Social networking now eats up twice as much of our online time as any other activity. According to new stats from Nielsen, sites like Facebook and Twitter now account for 22.7% of time spent on the web; the next closest activity is online games, which make up 10.2%.

The stats also show the degree to which social networking is displacing other forms of communication, with e-mail as a percentage of online time plunging from 11.5% to 8.3% from June 2009 to June 2010. Instant messaging also saw a significant drop in share, with a 15% decline from last year.

However, e-mail use on mobile is still on the rise – from 37.4% to 41.6% — presumably as users continue to migrate to smartphones from feature phones.

Here’s the full breakdown from Nielsen:

Do you know anyone who actually gets paid to update Facebook, Twitter and write a blog? That is what Mindy Smith does for David Hira, a professional speaker and magic entertainer. And, guess how she got this fun job…that’s right, on Facebook.  So if you are looking for a job or needing help with your Social Media strategy, read on to find out how you can do what David and Mindy did.

From College to a “real job”

Like many recent college graduates, Mindy continued to work at her college job waiting tables when she finished her degree in Sports Marketing from Texas Wesleyan University in Ft Worth, TX.

In her spare time, Mindy would look for a “real job” on sites like; Monster, Career Builder and Yahoo jobs. She would also go to company sites to submit her resume even, if they were not looking to hire. Most of her searching was on line but she did place a few phone calls to local businesses as well. Then came the posting on Facebook…

David Hira and her dad were in a Magic Club together and she was connected to him on Facebook. One day David commented that “he was so busy he needed a second assistant.” Mindy wrote back with an email, “I don’t know if you are serious but, I graduated and, here is my resume, I’m looking for something in the Marketing area, after looking at your web site, I think I could really help you.” David called to inquire, stating that he really needed an office asst. Mindy said she had some background in accounting and mentioned how she could use Social Media to market his business. Thus began their working relationship.

Mindy finds a job

David Hira is a well accomplished corporate motivational speaker who uses magic in his presentations to entertain and make an impact.

In his earlier career, David served as a top executive with a well known electronics company for 26 years, before opening and running his own restaurant. He also opened, ran and sold a day sp and a jewelry business. As a “serial entrepreneur” David brings relevant experience and entertainment to the corporate setting.

Even though David is in the “over 40 crowd” he has embraced social media as a communication tool and is using it every effectively himself. So when he hired Mindy, it was to add to what he was already doing, not to start something new. David’s business is derived from word of mouth and referrals so Social Media is a perfect medium to encourage new business and communicate with clients. When Mindy stared, David had a Facebook and Twitter account, but was mainly communicating with friends and fellow magicians. Mindy’s job is to help David move his Social Media usage form the “friends and family” mode into “Social Media Marketing” to grow his business and improve customer service.

Blogging

Mindy is training David on how to use Social Media more effectively. She told him that his blog post do not have to be fantastic as much as genuine, from him (not her), in his words and represent his ideas. But he is not alone; she can help. As an example, when he is in a meeting, he makes a few notes on his iPhone and sends them to her to develop into an article for the blog, newsletter or both. This “back and forth” allows David to focus on the message and Mindy to focus on the tools. By the way, they use WordPress for the blogging tools.

Facebook

David has a Facebook account for personal use and another one for business as many early Facebook adopters do. Yet, there is quite a bit of cross over between the two and he does much of updating on both of them. Check out, David Hira, Magician and Keynote Speaker. Mindy now helps David by suggest content and friends to help build his fan base.

Twitter

Unlike some users of Twitter who follow any and everyone, David and Mindy are building a Twitter network of people who know David well and have heard him speak. When he gets a new follower she makes sure they respond and will see if they should follow the person back.

She also does a lot of searching and listening on Twitter and connecting with meeting and event planners.

To keep organized and on top of content, Mindy uses TweetDeck with the following columns: Motivational Speaker, Inspirational Speaker, Corporate Speaker, Direct Messages, and Mentions.  They keep Twitter fresh by posting David’s favorite quotes and “trash talking” with other magicians. This actually led to a “cook off” in Austin because of the boasting that occurred between David and friends.

YouTube

Since David is an entertainer and keynote speaker, video is a wonderful medium for visitors to sample his work. “If you are a meeting planner, you can click on the ‘YouTube’ icon and see a quick video before contacting us about a booking” says Mindy.

Flickr

Besides posting pictures on FaceBook, Mindy has added a Flickr account. She says “Flickr has grown as an accepted place to search for pictures of keynote speakers and entertainers. To be affective in marketing, you have to go where your customer is.”

Newsletter

You may not think of a printed news letter as being “social” media but the content ties in with the Blog post and updates on Facebook and Twitter. By referencing the electronic version of the newsletter on the company website, David and Mindy extend the usefulness of the newsletter into Social Media. Their newsletter formula for success consists of Feature Articles, Recipes from David and his wife’s kitchen, Business recommendations and business tips.

Where to go next

David and Mindy make good teams, blending the experience of a well know entertainer and speaker, with the enthusiasm and social media awareness of a recent college graduate. More business should do likewise: hire youth and match it with experience. It’s a winning combination.

July 7, 2010 Summary of Findings   PewResearchCenter Publications

Six-in-ten American adults are now wireless internet users, and mobile data applications have grown more popular over the last year. As of May 2010, 59% of all adult Americans go online wirelessly. Our definition of a wireless internet user includes the following activities:

•  Going online with a laptop using a wi-fi connection or mobile broadband card. Roughly half of all adults (47%) go online in this way, up from the 39% who did so at a similar point in 2009.
• Use of the internet, email or instant messaging on a cell phone. Two-in-five adults (40%) do at least one of these using a mobile device, an increase from the 32% of adults who did so in 2009.

Taken together, 59% of American adults now go online wirelessly using either a laptop or cell phone, an increase over the 51% of Americans who did so at a similar point in 2009.¹ Cell phone ownership has remained stable over the last year, but users are taking advantage of a much wider range of their phones’ capabilities compared with a similar point in 2009. Of the eight mobile data applications we asked about in both 2009 and 2010, all showed statistically significant year-to-year growth. This year we also asked for the first time about seven additional cell phone activities. Among all cell phone owners: 

• 54% have used their mobile device to send someone a photo or video.
• 23% have accessed a social networking site using their phone.
• 20% have used their phone to watch a video.
• 15% have posted a photo or video online.
• 11% have purchased a product using their phone.
• 11% have made a charitable donation by text message.
• 10% have used their mobile phone to access a status update service such as Twitter.

African-Americans and Latinos continue to outpace whites in their use of data applications on handheld devices.  Continuing a trend we first identified in 2009, minority Americans lead the way when it comes to mobile access — especially mobile access using handheld devices. Nearly two-thirds of African-Americans (64%) and Latinos (63%) are wireless internet users, and minority Americans are significantly more likely to own a cell phone than are their white counterparts (87% of blacks and Hispanics own a cell phone, compared with 80% of whites). Additionally, black and Latino cell phone owners take advantage of a much wider array of their phones’ data functions compared to white cell phone owners. It is important to note that our data for Hispanics represents English-speaking Hispanics only, as our survey did not provide a Spanish-language option. Young adults are heavily invested in the mobile Web, although 30-to-49 year olds are gaining ground. Nine-in-ten 18-to-29 year olds own a cell phone, and these young cell owners are significantly more likely than those in other age groups to engage in all of the mobile data applications we asked about in our survey. Among 18-29 year old cell phone owners:  

• 95% send or receive text messages.
• 93% use their phone to take pictures.
• 81% send photos or videos to others.
• 65% access the internet on their mobile device.
• 64% play music on their phones.
• 60% use their phones to play games or record a video.
• 52% have used their phone to send or receive email.
• 48% have accessed a social networking site on their phone.
• 46% use instant messaging on their mobile device.
• 40% have watched a video on their phone.
• 33% have posted a photo or video online from their phone.
• 21% have used a status update service such as Twitter from their phone.
• 20% have purchased something using their mobile phone.
• 19% have made a charitable donation by text message.

Although young adults have the highest levels of mobile data application use among all age groups, utilization of these services is growing fast among 30-to-49 year olds. Compared with a similar point in 2009, cell owners ages 30 to 49 are significantly more likely to use a range of mobile data applications on a handheld device.  

The mobile data applications with the largest year-to-year increases among the 30-to-49 year old cohort include taking pictures (83% of 30-to-49 year old cell owners now do this, a 12-point increase from 2009); recording videos (39% do this now, an 18-point increase from 2009); playing music (36% do this now, a 15-point increase); using instant messaging (35% now do this, a 14-point increase); and accessing the internet (43% now do this, a 12-point increase compared with 2009).  Continue reading the full report at pewinternet.org.

5 reasons today’s entrepreneurs are taking the plunge

5 reasons today’s entrepreneurs are taking the plunge was published by Venter Beat and Entrepreneur Corner: link

(Editor’s note: Clate Mask is the co-founder and CEO of software company Infusionsoft. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.)

If you took the time to sit down and sift through the US Census Bureau data, you’d see that over the past few years, entrepreneurs are starting new businesses at an unprecedented rate.  Consistently, the number of existing businesses at the end of the year has increased by between 500,000 and 1million.

That means that before subtracting out the number of startups that fail, the gross number of new businesses started is actually much higher than 1 million per year.  And that’s in the U.S. alone.

Why are entrepreneurs starting new businesses in record numbers?  The first chapter of my new book, Conquer the Chaos, makes the case we’re in an “Entrepreneurial Revolution” and it’s happening due to five big reasons.

Corporate disillusionment.  Downsizing, outsourcing overseas, pension scandals and general corporate irresponsibility have left employees disillusioned and embittered.  The antiquated notion of going to college, getting a job and becoming a “lifer” was the ideal of the baby boomer generation.

Today’s worker holds no such ideal.  The old notion of getting a stable job with a big company has eroded, leaving many workers to feel the security of a corporate job is not so secure after all.

A technology power shift.  The Internet has changed everything.  You no longer need a bricks-and-mortar shop on which to hang out your shingle.  With your product or service, a quick website, some online advertising and an email marketing program to keep your followers apprised of your activity, you’ve got the makings of a start-up business.

All the research you need is at your fingertips.  And you can compete effectively with long-established businesses.  The Internet has simply torn down the barriers to entry and now entrepreneurs are able to jump into the game without amassing a small fortune before they get started.

The promise of overnight success. As aspiring entrepreneurs look around, they see friends, acquaintances, high school rivals and even past (less-savvy?) co-workers making it on their own.  Of course, they don’t typically see the blood, sweat and tears that went into the successful venture because that’s not human nature.

Instead, human nature sees what looks like an overnight success story—and that is a seductive siren call to the disillusioned corporate worker who’s constantly thinking, “If Bob can do it….”

An expanding work force.  Speaking of those baby boomers, many of them are entering the ranks of entrepreneurship.  The Kauffmann Foundation has done a bunch of research on entrepreneurs and, interestingly, their research shows a large contingent of first-time business owners are between middle age and the golden years.

It makes sense: Baby boomers now have a longer life expectancy, they frequently have a nest egg they’ve accumulated over the years, they’ve finished their “career” and they want to try their hand at an entrepreneurial venture they’ve always dreamed about.

The recession.  This is a biggie that’s been driving a lot of entrepreneurial activity over the last couple years.  Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the Census Bureau data on this period of time, but I’m willing to bet it will show an increase in the number of businesses started.

My daily experiences tell me this is true.  My company works with entrepreneurs and we see droves of people who’ve been forced into entrepreneurship.  They lose their job, get a severance package, take a little time to think about what’s next… and then commonly start a consulting practice or some sort of solopreneurship.  And frankly, I believe this is a great thing for our economy—to have more entrepreneurs out there creating value, filling in voids in the marketplace, conjuring up new products and services that just might become the next big thing when the market turns around.

Sure, this new breed of entrepreneurs will take their lumps and it won’t be as easy as they thought, but many will find their freedom. And that freedom is the one thing every entrepreneur seeks: freedom in terms of more money, more time, more control over their lives and more purpose in their work.  I love seeing entrepreneurs take the plunge in pursuit of their freedom.  And I believe it’s exactly what this country needs to break out of a sluggish economy.

Photo by hufse via Flickr

Nic Adler

Twitter is often dismissed as a frivolous way to keep track of celebrities, or to announce to friends that you’re not going to the gym today. It’s actually become a lot more powerful a tool than that. Today Dick Gordon talks with the owner of the legendary music club The Roxy about the way social media has brought new life to the Sunset Strip club. Nic’s dad, Lou Adler, started the club in 1973 – the same year Nic was born. Nic literally grew up there, but by the time he took over, the entire Strip was in decline. Nic is now reviving the club, and his business community, with social media strategies, dropping print ads in favor of spreading the word on Twitter and Facebook.

For the Audio story, go to The Roxy on Twitter and scroll down to “Listen Now”

Social media is developing a reputation for being valuable not just for customer interaction and brand awareness but also for lead generation. In February 2010, for example, inbound online marketing platform HubSpot found Twitter usage could double monthly leads, and Onesource reported in January that business-to-business salespeople were looking to LinkedIn for prospecting.

According to virtual events provider Unisfair, social media is the top emerging channel for lead gen among technology marketers surveyed in May 2010.

Lead generation was marketers’ first priority, with 66% saying it was their greatest concern for 2010, compared with just 17% who chose brand awareness.

When online marketing firm R2integrated surveyed US marketing professionals in April 2010 about why they had a social media strategy, the No.1 response was to increase lead generation.

Unqualified leads are a major problem, with one-third of Unisfair respondents saying they normally rejected 16% to 30% of their leads as unqualified.

The most important types of information for determining whether a lead is valuable include interest and demographic information—which might make social media an even more useful prospecting channel, since profiles can include exactly the type of data salespeople are looking for. In addition, social media can provide a venue for nurturing leads that are not yet ready to buy.

Keep your business ahead of the digital curve. Learn more about becoming an eMarketer Total Access client today.

I encourage you to take a moment to read our CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s blog post and check out the new Facebook Privacy Page.

The fourth generation iPhone due in June will allow users to conduct video chat sessions, according to the ace rumormongers at Engadget. Hit movie producer Sam Mendes (American Beauty) is said to be filming video commercials in which a mother and daughter talk to each other on their iPhone screens.

Apple’s rollout will be a test of whether people will or won’t use a videophone they can carry with them. In the past, tests of videophone tech have repeatedly found that people just weren’t hot about video calls as opposed to voice-only conversations.

No doubt Apple’s ad will depict a touching moment of people responding to each other’s faces onscreen. In reality, it’s impossible to make direct eye-to-eye contact because the cameras are offset, rather than being behind both callers’ pupils.

Video chat seems to be, for most people, a feature that sounds great but goes unused. On the other hand, the user-facing camera will make it super-easy for iPhone toters to take photos of themselves without needing to stand in front of a mirror. That’s the real killer app.