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• Most Topular Stories

• Introducing the iPhone 5?

  Holy Kaw!

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:30 pm

  A look at the future of Apple mobile gadgets? Probably not, but who else would kick a puppy for a masseuse-on-demand app? Via Bizarro Comic. Tickle your funny bone. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• Is Android Only Surging Because Apple Is Letting It?

  TechCrunch

  MG Siegler

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:05 pm

  This weekend, I’ve been catching up on some reading. One post that was of particular interest to me was David Beach’s article from last week about developing for Android. Beach, who is a product manager at eBay Mobile and a co-founder of 12seconds, basically says that the experience sucks for a number of reasons (all of which Google can fix, but will take quite a bit of work and time). But one quote in particular stuck out to me: Android has succeeded despite Google. In fact it’s safe to say that Android is successful for one primary reason. The iPhone is only available on…

• Should Craigslist’s “Adult Services” Be Censored? [POLL]

  Mashable!

  Samuel Axon

  5 Sep 2010 | 6:38 pm

  This weekend, Craigslist removed its notorious “Adult Services” classifieds section in U.S. markets and replaced it with a black bar that read “censored,” implying that pressure from law enforcement or the legal and political systems of the country became too much to resist.Craigslist is playing for sympathy, but will it get that sympathy from the public? We’ve put together this poll to find out.There’s something to be said for the free flow of information on the Internet; you know we believe in that general rule. But Adult Services (formerly “Erotic…

• How to Build a Blog Network from the Ground Up

  ProBlogger Blog Tips

  Darren Rowse

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:06 am

  Guest Post by Elle from Couple Money. Getting exposure is a goal of many bloggers. They work hard writing and sharing their thoughts on various topics. Once they achieve a certain size however, growth seems to plateau a bit. They need a bigger platform so to speak and some decide to join a blog network. Blog networks have different meaning for different people. There are networks that are business focused and the members form a more formal alliance. They share revenue for example. There are networks that are more interest based, with the intention of helping the members grow. The network…

• A Secret About Secrets

  chrisbrogan.com

  ceb

  5 Sep 2010 | 11:30 am

  Almost every time I use the word “secret” when writing a blog post, I really mean “common sense that most people don’t do.” Shhhh.

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  Holy Kaw!

• Introducing the iPhone 5?

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:30 pm

  A look at the future of Apple mobile gadgets? Probably not, but who else would kick a puppy for a masseuse-on-demand app? Via Bizarro Comic. Tickle your funny bone. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• Rethinking Oreo cookie dunking

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:20 pm

  Reddit brings cookie lovers a whole new perspective on Oreo dunking. How did no one think of this before? Dessert revelations. Via Reddit. Tons of news and views for foodies. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• Top 5 Antiques Roadshow jackpots

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:02 pm

  Grandma’s attic hasn’t looked the same since the premier of Antiques Roadshow fourteen years ago, and even the most devout minimalist who has caught the show has to admit a tinge of curiosity at seeing an estate sale sign on the corner. The items most commonly carried on to the set include Bibles, paintings and china tea cups and are usually worth an average of $100, but every once in a while the show’s appraisers get a real thrill. A sampling of the top five: 18th Century Chinese Qianlong Period jade collection. Valued at $710,000 to $1,070,000 Oil painting by Clyfford…

• Robots replacing people at work

  5 Sep 2010 | 6:36 pm

  This NYTimes.com original video shows how new technology is allowing robots to make telecommuting easier. Water cooler chatter, hallway bump-ins, and desk swing-bys are all made possible for telecommuters. Mobile robots are equipped with wheels, a computer monitor (for seeing someone's face), and a computer camera. Now folks can roam the building and attend meetings while sitting at desks miles away from HQ. Out-of-sight-out-of-mind telecommuters are so 2009. Stay on top of the latest in Tech. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• NASA announces mission to the sun

  5 Sep 2010 | 3:52 pm

  Missions to Mars are so 2009, and space junkies can finally wipe away the tears shed over the grounding of the shuttle; we’re going to the Sun, baby! That’s right, NASA announced a trip to the sun to be completed by 2018 as part of the Solar Probe Plus mission. The unmanned craft will only be able to get within four million miles of its goal. Temperatures will still reach 2550 degrees Fahrenheit combined with “intense radiation.” Even at that distance, though, it should be close enough to study why the Sun’s atmosphere is hotter than the surface as well as the…

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  TechCrunch

• Is Android Only Surging Because Apple Is Letting It?

  MG Siegler

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:05 pm

  This weekend, I’ve been catching up on some reading. One post that was of particular interest to me was David Beach’s article from last week about developing for Android. Beach, who is a product manager at eBay Mobile and a co-founder of 12seconds, basically says that the experience sucks for a number of reasons (all of which Google can fix, but will take quite a bit of work and time). But one quote in particular stuck out to me: Android has succeeded despite Google. In fact it’s safe to say that Android is successful for one primary reason. The iPhone is only available on…

• Guest Post: Could Tiny Somaliland Become the First Cashless Society?

  Guest Author

  5 Sep 2010 | 1:46 pm

  Bob Dylan once said that ‘money doesn’t talk, it swears’, but in Hargeisa the capital of Africa’s Somaliland it stinks. It literally stinks, reeking of rotten paper, like a leaky library in a monsoon. That’s because there’s so much of it. For every dollar there are almost 17,000 Somaliland Shillings and the highest-denomination note is 500 Shillings, which is by no means the most common note in circulation. Money-changers sit within self-built stacks of money (picture left, video below) and children take wheelbarrows of it from one place to another,…

• Blogging And Mass Psychomanipulation

  Michael Arrington

  5 Sep 2010 | 2:58 am

  If I ever write another book it will probably be about one of three topics. The first is the truth about how the press and journalism really works – the sausage making – to show just how much of a beautiful, subjective and chaotic mess it all is. The second idea is to talk about how perfect blogging is, with its constant feedback loop, as a training ground for mass psychology and manipulation. The third idea I’m keeping to myself for now, but it’s more startup focused. It’s the second one that’s been on my mind lately. Mostly because it’s become…

• Stealth Mode Watch: Another Nail In The Coffin Of ‘Stealth’

  Alexia Tsotsis

  4 Sep 2010 | 8:51 pm

  Stealth Mode Watch, a searchable data spider of often very revealing SEC form D filings, is the brain child of Denis Papathanasiou, who came up with the idea while researching funding options (a.k.a spying) for his ebooks startup Fifobooks, “I was just using it to keep tabs on specific investors and other competitors in the ebook space, but I mentioned it to a few people, and they were interested enough to want to use it themselves.” Papathanasiou then added a public API and launched it in beta under its own domain. Right now the site allows a simple search mode which shows…

• The Real Social Network: Your Mobile Contacts

  MG Siegler

  4 Sep 2010 | 6:26 pm

  The term “social network” is of course synonymous with online networks like Facebook. But think about what you’re actual social life is like for a second. Are you really closest to the people whose items you “like” the most on Facebook? What about the people you @reply or retweet on Twitter? The people you reblog the most on Tumblr? If you’re anything like me, probably not. Instead, the best indicator of who I actually interact with socially the most in real life are the calls I make and the texts I send — it’s all mobile interaction. I’ve…

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  Mashable!

• Should Craigslist’s “Adult Services” Be Censored? [POLL]

  Samuel Axon

  5 Sep 2010 | 6:38 pm

  This weekend, Craigslist removed its notorious “Adult Services” classifieds section in U.S. markets and replaced it with a black bar that read “censored,” implying that pressure from law enforcement or the legal and political systems of the country became too much to resist.Craigslist is playing for sympathy, but will it get that sympathy from the public? We’ve put together this poll to find out.There’s something to be said for the free flow of information on the Internet; you know we believe in that general rule. But Adult Services (formerly “Erotic…

• 10 Great Watches for Gadget Lovers [PICS]

  Amy-Mae Elliott

  5 Sep 2010 | 5:44 pm

  Everybody loves a good watch, and the best thing about watches is that they actually serve a practical purpose. These handy, portable gadgets are more than just decoration, which means you can usually justify spending money on a decent one.However, being geeks, we want more from our timepiece than the ability to inform us of the hour, so we’ve found 10 great watches that offer some special geek-friendly functionality too.Whether you want to use your wristwatch to make a call, to control your iPod or record video, the gallery below has got a watch for you. Let us know your favorites in…

• 6 BlackBerry Apps to Cure iPhone Envy

  Sarah Kessler

  5 Sep 2010 | 3:47 pm

  We’ve all run into someone with a new iPhone. And we’ve all learned to expect the inevitable “watch this” moment involved in this encounter.Whether they identify the background music with Shazam, pull up a fancy screen saver, or fire up a classic PC game, it’s easy for even the most loyal BlackBerry owner to feel a slight pang of jealousy while witnessing these demonstrations. The iPhone is so shiny, so trendy, and it does so many cool tricks.It’s better to cope with these feelings than to admit them. There’s no need to give up your BlackBerry. The following six iPhone tricks…

• Disgraced HP CEO Mark Hurd Might Work for Oracle

  Samuel Axon

  5 Sep 2010 | 2:11 pm

  Former HP CEO Mark Hurd is in talks to join computer technology corporation Oracle “as a top executive,” the Wall Street Journal reports.Hurd resigned from his position at HP after an investigation into a sexual harassment claim made by a former HP contractor. The company concluded that Hurd did not violate its sexual harassment policy, but the investigation nevertheless uncovered evidence that he violated its Standards of Business Conduct, including filing inaccurate expense reports.Announcing his resignation, Hurd stated, “I realized there were instances in which I did not…

• Should You Search Social Media Sites for Job Candidate Information?

  Sharlyn Lauby

  5 Sep 2010 | 12:45 pm

  This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.Social media is becoming a great way for recruiters to announce job openings and find qualified candidates. The conversational nature of social media allows you to interact with potential applicants and learn more about their professional backgrounds, experiences, and goals. That being said, it also opens the door to learning a lot about applicants that you might not discover during a traditional interview.Which begs the…

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  ProBlogger Blog Tips

• How to Build a Blog Network from the Ground Up

  Darren Rowse

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:06 am

  Guest Post by Elle from Couple Money. Getting exposure is a goal of many bloggers. They work hard writing and sharing their thoughts on various topics. Once they achieve a certain size however, growth seems to plateau a bit. They need a bigger platform so to speak and some decide to join a blog network. Blog networks have different meaning for different people. There are networks that are business focused and the members form a more formal alliance. They share revenue for example. There are networks that are more interest based, with the intention of helping the members grow. The network…

• Blogosphere Trends + Guest Posting

  Kimberly Turner

  4 Sep 2010 | 1:41 pm

  This column is written by Kimberly Turner from Regator (a great tool that gathers and organizes the world’s best blog posts). – Darren While Darren and his family are on a well-deserved holiday, he has lined up enough pre-written content and guest posts to keep ProBlogger readers supplied with plenty of quality reading in his absence. So it makes sense that, this week, we’ll be focusing on the art of the guest post. The most important thing to remember is that guest posts are a win-win situation for the host blog and guest blogger. Keeping that in mind as you send pitches (or review…

• Avoid Blogger Burnout: 5 Tips to Save Your Sanity

  Georgina Laidlaw

  3 Sep 2010 | 6:58 am

  For the beginner, the blog learning curve can be steep. As well as all the technical and blog visibility issues, there are questions about focus, content types and research, and of course reaching readers. You’re plugging away, day after day, and getting little in the way of recognisable success. How can you stay motivated during what can be a very trying time? Here are the techniques I use. 1. Do what you love. Staying motivated is a whole lot easier when you’re constantly thinking about, and dealing with, the topic you blog about. If you love your topic, you’ll find it…

• ProBlogger is in Guest Posting Mode

  Darren Rowse

  2 Sep 2010 | 12:14 pm

  Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that as this post goes live I’ll be heading to the airport to head to warmer parts of Australia for a couple of weeks break. The bags are packed, the house sitter has the key, the tickets are bought and most importantly….. the blog is scheduled to keep proving you with great content. Everytime I go away for a break I’m confronted with the choice of either letting the blog sit idle for a couple of weeks or to work hard for the week or two before going to make sure that content keeps flowing. I’ve never really been able to…

• How to Get Hired on the Problogger Job Board

  Darren Rowse

  2 Sep 2010 | 6:58 am

  Guest Post by Ross Hudgens of Billy.com. Making money as a freelance content writer isn’t easy. If you aren’t running your own blog or website, turning content into cash can be a difficult thing. But there’s opportunity out there – you just have to try a little harder than normal to find it. One of the best places to look is the Problogger job board. Here, potential employers are looking for people like you – writers serious about their craft, with a strong content-creation skillset that often develops from reading a website like this. Because of these potential employer’s high…

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  chrisbrogan.com

• A Secret About Secrets

  ceb

  5 Sep 2010 | 11:30 am

  Almost every time I use the word “secret” when writing a blog post, I really mean “common sense that most people don’t do.” Shhhh.

• Package Your Business

  ceb

  5 Sep 2010 | 1:30 am

  There’s a lot to be said about packaging. Have you seen Field Notes? (I wrote about them before, I admit.) They’re notebooks (and stuff). And yet, they’re so cool! Have you seen Artisanal Pencil Sharpening? He’s not kidding. Well, he might have started out kidding, but it’s a full on business. In both cases, it’s masterful packaging. Packaging Ideas is a Start When you think up a great concept, everything really seems to just fall into place. For instance, The Pulse Network is a lot of fun as an Internet TV network, but as we’ve started defining it…

• Five Things I Like About Social Media Explorer

  ceb

  4 Sep 2010 | 11:30 am

  Beyond the content, there are a lot of things I like about Jason Falls’s Social Media Explorer. First, I like his very thin header bar. It gives me lots more “top of the fold” for his site. I like his choice of navigation at the top. (That’s number one.) The Top Right I like the top right area where Jason makes it clear that he’d love to further connect and extend the relationship. The entire sidebar is full of awesome like this, but right at the very top, Jason does a great job of showing us that he wants to get in touch. I really like the custom graphics and…

• Numbers That Matter

  ceb

  4 Sep 2010 | 1:30 am

  The other day, someone told me they were a bit down because their score on a social media site was low. I was quick to point out that the number had no bearing on the outside world. It was just something a site had decided about game dynamics within a single social network. It got me thinking about the numbers that matter, from a business perspective, but then even out into other areas. Here were some numbers I thought might matter more. Numbers That Matter Number of smiles you caused today. Number of hugs you distributed today. Number of meals you ate with people you love. Number of times…

• Business Isn’t All Work

  ceb

  3 Sep 2010 | 11:30 am

  I’ve written a lot in the last few posts about business. That was the goal: to help people better understand some of these tools and their impact on doing business. However, I should be really clear that business isn’t all work. Business, especially human business, can be relationship-minded, can be sustainable, and can even be fun. Sure, transactions have to happen and value has to change hands, but a lot of doing business is about making relationships. Now, translate the word “business” to mean something a little more broad-minded, and you can see how all these ideas…

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  Scobleizer

• “Twitter track on steroids” announced by TweetMeme founder

  Robert Scoble

  12 Aug 2010 | 8:44 am

  If you follow Steve Gillmor you know he loved a feature that used to be in Twitter, that he called Track. It let you ask Twitter to shove you real-time info. It was turned off as Twitter tried to deal with its scale problem. But now Twitter is bringing back real-time streams. I’m using a pre-release version of TweetDeck that shows tweets coming into its columns in real time. It moves fast. And that’s the problem. We all want to follow more and more people but that means we are less and less likely to keep up with the people and information we really want to keep up with. So, how…

• Tour of SimpleGeo reveals why location services can’t get along

  Robert Scoble

  10 Aug 2010 | 11:36 pm

  Last week I finally got to visit one of the companies that’s getting a lot of attention inside the location-based service world. No, it’s not Foursquare or Gowalla. It’s SimpleGeo, headquartered in Boulder, CO. But one thing I’m interested in is why all these services don’t share data (I wrote about that in Techcrunch recently). You know, TripIt doesn’t talk with Google Maps which doesn’t talk with Foursquare which doesn’t talk with Gowalla which doesn’t talk with Bing Maps which doesn’t talk with Trapster which doesn’t talk…

• This startup wants you to play with its balls

  Robert Scoble

  10 Aug 2010 | 11:14 pm

  Last week in Boulder, Colorado, we saw a ton of cool startups but many of them didn’t make products consumers can go into a store and buy. GearBox, though, is selling robotic balls that will cost about $50. Now, what’s cool about a robotic ball beyond their opening pitch of “play with our balls?” Well, you use a smart phone to tell the ball where to roll, watch the video I shot to see how the ball works. That alone is fun, but is sheer delight for cats or babies. But they went further than just the obvious use cases. The robot inside the ball is actually a pretty open…

• Behind the endless iPad photo book: Fotopedia Heritage

  Robert Scoble

  10 Aug 2010 | 10:54 pm

  I love getting an in-depth look at cool new technology, but even better I love getting to know some of the great technologists that have done amazing things in the industry. This video has a little bit of both. Jean-Marie Hullot worked for years for Steve Jobs as CTO at NeXT and at Apple. He’s played key roles (he asked me not to tell you just how key) in the development of major products at both companies, including the iPhone. But lately he’s been following his other passions: photography and iPad applications. Yesterday he released a really cool new app: Fotopedia’s…

• Map Wars (visiting Bing’s imaging center)

  Robert Scoble

  10 Aug 2010 | 10:26 am

  Everytime I fly I look at who is sitting next to me and wonder “I wonder what he/she does?” Last week on the way to Boulder a guy was sitting next to me and he had a Dell laptop with Windows 7 loaded, and was doing Outlook email. I thought to myself “I bet he works for Microsoft.” Turns out he was. It was Eric Waldman, who does licensing for Bing Maps. We talked for the next couple of hours about the industry, and what he sees as the good things and problems. Talked about how Navteq and other companies control a lot of the data that you see in Mapquest, Google Maps,…

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  Blog World Expo

• Overheard on #Blogchat: Selfish Tweeting (@MelaKamin)

  Alli

  5 Sep 2010 | 7:25 pm

  Do you participate in #blogchat? Every week, this weekly discussion on Twitter focuses on a specific topic and bloggers everywhere are invited to join in. Because I often have more to say than what will fit in 140 characters, every Sunday night, I post about some of the most interesting #blogchat tweets. Join the conversation by commenting below. (Still confused? Read more about #blogchat here.) This week’s theme? How Musicians Can Use Social Media The theme of the week isn’t really my forte, but that doesn’t mean the conversation isn’t interesting or that…

• Is your Blog Thunder or Lightening?

  Alli

  5 Sep 2010 | 4:31 pm

  The “perfect storm” for a blogger is a combination of traffic, community, and sales. You want bodies in the door. You want them commenting and interacting. You want them buying items from you. It isn’t easy to work to this level, but answering one question can help you figure out where you need to improve as a blogger: Is your blog thunder or lightening? The Thunder Blogger Thunder is loud and scary, or at least it was to us as children. It can make a lot of different noises, from rumblings in the distance to firecracker booms that feel like they’re right on top of us.

• How Zombies Could Help Your Blog

  Alli

  4 Sep 2010 | 11:03 am

  Over the past few years, zombies have gone from being a cult favorite to being widely loved as a part of mainstream pop culture. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with people about the best zombie apocalypse strategy. Zombie books are invading best seller lists. Zombie movies and video games are more popular than ever. So tell me, why did you decide to read this article? Was it because you say “help your blog” and thought that you might pick up some tips? Or was it becauase though, “Oh, cool. This should be interesting.” after seeing the word…

• Is Email Taking Over Your Life?

  Alli

  3 Sep 2010 | 9:30 am

  The first thing I do every morning is answer my email. During the day, I check my email multiple times. Before I go to bed? Yep, email. One more time. Just in case. Answering emails is a part of the territory if you’re a professional blogger, or really any kind of online professional. Sometime, though, I think I overdo it. Do I really need to check my email so often. I started thinking about how often I check my email because I read an article on Mashable called “The Truth About Email” and was surprised at the one of the stats they posted – 19% of people surveyed check…

• How to Create Mouth Watering Content for Your Blog

  Special Guest

  3 Sep 2010 | 8:36 am

  BlogWorld 2010 Speaker BlogWorld Track Friday October 15, 2010 Mariners A/12 Time: 4:00PM to 5:00PM Hi, my name is Nathalie Lussier and I’ve been a blogger nearly half my life, starting way back on platforms like Livejournal and Blogger. A lot has changed since the early days of blogging, from awesome conferences like BlogWorld Expo to attend, to new blogging platforms, and different promotion strategies! One thing that has remained important since the start of my blogging career has been the ability for a blogger to create mouth watering content that entices readers to share with their…

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  Social Media Marketing Strategy, Tactics, and Tools

• Customer and Company Value, You Must Define Both

  Jacob Morgan

  2 Sep 2010 | 9:21 am

  In my presentations I oftentimes reference a quote from Gartner which says the following: “By 2010 more than half of companies that have established an online community will fail to manage it as an agent of change, ultimately eroding customer value.  Rushing into social computing initiatives without clearly defined benefits for both the company and the customer will be the biggest cause of failure.” Notice that value must be defined for BOTH the customer AND the COMPANY, something I feel that many organizations miss when developing their social web strategy.  Social media…

• Will CRM Sytems and Listening Tools Become One and the Same?

  Jacob Morgan

  31 Aug 2010 | 10:58 pm

  Call me crazy (as many of you have), but I don’t see the separation of “listening tools” and “CRM systems” lasting too much longer.  We have actually seen a few acquisitions over the past few months such as Jive acquiring Filtrbox, Lithium acquiring Scout Labs, Meltwater acquiring Buzzgain, Attensity acquiring Biz 360, and several others.  We haven’t really seen CRM companies acquire listening tools (have we?).  We have seen many vendors build integrations with one another but with the recent focus and announcement at the CRM Evolution conference that…

• An Open Letter to CRM and Social Media People

  Jacob Morgan

  26 Aug 2010 | 4:10 pm

  Over the past few months (and perhaps more so over the past few weeks) I’ve noticed a growing tension between the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and the social media folks.  In some instances this has led to direct name calling in public mediums -  which is rather unfortunate.  The advent or evolution of CRM into Social CRM is merging disciplines together; chiefly CRM and social media, this is causing a bit of a clash between the two camps (in my opinion).  Bickering, arguing, name calling, and ignoring one another isn’t going to help anyone.  Many of you might…

• Business Problems that Social CRM Helps Organizations Solve

  Jacob Morgan

  22 Aug 2010 | 12:06 am

  (White to move and Mate in 2, can you figure out the answer?) There’s been a lot of talk about what SCRM is (social customer relationship management) and how it should be defined.  There has also been a lot of conversation around Social CRM from a technology standpoint in terms of vendor offerings.  I’ll admit I’ve engaged in the definition wars as well as it’s hard to resist however I’ve come to realize that none of this matters because at the end of the day we are looking to solve a business problem that organizations are faced with.  Nobody asks for a…

• How Do You Define Engagement?

  Jacob Morgan

  19 Aug 2010 | 1:41 am

  I’m at the Alterian “Engaging Times” conference in Chicago which is full of interesting conversations and people.  One of the things that struck me at the conference is that nobody defined or explained what “engagement” means.  If someone “likes” your facebook page is that engagement?  What if they leave a comment on your blog?  What if they tweet with your brand?  Are all of these things engagement?  Does one of the above make you more engaged than another?  Engagement also really needs to be put into context depending on what is being done;…

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  Social Media Marketing

• Picture This

  Scott Monty

  29 Aug 2010 | 6:23 am

  One of the oft-overlooked elements in the routine of blogging is image selection. Now, not every blogger uses images, charts, graphs, or other visuals as part of their storytelling approach (Seth Godin, most notably, is almost always a text-only blogger). But for those of us who do, our photos can be just as important and compelling as our written copy.The art of communications and marketing is largely one of storytelling. As someone with small children, I can appreciate the necessity of images to help tell stories. Images can help to set expectations, evoke emotional responses, draw…

• Who Do You Trust?

  Scott Monty

  15 Aug 2010 | 5:23 am

  It's been well documented that people don't trust corporations as much as they used to. But who do they trust? It's largely people from two categories: third party experts (academics, some media sources, analysts, etc.) and "people like me."But when it comes to social media, we've also heard that people don't trust bloggers (from Forrester, no less). I've often doubted that assertion, particularly because it seems rather misleading. While the category of bloggers as a whole may be untrusted, people develop relationships with the blogs they follow and read most closely, and therefore…

• Social Network: The Movie

  Scott Monty

  19 Jul 2010 | 3:30 am

  As Facebook prepares to celebrate hitting 500 million members this week, we're seeing more news of the controversial film The Social Network.** With the tagline "You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies," the trailer for the film has been running on thesocialnetwork-movie.com or 500millionfriends.com. You can watch it below now:Sony is advertising the movie on Twitter - but not on Facebook (go figure!). The founders of Facebook have already reacted to the trailer. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is going to be played by Jesse Eisenberg,…

• Now That's Viral, Man

  Scott Monty

  17 Jul 2010 | 10:30 am

  If you haven't followed the Old Spice phenomenon from this week, you've missed out. It's a great example of a really strong performing viral campaign that harkens back to some of the classics like Subservient Chicken, Shave Everywhere, and Tea Partay.It started on on television earlier this year with the following Old Spice commercial, "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" (link for those of you in RSS readers):(If you'd like to see how this was accomplished, Leo Laporte has a great interview with the agency.)That commercial, first aired during the Super Bowl in early February, as of this week…

• Global Web Index

  Scott Monty

  12 Jul 2010 | 10:07 pm

  Around the world, social media has taken off. While this is an exciting time for companies, for the global social media executive that means a lot of headaches as we try make sense of it all.The gradual adoption, platforms that differ by region and the difference in penetration of mobile and broadband connections all mean that there are bound to be disparities in how and where people around the world connect via the social web.Once upon a time, Universal McCann did a series called Tracking the Impact of Social Media that consisted of four "waves" of the study. You can grab them here:Wave 2:…

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  Daily Blog Tips

• How to One-Up the Best Blog Post Ever!

  Guest Author

  3 Sep 2010 | 9:05 pm

  This is a guest post by Justin P Lambert. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here. There. You knew when you put in that pithy final line, just punchy enough to ensure a ton of comments and at least 200 retweets. You sat back, cracked your knuckles, sighed deeply and click “Publish”. And sure enough, a few days later, you’re looking at 348 comments, 1235 retweets, a ridiculous response on StumbleUpon, and a personal e-mail from Daniel Scocco asking you how you did it. You know without a shadow of a doubt: that was the best damn blog post you’ve…

• Does Working Online Isolate You from the World?

  Daniel Scocco

  3 Sep 2010 | 10:37 am

  This post is part of the Friday Q&A section. If you want to ask a question, just write a comment below. Cherran asks: As a person working online, after the initial revenue goals are achieved, I’m getting a feeling that I’m little bit straying away from the normal world. Even for a small business owner with half of our income, he would need to interact with people face to face everyday. I’m getting a feeling that we may live in a safe cocoon, far away from the reality. Have you ever felt this way? If so how do you deal with it? Joining some organizations, working from…

• We Should Try To Learn More From Other People

  Daniel Scocco

  2 Sep 2010 | 5:35 am

  Back when I was at the university (around 2002) I went to live in an apartment with three other students. I didn’t know them prior to moving there, but quickly we became good friends. Then one day I was leaving the building to walk to the university and I noticed one of my friends leaving the garage with a BMW Z3 M. Not familiar? At the time it was one of the best BMWs around, with almost 300hp. Below is a picture. Needless to say I was shocked when I saw the scene. I approached him and said something like “What the heck dude! You never told me you had a Z3 M!”. Right after…

• How to Suck at Writing, and then Write for the Biggest Blogs in the World

  Guest Author

  31 Aug 2010 | 9:15 pm

  This is a guest post by Danny Wong. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here. Writing hasn’t always been a skill of mine. I rarely ever read when I was younger, and still had my father read me books for years after I had learned how to read for myself. So how did I go from a forced writer (I only wrote things when I had to for school and never for recreation) to an influential blogger? I started writing for our business blog just because we needed content creators. I was new to this whole Social Media thing, and I could hardly write coherent content,…

• 30 Tools to Help You Find Domain Names

  Daniel Scocco

  31 Aug 2010 | 7:05 am

  As you probably know recently I launched a new website, which aims to be a complete resource for people who want to get started online and build their first websites. Traffic is picking up there, and one of the most common complaints I get over the contact form is that readers can’t find available domains that are appealing enough. That is why I decided to compile a list there with 30 Awesome Tools To Find Available Domain Names. I tried to make it as complete as possible, and you’ll find different types of tools included. Some allow you to search for available domains in real…

• 

  SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog

• LDA - Is On-Page Optimization the SEO Secret?

  Dana Lookadoo

  4 Sep 2010 | 5:59 am

  Posted by Dana LookadooThis post was originally in YOUmoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc.How do I recap the SEOmoz PRO Seminar session on Uncovering a Hidden Technique for SEO? The title is so attractive that it produces Pavlonian symptoms as we salivate at the thought of uncovering a hidden SEO treasure. Ben Hendrickson of SEOmoz presented a model which appears to show how Google may assigning relevance to keyword terms based on…

• Four Creative Link Building Tactics - Whiteboard Friday

  Aaron Wheeler

  2 Sep 2010 | 2:10 pm

  Posted by Aaron Wheeler In this week's Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin clues you in on four link building tactics that you likely haven't heard about. Given the importance of link building to SEO, this video should prove to be worth its (virtual) weight in gold. (I mean that in the best possible way ;-p) View statistics for this video Embed video <object width="640" height="360" id="wistia_174843" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"><param name="movie"…

• A New Day, A New SEOmoz

  randfish

  1 Sep 2010 | 4:48 pm

  Posted by randfishIt's been a wild few weeks at the mozplex. Today wrapped up the amazing mozinar with our half-day tools training just in time to launch the new version of SEOmoz. Should we slow down this crazy pace? Nah. If you're feeling a sense of deja vu, don't worry; it's perfectly normal. We're the same old moz, but with a new look, faster loading pages and a surprising amount of new functionality. Let's walk through it together, shall we? Big Improvements to PRO Membership It's a good day to be PRO; we've just released:• A brand new PRO Dashboard, that's designed to be the center…

• Day 1 at the SEOmoz Training Raceway

  Dana Lookadoo

  1 Sep 2010 | 5:45 am

  Posted by Dana LookadooThis post was originally in YOUmoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc.I’m going to speed through the 2nd half of the 1st day at the SEOmoz Pro Training Race Track. Recall that 9 speakers raced through topics covering clicks to conversions.The following are highlights of the end of the race for Day 1.   Presentation Off Insights distilled also included the business side of pitching SEO. Will Critchlow and…

• From Clicks to Conversions at the SEOmoz Training Raceway

  Dana Lookadoo

  31 Aug 2010 | 4:06 am

  Posted by Dana LookadooThis post was originally in YOUmoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc.Day 1 of SEOmoz Pro Training was like being at a race track. The course careened from clicks to conversions and from search results to landing pages. The audience watched 9 speakers drive their search marketing race cars at speeds faster than fingers can type. Given the finger-breaking speeds, it was fortunate all SEO fans were well fueled -…

• 

  SEO Book.com - Learn. Rank. Dominate.

• Are You Thinking Like Google?

  Aaron Wall

  3 Sep 2010 | 3:21 pm

  No, not like that, but in the good way! :D The following is a guest post by Jim Kukral highlighting one of the most fundamental tips to succeeding online. Have you ever really taken a step back from all the technical SEO stuff and thought about why Google wins? The real reasons why they have mass-market share and why they continue to dominate? It's time you should, because once you understand how to start thinking like Google, you can finally begin to go beyond just ranking better, but also how to be a master Internet marketer so you can get more sales, leads and publicity. After all, once…

• How To Write Good

  PeterD

  1 Sep 2010 | 8:32 pm

  Yes, deliberate mistake :) It grates when people write poorly, huh. When writers write well, the words almost become invisible. The focus shifts away from technical details, and onto the message. Is there an easy way to write better blog posts? E-mails? Web copy? Let's take a look at three guidelines for web writing. 1. If You Can Say It, You Can Write It The Dilbert Mission Statement Generator - sadly now offline - comes up with convoluted gems this: "Our challenge is to assertively network economically sound methods of empowerment so that we may continually negotiate performance based…

• Selling SEO Services: A Consultative Approach

  PeterD

  26 Aug 2010 | 8:11 am

  Does the thought of selling fill you with dread? If you see yourself as a technologist, or marketer, then selling may not come easy to you. But we all need to sell something, even if it is just our opinion! If you're a consultant of any description, it comes with the territory. So it pays to know a few techniques. Luckily, sales isn't something you have to be born to do - it does not require supernatural charm, charisma, a hide as thick as an elephant, and a superhuman drive. Selling can be like a doctors consultation. A Visit To The Doctor When you go to the doctor, do you expect the doctor…

• How Many Companies Has Google Bought?

  Aaron Wall

  25 Aug 2010 | 4:52 am

  One of the best ways to track Google's strategies is through visualizing & analyzing their acquisitions. Which is what the following image helps you do. Click on it for the full enlarged version :) via Scores

• Alexa Site Audit Review

  vanillacoke

  24 Aug 2010 | 2:21 am

  Alexa, a free and well-known website information tool, recently released a paid service. For $199 per site Alexa will audit your site (up to 10,000 pages) and return a variety of different on-page reports relating to your SEO efforts. It has a few off-page data points but it focuses mostly on your on-page optimization. You can access Alexa's Site Audit Report here: http://www.alexa.com/siteaudit Report Sections Alexa's Site Audit Report breaks the information down into 6 different sections (some which have additional sub-sections as well) Overview Crawl Coverage Reputation Page Optimization…

• 

  Matt Cutts

• 30 day challenge update: meditation!

  Matt Cutts

  2 Sep 2010 | 7:08 am

  It’s time for an update on my 30 day challenges. Here’s what I’ve done the last few months: June: I didn’t respond to email after 10 p.m. and I read the New Testament of the Bible. Both were interesting in different ways. It turns out that 10 p.m. is a pretty good time for me to turn off email (I’ve tried 9 p.m. in the past and that didn’t work–Google can be a very email-heavy place at times). I’d like to get back to this habit, because it made me distinctly more mellow at night. I noticed that I slipped pretty quickly back into the “email…

• Climbing Kilimanjaro

  Matt Cutts

  23 Aug 2010 | 8:33 am

  “Don’t think. Just walk.” — a fellow hiker. Last week I returned from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. I’ll start with the bottom line: I made it to the top! That’s three of us at sunrise on the sixth day. We took the Machame route, which takes seven days. In theory, you could march right up the mountain, but you need time for your body to acclimate to the altitude, so after ascending for a couple days, you spend several days hiking around below the main summit getting used to the altitude. We did something that 95% of people don’t do: we…

• Switching between dev and beta Chrome channels on Linux

  Matt Cutts

  21 Aug 2010 | 11:30 am

  If you’re on Linux (say Ubuntu 10.04, also known as Lucid Lynx), you can switch between the developer (dev) and beta channels of Chrome like this: Switch from Beta to Dev: sudo apt-get install google-chrome-unstable Switch from Dev to Beta: sudo apt-get install google-chrome-beta That’s easier for me than going back for the .deb file and doing something with it. Also, if you want to check whether a new dev version of Chrome is out, you can just repeat the same command: sudo apt-get install google-chrome-unstable and if there’s no new version, you’ll get something like…

• Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

  Matt Cutts

  2 Aug 2010 | 4:24 am

  I’m leaving Tuesday to try to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. If you want to show your support, please donate at charity:water. Anyone who wants to give is welcome. Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, at 19,340 feet (5895 meters). It’s hard to climb Kilimanjaro, mainly because of the altitude. I’ll be completely without internet access for a few weeks. Don’t expect any blog comments or email replies for the first half of August–right now, I’m not even planning to bring my laptop. Not to worry, the webspam team itself will keep chugging away: reading…

• How to find start-up ideas

  Matt Cutts

  19 Jul 2010 | 8:46 am

  Chris Dixon had an interesting post a while ago about how to find start-up ideas. The advice boiled down to keeping a spreadsheet of ideas and talking to lots of smart people (entrepreneurs, potential customers, VCs, people at big companies). It’s good advice. Paul Graham also wrote in 2008 about startup ideas he’d like to fund. Here’s another way to come up with startup ideas: walk around your house or apartment, and look for “hot spots.” A hotspot can be an area of high information density, clutter, stress, disorganization, or any place that has a suboptimal…

• 

  TRANSPARENT REAL ESTATE

• Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended for Some Military Personnel

  Pat Kitano

  25 Aug 2010 | 11:25 pm

  Due to the U.S. military’s involvement in overseas conflicts from 2008 to the present, the government has extended the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit until April 30, 2011, for some military personnel.Those who have been unable to receive this benefit due to military service now have the opportunity to utilize the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers or the $6,500 tax credit for existing home buyers.Qualifying for the Tax CreditActive-duty military members who served at least three months outside the U.S. during the last year may be able to purchase a home with the tax credits.

• Engage your community by giving them what they want: Daily Deals!

  Pat Kitano

  23 Aug 2010 | 8:55 pm

  You may have been introduced to Groupon from last week's $25 for $50 worth of Gap clothes offering. It sold 441,000 coupons across America and made "Daily Deals" the war cry of the new local advertising model for the Great Recession. We've always believed the best way to engage your community is to give them what they want. In today's economy, deep discount daily deals makes complete sense. Yet, most consumers don't know hundreds of these great deals exist right in their own neighborhood. Well, give the people what they want to see: We've added a Deals! page onto our Breaking News Network…

• Why HOW (Home Ownership Workshop) is the new WOW!

  Shashank Shekhar

  13 Jun 2010 | 10:57 pm

  Real Estate and Lending industry has always been ridiculed for not doing enough towards educating the home buyers. In fact a lot of blame for the mortgage meltdown was placed on the fact that the buyers were not made aware of "what they were getting into." Now real estate professionals across 15 states have come together to put Home Ownership Workshops (called HOW in short) for First Time Home Buyers. These professionals are part of Breaking News Network and are already providing value to their communities by being their real time media resource. Home Ownership Workshops are a series of web…

• The Breaking News Network is meeting at Inman Connect in San Francisco

  Pat Kitano

  19 May 2010 | 6:19 pm

  We're having our first face-to-face gathering of our Breaking News Network participants at Inman Real Estate Connect between July 13-15 in San Francisco. Inman has generously offered us a 25% discount if you register here with the code BNN . Register before the prices go up this Friday, May 21! ...

• Guest post: Buying Real Estate While in College: A Very Possible Dream

  Pat Kitano

  8 May 2010 | 5:19 pm

  Melissa Tamura approached me to write an article about a collegiate perspective on real estate. The best thing Melissa has done in this article is to tangibly describe how college students think about real estate, and she has outlined a mission statement that can be applied to any college student. I wish Melissa all the best. In the future, with the experience of purchasing a home under her belt, she could use her blog Zen College Life to guide other college students to do the same. In fact, we have a national network of Breaking News sites run mostly by Realtors that can support her message.

• 

  GeekEstate Blog

• CoRE #177 is Now Online

  Drew Meyers

  1 Sep 2010 | 2:23 am

  I published the 177th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate yesterday at the Virtual Results blog – head over and check out this month’s winners! The September CoRE will be hosted by Kris Berg, at her San Diego Home Blog. Submit your best September article here before the submission deadline of September 26th Midnight Pacific time!

• Open Beta Announcement for Local Market Explorer 3

  Andrew Mattie

  26 Aug 2010 | 12:33 am

  I’m really happy to say that the version 3 beta of the Local Market Explorer WordPress plugin is finally available for everyone to try out. For those who don’t know what Local Market Explorer is, it’s a way to embed local area info from Zillow, Education.com, Walk Score, Yelp, TeachStreet, and Nile Guide directly into your WordPress-powered site in order to benefit your visitors and give search engines more content. You can see a demo of Local Market Explorer v3 on Geek Estate, on BankVibe’s new real estate center, and on my dev blog. Screenshots of v2 and other info is…

• What Direction Is Your Market Headed

  Jeff Manson

  24 Aug 2010 | 1:47 pm

  With the recent news of existing July home sales plunging (27.2%) to its lowest level in approximately 15 years. Some economists are predicting a double dip recession. A couple reasons are because a lot of the banks are holding foreclosures off the market along with weak employment numbers. It would be great to hear your take on the market in your area. Where it is now and the direction you think it’s headed. It would also be great to hear what you think is going to help things get better in the future. Good business people make adjustments depending on the market conditions. I would love…

• Supra eKey available on iPhone & iPod Touch

  Geordy Rostad

  23 Aug 2010 | 5:15 pm

  Supra has been promising a version of eKey for the Apple iPhone for several months now.  I was starting to think it was vaporware until the application finally showed up on the iTunes store recently.  I personally don’t own an iPhone and I was a little concerned that I might be excluded because the iPhone was the only compatible device shown in Supra’s marketing material.  Thankfully, it turns out that my hunch was correct.  The iPod Touch works as an eKey flawlessly.  There is one caveat however… Before you go to buy a dongle from your local MLS office, you should…

• The CoRE is Making a Comeback!

  Drew Meyers

  19 Aug 2010 | 10:12 am

  Most of you  likely know I managed the Carnival of Real Estate from when it was founded back in 2006 up until sometime in 2008, and as a result, it will always hold a special place in my heart. The CoRE was started to be a means to discover great blog content from the RE.net. While at the time, there was no Twitter and feed readers hadn’t been adopted, so discovering great content on the web was much more of a challenge than it is today. The CoRE has certainly had its ups and downs over the past few years (and has been out of commission for the last few months) — but I’m…

• 

  1000Watt Consulting

• The whole world is watching

  Brian Boero

  1 Sep 2010 | 9:34 pm

  A large billboard came into focus along the interstate, the final indicator that my weeklong vacation at Lake Tahoe was over: “Now recruiting dual-career agents” Big. Bold. Proud. And insane. A large regional real estate company planted this billboard. I wondered for a moment why a respected real estate brand would do such a thing. But then it occurred to me that “respected” made no sense here; “recognized” was more appropriate. Like in, “I recognized the familiar aroma of grease wafting from the lunch truck.” I spent the next half hour thinking about statements that were…

• Brokers: are you in the real estate business?

  Brian Boero

  26 Aug 2010 | 8:52 am

  Spencer Rascoff is ZIllow’s chief operating officer. A smart guy I respect. He co-founded Hotwire and was part of Expedia’s management team. Now, he’s explaining the foreclosure process to homebuyers and sellers. He’s doing it clearly, credibly and in a manner that at once plays off and enhances the Zillow brand. And he’s offering up a nice little content morsel for the search engines. Take a look: If you’re a broker and you’re not doing this sort of thing, you have no right to complain about Zillow kicking your butt on Google, getting their chief economist quoted in your local…

• Tag it, like it, share it

  Joel Burslem

  25 Aug 2010 | 7:00 am

  It was a beautiful Portland summer morning. Quiet. Cool. Before the heat of the day really started cranking up the thermometer. Between juggling a fussy baby and and even fussier Labrador, I finally got to my local Starbucks for my morning coffee. In the calm of that moment, staring over my steaming cup, I pulled out my iPhone and fired up the new Facebook app. Nothing unusual there: part of my morning routine these days is to see what’s been happening in my friend’s and family’s lives. Only this time, I checked-in first and let them all know where I was. Check-in behavior like this has…

• Smart Real Estate

  Marc Davison

  19 Aug 2010 | 9:31 pm

  I’m not claiming this is genius. Or the most unordinary thing ever. But I passed many real estate stores while here in PDX over the last three weeks. Almost all have pasted flyers of homes for sale on their windows. Nothing else. Not Smart Real Estate. They understand people require something deeper than sexy images of domiciles to stimulate decision making. So they taped market trends printed from their MLS right on their storefront window for everyone to read.   It’s just so simple. And pretty darn smart. Sign up for the 1000watt Spotlight e-newsletter and keep up with the…

• Your “Contact Us” page: What does it say to your visitor?

  Marc Davison

  18 Aug 2010 | 3:29 pm

  I see it over and over again. On the “Contact Us“ page. A lonely form. It speaks to me. And what it says is… You’d rather collect leads than make a sale If I had a super power, it wouldn’t be flight, invisibility or Hulk-like strength. My super power would be to make all the bad ideas expressed across real estate’s websites vanish with the snap of my fingers. My first snap: The “Contact Us” page. And the minefield of form fields that stand in the way of a simple, clean, invitation to engage. I came across this form today on the contact page of an IDX…

• 

  Trulia Blog - Real Estate Blog

• New CNBC/ Trulia Home Traffic Report

  Ken, head of communications

  1 Sep 2010 | 8:17 am

  This morning we released a new monthly exclusive report with CNBC titled the CNBC/Trulia Home Traffic Report. The monthly reports will look at the share of traffic in local markets, relative to the top 100 cities searched across the country in the given month. We compare that traffic year over year to understand where consumer interest is really firing up or slowing down. Looking forward to next month’s report. Thanks to Trulia’s VP of Marketing, Heather Fernandez, aka @heathermirj, for doing a great job in her early morning LIVE on-air interview with Diana Olick of CNBC. Related…

• Christina Aguilera reduces asking price of Los Angeles pad $255K

  Sharon, Marketing Specialist

  26 Aug 2010 | 2:07 pm

  Christina Aguilera just reduced the asking price of her Mid Century Modern home with jetliner views of downtown LA, the ocean and is just minutes away from Beverly Hills and Sunset Strip. Check out the gorgeous pads and see what else is for sale in her ‘hood. 1443 Devlin Drive, Los Angeles CA 90069 $5,995,000 | 4bd | 7ba REDUCED: $255,000 See more homes for sale in Hollywood Hills near Christina. 8312 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90069 1525 Blue Jay Way, Los Angeles CA 90069 9342 Sierra Mar Drive, Los Angeles CA 90069 Love the celebrity gossip? Keep up with us! Follow Trulia on…

• Halle Berry and baby Nahla’s moving to the Bay (Yay) Area!

  Sharon, Marketing Specialist

  26 Aug 2010 | 12:05 pm

  SF Gate told us the other day that actress AND diva, Halle Berry and daughter Nahla are considering moving to the Bay Area. Reason? She wants to get away from the snap happy papparazzi and find a less crazed area to raise baby Nahla. Halle - San Francisco would be more than happy to have you come stay with us. We’ve scouted the Bay Area and here are a few sweet picks (with variety, of course) you may potentially fall in love with. See more homes in the Bay Area. 1 Cliff Road, Belvedere CA 94920 $28,850,000 | 7bd | 6 full, 1 partial ba | 8,000 sqft 255 Golden Gate Avenue, Belvedere CA…

• Jersey Shore’s ‘The Situation’ may earn $5M in 2010 - buy a home Mike

  Sharon, Marketing Specialist

  24 Aug 2010 | 10:34 am

  People online reported this morning that Jersey Shore’s “The Situation” (aka Mike Sorrentino) will most likely earn $5M this year (combining earnings from MTV, endorsement deals, personal branded products and club events). Make it rain Mikey! Word from the wise though - be smart and don’t throw it all away. Put some of those ‘hard’ earnings in the bank, or even better, invest. Whatever you decide, we’ve got your back. Check out these condos for sale in Miami Beach. Buy now and never have to worry about having a place to stay should the bank ever run…

• Brett Favre’s staying another year with the Vikings

  Sharon, Marketing Specialist

  24 Aug 2010 | 9:34 am

  Even at the age of 40, Brett Favre is still going strong (granted there were a couple of ‘hot fixes’). The QB will be playing yet another season with the Minnesota Vikings. Brett, we wish you the best of luck with minimal injuries. Here are three reasonably priced rentals to help you kick off the season and that won’t break the bank (since you still have a fam to support). See more rentals in Minneapolis, MN. 401 North 2nd Street #701, Minneapolis MN 55401 $5,500/mo 3bd | 2ba | 3,309 sqft | Condo 618 Washington Avenue N, Minneapolis MN 55401 $5,250/mo 3bd | 3ba | 2,000 sqft…

• 

  The Real Estate Bloggers

• Government Cuts Out Private Sector In Foreclosure Market

  Tom Royce

  2 Sep 2010 | 8:04 am

  What do you call cutting out part of the marketplace to support a special interest. If it was done in the private sector the government would be screaming cats and dogs and investigators will be running rampant. But when the Federal Government cuts a deal to remove the private sector from the market they call it progress… You have to be kidding me! The Obama administration said Wednesday local officials could benefit from acquiring these properties and renovating them or using the land for redevelopment projects. Congress has provided $7 billion to buy the homes, but these groups are…

• Recession Impacts 73% Of Americans – How Will That Affect Your Business

  Tom Royce

  2 Sep 2010 | 7:37 am

  A new survey just released shows that 3 out of every 4 American’s have been affected by the recession. The report, prepared by Rutgers professors Carl Van Horn and Cliff Zukin, find that 73% of Americans have either been unemployed themselves (14%) or saw an immediate family member (12%), another member of their family (30%) or a close friend (17%) lose a job. via the Huffington Post Sobering news for sure, but since this is a real estate blog the question that comes to my mind is this; What is the best way to model my real estate business to handle today’s…

• Property Values Fall As Property Taxes Rise

  Tom Royce

  1 Sep 2010 | 6:31 am

  Back in 2008 as property values were plummeting one thing was going up. Your property taxes. Local governments were on a spending binge on the tax money that had been pouring in as property values continued to rise. Property taxes were the Golden Goose for local politicians and they could not believe that the goose was dying. According to census data recently released, in fiscal year 2008 (July 2007–June 2008) property taxes rose 4.2 percent as home values fell 16 percent. For those of us in the real estate business, this was a jarring disconnect. So many families were watching their…

• Taking Out A Mortgage? Banks Will Monitor Your Credit 24/7 Now

  Tom Royce

  31 Aug 2010 | 6:54 am

  Fannie Mae is taking a dim view of mortgage borrowers who try to scam the system by taking out new loans while their mortgage is being processed. Typically banks will check your debt to income ration in the beginning of the application process. Some borrowers took that as a green light to add debt right after they qualified for the new loan. Now banks will be expected to monitor for new debt or take out a 2nd credit report just before the mortgage closes. It is a smart move for both lenders and borrowers alike to have this check in place. Banks know what kind of debt limits families can live…

• Is an Emergency Loan Program For Homeowners Coming?

  Tom Royce

  30 Aug 2010 | 6:27 am

  The Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has announced that a new emergency loan program for homeowners is on it’s way. There have been no details announced with the program, but it looks like the White House feels it needs to respond to the poor housing numbers with another program. The Obama administration plans to set up an emergency loan program for the unemployed and a government mortgage refinancing effort in the next few weeks to help homeowners after home sales dropped in July, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said. “The July numbers…

• 

  Rain City Guide

• Friday’s Rates following the Jobs Report

  Rhonda Porter

  3 Sep 2010 | 9:31 am

  It’s the first Friday of the month which means the Jobs Report was released this morning.   Typically “good news” from the Jobs Report translates to higher mortgage rates…and you’ll see by the red arrows below that today is no exception.    The data released today showed that “only” 54,000 non-farm payroll jobs were lost in August which was better than expected and unemployment is reported at 9.6.  In addition, 67k private sector jobs were created last month and there were positive revisions to June and July’s Jobs Reports.   The news…

• When does a “Buyer’s Agent” earn his compensation?

  Craig

  31 Aug 2010 | 1:35 pm

  As we grow our real estate brokerage, we regularly come across one issue in particular: the SOC (Selling Office Commission) and when it is “earned.” Our brokerage is based on a flat fee, and we rebate the commission we earn as a buyer’s agen– er, I mean as a buyer’s broker. Accordingly, our clients have a very direct interest in the SOC, because it goes to them, not us. But often times our clients hire us AFTER they have identified the house on which they want to make an offer. Thus, it is not uncommon for our clients to have been given access to the subject…

• Friday’s Rates

  Rhonda Porter

  27 Aug 2010 | 2:29 pm

  photo credit: nzgabriel via Flickr Today would be a good example of the ‘typical’ relationship between stocks and bonds with one small exception: current rates aren’t reflecting the beating that mortgage backed securities took today.   You see, typically when stocks are doing terrible,  investors will seek the safety of bonds, like mortgage backed securities which improves mortgage rates.  The reverse is also true.  To picture this relationship, you can picture a see-saw with mortgage rates on one side and the DOW on the other.   Today the DOW closed up 164 and MBS…

• Seattle Home Prices – 98103

  ARDELL

  24 Aug 2010 | 2:48 pm

  Homes Sold (recorded in the mls as closed) in the last 30 days in 98103. In this segment I am excluding the townhomes, as they were the subject of their own separate review yesterday. Frankly I was surprised that the various valuation tools were not more accurate in the townhome market. I expected townhomes to be similar enough to pinpoint value more easily than the wide variety of differences between older single family homes. Since I gather the data in real time while writing the post, I don’t know if they will be better value indicators in the single family (non-townhome) market,…

• Bellevue Neighborhoods – Get your home sold the first time around Tip #2

  Sarah Payson

  24 Aug 2010 | 9:03 am

  Condition of your home to sell: Reason #2 (If you missed the first reason you can find it here) that your home will not sell is that your home is not showing well.  Buyers don’t want to walk in the front door and be overwhelmed with STUFF…whether you collect tea-cups, love antiques, have a plane collection, etc.  Buyers shouldn’t know what your hobbies are and therefore you should remove those items before putting your home on the market.  You also don’t want to have a wall of photos showcasing Bobby’s entire 30 years of life…Now, we don’t believe…

• 

  MyTechOpinion.com

• Forget What the Experts Say…You CAN Shortcut Your Way to Success with Social Media

  MyTechOpinion

  23 Aug 2010 | 10:52 am

  The Social Media Experts I’m a fan of will tell you that if you want to succeed in applying social media as a business strategy that it requires planning, consistency, balance, originality, relevancy, and listening…among other things. And they would be right. But when it comes to real estate marketing, many agents struggle with working ON their business because they’re tapped by working IN their business. And for the most part, I’ve always considered that an excuse (myself included). There is some validity however, to the shear amount of effort required in implementing social media…

• Lost & Found: My Blogging Voice

  MyTechOpinion

  15 Aug 2010 | 9:17 pm

  The past year has been crazy for the Nicolay household…to say the least! Reggie started his new job with RPR…and has been passionately reaching out to curious agents and creating a variety of helpful resources that are soon to launch. I, on the other hand, have been extremely focused on my new company.  Agent Evolution was born from our efforts right here on MTO! After all, many of you have regular questions for us…and occasionally ask for help with your blogs. So we answered by mixing my teaching skills with Chad’s blog shop to provide a full service new media company! In the midst…

• Why I Wanna ROCK Agent Reboot!

  MyTechOpinion

  28 Jun 2010 | 4:02 pm

  A great opportunity to get excited about the future of real estate, and your role in it, is headed your way. Agent Reboot is a new conference tour created by Inman News. This road show of sorts is hosted by yours truly (Woohoo!) and Daniel Rothamel. The goal of the event is to examine and identify new technologies that are shaping and changing the real estate industry, and ideas on how they are being implemented…or should be. This one-day party, oops, I mean conference will be taking place in 12 cities. My boogie shoes are packed for: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Las…

• The New Rules of Content Creation & Curation

  MyTechOpinion

  2 Jun 2010 | 12:38 pm

  Yesterday I had the opportunity of being a guest on #RTB on the Radio. Many of you may be familiar with this crew, but if you’re not…you’re really missing out! Really! So jump in and join the conversation. Michael McClure, Todd Waller, and Maya Paveza are hitting the #RTB nail on the head with each and every guest on their show, as well as just by being their uber-professional selves out there in the RE.net. Lead by example folks, woohoo! I told them this already, but I’ll put it in writing again…I could have spent all day chatting about life, liberty and the pursuit of…

• How-To: Manage Your Events Using WordPress

  MyTechOpinion

  27 May 2010 | 4:27 pm

  In “4 Ways To Add An Event Calendar To Your Wordpress Blog“, we looked at options for adding an event calendar to your Wordpress website. The solutions were offered with an emphasis on sharing community events. But, what if you have an event you are producing yourself? Maybe that event requires managing RSVP’s or even selling tickets to the event. You’ll need a more specialized system than a basic calendar. Fortunately, there are several Wordpress plugins that will help you pull your event off without a hitch. Advanced Events Registration Pro Version The first option…

• 

  360Digest

• Alternative cooking methods for the busy real estate professional

  Marlow Harris

  16 Aug 2010 | 3:53 pm

  It’s going to be a hot day. You might have been showing houses to a difficult client or put out fires for a challenging escrow. You know you’re not going to want to go home and turn on the oven to cook. Make that hot car do double-duty. Some chicken or salmon, maybe a few onions and peppers, wrap in foil, lodge on a flat service over the engine, perhaps around the valves. Use a clamp if you need to. A 30-45 minute drive oughta do it. Here are step-by-step instructions: Cooking in your car by Instructables A car’s interior can get as high as 160 degrees. You can bake cookies.

• What Bill Gates said

  Marlow Harris

  29 Jul 2010 | 12:23 am

  In his book entitled The Road Ahead, published in 1995, Bill Gates said about finding homes for sale on the Internet: “If you put your home on the market, you will be able to describe it fully and include photographs, video, floor plans, tax records, utility and repair bills, even a little mood music. The chances that a potential buyer for your house will see your ad are improved because the information highway will make it easy for anyone to look it up. The whole system of real estate agencies and commissions may be changed by the principals having direct access to so much information.

• Learning about home building and real estate is child’s play

  Marlow Harris

  10 Jun 2010 | 12:13 am

• Light a commodity?

  Marlow Harris

  26 Apr 2010 | 11:10 pm

  I have an unusual listing for sale, it’s an American Institute of Architects-award winner and was featured in Pacific NW Magazine, so I’m excited about the property and wanted to share the details. I just did an interview with NPR and it’s featured on their website. There’s a short article about light and how it affects Seattle home prices. You can read the interview on the NPR website, or you can listen to the Podcast and my interview starts at minute 10.00. It’s on the local channel KUOW. It’s always so weird to hear yourself on the radio. Why do I sound…

• Buying a house with street cred

  Marlow Harris

  12 Apr 2010 | 11:21 pm

  Buzz Osborne wastes an unidentified real estate agent’s time in this amusing little video. Agent to Buzz: “Go back to Seattle!”

• 

  The Real Estate Bloggers

• Government Cuts Out Private Sector In Foreclosure Market

  Tom Royce

  2 Sep 2010 | 8:04 am

  What do you call cutting out part of the marketplace to support a special interest. If it was done in the private sector the government would be screaming cats and dogs and investigators will be running rampant. But when the Federal Government cuts a deal to remove the private sector from the market they call it progress… You have to be kidding me! The Obama administration said Wednesday local officials could benefit from acquiring these properties and renovating them or using the land for redevelopment projects. Congress has provided $7 billion to buy the homes, but these groups are…

• Recession Impacts 73% Of Americans – How Will That Affect Your Business

  Tom Royce

  2 Sep 2010 | 7:37 am

  A new survey just released shows that 3 out of every 4 American’s have been affected by the recession. The report, prepared by Rutgers professors Carl Van Horn and Cliff Zukin, find that 73% of Americans have either been unemployed themselves (14%) or saw an immediate family member (12%), another member of their family (30%) or a close friend (17%) lose a job. via the Huffington Post Sobering news for sure, but since this is a real estate blog the question that comes to my mind is this; What is the best way to model my real estate business to handle today’s…

• Property Values Fall As Property Taxes Rise

  Tom Royce

  1 Sep 2010 | 6:31 am

  Back in 2008 as property values were plummeting one thing was going up. Your property taxes. Local governments were on a spending binge on the tax money that had been pouring in as property values continued to rise. Property taxes were the Golden Goose for local politicians and they could not believe that the goose was dying. According to census data recently released, in fiscal year 2008 (July 2007–June 2008) property taxes rose 4.2 percent as home values fell 16 percent. For those of us in the real estate business, this was a jarring disconnect. So many families were watching their…

• Taking Out A Mortgage? Banks Will Monitor Your Credit 24/7 Now

  Tom Royce

  31 Aug 2010 | 6:54 am

  Fannie Mae is taking a dim view of mortgage borrowers who try to scam the system by taking out new loans while their mortgage is being processed. Typically banks will check your debt to income ration in the beginning of the application process. Some borrowers took that as a green light to add debt right after they qualified for the new loan. Now banks will be expected to monitor for new debt or take out a 2nd credit report just before the mortgage closes. It is a smart move for both lenders and borrowers alike to have this check in place. Banks know what kind of debt limits families can live…

• Is an Emergency Loan Program For Homeowners Coming?

  Tom Royce

  30 Aug 2010 | 6:27 am

  The Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has announced that a new emergency loan program for homeowners is on it’s way. There have been no details announced with the program, but it looks like the White House feels it needs to respond to the poor housing numbers with another program. The Obama administration plans to set up an emergency loan program for the unemployed and a government mortgage refinancing effort in the next few weeks to help homeowners after home sales dropped in July, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said. “The July numbers…

• 

  Real Estate Opinion MAG - AgentGenius

• HUD guidelines are creating misinformation and scare tactics

  Paula Henry

  3 Sep 2010 | 8:29 am

  This evening I received this forwarded email (below). It was from a local lender who sent it out, then it was forwarded to me. The lender should have read the attached letter (in the email below), Mortgage Letter 2010-28 from FHA, before sending out a scare tactic letter like this. Yes, this is an excellent time for buyers who are considering writing an offer, especially with low interest rates and the upcoming changes to FHA, but please present the facts if you are going to send out letters like this. This loan officer will not be let loose near my clients. I will continue sending my clients…

• Realtors – how to get some buyers off of the fence right now

  Jeff Belonger

  2 Sep 2010 | 9:21 am

  So you have some buyers on the fence and their mortgage payment could be an issue. For those that would be using FHA loans for their type of home financing, FHA has formally announced a change in regards to the monthly mortgage insurance and the upfront mortgage insurance premium. As we know, many buyers are concerned about their mortgage payments.  In some cases, any slight change could change their minds or walk away from a potential transaction. Be that realtor that mentions the change before their loan officer. Show your buyer that they made a wise choice when they chose you as their…

• Translating Twitter speak and garnering retweets

  Lesley Lambert

  1 Sep 2010 | 9:16 pm

  Not long ago one of my Twitter followers who is new to social media sent me an email asking for some help “decoding” the following tweet: RT @JoeCascio: @aubreyliciouss PodCampCT meeting and tweetup tonight in Middletown . http://goo.gl/o4TA #pcct cc: @mmpartee After looking at the tweet as if I was new to Twitter, I realized, “This stuff is garbledegook!”. I decided to try to translate it for him and this is what I said: RT = retweet, which is usually a copy of what follows the two letters. It is like forwarding an email or re-broadcasting the content. @JoeCascio is…

• Minimum commission policies: good or bad business?

  Janie Coffey

  1 Sep 2010 | 7:01 am

  With so many bargain basement deals available to buyers, some brokers are implementing a “minimum commission policy”.  They ask buyers to sign an agreement guaranteeing a commission of $X, anything less than that, the buyer makes up the difference at closing. Many property prices have slipped so low that their position is that they need to net $X per closed transaction to cover the time and effort put forth to find, show, negotiate and close a deal.  This concept is not too different from the more traditional buyer-broker agreement, with one large difference.  Traditional…

• The silver lining in the real estate sector – home prices are up

  Tara Steele

  31 Aug 2010 | 6:18 pm

  After endless bad news and staggering stats in the national real estate sector, the silver lining has finally appeared, giving the industry a small glimmer of hope that all is not lost- according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index released today, home prices rose 3.6% over the last twelve months. Home prices rose 4.4% in the second quarter after a 2.8% dip in the first quarter but there are no signs as to whether a rise will continue. Economists and industry insiders are not jumping for joy however, and gains are not expected to be seen industry wide for some time (although there…

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  About.com Real Estate Business

• How Low Can They Go? - Mortgage Interest Rates

  3 Sep 2010 | 12:32 am

  Over at Bankrate.com, another record low interest rate benchmark was set this week.  It's the lowest in their 25 year tracking history.  The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 6 basis points this week, to 4.53 percent....Read Full Post

• Numbers Don't Lie? - S&P Case-Shiller vs FHFA Home Price Index

  2 Sep 2010 | 4:58 am

  This month I received both the S&P Case-Shiller and the FHFA Home Price Index reports.  I glanced through them as always, and again felt like I was looking at data ...Read Full Post

• Commercial Property Owners Choose to Default - WSJ.com

  25 Aug 2010 | 2:24 am

  Commercial Property Owners Choose to Default - WSJ.com.  While the media is all about covering "strategic default" by homeowners, there's a trend growing in commercial properties as well.

• Bad Hair, More Fear, Wanna Be In Real Estate

  21 Aug 2010 | 2:35 am

  I recently read that the number of new applicants for real estate licensing is moving higher in some states.  Interesting, as it's a pretty challenging time to be in this or the mortgage business right now.  Up in New York state, there's been a 23% increase in licensed agents and brokers.   One theory is that there are a great many more unemployed people out there who are now looking for a new career.  It's probably true, but they're in for a rough go just starting out in today's market....Read Full Post

• Finally, A Fully Mobile Real Estate Office

  19 Aug 2010 | 11:10 am

  I just bought the final component of my mobile real estate office, the HP D110a Web printer.  Using a netbook (or iPad), and my Palm Pre Plus phone with built-in WiFi hotspot, I can do just about anything in the field.  It's as easy as 1-2-3 here.

• 

  The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

• Thompson’s Realty Welcomes Vince Muscat!

  Jay Thompson

  31 Aug 2010 | 1:48 pm

  We’re most pleased to announce the latest addition to the Thompson’s Realty agent team – Vince Muscat. Vince got his real estate sales license in 2002 and is the managing member of Apparent Technologies, LLC – which is creating PaperFree Agent — an advanced computing system for real estate offices. I’ve had a look at both the lead routing product and the beginnings of a real estate transaction management system that is, honestly, second to none. Look for more about PaperFree agent soon. Vince is a graduate of Springhill College, where he received his B.S. degree and the Maston…

• Will the Homebuyer Tax Credit Return? Should it?

  Jay Thompson

  30 Aug 2010 | 2:18 pm

  It’s starting to sound like, “The Song that Never Ends”… On Sunday, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan implied on an interview with CNN’s Ed Henry that the Obama administration that the $8,000 home buyer tax credit could be revived. From the transcript: HENRY: Let’s end on two quick points. First of all, along the lines of this debate, there are some critics saying the federal government can’t keep up the intervention to try to prop up the industry much longer. Along those lines, you mention the $8,000 first-time home buyer credit expired a couple of months ago. Many people…

• How Many Realtors are Out There? Per Person?

  Jay Thompson

  26 Aug 2010 | 5:53 pm

  Earlier today I was chatting with a random stranger. Oddly enough the topic of real estate came up. Random stranger said he’d often pondered getting his real estate license. I tried to wave the guy off, but he wouldn’t listen. He asked me a question that I couldn’t answer… How many Realtors are there per capita, and how does Arizona compare to other states? I felt relatively confident in saying that Arizona was near the top (or bottom depending on your perspective) of the list of states with a high Realtor count. Lots of my real estatey friends across the country often seem surprised…

• Time is running out! The No BS Real Estate Panel in August 24

  Jay Thompson

  21 Aug 2010 | 8:48 pm

  Real Estate Success Tools is sponsoring the “No B.S.R.E” panel event on Tuesday in Scottsdale. If you are a real estate professional, and anywhere near the Scottsdale area, you may want to attend. The cost is right – it’s free! If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing Russell Shaw or Jeff Brown speak, you are in for a real treat. Russell is a mega-producing agent, and Jeff has one of the sharpest minds in real estate I’ve ever seen. Honestly, I wonder what I’m doing on the same stage with these guys. You’ll get a big dose of free advice and insight that can help your…

• Now Up: Real Estate Blog Pro. A new blogventure!

  Jay Thompson

  15 Aug 2010 | 5:47 pm

  Look Ma, another new blog! Introducing RealEstateBlogPro.com – the latest blogventure of yours truly. Why? Or more accurately to quote my wife, “Why the heck do you need another blog?” How about, “Why not?” Actually, believe it or not I honestly put some thought into starting this thing. Thought! Can you believe it? Here’s my justification. It works in my mind, and maybe a little in Francy’s mind too… I enjoy writing about the in’s and out’s of real estate blogging. Many readers of Phoenix Real Estate Guy could care less about the in’s and out’s of real estate…

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  Future of Real Estate Marketing

• Ten Signs That You Need Time Off From SM

  Katie Lance

  3 Sep 2010 | 3:59 am

  Guest Blogger Alex Cortez is a REALTOR in Hawaii, specializing in Maui Condos. Visit his Maui Real Estate Blog for local market information. With social media becoming one of the newest and hottest tools in a real estate agent’s bag, there are some who have taken to SM a bit TOO much. Have you met anyone who tweets EVERYTHING they do? Or someone who LIVES on Facebook? Or how about the one who FourSquares their entire day, one location at a time? Well, this one is for them. Top Ten Signs You Need a Break From Social Media You can tweet faster than you can talk. You ask yourself…

• Using Google to Work More Efficiently

  Katie Lance

  1 Sep 2010 | 3:59 am

  Guest Blogger Alex Cortez is a REALTOR with Hawaii Life Real Estate Services. Visit his Maui Real Estate site for local information. The keys to Google’s success as a search engine have been its perfect blend of simplicity and functionality. Fortunately, those traits have transcended to other applications as Google has grown from a SE to a powerful work center. In the past month I have been making a slow transition from working on various PC and Mac-based programs to using Google as my primary workstation (both mobile and static). And although most people who use Gmail or other…

• 5 Tools to Turbo-Charge Your Social Media

  Katie Lance

  31 Aug 2010 | 5:59 am

  Guest Blogger Alex Cortez is a Realtor in Hawaii, specializing in Maui Condos. Visit his Maui Real Estate Blog for local market information. The importance of social media in a real estate professional’s marketing plan is undeniable.  And although there are many different approaches as to how to best implement a strategy, the need to streamline the SM integration process on a day-to-day basis grows constantly.  Below I have listed 5 tools that have helped me tremendously in effectively managing time and increasing efficiency. Use one, a combination thereof, or all of them! 1.

• FOREM Guest Blogger Update!

  Katie Lance

  27 Aug 2010 | 2:58 pm

  Hi FOREM fans! I am super excited to announce that we have picked our FOREM guest bloggers. Over the next few months you will see about a number guest bloggers that were carefully selected based on their experience, writing ability, and enthusiasm for FOREM and the type of content we post. I was overwelmed by the number of applicants we had for guest bloggers. Thank you to everyone who emailed me or contacted me. It is obvious there is a lot of love for this blog – and for that, I am very grateful! Over the next 3 months you may see periodic posts from me as well, however as of today, I…

• Gmail users: 4 Highlights of the Gist Google App

  Katie Lance

  25 Aug 2010 | 3:47 pm

  I am definitely a fan of Gist and the opportunities it has for social media. I love the ability to organize all my social media contacts in one place. I received an email from Gist today announcing the launch of the new resdesign tothe Gist Gadget for Google Apps which provides contact details, news, and status updates inside Gmail. Here are the 4 highlights of this app: 1. A face with every email. 2. All contact information. 3. Everyone you know in common. 4. Latest news and social updates. Download the Gist Gadget for Google Apps here. I am excited to download this and try it out for…

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  Inman News

• Control your online destiny

  Inman_News

  3 Sep 2010 | 12:17 pm

  Agent Reboot Speaker Profile: Kristal Kraftread more

• Economic genie is out of wishes

  Lou_Barnes

  3 Sep 2010 | 11:17 am

  Commentary: Welcome to the political fun houseread more

• 4 common real estate deal-killers

  Dian_Hymer

  3 Sep 2010 | 11:15 am

  Emotions take back seat to money in today's marketread more

• Homebuyer tax credit off the radar

  Inman_News

  3 Sep 2010 | 10:39 am

  GAO puts bill for program at $22 billion through 2019read more

• Reap benefits from cash-in refinance

  Jack_Guttentag

  3 Sep 2010 | 10:00 am

  Return on investment can beat other low-risk optionsread more

• 

  Realty Times

• Clean Crawlspace May Increase Home Sale

  2 Sep 2010 | 11:00 pm

  The name makes it sound like a place that you crawl in; however, most of us would probably rather pass on the crawl or even a walk-through of this area because of the lack of cleanliness. A crawlspace is typically a shallow area beneath your home between the soil and first floor. It can be very useful and even enticing to buyers if it’s kept up. On the other hand, a crawlspace can become a refuge for unwanted creatures, fungus, and termites.

• The Law of Difficulty

  2 Sep 2010 | 11:00 pm

  The Law of Difficulty basically says this: The harder the task, the fewer the people who will try to accomplish it.

• Modest Inflation Expectations Allow Mortgage Rates to Once Again Set New Record Lows

  2 Sep 2010 | 11:00 pm

  Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), and for yet another week, fixed-rate mortgages reached record lows, as did the 5-year adjustable rate in this survey.

• 

  Copyblogger

• The 10 Essential Ingredients of Successful Sales Pages

  Dave Navarro

  1 Sep 2010 | 7:12 am

  When you see dozens of copywriting formulas promising “the perfect sales page,” how do you know which ones to trust? After all, each formula seems to have a successful direct sales superstar behind it, and each one looks like a solid plan. What do you do in the face of these wildly different sales letter styles? The first step is to realize that copywriting is more than any one “formula” — it’s an exercise in communication and persuasion. Just like a recipe, different formats will give you different results. The recipe you’re looking for will depend…

• A Four-Step Guide to Generating Sales Leads from Your Blog

  Dean Rieck

  31 Aug 2010 | 6:50 am

  Dean: Did you know you can use your blog to make money offline? Blogger: Offline? What is this “offline” you speak of? Dean: It’s the opposite of “online.” Blogger: (confused silence) Dean: You know. Offline. Not on the internet. The real world. Blogger: (shaking phone) Not only does this stupid phone drop my calls, now it’s translating them into crazy moon language. Okay, I jest. But to listen to some bloggers, you would think a blog’s only purpose is to make money online, by selling ebooks, membership sites, or advertising. The truth is, blogs have grown into a more…

• Is Your Headline Good or Bad? Give it the Breath Test

  Sean D'Souza

  30 Aug 2010 | 6:55 am

  Bloggers have been asking the question “Do long or short headlines work better?” for a long time. But the answer to the riddle of how to create a headline that pulls in readers doesn’t necessarily lie in subtracting or adding one more word. There’s not a mysterious formula or arcane copywriter’s trick. The answer is much simpler than that. The best way to get a headline that works is by using the breath test. Try saying this headline aloud: How To Recognize Six Difficult Telltale Signs Of Disinterest And Lack Of Motivation In Your Student And Customer Ran out of breath,…

• The Three Key Elements of Irresistible Email Subject Lines

  Brian Clark

  26 Aug 2010 | 6:11 am

  Email is back. Despite repeated proclamations of its extinction, rumors of the death of email marketing have been greatly exaggerated — especially since email and social media are a powerful combination. You might not reach the average college freshman, but for slightly older types (you know, the ones with the money), email is still the way to go in many lucrative mainstream niches. You must first, of course, get your emails read. And it all starts with the subject line. Email subject lines are a form of headline. They perform the same function as a headline by attracting attention and…

• How To Write Eye-Catching Headlines that Transform Browsers into Buyers

  Dave Navarro

  25 Aug 2010 | 7:15 am

  In order to stop readers in their tracks, capture their attention through every word of your copy, and persuade them to click that “Add to Cart” button without a second thought, you need to master the “headline reading psychology” of your soon-to-be customers. Once you understand why magnetic headlines pull readers in, you’ll know how to do it for your own sales pages, every time. Follow along with me for the next ninety seconds and I’ll show you exactly how you can turn a casual browser of your sales page into an avid reader, curious to drink in your copy…

• 

  Guy Kawasaki

• How to Make Paper.li and Flipboard Rock

  GuyKawasaki

  24 Aug 2010 | 6:47 pm

  In the last few weeks two companies have released services that enable you to take tweets and turn them into a newspaper or magazine format: Paper.li and Flipboard. Alltop is a great source of information for both Paper.li and Flipboard newspapers. If you’d like to learn how to do this for Paper.li, click here, and for Flipboard, click here.

• Need example of a personal story of enchantment

  GuyKawasaki

  19 Aug 2010 | 10:19 am

  I would like to include a few personal stories of enchantment in my next book. I am looking for examples of how people, products, services, organizations, ideas, or causes swept you off your feet. Specs: Written from your personal experience, not an external, academic view. 150-200 words Ideally, all the basics would be in your essay: who, what, when, why, and how. As an example, here is how something enchanted me: The second most enchanting moment of my life occurred in 1983 when Mike Boich showed me a Macintosh prototype. (The most enchanting moment was meeting my wife.) This life-changing…

• Best Twitter Client for IPhone and iPad

  GuyKawasaki

  16 Aug 2010 | 9:43 pm

  After searching for months, I’ve come to the conclusion that Twitbird is the best iPhone and iPad Twitter client. If you’d like to see why, check out my post at the American Express Open Forum.

• How to get a free copy of my first book, The Macintosh Way

  GuyKawasaki

  2 Aug 2010 | 10:01 am

  Information wants to be free, and I just freed some. I got the rights back for my first book, The Macintosh Way, and I’ve made it available for free here. Hope that you find it useful.

• How to Find Freedom

  GuyKawasaki

  28 Jul 2010 | 9:25 am

  Let me confess: I’m addicted to Twitter and email, and my addiction increases the more I have to do something important like write a book. Luckily, I stumbled across applications called Freedom and Anti-Social that really help. I explain how they works here at the American Express Open Forum. If you’re have a tough time prying yourself away from online fun, they could really help.

• 

  Macworld

• Review: iMusic Puzzle for iPhone

  5 Sep 2010 | 9:10 am

  Think you know the songs in your iTunes library? Perhaps you should try your hand at iMusic Puzzle, a 99-cent game from I-Play.

• Review: Blaze: Fire Puzzle for iPhone

  4 Sep 2010 | 9:51 am

  In Blaze: Fire Puzzle, soothing graphics and sounds are fused with a clever, yet simple game to create an app you'll keep returning to.

• The Macalope Weekly: The machine that goes Ping!

  4 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am

  The man's keeping the Apple TV down, and this case that man isn't Steve Jobs. Nothing can defeat the iPod touch, and the Macalope's not breaking a sweat over reports of the Mac's lost market share.

• Remains of the Day: Justin Long a Mac no longer

  3 Sep 2010 | 4:30 pm

  Justin Long goes PC, Android may have gotten its logo inspiration from a surprising source, and Google and Apple may be going face-to-face in yet another market segment.

• Texas conducting antitrust review of Google

  3 Sep 2010 | 3:29 pm

  Google is facing an antitrust review in Texas.

• 

  Seth Godin

• Your smile didn't matter

  Seth Godin

  5 Sep 2010 | 2:09 am

  If you worked on the line, we cared about your productivity, not your smile or approach to the work. You could walk in downcast, walk out defeated and get a raise if your productivity was good. No longer. Your attitude is now what's on offer, it's what you sell. When you pass by those big office buildings and watch the young junior executives sneaking into work with a grimace on their face, it's tempting to tell them to save everyone time and just go home. The emotional labor of engaging with the work and increasing the energy in the room is precisely what you sell. So sell it.

• Sometimes, price is an attitude

  Seth Godin

  4 Sep 2010 | 2:06 am

  Passed a store the other day. The sign read 99 CENTS! And the subtitle was, "Everything $1 and up". The 99 cent store was never popular because there's some magical power about the price that is a penny less than a dollar. No, it's because it represents an attitude, that this stuff is CHEAP. Not absolute cheap, just relatively cheap. Not even a good value, just cheap. Cheap compared to its non-cheap competition. At the other end of the spectrum, the prices at the Hermes store appear to be missing a decimal point or two. The attitude is, "wow, this stuff is expensive." It's not about what you…

• Check-in, Chicken

  Seth Godin

  3 Sep 2010 | 2:45 am

  One way to start every morning with your team is to have them check in. Go around in a circle and let people update and contribute. It's not a silly exercise, in that it helps people speak up and it communicates forward motion. Another way, probably a better one, is to have each member of the team announce what they're afraid of. Two kinds of afraid, actually. Things that might fail and things that might work. What are you, chicken? Yes, we're chicken. We're afraid. The lizard has us by the claws. So, tell us. What are you afraid might happen that would destroy, disintegrate, or…

• Better than nothing (is harder than you think)

  Seth Godin

  2 Sep 2010 | 2:36 am

  Most of the time, particulary in b2b and luxury sales, the competition is nothing. "I will buy this treat or I will buy nothing, because I don't really need anything." "I will buy your consulting services, or I'll continue doing what I'm doing now on that front, which is nothing." None of the above. "I will vote for you or I'll do what I usually do, which is not vote." "I'll hire you or I'll hire no one." While you think your competition is that woman across town, it's probably apathy, sitting still, ignoring the problem... nothing. Stop worrying so much about comparing yourself to every…

• Launching the ShipIt Workbook

  Seth Godin

  1 Sep 2010 | 11:16 am

  Six months ago, I put together a workbook that would help Linchpin readers ship. After testing it out on hundreds of people, it's now ready for retail sale. [UPDATE on 9/2--yesterday, the workbook was so popular it went to the top 10 of all books on Amazon. And they sold all the warehouse could take. So it's sold out... I have shipped more to them, but they probably won't go on sale until the 8th. I'll update this post then. Thanks guys.] You can find details here, or jump right to the buy page. The goal? To make you uncomfortable at the beginning of a project (and successful at the end).

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  Blogging Tips

• What To Twitter And Include For Google Searches

  Rob Starr

  5 Sep 2010 | 9:38 am

  I came across an interesting article the other day about Twitter and seo in general and I know there’s a constant stream of information about what works and what doesn’t in seo and social media, but this information came about as a result of a seminar hosted by SEOmoz in Seattle recently. In the ever changing world where people involved with search engine marketing are continually chasing Google’s tail to find out what the search engine is looking for, there have been several new twists including using more images and other techniques to promote localized searches. The news is…

• How to Speak So Others Will Listen

  Patti Stafford

  4 Sep 2010 | 8:19 pm

  Are you looking for a way to make a lasting impression with your next speech or presentation? The way you talk reflects your personality and displays the amount of confidence you have in your message. The power to efficiently communicate and persuade people can make all the difference between a boring speech that puts people to sleep and a powerful one that leaves a lasting impression. If your speech contains powerful content but is delivered poorly, you’ll miss out on an opportunity to impact the lives of your audience in a positive way. Try these tips to turn your next presentation…

• Collaborate, Snip and Share Content from Around the Web with Snipi

  Charnita Fance

  4 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am

  Snipi is “the smartest way to collect, organize, share and collaborate on your interests by grabbing content from anywhere on the web”. It lets you snip images, videos and products with a simple browser tool. If you happen to use Firefox, you can download a cool toolbar that will let you drag and drop content (within the browser itself) from anywhere on the web. For all other browsers (Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome), there is a bookmarklet; the bookmarklet can alternately be used on Firefox as well. The browser I tried Snipi on for this review was Safari. I went to an item on…

• Show People What You’re Doing With Plixi

  Charnita Fance

  3 Sep 2010 | 9:00 am

  Plixi is a photo sharing service for Facebook and Twitter that integrates location and events. So, instead of just telling people what you’re doing, you can also show them. The interesting thing about Plixi is that it used to be TweetPhoto, and has now transformed. The TweetPhoto site is still up so that users will still have access to the photos on that server. You can get started by using either your Facebook or Twitter account to connect with Plixi. When clicking on “Upload Photo” you’ll get a prompt stating that Plixi would like to use your current location; you…

• Why You Need to Know HTML/CSS

  Jonathan Bailey

  2 Sep 2010 | 2:28 pm

  Last week I posted an article entitled “5 Skills Every Bloggers Needs to Excel” spelling out five skills that I consider essential for every blogger to either have or be willing to obtain if they want to truly excel. Overall, the article was well-received but several commenters took issue with the second item on my list: HTML/CSS Skills. Several felt that the power of WordPress/Blogger and other blogging platforms made the need to know HTML obsolete. Others pointed out, correctly, that you can outsource much of this work if you’re willing to pay. That being said,…

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  Blogging Pro

• How to Target Blog Content

  Guest Author

  3 Sep 2010 | 3:00 am

  Bio: Eugene Aronsky is an SEO specialist with NetLZ, an SEO services firm in New Jersey. There are always many criticisms on how one should write a blog for a certain website. Most will probably go to the length of sacrificing their keyword focus just to have a cute, clever and genuinely interesting blog. Even though it is important that we need to keep our blog as clever as possible so as not to bore the reader, we should not forget the opportunity it presents to have your blog raise its commercial value. Here is an approach that you can use to be able to produce a nice and “kick ass”…

• Add Subheadings to Your Blog Posts with the SubHeading WordPress Plugin

  Splashpress Media

  2 Sep 2010 | 5:04 am

  Is the title box always too small for your blog posts?  Do you find yourself wishing you could add more details or catchy copy to your blog post titles?  Are you tired of adding header tags to the subheadings you create for your blog posts?  Or perhaps you just want subheadings that appear directly beneath the title of your live blog posts rather than at the top of the body copy? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, then the SubHeading WordPress plugin is for you!

• 5 Free Social Media Icon Sets for Back to School

  Susan Gunelius

  2 Sep 2010 | 3:08 am

  It’s been about a month since I posted free social media icon sources (last time I offered some fun niche blog social media icon options), and with a new school year starting, I though it might be a good time to search for some creative social media icon sets that can give your blog some back to school flair.  Check out the options below! 1. Puzzle Social Network Icon Set What grade school student doesn’t love puzzles? 2. Sewn Badge Icon Set This set reminds me of badges on Cub Scouts uniforms! 3. Moleskin Icon Set For the discerning student, only a moleskin notebook will do. …

• Blogging Pitfalls: How to Avoid Lazy Writing and Editing

  Jonathan Bailey

  1 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am

  At the end of the day, the most basic activity a blogger must do is write. While it is true that bloggers are, with good reason, expending more and more into video and audio, at some point every blogger is going to have to write something. It might be a description, a bio or even just an advertisement but, at some point, a every blogger is going to have to put words onto paper. But not every writer has the heart of a poet or the writing skills of a hard-hitting journalists. Bloggers come from all different backgrounds and styles and many have had little training or experience with writing…

• 4 Pop Up Features Bloggers NEED To Stop Using

  Darnell Clayton

  31 Aug 2010 | 1:21 pm

  With bloggers trying to find new an innovative ways at generating revenue and promoting their brand, it seems many bloggers are now trying “innovative” ways to engage their audience. While bloggers should always attempt to experiment with new ways to monetize their sites and appeal to the masses, they should avoid startling users with annoying pop ups upon landing on a post. So regardless of whether you’re a blog novice or a guru, you might want to cease using these features, as it could result in a smaller pay check as well as a loss of readership at the end of the month.

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  Buzz Networker

• Turkey, Slovenia Advance

  Kori Ellis

  5 Sep 2010 | 3:45 pm

  Phoenix Suns forward Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points and Sinan Guler chipped in 17 as Turkey came away with a 95-77 win over France on Sunday at the FIBA World Championship. A crowd of 15,500 fans (including 22 members of the Turkish soccer team) cheered on the home team to victory in the round of 16 game. Turkey now advances to play Slovenia on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Slovenia defeated Australia 87-58. They dominated most of the game as Jaka Lokovic scored 19 points and the team hit 16-of-33 three pointers, including 5-of-8 in the third quarter to open up a 71-45 lead. Primoz Brezec…

• Last-Minute Labor Day Cocktails

  Kori Ellis

  5 Sep 2010 | 3:20 pm

  Are you looking for some unique cocktails for your Labor Day party tomorrow? Check out these last-minute cocktail recipes featuring Maker’s Mark and Tequila Avión. Any of these drinks will be a big hit at your get-together. Image: istockphoto Summer Breeze Ingredients: 1 part Maker’s Mark 1 part Ginger Ale A splash of Cointreau 1 orange slice Directions: Muddle an orange slice in an old-fashioned glass with a splash of Cointreau. Add in equal parts Maker’s Mark Bourbon and ginger ale. Stir gently. Top off with ice. Char No. 46 Recipe courtesy of Ward III (New York, NY) Ingredients: 2…

• NFL Power Rankings - Season Preview

  Stephen Kersey

  4 Sep 2010 | 1:03 pm

  In less then a week, NFL action will invade your television. For those of you who can’t wait for football season to kickoff, here’s a look at the first real 2010 NFL power rankings in our EveryJoe.com season preview: 1. Indianapolis Colts The Colts have been good forever. Expect another Super Bowl run. 2. New Orleans Saints The reigning Super Bowl champs are as dangerous as any team. 3. New England Patriots The Patriots have the experience to win any given Sunday. 4. Dallas Cowboys No team in the NFL has as much talent as the Cowboys. 5. Minnesota Vikings With Brett Favre back,…

• Craigslist Adult Services Blocked in U.S.

  Kori Ellis

  4 Sep 2010 | 9:12 am

  If you live in the United States and you use the Craigslist Adult Services listings, you are out of luck. As first reported on Techcrunch, the section has now been replaced with the word “censored” on their U.S.-based sites. Image: sxc.hu Last week Craigslist received a letter from 18 state attorneys general demanding they shut down the adult services section. The letter cited the two girls who said they were trafficked for sex through the website. Police also routinely conduct prostitution stings through the listings and the site has come under heavy criticism from various groups…

• Comedian Robert Schimmel Dies

  Kori Ellis

  4 Sep 2010 | 8:57 am

  Stand up comic Robert Schimmel died on Friday night in a Phoenix hospital. Schimmel, a Howard Stern Show regular, had been hospitalized on Thursday after an auto accident. Schimmel was a passenger in a car driven by his 19-year-old daughter Aliyah. Aliyah apparently swerved to avoid another car and the vehicle she was driving flipped over multiple times. She is currently hospitalized in stable condition. The comedian’s death was confirmed on Friday by his brother Jeff Schimmel on Facebook: “ROBERT SCHIMMEL. Son, Brother, Father, Grandfather, Comedian, Generous Man. I have always…

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  Online Marketing Blog

• Win a Free Pass to MN Blogger Conference

  Lee Odden

  2 Sep 2010 | 8:30 am

  Update: Congratulations! Rebecca Flansburg has won the free pass to the 1st Minnesota Bloggers Conference for her post: “Mama wants to go MN Blogger Bad” It was close, she won by just 2 votes over Josh Braaten and Patrick Garmoe. Congratulations again Rebecca and thank you for a clever and compelling post! TopRank Online Marketing is proud to be a founding sponsor of the first Minnesota Blogger Conference. Tickets for this event “sold out” within a few hours and there are over 100 people on the waiting list. Thanks to conference founders Melissa Berggren, Arik Hanson, Suzi…

• Everything I Know About Marketing I Learned from Google

  Lee Odden

  2 Sep 2010 | 4:30 am

  Aaron Goldman is an accomplished digital marketer that I know through MediaPost’s Search Insider Summit conference. He reached out to me while writing his new book, “Everything I Know About Marketing I Learned from Google”, and asked if I’d like to contribute. Such a request is a great honor to me but unfortunately, I never did end up sending anything to Aaron even though he was incredibly patient and went out of his way to make it easy. I know what you’re thinking: Smart AND nice guy? Yes indeed, that’s Aaron and now he’s on a blog tour to promote…

• The Real Cost of Buying Links for SEO: $4 Million

  Lee Odden

  1 Sep 2010 | 4:30 am

  I was reading a copy of the Inc. 500 issue on my flight back from Dallas this weekend and came across an article about a seasonal online retailer that was “penalized” right before the Holidays for paid links. He estimated the revenue loss due to plummeting organic search visibility at $4 million in sales.  Now he’s “thanking” Google for the spanking because he’s mended his ways and is reborn as a social media enthusiast. I’m not sure I buy the “social media has turned things around” story exactly, but I do wonder how many companies and…

• Social Media SEO Success with Blogging

  Lee Odden

  31 Aug 2010 | 4:06 am

  Army Golden Knights: SFC Dave Herwig (@gkdave), SGM Steve Young (@gksteve), LTC Joe Martin (gkjoe) My presentation on how to leverage Social Media SEO to improve the reach and effectiveness of blog content for marketing at OpenCa.mp DFW this weekend ended up being a lot of information in a very short period of time. The use of a video interview I did with Brian Clark as the segue into my presentation ate into some of the 30 minutes I had to present plus I simply had too many slides. (Thanks to Lt Colonel Joe Martin for the photo taken right after the presentation. His team were literally…

• Brian Clark Interview: Copyblogger on Content Marketing with Blogs

  Lee Odden

  30 Aug 2010 | 4:04 am

  OpenCamp’s Sunday schedule included presentations on blogging that included Chris Pirillo, Brian Clark and myself. I caught up with Brian before he gave his presentation to give us a little preview. John P. ended up using the video as the segue between Brian and I as we changed microphones. Watch as Brian talks about the importance of planning content and understanding its purpose in order to be effective with blog copywriting. He also mentioned that traditional media is still doing some things right and we new media types would do well to identify what those things are and use that…