Welcome to the new social network for your neighborhood.

We’re lucky to have a couple of awesome neighbors in our cul de sac. We share everything from doggies to wine to gardeners to baking experiments gone lumpily bad. But for those not so blessed, there’s a new online social network that acts as a “virtual commune” by facilitating communication within specific communities. Here’s the scoop on Bright Neighbor:

In our fast-changing world, communities need help to thrive. Bright Neighbor helps communities and local governments accomplish this through community organizing and Internet-based tools. Bright Neighbor’s effective combination of community involvement and social tools helps local governments, communities, faith groups, and businesses increase livability, sustainability, and relocalization while simultaneously improving local economies. Bright Neighbor helps manage the planting, tracking, and long-term survival of fruit and nut trees in communities.

Currently, Bright Neighbor is available only for Portland, Oregon residents, but the noble people behind it hope it will spread to other cities. Its 5,000 members use Bright Neighbor to instill small town ideals within urban locales in which residents may otherwise remain anonymous to one another. This may come in the form of skill sharing, ride sharing, tool lending, babysitting co-ops, or mapping neighborhood resources like public vegetable patches.

Guru’s Note: Even in small towns — like our local podunk paradise — we may need a nudge to get to know the neighbors. When I had a garage sale last fall, I was amazed to discover that so many semi-familiar faces– people I’d seen in check-out lines, the health club or gas pump — were actually my neighbors, living just around the corner or up the hill from me. We’re all too busy, too tired, too distrusting to venture beyond our mental or physical picket fences. We may not be hermited away on the 16th floor of a Manhattan high-rise but we may still need these newfangled social networks. One I already like: The local Freecycle, which can also help turn the semi-familiar into friends in addition to leaving you feeling virtuously de-cluttered.

Sigh. It may seem like a shame that we need the extra help these days but as someone who has serendipitously met amazing people online, all I can say is “Howdy, Neighbor!”

Thanks to Trend Central for the heads up.

Seven Signs You May Be Ready for a Social Media Detox.

I gave up Facebook for Lent.  For forty days and nights, I will not be updating my status, becoming a fan, poking anyone or commenting on 25 Random Things.  I will not be turning to page 56 and finding a sentence, sending good Karma or sipping along with my A Glass of Wine Solves Everything group.
 
My decision has absolutely nothing to do with any religious fervor, other than being fervently grateful to the Episcopalian calendar which served up a handy excuse to log off.  Said calendar also delivered a mighty reason to take a look at Social Media’s impact on my life.
 
What I saw was not pretty. 
 
And yet my addiction is on the mild side, more like a low-grade fever than a full-on infectious case of Facebook-itis. I may have sampled the Social Media Koolaid, but I’m not chugging the stuff like many of the ‘tweeple’ I know.  I’m enamored but not enslaved. In fact, I’ve only made my way through a smattering of Chris Brogan’s 100 Personal Branding Secrets.
 
Still, as a market researcher and passionate digital anthropologist, I knew it was time for a dig. Like Yahoo’s Internet Deprivation Study of yore, I wanted to understand the grisly details of deprivation.  I wanted to know what I would miss about Facebook; what I actually value; what I would be overjoyed to leave behind.
 
By the time I posted my last status update shortly after Ash Wednesday (which I pretty much only knew about because of Joe Biden’s forehead), I realized I was more than ready to not only give up Facebook for a time but also consider a complete Social Media Detox.
 
Ask yourself: Do you need to do a Social Media Detox?  Here are seven signs you might be ready:
 
 
Are you an Early Adopter? 
Ho-hum. Are you sort of over it? Those of us who are perpetually on the bleeding edge of new, sometimes either want to ditch it when the vox populi show up in droves or simply because it’s no longer the pretty shiny new thing.  We thrive on beta. We thrive on sneaking behind the velvet rope. When they let everybody in . . .  On the other hand, there are enough cool new tools popping up virtually every second, especially for Twitter, (Twiddeo) and a parade of nichey new social networks to keep boredom at bay.
 
Does buzz equal biz?
Despite the constant chatter from all directions about ‘putting yourself out there’ via networking, much of this buzz is total BS. Even if you aggressively transform yourself into a social media rockstar via the notorious TweeterGetter, your newfound fame may not automatically translate into mucho dinero.  Those shameless self-promoters swarming over every social network may generate noise but that doesn’t mean they’re doing much real, sustainable business. The dirty secret of social networks? Too many sellers, too few buyers. Consider: What’s the benefit of social media to your bottom line? Show me the money, folks.  
 
This doesn’t mean social media tools aren’t valuable –I’ve met terrific people, gotten great projects and leads, mined countless consumer insights, and overall, found the tools to be worthwhile if sometimes overwhelming.  But to be blunt, I have solid skills and talents to back up my putting myself out there. I am not using them to shill for an empty suit.

Who owns your stuff?
Facebook’s recent Terms of Service switcheroo shocked many into re-thinking how they want to use the social network.  Although they’ve since reversed themselves and formed a consumer advisory group, the brouhaha was tantamount to social media shock therapy.  The pivotal question:  who owns my content? Do I want Facebook to ‘own’ it even after I’ve deleted my account?  And for businesses who routinely recommend Facebook as part of a social media strategic plan, what are the guidelines for who owns and retains an advertising or promotional campaign that’s appeared Facebook?
 
Are you blurring your business and personal life?
You may have jumped on to Facebook early on and populated your profile with real-life friends.  Then along comes the barrage of networkers, business colleagues and in betweens. Now you’ve got a quixotic stew of business and personal.  Sometimes it works just fine. It can be a joy to get to know colleagues and clients in a more human way. Last fall’s political campaigns pointed up a growing issue:  For example, do you want your clients to know your thoughts on Prop 8? (I do!) And then there’s its discretional corollary: Do you want your Great Aunt Hazel or favorite high school teacher to see your tipsy party pix?
 
Is social media a time and energy suck for you?
How do you find time to blog, tweet, update Linkedin, Facebook and MySpace, post your pix on Flickr, your articles on Mixx, Digg, Biznik and Kirtsy, your favorites on Delicio.us, your sites on Stumbleupon, your art on etsy, comment on relevant blogs and networking email lists, search for juicy links to share — and oh by the way, also do your real work? Sure, some Tweeters are using a variety of time-saving organizational tools (Tweetdeck, Friend Feed) to manage their activities.  Even so, putting your best business face forward across multiple social media platforms is a challenge. (Quite a few rely on Virtual Admins like the awesome @jkvirtualoffice). 

I don’t know about you, folks, but I need time, quiet and focus to serve my clients well and feel good about what I do.
 
True Value
In the immortal words of Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks:  How can I miss you if you won’t go away?  
Perfectly said, Dan. I’ll soon know what it is, if anything, that I miss about Facebook.
 
Do you have a personal social media strategy?  Should you get one?
Last night, social media pioneer Chris Brogan mentioned on Twitter that he had already deleted 350 of his Facebook friends. I don’t know his reasons but I do know more and more people are re-defining how they want to use social media. They’re pondering social networking’s role in their lives and rejiggering the balance of business and personal. My neighbor here on the Monterey Peninsula, @fuzznfeathers, recently took a short break from Twitter and enjoyed the extra offline time. Jumping off-the-grid results in more time and energy available for face to face connection. According to research I’ve recently conducted, the blend of online + offline touchpoints turns out to be one powerful combo for increasing engagement.
 
What have I learned already?
I already know, mere days after exiting Facebook, that I don’t miss the Frammers who weaseled their way into my list of Friends. I do miss seeing the new pictures of my baby cousins and the parade of polls, surveys and beer-apps from my dear sorority sister, Kimberly. I do miss the pithy and often intriguing posts from Laurie Peterson, Eric Weaver and Katherine Ruppe.   

But most of all, I miss my daughter’s ever-changing profile pictures, usually taken in the dorm around 2 a.m. while she’s avoiding writing a term paper.

Easter’s so close I can almost smell the egg-salad sandwiches.

Meet Skout, the Social Networking Community for Kids’ Products.

Much of my world seems to be busily working on kids’ products, divining and designing everything from eco-adorable clothes to online games, websites, books, photography and more. So I was excited to discover a social network designed specifically for these uber-creative folks –designers, makers, vendors and others involved in children’s clothing and accessories.

Based in New Zealand, Skout Trade Fair is an online community that aims to help those in the children’s products industry find each other and connect. The founders have built in some admirable features which are likely to keep everybody honorable, supportive and industry-focused: membership on the site is by invitation only, and only members can view its content. Participants can also lose their membership for engaging in unethical practices. (Yay!) Once granted membership, though, participants can jump right in and join business forums, connect with other members, list events, upload photos of their work, join groups and contribute to blogs.

Guru’s Note: I was quickly admitted to the membership — but they did put me through my paces by asking a couple of on-point questions.

And good news on the technology front: Skout is built using the uber-customizable Ning platform — which is swiftly emerging as one of the most useful social networking tools available.

Thanks, as always, to springwise.

Stanford Offers Free Facebook Course for Parents. Will Twitter be next?

Although I still haven’t forgiven them for ‘The Game’ in 2007, I will admit they know their ‘Internets.’ Stanford University is now offering a free class called Facebook for Parents. The course is being offered by Stanford psychologist Dr. BJ Fogg, head of the Persuasive Technology Lab, and his sister Linda Phillips, a cyber-savvy Mom with kids ranging from 5th grade up to college.

The class experience has been designed for busy parents with kids under 18 years of age. (Parents of college-age students are also welcome.) An optional lab comes before each class, where parents can work hands-on with Stanford students who will coach them in using Facebook. (*Or maybe they could just take a Field Trip over to the Facebook offices, mere blocks away?)

Five Steps for Parents on Facebook

#1. Join Facebook.

Yes, you should sign up for Facebook. This service was once just for college students, but today it’s for everyone. Parents need to be part of this world.

#2. “Friend” your kids.

To “friend” someone on Facebook means connecting to them. Your kids will probably complain about you “friending” them. That’s normal. But if your kids are minors, you should “friend” them.

#3. Review your kids’ profile pages.

Go to the profile pages for your kids and review the content. At first, you’ll see the “Wall.” But don’t stop there. Click on the tabs for “Info” and “Photos” to see more.

#4. Review who is “friends” with your kids.

On the profile page for your kids, click on the words “See All” in the Friends box. You can then see who is linked to your kids.

#5. Select “More About” for your kids.

Watch for an item about your kids in your News Feed. Click on that item and select the “More About” option. This tells Facebook to show you more about that person in the future, sort of like turning up the volume.

What’s Next?

After these five steps, parents still have more to learn and do, but this is where to start. Sign up for the free newsletter for more info and to stay updated with the ever-changing world of Facebook. In addition, each newsletter explains new skills kids can learn on Facebook that will benefit their future.

Born to Blog? Meet SocialNetworking for Babies: TotSpot, Kidmondo, Lil’Grams and Odadeo.

Social networks have a whole new target audience: babies. Despite the fact that studies show record global growth for current world leader Facebook (153%) and spurts for Hi5 and even Friendster, that growth is bound to slow as grown-ups run out of fellow grown-ups to friend request. The solution? The diaper set.

Today, the modern equivalents of the now-dinosaur ‘Sears Photo Studio baby brag book’ are bubbling up everywhere. Social networks start while the babe is still a bump with blossoming sites like TheCradle.com, a hot new lifestyle destination for new pregnancy and new parenthood. The site, currently in beta, has easy-to-use social networking features for Moms to be, with personalizable web page templates, thriving message boards and a wealth of practical information. Moms can connect with other Moms who are in the same stage of pregnancy to share and support each other.

By the baby is born, he or she is already Google-able and ready to toddle (or twitter) over to the next step: their very own social network.

While bebe is napping (or busy studying Mandarin with his nanny), Mom and Dad can check out these growing choices:

Totspot: The brainchild of a bunch of family-oriented Harvard grads, TotSpot is a place to create a private page about your kids and share it with friends and family. It’s an online scrapbook and community for babies, kids, and their parents.

Kidmondo: Kidmondo was founded by a couple in New York City, who – after the birth of their second child – couldn’t find an compelling way to chronicle and share news about their kids with family and friends around the world. The mission: Kidmondo is a comprehensive online baby journal and organizer that allows parents and caregivers to chronicle their child’s life and share it with friends and family in a safe environment.

Guru’s Note: Kidmondo’s founders very smartly included ‘caregivers’ in their mission statement. This is a fact of today’s life — the caregiver may very likely be the one to witness the first step or horrors! rub whiskey on the gums of that teething babe. Takeaway: Hire a nanny whose skills extend from web 2.0 to wee-wee.

Lil’Grams: This microblogging site — dubbed twittering for toddlers — comes from new father and entrepreneur Greg Narain of Blue Whale Labs. The mission: Lil’Grams is a real-time baby book designed to make it absolutely simple for parents to capture the precious moments of their baby’s life and share it with their family and friends instantly. The most precious moments of your baby’s life are countless – but they only come once. With LittleGrams, you can keep, track, and share anything about your baby.

Odadeo: Created by Stef Lewandowski, the site was soft launched on Father’s Day of last year but appears to still be in beta. The mission: Odadeo is the site that aims to answer the question “how am I going to be a better dad?” Whether you’re veteran of fatherhood or an outright newbie, Odadeo looks built to to help you make your father-son and father-daughter connections that much more Web 2.0-compliant.

Guru’s Note: There are some 85 million Moms in the U.S. and most of them seem to be on the Internet busily blogging (I’m one of them). So it’s about time the Dads start turning up in droves. One of the most frequently asked questions at events where Kat Gordon of Mom-marketing company, Maternal Instinct, and I team up to speak is: What about the Dads?