I've just concluded an amazing business trip to New Dehli, Bangalore, and Mumbai. Though my expectations for the trip were high--India is an exciting place to do business--I was completely unprepared for the reception I received.

Beginning with New Dehli, working with india's 2020 Media we presented a series of 8-hour workshops on social media. In New Dehli there were in excess of 100 participants, filling the ballroom of the Hyatt. In Bangalore and Mumbai, the overflow audience actually resulted in turning away those desiring to purchase tickets once the venues had sold out. Filling a venue is always the goal: seeing actual demand beyond that capacity really drove home how energized the India market is in terms of its readiness and interest in social media based marketing.

In working with participants across a range of industries--the hands-on nature of the workshops provided people with the opportunity to join me on the stage and present various components of the plans they were building--I was struck by this new leadership class. What I felt I was observing was quite profound: You could literally see the next class of business leaders and professionals sensing the importance of the Social Web--the place where conversations that impact their businesses will occur--and committing themselves to doing something constructive now rather than waiting. This is a contrast to the US, where many businesses and agencies are still hesitating in their recognition of consumers' impact via social media.

The net result is likely to be a rapid movement into social media across businesses in India, to the benefit of those business. Given the process acceleration that often accompanies technology induced advancement this will occur faster than it has in other locations. For example, as the 3G spectrum auctions begin this fall, the outcome is likely to be a very rapid expansion of social networking and related content services that proliferate on the mobile platform, introducing a wider audience to social media more quickly than would happen if say, broadband to the home or widespread purchase of laptop-based computing platforms were required.

In summary, I am excited about what I experienced and look forward to continuing to work with the people I met on this trip. It was an incredible awareness opportunity for me, and I am appreciative of the efforts of everyone who attended, and to the people of 2020 Media who worked so hard to make these sessions successful.

I am heading to India--sitting in Newark in the Continental President's Club right now--to lead a series of workshops on the business use of social media. This has been arranged by 2020Media, a leading PR firm in India and grew out of the presentation I did around my book at SXSW in March. It is really exciting to be developing relationships in an emerging market, and one that is surely important on the world stage.

What's happening now? I've been following Kingfisher Airlines on Twitter (@FlyKingfisher) and installed Aircel's "voice messaging" application in Facebook. The Tata Nano is getting a lot of social press as well--@calebkramer posted "Tata Nano = the netbook of cars." I am looking forward to what I know I will learn over the next week.

OK, so I just got called out by Surekha Pillai (@surekhapillai) about my bad blogging habits. She pointed out --correctly -- that as I head out to lead social media workshops my own track record on this blog is pretty poor. February. April. And now this post in June.

I could cite my schedule: 3 cites in the past three weeks, and two continents in the next two. Not good enough. The fact is, being a participant, one of the key elements of interaction on the Social Web, requires more work than consuming a TV spot. I need to be a better participant.

So, what's a reasonable posting scheduling? For most business people, it's probably more like once a week: Keep this in mind when you set up your company blog. Enlist a few people to blog so that content is updated regularly. Otherwise, two things happen:

First, even though the RSS mechanism by which updates are spread about doesn't care, your readers will: They'll lose interest if they don't here from you. Second, and as is the case with me, readers will actually take note of the fact that you aren't participatiing enough. Left unchecked (and please note that I am immediately responding to Surekha) this can turn negative. Obviously, you don't want that!

Surekha, thanks for pointing this out: The truth is that no doubt others have seen my blog and thought the same thing. It's that old saying, "For every one customer who says something, ten are thinking it.." I'll get my act together.

I am really excited about my upcoming trip to India: i am visiting Dehli, Bangalore, and Mumbai with 2020Media on the 22nd, 24th, and 26th of June respectively. You can find full details at SocialMediaWorkshop.net.

In the meantime, look for just a bit more activity here. ;-)

As more people join Facebook, the question inevitably arises: "How do I tell the world who I am?" The issue isn't unique to Facebook either -- you could just as easily substitute MySpace, LinkedIn, Orkut or Twitter (although to a lesser extent, as you'll learn in a minute) and then take a step back and ask yourself the same question.

The bottom line is this: If joining social networks is "Step 1" then creating indexable content is "Step 2." Take Facebook as an example. It's a lot like 'Vegas: What happens on Facebook...pretty much stays on Facebook (the very new published status updates excepted.) As long as you and all of your friends and colleagues are on Facebook, and provided that you're all connected...your experiences, stories, and shared content flow freely. That's a great thing, at least as far as Facebook is concerned.

But what about you? What if you are trying to build a larger social presence for yourself, perhaps for professional visibility? More to the point, what if you want people to be able to find you via Google? Not only is most of the content on Facebook highly temporal (meaning, it's of relatively little value a year from now) it's not generally discoverable outside of Facebook. Social networks tell people who you are...but do not necessarily help them find you outside of that particular network.

The key to building a strong presence is creating a complete body of work that captures your thoughts, ideas, interests...and placing into a medium that is open and visible to search engines. Your blog is the perfect candidate. Twitter--which, as a "microblog" is similarly discoverable--helps here too. In effect, your blog posts (along with your Tweets) form the basis of your search friendly content that leads people to your social profiles, where they can learn that much more about you.

Check out Part III of "Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day" along with my column at ClickZ and see how the social channels fit together. Devise a holistic strategy for yourself, and build your own social presence. Not only is this a great way to gain proficiency in the proper techniques of social media based marketing but you'll quickly find yourself gaining visibility as well.

Fundamental to the effective use of social media in marketing is getting the product experience right. This stands in marked contrast to traditional efforts that focus on getting the message right.

Listening is often the recommended starting point when engaging the Social Web for the first time. Solid advice, too, very much like walking into a party: Before announcing who you are and what you believe, social etiquette suggests getting to know a few people first. The Social Web works likes this, and so listening to what people are saying about your brand, product, service or industry segment is fundamental to the effective use of social media as a marketer.

But what happens if you don't like what you hear? With traditional media, when a focus group or consumer complaint tells you that your message is off, you change it. On the Social Web, the message is not yours in the first place, so you cannot simply "change it." Think about the Coke and Mentos videos: Coke didn't own or create them, so Coke couldn't change them. More recently, think about the "Motrin Moms" conversations: The offending spot was pulled, but the conversation--out of the control of the brand team--remained unchanged. On the Social Web, you have to shift away from control and toward participation. So, how do you participate in a negative conversation?

In the simple cases of factual errors, you can add your voice. Disclosed and transparent, being part of the conversation goes a long way. And if the problem is deeper than that? Then what? What if your product is really not as good as you'd like to think it is?

This is where social media and the Social Web are so powerful, and so useful for business, especially in a tough economy. Coming off of the Social Web is exactly the information you need to make your product better. That, and that alone, will change the conversations that are occurring. Of course, the catch here is that this goes way beyond marketing: This is realm of operations, and it is here that the fundamental difference between the use of social media versus traditional media becomes clear: Social media is driven by Operations, not Marketing. This means that, as a marketer, you need to reach out to the COO and get her on your side before making a full-on dive into the Social Web. Unless you have control over the experience your product or service is actually delivering you are playing with fire. Campfires are great on a chilly night...unless they get of control. Take the time to build a bridge to Operations. That done, your social media based marketing programs are much more likely to produce the heat you need to ignite your market instead of burning your brand.

Rich Harwood, blogger and founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation tipped me to Hyundai's "Assurance" program.

The Hyundai Assurance program works like this: You buy a new Huyndai. Then, if during the next year you lose your income, Huyndai will take it back without a penalty. This kind of offer--unlike a price concession that helps move cars but does little to assure a buyer worried about meeting his or her future payment obligations--gets right to intersection of economic uncertainty and the need to sell goods and services.

The Hyundai Assurance program also takes a big step in linking Hyundai and its customers in a way that bonds them over the long term, much the way a family takes care of its own. Not surprisingly, the ripple is already growing on the Social Web.

You can watch the commercial, from Goodby Silverstein and Partners, that introduced the program on YouTube.

Suppose we were meeting for the first time. What would you think of me if I handed you a blank business card?

Yet, that is exactly what happens when you follow someone on Twitter and you haven't taken the time to properly complete your own Twitter profile. You've handed me a blank business card and in the process wasted an opportunity to make a favorable impression.

How do I define "properly completed profile?" Start with the basics: A current photo or avatar along with the basic pieces of data that will be displayed. For Twitter, this is your name, location, a URL that points to more information about you, and a brief, meaningful bio. I recognize that not everyone wants to divulge this much info: In this case, something like "Montana, USA" is fine.

Here's the point: I review each new follow personally, and a lot of other people do too. The value of connecting on Twitter (or any other social network) goes well beyond assembling a megaposse. It's about understanding who I am adding to my network so that I am able to tap *your unique skills* and then share with you my unique skills as they apply to your situation. I can't live up to my end of the deal if the only thing I have to go on from you is a blank profile.

In "Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day" I emphasize the importance of completing social profiles. On Linked In, they have a little bar graph that shows you how complete your profile is. When we build social applications we include this type of feature, precisely to encourage completing enough of your profile so that others who find you can learn about what makes you special.

Take a minute today and review your profiles, across your networks. You'll be amazed at how many more people "friend" or "follow" you as a result. It may well be the most important minutes you spend investing in yourself and how others see you.

You've probably seen "JanetatExxon," the brand jacking of ExxonMobil's corporate identity on Twitter. The message to brands and brand marketers ought to be clear: Start monitoring the Social Web, and take a minute now to at least secure if not invest in your social presence as new networks and services open up. OK, maybe you can't be in all of them...but places like MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn...are all big and mainstream enough that you should be paying attention to these.

Which brings me to this post about a recent Facebook episode that is still unfolding. You can read the details by following the link: The short story is that a bunch (make that a big bunch) of college alumni pages on Facebook have been co-opted for potential use as forced marketing platforms. Check it out, especially if you are involved with higher ed marketing.

Again, the message is clear: Take the time now to sort out your social presence, and begin securing the many references to your brand, ideally before they are used by someone else for something you;d have never done, much less want associated with your brand as if you had.

Driving in to the office this morning NPR's feature focused on the use of social marketing and the role that social content plays in changing behavior and encouraging smart choices by instilling confidence. A timely topic, no doubt.

To be sure, no one has money to waste on poor products: good time or bad. In challenging times the need to make smart economic choices is all the more important for an larger share of your audience, and therefore it's all the more essential that you provide your customers with the information they need to make a smart choice.

What's the easiest way to do this? Participate in social media, and help your customers put your own best foot forward. In Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 of my book, "Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day" I provide practical and hands-on steps for doing this along with the industry best practices and links to proven resources.

Check it out, and show your customers the way to the confidence they seek.

When considering social media and marketing applications, a lot of us focus on the content--a YouTube video or a blog post--or an online place where people congregate--like Facebook. That makes sense, too, given the way we behave in the real world: As marketers, we create content and then put it in places with lots of traffic, where it will get seen.

There's another aspect of social media, and more correctly of the Social Web itself, that I believe is much more important. To be sure, content is important: You need to say, do, or show something if you want to participate in a conversation. And true as well, it would be great if others joined with you. "But wait," as we say in marketing, "there's more."

Back from Ad Tech in New York last week. Another excellent show, as always (disclosure: I am a prior Ad Tech Advisory Board member). Most notable for me was the extent to which savvy brand managers are now adopting and using social media.

My friend and colleague Andy Sernovitz is presenting a great social media and marketing seminar. It features excellent examples of successful social media implementations, and shows you how to apply the tips and best practices that i talk about in "Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day". Among the topics covered are these essentials:

• Measuring ROI
• Obtaining buy-in from management
• Managing legal and HR issues

And that's just for starters! With brands like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and UPS there is something here for everyone. Even better, you can save some money: I've got a special promo offer for you that helps me promote my new book, "Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day". It gets you a deal on the admission and *free copy of the book* at the same time. Here's what you do:

1. Go to http://www.gaspedal.com/blogwell
2. When you sign up, use the discount code davebookdeal (all one word)

That's it. In the single click of a mouse you'll save 15% off the seminar fee, get a free copy of my book, and be on your way to developing and implementing a solid social media plan.

I was asked recently about my passion in social media by fellow Austinite and author Scott Allen. My quick answer: I wanted my son, now 7, to grow up in a world with less interruption and access to better information with regard to making a smart choices.

My new book, "Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day," is for marketers wanting to combine social media skills and expertise with their existing, established capabilities. Much of the book is based on my experience as a marketer and product manager, positions where success is largely dictated by what others, outside your direct span of control, think of you. That is, more or less, how the Social Web works.