Too many social networks to "twitter" to? Try this new service, Ping.fm

I post blurbs about my writings, columns and morning radio show to about 20 social networks. Each social network has a different constituency. Some overlap but I have to reach them all in order to push readership of my syndicated columns and audience interest in my morning radio show. It's the new journalism, folks.

The social media isn't merely about reconnecting with classmates, former girlfriends or wives, but also people who want to follow your activities and efforts. And, if you are a writer and media host, like I am, it's a mandatory necessity.

Until now, I was able to link my Twitter account to post my Tweets to both Twitter and Facebook. But then, I would have to go to the many other social networks where I have presence and repost to each, one at a time in order to reach the breadth and depth of my media audience.

That's changed, thanks to Ping.fm.

Ping.fm is a free online social networking time saver. I now post to Ping.fm what I might normally have posted laboriously one at a time to Twitter and then the 20 or so other social networking sites. Ping.fm allows me to link all of the sites and the one post now broadcasts out to all of them.

And, even more beneficial is the fact that Ping.fm will automatically take long links and compress them into shorter links with fewer characters allowing for more informational newsie text to go along with the link.

Now, one post to Ping.fm and all of the followers and friends and business pals get the message at the same time. I didn't have to change my Twitter feed to Facebook, though I could have. It might have been a little complicated to do. So instead of adding Facebook to the feed, I just post to Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, GoogleBuzz, Yahoo Profile and a bunch of them.

The response was almost immediate with higher traffic to the downloading of my podcasts from the radio show and higher hits on column postings.

Try it. It is definitely a great service.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com