Selected by newward

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  Seth Godin

• TEDthink

  Seth Godin

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  Can you factor this? If you're like most people, you get a little queasy at the thought. And when you were in tenth grade, you surely wondered why they were bothering you.(the answer is (x-2) times (x-2), in case you were curious.)It turns out that the real reason you needed to do this work was to be able to play with numbers in your head. Abstract numerical thought is an important skill among educated people.Which brings us to TED, a conference held every year in Long Beach. It's going on right now. Watch a few TED videos and try to get ahead of the speaker. They have an idea...it's probably…

• Frightened, clueless or uninformed?

  Seth Godin

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:57 am

  In the face of significant change and opportunity, people are often one of the three. If you're going to be of assistance, it helps to know which one.Uninformed people need information and insight in order to figure out what to do next. They are approaching the problem with optimism and calm, but they need to be taught. Uninformed is not a pejorative term, it's a temporary state.Clueless people don't know what to do and they don't know that they don't know what to do. They don't know the right questions to ask. Giving them instructions is insufficient. First, they need to be sold on what the…

• The least I could do

  Seth Godin

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:35 am

  One way to think about running a successful business is to figure out what the least you can do is, and do that. That's actually what they spent most of my time at business school teaching me.No sense putting more on that pizza, sending more staff to that event, answering the phone in fewer rings... what's the point? No sense being kind, looking people in the eye, being open or welcoming or grateful. Doing the least acceptable amount is the way to maximize short term profit.Of course, there's a different strategy, a crazy alternative that seems to work: do the most you can do instead of the…

• iPad app of my dreams: the digital talking pad

  Seth Godin

  6 Feb 2010 | 8:10 am

  Here's the spec. If you build it and it's great, I'll use it and I'll blog it.A while ago, I posted about the talking pad and a modern version of it.I think there's a killer app version of this for the iPad, and I hope someone will build it. The talking pad is an interactive presentation tool for smart people.OverviewIt's a very simple concept: a collection of pages (slides, images, type, let's call them pages) that are easy to navigate in a non-linear way. Along with the standard zoom features, I'd like to be able to write on any of them in real time using my finger. I can also call up, on…

• The relentless search for "tell me what to do"

  Seth Godin

  6 Feb 2010 | 2:26 am

  If you've ever hired or managed or taught, you know the feeling.People are just begging to be told what to do. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I think the biggest one is: "If you tell me what to do, the responsibility for the outcome is yours, not mine. I'm safe."When asked, resist.

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  chrisbrogan.com

• Earn Your GED- Find Success Tomorrow

  chrisbrogan

  9 Feb 2010 | 1:30 am

  No, not your General Equivalent Degree. The GED to which I refer is “guest experience design.” What the heck am I talking about? I’ll tell you. Old words: customer service. New words: guest experience. Disney, where I am this week, has a concept called a Moment of Truth. A moment of truth is “any time a guest comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, is an opportunity to form an impression.” Note that it’s “an impression.” It can be good; it can be bad. Why “guest?” Because guest is much more hospitable than…

• Pursue the Goal Not the Method

  chrisbrogan

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:30 am

  In the back of a town car hired to take me to the Kansas City International airport, talking to Jeff, a driver with two kids, self-proclaimed ADD, and a history of quitting rote sales jobs every few months, I realized something of importance to the story of what’s brought me to this place: I am a seeker of the goal, not the method. Now, to unpack. The Method Is What We’re Taught to Pursue We learn our times tables. We learn the 50 states (in the US, at least). We are taught all these rules, these patterns, these systems, these methods. Musicians learn their scales. Painters copy…

• Your Blog From the Prospect’s Point of View

  chrisbrogan

  7 Feb 2010 | 7:34 am

  When you use your blog to complain or report sideways about the industry at large, what message is that sending to your potential new clients? If you’re spending your time analyzing what other people in your space are doing, citing why they’re wrong, and providing your commentary about all the things they’re doing, what does your next potential customer come away thinking? Is your negative commentary helping them make a buying decision? I’ve rarely seen the tactic work in traditional advertising. You can graze them a little bit. For instance, I’m a bit fond of…

• Just Lucky I Guess – Kitchen Table Talks

  chrisbrogan

  6 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm

  In this Kitchen Table Talks video, I just want to address all the nice folks who call me lucky, or who think I’m just sitting around being handed my lot in life. Can’t see the video? Click here. Direct link to the video “Lucky” is absolutely what I am. Here’s what I do to earn my luck: Write a blog post or two a day. Write a newsletter every week. Comment and connect with others daily. Answer and send hundreds of emails daily. Read voraciously. Work with the best clients I can find. Reach into new markets weekly. Travel extensively. Seems lucky to me. People…

• Some Of The Third Tribe Conversations

  chrisbrogan

  6 Feb 2010 | 1:02 pm

  I’m really enjoying participating in the forums at the Third Tribe site. I was just adding my two cents to a handful of forum postings, and thought that I’d show you what some of the topics we’re talking about are, so you’d have a sense of what’s going on. We don’t really share the contents, because the people participating there like having the chance to speak openly/candidly about their marketing challenges, but I don’t see the harm in sharing a few of the topic titles. Here they are: Favorite copywriting and marketing books? Third Tribe Blogroll? 2…

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  Web Strategy by Jeremiah

• Quicktake: What Google Buzz Means

  jeremiah_owyang

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:26 am

  Google launches status update features Google launches Buzz, which is similar to Friendfeed, which is now part of Facebook. Content will be aggregated, and then prioritized based upon the people you already email with, Harry McCracken and I call this a social graph based on history, “Historical social graph” or HSG. Secondly, this Google Buzz feature will rate and rank content based on activity and interaction within your social group. Users can choose to publish the Buzz in public, which will display on the Google Profile page. They also announced the ability to input this data…

• Register For Webinar: Developing a Social Strategy by Objectives

  jeremiah_owyang

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:11 am

  Left: There are four main categories of social strategy, yet with over 20 subset objectives, which we’ll discuss at a high level. Organizations that focus on social technologies suffer from the symptom of ‘Fondling The Hammer‘ .  True social strategy stems from business objectives –not the latest technologies. So often, companies develop social tactics based on the latest tool that’s sprung forth.  Yet, so far and few in between to organizations develop an actionable plan based on business goals. This second in our no-cost webinar series is coming up on the…

• People on the Move in the Social Media Industry: Feb 4, 2010

  jeremiah_owyang

  4 Feb 2010 | 8:31 pm

  The submissions are defintly picking up, I’m seeing more submissions than before. Why? I attribute this to the start of the new year when many folks change up jobs, and the slight uptick we’re starting to see in the economy. In an effort to recognize the changes in the social media space, I’ve started this post series (see archives) to both track and congratulate folks who get promoted, move, or accept new exciting positions. Please help me congratulate the following folks: Congrats to Jeannette Gibson (Twttier) who has moved to corporate marketing to run social media at…

• Matrix: Companies Should Factor ‘Social Influence’ Into Total Customer Value

  jeremiah_owyang

  3 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  Case Study: An Influential Mom Blogger Caused Mainstream Crises Popular blogger, Heather Armstrong (@dooce) was dissatisfied with her non-working Maytag appliance.  Following protocol, she called their support number, yet her issue was not solved.  Stonewalled, she argued/warned the support staff that she was on Twitter, yet didn’t receive special assistance.  Escalating further, she then flexed a muscle and told them she had over 1,000,000 Twitter followers –yet the support rep did not budge.  Finally, she blogged and Tweeted against Maytag, initiating a boycott by her…

• List of Corporate Social Media Strategists, Corporate Community Managers in 2010

  jeremiah_owyang

  30 Jan 2010 | 9:36 am

  As an industry watcher, I look at trends, data, spending, technologies, yet what’s really important is watching the trend of professionals as they grow into these roles managing disruptive technologies.  Update: Brian Hayashi has created a spreadsheet of this with additional info –like Twitter handles. We’re staying coordinated so the data is matched, follow Brian on Twitter. [Connecting with customers using social technologies is deceptively challenging, as most outsiders don't recognize the leadership to change internal cultural. Now, in public, let's recognize those who…

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  Conversation Agent

• How I Participate in Social Networks

  Valeria Maltoni

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  I'm borrowing a page off the Communicatrix blog to lay out how I participate in social networks. Why? Because we all have a different strategy to how we spend our time and energy to be social and to achieve our goals and since we have a strategy, in the spirit of social, we should make it transparent. [hat tip to Skip Shuda for suggesting it]I've been getting more than many requests from several people in many networks lately. Requests to friend, requests to tweet, to forward, to bookmark, to stumble, the list goes on. Being online for the best part of my day makes me very accessible. That I…

• Are You Customer-Averse?

  Valeria Maltoni

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  We all know the story of how Comcast went from customer-averse to customer-friendly. It started online with a person, and it's making its way to the rest of the organization. You will agree with me that Comcast went from this episode, to this action, to this thinking. They went from customer-averse, to customer-friendly. It didn't happen overnight, still it did. Competition helps, too, so we keep our fingers crossed on any one company getting too big to care.Businesses continue to look for more ways to get new business either from new or current customers -- usually both, in this order. Shiny…

• Trust in Media Down, Good News for Experts

  Valeria Maltoni

  7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  Trust in business and Government has gone up in the last year, while trust in media seems to be declining across the board -- this is the latest finding of the latest annual Edelman Trust Barometer survey. Take a look at the executive report and see that:Trust in traditional media is trending downward: TV news dropped by 20 points radio news dropped by 17 points print news dropped by 12 points Trust in digital media is still pretty low, and although corporate communications are trending higher than social networks, they're still not that high.We've all witnessed the decline of stretched news…

• The Future Online is Subscription-Based: Why I Joined Third Tribe

  Valeria Maltoni

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  Clearly, the title left out a few pieces of information. I believe there is still a future online for free, but increasingly, the way to get things done, to go from conversation to agent, is subscription-based. Why? Accountability, resources, self-selected network, and opportunity to syndicate service, for a fee.The service for a fee model interests me most. That's why I joined Third Tribe as a member this week. The whole velvet rope community concept should make brands pay attention. This is not just a build a community to push your products, or just engage customers in your stuff kind of…

• We Still Get Things Done Through Search

  Valeria Maltoni

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  With all the talk about social networks and engagement, when it comes to getting things done, we rely on search. The image above was part of the set I used last Fall at the Inbound Marketing Summit when we talked about the importance of creating content for sharing.There was another interesting study I did not mention at the time that confirms a few of the following statements on social media as content delivery mechanism to: help conversions connect to value build relationships extend to influentials engage via education They are all outcomes I've had the opportunity to experience and…

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  louisgray.com

• Google's Newest Mission: Organizing the Social Experience

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am

  With today's introduction of Google Buzz, you are going to see a lot of reactions and news stories that say Google is trying to "kill" competition, including Twitter and Facebook. Given the company's hit and miss track record on introducing or cultivating products with social elements, it is no surprise that Google's introduction of Buzz can be viewed by some with a level of skepticism, or distrust, as the Mountain View company extends its reach on the Web. But in discussions I had with members of Google's team behind the new venture on Monday, it wasn't the squelching of competition they…

• How Google Buzz Validates but Marginalizes FriendFeed

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:15 am

  When FriendFeed debuted on the scene in late 2007, it was one of the simplest ways to aggregate all of my updates from the social outposts I have all over the Web, see friends' updates and have a discussion around their shared items. Now part of Facebook, the product continues to have an extremely loyal, albeit relatively small, community, who embraced the technology and made it a platform for social interaction. The site, which was among the pioneers of real-time streams and the surfacing of popular items, has seen its technology mimicked and imitated by many, but its complexity helped to…

• Google's Buzz Brings Social Sharing, Aggregation to GMail

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am

  Google's growth from its roots as a spartan, but highly effective, search engine has been as transformative as the changes the Web itself has seen over the last decade-plus. As the Web has evolved to include more rich media and social connectors, so too has Google evolved, as the company now operates not just the most popular data discovery engine but also some of the Web's most popular data creation and sharing engines, including Gmail and YouTube. But the company, so far, has struggled a bit in connecting its wide array of properties and making them feel personal and social. Today, with the…

• EdgeTheory: The Battle for Real-Time Reporting, Curation

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:56 am

  The issue of real-time news reporting and curation is becoming increasingly visible and important as news breaks on blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other social media properties. Tonight, Chris Saad and I talked about how the mainstream media can adapt to involve content curation in addition to their content creation, and how it still makes sense to have some investigative reporting in addition to real-time reactions.The discussion weaved from curation tools like Cascaad and my6sense to the recent news of Teens In Tech Networks CEO Daniel Brusilovsky leaving TechCrunch, and how the news was…

• EdgeTheory Conversations: Twitter's New Suggestions

  7 Feb 2010 | 11:10 pm

  From: EdgeTheory Conversations with Chris Saad (@chrissaad) and myself, discussing Twitter's incremental changes to the controversial Suggested User List and launch of Suggestions. Referenced include:@joshelman, @danielbru, @gregarious, @jesse, @anildash, @rsarver, @scobleizer and @twitter.Listen in below. Total talk time is about 20 minutes.More: louisgray.com | RSS | FriendFeed | E-mail | Cell: 408 646.2759

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  Are We Connected.com

• Creating LIVE links in your Facebook Sidebar

  Mike Mueller

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  Everyone has a profile box on their Facebook Sidebar.  Every Facebook Page does as well.  It’s just a simple little box that allows you to write something about you or your business.  Often times I see people entering their website or blog in this and that’s great – but they missed something.  They forgot the http:// before their URL. Why is that important? The addition of those 7 characters changes that from something like this www.fanpagemagic.com to something like this http://www.fanpagemagic.com Which of those two URL’s did your mouse go towards? You put the link on the…

• a Super Bowl Facebook Win Win

  Mike Mueller

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:32 am

  Who’s going to win the Super bowl? I’m betting on the Saints. Why? No reason other than the fact (purely by chance) I’ll be at their Parade this Tuesday in New Orleans and would rather attend a Super Bowl winner’s Parade. By chance, you also need a Custom Facebook Fan Page built for your business. Want to bet on the Super Bowl?  How about $400 with the winner donating to a great cause? Place Your Bet Order a Custom Facebook Fan Page by the end of the game here: LINK Enter the discount code “Saints” or “Colts” for your team. Pick the team you like, I’ll happily take the…

• Down to THAT Spot

  Mike Mueller

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:50 pm

  From Seth Godin’s blog here’s Gary V… Linchpin: GaryVee from Seth Godin on Vimeo. What do I do? I build Custom Facebook Tabs for Business. Two of them – one for Fan Conversion and the other for SEO / Fan Engagegment. That’s my closest level, my “spot”. What’s yours? By the way – who’s P. Diddy? Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Share this on Technorati Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Digg this! Share this on del.icio.us Share this on Linkedin

• She Knows…

  Mike Mueller

  5 Feb 2010 | 10:46 am

  From my post: Beat Candace You might remember her as “D.J. Tanner” on Full House.  That was a while ago.  She’s all grown up now and a personal friend of the Skip1 Founder.  She’s currently in the #2 position on the leader board and as you can see she’s “low hanging fruit”! The PLAN: Candace has the looks.  She has the fame.  She has the connections.  Heck, she even has a job (Yes, I’m still working on finding a job) – but here’s something Candace doesn’t have… She doesn’t have the awesome potential of Social Media behind her. …

• Beat Candace

  Mike Mueller

  3 Feb 2010 | 6:08 pm

  No hiding the fact that one of my favorite charities right now is Skip1.org.  You may have seen one of my tweets about them, or a Facebook post. The fact is that I love the concept.  Skip something small and insignificant in your life, donate what you would have spent on that item, and make a very significant difference in the lives of others. 100% of the donations go directly to make a difference.  No overhead fees, no salaries, $1 in makes a $1 difference there.  Speaking of “there”, while Skip1 works worldwide, right now the efforts are focused on helping Haiti. I…

• 
  Sociable

• Social Networking Site Wadja Introduces New Homepage and Logo

  Social Guy

  7 Feb 2010 | 8:39 am

  Wadja.com, a unique social networking site that uses labels to create people-to-topic connections, has introduced a re-design of its homepage and logo. Over the last half a year, Wadja has evolved and grown into a unique Social Network that features streamlined, topic-specific conversations based on labels, and messaging. To reflect Wadja’s progress, the company has decided to re-brand its homepage and logo. Maria Papathomopoulou PR Manager at Wadja notes, “We are delighted with the introduction of our new logo and the redesign of our homepage. The new homepage depicts label topics…

• Handmark Launches Twitter Application for Android

  Social Guy

  30 Jan 2010 | 7:43 am

  Handmark, a leading global developer and distributor of mobile applications and services, launches TweetCaster, the advanced, feature-rich Twitter application available for Android smartphone customers. TweetCaster makes “tweeting” from Android-based smartphones fast, easy, and fun, delivering a simple, yet comprehensive Twitter experience. In addition to all the standard features needed to enjoy a complete mobile Twitter experience. TweetCaster offers: Multiple Twitter account support Integrated retweets Integrated Twitter lists Push notifications for tweets, mentions and direct…

• Twitter Stats for “State of the Union” as Compared with Apple iPad Launch

  Social Guy

  29 Jan 2010 | 9:10 am

  I wanted to let you know, Retrevo has just compared the State of the Union with the iPad launch event to give people an idea of the buzz as it happened on Twitter. Apple’s iPad announcement achieved high levels on the Retrevo Buzzmeter (peaking at 7,000 tweets per minute) and it might surpass Buzzmeter levels for the State of the Union Address. Buzzmeter readings for Steve Jobs and the iPad came close but didn’t exceed President Obama’s moment in the spotlight. The State of the Union also had a longer sustained chatter after the event completed. The State of the Union…

• fring Bring 3G Video & Voice Calls to iPhone

  Social Guy

  29 Jan 2010 | 8:29 am

  After Apple’s allowed it, fring launches its 3G-friendly VoIP app. With fring on 3G, fring users get unrestricted, mobile communication. Now iPhone fring users can call, video call, chat and more for FREE over 3G and Wi-Fi. iPhone users can now use fring anywhere directly on their device and enjoy the same always-on freedom millions of other fringsters on other platforms have enjoyed for years. How do users get the new update? Current users don’t need to do anything to get this update, just open fring on their iPhone and they are good to go! If for some reason they continue getting a…

• Meezoog Integrates with Facebook to Bring Interactivity to Online Dating

  Social Guy

  26 Jan 2010 | 8:01 am

  Meezoog, a dating network for professional individuals around the world, has integrated with popular social network, Facebook, through Facebook Connect. As a result, Meezoog’s users are now connected to more than 500,000 people on Facebook through Meezoog’s trust-based platform. Meezoog uses Facebook Connect in a unique way, allowing its members to search tens of thousands of singles on Facebook who are all visibly connected to one another through Meezoog’s human paths. Connections of up to five degrees of separation can be viewed via Meezoog, mixing Facebook and Meezoog users.

• 
  Mashable!

• 5 Ways Airlines and Hotels Can Drive Revenue with Social Media

  Shashank Nigam

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:18 pm

  Shashank Nigam is the CEO of SimpliFlying.com, an award-winning blog on airline branding. He tweets at @simpliflying.Social media is no longer the “new” thing, especially for airlines. JetBlue has over one an a half million followers on Twitter. Lufthansa allows passengers to update their Twitter or Facebook status about where they are in the sky. AirAsia drives buzz about its new destinations through custom micro-sites. However, most airlines (and airports and hotels) are still struggling to earn direct revenue from their social media efforts.Yet if Dell can make $6.5 million from…

• Google Buzz: The Official Demo [VIDEO]

  Adam Ostrow

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:08 am

  Google has just unveiled its latest attempt to become more relevant in the social media space: Google Buzz. The product is integrated within Gmail and will be rolled out gradually to all of the webmail service’s users over the next few days.We’re still digesting all of the implications of Buzz (and will have more coverage throughout the day), but in the meantime, here’s the two-minute demo of the product in action both on the Web and via mobile that Google showed off during today’s press conference:This video from Google looks specifically at the mobile features of Buzz:What are your…

• BREAKING: Google Goes Social with Google Buzz

  Ben Parr

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:21 am

  It’s official: Google has just announced Google Buzz, its newest push into the social media foray. This confirms earlier reports of Gmail integrating a social status feature.On stage revealing the new product was Bradley Horowitz, Google’s vice president for product management. While introducing the product, Mr. Horowitz focused on the human penchant for sharing experiences and the social media phenomenon of wanting to share it in real time. These two key themes were core philosophies behind Google Buzz.“It’s becoming harder and harder to find signal in the…

• Facebook Kills Lexicon, Focuses on Analytics for Page Admins

  Samuel Axon

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:20 am

  Facebook has removed its Lexicon analytics app, blogger Steve Rubel noticed last night.Don’t know what Lexicon was? That’s OK, a lot of people didn’t; it was announced very quietly, but it was a neat tool. You could use Lexicon to see how frequently, and when, certain terms were trending in status updates, just like you can use Google Trends to do the same with search terms.For example, our own Stan Schroeder was a bit perplexed a couple years back when the word “sex” had a massive spike in usage on May 30, 2008. It was the launch day of the Sex and the City…

• 7 Ways to Promote Your Offline Event Using Social Media

  Susan Payton

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am

  Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, an internet marketing firm. She blogs at The Marketing Eggspert Blog, and teaches marketing courses at Marketing EggSchool. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.We all know about Tweetups and online events, but what about events that you didn’t specifically invite the Twitterati to attend? Conferences, meetings and parties are all events that might not have started online, but which can definitely benefit from online promotion and mention.Leverage your offline event with some smart social media marketing. Here are…

• 
  Smashing Magazine

• Applying Mathematics To Web Design

  Adit Gupta

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:52 am

    “Mathematics is beautiful.” This may sound absurd to people who wince at numbers and equations. But some of the most beautiful things in nature and our universe exhibit mathematical properties, from the smallest seashell to the biggest whirlpool galaxies. In fact, one of the greatest ancient philosophers, Aristotle, said: “The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful.”Because of its beautiful nature, mathematics has been a part of art and architectural design for ages. But it has not been…

• Color Theory for Designer, Part 3: Creating Your Own Color Palettes

  Cameron Chapman

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:58 am

    In the previous two parts of this series on color theory, we talked mostly about the meanings behind colors and color terminology. While this information is important, I’m sure a lot of people were wondering when we were going to get into the nitty-gritty of actually creating some color schemes.Well, that’s where Part 3 comes in. Here we’ll be talking about methods for creating your own color schemes, from scratch. We’ll cover the traditional color scheme patterns (monochrome, analogous, complementary, etc.) as well as how to create custom schemes that…

• SimpleFolio: A Free Clean Portfolio WordPress Theme

  Elja Friedman

  7 Feb 2010 | 8:35 am

    Today we are glad to release a beautiful, simple and clean portfolio WordPress theme — SimpleFolio, designed by Omar E. Corrales and released for Smashing Magazine and its readers. SimpleFolio is a portfolio theme that includes a blog and a very extensive option page that allows you to exclude all your portfolio items from the blog page. It also includes a front page slider.It has 2 different widget areas and threaded comments, and also supports paged comments and has 2 different page templates for advanced usage. The control of images is done from the post page.Download the…

• Beautiful Motion Graphics Created With Programming: Showcase, Tools and Tutorials

  Vailancio Rodrigues

  6 Feb 2010 | 5:50 am

    When you hear the word “creative”, what type of profession comes to mind? Maybe a graphic designer, painter, sculptor, illustrator, or writer? It’s unlikely that you would consider a “programmer” when thinking of creative fields of work. But programmers have the potential to be creative and come up with ideas or concepts that will impact others in positive ways.We often turn to programmers to solve mathematical-related problems, but the concept of mathematics in programming is what powers programmers to innovate. When you think of mathematics you…

• 50 Free UI and Web Design Wireframing Kits, Resources and Source Files

  Paul Andrew

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:04 am

    Planning and communication are two key elements in the development of any successful website or application. And that is exactly what the wireframing process offers: a quick and simple method to plan the layout and a cost-effective, time-saving tool to easily communicate your ideas to others. A wireframe typically has the basic elements of a Web page: header, footer, sidebar, maybe even some generated content, which gives you, your clients and colleagues a simple visually oriented layout that illustrates what the structure of the website will be by the end of the project and that…

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  ReadWriteWeb

• How Google Buzz is Disruptive: Open Data Standards

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:31 am

  Google rolled out a social stream service today called Buzz. It looks on the surface like Facebook, FriendFeed and other stream reading and writing services. It will compete with Facebook and Twitter. Under the covers, though, this major product was built by a team of people taking a radical new approach to online publishing: Buzz is all about open, standardized user data. Google Buzz data can be syndicated out to other services using the standard data formats called Atom, Activity Streams, MediaRSS and PubSubHubbub. That couldn't be more different from Facebook. Google has taken open data…

• Mobile Health: Will Network Applications Help Us Get Healthy?

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am

  Last week, we were at the mHealth initiative conference in Washington D.C. The keynotes were all about the impact mobile health applications are having in shaping the future of the health care system. Nothing demonstrates that more than the iPhone. In the 18 months since it was released, it has been perhaps the biggest thing to happen to health care electronic records, which has seen billions of dollars worth of investment in past decades. Mobile and wireless health applications directly impact the individual's health and have the promise of ensuring that when a patient leaves a doctor visit,…

• Foursquare Partners with Zagat, New York Times

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:17 am

  Foursquare has come out strong in recent weeks with partnership deals that look to put it at the top of the location-based app game. Last week, it announced a partnership with Bravo, the style and fashion-centric television network, and today it has come out with a partnership with Zagat, the restaurant guide, and the New York Times. As we wrote last week, Foursquare is competing in an increasingly crowded space, and these partnerships may help it attract a whole new audience and remain competitive against other services, like Yelp, just joining in the location-based arena. Sponsor According…

• Live Blogging from Google: Launch of Google Buzz

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am

  This morning, Google is announcing some exciting new features for two of its most popular applications. Team Red, as we affectionately call ourselves, is present at the Googleplex in Mountain View, and we'll be live blogging the event, giving you, dear reader, a fascinating play-by-play. Stay tuned for updates! The event will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Just refresh this post to see new content as events unfold. Additional on-the-fly research and images from RWW journalist Frederic Lardinois. Sponsor 11:11: The event is over! Time to chase people down and ask some more pointed questions.

• Europe's 17 Golden Rules for Keeping Safe on Social Networks

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:05 am

  Are you using your real name on your social network profiles? According to the European Union's Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), that's a big mistake. A new report, published to coincide with Europe's Safer Internet Day, details the dangers of using social networks and lays out 17 "golden rules" for keeping safe on social networks. The report's authors are especially worried about the proliferation of mobile social networks and, among other things, recommend that users turn off all location-based services whenever they are not absolutely needed. Sponsor The report argues that…

• 
  TechCrunch

• Screenshots: Google Buzz In Action

  MG Siegler

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:17 am

  Now that the Google event is over, the company has started turning on Buzz for Gmail users. Here are some quick screenshots of it in action. CrunchBase Information Google Buzz Information provided by CrunchBase

• If Google Wave Is The Future, Google Buzz Is The Present

  MG Siegler

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:40 am

  See our live notes from today’s Google Buzz event here. Google has a problem. Despite having their hands in just about everything online, they’ve never been able to tackle what is a key part of the fabric of the web: social. Yes, they have Orkut and OpenSocial, but no one actually uses them. Okay, some people use them, but not in the meaningful social ways that people use Facebook or even Twitter. Today, Google may have just solved their social problem. Google Buzz is easily the company’s boldest attempt yet to build a social network. Imagine taking elements of Twitter,…

• Gowalla Rolls Out API

  Leena Rao

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:35 am

  As location-based social networks gain serious traction, its inevitable that that these applications will become full-fledged platforms. Like Twitter, these networks can become ecosystems. Plus, they have a better chance of continuing to survive when Facebook enters the location ring. Foursquare released its API in November. And now Gowalla will has released its API today. In a blog post announcing the API, Gowalla encourages developers to build out features that incolve location and the community, highlighting the recent addition of user-curated trips. Gowalla also suggested several uses of…

• Google Street View Goes To The Top Of The Mountain

  Erick Schonfeld

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:31 am

  Google’s Street View has gone to many strange places, even off-road. But in preparation for the Winter Olympics it equipped a snowmobile with 360-degree cameras and took it to the top of Whistler, the Canadian ski resort where the Games will take place. The slope-side views can be seen in the map on Google’s new Winter Olympics information page. Google should do this for all major ski mountains. It’s a great way to see if you really want to go up to the top of that double black diamond chair lift. Here is a video showing how they got the images:

• Morning Buzz: Live From Google’s Major Step Into The Social Spotlight

  MG Siegler

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:57 am

  This morning, Google is hosting an event at its Mountain View, CA headquarters to show off a new social product it has been working on. Google VP of Product Management Bradley Horowitz, VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra, and product manager Todd Jackson are on hand to show it off. Below, follow our live notes (paraphrased): They’ve announced it will start in a few minutes, waiting for people in traffic, etc… Horowitz: Exciting news to share this morning. This is exactly the right audience. Next 45 minutes to hour we’re going to be showing off something. I bet many of you are…

• 
  All Facebook

• Google Declares War On Facebook With Google Buzz

  Nick O'Neill

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:26 am

  While it was expected that Google would use Gmail accounts as the center of users’ social graphs, the new Google Buzz makes it pretty obvious. Will Facebook eliminate Twitter or Facebook with this new service? Definitely not, however it’s clear that the new product is aimed squarely at Facebook. With Gmail, Calendar, and a location aware stream, Google is on the offensive. Read the rest of this entry on Social Times»

• Facebook Officially Kills Lexicon

  Nick O'Neill

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:46 am

  A couple weeks ago we began wondering what happened to the company’s lexicon product as it was no longer providing useful data. It appears that the company has decided to shutter the year and a half old product, as Steve Rubel points out. When you visit the Lexicon page it now says “We are removing the Lexicon product from Facebook for the time being.” The page also suggests that the resources focused on the Lexicon product have been shifted to building out the Page and Application analytics tools. We recently wrote about the need for deeper analytics within Facebook Pages.

• Facebook Releases New Statistics: Sharing Quintuples In 6 Months

  Nick O'Neill

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:29 am

  Facebook has updated their new statistics page and the most significant statistic is that sharing has increased 500 percent in only six months. The total number of users on the site has less than doubled in the same amount of time, growing from 250 million users to 400 million. That means the average user is sharing over 12 pieces of content each week. As Kim-Mai Cutler points out, Facebook users don’t appear to be increasing their volume of status updates though: Facebook users are also posting 60 million status updates a day or 50 percent more than they were in September. However, the…

• Facebook Lets Users Opt-Out From Dashboard App Stories

  Nick O'Neill

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:52 am

  Facebook has developed what they believe to be a sufficient solution to the dashboard privacy flaw that we’ve covered over the past few weeks: an application activity privacy setting. With the new layout, Facebook users can visit their applications privacy settings and change a new setting that lets you “Control who can see your activity in the Friends’ Recent Activity, Friends’ Applications and Friends’ Games sections” of the application and games dashboards (pictured below). This Isn’t A Transparent Shift When we listed out the options that Facebook…

• Can You Get More Facebook Fans Than A Celebrity?

  Nick O'Neill

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:26 pm

  Whether it’s pickles, onion rings, sausages, or purple monsters, the latest Facebook meme attempts to drive more fans to Facebook Pages than to celebrity pages. While this tactic has been used for Facebook groups for some time, the volume of new Pages dedicated to arbitrary objects that have successfully attracted hundreds of thousands or a million fans has increased dramatically in the past couple days. Two weeks ago, the creator of the page “Can this purple monster i made on paint get more fans than the president?” reached out to us about his Page. At the time, we thought…

• 
  Why Facebook?

• How To Add A Custom Landing Tab To Your Facebook Fan Page

  Mari Smith

  20 Jan 2010 | 11:05 pm

  Let’s assume you have your Facebook Fan Page up and running now. (If not, see FANtastic Fan Pages for ideas and help). Some of the basics include adding a custom graphic, installing apps – particularly Static FBML, adding custom content including a landing tab, and ensuring you’re adding relevant, quality content on a regular basis. I’ll be covering all of these subjects and more on this blog and also on SocialMediaExaminer.com. If you have visitors to your Fan page and they are not yet fans, I call them non-fans, you ideally want those visitors to be directed to your custom Welcome…

• Thinking Of Running A Contest on Facebook? Think Again!

  Mari Smith

  8 Nov 2009 | 11:44 pm

  IMPORTANT UPDATE: November 13, 2009 from CNET News: Last week, the massive social network announced that brands, advertisers, and marketers that want to run contests or sweepstakes on its platform have to go through an approval process first Getting that approval could be a new revenue stream for Facebook: according to multiple sources in the marketing industry, they’re being told that running a promotion in a Facebook application or "fan page" requires buying ad space too. It’s pricey. The minimum ad buy is $10,000 for 30 days, using Facebook’s self-service…

• Social Media Examiner: Your New Guide Through the Social Media Jungle

  Mari Smith

  12 Oct 2009 | 5:17 am

  It’s a social media jungle out there!! Yes, there are many bona fide sources of excellent social media blogs, websites, resources, products, services and service providers. However, in the exploding social media industry, there is certainly room for additional trusted sources. Especially sources focused purely on the business element of social media marketing - and this is where the hot new online magazine, Social Media Examiner, comes into its own. I’m proud and honored to be a part of my dear friend, Michael Stelzner’s, “Social Media Dream Team” behind the…

• Tips, Tricks & Tools from 140 | The Twitter Conference

  Mari Smith

  26 Sep 2009 | 1:26 pm

  I had the great pleasure of speaking at the recent 140 Twitter Conference on a branding experts panel (Growing Your Brand on Twitter: Strategies and Tactics from the Trenches) with @Starbucks @mprasad @msuster @andrewblair, moderated by one of my favorites in the socialmediasphere, @guykawasaki. The panel was fun and informative! We talked about building community, what to tweet about, how to tweet, whether to auto follow or not, how to measure ROI, how big brands can engage their followers and more. [Pic: @msustermarismith & @guykawaski in background. Photo credit: @ErkChristiansen…

• Facebook News Feed and Wall: How To Control Privacy

  Mari Smith

  24 Aug 2009 | 9:34 am

  UPDATE: January 4th, 2009 - Facebook’s latest Privacy settings are much more limited… despite the fact they say we have more control. Please refer to this post for updated Facebook News Feed and Wall info. I’ll be adding to my whyfacebook.com blog shortly too. Original post follows: A Facebook friend recently mentioned she was intentionally responding to new Facebook friend requests late at night as she didn’t want to clog up her friends’ feeds. Thing is, there’s a setting in your Facebook Privacy to control exactly what gets published on your Facebook Wall…

• 
  The Social Customer Manifesto

• Social Customer Case Study: OK Labs Hits 150% of Customer Community Target

  Christopher Carfi - Cerado, Inc.

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:34 am

  A nice article from CRM Magazine about the work we did with OK Labs. -cfc A Social Strategy That's A-OK OK Labs forgoes traditional marketing in favor of a community-based Web 2.0 approach. By Marti Konstant, vice president of marketing for Open Kernel (OK) Labs, as told to Lauren McKay• Tell us about your organization. Open Kernel—OK Labs—is a three-year-old start-up that was born in Australia and is now headquartered in Chicago. My role when coming on board was to build up the brand and, most importantly, create awareness among the technical developer community who work on…

• Phrase of the Day: "Transaction Myopia"

  Christopher Carfi - Cerado, Inc.

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:48 pm

  Just tripped across a great turn of phrase from Peppers and Rogers: "Transaction Myopia."  Good stuff, and worth checking out. (Via CRMAdvocate) The key bit:"It's far easier for almost any business manager to think in terms of transactions completed-whether you talk about products sold, or calls handled, or loyalty points awarded-than it is to think in terms of asset values improved (i.e., lifetime values increased because of strengthened relationships). And obviously, having better transactional data will help any firm do a better job in making customer-centric decisions. But even…

• The Social Customer Will Be Mobile

  Christopher Carfi - Cerado, Inc.

  4 Feb 2010 | 7:59 am

  Morgan Stanley's uber-analyst Mary Meeker recently published her 671(!) page report on the state (and future) of the mobile internet.  Of her eight "key themes" in the report, one really stood out: Mobile is Ramping Faster Than Desktop Internet Did and Will Be Bigger Than Most Think - a confluence of five factors (3G + Social Networking + Video + VoIP + Impressive Mobile Devices) Are Driving This Change Whoa.  Think about that for a second.  Mobile Internet usage is ramping even faster than Desktop usage did between the early 90s and today.  As soon as…

• American Airlines Hoses Me, Again

  Christopher Carfi - Cerado, Inc.

  19 Jan 2010 | 4:27 pm

  You think I'd learn. I'd been scheduled to go on an embark aboard the USS Stennis this week, on a trip similar to this one taken by Guy Kawasaki and others.  (Thank you, again, USNavy for the invitation, and Andy Sernovitz for facilitating.)  However, the storms hammering the West Coast changed the plans, and the embark was cancelled.  No problem, these things happen.  Totally understand. I'd split my flights so the outbound to San Diego was on American Airlines, and the return was on Southwest in order to get the best fare.  When I found out the trip was canceled, I…

• Offtopic: El Vez at the Independent

  Christopher Carfi - Cerado, Inc.

  18 Dec 2009 | 10:39 am

  Had a rare chance to see the great El Vez* (along with the Elvettes) at The Independent last night.  Los Straightjackets were the backing band. As always, big, big fun.* - Yes, indeed.  El Vez, the Thin Brown Duke, the Mexican Elvis, was in town for his bi-annual holiday show.  Woot!

• 
  Six Pixels of Separation

• This Will Change Everything... Again

  Mitch Joel

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:50 am

  What do you make of articles that say, "this will change everything for Marketers?" The truth is, I'm just as guilty as the next Journalist, Blogger and Writer to publish thoughts like that. The truth is, those types of sayings and thoughts are popping up in every form of media a lot more often these days. The truth is, it's true. We tend to lump everything we see in the digital channels as "Social Media" and it's probably one of the biggest disservices we can do to the online channels and platforms. YouTube is nothing like Twitter and Twitter is nothing like Facebook, yet…

• Marketers Miss The Mark With Twitter

  Mitch Joel

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:19 pm

  How long has it been since we had a, "Twitter is dead" article? AdWeek published the article, The Tweet Hereafter, yesterday and it will probably make no sense to any Marketer who sees any of the Social Media platforms as something more than just another advertising channel. "Like Second Life, Twitter has become a wasteland for brands. Verizon, a company that spent more than $1 billion on advertising in 2009, has around 5,000 followers -- about 0.3 percent the amount that Perez Hilton has. Coca-Cola has 15,000. Apple's not even on Twitter. And some corporate Twitter accounts…

• Measuring Real Success Online With Google's Analytics Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik

  Mitch Joel

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:22 am

  Episode #189 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. Seth Godin wrote a seminal book called, All Marketers Are Liars. Avinash Kaushik tells us about how marketing connects and how to measure it in such a practical and real way, that some Marketers can't stand the honesty that comes out of his mouth. Maybe Kaushik should write a book called, Some Marketers Hate Avinash Kaushik? Along with being the Analytics Evangelist for Google (and Blogger over at Occam's Razor), Kaushik is also the best-selling author of two books, Web Analytics -…

• There Is Nothing Wrong With Making Money

  Mitch Joel

  6 Feb 2010 | 12:11 pm

  For some reason, no one in Social Media is really allowed to make any money. It's verboten. It's against the community spirit. It's the wrong thing to do. That's just, plain stupid. Yes, the new digital channels are primed for those who are looking to connect, communicate and engage in conversations, but if there is no benefit in the end, then all is lost. For some, that end benefit will be dollars in the bank, for others it will be social capital (check out Tara Hunt's amazing book, The Whuffie Factor, for more on that), for some it will be the growth of their personal brand (which in turn…

• What Motivates You?

  Mitch Joel

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:26 pm

  There are some people who do the heavy lifting when it comes to thinking about why human beings do the things we do. Dan Pink (aka Daniel H. Pink) is one of those thinkers. He's the author of some of the best (and best-selling) business books like Free Agent Nation, A Whole New Mind, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko (the first American business book done in Japanese manga) and his recently-released hit, Drive - The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Here's how his Blog describes Drive: "Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch…

• 
  Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

• Why Businesses Still Aren’t Engaging Online With Their Customers

  ME Liz Strauss

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:54 am

  A Guest Post by Frank Angelone Are you a business? Whether you are a large corporation or a small business, you should be engaging with your customers. As many already know, the best way to engage with your customers is through social media. There are so many sites available at your disposal to be an active participant, yet many businesses still aren’t using social media to its full potential. Why is this? Well, I believe it can be answered in 5 bullet points… Laziness. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t engage in social media, your sales for your business…

• 3 Simple Steps to Add Irresistible Influence to Your Brand

  ME Liz Strauss

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:20 am

  Magnetic from the Very First Minute! What makes a person or a company unforgettable from the second you interact? Why do some folks motivate and energize us? What is it about some folks that attracts people so powerfully? What makes a magnetic personality? Is it possible for a company or a brand to have those qualities? Can we carry them online and off? 3 Simple Steps to Add Irresistible Influence to Your Brand The brands and the businesses we love don’t just deliver on a promise. They make us feel good about working with them and feel good about being part of what they’re doing.

• Beach Notes: What Goes into Effortless?

  ME Liz Strauss

  7 Feb 2010 | 7:25 am

  by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh A couple of times recently we have seen this man at our local beach, Rainbow Bay, with a didgeridoo ( or yidaki), the traditional Australian Aboriginal musical intrument. This day we saw and heard him playing with the end of the “didge” submerged at the water’s edge. My thought was that there might be some spiritual explanation, connecting with the spirits of the sea, etc. A bit of a web search suggests something more mundane. Evidently the exercise of playing the instrument in this way trains the diaphragm and builds the player’s…

• Thanks to Week 224 SOBs

  ME Liz Strauss

  6 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

  Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Let me introduce the bloggers who have earned this official badge of achievement, and the right to call themselves Successful Blog SOBs. I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs. They take the conversation to their readers, contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger. I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on. Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community. Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award…

• SOB Business Cafe 02-05-10

  ME Liz Strauss

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:03 am

  Welcome to the SOB Cafe We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection. The Specials this Week are Doc Searls Weblog What you have to appreciate, even admire, is how well Apple plays the vertical game. It’s really amazing. What you also have to appreciate is how much we also need the horizontal one. The iPad needs an open alternative, soon. There should be for the iPad what Google’s Nexus One is for the iPhone. Up the creek…

• 
  ProBlogger Blog Tips

• Blog Like a Cartoonist – Six Stunning Secrets to Help You Break Through Bloggers Block

  Darren Rowse

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:24 am

  And now for a guest post with a difference from Cartoonist Mark Anderson from Andertoons.com who created this comic to illustrate the writing techniques he uses to create his cartoons, and how they can help bloggers push through writer’s block. Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger. Blog Like a Cartoonist – Six Stunning Secrets to Help You Break Through Bloggers Block Share This

• Have a 37 Minute Coffee Break with Me [Audio Interview]

  Darren Rowse

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:43 am

  If you have a spare 37 minutes today to grab a coffee with me (or at least are doing something that will allow you to listen to something for 37 minutes in the background) check out this interview I did with Robb Sutton late last week. Robb’s also transcribed it for those who prefer to read. In the interview Rob asks me about a whole range of stuff including: my background in blogging my philosophy on lots of sites vs focusing upon a single (or just a few) sites the process of going full time (and my wife’s six month ultimatum) my shift in focus to e-books and membership sites a…

• What Is Your Blogging Goal for February?

  Darren Rowse

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:22 am

  A few days back I asked readers a question: What Have You Been Putting Off and What’s Holding You Back? Some of the responses to the question in comments (and via email and Twitter) revealed a lot of bloggers really wanting to step things up and get what they’ve been putting off done. So – lets set some goals – what do you want to achieve by the end of February? I’m not going to be calling you up to check up to see if you’re meeting your goals – but hopefully in putting them down publicly you’ll find yourself a little more spurred on to reach…

• 9 Tricks I Used To Triple My AdSense Earnings In 30 Days

  Daniel Scocco

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:34 am

  Guest post by Daniel Scocco from Daily Blog Tips. I have been using Google AdSense to monetize my blogs and websites for as long as I remember. In fact it was the first method I ever tried (I made a whooping $15 on my first month… back in 2005). Over the years I migrated to other methods (e.g., direct sponsors and affiliate marketing), which made AdSense become merely an inventory filler. I was still making around $1,000 monthly from it, but whenever I could I would use other methods over it. Then some months ago I started noticing an upward trend on the CPC of my sites, and I figured that…

• How I Got Some Paying Sponsors Without Really Meaning To

  Darren Rowse

  6 Feb 2010 | 6:21 am

  A guest post by Josh Hanagarne. World’s Strongest Librarian was about four months old when I got interested in sponsors. I’d read the articles about how to do it, and none of them sounded that plausible for me and my situation. For one, my traffic wasn’t impressive, certainly not to the point where sponsors were approaching me. And, while my blog has become slightly more focused in its first ten months, it wasn’t targeted at any group of readers in particular, so I wasn’t sure how confident niche advertisers would be. It’s a little more focused now, but I can’t really think of a…

• 
  PR-Squared

• Social Media Abhors A Vacuum

  Todd Defren

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:07 am

  One of the issues that large brands must worry about — especially franchise brands — is IF and HOW local affiliates and employees decide to participate online. For example, take a look at a well-known brand like real estate giant Century 21. In addition to the official @C21realestate handle managed by Corp Comms in Parsippany, there are over 350 Century21 employees and/or franchisees on Twitter. Their Twitter handles range from @C21_SUNBELT to @Cntury21, from @Century21Seller to @RealtorToCall (and any number of @firstnamelastname combinations, i.e., no C21 affiliation). Some of these…

• Guess Who’s Talking: Social Media Ethical Dilemmas

  Todd Defren

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  Continuing our series on Social Media Ethical Dilemmas, this post is about the guidelines related to agencies who help client contacts to identify and engage, via commenting, on industry/influencer blogs. The goal is to insert our clients’ executives and perspectives into industry conversations; to help them build up their credibility, and ultimately to create valuable relationships with influencers. How do you do this?  How can you effectively inform and educate busy clients while also cultivating the bloggers’ goodwill in an authentic way? Here’s the general process… The Agency…

• Will RSS Fall to Apps?

  Todd Defren

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:15 am

  Several of my friends have launched iPhone apps recently.  (I am lookin’ at you, Brian Solis, Chris Brogan, Tamar Weinberg and C.C. Chapman.)  This is getting easier and easier to do, thanks to emergent services like Mobile Roadie and Motherapp. On the one hand, yea, I admit it, I smirked at each new announcement.  Felt a little too self-reverential.  Even Mitch Joel — no shrinking violet — called them “Golden Calf” apps. But I parleyed with C.C. about it, and read his post carefully.  His point is not lost on me: RSS is a tool of the elite; most folks surf their Bookmarks…

• SHIFT’s NYC PR Agency Debuts!

  Todd Defren

  3 Feb 2010 | 2:12 pm

  Last Thursday was a banner day for SHIFT, as we cut the ribbon at the opening of  our NYC office.  We celebrated in style, ‘natch, with a party that included everyone from SavvyAuntie Melanie Notkin, to reporters from the Wall Street Journal, PRWeek, MediaBistro and RealSimple, to venture capitalists, and many more friends and colleagues.  Full-house.  Raucous and fun. David Parmet of Marketing Begins at Home probably did the best job of capturing the “real me” — an unmatched combination of goofiness and ego.  I half-drunkenly stumbled out onto our NYC…

• Trail of Breadcrumbs

  Todd Defren

  1 Feb 2010 | 4:20 am

  A new survey conducted by Cision and Don Bates of The George Washington University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations found that “an overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories.” Specifically, “89% said they turn to blogs for story research, 65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and 52% to microblogging services such as Twitter.” Per the news release: While the results demonstrate the fast growth of social media as a well-used source of information for mainstream…

• 
  Copyblogger

• Does Writing for People Work for SEO?

  Brian Clark

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:16 am

  Hang around web writing circles for any length of time, and the inevitable “write for search engines or write for people” debate comes up. It’s a bit strange, really. Last time I checked, it’s people who use search engines, not some other life form. So you’re always writing for people. Obviously, the debate stems from the fact that search engines are powered by computer algorithms. But as search engines have gotten smarter, writing that pleases people and satisfies spiders is not that far apart, if at all. Let’s look at four factors that work well for SEO and see how well they…

• The Art of Shameless Self-Promotion

  Nathan Hangen

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:49 am

  I’ve found it just doesn’t pay to crow too much about what I’ve accomplished. Sure, I celebrate when things go well. But I’ve found that talking too much about my achievements leads not only to criticism, but to disappointment. There’s always going to be someone who’s done more or worked harder. And until they carve my name into the side of the moon, I see no reason in puffing myself up. The minute you get a big head is the same minute that reality smacks you and you realize that you aren’t as cool as you think you are. So self-adulation is something I try to stay…

• Five Areas to Focus On for Effective SEO Copywriting

  Brian Clark

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:51 am

  When I first started Copyblogger in 2006, I was almost militantly against on-page search optimization. Seems strange, since I’d been a successful student of SEO since 2000. It was because I saw all these people fretting over keywords like it’s 1999, and yet they had no links. Their content was weak. Their sites weren’t trusted. You can’t optimize something that’s dead in the water. So my initial goal was to get people to focus on content that attracted attention and links first. Only then do you have something you can make better (that’s what optimize means, naturally). Fours…

• Landing Page Makeovers 2007-2009: Where Are They Now?

  Roberta Rosenberg

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:46 am

  This is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work. It occurred to me late last year, as I was readying yet another Landing Page Makeover, that the end of one year and the beginning of the next was a good time to do a “Where are they now?” post. So first things first, I went back and contacted all makeover participants from the very beginning of the series. Of the more than 20 contacted, I learned that one is no longer in business, MagicPumpkinArt.com (Makeover #14) and two are in the midst of developing new products or revising…

• Does SEO Copywriting Still Matter?

  Brian Clark

  3 Feb 2010 | 8:28 am

  If there’s any one thing that can be said about SEO with certainty, it’s that it manages to cause a lot of confusion. For example, it seems like many people’s idea of SEO was formed 10 years ago, and hasn’t bothered to change with the times. Even an online veteran like Robert Scoble is completely clueless about modern best practices for search engine optimization. So, before we go any further, let me answer the question posed by the headline . . . Yes, SEO copywriting still matters. Here’s why. Search is still the biggest game in town “Pick your survey, search remains one of the…

• 
  Entrepreneur

• Dirty Jobs: the Secret to Success in 2010

  7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  If you're searching for a recession-proof franchise, consider getting into the business of 'dirty jobs.'

• Don't File for that Patent Yet

  7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  Instead of a utility patent, a provisional patent or a trademark could be a better first step.

• Focus on 'User Experience Optimization'

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  Driving traffic to your homepage is important, but making the destination worthwhile is vital.

• Which Features Should Your Website Have?

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  If you're taking things up a notch, consider these factors.

• Soup Up Your Social Sales Channels

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  If you make time for it and know your stuff, you can chat your way to more Web traffic.

• 
  CrackBerry.com blogs

• BlackBerry Accessory Roundup: One Free OtterBox Commuter Case Up for Grabs!

  drm2blv

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:42 am

  This Week's Featured Item: OtterBox Commuter Series Case for the Storm2 Last week we all saw Adam's charging pod he can't live without, and the week before Kevin's extended battery review (big shock he needs one of those huh?) This week's accessory is one that I have grown to love, the Otterbox cases. Otterbox has been around for quite some time now, making cases that date back to the 8800 series devices, if not even longer, but they continue to change and make their product even better. Hit the jump for some more info on OtterBox and this weeks newest accessories. Be sure to leave a comment…

• BlackBerry Security: Compromised Or Slightly Over Blown?

  Bla1ze

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:23 am

  The internet is buzzing lately regarding the recent annoucement of a proof of concept spyware presentation that was delivered at ShmooCon2010 by the folks over at Veracode. The concept video and presentation shows how a BlackBerry device could basically be overtaken by simply installing an application, which allows for all sorts of nasty to happen. Emails forwarded, text messages forwarded even remote listening of conversations from a BlackBerry sitting on a close by table. One thing thing the presentation neglects is the fact these things have been in the BlackBerry OS for quite some time…

• BlackBerry App: ReportAway! for FreshBooks

  Ryan Blundell

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:46 am

  Freshbooks. If you haven’t heard of Freshbooks before, it’s known as “The Leader of Online Invoicing”. It’s an extremely beneficial business tool, especially for those who are looking for any type of outside sales or field service automation. Unfortunately, not everyone is on board with this type of service and some are still using manual invoices, stacks of paper and other handwritten forms that could become a headache for any accounting department. It’s also a valued option for those who wish to keep track of their team, manage contractors, estimates and, of course, their…

• Grooveshark For BlackBerry Updated To v1.0.7

  Bla1ze

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:44 am

  Grooveshark, the premium streaming music application we looked at previously has rolled out an update recently. Sadly, no changelog was issued with the release but users opening up the application were indeed, prompted to download what is now v1.0.7. Seems a lot of T-Mobile users were having issues with getting the application to work previously, so maybe you'll want to give this version a shot to see if it works better. Grooveshark is available for $3/mnth through their VIP program which allows for unlimited streaming and caching of music played for offline usage. For More Details And…

• BlackBerry Tour Gets a Guest Spot on 'House'

  Adam Zeis

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:53 am

  While watching House M.D. last night as part of my lazy Monday night, I was excited to see our good friend the BlackBerry Tour 9630 had a guest spot for most of the show. Right from the start, Lisa Edelstien's character showed she is a true CrackBerry Abuser as her precious Tour rarely left her sight (or her hand for that matter) for most of the show). As her alarm clock rang at 5am (which she should totally scrap for an charging pod and bedside mode combo) she immediately checked her device as any true BlackBerry addict would. Throughout the episode, the stock BlackBerry ringtones made users…

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  Holy Kaw!

• Google Buzz's official demo [video]

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am

  Google has just unveiled its latest attempt to become more relevant in the social media space—Google Buzz. The product is integrated within Gmail and will be rolled out gradually to all of the webmail service’s users over the next few days. While this development is still unfolding, you can check out Google Buzz’s two-minute demo of Buzz in action both online and via mobile. What are your initial reactions? Another soon-to-be-forgotten Google product like Wave, or a Facebook/Twitter killer? Full story at Mashable. Total Google coverage. Permalink | Leave a…

• Darth Vader’s original wimpy voice [video]

  9 Feb 2010 | 11:15 am

  Imagine a galaxy far, far away where Darth Vader sounded like any other British bloke strolling down the corridors of the Death Star. Before James Earl Jones provided the menacing voice of the Dark Lord of the Sith, English actor and bodybuilder David Prowse delivered the lines from inside the Darth costume. While George Lucas never intended for Prowse’s voice to make the flick’s final cut, it’s weird to imagine how different Star Wars would have been with a different Vader voice. Full story at Huffington Post. Tons of Star Wars tidbits. Permalink | Leave a…

• 7 things you didn’t know about condoms

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:14 am

  Rubbers. Raincoats. Inconvenient. Whatever you call 'em, condoms remain a must-have in the safe sex tool box. Long before the days of Durex and Trojans, men used animal intestines to protect their willies (that sounds lovely, eh ladies?) and still to this day use lambskin condoms for latex allergies and supposed extra sensitivity. Want to learn even more fun facts about condoms that will surely impress your friends and potential lovers? Check out Asylum's seven things you probably didn't know about condoms that includes tantalizing tidbits like: Vaseline + condoms = Disintegrated rubber and…

• Horror flick mirror scare mash-up [video]

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:25 am

  Horror movies love to rely on cliches to scare the bejeezus out of us, but does it really surprise anyone that the axe murderer is going to pop in the reflection of a mirror? Ok, yes, it still totally sparks a few pee-in-pants moments. Check out this mash-up of mirror scare moments (fair warning: don’t watch alone in a big, dark, scary house): Full story at Four Four. Boo! Tons of scary and not so scary movie news. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• 7 things you shouldn't do on Valentine's Day

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:13 am

  Ah, Valentine’s day. February fourteenth marks that special moment in the year when Hallmark cashes in on our emotions and cupid gets busy shooting arrows. Whether you’re indifferent, excited, upset, or madly in love—there are seven things you just shouldn’t do on this lovey-dovey holiday. See a few do-not-do’s below: Go on a first date. First dates are hard enough, why add the extra pressure? Call your ex. Abort mission! On a day like this, it’s normal for your thoughts to drift to the one you used to be with, but you broke up for a reason. So, spare…