Pete Cashmore (he moved over to Google Buzz in lieu of his “personal” Twitter account)

Robert Scoble (a few scattered personal comments but usually around where he is, especially with his current focus to travel the world to study how start-ups are formed)

Guy Kawasaki (“firehose” is putting it lightly)

Michael Arrington (if you don’t count semi-arguments with people trying to get his attention through controversial engagement)

Brian Solis (the most personal current Tweets are around his own book)

On the flip side, there are several examples of some new “web celebs” who often share personal updates, sometimes posting such random things like quotes from their favorite song, or what they had for dinner. Folks like Laura Fitton of oneforty, Penelope Trunk (who is a writer, so perhaps this is part of her persona), Chris Brogan (also a blogger, but now also a marketer) and Peter Shankman (of HARO fame) all share a combination of personal viewpoints and professional insights.

Then there’s a lot of talk about the new “over sharing” of personal information around location-based technologies, such as Foursquare. If you missed the latest hoopla, check out this TIME story on Please Rob Me and the dangers of getting too personal online. A recent PR-specific example of over sharing is the young lady who was hired – and then had her offer rescinded – by People’s Revolution (a fashion PR firm and center of the BravoTV show, Kell On Earth) for tweeting about her job interview.

So what’s my point? It’s really more of a question – are those who keep content more professional-focused and less personal-focused, more successful in business? Have social media networks crossed the chasm from personal fun to serious business tool? If so, why are so many brands still hesitant to make the leap into social marketing? Clearly, these few examples are only a small part of the social media population – but they are also strong examples of those who have successfully grown their personal brand through heavy use of social media and digital content.

What’s your style? Do you have a preference of the type of people that you connect with in social networks? Is it better as a business/executive – especially a marketer – to keep what you share 100% professional? I tend to believe that as a PR executive, social networks give us the opportunity to show that we’re human, more intelligent than often given credit for, and interested and passionate about many of the very products and services we promote. However, I often wonder whether or not I should post anything personal on my social networks. My historical preference has been to strike a balance between professional and personal posts, although with Facebook I really struggle – should I be posting anything personal? If I want to be personal, should I only accept “friends” who are truly friends in real life (you know, those people I’ve actually met and share common interests with)?

What do you think? I’m particularly interested in hearing from those who have built brand awareness online and if such success came from staying on one side of the fence or another. Thanks in advance for “sharing.”

Microwhatting in the enterprise?
Laura Fitton contributes this guest post to Jennifer Leggio’s ZDNet blog and discusses the adoption of “microblogging” as a communication tool in the enterprise.

Using Facebook Pages to Promote Your Blog
Guest blogger, Mike Henry takes a brief look at how Facebook Pages can be a valuable tool in your arsenal when trying to promote your blog.

Twellow!
Bub.blicio.us guest blogger, Michelle Lentz introduces readers to a new “people search” tool for Twitter. Since using the tool myself, I would imagine that Twitter users will finally start paying more attention to the keywords they use in their profiles.

Applying Personal Social Media Techniques to Corporate EMC
EMC Social Media Specialist (and personal branding authority), Dan Schawbel takes readers through an overview of the extensive social media programs he has been involved with at EMC during that past year.

Watching a live taping of WineLibrary.TV is a rare treat, and it truly captures the raw and seemingly endless energy that Gary brings to each and every show. Gary has taken a traditional business – a retail wine store – and expanded its community and fans beyond its New Jersey origins to a worldwide audience – all through the power of the Internet, online community and social networking. Gary now spends the majority of his days communicating with and building his online community.

The antics got off to a fast start when host Dmitri Gunn presented Gary (a die-hard New York Jets fan) with a Patriots-branded spittoon to use during the taping. The hilarious moment set the tone for the show, and Gary continued to entertain throughout the night. Even with the large numbers in attendance, Gary has the amazing ability to keep constant focus on the camera at all times while still being able to make the entire audience feel included in the experience.

After the taping, the wine tasting began – sponsored by Boston’s Wine Gallery – while fans lined up for a personal meet-and-greet book signing. A short while later, the night rolled smoothly into the after-party at the Commonwealth’s Foundation Lounge where the digerati and wine enthusiasts continued to mix and mingle.

Special thanks to Dmitri Gunn and our own PerkettPR team for organizing the event and securing the sponsors who included: Barnes & Noble – Boston University, Mzinga, Matchmine, Pour Favor, Select Wine Imports, and Beautiful Things by Charise.

For those who couldn’t attend, here’s a recording of the live stream (pardon the audio quality) compliments of Laura Fitton:

Also be sure to check out Gary’s appearances on Nightline, Conan O’Brien, Ellen DeGeneres, The Big Idea with Donnie Deutsch and Mad Money with Jim Kramer.

Photo credit: Steve Garfield

Pancakes with Pulver

Tuesday morning brought me to Providence, Rhode Island to participate in one of the stops on Jeff Pulver’s Social Media Breakfast Tour. The Brickway on Wickenden was the perfect location (thanks to Sara Streeter) for the small turnout of folks ready for social media conversation. The smaller head count allowed for a much more intimate series of conversations.

A highlight of the morning was a challenge offered up by Jeff Pulver. It involved creating a brand new word to describe the experience of meeting someone online and then later on in real life. The word could not already exist and had to be capable of being used as a verb. We came up with quite a few candidates during the 2 hour session and were even able to get some instant feedback on our creations from the BlogTV chat room while Jeff streamed the entire breakfast live via EVDO. The search for that perfect word is being continued on various blogs as well as Facebook.

Muffins with Mavens

Wednesday morning not only brought Bryan Person’s Social Media Breakfast 5 event to the S & S Restarant in Cambridge, but it brought an ugly mix of snow and rain that attempted to slow down the early commute. Despite the tricky traveling, the event was very well attended. It was nice to see a good number of new faces in the crowd along with the regular set of social media mavens.

SMB5 was sponsored by our client, Mzinga, and featured a series of 5-minute speeches from Scott Monty, Doug Haslam, Jim Storer and Laura Fitton on how Twitter has changed their lives. Each presenter brought a unique and engaging story to their discovery, use and love for Twitter. Steve Garfield was able to provide a live broadcast of each speaker via his Nokia N95 for those who were challenged by the weather.

In addition to the numerous still photos that were taken at the event, I was able to capture footage of the speeches. You’ll find the speech by Mzinga’s Jim Storer below. Links to additional media created from the event can be found in the round-up post on socialmediabreakfast.com.