Going Dark? This is an old phrase from my phone company days.

In Las Vegas, there are a mind boggling amount of circuits going to casinos, hotels, businesses, government agencies and so on.  All are priority #1, and many have a redundant fiber optic network backup that is “dark” meaning there is no data running on it, it is just sitting there dark “just in case.”

Often, in our everyday lives we are called to more pressing matters and we go ‘dark’.  We don’t have a redundant network to back us up, and our online colleagues, friends, and clients wonder if we fell off the earth.

Here is a recap of GigaOm.com’s post 6 Ways to Revive a Dead Social Media Channel

1. Address your absence.
2. Begin again as if starting all over.
3. Reach out to fans and followers who have engaged you lately.
4. Begin re-posting consistently.
5. Reply, comment and acknowledge your followers quickly.
6. And last but not least: Map out a social media calendar.

My partner Kym and I offer Twitter Management for a few select clientele, and their social media calendar looks something like this:

What’s happening this month? Monthly promotions, testimonials, local activities, people, business or organizations you want to promote.

Weekly/Daily topic schedule.  Myth Monday, Technology Tuesday, What? Wednesday, Thank-you Thursday, Fun Friday.

RT (re-tweet) sources: StumbleUpon, Digg, industry leaders, vendors, and related current events to piggyback.

We all want to appear sharp and on the cutting-edge of whatever our gig is, and by creating a calendar, no matter how hokey it feels, is the best way to keep ourselves on track.

Now it’s YOUR turn.  Go on now… get busy!