Last December I put together a short list of 5 social media predictions for 2011. Now with just a few days left in the year it's time to see how accurate those predictions turned out to be.

Below are my five predictions, followed by a short synopsis of the result.

2011 Prediction: Location-based services will go mainstream, with Topguest, Foursquare and Facebook leading the way.

Result: They didn't go mainstream and by most accounts Topguest and Facebook didn't lead the way. In fact, Facebook killed its mobile Places check-in feature in August and 'acqhired' Gowalla in December with plans to shut the service down. Meanwhile, Foursquare closed the year with more than 15 million members and a ton of work ahead of it.

2011 Prediction: The social media measurement space will see significant consolidation

Result: There wasn't significant consolidation, but things did begin to contract a bit. The 2011 highlight was undoubtedly Salesforce's $300+ million acquision of Radian6. Dozens of new entrants continued to flood the market, but with Radian6 and Sysomos being purchased and Twitter offering Analytics to advertisers there are early signs of a maturing market.

2011 Prediction: Twitter will find a viable business model.

Result: Maybe it has, maybe it hasn't. As 2011 comes to a close this one can't be confirmed. What we do know is that the company's valuation is around $8 billion, it's handling some 250 million tweets every day and it has well over 100 million active users globally. That and Jack Dorsey says the business model is based on serendipity.

2011 Prediction: Online privacy will become an even more contested issue.

Result: The privacy debate certainly raged on in 2011 and promises to do so into the new year and beyond. Facebook, which has well upwards of 800 million users worldwide, continued to push the privacy envelope by introducing 'frictionless sharing' and the new Timeline feature. In December, the company reoranized to focus more on privacy in the year ahead.

2011 Prediction: One of the larger social networks won't make it through 2011.

Result: Facebook prepped for a 2012 IPO, Twitter continued to grow like a weed, LinkedIn had a successful IPO and rolled out dozens of new features. Meanwhile, MySpace, while still around, is a shell of its former self, losing more than half of its unique monthly visitors over the course of the past year (see graphic above).

As we look ahead to 2012, what are your social media predictions? 

Earlier this week a former colleague got me thinking about the current and future state of the public relations industry—particularly as it continues to be impacted by social media.

Twitter’s VP of Communications, Sean Garrett, asked in a Tweet whether or not technology PR professionals that are not using Twitter should be fired or simply reprimanded (my vote). While asked somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the question hits on a key issue: despite being mid-way through 2011, widespread understanding and adoption of basic social media tools by PR pros at all levels is spotty at best.

With that in mind, I’ve put together three core social media skills for today’s PR pros. Those who haven’t yet gotten comfortable doing each of the following (which for many are merely fundamental at this point) had better start making it a priority or risk being left behind.

Write, Publish and Distribute Content via a Blog

Writing is core to the PR profession—always has been, always will be. Blogs as we know them have been around for close to a decade now and they’ve gotten dead-simple to setup and manage. Today’s PR pro needs to be comfortable not just writing, but publishing content on a variety of platforms such as Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr, Posterous, etc. If you can write content in Microsoft Word, you can publish content on just about any blogging platform that exists today.

The bottom line is that those who are able to take the written word, publish it on a corporate or personal blog and distribute it across the Web are those that understand the media landscape we’re all operating in today.

Comment and Manage Comments on a Blog

The beauty of blogs is not only in the simplicity of publishing content, but in the dialogue that they enable between publisher and reader. Much of this conversation takes place in the comments--though increasingly on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and beyond thanks to the button wars.

Knowing how to comment on third-party blogs in order to share a point of view and establish oneself within a specific community is key—as is grasping the basics around moderating (approving, deleting, blacklisting, white-listing) comments on a blog you run. If PR is about generating and engaging in conversations, being comfortable in the world of online commenting is critical.

Leverage Twitter (and other tools) for Competitive Advantage

Not having a personal presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. is pretty much a cardinal sin at this point. Even if you don’t actively engage, you should know the basics on how each works (how to Tweet, Re-Tweet, shorten a link, etc.) and at a minimum be using them on a daily basis to monitor what key journalists, influencers and competitors are doing and saying.

Tools like Twitter make the job of the PR pro that much easier as it has never been so simple to find out pertinent information about key individuals that can be leveraged in your next real-world conversation.

What other social media skills should PR pros have mastered?

Google News recently rolled out several new features for its popular online service. Chief among them is the ability for users to set parameters around the specific types of news sources that will be pulled in to their News results on an on-going basis.

For PR pros, it’s worth noting that it is now dead simple for Google News users to completely eliminate your press releases from their feed. The three step process goes as follows: sign in to your Google account, click on the News Settings link and check the appropriate box under “press releases.”

It’s no secret that most journalists despise the press release and yet it remains the standard method of communication for most companies, particularly around material news. Given that organizations give up valuable SEO and potential on-domain traffic when issuing a press release, it’s high time we start mixing things up.

Why not issue a post via your corporate blog instead? Or, if you have to go the ‘press release’ route, setup an RSS feed on your online newsroom and post your news there. Either way, you’re driving visitors to your website, saving a few bucks and perhaps most importantly writing more casual, informative and helpful content for everyone involved.

A new study from Pew Internet provides details on who Twitter users are and how they access the service. As you may recall, a November 2010 report found that only 8% of Internet users accessed Twitter on a regular basis, while the report issued today found that that number had increased to 13%.

While still a small figure overall, the five percent increase in approximately six months is noteworthy and perhaps an indication that Twitter's continued acquisitions, new features and changes to its service are succeeding in broadening its appeal and usefulness to the widest possible audience.

Other noteworthy tidbits from the study include:

• 54% of Twitter users that own a cell phone access the service via mobile device
• 14% of 35-44 year old Internet users use Twitter, up from 8% in November 2010
• Urban and suburban use of Twitter is nearly identical, checking it at 15% and 14% of Internet users, respectively

Location-based social network Foursquare continues to generate a lot of attention from marketers of all shapes and sizes. While some struggle to figure out how best to utilize the platform, others are going full-force with new campaigns designed to engage and reward loyal customers. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, here are three tangible ways to utilize Foursquare to engage customers around your next event.

Incorporate your venue into the invite and/or confirmation

Thankfully, many event invitations come electronically—either via a formal HTML email or a personal note from a contact. Either way, both present opportunities to incorporate Foursquare.

If you’re utilizing an HTML email, consider using a tool like embed.ly to generate some quick HTML code that will allow you to drop your Foursquare venue in to the body of the email invite. If you’re simply sending someone a quick email, hyperlink the Foursquare venue for the recipient.

Both methods add value to the invitee (Foursquare venues contain a Google Map, address, phone number, etc.) while subtly letting them know you’re using the service, which leads to the next idea.

A virtual check-in desk

After you’ve claimed your venue on Foursquare you get access to some pretty nifty insights and analytics. Pop open the analytics dashboard prior to the event starting and keep tabs on who’s checking in and when.

If one of your event attendees checks in and has linked their Twitter account to their Foursquare account (most people have) you’ll be able to see that person’s Twitter handle. From there, you can quickly shoot off a ‘welcome’ tweet and point them to specific areas they should check out. I’ve personally done this at a couple recent events and found it to work quite well.

Solicit tips and to-dos

Finally, one of Foursquare’s most basic features allows users to provide tips and/or to-dos for different venues. As part of your event, consider setting up a reward for those attendees who offer up tips or to-dos during their time at your place of business.

While the attendees get a chance at a prize or discount for doing so, you benefit down the road as others check-in at your venue and discover the tips from those who have come before them.

What other ways are you using Foursquare to support events?

Back in early February Mashable took the wraps off of its ‘social layer’ Mashable Follow. The new ‘layer’ is designed to allow you to filter content being pushed out by Mashable writers based on your own personal preferences and interests. Follow also includes some light social networking functionality (you can follow other users) and makes it easier to share content with your various social networks. Here’s the quick video overview:

I’ve been beta testing Follow for the past several weeks and think it is a smart offering from Mashable, particularly as they expect the volume of stories they publish on a daily basis to double (if not more) by year’s end. Clearly, Mashable views itself less as a technology or social media blog and more as a media company--and Mashable Follow appears to be a big part of that going forward. Based on my experience with Follow, here are three things that would improve an already impressive beta product.

Let Me Take My News Stream With Me

I may be in the minority here, but I rarely visit individual websites or blogs to get my news. Instead, I prefer to aggregate everything into a single place (in my case, Google Reader) for quicker and easier browsing. I’d love to be able to take my personal Mashable Follow ‘stream’ and drop it into Google Reader or whatever other aggregation service I use, rather than only being able to access it by visiting Mashable.com. I realize this would take eyeballs/visits/pageviews away from the site (not ideal for advertising, etc.), but it would be handy.

More Activity, Please

This is likely an issue that has more to do with the fact that Mashable Follow is only open to a small number of people as part of its private beta, but overall activity feels light. There doesn't seem to be a ton of engagement among Mashable’s own staffers or many of the current beta testers. More consistent activity from the people who work at the company would likely go a long way toward inspiring others to follow suit.

More Robust Social Networking Features

Currently you can ‘follow’ another Mashable Follow user—it’s a similar concept to Twitter minus a few key features. By following someone you’re essentially adding them as a ‘source’ for content that will appear in your news stream. As of now, there isn't a clear way to message (publicly or privately) a user you follow/that follows you, which would be super helpful and would deepen connections between people a bit more.

All told, other publishers can learn a ton from what Mashable is doing with Follow (though most are likely not paying attention). Giving readers control, while at the same time making the site more personal and interactive will likely be elements of successful media companies in the future.

Are you using Mashable Follow? If so, what are your thoughts?

Originally published on The Access Point

Facebook product manager Adrian Graham announced via blog post today that Facebook will be upgrading its Questions service. Facebook Questions, which initially launched this past Summer, will be rolled out to everyone "soon" and if you can't wait, go here and click the green "Get Questions Now" button.

The new version of Questions adds some important (and enticing) viral elements to the product--namely the ability for friends of friends to see and answer questions you pose. Here's the key excerpt from Graham's blog:

Questions will also enable you to cast a wider net. Now, when your friends answer one of your questions, their friends can answer it too. For more unusual questions, you can get advice from a broader group of people, but to keep it most relevant we filter the answers to show you first what your friends think. You can see more responses by clicking "others" within the question.

Many brands will want to take advantage of the additional viral elements in order to gain greater exposure across the Facebook social graph. However, brands that read the fine print in the FAQ's around Facebook Questions will certainly think twice about taking the plunge. When a brand Page asks or answers a question it will be shared with the people who have liked the Page. Straightfoward enough. According to the FAQ "It is easy for people to unlike Pages from the Questions stories that appear in their News Feed, so Page administrators should think carefully about the questions they ask and answer."

The bottom line: brand Pages need to be smart about the types of content and updates they push out, whether via Facebook Questions or simple Wall posts, so as not to turn off Fans.

AllTop.com co-founder Guy Kawasaki recently released his latest book, Enchantment, and was kind enough to answer a few questions about the process. Of particular interest to me was learning more about how the publishing and book promotion game has changed and getting a few more insights into some of the issues raised in the book.

Read on for Guy's thoughts on how to go about changing corporate culture (far easier said than done, of course), the concept of enchantment and more.

Q: You've written and promoted other books (The Art of the Start, Reality Check). How have things changed in terms of promoting and launching a book? What did you do differently this time around and how did it work?

Kawasaki: Everything has changed--and for the much better. In the old days you sent out a hundred galleys to the major publications, and you prayed for coverage. Now you can reach hundreds, if not thousands, of independent bloggers who can reach niche audiences for you. You can promote your book anytime you want for free on Twitter. And you can create a Facebook fan page to engage your potential and actual readers.

You can also conduct interviews on Skype to produce embeddable video. Finally, I created a photo contest, online quiz, badges, wallpapers, and infographics as more eye candy. Many of these techniques and tools were out of reach, if not impossible, in the old days. Life is good!

You can see what I've done here:

Speech video
Facebook quiz
Facebook fan page
Pictures

Q: When it comes time to write and promote your next book (no pressure :)) what do you think will be different (will it be an electronic-only product for example)?

Kawasaki: I don't know what will be different. I didn't predict this much would be different this time. I doubt that my next book will be electronic only because so many of my books are given as gifts at events. What will companies do--hand out DVDs? I don't think so.

Q: One of the ideas in Enchantment that I found to be powerful is the notion of invoking reciprocity and being willing to give early and often. Sadly, this seems to run counter to how many people and organizations operate. How do you change that mindset?

Kawasaki: Now this is a hard question to answer. I wish it were as simple as reading my book--for one thing, I would charge a lot more for my book! It will take changing one person's attitude in an organization at a time because enchantment is contagious. And, honestly, better economic times will put people in a more positive, giving mindset. Changing the world isn't easy. It's a process, not an event.

Q: Looking back on the whole process, what was the most surprising or inspiring thing that you personally got out of it?

Kawasaki: I was amazed at the willingness of people to share their stories and other tidbits of information with me. I put out a call for examples of enchanting people, places, companies, and things and got back hundreds of responses. I also asked for personal stories of enchantment and got back hundred of stories. It was like having hundreds of research assistants. And then at the end of the process, 250 volunteered to copyedit and fact check the book.

Q: Any final advice for those considering checking out Enchantment?

Kawasaki: My final advice is not so much about the book as about the concept of enchanting people: "Some things need to be believed to be seen." If enough people believe, we can make this an enchanting society.

This past weekend I finished reading Guy Kawasaki's latest book, Enchantment, which is scheduled to hit stores on March 8th. The book focuses on interpersonal relationships and how people are or are not influenced and 'enchanted' by others. It is a quick and easy read containing insights for entrepreneurs and business leaders as well as anyone with a job, boss, direct report, spouse or family. Each chapter contains a key theme, several real-world, relatable examples and each closes with a personal story from someone to further illustrate the main point.

My two favorite chapters were "How to Use Push Technology" and "How to Use Pull Technology," which makes sense given my focus on all things social media. Both of those chapters provide practical thinking and tactical starting points for utilizing the likes of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, a blog and beyond in order to engage (and ulitmately enchant) key audiences. Portions of these two chapters will certainly be included in many of my future presentations, talks and training sessions on how to think about social media conceptually and how to use it properly.

Here are five tips from Enchantment that I'm planning to apply to my everyday life in an attempt to become a better enchanter.

Tell a story. Applicable to the world of social media and PR (my world), particularly when you're writing a blog post, press release, pitch letter, etc. If you're not telling a story you're not doing it right.

Make it short, simple and swallowable. When it comes to crafting key messages, introductory emails, pitches, etc. the shorter, simpler and more direct, the better (something Charlie Sheen has nailed of late).

Invoke reciprocity. This is about the notion of giving early and often (even without being asked) and then, when you need something from someone who you've given to previously, not being afraid to ask for it.

Customize the introduction. Some great advice from Kawasaki on presentations--making sure your introduction is customized (and therefore personal) goes a long way toward the 'hot start' that is so often talked about be seldom utilized.

Drop everything and do what your boss asks. Enough said--this is how to impress your boss.

Here's a video of Guy discussing some of the key themes from the book, which is definitely worth checking out.