I have been looking for way to monitor and track all my websites/blogs plus all my social media accounts (linkedIN, Twitter etc) from a single dashboard. I figured this would be pretty easy - a thing that most people would want to do! Not so - despite the abundance of great social media tools I found it surprisingly difficult to find one which met all my requirements.

I have been amazed at how many people have asked me for a really simple and very short guide to LinkedIN for small businesses and independent consultants. So here it is:

Bioteams.com has previously published a number of articles on Social Networking which have addressed the Analysis perspective. I am delighted to round out the coverage of this crucial area with an excellent guest article by business networking guru Tony Altham which offers ten practical tips for creating, building and sustaining profitable business relationships.

These days lots of businesses are trying to use social media to enhance their online presence. Unfortunately only a minority are really succeeding. Many of these are businesses that are highly digital or naturally global. However many businesses do not fit this model and are working in local markets with non-digital services/products. Can "normal enterprises" exploit social media too or does it only really benefit the global digital elite?

Based on hard-won experience I have pulled together a comprehensive model to help enterprises health-check/audit whether they are fully exploiting the many great tools available (mostly free) to turbo-charge their outbound, inbound and two-way sales and marketing communications. Download the full model for free here!

A recent research report by University of Queensland Business School (Australia) academics Tim Kastelle and John Steen suggests that large enterprises can make major gains in productivity by investing in their internal communication networks. This resonates strongly with the concepts of bioteaming according to practitioner Max Bhanabhai.

Way back in the social networking Dark Ages, OK - October 2005, I published a "A Virtual Community Development Model" with sports metaphors for each stage. Looking back today I think some of it still applies to the development of those social networks driven primarily by shared interests/knowledge (rather than by relationship building). But see what you think?

One of the biggest challenges for any Enterprise today is Social Media Optimisation, defined as "a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites." The Social Media Optimization Simulator Game lets you instantly 'what-if' the effects of different social media activities (blogging, tweeting etc) on your enterprise.

I was delighted to speak on "Bioteams: Turning Audiences into Communities" to a lively audience in Brighton (UK) at an event "New Frontiers in Social Media" organised by Use8 - The User Experience Society. You can get a copy of my slides here.

The NLab Social Networks Conference took place in the summer at De Montfort University (in Leicester, UK) featuring a number of speakers including Steve Clayton (Microsoft), Roland Harwood (NESTA), Andrea Saveri (IFTF), Jim Benson, David Asch and myself (Ken Thompson). The conference videos are now available online.