Finding the right name for a business, blog or online presence IS time consuming. Mixing business or company personality with keyword/search engine "findability" and ease of "memorability" by real people. Good luck in your search.

Great Tips Julie - Having a plan for how to handle closing or delayed opening of an office or store is critical. But also having a back-up plan in case you are out of communication with employees is also helpful. I know that some businesses, during winter storms, say - when in doubt - "If the city of Wilmington is closed, for example, then we are closed." Another business I worked for said in advance of adverse weather, "Listen to local radio station XYZ for closings. If we are open and feel it is not safe to reach work form your area, you may take an unscheduled vacation day at your discretion, but let your supervisor know."

Felicia,

Yes, when you view someone's full profile (click on their name in your Twitter timeline, and a mini profile view opens in the right column, then at the top click full profile). Their profile and recent tweets will fill the screen.

Then just below their profile image on the left there is a line of text options across the top of their tweet timeline. The one on the right is "Lists" - click the down arrow and you'll see lists by @username's, and lists @username follows. - that is the lists they have created themselves, plus the lists that other people creates, that they also decided to follow.

There is no guarantee that people use the lists they have created frequently, but I do. Nor how or why they use the list. However, lists can be great ways to find all sorts of interesting people on Twitter. I was looking to pitch a company in a certain industry to use twitter, and I found a related industry twitter account who had created a list of other accounts in the same industry - this list gave me a great resource to research before I made my pitch to the client prospect.

One other thing I like about lists, when you are considering following someone - the ratio of the number of followers they have to the number of lists they are on can be helpful.The higher the number of lists, the more individuals have considered their account useful, interesting or important enough to list them. If I see an account with 8,000 followers and is only on 15 lists - that tells me something may be not working real well there.

I also find it useful sometimes to look at the lists that OTHER people have put that person on. and what they called named the list. What lists people put them on often indicates the type of things they tweet about. To do this - on their profile page, in the upper right, next to the number of Followers they have, is Lists - and a number - if you click that - it will show you the names of the lists they are on (and the names of the people who put them on that list), you can even click the list to see who else is on it.

Judy, thanks for that great tip, and for including me on your list. Yes, following someone else's list can be a great way to save time - the folks on the list have already been vetted, as it were, by the list creator. I originally wrote this post in 2009 but realized I had given away some good content that could be useful to my own readers with the two guest posts I did, so I thought I should update this post, and add the links at the bottom. I still hear people say - I still haven't figured out lists.

Thanks for the comment, and for bobbing over from http:/Dannybrown.me he's got a lot of great content. I've actually found that the Headway theme to be more flexible for cosmetic changes than Thesis, but  they both have pros and cons. I need to get back to tweaking this site, I've been busy with client work and need to take some time on my own site. Maybe I need to treat myself like a client and schedule an appointment!

Not sure when you checked in, but I just posted a new "article" about using social media & blogging to turn client "cold calls" into warm ones...in case you missed it.

Cathy Larkin
www.WebSavvyPR.com />484-802-7576
Find me on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/CathyWebSavvyPR
Find me on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/cathylarkin

Thanks for all of the comments - and to @MerylKEvans -  know you've been busy, but we miss you on the chats. Your point about not dominating is one I should probably take to heart ;~)  sometimes I get overly enthusiastic on a subject!

Also, a #ChatTip from @GLHancock during #BlogChat that I missed: Thank the new followers you get from a chat. If they are lurkers, encourage them to join in the fun.

@markalves I like your transcript Idea as well. 

Cathy Larkin
www.WebSavvyPR.com
484-802-7576
Find me on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/CathyWebSavvyPR
Find me on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/cathylarkin

Thanks - my new post is about setting goals and strategy for you marketing & PR plans. I think it puts a foundation under any endeavor.

CASUDI - Thanks for your comment - I always hesitate when I write on of my longer posts, but I want to provide useful info, not just a light read. I might edit my post to add your word - foundation into it - it really does start long before you get to the frame.

I just see so many businesses pick up the next tool and try and use it - without either learning how first or without thinking the "why" through -not putting the strategy behind it to be effective.

I talked with a museum staff member last year (not a museum I worked for). I suggested she look into a specific site or "tool" & she said "don't tell my boss - every time he comes back from a meeting he says - we have to ...get on Twitter, or Facebook, or start a blog....or whatever it is he heard about." Obviously with no time for learning or training or strategy - and without looking at the effect on the staff - just adding things to their job, instead of integrating new tools into the existing strategy or rethinking the strategy.

Great post and good ideas for any conference you we are attending. Love your tips for connecting PR rep with your peeps. I also love your note about finally attending a social media-related party in a venue where you can talk. So often they are held in places with loud music where it is nearly impossible to hear. Good on the sponsor for finding the right venue - we may spend all day texting, FBing and tweeting, but when we are live and IRL (in real life) we DO actually want to talk, be able to listen and to be heard. Hope this trend continues!

Also very cool, and well-deserved that you made the blogworld2009 list of posts from around the blogosphere!