Based on my highly unscientific pondering, I’ve developed the following Top 10 personality traits of successful social media practitioners:

1) Enthusiasm – If you’re not geeked about your subject, no one else will be. Seriously, you need to reach through a computer screen to grab peoples’ attention. People with laissez-faire or sarcastic attitudes need not apply.

2) Connected Thinking – Social media doesn’t serve up ideas or opportunities on a silver platter; at best, you’re one or two degrees away. You have to identify unpolished gems of insight that can be developed into big ideas or invaluable connections.

3) Synthesis – When doing social media monitor or research, there’s a boatload of input and data. Your job is to synthesize the fragmented, pieces-parts into actionable insights. Tools can help you collect and sift through data, but it’s up to you to develop a more meaningful whole.

4) Contemporary – Are you the “go-to” person when people need something — anything? You need to read, be immersed in your industry subject matter and ready to create content/ideas/opinions in the same social space. If you’re running a blog, you’d better be an active participant on many others.

5) Caring – Of course you need to be a subject matter expert, but people don’t care how much you KNOW until you SHOW much you CARE. You have to prove you’re more interested in helping others than yourself. View money as the reward you get for adding value to other people. Think karma.

6) Storyteller – Can you weave a good story together? Websites are great places for sales and data sheets, but social media demands a voice and personality. Mad-lib’esque press releases are not welcome. Candid writing – succinct and without embarrassing spelling/grammar mistakes – is rewarded.

7) Brand Master – Are you comfortable with the brand spirit of your organization? It MUST be your guide when communicating online. You’re a living, speaking ambassador of your company’s brand. You cool with that? Hope so!

8 ) Internal Advocacy – While much of social media is public facing, rallying support of your efforts is critical to a sustained, credible presence online. Let’s face it — you’re going to need access to a lot of people in your organization for content and answers. Do you have what it takes to lobby internally on behalf of customers online?

9) Responsiveness & Consistency – Time is one helluva test. You need to stay in touch with online communications and reply in a timely manner. Inviting customer interaction and then not responding conveys an “Ivory tower” impression which is infuriating. Timely responses and contributions offered consistently over time builds credibility and authenticity in the online world.

10) Curiosity – Finally, you must, must, must be curious. Our world is rapidly changing and you’re just fingertips away from the next great idea, contact, customer or idea. But they don’t present themselves — you have to connect the dots out of curiosity to create something far greater than the sum of the parts.

We’re living in exciting times. Social media is such an alluring opportunity. What other traits do YOU think are essential? Please post them in a comment below. Thanks!

The website’s “My Candice Design” theme is implemented throughout with exclusive, Candice Olson-recommended furniture and fabrics. The design gallery offers a variety of inspirations sure to get your creativity flowing. Seriously, Candice and Norwalk Furniture know what they’re doing — their stuff is gorgeous.

On a personal level, I have to especially compliment Norwalk Furniture for their teamwork, resolve, trust and sheer ability to get things done. Having worked in web development for 15-years, I’ve rarely seen such a disparate group of internal stakeholders (marketing, accounting, designers, IT, consultants, photographers and management) work so uniformly and with such a cooperative, positive attitude. The website is complicated. There are an incredible number of behind-the-scenes details to make everything come together for such a high-touch, online commerce experience. This was truly a group effort that got the mission accomplished.

So if you’re a Candice Olson fan whose always dreamed of making your home a little more divine, you’re now just a few clicks away — MyCandiceDesign.com

Facebook MyspaceIndustry analysts speculate the Facebook acquisition of MySpace is driven by several key factors: One, to secure the personal data of nearly 34 million still active accounts to expand the Facebook ad network reach and exposure. Two, to enable users to check into bands/performances on MySpace using Facebook Places. Three, acquire the graphics and user interface (UI) design expertise offered by MySpace personnel.

“The addition of 34 million users, many in the music industry, will help Facebook reach our goal of 750 million accounts by the end of 2011. Having the talented MySpace design/UI staff on our bench is exciting as we consider page layout and design renovations later this year,” reports Zuckerburg. “I’m also thrilled to announce a branding initiative to rename Facebook to better reflect our new identity. As of July 2011, Facebook will change it’s name to ‘SpaceBook’ to better reflect our personality and market coverage area.

Quoting famed British scientist Stephen Hawking, “I see too many dangers for the human race,” warns Zuckerberg. “I believe that the long-term future of SpaceBook must include alien beings” he said. “It will be difficult to sustain a social networking site on planet Earth in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand, or million. Plus our advertisers simply demand more gross impressions than available human beings on Earth.”

For complete coverage of this breaking story, click here.

Skeptical to their practicality, I first experimented with QR codes during the 2010 SXSW Interactive Conference. Chevrolet featured their new Cruze model by tagging the vehicle with numerous QR code stickers. Passersby simply scanned the codes with their smart phones which immediately displayed a mobile version of the Chevy Cruze website — screen captures below:

After a quick scan of the QR code, your mobile phone browser automatically displays the following screens — pulling from the Cruz mobile website.

While I’m confident the Chevy Cruze QR code program was a pilot project, it’s a great example of digital content enhancing the “real world.” In addition to (literally) kicking the wheels on the Cruze, I watched customized videos on the car’s safety features, fuel economy and amenities — all great complements to the hands-on experience.

I’m typically jaded about newfangled gadgets and gimmicks, but I can see QR codes having a surprisingly robust future for the following reasons:

Existing Technology — It’s not an “on-the-horizon” vaporware promise. It’s available right now. All you need is a smartphone with QR code reader installed. Some popular and inexpensive QR apps are QuickMark, NeoReader, Optiscan and i-nigma (which I use). With cameras on nearly all mobile phones nowadays, I fully expect QR code reading technology to be a standard component in the near future.

Fun – There’s a game feeling when you scan a code to unveil its secret. What an opportunity for marketers to extend the brand “story” off a product tag and onto a personal device!? Imagine a customer watching a “behind the scenes” interview with Bono, a co-founder of the EDUN clothing initiative, after scanning an EDUN t-shirt or point-of-purchase display.

On Trend –Museums have been using similar functionality for years. Buy your admission ticket, rent an “audio tour phone,” then punch in specific exhibit numbers as you tour the facility at your own pace. QR codes can allow the same thing — but with next generation video and interactivity.

Social Sharing — With built in sharing capability, it’s easy to post your QR findings to Facebook, Twitter, ad nauseam. When my daughter scans various QR codes in Express, she can have the ability to share that activity with her friends via the QR application or or via Facebook connect.

Commerce — Can’t find the right product color or size? A QR app could allow customers to check store inventory and order products for home or future in-store delivery.

So keep your eyes open for QR codes coming to business cards, real estate signs, festival schedule banners, product ingredient tags, point-of-purchase displays, print advertisements, movie screens and building locations near you.