CarbonCopyPRO founders Jay Kubassek and Aaron Parkinson talk about their events and vision for the company.

7 Tools to Better Manage Your Social NetworksBy Kristin BurnhamJanuary 5, 2010 11:24 AM ET

CIO - When you belong to several social networking sites-Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter-(and don't we all?), keeping up with them can seem overwhelming. Tweet this. Update that status. Share a link here.If you've resolved to get more organized this year, consider these seven tools that save time and streamline your social networking interactions. My picks: For easy content sharing across platforms, be sure to check out is the browser plugin Shareaholic. And for simple synching and updating of multiple accounts, Atomkeep seems to be the most efficient.

1. 8Hands. The desktop application organizes your social networking profiles (such as Facebook, WordPress, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube) into one place. It sends you notifications when you receive new comments, messages, friend requests or videos; generates summaries and statistics on your social networking activities; and features a chat window where you can drag and drop YouTube videos or Flickr pictures to share with others.

2. Atomkeep. This service allows you to import, synch and merge your profile data from a wide variety of sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Digg and Plurk. It also makes updating pieces of information-such as your e-mail address-across several platforms quite easy: Update that specific field in your Atomkeep profile (instead of visiting each site individually) and push it to all or select sites. Note that there's a backlog in approving accounts at the moment, as the company site states: "All accounts are activated in batches, as soon as our capacity allows. Please don't ask when, as we can't give you any timeframe on this."

3. FriendBinder.FriendBinder aggregates your existing friends from your networks and displays them in a single stream of information. It organizes your Twitter mentions and direct messages, and displays when someone favorites a photo of yours on Flickr or invites you to an event on Facebook. FriendBinder also displays trending topics and threads Twitter conversations, making them easier to follow.

4. FriendFeed. This tool displays a personalized, real-time feed of what your friends are sharing on various social media and social networking sites. You can comment or "like" items that appear in your feed, and have real-time conversations with your friends about the posts. You also may choose from a list of over 50 sites that you may belong to, and share items with your friends accordingly.

5. Ping.fm. Primarily a site that lets you update multiple statuses simultaneously, Ping.fm groups services into three categories-status updates, blogs and microblogs. You can configure the account to aggregate content from several services, including Delicious, Facebook, Laconica, LinkedIn, Twitter and WordPress.

6. Pond. The Pond social media aggregator and publishing tool allows you to follow your friends, collect information about them and share your own content. Pond also lets you merge your friends' online identities-so, for example, if your friend belongs to Twitter, Facebook and Flickr, you'll see updates from these services in one integrated time line. Pond also allows you to cross-publish information to several sites with one update.

7. Shareaholic.Shareholic is a customizable browser add-on that lets you share content with over 60 social networking sites. By clicking the Shareaholic icon, you can instantly share the page you're on (it automatically shortens the link for you). It also displays real-time trending topics, allowing you to find the latest news, videos and blogs.

What are your favorites?

Staff Writer Kristin Burnham covers consumer Web and social technologies for CIO.com. She writes frequently on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google ( GOOG). You can follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.

Why Most Internet Marketers Fail and What You Can Do to Succeed By Brooke Kendall | Published: January 1, 2010

2009 saw massive increase in work from home, online entrepreneurs. Perhaps you were one of them, high on the hype of promised riches and personal freedom. Sadly, the reality is most internet marketers will fail to break even. Why? Because they don’t truly understand what is required to succeed and they lack the focus and stamina to stick at it through the learning curve.

But don’t despair, 2010 brings a fresh start and the following six strategies will help you to succeed online.

1. Do Your Research

Before you jump into an online business opportunity or marketing niche, do your research. Don’t just read sales copy. Slow down and choose carefully. Read forums, independent reviews, articles and posts until you have a solid understanding of the business or niche you are interested in.

2. Focus On Your Strengths

Analyse your strengths and use them to select your area of focus. Many people often hop from one aspect of their business to another area to another without ever mastering one technique or area.

For example if you love researching and writing then perhaps consider learning the art of article writing. Once you’ve chosen your area of focus, be like a postage stamp and stick to it until you get your results.

When you have completed your goal of say, writing x number of articles and they are performing well, you may wish to move onto a new goal such as writing your own ebook or info product. Whatever you decide to do, keep it in logical order. For example don’t focus on building capture pages for an ebook that isn’t written yet.

3. Have a Marketing Plan

Many people fail at internet marketing simply because they fail to plan.

Get a calendar and create a schedule for the entire year. In this example your first focus is article writing. Decide how many articles you want to write and by what date. Make a list of topics you wish to cover – do some research, read examples. Spend time learning what criteria your articles must meet if you are submitting to article directories.

Break down your writing into daily, weekly and monthly goals. Have a clear and precise idea of what you want achieved three months from now. Know what you want your business to look like at the end of each month and plot a chart of action to meet your goals.

4. Don’t Quit Your Day Job Until Your Business Is Flourishing

The transition phase from small business owner or employee to online entrepreneur can be tiring because you will be putting in extra hours and late nights as you build your new business. Many new internet marketers quit because they run out of money or energy or both. Minimise your risk by building your business with the security of a steady income to support you through your development phase.

However, if you don’t have an income and this is ‘do or die’ for you then don’t panic because your determination (or desperation) can be your greatest asset. Find an inner strength you never knew you had, simply because your back is against the wall. This has been the reality for many success stories.

5. Believe in Your Unique Angle and Your Ability to Succeed

Be 100% committed to your success. Success online takes time, research, commitment and a creative streak. If your belief is wavering then you’re already at a psychological disadvantage. Go into this biz knowing that you can do it better than most other marketers out there. Find your unique angle, be innovative and reinvent in order to make your niche your own. Then work out how to make people understand why your angle or opportunity is the best for them.

6. ‘Prepare’ Yourself To Succeed Online, Get An Education!

Newbies can lack focus and be easily distracted by information overload; article marketing, writing ebooks, learning PPC, blogging, social media, capture pages, video marketing, sales funnels, auto responders, webinars etc. Trying to learn everything on your own, it will take you literally many months to understand let alone master.

So it makes sense to get assistance from those who know and those who are already hugely successful. Find a company who are industry leaders in educational material for both internet marketing and wealth creation. That’s what I did and it was the best decision I ever made.

Discover more about partnering with industry leaders in internet marketing by clicking on the link below. But beware – you’re about to be introduced to two guys who are on a mission to create 100 millionaires by 2012! These guys share with you the world’s best in financial and wealth education and can show you how to become successfully self employed online in 2010 using the power of the internet. Here’s the link: Commit to Your Success Online. Do you have what it takes?


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