TECH CHRONICLES

If there are words like "extensive experience," "results-oriented" and "innovative" in your online resume, start hitting the delete button. Those are buzzwords that could put a prospective employer to sleep, according to the professional social network LinkedIn Corp.

The Mountain View firm has culled the profiles of its 85 million members for the most overused words and phrases. The company posted a list today of the 10 buzzwords and phrases most overused by its members in the United States. Among them: motivated; dynamic; proven track record; team player; fast-paced; problem solver and entrepreneurial.

LinkedIn's company blog offered advice from career expert and author Lindsey Pollack.

"Phrases like 'extensive experience' and 'proven track record' can appear empty to a potential employer and may do more harm than good when you include them in your profile or resume," she wrote. "If you're using any of these 10 terms, wipe them out. Instead, note that you have eight to 10 years of experience or that you increased sales by 300 percent. Include meaningful phrases that apply specifically to highlights you've achieved in your career."

She offered other suggestions for fixing profiles over the holidays, including accentuating every role you have filled within your company, adding a profile photo, connecting to "at least 50 trusted contacts," and customizing your profile's LinkedIn URL so it shows up higher on Google searches.

Trending then: Of the 25 billion Twitter tweets sent out so far in 2010, the top topic was one of the major news stories - the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Twitter Inc. said Monday.

Then again, teen sensation Justin Bieber topped the list of most tweeted person of the year.

The San Francisco microblogging service presented its annual list of the top 10 trending topics, as well as the leading trends in the categories of news, people, movies, TV, technology, sports and hash tags.

The World Cup was so big - setting new records for Twitter traffic - that the company made it a separate category from sports. Those annoying vuvuzela horns and the famous winner-predicting octopus even made the top 10 list.

"These Trends indicate the things that are most meaningful in our lives," Twitter says in a blog post. "The list of 2010 Twitter Trends reflects what's happening in our world, demonstrates the power of turning any event or story into a shared experience."

Here's the top 10 Twitter trends of the year:

1. Gulf oil spill

2. FIFA World Cup

3. "Inception"

4. Haiti earthquake

5. Vuvuzela

6. Apple iPad

7. Google's Android

8. Justin Bieber

9. "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows"

10. Paul the octopus

- Benny Evangelista

A daily dose of postings from The Chronicle's technology blog (sfgate.com/blogs/tech)

This article appeared on page D - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle