Liverpool’s first Pride Parade took over the streets on August 7th and 8th, with over 20,000 people joining the party. The whole event was a real success with visitors being treated to stacks of amazing performances including Natasha Hamilton, the ever popular Robin S and one of the UK’s biggest all gay bands-Clubstars.  It was a glittering celebration as the city burst into colour at the Seen Magazine backed festival.

As if networking wasn’t fun enough, Bump, the app that makes it even easier to exchange information with other users by bumping phones, has just been released for the iPhone.

The app allows iPhone users to compare calendars, instantly connect on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and send messages back and forth. This is a great app for professionals that travel in groups of other smartphone users as it makes it simple to transfer information without the need to pass out business cards.

It’s easy to use; just open up the app and make the “bump” gesture with the device to share your contact information.You can set up your contact profile by selecting your existing address book entry or by creating something brand new. You can then customise which information you want to include or exclude. The ability to compare calendars and set up meetings on the move is a great addition and could be ideal for business networking events.Sharing your Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn information instantly, Bump can even compare contacts you have with the user you are “bumping” and show you further details – another great way to network on the move.

Businesses of all sizes and nature are flocking to social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

The fact is, that a presence on these platforms not only allows companies to engage in conversations with consumers, but also serves as an outlet to drive sales through deals and vouchers.

And while some of us have been participating in the social web for some time now, the rate of adoption among small businesses is increasing too. Social media as a marketing tool in small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year. Last year, businesses were learning about social media.  This year, it's more about engaging it and using it properly to increase busines opportunities.

Businesses are finding different benefits and techniques to make proper use of social media marketing and it has become the most cost effective way of reaching the people we need to build a network and generate opportunities.

Twitter is quickly becoming a trend amongst individuals, businesses and brands worldwide. However although millions are signing up to the social networking phenomenon, a disappointing trend is the retention rate of users.   Many people sign up, test the waters for a few days, and quickly find it to be of no use or value, and promptly abandon their accounts.  As we always say, it's not the tools, it's how you use them. To remedy this, I've outlined the common mistakes of new users and some ways to help stop you becoming one of the Twitter quitter statistics...

Don't just follow celebrities and brands

This is one way traffic. Celebrity tweets are simply there to push messages your way - unless you're extremely lucky, they won't respond directly to you.  Follow relevant discussion groups and get involved. Comment on other people's tweets in order to increase your own visibility.

Have something interesting to say

Be creative. Not everyone is interested to know what people are having for dinner. The most interesting people are those who aren't openly trying to sell their products or striving for web fame. Talk about relevant subjects and consider what you want to get out of it. If you talk to interesting, relevant people, you will immediately add value to your business through building a strong network of quality contacts who will give credence to your knowledge.

Get Mobile 

Having Twitter on your mobile allows you to remain up to date and tweet more frequently.  Tweeting once or twice a day won't give you much value.  In order to build up a strong following and increase your credibility, you need to be dedicated to your tweets.

To get you started, check out Twitter Mobile for the iPhone... http://www.twittermobile.co.uk/nbsp;

Twitter isn't for everyone, but if you fancy giving it a try, do so with a little bit of knowledge - you never know, you may just get something out of it other than knowing everyone else's plans for the evening... 

It looks as though search is about to enter a new era as it begins to mix into social media. Search engines have already attempted to place some kind of ranking on social updates and we already know that search engines take things like follower quality into account in how they rank tweets.

Now there is a lot of talk of Facebook "likes" and Twitter retweets taking the place of links. Not that they’re dying out – there's plenty of room for link sharing on either of these services, but in some ways these kinds of sharing are replacing links in many cases.

With Facebook's Open Graph and social plugins devouring the web, suddenly liking is taking the place of linking in some provisional scenarios.

While I don’t think anyone specifically saw the Open Graph stuff coming too long before it was announced, it's still reflective of what we've known for some time. The way people are obtaining information online is diversifying. Google's real competition isn't coming from other search engines. It's coming from different avenues of information access.

The biggest threat to Google the search engine (as opposed to the company, which offers a lot more) is people not having to rely on the traditional search engine. While I don't think Google has anything to truly worry about in terms of losing users, it has to worry more about users just not using it as often. Instead they're getting their information from apps, from friends via social networks and even when they're not necessarily at Facebook but on a site or app, via things like social plug-ins.

Here are 5 reasons Google and Search might not dominate the next decade:

    1. The search process is inefficient
    2. Mobile GPS Eliminates the need for location-based search
    3. Social Matching Could Create Valuable Connections
    4. Content Recommendations to Replace Search
    5. Suggestions Will Be the Core of Our Shopping Experience

On a not so negative note, Facebook likes may not translate to better Google rankings, but so what? It's not about choosing between likes and links. Both are ideal.

The point of all of this is it's not just about getting links anymore. Links will always be of use, but social interactions may equal them in importance, and in some cases may be of greater use to your visibility, and ultimately getting people to your site, your content, your store, or your shopping cart.

LinkedIn has recently launched a number of new share features so that now, in addition to Q&As, groups and personal messages, you can send images, article excerpts, blog posts and other content to your professional connections.

Here are a few ways you can maximise the benefits of LinkedIn shares for your business:

1. Keep Consistent

By posting once a day, and syndicating that post to your business’ Twitter and Facebook accounts, you’ll remain fresh in the minds of your connections and customers. Relevant and valuable content will be appreciated and re-shared. Space out your LinkedIn shares to maximize their value for your network.

2. Find New Talent

If you’re expanding your team, LinkedIn is one of the largest and fastest-growing resources for finding the perfect candidate. Write a brand-appropriate blog post giving very specific details on the kind of person you’re looking for. Give your post a simple, sharable headline that contains the company name and position available.

3. Get Feedback

If you’ve got ideas you want to run by your peers or a nagging business problem that needs a solution, LinkedIn groups and Q&A are popular and effective ways to get feedback. Sharing allows you to cross-post your query across multiple networks and add supporting data such as a picture or website link.

4. Promote Your Events

Whether you’re going to a charity dinner or hosting a meet up for your clients, LinkedIn shares can be great for raising community awareness, driving participation or soliciting volunteers or donations. It’s completely acceptable to ask others to re-share the content across their own networks, particularly if it’s a local event geared towards your own community.

5. Spread Your Word

If you’ve got an article or blog post you’re particularly proud of, LinkedIn sharing can be a great way to broadcast that content to your network. Be sure to include a personal comment on why you’re sharing the link, and tailor the extract to include something descriptive and appealing.

Facebook and Twitter get a lot of the credit for all of the conversation that’s going on around the web these days, and quite rightly so - they certainly account for a great deal of it! However there’s still public conversation happening in many other channels - blogs, Q&A sites, news sites, YouTube, other social networks, and forums.

Google's newly redesigned SERPs place a great deal of emphasis on conversations, as I mentioned in my previous blog post. The new ‘Discussions’ option lets users refine their search results by time, relevance or date and they’re given the option for all discussions, forums or Q&As.

They can refine this even further by filtering for discussions of any length, short, medium, or long. In addition, they can sort by standard results, sites with images, and page previews, and by all results and results from nearby locations. That's some pretty deep down drilling!

Anyway, no matter which parameters you choose to search by under discussions, the non-everything options are Forums and Q&A.

Businesses looking to increase their exposure and visibility ought to consider answering questions from consumers in areas that they are qualified. This has always been something to consider for a successful online marketing strategy, but now forums and Q&A sites not only attract targeted traffic, but appear in search results. Not to mention they help you sell your expertise in your line of work. The difference now is increased visibility. Google's search options may not be new, but they're more visible now, and you can pretty much count on them getting used a lot more.

Q&A sites are also not new, but lately it seems that we're seeing an increased focus on them from a variety of players. Yahoo, the top Q&A site recently served its billionth answer, but others are bringing different elements to the Q&A table. Some are integrating local business listings with them to provide. Others are finding their own unique spin. Google itself even purchased Q&A property Aardvark recently. It will be interesting to see if this becomes more heavily integrated with the Discussions option.

Mobile shopping company miBuys has conducted a survey of 1,600 women on mobile phones and found that the overwhelming majority of them were open to more mobile marketing and mobile shopping. Not that I'm suprised, I could have told them that before they went to the effort of conducting the survey!

94% of respondents prefer to use their mobile phones to surf the Internet even when they’re at home and have laptops and desktop PCs nearby. These mobile users also love their social media sites with 86% accessing Facebook, Twitter or similar networks and 93% saying that they’d feel lost without their mobile phones - once I’ve asked the Ph. girls in the office  I’m guessing we can up that a few more percent!

74% of my fellow mobile-loving females said they sometimes shop for splurge items that they might not necessarily need. The majority even said they’d be open to learning about discounts, deals and event promotions on their phones. So if this is something you could be doing, start now and bag yourself an army of female fans.

MiBuys CEO, Mark Bamber said in a release, “This research sends a clear message to advertisers that women are already engaged and eager to explore new cell phone services. It also supports our belief that cell phones and portable devices can already play a significant role in connecting retail brands with their customers. It is perceived that women are only just embracing cell phone services, but the truth is they’re already well beyond this point and now want access to the entire high street through their cell phone”.

Here are some of the other findings from the survey:

• 85% use the mobile Internet almost daily
• 70% expect their mobile internet usage to increase in the future
• 84% have noticed mobile advertising, and 57% have clicked on mobile advertising
• 67% are interested in receiving mobile coupons or vouchers
• 93% are always on the lookout for bargains
• 93% like being up-to-date with new technology

For those of you not familiar with Foursquare, let’s start at the beginning. It’s a location-based social network that combines your friends, location and status. It allows you to tell your friends where you are and what you’re doing. The interesting thing about Foursquare is that this happens in a pseudo-game format; when you check-in at places, you get points. After multiple check-ins, you get badges and you can see how many points you have in comparison to your friends.

While many are talking about the benefits of Foursquare as a marketing tool, don’t forget some of the same concepts can be applied to the internal workforce. Here are four ways you can use Foursquare in your workplace.

1. Orientation

You can use Foursquare as a way for your employees to learn their way around the office and also as a way for them to learn where your key customers and/or suppliers are located.
One thing to consider about this kind of location tracking is that some employees might view it with privacy concerns. You’ll want to consider if you need to address this via an employee handbook or social media policy. And it will be important to communicate at a high-level that the intent isn’t for spying — it’s a learning opportunity.

2. Making Work Easier

One of the best ways to help your employees succeed is to give them tools that make their job easier. Foursquare could be one of those tools. In a media organisation Foursquare could be crucial in developing a news story.

Another benefit is greater engagement with customers. Beyond strengthening your customer relationships; you may be able to acquire new customers through the use of Foursquare’s nearby specials as well as helping to encourage and enhance existing customer loyalty.

3. Recognition

If you use Foursquare, one of its unique features is the ability to become the “Mayor” of a location. This title is bestowed upon the person who has visited a location the most times over a given time period.

Sometimes locations such as restaurants or retail outlets will offer deals to the mayor. But even when nothing is offered, there’s still something special about becoming mayor. And if you don’t think people notice, think again.

While being named mayor of your workplace can be a unique form of recognition, you’ll have to figure out how to balance employee recognition and customer rewards.

4. Morale

Creating a positive corporate culture is a key component to high levels of employee satisfaction and productivity. And Foursquare is, for the most part, a morale booster.

So whilst it is possible to have fun and work at the same time, just remember that it’s important to develop a plan. Understand your objectives and how Foursquare may be used to accomplish your organisational goals.

With applications like Foursquare, we have an opportunity to create forums for our employees to come together as teams or interact with customers in a fun and authentic way.