The latest Digital Dialogue column for Public Relations Tactics, a publication from the Public Relations Society of America, is available in the November print edition and here online. It’s in PDF format this month, as I believe PRSA is ironing out how my column will post to their freshly redesigned Web site. (They did a nice job by the way.) So hopefully the comment function will return next month for the articles going forward.

I spent some time thinking about the plethora of interesting social media channels that are available, most freely, for our potential use as communicators. I believe it is healthy to give these – the ones you use and those you might want to – a good checkup every once in a while. This is similar to how an organization’s IT department might evaluate their technology vendors. You look at things like existing functionality, planned enhancements and also the financial viability of the social media providers themselves — are they going to be around after you commit to using them to support specific communication tactics for example. Anyway, I’m spoiling the fun. Give it a read and please share any thoughts you may have to build upon this.

My latest Digital Dialogue column for PRSA’s PR Tactics journal appears online and in the April print edition. “Using social bookmarks: Share knowledge, create awareness” discusses the value of social bookmarking sites such as Delicious or Diigo to collect and organize Web information and share it with others. I think the power of bookmarking is often overshadowed by social networking mainstays like Facebook and Twitter.

What’s great about bookmarking is that it can thread through and support many online communications that a business or brand may use. The inter “linking” work that bookmarking sites do can naturally position them in the background of Facebook, Twitter and the larger online communities. Although, they too are communities in their own right with capabilities for one bookmark user to link with or friend hundreds or even thousands of others. The concept when embraced and maintained by companies can generate big time awareness and goodwill, as well as a network or channel available to broadcast future messages.

The article expands on the topic and intends to help along conversations about how communicators can take better advantage of bookmarking.

My thanks this month to the Public Relations Society of America’s editorial staff, and also to Paul Greenberg for introducing me to Diigo. As an author and highly sought out CRM and social networking speaker, Paul knows a thing or two about prescribing the right tools.

I’ve bookmarked a few “101″ style videos at www.diigo.com/list/ryanzuk and have included a classic on the subject here.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x66lV7GOcNU]