We want to congratulate all of the Tahoe area Olympic athletes for their inspired performances in Vancouver!

Ever wonder why the Postal Service is struggling? There are many issues obviously, but the one that stands out the most is that the mail volume has dropped by 25 billion pieces in 2009. The USPS admits this is a 13% decrease. It doesn’t take a Finance major to figure out that when mail volumes drop, revenues follow.

Another perfect example of “be careful of what you write.” on social sites. This time it isn’t in relation to a spouse or employer, it is in relation to the law. Some police departments in small communities have started monitoring query search results for their small towns on Twitter to gain more insight into what is going on behind the scenes. If teens write about their plans to meet up at a local park to drink beer after hours, they might be surprised to see a patrol car roll by. Social media posts are there for the taking by people you may never think are there. Be careful of what you tweet!

I was unfortunate to break a bone in my foot that needed two screws 10 weeks ago. Today I was cleared to resume any activity of my choice including back country skiing. This is a full 6 weeks ahead of a “normal” schedule. I thank my doctor. The Lake Tahoe region is the orthopedic capital of the United States and maybe the world. To have a US Ski Team doctor treat me during this difficult time was reassuring if not motivating at the same time. Thank you Dr. Keith Swanson. An unfortunate situation can turn to fortune. Burn crutches, Burn!

I’ve been working with my super smart friend Mark Williams, the senior community manager at LiveWorld, on social media strategies for various clients. The more I research social media strategies, the more I realize how important it is to make a plan before you begin. I know it feels like, if you aren’t already in social media, that you are behind the game and need to get up & running stat. But resist the temptation to jump without a parachute. If you do not have a social media plan, you will not be able to maintain a consistent, branded presence online and you will lose fans & followers before you get up to speed. At a minimal, your social media plan should include your objectives for using social media, your strategies to reach those objectives, a posting/tweeting schedule (how often & who will do the posts), how you will handle feedback (both negative & positive), how you will measure success, and the general tone you will be using for each social channel. Using an outside agency, such as smith+jones, is a great idea to develop your initial social media plan, to get you started for a year or so, and to offer strategies in the future, but in the end, most of the communication to your community should be from your own staff. If your agency gives you a social media strategy without a plan on integrating your staff in the social media efforts, you might want to consider a new agency or at least request a new plan. Your staff give your business personality and help to build relationships with your customers. In the end, they should be your business voice. As my friend said, “Once you start social media, it’s really bad to stop.” Make certain you set it up so that your social media plan can be maintained year after year. Social media is here to stay and will only get more & more important as an interactive online marketing tool. Take the time to make a plan. Don’t get caught without a parachute.