Greetings from one scattered, multi-media bound Internet user to another!

Since we’re all caught up exploiting various digital tools for personal use - and for our organizations - it might be worthwhile to explore how to manage the toy box. If you’re juggling more than one company-branded, digital property (a blog, a forum, feeds, multimedia assets, social network profiles and so on), then it’s time to drop a little Elfa in the equation.

The benchmark: Dell Community. This site aggregates every available opportunity for engagement and feedback regarding Dell offerings. Checking them off: customer testimonials and reviews, discussion forums, blogs, co-creation points (i.e., IdeaStorm), podcasts, videos, RSS, and Dell’s Information Portal, TechCenter wiki, and Second Life presence. All that housed in one spot, eliminating the need to dig through tedious layers site navigation to find connection points.

All that’s missing is information about how to directly connect with employees online -an undertaking that’s probably more manageable for smaller shops like ours.

Not to suggest that we have our ducks in a row. On this blog alone, a visitor has his/her pick of many options to keep in touch with our team - but half of what we offer isn’t available, and the channels available are strewn across several pages. Did you know that you can follow/friend Larissa, Geoff, Marinel and me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? You would have if you’d visited the Buzz Bin’s About page. But that still won’t get you to Geoff’s podcast or events we host, like Blog Potomac. We have work to do, too.

Viget Labs got this spot on with their recent website makeover. Staff profiles feature their latest tweets along with links to their latest blog posts and personal blogs - not just links to individual social network accounts.

Viget also nailed multiple blog management. The group offers four distinct blogs, one for each of Viget’s “labs” (strategy, design, development and marketing), all of which are re-capped on a fifth (and founding) company blog - The Four Labs Blog.

Each blog has unique content, bloggers, and aesthetics, and attracts visitors independently of one another. To keep it together, the blogs are integrated through 1) the company blog and 2) each other - in a consistent fashion.

For example, from VigetEngage, the firm’s online marketing blog, you can access a menu of other blogs through icons in the top right corner (see image at left). It’s the same on every blog - graceful flow, great design.

In case you need the case, re-organizing digital properties is smart for several reasons:

• It’s Alive! Getting your assets in one place will force your team to keep fresh content on the table. Stagnant content should be revived or archived.
• It Multiplies! However you index your digital offerings, the catalog of content will make you want more, and ultimately encourage the addition of more corporate and staff assets.
• It’s All In One Place! One-stop shopping is good for journalists, potential clients/partners/employees and others - and that’s good for business.
• It’s Searchilicious! Start syncing your content and watch the machine work it’s Pacman magic. You’ll find that stronger assets will help deliver additional hits to other offerings through increased web traffic, downloads, blog hits and more. The rising tide lifts all boats.

A few cautionary words in closing, inspired by a frank remark by Viget Lab’s newest employee, Ryan Moede (Digital Media Strategist and VigetEngage blogger): don’t waste you’re time arranging and re-arranging the puzzle if you’re going to half-ass it, or if you have weak content. You won’t master the jigsaw without the right pieces in play.

Regulators, mount up.