Posted By: Jared Cook

I want to share an article written by Melissa Jun Rowley from Mashable.com about social media and the resort industry.

How the Resort Industry is Using Social Media

A growing number of resort and spa destinations are spreading their wings and reaching a wider customer base via social media. With the help of social networking platforms and niche bloggers, vacation spots are broadening their branding efforts from the sand to the slopes, and connecting with potential patrons they may not have reached through traditional advertising.

Here’s a look at some of the social strategies these getaway companies are employing and what we can learn from their success.

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By: Leslie Fischer

Green initiatives and social media go together like two (organic) peas in a pod. Green companies looking to grow their business, clientele and networking base with other environmentally friendly prospects need to utilize social media to decrease their carbon footprint, while increasing business. Social media reaches green audiences like no other communication medium available today. Green bloggers are blogging about environmental issues and major media sources are listening. Sustainability is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and now, with social media, green companies are able to be heard in unprecedented ways. One tweet about a tip on greening up your home or a blog about a new green product is now visible for major media forums, not to mention, can be targeted toward the exact green audience companies have been trying to reach for years. Greening our global community is imperative. Mobilizing the forces that can make that dream a reality are most easily reached through social media.

Tweeters like Ecogiant @algore and Eco-friendly Vegan Filmmaker @ecovegangal, know what’s up. In a mashable.com article written by Cameron Chapman about environmentalists to follow on twitter, these two ecologically sound trendsetters, along with 73 others are the focus of top green voices to listen to.

Green Tweets: 75+ Environmentalists to Follow on Twitter

Twitter has a huge green community. There are green media, green companies and green charities all active on the microblogging service, as well as a whole bunch of individual environmentalists and green bloggers. The #EcoMonday hashtag — the environmental equivalent of #FollowFriday, in which Twitter users suggest “green” tweeters to follow and share green news and info — has grown into a regular trending topic every Monday, along with a variety of other green initiatives.

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If your company is not already sustainable or you are still trying to figure out your green strategy for employees, vendors and clients, check out this video from Brad Roderick on greening-up your office!

Posted By: Jared Cook

This week, Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing released her latest promotional video about the changes within our industry. Jennings started her company in 2003 at age 24 from her home in Overland Park, Kan. Now, the business works with companies around the globe.

Watch the history of her business and some featured work by Jennings:

By Jerid Gunter

Not only do they perform and entertain on their respective playing fields, but professional and high-profile collegiate athletes are also entertaining online. Yes, multi-million dollar athletes are frequenting social media sites like Twitter and Facebook just like you and I, if not more frequently. With every 140 characters, they share to the world what’s going on in their own world and their fans are entertained yet again. While this is a great way for athletes to connect with their fans, it can also be another trap door for players to fall into trouble.

It doesn’t take long for word to spread when it’s posted on the Internet, especially when you’re a big name athlete. Former Kansas City Chiefs running back, Larry Johnson, knows this from personal experience. Mid-way through the 2009 NFL season, Johnson posted a negative comment on Twitter, laced with derogatory language and slamming his new head coach. Piled on top of the already mounting off-field trouble, it didn’t take long for Johnson to find himself suspended by the league and later cut from the Chiefs roster.

At the University of Kansas, basketball player Tyshawn Taylor has found himself in trouble on a couple of occasions due to questionable comments he posted on Facebook. In the fall of 2009, Taylor involved himself in the widely publicized campus fight that took place between the Jayhawks football and basketball teams and proceeded to inform everyone on Facebook that he dislocated his thumb because he punched someone. More recently, Taylor posted a comment on Facebook alluding to the idea that he may transfer to another school because of his limited playing time at Kansas. Taylor no longer has his Facebook account.

While there are disaster stories of athletes and social media, there are certainly some who know how to use it to their benefit. Cincinnati Bengals’ star wide receiver, Chad Ochocinco, has jumped into the world of social media head first and is making quite a splash. What started as a Twitter account has turned into what Ochocinco now calls OCNN: Ochocinco News Network. In addition to replying to followers’ tweets and posting his own personal tweets, Ochocinco is pursuing a side job of being a part of the media via Twitter and other mediums. This past week, Ochocinco has been in Miami covering Super Bowl XLIV with a team of three other current NFL players for OCNN. In addition, Ochocinco and OCNN have gone as far as having sponsorships from Motorola Blur and Degree for Men featured on the Twitter page. It looks like Twitter has created an additional career path for Ochocinco.

Social media is a wonderful way to stay connected with friends, family, fans, clients and customers. However, it’s critical that one is careful on what they post for the cyberworld to see, especially for those in the world’s spotlight. For everyone else, what we post can certainly be under scrutiny also. For those who are in search of careers or who have careers working with or in front of the public, employers and potential employers are watching. One questionable post and we may be in the same boat Johnson found himself in with (or without) the Chiefs.