These a free tracking tools as written by @sharpiesusan from Newell Rubbermaid.

EMAIL & RSS ALERTS Google alerts, Yahoo alerts, Google blog search, Yahoo Pipes, TRENDS MONITOR BlogPulse, Google Trends, Compete, SOCIAL MEDIA SEARCH ENGINES Serph, Keotag, OTHER Twitter, Tweetscan, Particls, COMMENTS TRACKING Commentful, coComment, co.mments, Mycomments, FORUM TRACKING Big Boards, Board Reader,  Boradtracker, Twins, Yuku Find

At SMBMSP 13, we also talked about:

CoTweeet (in beta), ConnectTweet (in alpha), Spy, and Retweetradar

You don't want to miss the Social Media Explorer posts "Quick 'n Dirty Social Media Monitoring Guides" by Kat French that review some free and pay monitoring services.  This one first from February provides coaching on setting up a monitoring system.

The next post from this month is an "Intermediate Guide."

Last month, I wrote the first part of this entry. You can find it here.

This is the beginning of the fourth and final week of a test to determine if the protocols of hierarchical communication can be set aside for the introduction and advancement of a networked communications approach at Best Buy.

If the question is only about whether or not it is possible - “yes” is the answer.

Business communication models are a product of the company's size, vision and growth expectations.

A small business has the luxury of face-to-face conversation between all levels of the organization. Business growth necessitates the need for systems, processes, protocol and infrastructure to manage a mass of information sharing.

The mid-90s saw a fast adoption of e-mail services for business. Denial, avoidance and fear quickly turned to “try,” acceptance and reliance. E-mail changed how businesses communicate. We displaced the fax machine. We increased the speed of conversation.

Times change.

Image via Wikipedia

The recent Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak has proven to be an opportunity for businesses to show how a crisis can illustrate their ability to communicate. First news of the outbreak came from the FDA on January 12, 2009. This release announced the investigation and suspicion that peanut butter was the cause.

One week later, the FDA released an update detailing their investigation progress and a list of potentially tainted manufacturers/products. If you get a chance, check out the list of all peanut products recalled. Holy Trail Mix, Batman! That's a lot.

I was compelled to write this post after being impressed by how Costco and Kellogg's handled the situation. We purchased a box of Austin snack packs at Costco within the last couple of months. It is my understanding that Kellogg's makes Austin brand products.

As an independent contractor who has seen (and maybe influenced) the path of social media use inside of large corporations, I can say, "those guys GET IT."  I listened today to presentations from Home Depot, Sharpie, Proctor and Gamble, and Molson.  It was great to hear the stories of "try."  It was great to hear Molson admit past failures and how they leaped forward from what they learned. Sharpie is doing it on a shoe-string budget and making it work.