I took the day off, so of course my mind relaxed enough to think about stuff other than social media methodologies. I found my way to Barnes & Noble and picked up the book “Crops from Pots.” Last year I experimented with growing herbs so this Spring I’m taking it up a notch with actual vegies.

It strikes me that given the all-consuming nature of social, people who spend their careers doing it find balance by choosing non-technology hobbies.

Let’s test that hypothesis.

If your professional life is social media, write in the comments below what your hobby is. Did it arise AFTER you started in social? Was it a conscious choice given all your screen time?

Folks, we’re looking to hire a couple social media managers here at Burson, so if you or someone you know grooves on corporate, financial or B2B social, drop me a line! :)

Here’s the full job description.

Here’s a sneak peak at what we’re up to:

I’m watching Steve Case get interviewed by Colbert.  Riding a wave of nostalgia, I found this screen shot from my first online experience: Prodigy in 1992.

You had to buy the software back then.  No CDs in your mailbox.  Those 5.25 disks cost $50!  Then you paid $20/month for dial-up access at 2400 baud.  That’s right…I didn’t get up to 14.4 for another four years.  Oh, and if you wanted to send more than 30 emails a month, you paid $0.25/message.  But who in their right mind could write 30 letters in a month!  It was never a problem.

Looking back, Prodigy played a critical role in my life and career. I had never liked “the news.”  It was something boring for grownups.  But news was pretty much the only content on Prodigy back then, so the first time I logged on, I saw stories covering business, politics and entertainment.  The interface was so cool I put up with the irrelevant words on the screen.

I felt a big ‘ole ZAP.  I realized what I was reading had been written by someone on the other side of the planet.  It was like I was there, but I was in my living room.  Far away, but right here.  The experience got me hooked on the news, hooked on the world, and hooked on that feeling of connecting to it.

I feel the same way today whenever I exchange ideas with one of you, or with someone new who is far, far away.

So thanks, Prodigy.

I’d be delighted to hear the story of the first time YOU connected online.

It’s chinese food & movie day at the Rosen household, so basically I’m spending a lot of time on io9. It’s there that I found this gem of a marketing stunt for the new Star Wars MMOG.  I’ve watched it five times already, and while it’s not B2B, sometimes you just have to admire what our consumer cousins pull off every now and again. Enjoy, and if you celebrate Christmas, I wish you a very merry one!

If you’ve got a crisis breaking and the Twitter traffic seems low, it might be some of the data isn’t coming through.  You can check out the API status of the search function here.  (Of course this would also work any time you think the real-time monitoring is a bit off.)

If any Twitter API wonks want to share their insights/experience with this tool, please add your thoughts to the comments below.

“Infographic” may be the social media word of year, but as the use of the tool has grown, so too has its definition been stretched. Some have turned them into awesome mini instruction manuals.  Others — and I’m not rude enough to link here — are just swirly lines pointing to stats.

In terms of best practice, my favorite is the one below from Marketo. Just look at all the useful info crammed in.  See how 20 tactics are displayed via semi-circles?  And the part below where each channel’s logo is shaded in proportion to its usage? Sweet.

So go forth an infograph.  Just keep it more “info” than “graphic.”

(Tip of the hat to @RandiKopp for finding the examples here).