Community building is high on the list of crucial social media strategies, but it still eludes many brands. During social media’s early stages, some enterprising fans even established brands’ social media presence before the companies themselves got around to it. After playing catch-up, more organizations now are embracing their social communities.

The media and entertainment brands represented on the panel, including WhoSay Media (celebrity publishing platform), DailyCandy (city guides discovery site), Wikia (Wikipedia’s sister site) and Crown Media Family Networks (Hallmark Channel), may have an edge, since they represent hot celebrity assets and focus on fun topics. Still, their tips for creating effective social communities apply across categories:

1. Pictures: “A few pics a week is the secret sauce for having a vibrant community. Our talent wants to be on Instagram”, said WhoSay Media’s VP of talent, Harvey Schwartz. For example, their client Danny DeVito posted amusing shots of his troll feet while sports stars Christiano Ronaldo and Mariano Rivera posed with each other and a certain Mick Jagger shared a photo taken while recording last summer in a Paris studio.

DailyCandy also uses Instagram, sending behind-the-scenes takes during photo shoots. Pinterest is their other favored visual platform. As editor Ashley Parrish said, “Pinterest is about finding hidden gems, since our readers are treasure hunters.”

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This past election season proved the power and influence of an endorsement from President Bill Clinton, and now everyone’s favorite Arkansas smooth-talker is throwing his weight behind a new kind of campaign.

In the video, Clinton says of White, “In a time when our nation is still bitterly divided, it’s important to have a leader who’s won the respect and affection of our nation in the way that Betty has”. Plus, Clinton points out, “The position would come naturally to Betty, as she has lived for so long in a place called the White house.” Har har.

We know we just got through election season, but…we have to say we fell for this promo hook, line and sinker. Betty White for president! Where do we pick up the T shirt?

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She can’t stop and she simply won’t stop. Betty White is rapping with a snake.

The song, “I’m Still Hot,” is performed with the artist behind it, U.K.’s Luciana. The collaboration is a promotion (a little too promotional at times… watch to the end) for The Lifeline Program, a life insurance settlement company. Some of the proceeds from the purchase of the song on iTunes goes to the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association.

Also interesting, note how the publicists get a shout out at the end — Susan Blond Inc, David PR Group, and Lobeline Communications.

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Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

On Friday, AOL Kids launched the debut of Martha and Friends, a Web series starring an animated Martha Stewart imagined as her 10-year-old self: a blonde-haired, “problem-solving, craft-loving generous spirit” who — along with best friends Lily, Kevin, and Hannah, and dogs Francesca and Sharkey — show kids how much fun DIY projects can be.

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First, Rosie O’Donnell presented Berger with her award, praising her as a “kick-ass” publicist and friend. “Without her, I don’t think I would still be around. I’d be on the macadamia nut farm with Roseanne Barr, wearing overalls, going ‘what the ____ happened?”

“What I learned from Cindi Berger is how to love, and how to be committed, and how the people that are in your life stay in for the long haul, because no one gets out unscathed,” O’Donnell continued. “Having to do it in the public eye is not always easy, but she definitely makes the ones doing it feel safe.”

The crowd also got a surprise treat when PMK client and Grammy-winner John Legend appeared behind a piano in the mezzanine and performed two tunes in Berger’s honor.

Watch a video of O’Donnell’s tribute after the jump, and see more photos from the event on FishbowlNY. continued…

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NBC is riding the buzz of this past weekend’s “Saturday Night Live,” which saw the show’s highest ratings in a year and half.

The buzz around the show built with 88-year old host Betty White, of “Golden Girls” fame, who became host due to a movement on Facebook.

Also, having Jay-Z as musical guest, plus a slew of alumni appearances from the likes of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler certainly didn’t hurt.

White took time to dis the social network in her monologue: “I really have to thank Facebook…I didn’t know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time.”

NBC’s press release after the jump.

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“The way CNN reports a story today is fundamentally different than the way CNN would do it four years ago, before iReport, and before you could actually include the voice of the audience, and represent them back in the story,” said CNN’s Lila King.

That being said, King acknowledged, “I think we have a long way to go, for sure. I don’t want to sit here and pretend that it’s all figured out, but I think we’re heading in that direction.”

The comments came on a panel titled, “CrowdControl: Changing The Face Of Media Or Hype?” moderated by Text 100′s Joe Kingsbury and also featuring Mashable founder Pete Cashmore, Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg, and MTV’s Jason Rzepka.

Cashmore said “curation is being underrated. It’s really important to make sense of raw materials,” when we asked him about just how much “true reporting” is taking place by crowd-sourced methods. For example, when US Airways Flight 1549 famously landed in the Hudson River last January, the initial image of the event came from Twitter, but almost all of the subsequent news reporting came from “traditional” sources.

MTV’s Rzepka said that MTV has “kind of been in the citizen journalism game since the beginning,’ and mentioned programs like their get out the vote effort “Choose or Loose.”

Cashmore acknowledged that news brands are still extremely important. “You see something on CNN, it’s a trusted brand. You see something trending on Twitter, it’s less trustworthy,” he said.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg said she sees crowdsourcing in two ways: ideation and distribution. She gave the example of actress Betty White being asked to host Saturday Night Live due almost completely to efforts on Facebook. Getting her on the show is “ideation,” while the “distribution” is people reacting to the decision and the show online.

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Remember that Facebook campaign to get former Golden Girls actress Betty White to host Saturday Night Live that we told you about a few weeks ago?

It seems that it worked, at least in part. White confirmed to People.com that she will be making an appearance on the show sometime in the future.

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