People, time to become movie stars – or at least producers.

How well do you work the camera? Well, according to some of the panelists from Social Media Club DC's April event, brushing up on your camera skills is a good idea when maintaining your Personal Brand.

If you really want to get yourself out there and be in control of your online visibility, you should learn how to make movies. For your Personal Brand SEO strategy (isn't this a bit bizarre, really?), having an active YouTube channel is critical, because YouTube clips generally show up more frequently in Google search results. And where do you want to be? On top of the game, obviously! On top of the search result list.

At 305, we practice moviemaking every now and then, with the ultimate goal of one day see a finished product – what it will be, I cannot really reveal at the moment. Now, this being said, you don't necessarily have to star in the movie yourself, but take on the role as a producer at get that camera rolling.

Oh, wait. What happened here? I guess we're not quite there yet.

Be on a social media schedule.

Social media is a waste of time, some say! Absolutely not, I say. Especially not if you are smart about it. Now, this is a piece of advice I am not following myself, but I wish I was. And I actually think I might. Soon. When it's time to get a fresh start.

In order to leverage your social media usage, a good idea is to set up a proper schedule and a manageable timeframe. I know I struggle a little bit with this, since I often happen to stumble upon (often without even using StumbleUpon) things I really want to read or write about.

But in a perfect social media world, a good strategy would be to create a blog schedule. Mondays for Language posts. Tuesdays deal with workout and food. Wednesdays are all about social media. Or whatever your niche is. If you even have one (do I?). Know your audience and schedule posts when they are most likely to read them.

And for your actual routine, decide how much time you should spend on each activity. Is ten minutes for browsing interesting articles enough? Can you compose a quality blog post in 20 minutes? Does it take you more than 15 minutes to respond to comments and comment on content of your interest?

I often find myself getting lost in time, so a schedule might be a good idea for me. I will definitely try it out, but right now, it's time to go!

When to tweet what?

Sometimes, you just have so much to say and so much great content to share with your equally social media savvy friends, that you don't really know where to start. Yesterday, my dear friend Olivia (SocialMediaBFF's as she so accurately called us) tweeted about the best time to tweet in order to generate clicks.

The article reference to recent finding, showing that the most Twitter traffic takes place between 9am-11am ET and 1pm-3pm ET. And apparently, the very best time to tweet is at 5pm ET. Good to know, if you want your tweets to be seen.

As this article suggests, since there are different time frames of highly trafficked Twitter lanes, you should make sure to tweet throughout the day. Another thing to keep in mind, I would say, is to consider where in the world your followers are located, since these findings only apply to the US.

Tweeting something in French? Schedule it for the French's lunch baguette. Commenting on Swedish politics? Go for the 10 o'clock "fika." Please your followers from different time zones and customize your posts in accordance, then you should be just about ready to go!

Tutorial for my teacher and business advice to my dad.

My very first social media encounter was with a community called "Skunk." Of course, back then, we didn't know it was a social media platform. It was just a place on the World Wide Web where we spent time uploading cool images that were supposed to picture our girlfriends. "This is Emma. She's soooo like my BFF. Love ya!" type of a deal. We joined groups called August 25 is the best day to be born! and I love candy and cute puppies.

Then came other, much cooler sites, where we wrote deep entries in our diaries and connected with people with hip user names. And then, yet another site arrived – and so on and so forth.

I do belong to a generation that can still remember a time when you could not google everything and breaking news were presented on TV and radio, basta. Yet, I am one of those who have grown up with social media. Even more so, I am one of those who have grown in to social media.

This became so very obvious for me last Friday when my internship seminar ended up being a Twitter tutorial, where me and my classmates explained all the ins and outs about tweeting for our professor. Later that same day, I was telling my dad how he could (and should!) use Twitter for his business.

I am definitely a socialmediafied soul. Today, I do more than write messages about how awesome my friends are. I am even required to use it at work. And I use it to become an even savvier user than I already am. Social Media for the win! Oh okay, that cute picture thing is still going on, I forgot that nowadays, it's called to PIN.

But hey, Twitter users out there, don't forget your critical eye!

SMC-DC Recap: How to master your Personal Branding.

"Alright, so let's all check in with the hashtag #smcdc!"Last week, I was among the 50 something social media savvy Washingtonians who attended Social Media Club DC's March event, focusing on how to take care of your own personal brand in the social media realm. I wouldn't say that I encountered any brand new information, but it's always inspiring and interesting listening to panel discussions and Q&A sessions.

Let me present to you my personal key takeaways:

1. Be yourself, but be smart and professional. Think of the person your respect the most in the world when you are about to contribute with online content – he or she might find it, you know! If you're okay with showing all your Twitter/Facebook/LinedIn content with that person, simply publish! Employers are looking for humans, with feelings and flaws as we all have, but with good judgement. What can you say when and when should you not say anything at all?

2. Furthermore, be strategic when deciding what you do want to say. Stuff all your bios with smart keywords. Just like any brand would do, think in terms of SEO (search engine optimization, for those of you not in the know). In what context do you want to be found? Be in charge of people's search results and make sure your LinkedIn profile shows up when they search for "general awesomeness," or what have you.

3. And for me, the most important reminder: if an employer don't accept you for who you are, how could you ever do a good job and feel comfortable in that workplace? Personal branding, when done honestly and strategically, could help you finding a good match. Employers and employees all want to work with likeminded people, so be accurate when you present the brand that is YOU and that longed for "click" is more likely to appear.

No such thing as "please put your phone away" at a social media event.

Hello My Name Is...

In a time and world where media has become social and accessible for everyone, branding is no longer only about creating ideas about products. If you are out there, you are a brand and you should think about how you are being perceived based on what you present.

This, I believe, is what will be discussed at Social Media Club DC's March event tonight at ONE Lounge in Washington DC. And if I'm going to make it in time, I better get going. I promise to give you an update if I find out any good dos and don'ts.

In the meantime, cheer(yblossoms)io!

Speaking of plus one's.

Are you a Google+ user? I wish you were. Then I would add you to one of my circles and we could share relevant information with each other. You would get to know my real me through my scrapbook photos and we could gather a group of friends and have a hangout – a video call with up to ten different accounts, all free of charge! Wouldn't that be neat?

And speaking of neat, isn't the design, even though its similarities with Facebook, so much cleaner than previous mentioned social network? I'm a big fan of Google design in general and Plus does not disappoint me.

But everybody is on Facebook. Google+ might count for over 100 million users, but not even Google itself seems to know how many of those who are actually active. What's the point of hanging out where nobody else is? Like going to an empty restaurant and be surrounded by nothing but music and a waitress who is dying to get home. Well, when the atmosphere is pleasant and the food is good, take the opportunity of getting to know that waitress. Being alone in a restaurant can actually open up for great service and an unforgettable experience.

Go ahed, create an account and add me to a suitable circle and we can hang out and get to know each other and everything that Google+ has to offer. The atmosphere is so nice, I just wish I could have some more company over there. A plus one would be neat.

Tweets and cartwheels.

If you could make a wish and create a job that would be a combination of your biggest passions in life, what would it be? And did you ever think that this particular job might actually exist? The other day, I found a university program called Sport Communication. Basically, it trains you to become brilliant in using different media in order to communicate the beauty of sport, fitness and health. And I'm not only talking about being a sports journalist, I'm talking about overall communication and everything that is included under that umbrella.

Enter my belief about social media being such a brilliant tool for combining your interests. Tweeting about gymnastics for a living, for example. I can't think of something more dream like. Actually, to be out there with the girls and live in a tracksuit would be ideal, of course, but you get my point.

Combine your passions and share them across the Web. Most of us do that, anyway. I'm doing some really intense thinking myself right now, how I could do that in a smart way. I'll keep you posted; here or on Twitter or maybe on one of my Pinterest boards.

Ciao!

Why I love social.

Since I graduated from high school I have been living a searching life. I immediately traveled out into the real world and explored new cultures. I have been the odd one out. I have been trying to fit it, trying to understand. I have explored and I have excluded. I have believed in promises and I have been let down.

But certain things have never failed me: my running shoes and my camera; my curiosity and my words. And now, I understand that I can use all that. There are ways to combine all the passions and at this very moment my head is full of ideas (you now know what that looks like).

I've got a toolbox full of tools. I just need time to build and probably also a helping hand every now and then.

Possibilities. Chances. That's why I'm totally sold on the idea of Social Media.

My addiction, but the annoying stereotype.

I read an interesting story about Pinterest the other day. Actually, I have been reading so much about Pinterest these last few days I feel like I know all the ins and outs. Without a doubt, the whole phenomenon is very (p)interesting and I, myself, am absolutely addicted. When you need to fill your social media quota but are too tired to read tweets or compose blog posts – all hail online bulletin board Pinterest!

However, there is something about this Pinterest hysteria that bothers me and reading the article called "How Pinterest's Female Audience Is Changing Social Marketing" made me understand what.

87% of the users are women. Women stand for 97% of the site's Facebook "Likes." This is how women use the site and that is what they post. And now, here is how women will change social marketing; it will become friendlier. Because women are friendly and build relationships. They don't "do business" (and when they do, they are "bitches").

There is something so very tiring about this constant labeling of men and women. Year 2012, we still have to distinguish between male and female consumerism, interests and behavior. And as soon as women take over, it will change everything we have previously known. Doesn't that imply that we have been, up until now, doing it the "male" way, all according to how men wants it to be done?

What is what? When will people just become people? Never, I think. Because I believe it's human nature to want to categorize. And where is better to start than among ourselves. OR! On Pinterest. Yea, stop thinking about this tiring topic. Go ahead and organize your Pinboards instead. Whether you're a man or a woman.

When you don't like, but dislike or just... meh

Is it not absolutely bizarre when people post a status update on Facebook, or any other social media platform for that matter, telling something sad and people "Like" it?

How to do it then? When you dislike something or feel like it's a bit so-so. Comme ci comme ça. Così, così.

Well, one solid idea is to actually go out there in the real world and tell your friend you are sorry for his or her misfortune. Or at least shoot your friend an email. We become a bit impersonal with the convenience of the "Likes," don't we?

As much as I do appreciate social media and would like to dedicate most of my time to it (i.e. work within the social media realm), sometimes I just want to give the whole thing a big, fat MEH...

Source: justageekgirl.com via Malin on Pinterest

Happy Birthday buddy! Love from Facebook and Google.

Having trouble remembering your friends' birthdays? Even your BFF's? Even though you're friends on Facebook? I mean, it does happen (does it?) that a day goes by when we don't login on FB (okay, at least we could pretend that it does).

Anyways, if you use Google Calendar (I should start doing that...) you can now make sure to have yet another media channel reminding you when it's time to sing "Happy Birthday" – and all with the help of Facebook!

I must say I was a bit surprised to read that Facebook actually allows you to basically copy-paste the information about your friends' birthdays and use that data for other applications, Google Calendar being one.

Check out this Mashable how-to-video and you have no more excuses for not remembering. But let me please ask you to do one thing: for that BFF of yours, send more than a lame Internet "Happy Birthday." If not a song, a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolate, at least a more personal and sincere birthday wish.

If I can, I prefer being there for real, baking my friend a cake!

Is Facebook bad for you or does it make you happy?

The social media freak might have been reading about how Facebook and Twitter supposedly is much more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol. I don't know about you, but for me, the word addictive sure has some bad connotations.

However, HERE you can read about how to interpret these results in a slightly more positive way. The columnist suggests that we take a deeper look at the study, presenting that what it really shows is that people actually experience "intense engagement and enjoyment" while being social-network-active.

So what do you experience when you go online? I am proud to say that Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest – what have you – is just as sweet as chocolate for me. It's a hobby. It's a lifestyle. It's pure enjoyment.

Tweet, tweet. Now I'm there too.

After som notorious nagging from my dear roommate (okay, it probably took me less than 30 seconds to be convinced) I am now an official tweeter: @malinbergstroem

Milon, Grandma, Malin, do you really need another platform for writing whatever comes to your mind? Isn't this blog and the Swedish one enough? Do you really need to be fed with more information than you already are? How about all the Facebook subscriptions and the various Web sites you've got bookmarked?

Well, as I see it, I have no other choice. As a matter of fact, this is the choice. All this is what I want to do, what I want to work with. I should be out there, tweeting away all my nonsense and follow what others might say that will probably be of greater importance.

I'm already hooked. Tweet, tweet. As mentioned: @malinbergstroem