I'm not going to lie – building your social empire takes time. It's a marathon and not sprint. But as with all things there are things you can do right and wrong. Why take the time to make the mistakes I've already made, when I can give you some quick tips to get you started!

Whether it's a sign of the times or just the expectation of the poor economy, talent seekers are looking for more from their prospects. Resumes of the past are now being replaced with videos, presentations, self-promotional websites and clever marketing to get noticed.

Fall (October) rollout Rumors & Discussion websites: http://iphone5world.net/ http://iphone5release.org/ http://www.iphone5specs.org/

I was hit with sound clarity in a discussion over the weekend that came to a crystal-clear resolution for me is that the United States of America is going to be in an never-ending conflict with factors beyond our control due to the advancement of social media, it's citizen journalism and the emotional weaknesses of its people. If you have a cell phone you have the power to enact great emotional upheaval. And dependent upon your view of chaos math, that content could even go as far as starting a war. And this does not come on a soapbox claiming innocence of this stance, I will outline thoroughly that I'm as/if not more guilty than you all.

So no surprise in the social world. The hottest invite to a beta launch this week is Google+. Google has finally stepped into the ring with Facebook to take on the social giant. Is it ready for prime time? Well that remains to be seen on a great many levels, but I'll say it's worth trying for sure. Google's tools are always very good, solid if you will. But the past has shown us a line of projects that never got the attention they deserved such as Google Wave and others. There's a great deal of discussion of whether or not much of that (Google Wave) technology might be repurposed in Google+ — yet another item that remains to be seen.

There are some critical decisions that needs to be made that can effectively make or break a rogue campaign before it even starts. Are you going to be transparent to your user that you're advertising, or not? They both have there pros and cons that break down very simply.

So while camping this weekend with my mother, partner and friends I learned a great deal about people, marketing and social connectivity. You would think that being "unplugged" is the curse of all curses for people like us, and that how could you possibly get anything tangible from twenty people sitting around a fire, falling into tents and comparing RV leveling tricks. But you can – in spades.

• Be fearless. • Ideas are just clouds. • Make your story bigger than life. • Don't be afraid to share any idea.

Clients will talk a good game about wanting to be cutting-edge with their thinking, how they want their new campaign to be something that people will remember and be 'award winning' but when it comes right down to it, most clients are too risk-adverse in a depleted economy to push the envelope because of fear--

That's right, with a bit of crowd-sourcing and a whole lotta' love we give you the 'awesome sauce' list. I'm sure there's a million things we missed, so consider this a conversation starter. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Here's a little list* that I complied of things that I think are not nearly as good as the past two (even three) decades. This is of course my opinion, but it's my blog so piss off. But seriously the "craft" of so many things has just failed us as a society, as we readily are willing to digest any crap because we're to lazy to make anything better

Here's an interesting article debating the likes of #EA and others regarding digital influence: http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/social-media-a-bad-measure-influence/227557/ - while well rounded, I must say to think that #SoMe is the (by no means) not the only measurement. Most current metrics are flawed to begin with as there's no defined standards and regulatory compliance. I practice #SoMe and don't hold nearly the stock in klout and other services as this article seems to portray. What are your thoughts?

Need some juice for that client that isn't certain that social media is for them? This deck is great resource for you. I've taken the time to vet out what I see as key points for me as a marketer and as an entrepreneur. I hope this gives you some great metrics:

Yesterday I had a great discussion with a client about social, often known as 'digital' influence. Social influence is a huge buzz term within our industry right now, as it seems to be skyrocketing as importance to marketers that are seeking people to purchase and more importantly talk about their affinity with said product to their network of friends, fans and followers. These people are seen as pure platinum.

Today I saw that the CDC put together a page for the zombie apocalypse. Even better, they give you the option to put banners on your blog or website. As many of you know I'm the zombie apocalypse, crazy conspiracy guy. I'm over the moon landing, (thank you very much Mythbusters) but I still say that we didn't kill Bin Laden and we have him tucked safely in basement somewhere with a car battery strapped to his testicles, and I'll sleep OK knowing that.

Starting something new is always exciting. Especially when it is something that you've built up from an idea and is just something you want to do. It has no client, no budget and no timeline, just passion. A while ago I wrote a post about why it seems that only people whoring up a book get credibility.