Google changed everything. Suddenly, everything became about search. You could find anything with Google.But this is changing. It is no longer about search. That takes time. Time to decide what you're looking for. Time to find the right key words. Time to filter the results.Instead, it's now about discovery. Where the content finds you.Where is this most prevalent? Your Facebook News Feed and your Twitter stream. And with the recent implementation of Facebook's Open Graph, content will come better recommended to us, with more relevance, drastically reducing the need for us to search.Eventually, everyone will have their own personalised Digg where the content is almost perfectly relevant, recommended from the people you want on the topics you want....

I think the social media community manager role is going to explode over the next year or so. These roles will be responsible for looking after a number of small communities or have a full time gig looking after one big one. Even those that are large enough to run themselves require moderation to an extent.And the role will be a broad one. They'll require customer service skills, an understanding of how consumers use social media and technology, analytical skills, basic design skills and the ability to produce and source content.And if you're looking for one, I reckon the place to start is with your favourite Twitter personality. Find someone who fits your brand, produces relevant, regular content and manages their following well. Then bring them on board....

I'm sure you're all familiar with the story of the guy who tried to pay his phone bill with a picture of a spider. It quickly went viral and if you suss out the rest of David Thorne's page, you'll find much more hilarious content. He was also the same guy behind this McDonald's hoax letter. Personally I find his work pretty damn hilarious. The emails back and forth are no more harmful than the prank calls we hear every day on radio, although I'm not sure where the line is when it comes to pretending to be a brand. I'm certain the Brand Manager had a blast the day that letter went viral. I bring this up because of David's latest email exchange; hilarity ensues. The interesting thing about this however, is that Simon's Twitter account was quickly discovered. Needless to say, Simon received a fair amount of abuse, most of which was anonymous. Simon then took it upon himself to respond to blog posts, comments and even write a post of his own. And while it probably wasn't David's intention to have Simon's personal account identified, suddenly this "harmless" prank became somewhat more serious. Simon's online persona and his offline world very quickly collided, and much more became at stake. I think we're going to see this happen more often, definitely something to be cautious about. Also, how good is the title of this post?...

Question; do you favourite tweets? If so, why? Personally I tend to favourite a tweet that I want to save for later use. It might have a link or something of interest that I don't have time to look at, or it's on my iPhone and want to check it out when I get home. I don't believe it is used as a recognition tool or similar to the way you mike 'Like' someone's status on Facebook, but rather a book marking tool. I'm told there are websites where you check out who has favourited which of your tweets, but being unofficial I can't really see that being its purpose. What do you favourite and why do you do it?...

I've always found it interesting the degree to which marketing bloggers and people on Twitter promote the campaigns they're working on. I guess I've kind of come to expect it simply given the industry they work in. And I'm certain this is not a new concept, only replacing a group email to family and friends to give a campaign a bit of a kick start. But it does raise some questions about honesty and transparency. Especially when it goes beyond blogs and Twitter and into much more personal networks like Facebook. As a marketer or an advertiser, should I be pumping my work through something like a status update, even more so when it doesn't look like "work"? I've been thinking about it because over the next few months I'll be using a lot of my social networks to get people to Vote for Zac and Cookies 'n' Cream as the next SupaShake flavour. As you can see I've put a banner to your right and I'll be promoting it quite heavily through Twitter and Facebook until February. I think it's a bit different because this is somewhat of a competition not just a campaign I'm running, but still raises some questions. One of them may be, how many of you will get tired of me talking about it over the next few months?...

When you're sitting behind a computer screen, you can be anyone you want; yourself, a character, an unintentional character or no one. It's why there's so many problems with the Anonymous. I tend to find the person behind a blog just as interesting at times as the content. That's why when it comes to writing this blog I try to ensure the online me is as close as possible to the offline me. I was speaking to a friend recently who said she had finally gotten around to meeting a blogger she been reading for a long time. Unfortunately, the person she met was not the person she'd come to know online over the past few years. The personalities were very different. I'd like to think I'm fairly true to myself here, although I don't think I'm as arrogant in real life. I'm much more "average" when I'm kicking it offline. But it's an interesting area. Does it matter that the person behind a blog, Twitter account or even a YouTube channel is hiding behind a character? Or is it preferable that they be who they want? Or is acting as someone else not an issue at all? I think it will increasingly raise issues as more and more of the online world converges with the offline at events and social outings like New Media Beers (Friday 29th Jan, 7.00pm, The Cabinet, 11 Rainbow Alley #NMBMelb)....

I can't believe I'm going to do this but I'd like to give out some advice; just ask. If you want something or need something, I've come to realise there's no harm in just asking occasionally. I've blogged about how I use Twitter for that exact reason and it even worked for my internship (more deets on this soon). Next year I'll be stepping in as President of the La Trobe University Hockey Club. Part of our long term strategy is to build new grounds on the Bundoora campus. A sub committee has spent 18 months putting together a business case and is now looking to make it happen. To get support from local members of parliament, we just asked. To get media coverage from local newsapaper editors, we just asked. And to fund the $3.7 million, we'll just be asking. I think you'll be surprised at how often people are willing to help. And if there's anything I can do for you, just ask....

Just a quick ramble about something that has been annoying me lately. A track back, especially a tweet, is not a comment. It's beyond frustrating when you click on a blogpost that has 20+ comments, yet really it only has two, the rest are retweets of the author on Twitter. Don't do it, it's annoying and deceptive. If you're a blogger with that setting currently turned on, please turn it off. Thank you....

Perhaps my single most favourite use of Twitter is asking for help, as selfish as that sounds. Last night, just hours before an assignment was due I needed a quote from an old edition of AdNews. I put out a call to my tweeps and Trevor Young saved my ass.The fact that I can ask for a information, feedback or even an idea and receive multiple replies within minutes still amazes me. And this goes both ways, breaking down nearly all barriers between people. To me, this defines a community.Imagine if a brand helped you, and likewise could ask for help and receive it....