Written by David Brewer

Anyone can be a global broadcaster and publisher in less than an hour by using free tools that can be downloaded and activated in minutes. Social networking has removed the barriers and the mystery. The following is a deliberately simplistic take on what is involved.

Step 1: Words (10 minutes)

• Register for a blog using one of the many free options
• A microblog such as Posterous is a good start if you want to be up and running in minutes
• Write a compelling biography or mission statement - make sure it is sharp and to the point; there is a lot of competition out there
• If you have a respectable article already written and a few pictures, upload them; better to have a blog with content than an empty one
• Check out whether your blog has a retweet button; you will find it valuable later (most do)
• Make sure you have a good share and save tool so that your audience can make full use of your material and ensure maximum news dissemination
• You will need to make full use of social networking so that people who like what you write can save it, share it with their pals and help with distribution (see Step 2).

Write a compelling biography or mission statement - make sure it is sharp and to the point

Step 2: Distribution (10 minutes)

• Open a free Twitter account.
• DON'T FOLLOW ANYONE YET
• People are unlikely to follow a blank Twitter account with no biog, no links and no valuable tweets
• Include your biog (mentioned in step one) - you can use the same one you used on your blog, consistency is important.
• Link to the blog or microblog you set up in Step 1.
• Download any of the tweet aggregators, such as TweetDeck, or Split Tweet, (add any other recommendations to the foot of this piece, please)
• Check out topics that interest you and re-tweet half a dozen adding value, if you can
• Write a couple of tweets of your own - offer tips, free advice, answer any questions - contribute rather than take
• NOW YOU CAN FOLLOW OTHERS - because now you will have something interesting on your Twitter page and people are more likely to follow you (I never follow empty pages and I guess I am not alone in this).

Write a couple of tweets of your own - offer tips, free advice, answer any questions - contribute rather than take

Step 3: Audio/Video/Images (15 minutes)

• Open a free video hosting account
• Vimeo and You Tube are options
• If you are working with audio, try AudioBoo - excellent
• Again for whatever product you choose, write a compelling biography to go in your profile for the same reasons as set out in Steps 1 & 2
• Link to your blog or microblog
• If you already have a piece of audio or video, upload it
• Open a Flickr account, or any of the other social networking sites such as Picasa for storing images
• Consider buying a cheap video camera - Flip is a good option, but most small cameras now do acceptable video as do most smartphones
• Think witness and look for material in the category of 'had it not been for you the world would never have known'
• Once your video is uploaded, tweet about it and post a link to it in your blog or microblog
• If it is related to your earlier blog post you may want to embed it in the text and then retweet that.

Think witness and look for material in the category of 'had it not been for you the world would never have known'

Step 4: Creating a network (10 minutes)

• You are now already on Twitter, so now open a free Facebook account
• Along with Twitter, your social network enabled microblog or blog and your video site, this will now be your network/distribution strategy
• If you have something particularly valuable to say, (and we all think we have) start a Facebook group and invite others to join
• Be sure you have built enough interesting content on your page first; you need to feed the social networking debate not drain it
• Consider starting discussions on your Facebook group when you have updated your blog with something you think may stimulate debate, or when you want to seek out the opinions of those in your social network
• If you are on LinkedIn, start a group there, too
• While on Linkedin be sure to set up an automatic feed from your microblog or blog (RSS) to your new LinkedIn group. It's great for starting new discussion threads each time you upload an article to your blog
• You may want to start a Twitter Twibe, you may want to build some Twitter lists; have a look around and see what you can do.

You need to feed the social networking debate not drain it

Step 5: Convergence and cross-promotion (10 minutes)

• Keep going back to your four sites - your blog or microblog, your Twitter page, your video page and your Facebook group - and make sure you are cross-promoting
• You need links between all your social networking sites
• Many have autopost options so that one post or email to one site updates the rest - be sure to activate all
• You want people who find one of your sites interesting to be able to find the other sites effortlessly
• Think about how much traditioinal media cross-promotes - social networkers need to be as active.

You want people who find one of your sites interesting to be able to find the other sites effortlessly

Step 6: Sit back and enjoy (ongoing)

• Put the kettle on and make a cuppa, or pour a beer, and continue to find ways of creating compelling content for your four outlets
• Share resources, share ideas, ask questions, answer questions, give people a hand, give information away, generally take part
• Respond when asked something and volunteer to respond if not asked - have a look at Socialoomph for ways of auto responding and looking after your followers
• Use your new tools to do a bit of newsgathering around topics you find interesting - some tips here
• Spend some time clicking through Mashable for picking up new tips. The site has a great How To section
• Most of all enjoy yourself.

Share resources, share ideas, ask questions, answer questions, give people a hand, give information away, generally take part

David BrewerThe author of this piece, David Brewer, is a journalist and media strategy consultant who set up and runs this site, Media Helping Media. He delivers media strategy training and consultancy services worldwide and his business details are at Media Ideas International Ltd. He tweets @helpingmedia.