Some friends of mine have been busy for the last year building a cool new social app called Keepio. The social service is built around a simple but very useful idea: that human socialization isn’t just about communication, chatting, texting, etc. It’s also about the exchange of goods. And sharing information about goods.

So Keepio is a platform for keeping track of your own possessions, but also allows you to review things that you own for the benefit of others, and best of all it sets up a nifty structure for exchanging goods in a variety of ways: selling, trading, loaning, etc.

Ever loan a book and never get back? Keepio gives you what you need to keep track of the things you’ve loaned out so that you don’t forget. Ever want to sell something within your social circle and not have to deal with random people you don’t know on Craigslist? It’s these sort of things that Keepio tries to address.

My understanding is that Keepio is going to be adding a bunch of new features in the next two weeks, but still I recommend that you give the service a try and check back in a few weeks to see all the new bells and whistles.

Being a fairly reliable performer, more small businesses are planning to add to email spending and company website marketing than those who plan to cut costs in these channels. Meanwhile, podcasting and mobile advertising have 6% of respondents saying they’ll spend less on these formats, compared to only 2% who said they’ll spend more.

The percentage of small businesses who said they did not use various online marketing tactics was high. Well over one-third of respondents said they did not market using social networks, their own Website or even e-mail. Less than one-quarter used more tech-reliant tactics such as online video and mobile marketing.

Looking at the last column of the table, it’s apparent that many businesses are still not in the habit of utilizing online marketing techniques, and that adoption rates are quite varied. Perhaps unfamiliarity is a problem, as well as the need to stick to tried and tested formulas in a time when resources are becoming few and precious.

That’s why everyone should take the time to clean out their social networking accounts and using stricter privacy settings. Keep the not-so-wholesome party pictures to you and your friends. Watch what you say so you don’t get into trouble. It’s OK to be human and have fun with your profile, but try to exercise some caution.

On the other side of the coin, if you can take care of your Facebook account properly – appear professional and well-rounded – it can be the extra push your client needs to choose you as a business partner. I guess the rule of thumb is: before you put something on the Internet, if your name or face is on it, make sure it’s something you can be proud of.

Facebook example

I’m assuming most e

veryone reading this is familiar with the growing social networking site that is Facebook. com, so I won’t insult your intelligence with background info.

To the example: Facebook has recently offered free gifts that members can give to other friends. Normally, gifts cost like a buck to send to friends, so this free gift is something a lot of people are excited about. So recently, the free gift was the gift of a Sunkist can of pop.

Simply genius in my opinion.  Why if you haven’t figured it out yet?

• Facebooks creates value in a “nothing” or made up product by charging $1 for this profile eye candy.
• Facebook creates hype and excitement among its members by offering these sweet profile gifts for free.
• Facebook charges Sunkist bundles of money to offer its products as gifts for free.
• People give these gifts, and on basically everyone’s homepage in the entire Facebook network, there will be a news feed notifying them that one of their friends sent / received one of these Free gifts of Sunkist pop.

They’ve been at this for awhile, so this post is a little overdue.  Because I remember one case a couple months ago where a Dr. Pepper can was free.

But the lesson from this?  Find creative ways to create value in “nothings” and sell them or give them away (if ad supported). I hope to one day find a large real world application of this same concept. In the meanwhile, I will continue to give kudos to innovative thinkers like Facebook.

Just as other people can receive the latest news, or know of other freebies from companies such as Starbucks –you can keep in touch with your customers in much the same way. This personalizes business for you; you can update your clients about your vacation, if you’re going on spring break, or if you’re having a holiday sale. You can promote your blog, or tell them if you’ve sent an email or a newsletter to their inboxes.

Through this service, you can also use it to give updates about your product; any changes of price, supply, and other things. Clients appreciate it when you keep things as convenient as possible for them.

Technical difficulties on your website can be communicated to your entire client-base, cutting expectations if they’re to make a purchase online.

Twitter can also be used to find people to work with if you find a discussion that interests you. There are also those who will send you messages that say, “searching for something to do”; that would be a good time for you to catch up and hold a conversation.

It is also a good place to fish. You can find out what people are trying out and what the latest trends are. You’d be much less dependent on your newsreader because you hear all about the cool stuff on Twitter.

If you’re looking for something low cost and immediate, Twitter is an effective way to stay in touch at no cost to you.

If you have a YouTube account, please go here and subscribe.

Chris Garrett has written the ultimate guide to nailing this art. Read it and learn. Then bookmark it.

The central goal of every online business should be to create solid resources that get bookmarked and linked to.

As Userplane President Michael Jones said in an article, this use of “online, friend/associate-based networking will prove to be one of the most valuable business tools the internet has yet provided.”

With a wide database of users and user-friendly interfaces, online social networks are good for advertising and publicity. You just have to create a profile and place all the necessary information about your company for your potential network to see. It doesn’t have to be complex and lengthy – just include your business name, the industry you’re in, the current employers, a brief history, and links to your website and business partners, if any.

You can talk to anyone about your products or services, and let them try if they wish. Nonetheless, you don’t use your page to sell directly. You don’t send spam e-mails about your product and ask everyone to see and buy. Successful online networking involves making new friends and business connections or groups, not trying hard to widen customer base.

For a more formal and business tailored online networking, however, there are more than a couple of websites to choose from (e.g. www.linkedin.com, www.rize.com and www.tribe.net). These services are particularly geared towards hosting communication and referrals for professional purposes. Just like in social networking sites, they allow you to create a profile and invite friends to be part of an “inner circle” of business or personal colleagues. You then can use the system to seek “friends of friends” or business contacts of your friends.

It is very fun and easy to network online. With proper use, it can definitely be a powerful marketing tool.