2. I love @Gaiam's tweets. Just generally. They engage, listen to their community, post interesting stuff, aren't all douchnozzley (i.e., they don't seem like they're pushin' product), provide feedback & help when customers have questions. Awesome! Full disclosure: I won a kick-ass, $60 yoga mat from them through a Twitter contest. (Yay!) But I loved them before that.

3. A big change in the last year (and particularly the last half of last year) was simply people's engagement in social media. Everyone (individuals, organizations, companies) wanted to get all up in social media — and so in some ways it has become diluted, primarily because people want to use it but don't always know the best way to do so. But I don't view people's engagement as a bad thing…I think it's good. As soon as people become more comfortable in using it. And using it well. And to note Alex's point…Google Wave was…interesting. I think it will *become* a useful tool. And Google Buzz just pisses me off.

4. Twitter. Hands down. I have: won products/contest (see #2); been introduced to new businesses; met SO MANY AWESOME PEOPLE (you included!!!); had an extra (and fascinating) RSS feeder by way of my Twitter stream; learned a bit about being succinct (this response doesn't count ; and generally have just fallen in love with a fresh, diverse way to communicate w/ people.

5. Man. I don't know. Twitter will eventually phase out. Eventually. Might have to agree with @nicopolitan — AR.

1. How do you use social media, either personally or professionally? Are you working with a company that uses social media to build their brand? If so, what’s awesome about that? If you’re using social media purely as a personal tool, how are you using it? Self-promotion? Relationship-building?

I'm a stronger user of social media personally rather than professionally at the moment; I'm building an analytics consulting business and have plans to use a bifurcated approach of blog posts and twitter awareness to reveal insights to any audience willing to listen. In the meantime, I use a combination of facebook, twitter, and ancillary tools (like foursquare and hootsuite) to build a brand that is part stream-of-consciousness and part controlled, trying to judiciously assert the deposits of my brain to narrow, selected channels (facebook) or the whole world (twitter.) Above all else, the use of social media online has, in my estimation, arrived perfectly for me to be a self-employed, freelancing type of individual. I feel strongly connected conceptually, even in the midst of physical isolation. In this way, I am more focused, as I can control the flow of information, instead of feeling a daily draw to feed my social needs. By the way, I still go out!

2. Name a brand, campaign, or company that used social media in a way you thought was brilliant, engaging, or just downright interesting. Or completely flopped.

So far, Google is not able to translate their uber-success in organizing information into organizing social information. Buzz's adoption is lukewarm at best, few understand how Wave will improve their lives. This is surprising because Google is usually expert at boiling down complex information scenarios (like all the residue of one's network online) into easy-to-understand solutions. But they just can't seem to do it.

3. What do you think is the biggest change in the social media landscape in the last year? A new product? An acquisition? What has been the biggest change in YOUR use of social media?

The synergy between location-aware mobile devices and location-aware social services is starting to change things, and marketers will be mining this vastly interesting data in due time. For me, social media started to make a LOT more sense when I picked up an iPhone. Having a separate camera to document my life seems silly now, and it is truly a "document and share in real time" device.

4. What’s your favorite online social network or application?

I'd loved facebook for a long time (the hours I used to spend on it would validate this), but I am increasingly getting bored and causing brain dissonance to follow SO many people from various stops along my life's journey. For now, I dig hootsuite, because I can schedule tweets and updates for various accounts (personal, business, and nonprofits) and see streams contiguously in one place.

5. What do you think is the Next Big Thing?

Movement away from using computers at fixed places and fixed times. I think we're already heading there with devices like the iPhone.

So, for me, it's a connection. A connection to a faraway kid, closer-by newlyweds, adventurous brother, and nieces and nephews who are coming into their 'own'. It makes the world a smaller place……easier to contact, keep up with (grammatically, that's wrong..so what?…:) and share information/life/opinions with.

Twitter has been an incredible tool to connect and branch out from Facebook. By utilizing Twitter for broadcasting blog posts, I have increased my readership almost double of what it was prior to using Twitter. I've connected with multitudes of locals, including an awesome group of women bloggers and we've started a networking group for socializing, support and volunteer work. Twitter has also clued me in to local happenings that I would never know about otherwise- the South Mpls fire at Heidi's/Blackbird came to my knowledge through Twitter, and I watched it happen live because of that. By following local restaurants, stores and other community aspects of life, one can keep up with special events, and there is plenty of Twitter-only information and specials out there that I would never know otherwise.

Then there is Foursquare. It's interesting to see where my friends hang out, and so stinkin' cool when you get a FSQ update and find that one of your friends is right around the corner from where you happen to be! You can learn about places you may not think to go or explore a part of the city that you normally wouldn't go to by seeing what your friends are doing.

And in your whirlwind visit, will you be hanging with Pops and Ray Z. for the Syrah wine seminar? I will be there at Noon.

Hopefully this time next year I'll have more information on how I use it professionally =)

2. Interesting brand – Slowtwitch.com – they tweet out interesting endurance sports articles that I read during the day – not too frequent and always relevant to my life.

3. What do you think is the biggest change in the social media landscape in the last year? Definitely geo-location apps like foursquare have been all the rage – for good reason.

4. What’s your favorite online social network or application? Twitter – I've got the attention span of a goldfish and a shitload of things to do – give it to me in 140 characters, baby, or don't give it to me at all!

5. What do you think is the Next Big Thing? Geo-location is going to move beyond the "oh my god, people may stalk you and rob you" debate, and we will see meaningful data and social experiences as web apps start to use geo-location in a more sophisticated way. Oh, and I want some AR glasses that don't look like ski goggles! That would be cool – I see that getting big in about 5 years.

2. WTF is Google Wave? That one confused the hell out of me.

3. What has been the biggest change in YOUR use of social media? A new blog and Twitter.

4. TweetDeck. Keep it simple.

5. In social media… I have no idea. Teleportation. Because that way we can have Tweetups whenever we want. Instantly. For free. After the cost of the teleporter , of course.

Though I would like to respond to #5 — succinctly, "The Rise of Augmented Reality"

Yep, it's here. Google it if you don't believe me. And I, for one, am stoked.

Honestly though I find it a wee bit overwhelming sometimes to keep up with ALL OF IT (especially if you haven't enslaved yourself to an Iphone with 24/7 online access and availability).

I see how a social media profile might be able to help or hurt you in your professional life – so I'm a little bit "torn" in that regard.