Director of Integrated Communications at Elizabethtown College Donna Talarico-Beerman spoke at HighEdWeb earlier this month. Her session was called “Faux Pas, Phonies and Fakes: How to Deal with Social Media Spoofs, Goofs and Snafus,” and was in the Management and Professional Development Track.

Talarico-Beerman presented about making mistakes in the social media world. She noted that this can easily happen, particularly in today’s fast-paced society. Case studies were used to help illustrate how someone could handle a mistake gracefully and appropriately.

“The room was so packed and the support was overwhelming. People laughed at all the right places,” Talarico-Beerman said.

Talarico-Beerman became interested in the topic back in 1996 when it was not even called social media yet. “I’ve been sharing bits and pieces of myself since I first ‘dialed on’ to the Internet via message boards and my first website, ‘Geocities,’” Talarico-Beerman said.

Her career has encouraged her to work on promotions, marketing and media, so fitting in on the web has been an easy task for her. Before coming to the College, she worked for an e-commerce developer and internet marketing firm called Solid Cactus.

Trial and error, industry blogs and following the right people on Twitter were the techniques she used to become more familiar with the field.

When asked which social networking site has been the most influential, Talarico-Beerman responded, “Twitter. Hands down. It’s my biggest professional development tool. It’s like being at a conference every day. No matter what you do, you can find your people on Twitter. I find links to the latest research, articles, etc., and I share what I find.”

Talarico-Beerman feels that social media is an essential part of any organization. “In the old days, doctors and salespeople alike visited homes.  It was personal. I think our society is craving those connections again.  Social media allows us to connect with people as people — no longer as the CEO or owner or director behind the curtain,” Talarico-Beerman said.

This was Talarico-Beerman’s third consecutive year as a speaker for the conference. This is her eighth conference in three years. She usually focuses on social media and web content. She is scheduled for three more conferences, in which she will represent Etown, in the spring.