Persia Tatar, a former colleague at DART's parent company, recently founded The Social Media Society - a social network designed to help social networkers take advantage of social networking. Did I really write that? Well yes, and that circlular sentence aptly, I think, captures the questions we often ask when trying to figure out how take advantage of quickly evolving marketing media available today. Following is a Q &A with Persia conducted this week by email.

Q: First a little background: are you founder of The Art of Social Media?

A: Yes! I am the founder of The Social Media Society - we will be a year old in September. I was working at an agency at the time I started the association and found that many marketers still didn't "get" social media - they thought it was scary. I wanted to provide a way to take the fear out of social media and also connect like-minded individuals, companies and services together. The industry has come a long way in that short amount of time, but with the constant changes happening there is always more to learn!

Persia Tartar, center, with art by Matt Held, left and right. Courtesy Center: Persia Tatar, with art by Matt Held. Photos courtesy The Social Media Society.

Q: What services does The Social Media Society offer?

A: The Social Media Society is still growing. We provide research and whitepapers on social media, and soon we'll be launching a resource guide as well as a very unique virtual gift application.  We also offer how-to classes in social media, panel discussions and host networking events.

We are working on a great event coming up at the Art Directors Club on Tuesday June 8, celebrating artists that use social media as a means of inspiration or a medium for distribution of their work. It will include Matt Held's Facebook portraits (courtesy of Denise Bibro Fine Art), Justin Gignac's Nudes of ChatRoulette and two great subway musicians, Michael Shulman and the Stumblebum Brass Band. Plus Jagermeister, Tommy Bahama Rum and Michael Collins Whiskey will be flowing all night.

Q: From your perch can you discern the next step social networking can offer - beyond viral marketing?

A: That is the million-dollar question. Mobile is gaining momentum now and programs and initiatives that merge social media (and the desire to share) with the ability to share from anywhere will be key. Also as marketing, PR and customer service converge - developing highly targeted messages and campaigns that speak to each customer individually (or at least feel like they do) - will be very successful, especially at building long term relationships.

Q: Is now the only moment that now matters?

A: Very philosophical! YES and NO. I think it is a great way to approach life and it is an important factor in social media as well. Twitter asks the question (for users to input their response) "What are you doing right now?" and Facebook prompted users with "IS" a while back. While posts are all about the NOW, they still live online long after they are created and form a history (or a social media footprint). This digital record of the past does freak some people out and it is a good reason for companies that use social media to really plan what they put out there, because it will be passed along.

Q: How many hats are you wearing this week - and what are they?

A: I am wearing a few including a great black and white straw hat custom made for my giant skull! I am running the Social Media Society and also heading up digital marketing for Jimlar - the company that makes Frye boots.

Q: When some cool person announces on Facebook that he or she is "checking into the Breton Bar" - with Google map attached - does that mean he or she is getting free drinks in exchange for letting people know about that cool place?

A: You're referring to location based services like FourSquare and Gowalla. These are really fun tools that merge mobile technologies, GPS and social media together. When you're out and about, you can "check-in" to a location (bar, restaurant, etc.) on FourSquare and earn virtual rewards. I've checked in to my friend's bar The Dressing Room so many times, that I became the mayor. It's a way for me to tell my friends where I am and what I'm doing, but it is also a game. I'm trying to overthrow the mayor of my favorite coffee shop where I've had about 87 lattes in the past month and Nick V. is still the mayor. I'll consider it a major accomplishment if I can overthrow him, but then again, I'm a nerd! Smart marketers are tapping in to this formula to offer coupons and discounts to people that check in to their locations (because they are then broadcasting it to their network of friends).

Q: There was an article in New York Times magazine last weekend about people having the maximum number of friends on Facebook - 5,000. I've noticed that lots of people are adding dozens of friends at a time, several times a day - could this be a rally or some kind of internally sponsored race to hit the limit?

A: Yes, if you are very popular, you will max out at 5,000 and will need to either set up another profile page for the overflow, or create a "fan" page. I don't personally know of anyone that is racing for friends anymore, though brands definitely are always racing for fans or "likers". I have seen many user created pages for fun, eg: "Can this poodle wearing a tinfoil hat get more fans than Glenn Beck", or "Can this Pickle get more fans than that Cucumber?" A great example of is the fan page created for Betty White who wanted to host Saturday night live - it got the attention of the producers and she hosted the show back in early May.

The Art of Social Media at The Art Directors Club, an evening of social media art, cocktails, live music, and networking. Tuesday, June 8, 7-10 pm at The Art Directors Club. 106 West 29th Street, New York, NY. Click to order tickets. Free for members of The Social Media Society.