And clutter is exactly what Social Media can become if you let it overwhelm you. Be selective in who you follow, and just as important – who you let follow you. It’s amazing how just a little discrimination in how you use Social Media can cut down the noise (just another form of clutter – right?).

My mailbox has been overrun in the last few days with people hawking someone’s latest get rich quick scheme using Social Media. “Make tons of money with Twitter” – “Facebook your way to Fame and Fortune”  – you know the drill.

I do think Social Media should have a place in your marketing plan, but it’s only one of the possible roads to success. I believe your marketing plan should have balance – Social Media is one of your tools, nothing more.

Let me know your take on this. Is Social Media a help, or just a hindrance and distraction to your marketing efforts?

Thesis has been upgraded to version 1.8.2 to be fully compatible with WordPress 3.2. If you have upgraded to version 3.2 of WordPress, you need to upgrade to the latest version of Thesis as soon as possible.

Thesis, a great WordPress Theme, and one we use on all of our WordPress blog sites has just gotten even better. Thesis, from Chris Pearson of DIY Themes, has been dramatically improved in both speed and function.

Here’s a partial list of some of the new features and benefits of Thesis 1.7:

• Improved SEO (search engine optimization) control gives you even more opportunity to tune your posts for maximum search engine targeting. The new improvements allow you to control SEO functions, including robots meta tags,  down to the page level.
• Setup options can be saved and restored so if you have favorite options you like to set on each of your sites, this new option makes it a snap to setup.
• Thesis 1.7 features faster page load time due to improved coding and organization.
• JavaScript libraries included – such as, Add jQuery, Prototype, MooTools, and jQueryUI that makes access to these libraries just a click away.
• Improved Home page controls give you improved SEO options and granularity of control.
• Improved hooks for easier coding.
• Headline filter allows you to control
• A 301 redirect function for affiliates allows easy linking to your offer page.
• Great tutorials and an awesome support group are the icing on the cake.

With Thesis you rarely have to touch the underlying code to modify and fine tune your site since the Thesis control panel puts everything at your fingertips. With the new version of Thesis this benefit is even more powerful.

If you build websites in WordPress, you truly owe it to yourself to take a hard look at what Thesis has to offer. I’ve purchased several premium themes over the years, this is the best one out there for my money.

For more information visit the Thesis 1.7 page.

The short answer is yes you can.

Is it easy?  – decidedly not.

We just posted an article addressing the pitfalls of Affiliate Marketing on SBOguide.com. If you are considering throwing your proverbial hat in the ring and giving affiliate marketing a go, I think you’ll find the article timely.

Check out this and other articles aimed at giving the small business owner a fighting chance on the Internet at SBOguide.com.