The infographic below shows a summary of the 14,642 Twitter users in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen. From January 16-23 there were over 122,000 tweets in 6 days (January 24-30) there were over 1.3 million!

We believe in the power and influence of online media outlets such as social media sites, blogs, RSS feeds, Google News, Yahoo news and MSN/Bing. A recent study found that 89 percent of reporters/editors turn to blogs for story research, 65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and 52% to microblogging services such as Tumblr and Twitter.

Let’s face it, Social media is a real-time reporting tool.

Source: Sysomos

Are you so addicted to computers that you find yourself typing in your password into your bank ATM? If so, you’re not alone.

If it feels as though time accelerated in 2010, that’s because it did. Social conversation started with a trickle until it swelled into the tsunami we know today. For every hour spent online, Internet users in the U.S. are spending 13.5 minutes using social media. 46 percent of Internet users globally spend more hours per week on social media than any other online activity. Why? Because everything is real-time.

Social media has reached the masses and it’s customized to you, the fan. Today it’s no longer about blaring a generic message at everyone within earshot. Instead, information is sent through ‘real-time’ technologies via status updates, blog posts or tweets paired with Facebook ads tailored to you, the target customer, topped off by promoting a brand or service through explosively popular websites like Groupon, valued at $15 billion, and Foursquare, which has risen to 6 million users and is now valued at $250 million.

This means that ongoing real-time contribution through status updates, check-ins, tweets or link sharing is progressively part of most people’s social networking contribution. 64% trust social media more if the author or sponsor is responsive, the power of now has never been stronger.

Are you part of the 36% who check their tweets at least once a day or are you a part of the 47% of 18-34 year olds who check their Facebook as soon as you get up? Numbers don’t lie, so make sure to monitor your social media.

However, simply being active on social networks, while invaluable, wasn’t quite enough. Given the volatile Florida real estate climate, Oppenheim Law’s senior partner and co-founder Roy Oppenheim recognized a need to broadcast his advice to a wider audience. He devised a monthly informational seminar with the latest industry news and legal strategies, to be streamed live with question-and-answer opportunities at the end of each seminar.

Oppenheim selected the popular USTREAM platform as his broadcasting medium, creating a branded channel with a signature URL. Oppenheim Law TV has broadcast 27 consecutive monthly seminars to date, providing answers to thousands of homeowners in need.

According to the 2010 ABA Technology Survey Report, 10% of respondents “had a client retain their legal services as a result of use of online communities/social networking.”  This number, while small, is significant and can only be expected to increase in coming years, especially with the rise of social search. Oppenheim Law is a noteworthy example of a B2C business on the social media forefront, leveraging social networks to build brand awareness as well as reaching its target market.

Want to see Oppenheim Law TV in action? A replay of January’s workshop is available for the next seven days at http://OppenheimLaw.tv.

Sean Jackson @seanthinks: Analyzing the Experts

Sean’s presentation revolved around statistics of successful Twitter users. According to Sean, users like @Mashable tweet mostly original content and very little @replies and retweets (3% @replies and 1% RTs.) “Content matters,” Sean says. “A steady stream of Twitter content is more important than follower interaction via @ replies.” Sean contends that the quantity of tweets is not critical, as long as it’s not too few. He also debunks the commonly held theory that Twitter follower growth is not correlated to “following” others.

Lisa Buyer @lisabuyer: Tweeting for PR

I spoke about using Twitter for PR and optimizing 140-character press releases. To increase online visibility, here at The Buyer Group we integrate Twitter into our clients’ overall PR content strategy, with a monthly theme, weekly press releases and frequent blog posts. These press releases and blog posts can be broken down into small factoids, and link back to your online newsroom (you do have one, right?) For easy retweeting, the PR tweet should ideally be 120 characters or less. These 120-character tweets should be posted four to five times a day, always driving traffic back to the website by via links. For best results, optimize the tweet with keywords that can be picked up by search engines such as Google and Bing.

As Victoria Harres had mentioned earlier in the session, Twitter is also a great tool to follow, RT and interact with the media. Don’t forget to #FF!

For more online PR info, check out this interview I did at PubCon with Web Pro News.

For more social media and online PR updates from The Buyer Group, “Like” us on Facebook,  Tweet us @thebuyergroup or subscribe to our online pr and social media blog.

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, I would like to share some highlights from each part of the presentation. Here is a recap of Victoria Harres and Sarah Evan’s presentations:

Victoria Harres @victoriaharres: Media Relations in the New (Media) World

Victoria noted that 58% of journalists have Twitter accounts, and they are using them to do research (PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey 2010). Victoria’s advice? To use Twitter as a tool to build relationships with journalists and bloggers who write on topics you are interested in.

Victoria also discussed team tweeting and the importance of a clear Twitter strategy. She advises to “Think of your [company] Twitter account as a publication… someone should be designated publisher [who] makes sure that everyone stays on target and can make critical decisions on handling potentially sensitive situations.”

Victoria also blogged about our social media session together, giving a great recap.

Sarah Evans @prsarahevans: How to identify story opportunities via social media (And what to do with them)

Sarah recounted a personal instance during which being awakened by an earthquake (and tweeting about it) resulted in a New York Times mention. Sarah contends that “thanks to social media, we are all producers…we all have the power to choose what is newsworthy.” The ultimate result of Sarah’s tweeting? 5 viable business inquires in four hours.

To be continued Wednesday!

For more social media updates from The Buyer Group, “Like” us on Facebook, Tweet us @thebuyergroup or subscribe to our online pr and social media blog.

Sharing the opening panel this week with HARO founder Peter Shankman and CopyBlogger Brian Clark made for an interesting hour discussing the current online PR and social media forecast:

Hot and sunny with a 95% chance of social media posts, tweets and blogs.

The highlights have been permanently archived by Twitter, in case you missed it here they are:

This week’s PR Tweet stream has some good #PR tips from #BlueGlassFL:

sunshinekeywest: Live tweeting here! RT @SocialMichelleR: Panel discussion opening with self intros from @copyblogger @lisabuyer @petershankman #blueglassfl

genm2: Live tweeting here! RT @SocialMichelleR: Panel discussion opening with self intros from @copyblogger @lisabuyer @petershankman #blueglassfl

navahk: Look at your editorial calendar and tie it in! For ex. Blendit and Christmas -@lisabuyer #blueglassfl

blueglassinc: “You can predict things like Christmas.” – @lisabuyer (on how you should always try to tie in your pitch with news and events).

SocialMichelleR: @lisabuyer and @petershankman highly recommend education and training in PR and journalism #BlueGlassFL

NFiStudios: RT @SocialMichelleR: Look at your content strategy. Personalize some of it, automate some of it. @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

RyanJones: “hit them where they are” on facebook, then drive them to your own website. “all roads lead to your site” @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

SocialMichelleR: Look at your content strategy. Personalize some of it, automate some of it. @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

2 days ago via TweetDeck · Reply · View Tweet

ElizabethB: “All roads lead back to your website/blog” – @LisaBuyer when talking about using social media to drive traffic back #BlueGlassFL

aimclear: Yep, true, RT @SocialMichelleR: The whole point is to drive traffic back to your site, your blog @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

SocialMichelleR: The whole point is to drive traffic back to your site, your blog @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

aknecht: @lisabuyer Get cool photos to include in your pitches. Helps get attentions #blueglassfl

timcohn: RT @webaddict: .@lisabuyer “Journalists are going to start and end their search in Google. Be found in Google for your keywords.” #BlueGlassFL

takingovermiami: RT @navahk: Don’t forget the local media when pitching and add eye candy. Get cool pictures from your company. @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

Rhea: Eye candy helps so much in getting your story placed. Via @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

navahk: Don’t forget the local media when pitching and add eye candy. Get cool pictures from your company. @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

SocialMichelleR: If you have good photography, it will help the story. Don’t forget the eye candy @lisabuyer #BlueGlassFL

SocialMichelleR: If your local newspaper covers your story, it’s far more likely the big national outlets will pick up the story. @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

SocialMichelleR: Don’t forget that traditional media is still there. Don’t get too caught up in social media. @lisabuyer #BlueGlassFL

jeffchiarelli: RT @navahk: The art of Facebook + Twitter is to be liked and RT’d! @petershankman @lisabuyer @copyblogger #blueglassfl

navahk: The art of Facebook + Twitter is to be liked and RT’d! @petershankman @lisabuyer @copyblogger #blueglassfl

navahk: Repurpose content. Evergreen content. @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

@beebow: ditto kiddo- have a blast for me RT @lisabuyer: @beebow wish you were at #blueglassfl with me

SocialMichelleR: We use reoccurring tweets and posts to continue to drive traffic @lisabuyer #blueglassfl#FF This Week’s Online PR Tweets from #BlueGlassFL by Lisa Buyer

navahk: Don’t call reporters. They don’t have time! Via @petershankman @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

blueglassinc: Do NOT call a reporter… they have no time for that. – @lisabuyer and @petershankman #blueglassfl

Tevye2009: Great panel! RT @blueglassinc: “”The press release is not dead, digital PR just brings it to life in a different way.” – @lisabuyer

jennysimpson: RT @blueglassinc: “”The press release is not dead, digital PR just brings it to life in a different way.” – @lisabuyer

SEOAware: RT @ElizabethB: How does someone start pitching? Read journalist’s publication, get familiar w/who they are @LisaBuyer #BlueGlassFL

localseoguide: RT @webaddict: .@lisabuyer “Journalists are going to start and end their search in Google. Be found in Google for your keywords.” #BlueGlassFL

navahk: I agree! RT @mannyrivas #onlinepr Sess. has a stellar line up @petershankman, @copyblogger, @lisabuyer moderated by @lorenbaker #BlueGlassFL

ElizabethB: How does someone start pitching? Read journalist’s publication, get familiar w/who they are @LisaBuyer #BlueGlassFL

markcolacioppo: Kicking it at #blueglassfl. 1st session about Online PR w/ @copyblogger, @lisabuyer and @petershankman dropping the knowledge just started.

SocialMichelleR: If you’re going to pitch a journalist, read them be familiar with them. Reach out on a personal level. @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

webaddict: .@lisabuyer “Journalists are going to start and end their search in Google. Be found in Google for your keywords.” #BlueGlassFL

aknecht: RT @mannyrivas: @lisabuyer Online PR encompasses blogging & tkng advantage of difft SM channels w a consistent msg across each #BlueglassFL

mannyrivas: @lisabuyer journalists are either going to start their search or end their search on google. Be there! #Blueglassfl

mosquitohawk: Listening to @copyblogger @skydiver @lisabuyer speak at #BlueGlassFL

navahk: @lisabuyer talking #onlinepr http://plixi.com/p/54530556

SEOAware: RT @blueglassinc: “”The press release is not dead, digital PR just brings it to life in a different way.” – @lisabuyer

mannyrivas: @lisabuyer Online PR encompasses blogging & taking advantage of different SM channels w a consistent message across each #BlueglassFL

blueglassinc: “”The press release is not dead, digital PR just brings it to life in a different way.” – @lisabuyer

amyvernon: the press release is not dead – @lisabuyer #BlueglassFL

SocialMichelleR: Online PR is a combination of blogging and social media @lisabuyer #blueglassfl

amyvernon: @lisabuyer & @petershankman rock online pr #BlueglassFL

ynotpizzadelray: @LisaBuyer and @PeterShankman talk #onlinepr today @BlueGlassInc. Don’t miss it! http://ow.ly/19L5Hf

SocialMichelleR: Panel discussion opening with self intros from @copyblogger @lisabuyer @petershankman #blueglassfl

aknecht: @lisabuyer thanks for the great session & tips.

beebow: #envy RT @SocialMichelleR: Amazing panel discussion on Online PR! Thank you @copyblogger @lisabuyer @petershankman @lorenbaker

Lisa Buyer Speaks at BlueGlass FL

The movers and shakers of Internet marketing come to Florida headlining live at the Hard Rock! BlueGlass FL 2010, a premiere online marketing company, makes its mark in November with a who’s who line up of the nation’s top search marketing industry leaders. This online marketing conference features the most prominent social media, public relations, search marketing, domaining and investment industry experts.

The online marketing spotlight shines on BlueGlass at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida from November 2-3, 2010. Tickets on sale now!

“I am honored to be a part of the speaker line-up for BlueGlass Florida,” says Lisa Buyer @lisabuyer on Twitter, president and CEO of The Buyer Group, an interactive PR and social media agency based in Florida. “The explosive growth of online marketing over the past five years brings a new set of opportunities for businesses to be a part of, BlueGlass brings together a powerhouse of experts.”

BlueGlass FL 2010 features high profile leaders from all genres of the online marketing spectrum divulging coveted industry secrets and discussing groundbreaking ideas. Key speakers include Peter Shankman, a radical thinker in social media and founder of Help a Reporter Out (HARO); Drew Curtis of Fark.com, the popular comedy news website and community; John Ferber, a visionary pioneer of the digital stratosphere who sold Advertising.com to AOL for $435 million; and Dennis Goedegebuure, the force behind SEO strategies of companies like eBay, PayPal and Skype.

The conference boasts a lineup of innovative educational sessions addressing the very latest best practices in search marketing, entrepreneurship and social media. From making your online marketing campaign the next big deal in The Art of Getting Your Business Talked About to turning your online group into a buzz powerhouse in Leveraging and Mobilizing Organic Online Communities, BlueGlass FL 2010 affords its audience expert opinions and tips on the latest online marketing topics.

In addition to discussion panels with industry experts, attendees can expect complimentary breakfasts, lunches and powerful nightly networking events all within an intimate forum optimal for building business relationships and exchanging new ideas that enable longevity in the marketplace. Don’t miss the opportunity to attend and register here.

According to Blueglass CMO/Managing Partner Chris Winfield, “We received an overwhelmingly positive response from the BlueGlass LA Conference and now expanded on that success by bringing the online marketing conference to South Florida. Our goal is to continue to bring value and offer attendees an experience they don’t get at other conferences.  If guests leave our show feeling empowered with all the information and contacts they’ve received, then we have done our job.”

About BlueGlass:
BlueGlass is an expert group of companies focused on all-inclusive Internet marketing strategies, from search and viral marketing, social media, conversion rate optimization and application creation. Chris Winfield, Dave Snyder, Brent Csutoras, Loren Baker, Jordan Kasteler, and Danielle Winfield serve as Managing Partners.
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I set up my iPad and Flipboard is one of my favorite apps. It literally brings to life the stories, photos, news and updates being shared across Twitter and Facebook.

My favorite follow on Flipboard is @TaiganFinds. Following the best collection on online specialty shops makes online shopping from my iPad an easy flip! Flipboard is my new favorite iPad application and one of my subscriptions is @taiganfinds.

Check out TaiganFinds via Flipboard in action below!

Here is a sneak peek of Lisa Buyer and colleague UK-based Tracy Falke giving social media “personality check” ups at SES San Francisco. Learn from these companies as they learn to make new friends, get more leads and increase visibility by adding some fresh socialization tools and strategies.

Keeping busy in the City by the Bay, Lisa also was a speaker for the session she helped conceptualize: “Search, PR and the Social Butterfly.” Buyer, along with Brett Tabke, Kristjan Mar Hauksson and Sally Falkow, shared ways to merge the best of online public relations and social media while influencing SEO via Social Media Profiles, Fans, Tweets, Friends and Follows.

Lisa Buyer speaking at SES San Francisco: Search, PR and The Social Butterfly

Here are some of @lisabuyer ’s favorite Tweets of PR, social media and SEO wisdom from #SESSF:

Do you have a Chief Listening Officer on Twitter? #PR and #SocialMedia introduces new role! @tracy_falke talks Twitter #sessf

Good advice RT @sfsam22 I got my followers by sharing a sense of humanity daily. Not by spamming people. – @JeffPulver #SESSF #CMW

Optimize your life, optimize your email, pay attention to titles/subject lines make it easier to find email you send/receive. @btabke #sessf

CNN tips on SEO from @topheratl – content without context is not good content.

The analysis of a RT, 70% of RT contain links! afternoons get best RT, M+W best RT days, #1 Twitter City is London! @btabke #sessf

Twitter case study: @btabke talks about PubCon marketing and Twitter, an ah-ha moment, switched to all Twitter marketing in 2009, 30% up!

For more information, join the conversation on Twitter by following @lisabuyer, @thebuyergroup and @SESConf.

About SES San Fran:

http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/sanfrancisco/

Happy #Follow Friday!

I’ve been waiting for this day for almost three years! The opening of the movie Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts. The book was one of my faves so I couldn’t help but tie in my most recent published article. By the way…my fave #FF @zappos, @mashable, @tonyrobbins, @dalailama

Just published: Agencies Eat, Pray, Love for PR

The midlife crisis of public relations and traditional media is a serious one that affects thousands of agencies each day. Everything that used to work doesn’t. Everything you thought you knew is irrelevant. Check out my journey I shared with helping other agency owners go digital for the agencyside.

Share the love with my ClickZ article Share This and Like It: Social Media and PR Savvy Website Tips

@LisaBuyer headed to #SES San Fran Next Week

Summer lovin’ happens so fast! Beachy days are almost over but Search Engine Strategies is heating up in conjunction with Connected Marketing Week.  I’m heading West!

I’ll be tweeting throughout the conference, speaking on the panel and moderating: Search, PR and the Social Butterfly, teaching an Express Clinic on How to Socialize Your Website and moderating the ultra savvy panel The Business Value of Social Media. If you want to catch up in San Fran  August 16-19, DM me @lisabuyer

Next stop: BlueGlass Conference @ Hard Rock and PubCon Vegas

The Buyer Group Academy

A warm welcome to @laurencook who joined The Buyer Group’s social media training program. A good luck farewell to resident blogger @mattinnes who is on his way to University of Florida law school. Go Gators! @navahk wins best social media coordinator of the month! I’ll be teaching a social media webinar August 24 for ShopToEarth on the latest tips + tricks to socialize in your network. Small and Mid size agencies can tune into my webinar in October on how to leverage the new PR: social media.

There’s No Place Like…Celebration

We opened a new office in downtown Celebration, FL and everyday we celebrate with Starbucks. The town is known for its unique architecture and currently under consideration for Google’s next Fiber Community.

Stats

• 24 billion searches are conducted each month on Twitter
• Foursquare received a cool $20 mil investment, users up to almost 2 million, up from 750,000 in March. Check-in for PR
• 70% of moms believe technology can provide great ways for families to spend time together