First it was the YouTube channel,  then the Facebook page and now the Confession App – The Roman Catholic Church really is attempting to move with the times and embrace social media.

The App takes ‘sinners’ through the sacramental process of confession and asks a number of questions, including ‘have you ever wished evil on another person?’ (Have you ever heard of Jedward? Then of course I have)

It then suggests an act of contrition to absolve your sins, all with one tap of my iPhone, brilliant!

Not intended as a substitute to actually going in to church, but as a tool to encourage people to pursue their faith through the various digital technologies. It seems that even the most traditional of establishments is realising that if you want to keep in contact with your wider audience and connect with new people, it is essential to create online as well as offline engagement.

Fancy a ‘holy’ weekend? Confession: A Roman Catholic App costs £1.19  and is available from iTunes now.

Today, as well as those awful pictures of you from Saturday night, and your niece’s christening photos, you’ll be able to check out the Queen’s holiday snaps and official portraits.

In an historic move ‘The British Monarchy’ has launched a flickr account, the papers have reported it with a mixture of awe and amusement and it really is a good diversion for ten minutes or so.

The Queen really is ‘down with the kids’, she has a youtube channel and she tweets; except of course she doesn’t. Usually we’d recommend that social profiles for individuals are managed by that individual, with a little help of course. But I don’t think any of us really believe that the Queen would have the time to get out her iPhone  at state dinners and tweet her thoughts.

It would seem that it depends what your starting point is: if you’re Jordan people already know so much about you that your twitter feed is going to have to be pretty salacious to keep followers, if you’re The Queen then releasing some archive photos of royal engagements is enough to keep the media and the public happy.

The Telegraph today reports in their job section that “companies are checking social networking sites before deciding whether to hire” .

OK – so this isn’t news to the social media savvy (in fact the apprentice candidates FB profiles proved much more enlightening than their CVs!), but worldwide research unveiled today by DDI, has put some hard stats behind interview habits.

1 in 4 interviewers checked social networking sites to find additional information and, although us Brits are doing it slightly less than many of our US and European cousins, DDI reckons that social networks will increasingly influence interview processes.

So – with the social media landscape offering the potential to win you/loose you that all important foot in the door, what should the savvy job hunter be doing . . .

First stage – recognise that everything that’s written about you in the public space is your reputation. If you have a Facebook page that you don’t want to share with potential employers – lock it down. If there’s material on Bebo you wouldn’t want to share – take it off. It’s really not rocket science.

Now let’s get proactive. If you aren’t using business social network LinkedIn then create an account. Put care and attention into creating your profile – and, just like your CV watch out for spelling/grammar errors. Use the platform to ask insightful questions to people who are already in the industry and don’t be afraid to respond to the questions posed by others – so long as you have something relevant to say.

Create a Twitter account, find people to follow within your industry or the target organisation you’re applying to and see what you can learn about the culture of the business. If they ask a question, respond to them using @. If they are talking about industry events to attend – go! (NB: please do not let this turn into a Twitter stalking session or you’ll be blocked!)

With time and commitment on your side, you could look at turning social media tools to your advantage, showcasing your talents with an insightful blog/flikr album, spreading your own message through interesting comments and links on other sites.

And for those feeling even more adventurous, use one of the many broadcast channels to produce your own show reel – either demonstrating some of your work or alternatively as a talking head to pitch for the interview.

As a digital evangelist, I know how influential social media is on brand reputations and yet i’m continually surprised that people don’t realise the effect it can have on their own personal life/career progress.

So, although this isn’t new news for us – hopefully the Telegraph/DDI will make people think twice about what they add to their social profiles when they know the boss, or perhaps the new boss, is watching.

This morning the Telegraph carries a feature about how “old people” (their words not mine) are increasingly signing up to social networking sites because they fear being left out.

The writer identifies, in his own time, that the internet may well be the future of communication. He’s worried that he might miss out on party invitations, jobs and vital conversations by not being present.

The article namedrops “Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Myspace and LinkedIn”. I’m sure we’ve mentioned this before, but just to reiterate for the benefit of the oldies – when choosing to join a social media community, relevance is key.

Unless your granddad is starting an Indie band there’s very little point in him being on MySpace.

On the other hand Facebook, with its world domination, will facilitate finding old school friends, sharing pictures of the grandchildren or keeping an eye on his son’s gap year and business networking sites like LinkedIn have clear professional applications.

The article fails to mention networks aimed specifically at the over 50s, like sagazone and eons. These claim to have a simpler more intuitive design and with applications such as daily crosswords and trivia are specifically targeted at silver surfers.

Twitter is an interesting one, it’s simpler to set up and to use than the others but does require a certain level of commitment. Personally I think it would be quite nice to follow my parents on Twitter; I’m sure ‘dad is mowing the lawn’ or ‘mum is making apple crumble’ would cheer me up on a Monday
morning.

The first in an occasional series of things found whilst surfing t’interweb.

If you stumble across anything you’d like to share – let us know

Ross is forever telling me he loves technology, not for itself but for what it can do.

New and exciting developments happen every hour of everyday. But this week, I’ve really seen what Ross has been talking about as I’ve fallen back in love with YouTube. (RB: She always usually comes round to my way of thinking eventually).

Founded in February 2005 and only launched to the public two years ago, YouTube is the place to watch and share videos, empowering regular people to become the broadcasters of the future.

All well and good, but when everything else is going HD, what can low-quality video footage do for you?

YouTube is emotive entertainment at its best. A platform, that can deliver an emotional engagement between you and your target consumer. Along with a chance to learn what’s important to your publics, without shelling out for an expensive focus group.

But before rushing in with a corporate video of the chief exec talking about new product development or the latest antics of his cat, think about who you want to watch it and what they want to see.

In short, start with your public, create something they’ll love that fits comfortably with your brand and then work really hard to bring it to their attention.

As for me, this week my love of YouTube has been much more personal. My sister turned 30, so I produced a video of her growing up and uploaded it to YouTube for all the O’Grady clan to see.

I’d share it with you but on this occasion, my target public are my family and I don’t think my sister would thank me!

Saddest story this week is the teacher in Stockport suspended after pupils found a spoof promo film she did for Scruffs Workwear on YouTube. At the time, the teacher was working as a model.

The story grabbed headlines across the nationals, got people talking on TV and radio – and was picked up on countless blogs and social sites.

Skeletons in closets used to stay there but today the internet keeps them walking among us – waiting to be discovered.

Behind closed doors is no longer a term we can apply to business, your reputation is being shaped by all the people you are keeping outside. Open and honest communication between you and your public is the only way forwards.