us love a little “sumpin’ sumpin’ after dinner, even if it’s not strictly good for us. Hey, I say “everything in moderation” and that’s how it is for me with Twitter.  Twitter can quickly become like those gooey chocolates that you can’t stop eating– highly addictive with very little nutritional value. However, using Twitter wisely and in moderation can be a positive addition to your social media regimen if you are displined enough to do so.

Brand new? See Mashable’s Twitter Guidebook .  

In addition to the Mashable guidebook, I recommend the just-released TweetThis! For Business, written by Jessica Miller-Merrell.  Jessica and I met via Twitter. For the past year, she has carefully tracked and documented how to gain leverage for your small business using Twitter. See my book review on TweetThis! here.

So, are you ready to jump in to social media?  Feel free to connect with me in any of the following ways:

Facebook: Jennifer Miller’s profile

Facebook: SkillSource Fan Page

Twitter: Jennifer Miller’s profile

Twitter: SkillSource Twitter page

Whenever I attend a business networking event and mention Twitter, I invariably get a group of people flocking to me wanting to know more about the social media micro-blogging site. They want to know “How do I get started?” “Is it really a viable business marketing tool?” and “Twitter seems so frivolous—does anybody really care about what I had for breakfast?”

Happily, I now have a useful book to recommend: Tweet This! by Jessica Miller-Merrell. (No relation to me). The answers to these questions and many more are in this handy, easy-to-read Twitter reference manual. In about 90 minutes, you can have a clear map for how to get started with Twitter, suggestions for additional tools to increase Twitter’s functionality (called third-party applications) and even an excellent list of Twitter users (called Tweeps) for you to follow.

What’s unique about this book is that it’s targeted specifically for small business owners, entrepreneurs and consultants. All of Ms. Miller-Merrell’s suggestions are framed in that context, including some great worksheets to help business owners construct a Twitter account that pays attention to their company’s marketing plan and branding strategy. She also includes a few stories and case studies that vividly portray the do’s and dont’s of using Twitter effectively.

Brand new to Twitter? Consider this book as your starting point before you even set up an account.  It provides a great roadmap for business people to consider prior to “jumping in” to Twitter. Worth noting: the one thing this book doesn’t do is explain all the mechanics for how to navigate Twitter or the third-party applications. That’s not the book’s intent. You’ll still need to check various social media blog sites and the Twitter help section to learn the nitty gritty.  However, Miller-Merrell has you covered on that as well—her book points out several well-respected social media sites you can peruse to get up-to-the-minute technical information.

My recommendation: Read Tweet This! if you are a small business owner who’s brand new to Twitter, or if you have a Twitter account that’s been laying dormant because you have no idea how to use it for business purposes.

You can purchase the book at  Jessica Miller-Merrell’s website or on Amazon.com.

[Disclosure: I received a free e-book copy of Tweet This! in order to review this book.]