There was a time when MacArthur identified as a journalist. That was before she left CTV and moved online, complaining the company wasn't investing in her web-tech show Webnation. Now a full convert to the world of social media, her title is almost impossible to define. MacArthur's Twitter bio reads: Tech TV journalist. Web content strategist. Professional keynote speaker. Brand new mom. MacArthur says this duplicity is only natural for the year 2009, and the web.

"More people are wearing multiple hats these days," she says. "Especially when it comes to social media."

But despite high hit counts (MacArthur's personal website, AmberMac.com, gets 50,000-100,000 hits a day), MacArthur says blogging still doesn't pay the bills. Most of her income comes from the marketing firm she co-found, MGI, and speaking engagements. This is how the social media model often works. Promote online first, then cash in on the exposure. "People thought blogs and websites were going to be places to make money, and they're not," MacArthur says.

However, thanks for her expertise and savvy self-promotion, MacArthur recently joined the ranks of bloggers with book deals-she's about to start writing a book on social media for Portfolio, Penguin's business press.

MacArthur says marketers are learning how to utilize social media effectively, especially in the U.S., where many of her MGI clients reside. She says with bigger budgets, American marketers are more comfortable experimenting with social media. But she is optimistic Canadian marketers will follow suit, especially after they see success south of the border.

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MacArthur's Essentials: Hootsuite Track your Twitter traffic hootsuite.com TubeMogul Send your videos to multiple sites in one click www.tubemogul.com Mashable Stay up-to-date on social media news www.mashable.com Facebook Connect Integrate Facebook into your own site http://developers.facebook.com/connect.php FriendFeed Manage your social media conversations friendfeed.com