How many social media accounts do you have? Personally, I have six (Facebook for work, personal Facebook, Twitter for work, personal Twitter, LinkedIn and Yammer) and, in the past, have found it a nightmare to juggle them all. Recently, I started using a social media management application (Yoono) and it has made life a whole lot easier.

There are several social media management software applications out there – some great and some not – and they all have the same aim: to simplify the management of multiple social media accounts. The other added benefit of such applications are the fact that you can use them as a secure place to store all of your social media account usernames/logins and passwords and you can post updates across your various platforms simultaneously. In these time-poor times, this is a serious time-saver.

While none of the applications are totally perfect (this is not, however, a perfect world!) and each has their own flaws, they do make life a little easier and will save time.

But which application to choose? A lot depends on your own personal needs, what you wish to achieve via social media and the size or your business or organization. And whether you want a desktop application, browser add-on or a mobile app.

For a run-down of some of the social media management software application hard-hitters, check out this useful post by Matt Ferner for Practical Ecommerce.

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It’s staggeringly hard to believe that only 20 years ago hardly anybody had access to the internet. 20 years. It’s nothing in the grand schemes of things. In fact, when I started my first job straight after college (in 1997), I didn’t even have email (and this wasn’t some small, insignificant company – it was the BBC). Imagine life without the internet now. Impossible, eh?

But the usual rules of etiquette that govern and moderate everyday modes of social behavior are a long way off being commonplace on the internet. Not everybody knows the rules. In everyday life, we know not to eat with our mouths open, pick our noses or spit – but what about social networking manners? Does that person, who’s just sent me an entire email in block caps, know that a) reading it is making my eyes bleed b) it’s the written equivalent of like shouting c) it makes him look unhinged? Evidently not.

Netiquette

Social Media Enthusiast Jessica Malnik recently posted a series of blogs about the Seven Deadly Sins that people can make when using social networks. At last, some social networking rules (not quite set in stone but, hey, it’s better than nothing)…

Seven Deadly Twitter Sins

Seven Deadly Facebook Sins

Seven Deadly LinkedIn Sins

Seven Deadly Email Sins

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For most of us, the days of having all of our vitally important documents and files stowed safely away in a metal, fire-proof box (tucked away at the back of the wardrobe) are long gone. In these hi-tech times, we tend to have a wealth of important data floating around on the net – that would be a total disaster to lose.

But is there an online equivalent of the old-fashion metal, fire-proof box that can keep our online stuff safe?

Well, not really – but there is one way to safeguard your stuff:  Back It Up. It’s highly improbable that the internet will ever come crashing down (but remember the scaremongers peddling panic about the Y2K Millennium Bug?) but it’s not totally infallible either. And it’s always better to err on the side of caution and avoid the possible heartbreak of losing half a decade's worth of precious photos (like that poor guy who was the victim of a Flickr screw-up recently). Gulp.

Back it up! Here are two excellent blogs providing easy-to-follow, step-by-step guides on how to keep your stuff online safe:

Mashable’s Brenna Ehrlich explains how to back up your Facebook, Twitter, WordPress  and Tumblr accounts.

Softonic’s Elena Santos provides a guide on how to back up your Flickr photos.

Images: Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos