Twitter and PR Resources from My Presentation at PRSA Chesapeake Conference in Baltimore Today

Here are links to some of the Web sites and resources I mentioned during my presentations today at the Maryland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s 32nd Annual Chesapeake Conference at the Sheraton North in Towson, Md. These are good, basic Twiiter and PR tools to get started, and everything listed here is free. On Twitter, search the hashtag #chessie09 for more info, and give me a follow-back at @contactjeff

There are a number of directories to find Twitter followers. A good place to start is Wefollow, where you can search by topics such as ”Celebrity” or “Social Media” or “Baltimore.” Also try Muckrack.

Looking for a dashboard that allows you to better manage your Twitter follows and set up searches for key terms or competitors’ names? Try Hootsuite or Tweetdeck.

To shorten links prior to tweeting, use Bitly, and for a great new resource on Twitter tools, try OneForty.

To follow the media on Twitter, try this great compilation of national journalists by Jeremy Porter. Interested in Baltimore? Click on our ”Guide to Baltimore Media on Twitter” link on the upper right corner of this site.

Want to engage in a weekly Twitter conversation involving journalists, bloggers and PR professionals? Check out #journchat every Monday from 7 to 10 p.m., CST. More info at PRSarahEvans.

PitchEngine is a social media news release builder that enables PR pros to effectively package stories and share them with journalists, bloggers, and influencers worldwide via the social web.

Sign up for HARO to receive free daily summaries from media seeking sources for news stories in development. For urgent source needs, follow the companion Twitter account, @HelpAReporter. You can also follow Profnet on Twitter for leads.

For social media policy guidelines, Todd Defren (once again) shared a great resource at PR Squared, and also check out the policy guidelines at Mashable.

And 10 people in PR and social media worth following on Twitter? Love ‘em or not, here’s a variety pack to get your own list going (in no particular order): Scott Monty, Jason Falls, Todd Defren, Geoff Livingston, Amanda Chapel, Chris Brogan, Shel Holtz, Annie Heckenberger, Bill Sledzik and Katie Paine. [Update - here's a great list of 100 PR people to follow, compiled by Valeria Maltoni.]

Thanks for attending/reading. I’d love to see your comments!