Following is a guest post by my friend Pamela Weir, who writes Market To The Moment.

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I’ve spent the last 12 months creating a social web that works for me. I’m concerned with everything affects the future of copywriting, marketing and PR, so I focus most of my time on researching and combining tools to help me find the best information available. And if I can use what I’ve found to enrich the experience of those I connect with, then that’s even better. That’s the point, really.

I try to stay open-minded about what social means to everyone. I’ve really embraced the fact that my own views may be completely different then everyone else’s. We can’t all agree and expect everyone to approach the social web in the same way or follow the same rules we do. Once I stopped worrying about using the right tools in the right way and started figuring out which tools worked best for me, my whole experience changed.

What Has Worked Best?

For me, Twitter truly is the gateway to everything else. I see it as the main conference room or the central place to interact with new people, learn about new tools, and discover what people are concerned about right now. I can choose to stay in the main conference area, or I can join a breakaway session, which could be a blog or forum where I can follow the flow of conversation, contribute to the discussion and more thoroughly explore the topics I care about most.

Twitter has definitely helped to build my business. I’ve grown my client base by just being a part of the discussion. I’ve also had the chance meet and help fantastic people who are fighting the odds to create a better world. If you want to understand the true meaning of the social web, just stand back and see how other people are using it. You’ll quickly realize that Twitter is about relationships, not numbers. The entire reason were on the social web at all is to connect and learn from each other.

Seriously, where else can you instantly engage with clients, friends, personal heroes, and change-makers everyday?

If You Had One Secret Weapon to Share with a Novice What Would It Be?

Just be yourself and appreciate every connection you make. If people are investing their time in you, take it seriously. I’ve made mistakes and I appreciate immediate feedback I get. It helps me to understand how the community works and what people expect from me. Assuming that anyone elseís time or online presence is less valuable than your own is very dangerous. It’s always important to be authentic and generous.

My only secret weapon is connecting with great people, engaging in meaningful conversations and helping others as much as I possibly can.