Special thanks to over 1,000 attendees that took part in the September 15th, 2010 international networking event.  We gathered SEVEN cities in THREE countries and TWO languages as they mingled to talk about new ways the industry is changing.

Spanish Tweets :)
@MauBarba: 127 asistentes en el #medialeaders de ayer en Barcelona y buen proceso de desvirtualización de muchos de vosotros..hasta otra!

II. Things we had to overcome – similar to corporations
a. You have to have three entities on board
i. Someone who understands “social media currency”
ii. Someone to technically put it together (incorporate FB on pages, for example)
iii. Support from management
b. Fear
i. Transcends age
ii. Lack of control of the message
iii. Scared of how they represent the company
c. Solution
i. Education – Train people on Twitter, how to use it and what the online community is like
ii. Communication about how to deal with feedback and questions

III. You have things up and running – how do you incorporate user generated content?
a. Just b/c you build it, doesn’t mean they will come
i. Sweet Leaf success
ii. Our first call out had no returns (we had no social media currency)
iii. Doesn’t mean you should stop
b. Examples of it working
i. Severe weather (it takes collaboration)
ii. ATXPlaneCrash – Have someone monitoring feeds
1. Why Flickr? – It increases your SEO when you put a link to the article in the captions
2. The power of Twitter search
3. Facebook search now allows you to mine updates for links and media, just like Twitter

IV. Where do we build from here?
a. Keep the site open – the key is having an editor
i. iReport on CNN
ii. CurrentTV

V. Bloggers have put themselves in positions as editors
a. While we have the responsibility to reach people where they are, bloggers need to connect with media people
b. The press release is not dead
c. SOCIAL MEDIA ENCHASES YOUR ABILITY TO CONNECT WITH TRADITIONAL MEDIA
d. Best way to connect is still through the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, why) – edit yourself
e. These collaborations are already taking shape
i. Example: ATX Fashion Week
ii. Now Austin = DO 512 + NBC

VI. In conclusion:
a. The new world is all about collaboration: Traditional media will survive by not only adopting, but collaboration with new media
b. Social media currency is about creating and sharing usable content (provide value)
c. And remember – we’re all having fun and figuring it out as we grow… and we’re tweeting the whole way through

Official RSVP Here

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING HOSTS @ THIS EVENT:
Amanda Del Balso, Account Manager, Google (@amandadelb)
Alexandra Paparsenos, Account Executive, Conover Tuttle Pace (@alexpaparsenos)
Joselin Mane, Founder, Boston Tweetup (@JoselinMane & @BostonTweetUp)
Kate Blanton, Tufts University Graduate Program (@22kbb)

SEE WHO’S ATTENDING (RSVP Here)

• Tina Adolfsson
  Job Title: President
  Company: Boston Women in Finance
  I work in:: I’m Unique

  ---

• Christina Ahn
  Job Title: Director of Marketing
  Company: Excursion
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @Christina_Ahn

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• Geoff Anderson
  Job Title: Online Media Trafficker
  Company: TechTarget.com
  I work in:: New Media/Production
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @GeoffAnder

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• Adaora Asala
  Job Title: Event Planner and Consultant
  Company: Spectra Speaks
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @spectraspeaks

  ---

• Andrew Bennett
  Job Title: Blogger/Photographer
  Company: BenSpark.com
  I work in:: New Media/Production
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @BenSpark

  ---

• Colleen Bradley-MacArthur
  Job Title: Regional Account Manager
  Company: Real Cool TV
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @RealCoolColleen

  ---

• Kara Brickman
  Job Title: Writer
  Company: CM
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders”)

  ---

• Sandra Camacho
  Job Title: Account Strategist
  Company: Google
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Patrick Campbell
  Job Title: Account Strategist
  Company: Google Inc.
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Casey Cheshire
  Job Title: Digital Marketing Manager
  Company: EF Tours
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @CaseyChesh

  ---

• Allison Coburn
  Job Title: Account Supervisor
  Company: Studiocom
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager

  ---

• Sarah Cortes PMP CISA
  Job Title: President
  Company: InmanTechnologyIT.com
  I work in:: Tech/IT
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @SarahCortes

  ---

• Karen Costa
  Job Title: Online Marketing Specialist
  Company: Compete.com
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @vanillabean45

  ---

• Jeff Cutler
  Job Title: Content Creator, Social Media Journalist
  Company: JeffCutler.com
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @jeffcutler

  ---

• Cody Damon
  Job Title: Social Media Director
  Company: Common Sense NMS
  I work in:: New Media/Production
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @codydamon

  ---

• Amelia DeCesare
  Job Title: Assistant Account Executive
  Company: Corporate Ink
  I work in:: Public Relations
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @AmeliaDeCesare

  ---

• Amanda Del Balso
  Job Title: Account Executive
  Company: Google, Inc.
  I work in:: Online Sales
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @amandadelb

  ---

• Melissa Dowler
  Job Title: VP Account Management
  Company: Small Army
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @melissadowler

  ---

• Cait Downey
  Job Title: Social Media Marketing
  Company: Discovery Communications Group
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @marketcait

  ---

• Trish Gillis
  Job Title: Principal
  Company: Gillis Marketing
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @trishgillis

  ---

• David Ginsburg
  Job Title: Chief Strategist/Managing Partner
  Company: Hector’s Solutions
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @davidginsburg

  ---

• Kelsey Graham
  Job Title: New Business Coordinator
  Company: Small Army
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @kelseylgraham

  ---

• Tara Greco
  Job Title: Senior Executive Producer
  Company: Black Screen Studios
  I work in:: New Media/Production
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @greco

  ---

• Ben Green
  Job Title: New Media Guru
  Company: STR / CMI
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @therealbengreen

  ---

• Sonie Guseh
  Job Title: Account Manager
  Company: Google
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Yarimee Gutierrez
  Job Title: Quality Coach
  Company: Blue Cross and Blue Shield
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @idaliapoetry

  ---

• Kristen Haley
  Job Title: Social Media Producer
  Company: x10i
  I work in:: New Media/Production
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders”)

  ---

• Kristen Haley’s +1
  Job Title: Social Media Producer
  Company: x10i
  I work in:: New Media/Production
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders”)

  ---

• Armand Hershowitz
  Job Title: Sales Associate
  Company: Google
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Jamie Herther
  Job Title: Account Manager, Online Sales
  Company: Google, Inc.
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Chris Howe
  Job Title: Account Executive
  Company: Clear Channel Outdoor
  I work in:: I’m Unique

  ---

• Sean Hyland
  Job Title: Associate Analyst
  Company: Lytiks
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @sphyland

  ---

• Annie Jean-Baptiste
  Job Title: Account Manager- Online Sales
  Company: Google
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Alexis Karlin
  Job Title: Digital marketing specialist
  Company: Neolane, Inc.
  I work in:: Tech/IT
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @neolane

  ---

• Annmarie Latta
  Job Title: Account Manager
  Company: McNeil, Gray & Rice
  I work in:: Public Relations
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @ALatta

  ---

• Nelly Liu
  Job Title: SEO Analyst
  Company: Cirrus Media
  I work in:: New Media/Production

  ---

• Joe Maiella Maiella
  Job Title: VP, Sales
  Company: Media Services
  I work in:: New Media/Production

  ---

• Joselin Mane
  Job Title: Founder
  Company: BostonTweetUp
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders”)

  ---

• Steve McAveeney
  Job Title: Chief Marketing Officer
  Company: Autotegrity–SmartAutoSavings.com
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager

  ---

• Jennifer Minko
  Job Title: Marketing Programs Manager
  Company: Neolane, Inc
  I work in:: I’m Unique

  ---

• Desmond Mitchell
  Job Title: Account Manager
  Company: Google
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Rohit Mojumder
  Job Title: SEM Analyst
  Company: Autotegrity Inc
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Courtney morse
  Job Title: Account Supervisor
  Company: Fidelity Communications & Advertising
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager

  ---

• Alex O’Connell
  Job Title: Strategic Act Manager
  Company: AOL
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Josh Ochs
  Job Title: Founder
  Company: Media Leaders
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @medialeaders

  ---

• Alexandra Paparsenos
  Job Title: Account Executive
  Company: Conover Tuttle Pace
  I work in:: Public Relations
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @AlexPaparsenos

  ---

• Ali Powell
  Job Title: Business Development
  Company: HubSpot
  I work in:: Tech/IT

  ---

• Kimberly Reisman
  Job Title: Student
  Company: Tufts University
  I work in:: I’m Unique

  ---

• Chris Rohland
  Job Title: Regional Director of Sales
  Company: Buywithme Inc.
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @crohland

  ---

• Merry Rutrick
  Job Title: x
  Company: x
  I work in:: Public Relations

  ---

• Jennifer Ryan
  Job Title: Marketing Manager
  Company: The Northbridge Companies
  I work in:: I’m Unique

  ---

• Greg Schrank
  Job Title: SEO Analyst
  Company: Cirrus Media
  I work in:: New Media/Production

  ---

• Jennifer Scott
  Job Title: Digital Communications Manager
  Company: PerkStreet Financial
  I work in:: New Media/Production
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @perkstreet, @jennalyns

  ---

• Josh Thomas
  Job Title: Founder
  Company: Excursion
  I work in:: Ad Agency/Media Manager
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @excursionboston

  ---

• Dana Traub
  Job Title: Student
  Company: Tufts University
  I work in:: I’m Unique

  ---

• Laura Troyani
  Job Title: VP, Marketing & Biz Dev
  Company: Plummelo
  I work in:: Tech/IT
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @troyani

  ---

• Anna Tustison
  Job Title: MBA Student – Marketing
  Company: Boston College
  I work in:: I’m Unique

  ---

• Leah Volger
  Job Title: Account Strategist
  Company: Google
  I work in:: Online Sales

  ---

• Jenna Walker
  Job Title: Marketing Manager
  Company: PerkStreet Financial
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @jennawalker2

  ---

• Andrea Wasik
  Job Title: President
  Company: Cirrus Media
  I work in:: New Media/Production

  ---

• David Wells
  Job Title: Founder
  Company: Socialize Your Cause
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @DavidWells

  ---

• Qifan Weng
  Job Title: Student
  Company: Emerson College
  I work in:: Public Relations
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @colorfulray

  ---

• William Widugiris III
  Job Title: Principal at WW3Communications
  Company: WW3Communications
  I work in:: New Media/Production
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @ww3

  ---

• Larry Yu
  Job Title: President
  Company: Meritage Media LLC
  I work in:: I’m Unique
  Your Full Twitter Link (Example: “@MediaLeaders“): @laryu

Did you know your tweets can be worth $5?

Grab a free early-bird ticket or save $5 on your rsvp here

Tag yourself in the Facebook Pictures Here

Thank you to the over 600 attendees that RSVP’ed for the third MediaLeaders nationwide event on April 6th, 2010. Your peers gathered from Vancouver, Boston, Chicago, Raleigh, and Los Angeles.  You brought your business cards and mingled with influencers passionate about changing the way the industry works.

AWARD FOR BEST SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY: RALEIGH

Raleigh Dominates The MediaLeaders Tweet Contest

Congrats AGAIN to Raleigh, NC for winning the MediaLeaders Tweet Contest and producing an outstanding amount of twitter and facebook chatter around the MediaLeaders events. Raleigh beat all other cities by a LANDSLIDE in the Tweet Contest that measured how many #MediaLeaders and #Raleigh hashtags were posted together in one tweet.  They once again domainated the landscape and showed the whole nation that what counts is not the size of the city in the competition, it’s the size of the competition in the city…

Sample tweets from the event:
@amymwallace said: “Good turnout for #MediaLeaders #Raleigh! I am loving the rasp. wheat beer (@ Isaac Hunters w/ 4 others)”
@1918 said: “I’ll be bringing my iPad to #Raleigh #MediaLeaders for you late adopters”

Join the Raleigh facebook group here

AWARD FOR NEWEST CITY: VANCOUVER

Congrats to our newest city, Vancouver, BC. Although they are the newest city on the MediaLeaders map, they came out with a whopping 237 tweets to grab second place in the Tweet Contest.  We’re excited for this new addition to the group!

Sample tweets from the event:
@nburgwin said: “when the GM of The @GranvilleRoom said, ‘you’re reaching capacity’ – we knew it was a success!”
@Fairlite said: “loving the #medialeaders event!! thanks #vancouver for the amazing turnout!”
@dennispang said: “Skipping accounting class for the #MediaLeaders #Vancouver event. It could easily be the best choice I’ve made this week”

Join the Vancouver facebook group here

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Tag your friends in the facebook photos here

Thank you to the over 1,200 attendees that RSVP’ed for the first ever MediaLeaders nationwide event on January 26th, 2010. Your peers gathered from NYC, Raleigh, Austin, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.  You brought your business cards and mingled with influencers passionate about changing the way the industry works.

We learned a lot from this set of events.  Here are some highlights that we have divided into awards.

AWARD FOR BEST SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY: RALEIGH

Congrats to our newest city, Raleigh, NC. In just FOUR hours the Raleigh community pushed over 55 retweets and accumulated over 100 RSVP’s on the main website. Even now, after three weeks, the Raleigh Media Leaders page has been retweeted over 140 times and it has received a Topsy “Top 5K” badge. This is an unprecedented outcome and Raleigh memebers proved to be the most viral out of the national group (That’s right LA, SF and NYC, they beat you BIG TIME…)

AWARD FOR BEST ATTENDANCE: LA

This award is granted to Los Angeles. With over 250 RSVP’s on the guest list, not even afternoon rain could keep the Angelinos from packing the Venice Beach location. Attendees were mingling and trading business cards in all sorts of the bars nooks and crannies while chatting up mobile applications and blogging technologies.

AWARD FOR BEST VOLUNTEERS: BOSTON

Congrats to Boston who printed their own brochures/flyers to greet their guests as they entered the venue. Their creativity and ambition made everyone ask for a date when they could volunteer for the next event.

AWARD FOR BEST LEADERSHIP: AUSTIN

Congrats to the Austin team who successfully led the troops and gathered an impressive lineup of followers. Keep the momentum, you might be our headquarters city for the next event during SXSW.

AWARD FOR BEST VIEW: CHICAGO

Congrats to Chicago who had the best view of the surrounding cityscape. They packed the 33rd floor of the W-Hotel Whiskey Sky Bar and mingled with other professionals till the wee hours of the night.

AWARD FOR MOST LAST MINUTE RSVP’s: SF

Congratulations to San Francisco members who were spreading the word last minute and managed to grab an additional 50 attendees in the last few hours.

Here’s some stats for all you geeks out there:

• This event gathered over 870 mentions of the #medialeaders hashtags over the past 7 days (That’s almost 124 mentions/day)
• Over 274 contributors helped spread the word on twitter
• Over 75% of the retweets were LOCATION TARGETED (They used a city specific tag #raleigh #la #chicago #boston #austin #nyc #sf)

Check out the facebook events all happening at the same time:

This event uses these twitter hashtags: #MediaLeaders #Boston

Bring your business cards to take part in a cutting edge junction of leaders in PR, media, marketing, advertising and tech while discussing current events and new ideas. We are a group of influencers that come together to exchange and thrive on meeting new people and making lasting connections.
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EVENT DETAILS:

Where: City-Bar Boston @ The Lenox
61 Exeter Street (at Boylston)
Boston, MA 02116
When: Tues. Jan 26th @7-10PM
Who: See who’s attending
RSVP on Facebook (Optional)
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RSVP HERE: (Mobile friendly)

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LEARN HOW TO INVITE FRIENDS TO THE EVENT [VIDEO](RSVP Here)

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Republished from the brilliant Guy Kawasaki.

Searching for a job can suck if you constrain yourself to the typical tools such as online jobs boards, trade publications, CraigsList, and networking with only your close friends. In these kinds of times, you need to use all the weapons that you can, and one that many people don’t—or at least don’t use to the fullest extent, is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has over thirty-five million members in over 140 industries. Most of them are adults, employed, and not looking to post something on your Wall or date you. Executives from all the Fortune 500 companies are on LinkedIn. Most have disclosed what they do, where they work now, and where they’ve worked in the past. Talk about a target-rich environment, and the service is free.

Here are ten tips to help use LinkedIn to find a job. If you know someone who’s looking for a job, forward them these tips along with an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Before trying these tips, make sure you’ve filled out your profile and added at least twenty connections

1. Get the word out. Tell your network that you’re looking for a new position because a job search these days requires the “law of big numbers” There is no stigma that you’re looking right now, so the more people who know you’re looking, the more likely you’ll find a job. Recently, LinkedIn added “status updates” which you can use to let your network know about your newly emancipated status.

2. Get LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues. A strong recommendation from your manager highlights your strengths and shows that you were a valued employee. This is especially helpful if you were recently laid off, and there is no better time to ask for this than when your manager is feeling bad because she laid you off. If you were a manager yourself, recommendations from your employees can also highlight leadership qualities.

3. Find out where people with your backgrounds are working. Find companies that employ people like you by doing an advanced search for people in your area who have your skills. For example, if you’re a web developer in Seattle, search profiles in your zip code using keywords with your skills (for example, JavaScript, XHTML, Ruby on Rails) to see which companies employ people like you.

4. Find out where people at a company came from. LinkedIn “Company Profiles” show the career path of people before they began work there. This is very useful data to figure out what a company is looking for in new hires. For example, Microsoft employees worked at Hewlett-Packard and Oracle.

5. Find out where people from a company go next. LinkedIn’s “Company Profiles” also tell you where people go after leaving the company. You can use this to track where people go after leaving your company as well as employees of other companies in your sector. (You could make the case that this feature also enables to figure out which companies to avoid, but I digress.)

6. Check if a company is still hiring. Company pages on LinkedIn include a section called “New Hires” that lists people who have recently joined the company. If you have real chutzpah, you can ask these new hires how they got their new job. At the very least you can examine their backgrounds to surmise what made them attractive to the new employer.

7. Get to the hiring manager. LinkedIn’s job search engine allows you to search for any kind of job you want. However, when you view the results, pay close attention to the ones that you’re no more than two degrees away from. This means that you know someone who knows the person that posted the job—it can’t get much better than that. (Power tip: two degrees is about the limit for getting to hiring managers. I never help friends of friends of friends.) Another way to find companies that you have ties to is by looking at the “Companies in Your Network” section on LinkedIn’s Job Search page.

8. Get to the right HR person. The best case is getting to the hiring manager via someone who knows him, but if that isn’t possible you can still use LinkedIn to find someone inside the company to walk your resume to the hiring manager or HR department. When someone receives a resume from a coworker even if she doesn’t know the coworker, she almost always pays attention to it.

9. Find out the secret job requirements. Job listings rarely spell out entirely or exactly what a hiring manager is seeking. Find a connection at the company who can get the inside scoop on what really matters for the job. You can do this by searching for the company name; the results will show you who in your network connects you to the company. If you don’t have an inside connection, look at profiles of the people who work at the company to get an idea of their backgrounds and important skills.

10. Find startups to join. Maybe this recession is God telling you it’s time to try a startup. But great startups are hard to find. Play around with LinkedIn’s advanced search engine using “startup” or “stealth” in the keyword or company field. You can also narrow by industry (for example, startups in the Web 2.0, wireless, or biotech sectors). If large companies can’t offer “job security,” open up your search to include startups.

11. Build your network before you need it. As a last tip, no matter how the economy or your career is doing, having a strong network is a good form of job security. Don’t wait until times are tough to nurture your network. The key to networking (or “schmozing”), however, is filled with counter-intuitiveness. First, it’s not who you know—it’s who knows of you. Second, Great schmoozers are not thinking “What can this person do for me?” To the contrary, they are thinking, “What can I do for this person?” For more on schmoozing, read “The Art of Schmoozing.”

By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Job-seeking in this 21st century recession may just have gone viral and mobile.

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, about 6.7 million workers have been laid off according to latest statistics — at a time the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have exploded, drawing millions of users per day.

As these sites continue to alter social and cultural landscapes, they are also transforming the job search process, enabling more and more people to connect with potential employers, promote their own skills, set up support groups and search for job leads and contacts.

“Mobile technology and social networking has shifted the whole job search paradigm,” said Susan Joyce, editor of Job-Hunt.Org, a site offering online job search tips. “You don’t need to stay glued to your phone or computer at home anymore.”

With mobile devices playing a bigger role in the social networking phenomenon, any job hopeful with a Web-connected or smartphone can now compose resumes, view job listings and contact prospective employers on the go.

Joyce suggests creating a resume through popular networking site LinkedIn — a business networking site that lets users create a profile, list skills, work history, employment goals and contact details — is among the more secure ways to compile a resume online.

It can be done via Research in Motion Ltd’s Blackberry device or Apple Inc’s iPhone, she added.

“The LinkedIn Profile is really the resume of the future,” Joyce said. “The ‘resume’ on LinkedIn is really the standard LinkedIn Profile, but it’s very popular with recruiters looking for good candidates.

“You could build your whole LinkedIn presence from any Web-enabled phone.”

There are any number of job-search applications — downloadable programs for your phone — available for the iPhone, for instance, including one piloted by recruitment consultancy Harvey Nash. Others pool information on jobs in travel and in education, among other sectors.

GETTING CREATIVE

With jobs still scarce, many hopefuls are getting creative about getting noticed. Many have begun using Twitter — a microblogging service that allows users to send 140-character messages at a time — to get the word out.

A career is unlikely to be launched on Twitter alone, but candidates are increasingly “tweeting” or posting messages to outline their skills, experiences and career goals. They are pasting links to their resumes on the micro-blogging service.

People can also use Twitter to follow recruiters or companies of interest and learn of networking events.

Job seekers have gotten job leads and tips on networking events that they otherwise would have missed, had it not been for their Twitter or Facebook account.

“It’s really helped in these hard times. You have a much easier time finding job and networking events. And every time I go to one of these events, I add at least one connection,” said Nilo Sarraf, who was laid off from Yahoo Inc recently and formed a Silicon Valley online networking group called Layoffs Cafe at www.meetup.com/Layoffs-cafe/.

Layoffs Cafe is one of several online support groups that have sprung up during the downturn, tipping off job seekers where physical networking events are taking place.

Chris Hutchins, a former management and business strategy consultant in Silicon Valley, launched LaidOffCamp as the online component to offline events.

“We focus on organizing events for people who are unemployed,” said Hutchins, noting there have been about 11 “LaidOff Camps” set up around the country, drawing anywhere from 100 to 600 participants who attend panels on topics such as how to live on a budget, how to develop a personal brand and how to find a job in the current market.

“We spent no dollars on marketing. If it weren’t for social media and blogs, Laidoff Camp wouldn’t exist,” he said.

While candidates these days are taking advantage of to easily access job information, one of the downsides, according to job seekers and employment experts, is managing the data.

“It can be overwhelming. It’s hard to weed out all the information and manage your time,” said Sarraf.

Privacy issues and falling prey to the many recruiting, work-at-home, make-a-million and resume creation software scams are also risks for the unwary.

“When someone is job hunting, they need to be careful. I know a lot of people who have been hurt by bogus resume companies. People tend to think if its online, its legitimate and when you’re doing a resume, people are being asked to provide a lot of personal information, such as where you live and your social security number,” she added.

(Reporting by Sue Zeidler; editing by Edwin Chan and Andre Grenon)

SPECIAL UPDATE: Check out our event called: “How to ace your interview” on October 10th in Los Angeles