Since 2006, the amount of time that the average person spent on social-networking sites has more than doubled, from 2.7 hours to 6.9 hours per month. Two of the fastest-growing groups on social media are males and people over the age of 55. Go figure.

So how much time is too much? Here are some signs you are addicted to social media:

1) You Have Social Media For Breakfast. If you’re checking your streams, posts, messages and tweets before that first cup of coffee or the morning workout, you’re on very shaky ground. Get some of your own thoughts and your own game plan going first before you start reading about everyone else.

2) You Like Your Own Posts. Do you post a comment on Facebook that you find particularly witty and then “like” it, too? Don’t do that. It makes you look like you’re obsessed with yourself. No one likes a narcissist.

3) You share big news online before you call your mom. New job, new baby, new house. If your first inclination is to blast it over Facebook or Twitter instead of calling your friends or loved ones, you might be a tad obsessed.

4) Your mood depends on how many online responses you get. If you’re basing your self esteem on how many of your friends liked or retweeted your picture or witty comment, please don’t. It’s probably a sign that you need to spend some more time with yourself.

5) Your phone buzzes every time there’s a new message or post waiting for you. There’s no sense in being notified every time someone retweets or comments on something you said. It keeps you from being in the moment and focusing on the task at hand.

by Tanja Kern

Those comments made me cringe. After all, I am an American (albeit a dual-passport-holding one). But those comments also made me pay close attention to first impressions and fitting in. The impression mom wanted to project in the 1970s was that she was the sexy, yet classy, Bond woman who could teach American women a thing or two. In contrast, our American neighbors thought my mother was a bit of a stuck-up maneater. (In reality, she was all bark…no bite).

As you can probably imagine, mom still has a very strong German accent, and she is proud of it. Over the years, however, that accent caused some miscommunication. “I love my husband’s muh-stard,” she would say (when she meant mustache, for example). Everything dramatic was always “tur-ble” (ie “terrible). There was also the little issue of German words that just don’t translate into English. Take fremdgeschämt, for example, which means “to be ashamed for someone else.” You can only imagine how often that word was tossed around in our house.

First impressions are based on your own cultural perspective. What’s acceptable and considered “good” in one country might not be correct for the next. Language is a big part of that.

As a U.S.-based communications and marketing firm, Communicators International speaks English fluently. We also write in English, we joke in English, and we know what images and ideas appeal to the American market. We’ve gotten around the world enough to fully appreciate the nuances of world cultures and how products researched and developed abroad can be repackaged to appeal to American consumers. That’s not to say that European companies shouldn’t play up the sex appeal of Paris or the style of Milan, but they should say it in a way that is clear to their target audience and with the words that will inspire consumers to spring into action.

Tanja Kern is a Writer/Account Executive for Communicators Intl. She can be reached at trk@communicatorsintl.com

1) Show Growth. In this slow-to-recover economy, any good news is news that people want to hear about. But the media will only take note if you tell them about it. Some of the topics that are worth a press release include:

• Launching a new product line
• Expanding territories or new countries
• Hiring new employees
• Posting excellent quarterly and year-end results
• New partnerships and marketing ventures

2) Brag About a Success Story. Did you launch an ad campaign or a new initiative that did really well? How about a beautiful design project? Tell what you did and how you did it. News outlets are always looking for stories that inspire others to create.

3) Do Some Good for the Community. No, we’re not saying to adopt a cause just for the sake of good PR, but adopting a cause certainly doesn’t hurt. Donate product, organize a charity event, volunteer time at a local not-for-profit, and when you do, be sure to inform the local press every step of the way. Not only will you create some buzz, but your employees will also feel good about reaching out and doing some good that reaches beyond the bottom line.

4) Survey Your Customers. The media is hungry for statistics and infographics, so give them the fodder they need to create short, snappy stories. You can use SurveyMoney to create a online survey that discusses product trends, opinions about upcoming shows or the current market, what areas of the industry show the most promise for growth…you get the idea. Conduct the survey, summarize the results and send them in a press release to your trade and consumer media outlets. Voila!

5) Play Up Dogs and Babies. One of our staffers at Communicators International used to work for a major magazine publisher who consistently sold more magazines on the newsstand when a dog was featured on the cover. The fact is, people have soft spots for dogs and babies, so how do you maximize this? Host a Facebook contest that encourages parents to post their favorite dog or kid pic with your product. A flooring manufacturer could also host a model call for dogs or kids that encourages people to talk up product durability. The winners become the face of your new fall ad campaign.

Who you gonna call? Communicators! We have the equipment, the experience and can get the job done for our clients quickly and cost-efficiently. Plus, once we shoot on clients’ behalf, the photography becomes 100% their property.

This is a win-win. Our customers get photography to meet current and future needs. We get shots to help them with ongoing publicity programs. See some of our recent examples, right here below. (High resolution versions of these are available upon request.)

We shot ‘em all.

However lately, I’m actually hearing some good stuff. Maybe this has to do with the fact that our winter hasn’t been a bleak, depressing one with crippling cold weather and blizzards detouring our plans. Maybe it has to do with what we’re reading in the news. This came out yesterday:

The recovery takes root.

As far back as the spring of 2009, economists were on watch for signs of growth — the “green shoots” signaling the worst was over. Now we’re finally getting signals that those elusive shoots are connected to.

Reports of decent economic strength are popping up all over the economy, from gaming and retail to the critical housing and auto sectors. We’re even seeing solid strength in manufacturing, a sector many people still wrongly write off as dead in the U.S. We’re not off to the races by any means. But the signs suggest growth will be stronger than many expect in 2012 — meaning it might be time to buy stocks. And recent signs have been good. Weekly unemployment claims have fallen decisively below 400,000 — a key battle line for that indicator. Experts predict they will drift below 300,000 by the end of the year. That would revive consumer confidence and spending, especially on cars and houses. Many pundits agree that those tend to be the most significant consumer items that really stimulate the economy.

The recovery is starting, we’re finally seeing the light. Maybe, and I truly believe this, is that Americans are simply just sick and tired of being overly cautious and looking for the worst. The “go-for-it” mentality which this country was built upon is slowly coming back. Maybe it will never be like 2005 when we’d meet with clients at The Gansevoort’s rooftop and pickup three rounds of designer cocktails at those exorbitant NYC prices before going out to dinner, thinking it was nothing but the cost of doing business. Maybe we’ve learned our lesson about being a bit too decadent, a bit too carefree with our spending.

But in doing so, maybe we’ve also learned how to manage our money better and thus, manage our respective businesses with a little more monetary controls. And collectively, that means we all become a bit healthier, both in our spirits and our pocketbooks.

So much of this is psychological. I vote for being more positive, spurring on everyone you can, ignoring that bug under rock but at the same time, acknowledging what a sun-shiny day it is.

-Ron Treister

3-13-12 Gorgeous day on the pier in Portland, ME.