Just like everyone loves a puppy – everyone loves new functionality on applications they are already using (and you are already using LinkedIn aren’t you?).

I actively use Twitter, I reluctantly use Facebook and I’m constantly trying out a lot of the other social media and social network platforms, but I will admit I’ve got a strong bias for LinkedIn as the best place to start (and spend a lot of your valuable time) when it comes to using Social Media for your business.  It’s a great extension of the real world networking you already do (you are networking aren’t you?).

Beyond being professional, easy to use with lots of powerful features, LinkedIn has done a great job of consistently adding new functions and features.  Here’s 3 of the latest additions I thought were interesting.

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   photo by renaissancechambara

Remember the days of the good ol’ rolodex?

Only 7 years ago Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter didn’t exist (LinkedIn started in May of 2003, Facebook in February of 2004 and Twitter in March of 2006).  Now there are more than 400 Million people on Facebook, 105 Million registered users on Twitter and 65 million on LinkedIn with more joining every single day.

It’s safe to say that Social Media and Social Networks have become mainstream…yet there are still a lot of people asking what the point is.  Just in the last week, I’ve had 2 business owners ask me what the point of LinkedIn really is – they both have profiles and they’ve been using it for awhile, but nothing’s happening.

I don’t have any hard data to back this up, but it’s a valid question for a lot of business owners – “I know I’m supposed to be on Social Media sites like LinkedIn, but now that I’ve set up my profile nothing happens – does this stuff really work?”

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Dolphins are really smart – if you haven’t had a chance to check out the new show Life from the Discovery Channel you’re missing out.  There was a recent episode that did a segment on dolphins who lived in a really shallow area in the ocean.  The dolphins would purposely stir up mud in a circle around a bunch of fish.  The fish would see the mud as an obstacle and jump over the mud…right into the waiting mouths of the rest of the dolphins!  Lunch delivered!

What does that have to do with blogging for business?  Technically not much other than blogging for business is also a really smart thing to do…and I bet if dolphins could type they would have blogs for their businesses!

Still not convinced?  Well here are 5 great reasons why you should have a blog for your business:

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   photo by scragz

Social media gets lots of hype – some of it’s even justified!  There are more than 400 Million users on Facebook (and they’re spending more time on there than ever before).  Businesses are rapidly jumping on board and starting to figure out how to participate and you can’t swing a cat without hitting a new alternative social media application like Foursquare or Biznik.

However it’s not all sunshine and roses in Social Media land – in fact there are some things going on that are downright scary!

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    photo by Monica’s Dad

It’s probably time to start thinking about alternatives – not power alternatives (although that’s a worthwhile discussion as well), I’m talking about alternative Social Media platforms other than Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Facebook is now over 400 Million users and over 80 Million of them are playing Farmville (which may be a sign of the apocalypse…I’m not sure) and – Twitter is generating 50 Million tweets per day.  It’s pretty clear that the big platforms are well into the mainstream and potentially too crowded to be useful to anyone trying to connect with more of a niche market than the entire world.

On top of that, history tells us that the world will keep changing and even if you missed the initial jump into these platforms a couple of years ago – you’ll have a chance to get in on the cutting edge of whatever’s next.

So what are some of the other choices of Social Media platforms out there?

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