We have a lot of questions about Twitter and how it can be good for business. Twitter has obviously been getting the same questions and have launched this site to help.

Robert Gerrish of Flying Solo interview me on Cloud Computing recently - one of my many web pet topics. We're big fans of web-based software here at zfweb and we've found some great business solutions for our clients over the years too.

When I started my business, one of my first mentors said to me “Make sure the business isn’t about you.” He advised getting a good team together, creating systems and growing a brand that wasn’t about Zoe Freeman Web Design. Michael Gerber of E-myth fame would agree with him.

I’ve spent a lot of time and energy over the years getting to this point but now can’t help but observe that Social Networking is making it tougher for me to market my business without marketing myself. The nature of social media in the business realm is such that it requires a face to which others can relate. The anonimity of a nameless, faceless logo doesn't utlilise the full impact that be created by these mediums.  People want to see who is writing a tweat or blog posting in  for it to take on greater meaning.

This realisation recently culmintated in the very real need to have a corporate photo taken. It wasn’t taken for a glossy brochure. I needed something decent for my corporate Facebook, Linked-in and Twitter accounts, not to mention the business groups of which I’m a member. That photo is now part of our marketing collateral and brand.

It’s tough for us card-carrying web geeks. Working at home and having clients come through my house doesn’t bother me at all, but an intrusion on my personal web time is harder to bear.

As a result I set-up a “corporate” Facebook profile. It allows me to be friends with clients if they request it. I keep ex-colleagues on this profile in case I’m looking for staff or advice. I use it to promote events and post links. It allows me to keep the line between my personal and private life as separate as possible. Party pics and clients are just not a good mix.

Twitter I keep solely professional. I use it to promote our client’s press, blog posts and competitions. I try to ask salient questions or at least provide a tip occasionally that might help others.

We also now have a kitchen computer. It’s got a generic login and no email set-up on it. It’s there to look up recipes, find out What’s on the TV and to settle arguments with my partner over who was in what movie.

Of course the reality is that technology is not to blame for the blurring. Even without the web, I still work at home, have friends and family on my client list and most of all, take my business very personally. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My article in the Australian Business Women's Network was published yesterday:

Click here to read it now!