Everyone has seen them. They invade your e-mails with useless information ranging from bogus vacations to prescriptions for pills that either don’t work or you don’t need. And in an online community, they’re worse, pitching their wares in public.

You know them as spammers, the scourge of the Internet. And historically, spammers and their non-human counterparts, spambots, have made life for community managers miserable.

The problem has always been what is the best was to counteract these constant nuisances so they don’t flood your community with ads for porn, Viagra or fake watches.

Adding captcha to allow for user registration or posting is one possible answer. Realistically, asking a user to type a random set of letters, number or words can weed out the spambots. However, the human spammers will be privy to this little trick, and many have found ways to sidestep this.

For forum programs such as PHPBB, an internal solution in the form of modifications, or add-ins to their software, can be the answer. Their site contains a wide array of anti-spam mods for community managers to use.

Registration tools can also be used. The most restrictive is admin user activation. While this can guarantee that no spammers can get through, the process can be time-consuming on the adminstrator’s end and could be potentially off-putting to users. E-mail activation can also be useful, given that many spammers don’t register using valid e-mail addresses. Again, there is a risk of spammers side-stepping this hurdle.

Like the vanquishing of trolls, a topic we’ve recently tackled, ridding your community of spammers will take constant vigilance and monitoring of your community. While there is not surefire way to complete eradicate spammers,the above steps can get your community as clean as possible.

Earlier this week, I had to ban a troll. I only consider it memorable because for the online communities I manage, trolls tend to be few and far between. However, if you happen to manage a community that is prone to these type of users, you may run into this issue much more often.

Trolling has been around as long as the Internet. They are, in their basic form, one of the most potentially disruptive and, as a consequence, damaging element to building and manageing your online community.

First, to clarify, trolls are not the same as spammers or spambots. These are a whole other class of user, who are generally dealt with by immediately deleting and blocking their access. We will delve into taking preventative measures against spammers at a later time.

Trolls, on the other hand, are typically human, non-bot users who, for one reason or another, enjoy being a disruption to an online community. Their trademarks are controversial and off-topic comments and posts created with the sole purpose of stirring the pot.

Identifying trolls can vary in degree of difficulty, again, depending on your community. For example, political communities, usually filled with emotionally-charged posts, make spotting trolls a tough proposal. On the other hand, less contentious communities allow trolls to be more easily identified.

The standard fix for trolls, on the user end, is to simply ignore then, classically dubbed, “Don’t feed the trolls.” The idea is that if the troll is craving attention and doesn’t get it, they will either go away or get in line with the normal conversation.

Moderators, for the most part, don’t generally need to step in unless the troll becomes more active in the community, menacing users by increasing their post counts. If this is the case, you have several courses of action.

First, you may wish to warn the user that their activity is not appropriate for the community. This is the least effective option, as trolls have a tendency to let a warning go in one ear and out the other.

So, with that in mind, you may want to consider banning. This can entail blocking posting privileges to a user either by username, e-mail address or even IP address. It is up to you to decide whether you wish to make the ban temporary or permanent.

Ultimately, as a moderator, the decision is up to you how to handle trolls. And always remember that your actions here will play a factor in the direction your online community goes.

Social media tends to be the place of trial-and-error when it comes to marketing and brand management. But for some, it becomes an embarrassing lesson in what not to do.

Take the marketing and design staffing firm Aquent, for instance. Recently, on their Facebook page, they posted a note, telling all of theirs tans that, like Jerry McGuire, they were there to “Show them the money.”

Their fans, in turn, took issue with that statement, to the point where some of them posted comments about the lack of money, or even the common courtesy of a follow-up, for that matter, that Aquent had showed them in recent memory.

An ironic reaction, given that one of Aquent’s core competencies is to staff for such fields as online marketing. You would think that they could have this this potential backlash coming, especially since they experienced similar comments in previous posts.

Realistically, some attempts to get the word out about your organization can potentially have the same negative effects, especially if you happen to be a staffing agency in this economy (Which, we’ve actually posted about some time ago).

The issue is never if a problem arises. The issue, rather, is how you and your organization deals with it. There are typically three ways to go about it, two of which are, well, wrong.

The first way to address backlash from a social media campaign is to delete the negative comments altogether. While this might seem like a good idea, you open yourselves up for even more attacks, and from Web sites and social media you can’t control.

Second, which appears to be how Aquent has dealt with it, negative comments are ignored, and you go about your business. This poses a worse threat, as those who are bashing you will not only continue to do so, they will feel that they can do so without impunity. Pretty soon, more users will arrive, telling their stories, until you’re stuck with a mountain of complaints in your own venue!

This is why it’s recommended that you engage these comments tactfully. In a society where the customer is always right, you want to start out the conversation with apologizing for how they were treated.

From there, you want to proceed to ask questions as to how best the situation be resolved. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are there for the interaction. Go ahead an take full advantage of it.

If not, you’ll be in a similar situation as Aquent: Pages full of disgruntled users who will continue to inflict damage.

Like any other project, online communities must have one person who has the power to make sure everything runs smoothly. In this case, that job falls on the shoulders of the moderator.

Online communities have called this person by other names, such as administrator, director or other names users call them when they don’t get their way. But their functions are all the same: To keep the community functioning and a viable place for users.

Depending on the size of your community, the moderator can have any level of involvement and spend a varying amount of time on the site. Smaller sites tend to have one person, maybe you or someone else on a part-time basis. Other sites are large enough that they need more than one person, perhaps even working full-time.

What does the moderator do? Again, depending on the size of the online community, the moderator serve a number of functions. But one universal duty is the monitor the site for any technical issues or any inappropriate behavior by users.

Essentially, moderators serve as the adult in the room, and it is crucial for them to, from the outset, lay the ground rules for the community. That way, there is no confusion when sanctions are handed out.

You may also ask your moderator to work on other tasks for the online community, the easiest of which is posting new topics to possibly jump-start the conversation. They can also be called upon to write up site-related announcements as well.

Beyond that, depending on their ability levels, moderators can be asked the assist you with writing and developing new site content, create e-mail marketing for your users or establish and maintain the community’s social media presence.

This position isn’t for everyone, though. Because of the power they have on the overall community, it’s important that the moderator possesses a soft touch when it comes to dealing with site issues. Plus, it has to be someone you can work with.

When you get the right person, it makes all the difference and will allow you to concentrate on making your online community successful.

As one of the countless job seekers out there, there may very well be many people who share the same name as you do. As a result, this may lead you into the false notion that somehow, you can do whatever you want online and nobody will notice.

Guess again. There are plenty of ways in which prospective employers can figure out that the person they are thinking about hiring may also be the same person who likes to cause trouble on the Internet.

So, with a common name, you figure that if anyone searches for you on Google, Yahoo, Bing or another of the other search engines, they will run into far more people that you, right?

Wrong. Google has already rolled out a social media search, and Yahoo and Bing are in the process of following suit. That means, of course, that whatever happens to be on your social networking accounts will be more visible than ever in a shorter amount of time. What that means is that for example, say you get into an online flame war. Google’s social media search can make this searchable within a day.

Besides that, employers, who have been using search engines in ever-increasing numbers as their de facto background checks, will already be looking beyond your name. Since they have information such as address, education and previous employment, they can utilize long-tail searches to pinpoint you specifically.

That said, while we have always stressed maintaining your online presence, with the increased competition in the job market, it’s more important than ever. Take a look at your social media profiles. Are there any red flags? And are you set up with accounts on business networking sites such as LinkedIn?

If not, these simple mistakes could mean the difference between you and your next job. So, stay vigilant in keeping your online presence blemish-free.

So, you have an idea for building an online community. The problem is that your technical capabilities aren’t very strong. In this day and age, however, the lack of technical savvy is no longer a deterrent for creating and maintaining an online community.

You just need to know where to go. Here is a small sampling of some of the sites that can allow you to get up an running without having an advanced degree in Computer Science.

Blog Sites – The most popular sites these days, WordPress, Blogger and LiveJournal, give users to express their opinions and post news, while at the same time allow for feedback. Depending on the size of the community you want to build, creating a blog may be the best first step.

Message Board Hosts – If you are more interested in primarily eliciting comments and opinions from your community, rather than you generating the content yourself, message boards sites, the most popular being Yuku and ProBoards, may be the way to go. A word of caution, however. You will want to closely monitor your postings, as message boards are notorious havens for spammers.

Ning - If you’re looking for a solutions that provides for everything under the sun, from personal user space to discussion boards to event announcements, Ning is your answer. Created in 2005, Ning takes online community building one step further. It allows you to create your own social network, much like MySpace or Facebook, with the ability for users to share both opinions, photos, videos, and the like.

Ning’s usability and popularity has attracted community builders of all ability levels, from social media clubs to aspiring writers to celebrities as diverse and Bonnie Hunt and Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em (whose social media exploits we’ve mentioned previously).

With so many possible venues for online community builders to choose from, it may take some time to figure out which format is right for you. That’s OK, because a good starting plan can help you on your way to developing a group of engaged and active users.

In 1995, as the Internet started gaining popularity, GeoCities was founded in an effort to give those burgeoning masses their own Web space for free. Sure, in the beginning, you had to have some HTML knowledge, but over time, they brought out their Site Builder, and even that wasn’t necessary.

For those of us who had a site (or several) on GeoCities, October 26, 2009 may mark a sad day in our lives, and Yahoo, who purchased GeoCities for an obscene sum of money 10 years ago, finally shut the doors for good.

However, outside of those that used GeoCities, would anyone else have noticed, even cared, for that matter?

In the end, while GeoCities proved to be one of the pioneers of building an online community and a way for people to build their presence on the Internet, the blunt truth is that social media, starting with blogs and working down to sites such as Twitter and MySpace, killed the community at GeoCities long ago.

Many of those, who, in the late 1990s, would have flocked to a free site builder such as GeoCities and its competitors have now built their free online posts at blog sites like WordPress.com and Blogger.com. And better still was the fact that the site-building tools available at most social media sites far outstripped GeoCities even in its most useful versions.

For Yahoo’s part, it was pretty clear, even as early as 2001, that they had just threw away the money they used for the GeoCities purchase. Rather than augment it, Yahoo opted to let it fester. To be fair, they did let GeoCities live longer than its other social media failure, Yahoo360, which they shutter in July 2009.

Even though social media has blunted the GeoCities closure so many would barely notice its ultimate thud, the do-it-yourself Web builders out there are not want of free Web space. There are still plenty of sites out there, most notably Homestead, Bravenet and webs.com.

Finally, for those of you who would still like to find old GeoCities content, the Internet Archive and, most recently, ReoCities, have a great deal of old pages stored for your viewing enjoyment.

Depending on what media report you read, it appears that small businesses, while understanding the importance of having an online presence, are reluctant to go much beyond the traditional Web site. Social media, it would seem, is not a part of the plan.

The most significant indication of this is a Citibank survey of small businesses, three-quarters of which believe that social media, in any form, is not helpful in their overall business plan. And, more recently, less than 10 percent of small businesses are currently using Twitter as a mean to engage consumers.

Why do small businesses feel this way? One reason is most likely the current economic client. The mindset, it looks to be, is that social media, for all the bells and whistles, is nothing compared to traditional business development.

Though there may be situations in which that might be true, the opportunity to interact through social media does have a place in the plans of smaller enterprises. The most significant benefit would be engaging the consumer. Plenty of larger entities have taken advantage of gathering feedback from their customers through sites like Twitter and Facebook. The application can certainly translate to a smaller scale.

And in an age where information is essential, social media can be that vital avenue. Gathering information, the cornerstone of any business development, can be facilitated by a networking site such as LinkedIn, where businesses can find the names of potential contacts.

These are just a couple of ways in which social media can help small businesses. The key, though, is for enterprises to create a true plan of action. As we’ve stated in recent posts, it’s just as important to have an understanding of social media before using them.

Developing a social media strategy can take time, a commodity that many small businesses can’t take for granted. That’s OK. Like other marketing tools, social media should be viewed in the long term, as opposed to a quick fix. That the time to determine what’s right for your business and ease into implementation. And in the end, it may be the best thing you ever did.

Years before TOG Solutions was created, I spent some time building communities online for other interests that ranged from reading of college newspapers to hunters seeking cooking advice. This, of course, was at a time when blogging was just getting popular, and all of the current popular social media sites did not exist.

Today, while the idea of online community has grown exponentially, thanks to the light-speed emergence of social media, the concept still remains the same: Build your own online presence in hopes that others like you will join you.

The necessity of an building an online community, though, depends entirely on the reasons behind it. Team fan sites are a good example of a person filling a need of a community. Here, a person, or a group of people, take their devotion to a team and build a site around it.

However, some may find that building a community might not be the right move for them. For instance, the community you may want to build caters to people who don’t typically spend much time online.

Size, however, should not be a consideration of need. True, the community you want to establish may only attract a dozen people. But if those people are regular users and contribute a great deal, it won’t matter.

Coming up with a plan to build a community is one thing. But it is equally important to understand why you need to build it. Determining need will be a key part in your overall success.

More than a decade ago, I was a professional journalist…for a whole five months. I was was working for a newspaper that shall remain nameless as a full-time “bureau chief,” which, in newspaper-ese, meant that I was the only person in a remote office 30 miles away from HQ, and good luck with that. Mine wasn’t so great, and left with a rather bad taste in my mouth.

I’d like to say that the newspaper industry as a whole has improved since then, but I don’t want to lie to you. Then again, you probably already know how it’s going, if you’ve worked at a newspaper for any stretch of time.

Print media has been taking a beating, mostly due to rising print costs, dropping ad revenue, and, in many cases, management more suited for the turn of the 20th century than the 21st.

Does this mean that journalism is dead? No. As the basic rule of chemistry dictates, matter is neither created nor destroyed. It just changes form.

The same is true of journalism. What once was local outposts of print newspapers are sprouting up local blogs, Twitter feeds and social media of all kinds, tailored to a wide or as narrow an audience as needed.

But because social media is young and despite its popularity, its practical application as a form of journalism is still getting sorted out. However, as sites such as Examiner.com and the Huffington Post gain more popularity and more credibility, eventually the transition will be complete.

Still, there is always the question of compensation. Consider this: If you’re a J-school grad for anywhere besides a place like Columbia, you’re probably not making a lot of money to start out with in the first place. As for mentors? There are plenty of old-school journalists out there. All you have to do is ask. The worst they’ll say is no.

In the near future, it looks as if social media, with its real-time appeal, will become attraction for those looking to get into hard news. As for newspapers, there have been many suggestions as to how they can retain their relevance. But for now, it looks as if many are sticking with the old stand-by.

Good luck with that.

It’s quite obvious these days that as social media becomes more and more popular, people from all walks of life are drawn to it. That includes businesses, people like you or I, and celebrities like pro athletes.

Already, the NFL and other leagues have felt compelled to address the impact of social media has had on its athletes to the extent that the league has banned them from tweeting during games. This came on the heels of the announcement made by Chad Ochocinco (formerly Johnson) of the Cincinnati Bengals that he would, in fact, send in-game Twitter updates.

Charlie Villaneuva, while a member of the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, was famously suspended by the team after sending a tweet at halftime. And then there’s Stephon Marbury, whose 24-hour streaming video meltdown was online for all the world to see.

Most recently, Washington Redskins linebacker Robert Henson used his Twitter account to lash out at fans. And let’s not forget the social media sniping back and forth between the aforementioned Ochocinco and San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, as well as Buffalo Bills wideout Terrell Owen’s swipe at former Dallas Cowboys teammate Tony Romo.

While the names may be more recognizable, these controversies are typical of social media users, regardless of fame. And each of these instances represent lessons that both individuals and organizations can learn from.

1. In social media, everything is public – As we have mentioned in the past, part of building a good online reputation is based on the way you conduct yourself. Even if you make your accounts private, your connections will still be able to read what you post.
2. Fame or no fame, your online presence can affect your business or employability – In the case of Marbury, he has yet to sign with a new NBA team. And while his reputation plays a key factor, his social media gaffes did not help his cause.
3. Do not get engaged in a losing battle – Flaming, or the act of individuals battling online, is as old as modern computing. However, that never made it a noble venture. Public skirmishes usually have no winners. So, it’s best not to get involved.

Finding prospective customers is the easy part. Getting their attention? Not so much.

But say you’ve used your social media, say, an interesting blog or Twitter post, a YouTube video or a document posted on SlideShare or Scribd. People are taking a closer look at you.

So, now that you’ve got their attention, then what?

With traditional marketing, it has always been true that a gimmick can get people through the door, but it’s the product, in the end, that will get them interested in buying and keep them coming back. The same thing is true on the Internet. Give people a reason to be interested.

That’s why when your Web site, particularly your content, is that marketing tool that you will use to ultimately get a customer to pick up the phone, write and e-mail and get the wales process started.

First, you’ll want to assess what users are doing on your Web site now. There are a number of different tools to track Web traffic, the most popular of which is Google Analytics. Once installed, after gathering about a month or so of traffic, you’ll want to check your bounce rate, the percentage of users only viewing one page on the site and leaving.

Ideally, your bounce rate should be relatively low; most experts believe a rate below 35 percent to 50 percent for blogs is realistic. A low bounce rate means that your content is good.

But does it get your customers to the last step – contacting you?

When thinking about how you can get your users to contact you, consider the following: How does your site content speak about your products and services? Does it show users what you can do you for them, or why they should choose you over a competitor?

One other thing to think about is offering something free, such as a sample of your product or a consultation, as part of your content. This can be even more beneficial, as it will allow you to learn more about their needs, which can, in turn, give you a chance to tailor your services to them.

Regardless of your direction, remember that by having a strong Web presence, you can start to reap the rewards of your social media efforts.

At the beginning of the decade, it seemed as if the Internet was the bane of the music industry’s existence. File-sharing programs such as Napster, Morpheus and BearShare popped up, and musicians, for the most part, were up in arms about the fact that music was being distributed for free. Never mind the fact that mix tapes and bootlegs have been around as long as the industry has.

Never one to be in tune with an ever-changing world, the Recording Industry Artists of America (whose membership is comprised of record labels, not artists) came to the conclusion that the Internet was the worst thing to ever happen and opted to sue the “evil” file sharers out of existence, a practice that, to date, hasn’t exactly had the effect the RIAA was hoping.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world started catching on to social media. The end result? Musicians have found that through volutarily sharing their work was far a far more effective use of their time, and far cheaper, for that matter.

The idea of using social media to give the public music for free is championed by some high-profile artists. One of the biggest advocates is Trent Reznor of nine inch nails, who has stated that social media is the best way to be heard, while at the same time building a loyal fan base.

By far the best example of how social media has created music superstars is Atlanta rapper Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. Riding positive reviews of his free music posted on SoundClick, Soulja Boy moved on to creating a presence on both MySpace and YouTube, where he posted his then-unknown song, “Crank Dat.” The video became a viral phenomenon, and the song became, at the time, one of the most downloaded of all time. He continues to use social media to debut new material, as well as interact with fans.

So, if you are an independent musician, the question isn’t if you should use social media. The real question is can you afford not to do it?

Years ago, while still working in Career Services at a Cleveland-area technical school, I had built a database of businesses and organizations that could have an interest in what we had to offer. At the same time, students were completing their programs. The question for me then became how do we communicate with both groups without being too intrusive, but at the same time keep us fresh in their minds.

Answering this question laid the groundwork for our monthly newsletter, which was our first effort in e-mail marketing. Over time, we also utilized e-mail marketing to announce on-campus events.

My lesson learned during my technical-school years? No matter what other Internet marketing you do, the best first step is creating an e-mail marketing campaign.

These days, creating an e-mail marketing campaign is as simple as ever. Sites such as Constant Contact and iContact allow users to, for a fee, utilize their e-mail services. If you’re more tech-savvy, you can also set up mailing list programs such as Xigla or, for Linux users, Dada Mail to build your marketing internally. You customer relations management (CRM) software may even have a mass e-mail function as well.

For those starting from scratch, make sure to export your contacts to format that is easy to upload to your platform, generally CSV, and build from there. Again, based on technical ability, you can opt to use the editor from one of the e-mail marketing sites or build it from a Web editor.

You e-mail campaign should be about information about and related to your organization. Ultimately, you’ll want to save the hard sales pitch to your Web site. But starting out, you’re looking to generate more interest.

As you continue, you’ll find new interest by giving readers exclusive offers on your products or services. Also, you’ll have the ability to announce other parts of your Internet marketing efforts that can include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media outlets.

So, are you ready to start building your foundation?

As with any new technology, social media, for businesses and individuals, should not be taken lightly. Individuals will find that social media can provide a greater pathway to selling themselves as viable job candidates, not to mention uncover a job market not readily available to them on traditional job boards.

With businesses, the use of social media is slowly emerging into an essential component, capable of tracking customer feedback, broadcasting company news real-time and providing a mechanism to increase visibility.

But how much do you know about social media?

That appears to be the biggest question. Education is the key. Over the years, I heard from countless people and companies about how they needed to be on the Internet, but their knowledge wasn’t up to date. For some technophiles, ignorance is not a valid defense. On at least more than one occasion, I have been witness to a tech-savvy user publicly brow-beating others for not getting the technology they were trying to use.

We, on the other hand, take a more practical approach. Like anything else in life, social media is an ongoing learning process, and even the so-called “experts” are constantly trying to keep up with what’s new.

So, if you’re a novice and want to jump headlong into the social media pool, my best advice would be to take a step back. And just like growing up, learn to crawl before you walk.

First, I encourage you to sign up to a couple of sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Don’t overdo it, though. There are literally hundreds of social media sites and for the novice, signing up for all of them at once will be overwhelming and defeat the purpose of learning.

Secondly, look around. If you’ve signed up for Twitter, follow people who can provide the type of advice you need to build your brand or protect your reputation. For Facebook, connect with friends who have been using it for a while. And don’t be afraid to ask questions. LinkedIn, for example, has an entire section dedicated to questions and answers.

Finally, start slowly building your social media. Always remember, though, people don’t like being overloaded with information. Also, people hate getting sold to. You will find out what’s best for you when you’ve done your homework.

And don’t be concerned if you make a mistake along the way. Even in the break-neck speed of the Internet, you can always go back and make up for lost time.