Having worked in politics for years, I am always interested to watch the ways that social media is adopted and utilized for advocacy. The latest effort focusing on Marriage Equality in New Jersey is a great example of using technology to drive a message.  BuzzFeed picks up the efforts: Democrats across the Garden State put out the call Monday on Facebook and Twitter to "Unfriend Christie," in advance of the Republican governor's political fundraiser this Wednesday — first reported by BuzzFeed last month — at the Palo Alto home of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. A cadre of the state's progressive organizations — the gay rights advocacy group, Garden State Equality; the popular liberal blog, Blue Jersey; and the New Jersey chapters of Democracy for America and Communications Workers of America — are leading an online campaign to hit Christie and Zuckerberg, specifically on the issue of marriage equality. In addition to utilizing the hashtag #UnfriendChristie to drive the message on Twitter, they have created an online petition at Change.org and crafted blog posts on BlueJersey.com. Crowdsource with us to Mark Zuckerberg: #UnfriendChristie Friends Don't Let Friends Veto Equality Garden State Equality has created the image in this post for sharing on facebook. As one of the organizers, Rosi Efthim said: "Facebook even has icons representing same sex marriages," Efthim added. "We think Zuckerberg and Chan can do better, and we're going to use social media, rallying, and whatever it takes to tell him." Even if they don't change Zuckerberg or Christie's mind, they certainly are getting some attention for the creative ways they have used social media to advance social policy.

The Reviewzntips website posted an infographic comes from QuickSprout that examineddifferent aspects about tweeting and the way they affect the number of retweets that your content receives. Here were some of the main takeaways they had: Tweet length – how long should your tweets be for the best chance for retweets Which are the top 20 most retweetable phrases on Twitter Which is the best time to share your most important updates on Twitter Check out the Infographic for yourself:

Congratulations, you've set up your Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest or Youtube account. Now what? It's important to realize that as the title says, social media is about more than just setting up accounts.  The last thing you want is for people to find you, but never come back because you haven't posted any content. Anyone can create an account, utilizing social media platforms effectively requires developing a strategy that integrates your communications and distributes your content. It doesn't matter the medium, be it new digital and social media platforms or traditional media, content is still king.  So developing good content, that is regularly posted to your accounts helps to create a strong foundation for your online marketing efforts.  If you are using social media to market yourself or your business, ask this: Would you visit a site that never gets updated? Would you be more likely to visit that site if you knew there would be regular information you could use? Continue reading