An increasing amount of companies are beginning to monetize their presence in social media and  are taking advantage of the many resources available to small businesses on the web. Deltina Hay, author of A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization, is the owner of the Austin-based literary press Dalton Publishing, the Web 2.0 development and consulting firm Social Media Power, and the social media optimized Web site service, PlumbSocial.

A long-time advocate of open source technologies, Hay has been programming and doing Web development in one form or another for over 25 years. Her graduate education includes computer science, applied mathematics, nonlinear dynamics, and psychology.

A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization provides insight into the world of social networking media such as blogs, social bookmarking sites, media communities and more to educate entrepreneurs on how to fully utilize social media.

Her book helps small businesses become part of the social media movement and shows business owners how to use tools such as Web 2.0 to establish their presence on the web. Business owners, authors, publishers, students, PR and marketing professionals can learn to apply and integrate valuable web tools such as Squidoo , YouTube, Facebook, WordPress, wikis, widgets, blogs, RSS feeds all by themselves.

Q: Why did you write A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization?

A: When I saw the direction the Internet was heading as a result of social media, I was very excited. It seemed that the Internet was being taken back by the people – the way many of us envisioned it would be in the beginning. I could see that this new direction – toward the Social Web – would level the playing field for all businesses, big or small. I wanted to help entrepreneurs and small business owners take advantage of the opportunity the Social Web had to offer. I particularly wanted to show them that they no longer needed to depend on developers to build and maintain a robust and feature-rich Web presence – for free!

Q: What can a business owner expect to learn from A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization book?

A: This is not a book about marketing or theory, it is about the nuts and bolts of the Social Web. Readers will learn how to use the tools of the Social Web through real world examples. The book is also about strategy, optimization, and maintenance. It discusses how readers can prepare their strategy and content ahead of time, optimize the social tools and sites they add to their strategy, and integrate those tools to save time and resources. The book also comes with a resource CD that contains nearly 600 resources and 25 fillable PDF forms to help readers plan and organize their social media strategy.

Q:  What do you expect for social media in 2010 and beyond?

A: I expect that social media and the tools of Web 2.0 will become the new model of the Internet. Even if the dust settles on specific tools, the expectations of Internet users is not going to change. Users now expect what the Social Web has given them: an environment of interactivity, sharing, and collaboration.

Users will also expect Internet tools to be easily integrated. One of the things that make the Social Web so powerful is that it is built using similar technologies like RSS feeds. As a result, it is easy for Web 2.0 sites to integrate with each other. This will lead to what can be called the “widgetized” Web, where entire Websites and tools are built by pulling content and tools from other sites using widgets and applications.

Looking further down the road, I would pay very close attention to the mobile Web and the semantic Web…

Q:  When you first heard about ShopTab what were your initial thoughts?

A: Finally, a Facebook application to help us sell stuff!

Q:  What was the experience like signing up for ShopTab?

A: It was pretty painless. I especially liked that I could upload all of my products from a spreadsheet. I recommend uploading that way to prepare and optimize the content ahead of time.

Q:  What value do you see that ShopTab Facebook App brings to businesses?

A: This app will really help a lot of businesses, authors and anyone who has products to sell. I think many people hold back on promoting products on Facebook because it feels a bit pushy, and I respect that. With an application, one can just point their “friends” to their product page without feeling like a solicitor.

Q:  Why does ShopTab work well with your company?

A: Dalton Publishing is a small press, and we can use all the help we can get. ShopTab is another way we can get our books out to potential readers in the Social Web.  Individual authors can also spread the word about Dalton’s ShopTab to their friends, taking advantage of that viral nature of the Social Web we all love so much.

Q:  Now that your ShopTab has been live for a few days any additional thoughts on ShopTab?

A: We have already seen some sales, so that is nice. The layout is very attractive, too.

A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization offers opportunities for even the smallest business to make valuable use of social media. With the invention of the internet, businesses were given the chance to connect with consumers on a global level.  With the invention of social media, businesses were given the opportunity to network directly with their target markets. With this book, small businesses are provided with a necessary tool for leveraging social media in their favor and competing with online businesses in 2010.

Check out Dalton Publishing on their company site as well on Facebook, and come check out ShopTab to see how we can help personalize your business and monetize your presence on Facebook.  Please comment below if you have had a chance to read A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization or have a question for Deltina Hay.