I was looking at cell phones earlier this week and noticed a trend toward multimedia and smart phones. That’s all well and good if you plan to surf the net or check your Twitter or Facebook accounts on the road, but if you don’t, you’re somewhat stuck with more phone than you need.

It’s nice to know that social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are being used for such productive activities. Facebook has become a forum for everyone to complain or let whatever game their playing mention some obscure achievement. Twitter, on the other hand, is starting to become a pointless mess of people posting on certain topics just to increase the number of posts. Whatever happened to sharing information or announcing the positive events in your life?

The social site Twitter is taking off in Japan as millions are “mumbling,” that’s the Japanes equivalent of tweeting. The service started up in 2008 and with the recent addition of mobile tweeting in Japan, it looks as if the trend is going to continue to increase. I think Twitter is actually a good tool for sharing little bursts of information that might not be right for a blog or Facebook post. For example, tweeting a link to an article on something you’re passionate about is a great way to utilize the site.

Twitter is looking for someone to act as a bridge between lawmakers and their constituents. This person is going to be a liaison with the whole job description being to help the Federal government tweet more effectively. While that makes sense in theory, I think it would be easier for these Senators and Representatives to talk to their kids or grand kids. If they can’t get the information on how to tweet more effectively there, then a liaison is not going to help much.

If you happen to be a business owner, or know someone who is, then you probably have heard some of the resistance to using social media. Facebook, Twitter and other social media forms have their advocates and their detractors. I love reading this story because it systematically explains away 5 misconceptions people have concerning social media.

amount to 15 billion. That’s right, there have now been 15 billion official tweets. I don’t know whether to feel good or not about that. I presently don’t do the whole tweeting thing, I just blog. I only have on tweet when I was trying to figure out if I wanted to get involved with this. So, I guess I’m 1/15 billionth of the problem or solutions, depending on your point of view.

The next time you get a few minutes, try this and see if it works. If you’re on Twitter or Facebook, type in a search for your blog’s main focus and see if anyone has recent tweets or has started a group page. Communicate with that person or group, but don’t start advertising your blog right away. Introduce yourself to the community of followers or Facebook fans and express your interest in the topic and share some insights at first. Once you have a established a bit of a reputation, then put a brief plug in for your blog and see what happens.

This may fall under the realm of celebrity gossip nonsense, but Emily Blunt (I know what you’re saying, “who?”) has come out publicly and said she will never sign up for Twitter and that Twitter is simple awful. Now, that’s her opinion and I’ll let her have it, but I do think Twitter has some benefits. The recent earthquake in Haiti is a perfect example. People are able to notify many simultaneously that they’re not harmed after the quake hit. If you have relatives that have to go the hospital, that’s when Twitter is useful. Other times, just announcing that you’re shopping for earrings is not that news worthy. But that’s my opinion.

Hey, if you’re looking for more readers, try cross promoting your blog.  What I mean is write a blog post.  Then if you have a Facebook or Twitter account, mention it there and post a link to your recent post.  This will increase the possibility of capturing someone’s attention, even if they might know you.

If someone you know reads your post and leaves a comment, one of their friends might find out about it and read it too.  Here’s what I know; you’re not guaranteed this kind of result if you post on Facebook, but you are guaranteed no results if you don’t post on Facebook.