"I manage social media" she says...

"I manage social media," she says. The question is, does she manage social media? Does she know what that means? Do I really know what that means? This is a taste of a recent conversation I had with a prospective intern.

With my growing responsibilities and shrinking schedule, I have been looking for someone, perhaps an ambitious, energetic Gen Y'er to help execute our digital strategy. Those of you who share this responsibility know how time-consuming this can be. I sense that we are all in agreement that social media is a must in the nonprofit and social marketing world. Before we were posting on facebook and tweeting - we had very few ways of garnering some immediate feedback. Social networking allows us to reach new audiences and build armies of brand ambassadors. With that said, if you don't have the right person supporting these efforts you could be tweeting yourself into a dark, quiet corner where no one is talking about your brand or worse, your cause. Simply - you aren't recruiting anyone.

Trust. It all starts with trust. Perhaps a college co-ed may have wonderful ideas to grow your online presence, but maturity and discretion are not attributes that are boldly stated on one's resume. You must know that you are able to trust a new team member before imparting such responsibility, right? So the question is - what does it mean to manage social media? What do you think? Is it more about know-how or discretion?

Perhaps it's a fine blend of both.