Thank you!

Erik Bratt is the master of his domain and the head of communications for TelCentris, the creator of VoxOx. He loves Quentin Tarantino movies, dabbling with the electric bass, and fiddling with the text-to-speech functionality on the VoxOx Personal Assistant.

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I heard a great catch phrase at the recent Blog World & New Media Exp in Las Vegas: “status-phere.”

Put forth by PR and social media strategist/author Brian Solis (@briansolis) during one of the keynote panels, it instantly struck a chord.

Status-phere. To me, it’s defines the work aspect of social media.

To engage, contribute, share and generally participate within social media and social networking, you must typically update some type of status, whether it’s up to 140 characters on Twitter (and on LinkedIn for that matter), or a general status update on Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo, MSN or the myriad of other networks out there.

So how to contend with the all-consuming “status-phere”? How to participate effectively in social media and its many benefits without making it a part- or full-time job (not to mention putting up with a confusing array of browser windows and desktop clients)?

One way is to focus on the specific networks you find valuable. Another is to leverage an increasing number of tools that can help manage the task. These include services that can help manage multiple accounts on the same network (usually Twitter), and those that aggregate and help simplify updates to multiple networks.

Here’s a short list below. We’d love to hear your recommendations:

HootSuite's Tabbed Layou

• HootSuite – This web-based application is an extremely handy tool for managing multiple Twitter accounts. We use it at TelCentris to manage our consumer (VoxOx) and business-to-business accounts, easily toggling back and forth between our different profiles. It allows you to schedule Tweets to any of your accounts, as well as create shortened, trackable URLs.

• Ping.fm - I missed this one initially, but Ping.fm is one of the more comprehensive tools for integrating and aggregating your social networking clients, everything from Twitter to Bebo to Delicious. A recent test to update Facebook and LinkedIn simultaneously went swimmingly. Ping.fm also purports to handle instant messaging and SMS as well. One thing I like is the ability to search and post song links.

• Trillian Astra – Known more for its ability to chat across multiple IM (instant messaging) networks at the same time, Trillian, which has been around since 2001, also has added functionality to update your Facebook, Twitter and Skype accounts. Although available for the iPhone, Trillian fans are still waiting for a Mac version.

• TweetDeck – TweetDeck continues to add new functionality to help you integrate your social networks. TweetDeck was one of the first to add Facebook functionality. They recently added MySpace. If you like managing your social networks in a power dashboard format, TweetDeck is good option.

• TweetMiner – Like HootSuite, TweetMiner enables you to manage multiple Twitter accounts from a single interface. I like TweetMiner mostly because of its simplified interface, and the way it allows you to search and post interesting news articles to your followers. You can manage up to five accounts, or upgrade to get increased functionality.

VoxOx Enables Users to Update Social/IM Networks

• VoxOx – You’re probably not surprised to find VoxOx on this list. Still in beta, VoxOx provides powerful functionality to update multiple social networks from one interface. They include Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, as well as MSN and Yahoo (both of which are turning their email portals into quasi-social networks). Like Trillian, VoxOx also enables you to update all major IM networks. It also goes one (or two) steps further by providing free Internet calling and better-than-Google Voice-type features. All from a single, unified interface.

‘Status-phere’ got you bogged down? Try these tools to help you ease your communication overload.

Do you have other tools to recommend? We’d love to hear them.

Erik Bratt is the master of his domain and the head of communications for TelCentris, the creator of VoxOx. He loves Quentin Tarantino movies, dabbling with the electric bass, and fiddling with the text-to-speech functionality on the VoxOx Personal Assistant.

follow erik.bratt twitter.com/erikbratt

follow VoxOx twitter.com/voxox

VoxOx helps you stay connected and productive -- even in the stratosphere.

Greetings VoxOx Beta Community,

If you’re like me (and for a lot of reasons, let’s hope you aren’t) you’re reading this on your computer screen, the TV is on behind that, you’ve got at least one text conversation going on in VoxOx, and Facebook is a constant browser tab. We’re always connected, always tuned in, always delightfully distracted and always within reach of friends and family.

We’ll (ok, I’ll) call ourselves the tech-distracted (savvy?) generation (hey look, shiny!). So, what’s a tech-distracted-generation-person supposed to do on those seven hours flying coast to coast, with no Internet, no phones, no money for a portable DVD player, no TV (usually) and only overpriced, print (GASP) magazines or newspapers to read?

Fly Virgin Airlines, Delta, or American, bring your laptop, sit down, take a deep breath, wipe the sweat from your brow and log on to the wi-fi offered by those airlines and others. That’s right, the Internet can now distract you at 30,000 feet and, of course, where there is Internet, there is VoxOx! So now, no matter how high you are, you’ll be able to carry on a conversation.

About five years ago, companies such as AirCell and Verizon developed the technology to keep us connected from above, with Boeing signing on as one of the first airplane manufacturers to integrate wi-fi technology into their latest models. What this means for us is that, while your cell phone still won’t be allowed in flight, your VoxOx will! Well, at least for now, that is. Several airlines are contemplating banning Internet-based calling and video conferencing as well, so as not to disturb (piss off) other passengers (read this). But don’t worry, even if they do ban calling on planes, you can still use these features from the sky with VoxOx:

• Send text messages to your friends, family and colleagues anywhere in the world
• Update your Facebook, Twitter or MySpace status
• If you’re feeling productive, send a fax or share a file
• Instant message with your friends (VoxOx integrates them all!)
• For now, you can still use VoxOx for calling or video calls. Just be ready for looks (not good ones).

Keep in mind that there is typically a cost involved for wi-fi, anywhere from $6-$24 for a flight, and airlines generally give you either per hour or per flight pricing options. On the other hand, you’re already spending $15 minimum on those magazines or a book — in the end it’s a wash. So to all the fellow tech-distracted people out there, get your VoxOx on from the clouds, and make your next flight, a connected flight, with the one and only universal communicator.

Ben, the VoxOx Intern, is a second-year MBA student at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He has drunk beer on 4 continents, is fluent in 3 languages and has an encyclopedic knowledge of obscure NBA players. Ben also...wait, are you really still reading this? Because, you know, he's just an intern.

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