There are a lot of interesting conversations going on about social media education and credentials. Should you pay? What’s the benefit? Do employers care? Does your community care?

Tim Sackett recently wrote an article for SourceCon about how LinkedIn Recruiter certification is bunk. Still, people will pay big bucks for it, in order to get a fancy badge and be part of the LinkedIn ‘tribe’ of Certified Recruiters. Please read his article. Whether you agree with Tim or not, you will LOL, and LOLing is very good for your health. The Jobcast team cares about your health.

There’s also HootSuite University, which internet marketing and SEO pro, Doug Antkowiak, in a scathing review, called “The Clown College for Social Media”. (I secretly still really want to attend… sshhh don’t tell!) If you want a detailed explanation of exactly what HootSuite U has to offer, his post doesn’t hold back, and there are lots of embarrassing screenshots.

I have to say, I am a little bit skeptical of paid social media accreditation. I am also very particular about how I spend my money, as every penny I spend on credentials is money I could have spent on comic books. Comic books which teach me valuable life lessons!

… thank goodness there’s YouTube!

Who needs to pay for accreditation when you can just watch endless social networking tutorials online? Well, to be honest, there are a lot of really, really terrible tutorials out there, and sifting through them can take hours. Trust me I know, because that’s how I just spent my day. All in service of you, dear readers.

So, without further adieu, here are a few of the YouTube best-of-the-best social media tutorials:

I love, love, love yourBusinessChannel! Their tutorials are super cute and fun. They are also wonderfully informative. If you want to know how to attract followers on Twitter, then this is the tutorial for you!

This one is not cute, and it is also long. I suggest snacks and a comfy chair, and possibly a lapcat, which will make up for any lack of cute. Measuring the effectiveness of your social media efforts is probably the least exciting part of networking, but it’s also totally necessary if you want to be successful. This lecture on social media ROI will give you some great advice; it’s well put together and easy to understand.

Google Plus is becoming one of my favorite social networks. It’s really great for promoting actual dialogue, and there are lots of cool groups you can join to keep in touch with others in your industry. If you haven’t hopped on the bandwagon yet, then watch this Google+ tutorial, and learn all the things. Next, add me to your circles! (@samaraparker, and @jobcast, in case you didn’t know!)

Longest Link Love I have ever written; it’s even longer than that tutorial on ROI!

Happy social recruiting.