There are so many people out there telling you  to get a Facebook , Twitter or another Social Networking site but not showing you  how to use it. 99% of the people online are NOT using Social Media effectively. If you are not using it effectively you will hurt your business. Bardi Toto has helped businesses increase their revenue by up to 500% showing people how to utilize social media in less than 30 minutes a day. She created The Social Media Profit System which shows you step by step with over 50 instructional Videos how to  use Social Media Effectively. Bardi Toto is a co-author with Tony Robbins, Endorsed by the world renowned Motivational Speaker Les Brown, Just wrote a book forwarded by Michael Beckwith ( from “The Secret”) and was just asked to be part of something with about.com because she was founded on Twitter…All from being out there in Social Media.

Bardi Toto was a Nurse for 14 years and loves helping others. Parallel to her nursing she became passionate about the internet and started her own marketing company 14 years ago. She has worked some of the people that started Youtube and  other various Social media  giants. Get to Know Her more at http://www.barditoto.com Her Social Media Bootcamps and her Social Media Profit System Kit is amazing. Her products http://www.barditoto.com/products.html YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO GET TRAINED BY HER. 1-520-867-2530

(05-23) 14:46 PDT – Social networking sites are changing the way people interact, socially and professionally. Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn let people establish relationships and store information on their contacts. When effectively used and managed, these sites can significantly increase the productivity of salespeople and other revenue-generating employees. But the use of these social networking sites by employees to manage their business contacts can also have implications when those employees leave to join a competitor. Client lists and customer databases are frequently alleged to be trade secrets. If an employee has used a client list to build a network of links and/or contacts on Facebook or LinkedIn , does that list lose its trade secret status?

In most states, a trade secret is a form of intellectual property that is governed by statute. In order to prove that a customer list (or anything else) qualifies for trade secret protection, an employer must establish three things: (i) that it is a form of information, e.g., a pattern, compilation, process, formula or the like; (ii) that it provides a competitive business advantage by virtue of the fact that it is not generally known to the public or competitors; and (iii) that the employer has taken reasonable steps to maintain its secrecy.

Many companies believe — or perhaps just assume — that their customer or client lists are trade secrets. But all customer lists are not created equal. Courts often find that lists or databases that can be easily recreated from other sources and do not include detailed information regarding client preferences and accounts, and/or that are simply compilations of publicly available information, do not qualify for trade secret protection. A customer list that otherwise qualifies as a trade secret may also lose that protection because the employer fails to take adequate steps to keep it confidential — for example, by failing to restrict access to it, failure to take steps to market or stamp it as confidential, or failure to restrict the manner in which it is used by employees.

When an employee utilizes a trade secret customer list to create links to customers on LinkedIn or Facebook, a number of issues arise that potentially affect the trade secret status of that list. If the set of links essentially replicates the information on the customer list, and can be viewed by other than the employee’s network (or worse, by the public), those links may form the basis of an argument that the list is no longer “secret” at all. If the employer has not implemented a policy restricting use of social networking sites by employees, it may face an argument that it has failed to take steps “reasonable under the circumstances” to maintain the secrecy of its customer lists. And given the fact that each link between an employee and a customer on these social networking sites represents a mutual agreement to share their information (links cannot be established without the consent of both parties), they raise the more fundamental question of whether an employer can or should be permitted to use trade secret law to control — much less “own” — a relationship between two people.

The law on these issues is not well developed, and it looks like employers — and the courts — will likely be struggling with them for a long time. While these issues play out, employers would be well advised to assess the use of social networking sites by their employees, in particular, those who have access to and/or use their customer lists. Employers should also consider the extent to which those customer lists may be compromised as a result of the use of social networking sites, and whether that risk outweighs the benefits of allowing their sales personnel and business developers to use these powerful networking tools. Finally, employers would be wise to consult with counsel and consider possible changes to the company’s policies and procedures relating to the use of internet sites, and social networking sites in particular, to protect against the unauthorized disclosure and use of proprietary customer information.

Rick Darwin is a shareholder at the law firm of Buchalter Nemer in San Francisco who specializes in the litigation of trade secret, corporate raiding and unfair competition claims. Erin Welsh is a litigation associate in the same office.

Read more about web 2.0 and web apps in Computerworld’s Web 2.0 and Web Apps Knowledge Center.

Original story – www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177138/When_trade_secrets_meet_Facebook

Copyright (c) 2010, IDG News Service. All rights reserved. IDG News Service is a trademark of International Data Group, Inc.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/05/23/urnidgns852573C4006938800025772B0040A363.DTL#ixzz0p48qptli

Wondering why you too should join in the social networking exodus? Below, we’ve outlined 24 strategies you can start using today to leverage the power of Facebook and the hundreds of millions of users who use Facebook everyday.
Strategies For Building Your Business Brand On Facebook

1. Create An Engaging Profile – Before you set out on the Facebook frontier, spend some time thinking about your goals and the ways in which you’d like to interact with your customers. Then spend time creating your profile so that it drives traffic to your targeted landing pages or other useful information. Be sure to fill out your profile completely, including uploading a picture of yourself.

2. Add Relevant Friends – The more friends you have, the bigger your marketing results will be. Search for those in your target market or those you can create joint venture or networking opportunities with and add them as friends. Try to limit your list to those you have time to build relationships with or who will gain value from being your friend.

3. Join Groups – There are literally millions of groups on Facebook, many of which can help you grow your business. Do your homework and find groups where your target customers congregate or where key players in your industry exchange information and join them. Once you’ve been accepted, be a valuable member of the group by providing unique insight or tips on getting the most from your products and services.

4. Start A Group – Once you’ve become a member of Facebook, you have the ability to create a group for anything you can think of. Be creative and create groups for collecting market research, for building an affiliate network or for offering exclusive promotions for your products and services.

5. Comment On Other Profiles – Facebook is about building relationships. One way you can do this is by commenting on other profiles and offering advice or links to helpful information. By commenting on other profiles, you also greatly expand your visibility to other Facebook members.

6. Syndicate Your Blog – Another way to expand your visibility is to syndicate your company blog on your Facebook profile. By syndicating your RSS feed in your profile, it will update automatically every time you update your blog, saving you time and publishing your content to another audience.

7. Announce Events – Your Facebook profile is also a great place to announce and promote your company events. By doing so, you can also allow people to RSVP and leave comments before and after the event all in one place.

8. Arrange Meetups – If you’ve done well building a local following on Facebook, you can invite your friends to meet ups where they can mingle and talk with other fans of your business. This is also a great way for you to spend some time with those who are most passionate about your company and put in some valuable face time.

9. Get Feedback – Because Facebook profiles are inherently interactive, they are a great place to get feedback from your customers on specific topics like customer service and satisfaction of your products and services. Be creative and find out how you can do a better job providing value to your customers and they’ll thank you for taking the time to ask them for their opinion.

10. Grow Your Traffic – In some circumstances, you may find that your Facebook profile gets more traffic than your actual business website or blog. Instead of looking at this as a problem, take the opportunity to funnel that traffic to your website by including links to special offers or new articles on your blog.

11. Promote Your Social Bookmark Submissions – If you’ve submitted your blog posts to social bookmarking sites like Digg and Stumbleupon, promote these links on your Facebook profile through status updates.

12. Stay Informed On Your Industry – Facebook has a treasure trove of market information for just about every industry. Search around and visit profiles, join groups, comment on fan pages and participate in discussions on key topics in your industry to stay more informed than your competition.

13. Post Jobs – Even if your business is local in nature, you can find incredible talent on Facebook that can help you build your business. Be creative with your marketing and outsource individual tasks to other members that match your criteria. Review their profiles to find out more about potential candidates, including what other people they’ve worked for say about them.

14. Connect With Industry Influencers – Connecting with key players in your industry is a good idea for all business owners. Search for and add the key players in your industry as friends and then take the time to build relationships with them. Provide them with valuable content they can share with their networks and they’ll return the favor.

15. Share Industry News – Building your reputation as a thought leader on Facebook is a powerful strategy you can easily implement without having to invest much time in Facebook itself. If you’re already someone who knows a lot about your specific industry, share this information through Facebook and people will want to add you, growing your audience organically.

16. Provide Customer Service – Your Facebook profile is also a great way to enhance your customer service. People can quickly and easily ask questions or leave comments and you can just as easily and quickly answer. It also allows you to resolve these issues publicly, which likely will answer similar questions from other customers.

17. Project Communication – If you have a project with multiple workers, stay in the loop through Facebook. You can easily use the wall in your profile to allow efficient group collaboration on any number of projects.

18. Pitching Journalists & Bloggers – Press releases not getting the job done? Try pitching your story ideas to journalists through Facebook. You may want to email them first to see if they are interested in getting story ideas in this manner before you try it.

19. Client Oversight – If part of your job entails keeping track of what people think about your clients, Facebook is a powerful tool. Use Facebook’s search feature to find discussions or comments about your client’s company to find out what people are saying.

20. Competitive Research – As with client oversight, it’s an easy task keeping up with your competitors on Facebook through the use of the search feature. Identify your competitors who are on Facebook and follow their status updates for an inside look at how they do things.

21. PR Tool – Sometimes bad things happen. Instead of burying your head in the sand, be proactive and explain your side of the story and how you are going to be accountable. Launch your crisis prevention campaign through a Facebook status update for an immediate jump on damage control.

22. Hold Contests – Everybody loves contests. Hold your contest on Facebook to build excitement and grow your friend list.

23. Send Virtual Gifts – Show your appreciation for top customers, employees, vendors or colleagues with a virtual Facebook gift. There are hundreds of options, allowing you to use this feature to give some well-deserved attention to valuable people to your business.

24. Install Facebook Apps – Facebook’s meteoric rise is due largely to the third-party applications that have made the site so versatile. Spend some time looking over some of the more popular applications and think of new ways you can use them to build better relationships with your audience.

All businesses are different and require different strategies, so don’t think that just because something hasn’t been done, it shouldn’t be done. Get creative and be fun and you’ll not only enjoy the time you spend building your Facebook presence, you’ll also realize far better results.

With the growing use of social networking by business professionals, there is a growing number of social networking  sites focused on business users and meeting their needs. Here is a list of 20 social networking sites for entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals that are worth a look.

Biznik – A community of entrepreneurs and small businesses dedicated to helping each other succeed.

cmypitch.com – A business website for UK entrepreneurs to get quotes, advice and more.

Cofoundr – A community for entrepreneurs, programmers, designers, investors, and other individuals involved with starting new ventures.

E.Factor – An online community and virtual marketplace designed for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.

Ecademy –A business network for creating contacts and sharing knowledge.

Entrepreneur Connect – A community by Entrepreneur.com where professionals can network, communicate, and collaborate with others.

Fast Pitch – A business network where professionals can market their business and make connections.

Focus – A community focused on helping business decision makers and IT professionals make decisions.

JASEzone – A professional community where you can find potential clients and business partners.

LinkedIn – A professional network that allows you to be introduced to and collaborate with other professionals.

Networking for Professionals – A business network that combines online business networking and real-life events.

PartnerUp – A community connecting small business owners and entrepreneurs.

PerfectBusiness – A network of entrepreneurs, investors and business experts that encourages entrepreneurship and mutual success.

Plaxo – An enhanced address book tool for networking and staying in contact.

Ryze – A business networking community that allows users to organize themselves by interests, location, and current and past employers.

StartupNation – A community focused on the exchange of ideas between entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners.

Upspring – A social networking site for promotion and social networking.

XING – A European business network with more than 7 million members.

Young Entrepreneur – A forum-based site for entrepreneurs and small business owners who are passionate about promoting business for themselves and others.

Ziggs – A professional connection portal founded on the principles of professionalism and respect.

Is there a way to determine whether you can be a successful entrepreneur, or you are better off to work for somebody else? Alas, there is no formula for success. However, most successful entrepreneurs share these ten characteristics. Check if you possess any one of them:

1. Think success.  To attain the kind of success that you want, you need to dream big. Every success story starts with big dreams. You need to have big dreams for yourself – which you want to be somebody rich, famous or fulfilled. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. But it doesn’t stop in dreaming alone. You should actively visualize success in your mind that you can almost feel it, touch it or it is within your reach. Play this image back at every opportunity. What does it feel to triple your current income? How will your life change? What will your business look like if you achieved the million-dollar mark?

2. Be passionate with what you do. You start a business to change any or all part of your life. To attain this change, you need to develop or uncover an intense, personal passion to change the way things are and to live life to the fullest. Success comes easily if you love what you do. Why? Because we are more relentless in our pursuit of goals about things that we love. If you hate your job right now, do you think you will ever be successful at it? Not in a million years! You may plod along, even become competent at the tasks, but you will never be a great success at it. You will achieve peak performance and do what you have to do to succeed only if you are doing something that interests you or something that you care about. Entrepreneurs who succeed do not mind the fact that they are putting in 15 or 18 hours a day to their business because they absolutely love what they do. Success in business is all about patience and hard work, which can only be attained if you are passionate and crazy with your tasks and activities.

3. Focus on your strengths. Let’s face it; you cannot be everything to everybody. Each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses. To be effective, you need to identify your strengths and concentrate on it. You will become more successful if you are able to channel your efforts to areas that you do best. In business, for example, if you know you have good marketing instincts, then harness this strength and make full use of it. Seek help or assistance in areas that you may be poor at, such as accounting or bookkeeping. To transform your weakness to strength, consider taking hands-on learning or formal training.

4. Never consider the possibility of failure. Ayn Rand, in her novel The Fountainhead, wrote, “It is not in the nature of man – nor of any living entity, to start out by giving up.” As an entrepreneur, you need to fully believe in your goals, and that you can do it. Think that what you are doing will contribute to the betterment of your environment and your personal self. You should have a strong faith in your idea, your capabilities and yourself. You must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to recognize and fulfill them. The more you can develop faith in your ability to achieve your goals, the more rapidly you can attain it. However, your confidence should be balanced with calculated risks that you need to take to achieve greater rewards. Successful entrepreneurs are those who analyze and minimize risk in the pursuit of profit. As they always say, “no guts, no glory.”

5. Plan accordingly. You have a vision, and you have enough faith in yourself to believe that you can achieve your vision. But do you know how to get to your vision? To achieve your vision, you need to have concrete goals that will provide the stepping-stone towards your ultimate vision. Put your goals in writing; not doing so just makes them as intangible fantasies. You need to plan each day in such a way that your every action contributes to the attainment of your vision. Do you foresee yourself as the next Martha Stewart of hand-made home furnishings? Perhaps today, you need to see an artist to help you conceptualize the new line of hand-made linens that you hope to launch. Intense goal orientation is the characteristic of every successful entrepreneur. They have a vision, and they know how to get there. Your ability to set goals and make plans for your accomplishment is the skill required to succeed. Plan, plan and plan – because without which failure is guaranteed.

6. Work hard! Every successful entrepreneur works hard, hard and hard. No one achieves success just by sitting and staring at the wall every single day. Brian Tracy puts it out this way, “You work eight hours per day for survival; everything over eight hours per day is for success.” Ask any successful businessperson and they will tell you immediately that they had to work more than 60 hours per week at the start of their businesses. Be prepared to say goodbye to after-office drinks every day, or a regular weekend get-away trip. If you are in a start-up phase, you will have to breathe, eat and drink your business until it can stand on its own. Working hard will be easy if you have a vision, clear goals, and are passionate with what you do.

7. Constantly Look for Ways to Network. In business, you are judged by the company you keep – from your management team, board of directors, and strategic partners. Businesses always need assistance, more so small businesses. Maybe the lady you met in a trade association meeting can help you secure funding, or the gentleman at a conference can provide you with management advise. It is important to form alliances with people who can help you, and whom you can help in return. To succeed in business, you need to possess good networking skills and always be alert to opportunities to expand your contacts.

8. Willingness to Learn. You do not need to be a MBA degree holder or PhD graduate to succeed in your own business. In fact, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who did not even finish secondary education. Studies show that most self-made millionaires have average intelligence. Nonetheless, these people reached their full potentials achieved their financial and personal goals in business because they are willing to learn. To succeed, you must be willing to ask questions, remain curious, interested and open to new knowledge. This willingness to learn becomes more crucial given the rapid changes in technologies and ways of doing business.

9. Persevere and have faith. No one said that the road to success is easy. Despite your good intentions and hard work, sometimes you will fail. Some successful entrepreneurs suffered setbacks and resounding defeats, even bankruptcy, yet managed to quickly stand up to make it big in their fields. Your courage to persist in the face of adversity and ability to bounce back after a temporary disappointment will assure your success. You must learn to pick yourself up and start all over again. Your persistence is the measure of the belief in yourself. Remember, if you persevere, nothing can stop you.

10. Discipline yourself.  Thomas Huxley once said, “Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not.” Self-discipline is the key to success. The strength of will to force yourself to pay the price of success – doing what others don’t like to do, going the extra mile, fighting and winning the lonely battle with yourself.

Successful entrepreneurs possess an attitude of openness and faith that you can have what you want if you can simply envision it as the first step on the path of action to acquiring it. Management gurus have taught us the power of visualization – seeing yourself in your mind as having accomplished your dreams. If you want to be a successful writer, envision yourself signing books for a throng of people who have lined up to have your autograph. If you want to be rich, picture yourself in luxurious surroundings holding a fat bank account. And the process of envisioning success for you should be a constant activity! You need to think that you are successful (or will be one) every single waking hour. A personal development coach shared me her secret to help her continuously visualize her goals for the moment: when climbing stairs, recite your goal with every step you take. So if you want more money, say “I will have money” in every step of the stairs. This technique will reinforce your goal and keep it fresh in your consciousness.

General Finance News

These social media Web sites offer news on a variety of subjects, allowing you to rank stories and share with your social network. You get a pretty good idea of the day’s headlines.

1. Tip’d Finance News is one of the premier social media Web sites for finances. Categories cover a number of investment sectors, as well as business, personal finance and real estate. One of the best places to see what is going on around the Web in the world of money and finance.
2. PF Buzz provides a look at finances, with a personal finance twist. Vote on articles you think are well-written, and get a feel for what is setting the financial world abuzz.
3. Reddit, FinancialPlanning offers a specific Reddit category just for financial planning issues. The subscriber list is growing, and the submissions to this particular Reddit provide helpful insights and some great articles from around the financial blogosphere.
4. Mixx tag “finance” allows you to keep up to date on current topics of discussion in the business and finance world.
5. Twinancial brings personal finance tweets from around the world right to you. Want to get ideas, connect with other financial professionals and just stay in the loop? Tinancial can probably help.
6. Wisebread offers great content on finance and news from a variety of contributors. Additionally, the site has a forum where you can interact with other members, as well as daily deals.

Investing

The idea of social investing has really picked up. You can involve yourself in a number of communities that allow you to take advantage of collective knowledge in order to make stock market decisions.

1. FeedTheBull provides news, videos, Q&A and a community of users interested in stock market news, as well as other financial news. Use the bullish vote button (fun to do), and join often-lively discussions about the stock market issues of the day.
2. Value Investing News gives its members a little twist. Not only do you enjoy the benefits of community for your investment news, but you also get a share of the AdSense revenue from the Web site. You can bid stories higher and lower, and you can provide reviews of new stories. Use the Zacks.com screener on the site to help you find true value stocks.
3. Stockpickr puts the magic of collective ideas to work for investors. Offered through TheStreet.com, Stockpickr is developed by folks who know what they are doing. Follow professional and spotlight portfolios, and create your own portfolio based on what works. Read news, and get helpful hints on how to become a better investor.
4. SocialPicks is another social investing Web site that provides the opportunity for you to learn from your investing peers. You can follow what others say about their favorite tickers, as well as keep track of what is being said on Twitter.
5. Wikinvest provides the Wikipedia version of the stock market. Detailed information on prominent companies is included, along with bearish and bullish arguments from Wikinvest members. See detailed stock charts, and read the latest on a number of investment sectors.
6. Covestor provides you with the chance to follow professional investors. Build your credibility, and people may even begin to follow your stock trades! Portfolios that perform well are ranked, and you can even create an account that will mimic the moves of your favorite investment professionals.
7. StockTwits harnesses the power of Twitter to help you find stock tips and the latest news about investment related issues.
8. Kapitall may still be in beta, but it has the potential to be a very interesting social media site for investors. Kapitall acts like a stock trading game. It also helps you meet like-minded investors. Search your favorite stocks, and read the latest investment and finance news.

Budget and Money Management

You can use social media Web sites to manage your finances — and to connect with others. Here are some sites that take budgeting to the next level, by helping you find others with similar goals and situations.

1. Wesabe connects you with others who can share advice and information on managing finances. You can even share your own knowledge with others, building your own profile.
2. moneyStrands helps you manage your money easily, providing mobile versions of its services, as well as community. You can save money, share your knowledge with others and keep track of your entire financial life.
3. We, the Savers was set up by ING Direct to connect savers across the country. Sign the declaration and use calculators, tools and freebies available on the site.
4. Google Tip Jar provides a number of money saving tips that can help you better manage your money. You can become involved as a financial professional by joining and adding your tips to the jar.

Promoting Your Financial Services

1. LinkedIn has a Social Media and Web 2.0 in Banking and Financial Services group that offers great insight into how you can use social media and Web 2.0 to increase your business. Learn how to use social media tools as a financial professional.
2. Voyant offers money management software to consumers, as well as financial professionals. Indeed, Voyant has a set-up that allows you to market your services and provide value-added products for your clients. Connect with users of the Voyant@Home software easily, simply by being a part of the network.
3. ActiveRain focuses on real estate professionals. You can sign up, and then post to your own blog. Share information about your real estate market, and network with other real estate professionals.
4. IFA Life provides a place for Financial Planners, Wealth Managers and Indpendent Financial Advisers to meet each other and get helpful hints and support. Forums, news and resources, as well as events, can be found on this social networking site.
5. Sexy Insurance really isn’t as risqué as it sounds. It is the social networking site for insurance industry professionals. Share photos and videos, connect with others in the insurance industry, and join different groups.

It is also worth noting that you can find interesting finance articles and advice on the following social media sites:

1. StumbleUpon offers the chance for you to designate a “thumbs up” for sites you like. This puts them into the pool, and allows people to “stumble” onto them randomly. You can choose interests, so that your stumbles lead you most often to Web sites with a financial focus.
2. Kirtsy is aimed mostly at women. However, there are often financial articles on the Web site, in a variety of categories (not just the world, business and politics designation), that can give you a good feel for what women are interested in when it comes to finances.