Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories. Google to Launch Cloud Storage Service [REPORT] Google plans to launch a cloud storage service similar to Dropbox, according to a report by WSJ. Google’s service will be called Drive, and it will let users store and share photos, videos and other documents in Google’s cloud, say sources familiar with the matter. iPad 3 Might Come With Different Screen and Thicker Case A…
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Most Topular Stories
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Today’s Top Stories: Google’s Cloud Storage, iPad Rumors
Mashable!9 Feb 2012 | 5:36 am -
The History and Evolution of the Businessman
Social Media Mom30 Jan 2012 | 2:15 pmReading time: < 1 minute Sometimes it is hard to imagine a time before the internet and social networks - even as new as they are. These avenues of communication have completely changed the course of business, and thus, the businessman. Business MBA recently launched an infographic that takes us back to a time when prehistoric man made survival his business, we meet the poets of the renaissance, the discoverers of new worlds, and eventually a generation with the world at their fingertips who has proven to be unlike any other. From: Business MBA -
Three Ways To Use Linked In If You're NOT Looking For A Job
ReadWriteWeb9 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amA post last week on pimping your LinkedIn profile drew a big response, as well as a divide in comments about whether or not people should be using LinkedIn. One of the bigger misconceptions in comments in emails was that LinkedIn is a primarily a job-hunting site. But there are reasons to use LinkedIn even if you have a job you love, aside from the obvious benefits of keeping up on your industry and making connections with potential business partners. Sponsor Among them: LinkedIn is a great contact manager. Not all of your contacts will have their phone numbers in their LinkedIn profile (and… -
How to Recover From a Social Media Hangover
Copyblogger9 Feb 2012 | 3:00 am“Hello. My name is Cori and I’m a social media addict. “Today is day 1 of my commitment to give myself a regular break from technology and the foggy, uncreative haze it can unwittingly lead to.” I was reading a post the other day by blogger Michael Brenner at B2B Marketing Insider, talking about getting your social media game on. Of course, being the skimmer that I am, the first thing that caught my attention and made me go back and read the whole thing was his mention of having a Social Media Hangover. His hangover was induced by sometimes (as we all do) forgetting to… -
How to Succinctly Report a Blog Issue to Tech Support
@ProBlogger8 Feb 2012 | 6:07 amThis guest post is by Matthew Setter of Malt Blue. How often do you find it happening to you? You discover an issue with your site, or one of your community members emails you to tell you about it, and soon you start to see tweets about it too. Maybe it’s as simple as an error message that detracts from the professional appearance of your site. Perhaps the contact form doesn’t send messages to your contact email address. Or is it that the whole site just displays as a blank page, otherwise known as the white page of death? You’re not a programmer, a software engineer or a seasoned…
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Mashable!
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Today’s Top Stories: Google’s Cloud Storage, iPad Rumors
9 Feb 2012 | 5:36 amWelcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories. Google to Launch Cloud Storage Service [REPORT] Google plans to launch a cloud storage service similar to Dropbox, according to a report by WSJ. Google’s service will be called Drive, and it will let users store and share photos, videos and other documents in Google’s cloud, say sources familiar with the matter. iPad 3 Might Come With Different Screen and Thicker Case A… -
Nest Calls Honeywell Lawsuit a ‘Patent-Attack Strategy’
9 Feb 2012 | 5:32 amAn unusual technology entered the patent lawsuit theater on Monday when Honeywell International announced it was suing Nest Labs: Thermostat tech. Now Nest says it plans to fight back. Honeywell, a diversified technology and manufacturing company, is suing the startup over alleged infringement of seven of its thermostat tech patents. In a statement to Mashable on Wednesday, Nest called the lawsuit a “patent-attack strategy to stifle competition” and said it will vigorously defend itself. “We have the resources, support and conviction to do so,” the statement reads. -
Google Chrome Update Brings Faster Browsing
9 Feb 2012 | 1:12 amThe new stable release of Google’s web browser Chrome brings several improvements, most importantly faster browsing and more protection from malicious downloads. From now on, when you start typing in Chrome’s address box (or omnibox, as Google calls it), as soon as Chrome autocompletes the URL you’re likely to visit, it will prerender the page, making your overall browsing experience faster. As far as security goes, Chrome now does checks on executable files you’ve downloaded from the net. It matches the executables against a whitelist – a list of programs known… -
‘Bachelor’ Contestant Courtney Gets Auto-Tuned [VIDEO]
8 Feb 2012 | 9:19 pmFans of The Bachelor are all too familiar with this season’s over-the-top contestant Courtney, who makes snide comments at the camera and likes to take off her bikini top. Now, a video has popped up on YouTube that has turned some of her signature phrases — from “Winning!” to “I do modeling” — into a catchy Auto-Tune clip. The contestants are vying for a rose from winemaker Ben, and Courtney has rubbed many of them the wrong way, and this video shows why. This is not the first time YouTube users have turned pop culture moments into Auto-Tuned videos. -
Facebook Talks About Social Games and Mobile Apps for 2012
8 Feb 2012 | 9:09 pmFacebook revealed its roadmap for social games and mobile apps for the rest of the year at the Inside Social Apps 2012 conference on Wednesday in San Francisco — and it’s good news for app developers. Want to create an app for Facebook’s Open Graph? The mobile space presents a huge opportunity to create cross-platform social games, said Carl Sjogreen, director of product management at Facebook, who spoke to a packed conference center filled with IT insiders about Facebook’s projections for the mobile social gaming and app space for this year. “You sort of had to…
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Social Media Mom
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The History and Evolution of the Businessman
30 Jan 2012 | 2:15 pmReading time: < 1 minute Sometimes it is hard to imagine a time before the internet and social networks - even as new as they are. These avenues of communication have completely changed the course of business, and thus, the businessman. Business MBA recently launched an infographic that takes us back to a time when prehistoric man made survival his business, we meet the poets of the renaissance, the discoverers of new worlds, and eventually a generation with the world at their fingertips who has proven to be unlike any other. From: Business MBA -
Win Free Tickets To ABC’s, The Revolution
25 Jan 2012 | 6:39 amReading time: 1 – 2 minutes If you are a fan of Ty Pennington, or of daytime talk shows, or of living a better life – this is your chance to be front and center. ABC is offering free tickets to be a part of their new show’s live studio audience. This is a wonderful opportunity. I am very impressed with the entire premise of the show. Here on Social Media Mom, we often talk about living a better and more balanced life, which is the idea behind The Revolution. When it comes to style, adventure, health, and fitness – The Revolution is doing its part to make people happy… -
A Guide To Travel Therapy Jobs
18 Jan 2012 | 10:15 amReading time: < 1 minute Many of us spend our lives looking for that dream job, and in this economy, we are forced to take what we can get. This is part of the reason Onward Healthcare's new infographic resonated with me. It is always reassuring to see industries that help job creation. This particular career track is interesting because: you can live comfortably off of it, you have the resources to help others, and you get to travel the country. Check out the following infographic for more information on this career, and let us know if you know anyone in this field or are interested in… -
Faces iMake App. Stimulates Creativity
16 Jan 2012 | 7:36 amReading time: 2 – 2 minutes The new app. for your iPhone and iPad, is an award winning activity for your kids. Your child will take everyday objects and make faces out of them. It helps your child to be more creative and stimulates right brain activity. The application was created by children’s book author, Hanoch Piven, and is loved by parents just as much as kids. Many parents have called it addicting, and say it even makes them feel they are being more creative. The game is easy and intuitive for your children, and has been said to be very helpful to children with… -
Apple To Apples: Tech vs. Fruit
11 Jan 2012 | 8:41 amReading time: < 1 minute I came across a great infographic, by MBA Online, that I thought was so clever. This was a very interesting way of getting cool stats on America's favorite technology, and Russia's favorite fruit. It should also be no surprise that most of our apples, and all of our Apples come from China. I hope this brings some joy to your wednesday! Created by: MBA Online
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ReadWriteWeb
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Three Ways To Use Linked In If You're NOT Looking For A Job
9 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amA post last week on pimping your LinkedIn profile drew a big response, as well as a divide in comments about whether or not people should be using LinkedIn. One of the bigger misconceptions in comments in emails was that LinkedIn is a primarily a job-hunting site. But there are reasons to use LinkedIn even if you have a job you love, aside from the obvious benefits of keeping up on your industry and making connections with potential business partners. Sponsor Among them: LinkedIn is a great contact manager. Not all of your contacts will have their phone numbers in their LinkedIn profile (and… -
Groupon's First Earnings Call Missed the Mark, But It May Not Matter
8 Feb 2012 | 9:28 pmToday in its quarterly earnings call, Groupon reported that it did not meet fourth quarter expectations. The company posted a $43 million loss, or $0.08 cents per share. Despite the loss, Groupon's revenue in the fourth quarter 2011 grew 194% to $506.5 million, up from $172.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. In fact, the fourth quarter 2011 was the company's first quarter of operating profitability since it opening international operations in the second quarter of 2010. This brings everyone back to the same question: Is the daily deals model a real, legitimate business, or is it just a… -
Daily Wrap: January's List of Apps You Need to See and more
8 Feb 2012 | 6:00 pmDan Rowinski rounds up the best apps, in our opinion, of January 2012. This and more in today's Daily Wrap. Sometimes it's difficult to catch everything that hits tech media in a day, so we wrap up some of the most talked about stories. We give you a daily recap of what you missed in the ReadWriteWeb Community, including a link to some of the most popular discussions in our offsite communities on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ as well. Sponsor New iPhone, iPad and Android Apps for January 2012 In what is surely a labor of love, Dan Rowinski combs through the mass of apps released… -
Stop Saying "Finally"
8 Feb 2012 | 5:50 pmFIIIINALLY! Google released a Chrome beta for Android! GODDDDD. What took them so long? All the Ice Cream Sandwich users have been waiting, like, FOREVER! Finally, Tweetbot for iPad came out. I've only been asking them for, like, EIGHT MONTHS! Jeez. Apple fiiiinally released iTunes Match after a whole month, and it didn't even work right! Listen to how this sounds. How do we, the tech bloggers, get away with headlines like this? Where do users get off complaining impatiently about updates to a service that costs them $2.99? Or a free service? Let's have a reality check. Remember how awesome… -
10 Ways to Win Over Writers
8 Feb 2012 | 5:00 pmAs a PR person, product developer, CEO or whatever, you're probably more interested in getting noticed by the media than developing a relationship with a particular writer. That's one way to go about it. Then there's that old-fashioned "building a relationship with a real person not a robot" idea. You know, treating people like people and taking the time to get to know them. Oh right, yeah, forgot about that. Writers, like artists, are sensitive to ideas and people. But not every writer will get you or your product - and in the tech world as in any world, each writer has their own…
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Copyblogger
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How to Recover From a Social Media Hangover
9 Feb 2012 | 3:00 am“Hello. My name is Cori and I’m a social media addict. “Today is day 1 of my commitment to give myself a regular break from technology and the foggy, uncreative haze it can unwittingly lead to.” I was reading a post the other day by blogger Michael Brenner at B2B Marketing Insider, talking about getting your social media game on. Of course, being the skimmer that I am, the first thing that caught my attention and made me go back and read the whole thing was his mention of having a Social Media Hangover. His hangover was induced by sometimes (as we all do) forgetting to… -
The “New” SEO Secret Weapon
8 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amIf you have a web site, you may have noticed one of two things about the traffic you get from search engines. Your search traffic may have dried up overnight, with once-healthy streams turning into a sad little trickle. Or you may have noticed a nice, steady improvement as you’ve climbed higher in the SERPs (search engine results pages), while other sites that used to outrank you suddenly evaporated. There’s a super-secret new ingredient in SEO. It was always a factor, but it’s become even more important recently, as the Google team relentlessly declares war on what they see… -
8 Quick Tips for Writing Bullet Points People Actually Want to Read
7 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amIt’s a Twitterized world, we’re just living in it. Blog posts, Tweets, quick videos, Google+, the Facebook Timeline, and tens of thousands of images pinned to digital boards are flying past us faster than we can read them. Faster than we can even scan them, depending on the time of day. What does this mean for writers trying to cut through it all? At least two things that I can think of: You’d better know how to write a compelling headline You’d better know how to write bullet points that grab (and keep) your reader We’re not telling you to keep your copy short. -
7 Crucial Tactics for Writing a Wildly Successful Guest Post
6 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amWe all know that guest posts grow blogs. But not many people realize that tactical guest posting grows careers. Most bloggers I see pump out these articles while reciting the mantra “quantity over quality”; there’s no real strategy and there are no real long-term benefits. In this post I am going to show you the seven crucial tactics for writing a radically successful guest post. Done right, these strategies will get you more email subscribers, coveted Google ranking positions, and a big head-start on your content marketing goals. Who am I to teach you about guest blogging? -
7 Smashing Social Media Marketing Links
4 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amThis week on The Lede … What really works on Twitter One thing social media copywriters should never do 9 productive social media hacks A reminder of the power of the original social media If you just can’t wait for The Lede every Saturday, and you want even more practical, useable links than the seven we highlight here every week, follow @copyblogger on Twitter. It’s painless. Really. // 9 Social Media Hacks You Need to Embrace Now Mr. Baer makes a good case that though social media is inexpensive in monetary terms, it can get good and costly when it comes to spending your…
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@ProBlogger
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How to Succinctly Report a Blog Issue to Tech Support
8 Feb 2012 | 6:07 amThis guest post is by Matthew Setter of Malt Blue. How often do you find it happening to you? You discover an issue with your site, or one of your community members emails you to tell you about it, and soon you start to see tweets about it too. Maybe it’s as simple as an error message that detracts from the professional appearance of your site. Perhaps the contact form doesn’t send messages to your contact email address. Or is it that the whole site just displays as a blank page, otherwise known as the white page of death? You’re not a programmer, a software engineer or a seasoned… -
Make Your Blog Load Faster than ProBlogger: Part 2
7 Feb 2012 | 12:05 pmThis guest post is by Devesh of WP Kube. A few months ago, I wrote a guest post here called How to Make Your Blog Load Faster than ProBlogger. Today, I’ll go into some more detailed advice to help you speed up your site even more. If you’re a blogger, you already know about the importance of blog loading speed, and the role it plays in search engine rank and marketing your blog. But if this is new territory for you, here are three quick reasons why you need to speed up your blog: Google includes website loading speed as an important metric in their ranking algorithm. If you want… -
How I Beat my Best Month Ever by Doing Something Good, Better [Case Study]
7 Feb 2012 | 6:04 amMid-December 2010: on my photography site, we launched a new campaign—our first ever 12 Days of Christmas promotion. The result was my biggest month of earnings ever up to that point. The idea was simple: offer discounts on 12 products over the 12 days leading up to Christmas. I used a mix of my own ebooks and products from other photography sites with affiliate commissions. The result was massive. Not only did we see some great revenue generated, it created some lovely buzz on the site. Due to the success of the 2010 campaign, in mid-December 2011 we launched our second 12 Days of… -
Six Steps to Make Sure Your Site Is Ready to Go Viral
6 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amThis guest post is by Nancy Sathre-Vogel of Family on Bikes. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Surely Google Analytics was confusing my site with another, way more popular site. There was no way my visitor numbers could be so high! And yet they were. One of my posts had taken off and was spreading like wildfire. Those viral post phenomena that happen to others were now happening to me. The first day, 17,000 visitors came to my website. The next day we topped out at 56,000. Readers were coming in droves. It was exciting. It was exhilarating. My site, viral! Wow! And then I took a… -
How to Handle Criticism: a Practical Guide
5 Feb 2012 | 12:03 pmImage by Stuart RichardsAs bloggers, each of us has to deal with criticism. Blogging is a very public activity—almost all of us has the goal of gaining readers to our blogs—and the more people you reach, the more likely it is that you’ll hear criticisms. “You’re wrong…” “How can you say that? You don’t know what you’re talking about.” “I couldn’t disagree more…” “This is the last time I read this blog!” These are just some of the criticisms bloggers regularly face—I’ve received versions of…
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TechCrunch
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German Court Upholds Previous Ruling, Says The Reworked Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N Can Be Sold
9 Feb 2012 | 5:36 amMark one up for Samsung. After months of legal and PR battles, the South Korean company is finally able to sell and market their iPad clone in Germany. Just don’t call it an iPad clone anymore. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N (pictured left) is slightly different from the iPad — but that’s all that matters. Samsung released the Galaxy Tab 10.1N late last year. This version features a silver boarder around the screen’s black bezel. The speakers were also relocated in a stereo configuration and now flank the screen. The original GalTab 10.1 was a blatant iPad ripoff. This… -
Oracle Buys Talent Management Solutions Company Taleo For $1.9 Billion
9 Feb 2012 | 5:05 amOracle this morning announced that it is acquiring cloud-based talent management solutions provider Taleo for $46 per share or roughly $1.9 billion, net of Taleo’s cash and debt. Taleo’s solutions basically help organizations attract, motivate and retain human capital, and will service to boost Oracle’s Public Cloud offering. The transaction is expected to close in the Summer of 2012. Here’s how Oracle pitches the buy: Together, Oracle and Taleo expect to create a comprehensive cloud offering for organizations to manage their Human Resource operations and employee… -
Glam Media Cooks Up Newest Content Vertical With Foodie.com
9 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amGlam Media, one of the largest publishing and advertising networks on the Web, is debuting its newest branded vertical—Foodie.com. As its name indicates, Glam’s newest vertical is aimed at covering all things food, and features a combination of content from food critics, bloggers, chefs, restaurateurs and other “food influentials.” For background, Glam’s various publishing verticals have a reach of 200 million unique monthly visitors globally, and is particularly popular amongst female audiences. Glam Media has more than 2,500 publishers organized across multiple… -
Clusterpoint Secures €1m From BaltCap To Scale Its Database For Clouds
9 Feb 2012 | 4:44 amBaltCap, a leading venture investor in startups in the Baltics region, has signed a €1 million investment in Clusterpoint, an enterprise software startup created by Latvian programmers and backed by seed investors in the UK and Baltics. Clusterpoint has built a database platform designed for cloud computing infrastructure which they claim is highly scalable. They are competing against open source solutions such as MongoDB. -
Live from Riga – TechCrunch Baltics meetup #TCBaltics
9 Feb 2012 | 3:37 amWe’re running the first ever TechCrunch Baltics meetup today with a mini-conference and pitch contest in the lovely city of Riga, Latvia. The Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are tiny countries, but punch above their weight in terms of their technical prowess. Estonia in particular was made famous as being the base from which Skype was developed, and now the rest of the region is coming alive with startups and accelerators. You can find the agenda here. Up to 8 selected Baltic startups will pitch to a jury and audience that includes many key investors in the region and…
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Daily Writing Tips
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A Quiz About Parenthetical Punctuation
9 Feb 2012 | 4:13 amEm dashes are woefully underused and misused. Here are five sentences that would be much improved by their proper use, or by proper use of other punctuation in cooperation with them. Determine how each sentence would benefit from changes in punctuation and compare your revisions with my suggested solutions at the bottom of the page: 1. “Not in years, like more than ten years, have I seen someone so committed to owning the stage.” 2. “Such pioneers trigger and indeed hope for gentrification — leading to more and more middle-class home buyers being willing to take a chance on the… -
16 Misquoted Quotations
7 Feb 2012 | 8:09 pmMany quotations attributed to famous people are at best paraphrases — though often superior to the original. Others might be subtly altered in the retelling, sometimes with little impact on their effect, at other times irresponsibly changing the meaning. Here is a selection of well-known sayings or writings that aren’t quite accurate (followed by a couple that are but are mistakenly identified as erroneous): 1. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This quotation attributed to Gandhi is a later invention by an unknown person, likely inspired by the following passage: “As… -
50 Synonyms for “Idea”
7 Feb 2012 | 2:47 amWhat’s the big idea? Or, more appropriately, what kind of idea is it? Many ways of expressing the idea of an idea await your consideration; here’s an extensive but not necessarily comprehensive list (including other connotations and meanings of the various synonyms): 1. Abstraction: a theoretical idea; also, the process of abstracting, the condition of being disassociated, an abstract work of art, or the quality of being preoccupied 2. Apprehension: the act or quality of becoming aware or grasping a meaning; also, the act of arresting someone or to a sense of foreboding 3. Assumption: a… -
A Quiz About Missing Connections
5 Feb 2012 | 8:01 pmWriting is often compromised by a writer’s failure to think a sentence through to its logical conclusion. Often, along the way, a small but crucial word or phrase is omitted that leaves a gap in a parallel construction, thereby contributing to the reader’s confusion. In each sentence below, determine the missing element, then check my revisions at the bottom of the page to see how our solutions compare: 1. “The corporation runs hydropower plants from Maine to Montana.” 2. “Because Martinez was so young, it was natural to compare his potential with Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy… -
75 Synonyms for “Hard”
3 Feb 2012 | 8:31 pmIt’s easy to write about how hard something is, because so many synonyms exist for that vague word and its more formal cousin difficult. Many of these terms are somewhat interchangeable (that’s why they call them synonyms), but even then, the senses are often slightly distinct; do a little more research on usage when you find a promising variation for that abstract (or is it abstruse?) phrasing you’re attempting to finesse. 1. Abstract: disassociation from a practical reference that would aid in comprehension 2. Abstruse: difficult because of technical considerations 3. Arduous: great…
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Search Engine Watch
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Don’t Be A Wallflower! 3 Fundamentals Of Data Driven Community Outreach
9 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amMany (even most) corporate community managers are relatively passive, waiting for users to come to them. However there is a real power to assertively identifying themed conversations surrounding your corporate objectives, and diving right in. -
How to Use Government Data for Link Development
9 Feb 2012 | 4:00 amYou can use data found on government websites to create compelling linkable material. This freely available material, in conjunction with your own research and insight, should help you make content that gets linked to by all the right places. -
RIAA President: Google ‘Misused Its Power’ by Protesting SOPA
8 Feb 2012 | 2:00 pmGoogle abused its trust and misused its power when it blacked out its logo and encouraged its millions of users base to “Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the web!” At least according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s CEO. -
Privacy Group Sues FTC to Stop New Google Privacy Policy
8 Feb 2012 | 1:00 pmThe Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is suing the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in the hopes of stopping the new Google privacy policy, which is set to become effective March 1. The complaint was filed today in federal district court. -
Google Debuts Chrome for Android
8 Feb 2012 | 11:00 amThe mobile version of Chrome runs on smartphones or tablets with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or above. Although Chrome for Android was designed from the ground up for mobile devices, it has many of the same features of the desktop version.
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SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog
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6 Reasons You Need to Charge More
8 Feb 2012 | 11:30 amPosted by Dr. Pete I’m a reluctant Capitalist. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money (my dad was a country preacher, and my mom was a schoolteacher), and the transition from academia to building a start-up and then running my own consulting firm has been rocky at times. The one thing I still hear almost every week is “You need to charge more,” and I preach the same message to new SEOs even as I try to remember it. This post is a reminder to myself (and to you) of why what you charge matters, and why it’s not just about greed. 1. It’s Not All Billable Almost… -
Using blekko's SEO Data to Evaluate Web Directories
8 Feb 2012 | 6:10 amPosted by davidzimmThis 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. If you haven’t tried it out yet, blekko.com is a unique search engine. Along with allowing you to customize your own search results (or view results customized by one of its editors) it transparently provides a plethora of data showing why it ranks sites in the search results. The best part is, even if you aren’t trying to increase visits… -
10 Ways Paid Marketers Can Leverage Inbound Marketing
7 Feb 2012 | 12:33 pmPosted by JoannaLord It happened friends. After years of Rand exposing me to the many benefits of inbound marketing I am ready to admit it...{big gulp}...today's marketer needs to be doing more than paid marketing. In fact, I'd go as far as to say, if you are only doing paid marketing you are failing yourself and your company. THERE I SAID IT. I feel better. Way better actually. Because it's true. Things have changed. There is no longer two main players in the game (SEO and PPC). Search marketing itself has evolved. We've covered a great deal of this here on the blog so I… -
Building a Technical SEO Process
6 Feb 2012 | 1:01 pmPosted by Stephanie Chang One of the biggest challenges many of my clients face is building the right SEO processes in place, so that any problems are quickly accounted for before they lead to bigger issues. Below are three things you should consider when trying to create a more streamlined process for making sure the technical foundation of the site is solid. Though none are considered "quick" or necessarily easy wins and can initially take a significant amount of time, ultimately in the long-run, they will help make monitoring the SEO on your site more efficient. This means… -
Find Your Site's Biggest Technical Flaws in 60 Minutes
5 Feb 2012 | 1:14 pmPosted by Dave Sottimano I've deliberately put myself in some hot water to demonstrate how I would do a technical SEO site audit in 1 hour to look for quick fixes, (and I've actually timed myself just to make it harder). For the pros out there, here's a look into a fellow SEO 's workflow; for the aspiring, here's a base set of checks you can do quickly. I've got some lovely volunteers who have kindly allowed me to audit their sites to show you what can be done in as little as 60 minutes. I'm specifically going to look for crawling, indexing and potential…
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Online Marketing Blog
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Good Content Marketing vs. Great Content Marketing: Learn the Difference From Joe Pulizzi #OMS12
9 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amIf you are part of the online marketing or content marketing industry you have undoubtably heard of Joe Pulizzi (@juntajoe) and his company the Content Marketing Institute (CMI). Joe has been a member of the content marketing community for over a decade, and has made it his mission to help brands create quality content and distribute that content through multiple online channels. This was my first time seeing Joe speak and he made it a great interactive experience, and was of course wearing his trademark Orange. I enjoyed the history that Joe shared with the audience as well as his… -
Innovative Search Features Drive Engagement – Paul Vallez #OMS12
8 Feb 2012 | 3:30 am"Google taught us how to search." - Paul Vallez Paul Vallez admits that when he started at HP less than a year ago he had just come from Ask.com and was pretty cocky about what he knew. Vallez also shares that he wasn’t very open to new ideas and wanted to step into his new position at a big brand and immediately demonstrate value. What was his approach? 75% Cocky 25% Open to new ideas In Vallez’s presentation he identified what he called “3 Key Learnings” that he shared with the audience for improving the way that your search strategy is implemented for… -
#Optimize This: Online Marketing Summit 2012 Presentation
6 Feb 2012 | 7:21 amI’m headed to (hopefully) sunny San Diego today for the annual Online Marketing Summit conference where I’ll get to present on one of my favorite topics: Optimization. Of course, if you read Online Marketing Blog very often, you’ll know my definition of optimization is a bit different than traditional SEO. My post last Thursday “Are You Optimized?” touched on this. The competition for attendance during the breakout sessions at OMS is really tough during the time slot I’m scheduled for. SAP, Wider Funnel and SAP are all presenting at the same time as… -
Online Marketing News: Facebook IPO, Harmonize with Google+, Pinterest Dominates Traffic
3 Feb 2012 | 4:55 amFacebook in Numbers: Prior to the IPO The big news in social media and business this week is Facebook’s new IPO. This infographic from statista and creative commons shares some very interesting figures about Facebook, before it goes public. Highlights include: In 2012 Facebook is expected to reach: 90% of U.S. Social Network Users & 60% of Internet Users. Assuming a valuation of $100 billion, Facebook would be work 67 to 100x’s it’s estimated 2011 net income. The Social Media Buzz “How to Harmonize Google+ With Your Other Social Platforms” Search Plus has placed even more… -
Essential Shifts in Online Marketing: Are You On Board? Are You Optimized?
2 Feb 2012 | 7:21 amIs your company adaptable? Is your marketing optimized? I think most online marketers get the fact that marketing and communications on the web is a fast changing place and that most companies are structured to move at a slower pace than the digital world is evolving. Take for example, the notion of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It’s been around for about 15 years or so and in just the past few months Google has made the most significant changes ever. Despite the crystal clear focus towards search integration with social, many companies and digital pundits are still skeptical about…
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WordPress.com News
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New Themes: Splendio and Suburbia
7 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amHappy Tuesday! We’ve got two unique free themes for you today, and they are quite a study in contrasts. Our first theme, Splendio, dazzles with an unconventional yet stylish design from Design Disease that pops out of the box — literally. How you use this theme is limited only by your imagination! It comes loaded with features: six widget areas (one in the right sidebar and up to five in the footer), featured header images, and a custom background. In addition, there’s a showcase page template (pictured in the screenshot above) that includes a featured slider for sticky posts,… -
Post Videos from Your iPhone or iPad
3 Feb 2012 | 3:01 amWould you like to post videos to your blog while you’re on the go? Are you interested in a photography theme that’s also video-friendly? Well, look no further, because we have some news for you. The VideoPress upgrade, which allows you to upload and embed your own videos on your blog, now comfortably handles videos from iPhones and iPads. You can shoot vertically or horizontally, and we’ll take care of rotating it for you so that your video looks great when it’s published on your site. If you don’t already have VideoPress on your WordPress.com account, head on… -
New Themes: Currents and Debut
2 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pmToday, I’m excited to introduce the latest additions to our collection of premium themes. Designed by Andy Rutledge, Currents, is a responsive, minimal yet attractive premium theme from WooThemes. Currents is perfect for news driven sites. The phrase, “less is more” couldn’t be more true. This clean and minimal design maximises your reader’s focus on the content. Having said that, the theme is packed with many customization options — a wide featured post slider, custom news areas, six alternative color styles, and more. Together, all of these features help… -
Import from Tumblr in 3 Easy Steps
2 Feb 2012 | 4:06 amWe’ve recently noticed that a fair number of you have been bringing your tumblelogs over from Tumblr to WordPress.com using one of the variety of Tumblr to WXR conversion tools which exist on the web. We thought you would appreciate an easier way to import your content, so we bring you 3 easy steps to import your content. Authenticate with Tumblr To bring your tumblelog’s content to WordPress.com, head to Tools → Import in your WordPress.com dashboard and look for the Tumblr importer. If you don’t already have an account here on WordPress.com then head over and sign up… -
Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension
27 Jan 2012 | 11:54 amWant to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button…
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Web Analytics World: Online Marketing & Analytics
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Debugging Google Analytics code (II): A Tutorial Video on Fiddler’s Inspector and AutoResponder functions
7 Feb 2012 | 6:16 amFiddler is a tool that many web developers are common with. It is my favourite tool for debugging existing tracking code and testing new code. This video shows two useful functions for this purpose: Inspectors and the AutoResponder. Fiddler is a free Web debugging tool. You can download it at fiddler2.com. Fiddler logs all HTTP traffic between your computer and the internet. That means you can view just about everything that is exchanged in the background while you’re browsing the web. What makes Fiddler so great Apart from the functions shown in the video below, I love Fiddler because… -
Web Jobs Salary Trends UK update Jan 2012
3 Feb 2012 | 6:29 amOur Salary Trend graph has been updated to Jan 2012 and I have also included a snapshot report for Web Developer and Web Designer Jobs. The trend in Social Media Manager salaries is interesting. Both December and January are showing some uptrend and at this rate Social Media Manager salaries might even meet the averages of Online and Digital Marketing Managers . Web Developer salaries are heavily concentrated in the £21k to £31k range and the comparison with Developers is interesting..(where there is a more “classic” distribution pattern). Of course it’s not just… -
Using Online Data to improve Offline Business
31 Jan 2012 | 6:26 amAre you potentially missing out by not using knowledge of your online/website visitors to improve your offline marketing success? (Offline could mean printed media, trade fairs, radio, in-store etc.) Most businesses these days accept that having a website which reflects the business brand and which performs all the functions that a customer expects is an absolute requirement. The website (with access to even basic analytics) also offers business owners insights into customer behaviours and preferences. Compared to the information that can be gathered about online customers, the information… -
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) Applies to Any Data Stored in the USA
27 Jan 2012 | 3:59 amThe US Court of Appeals has ruled that the ECPA, an American law, protects the data of non-USA citizens when their data is stored on servers in the USA. Suzlon Case Korean firm, Suzlon Energy Ltd, wanted Microsoft to disclose email documents belonging to an Indian citizen stored on a server in the USA. They argued that the emails were not protected from disclosure by the privacy protections of the ECPA, as these only applied to US citizens. The US court determined that the ECPA covered “any person” and not just a US citizen. Part of the reason for this was the impracticality of expecting… -
How does Google make money? 2011 Revenue Infographic
24 Jan 2012 | 5:40 amWe know that digital marketing has turned traditional marketing models upside down however has the global economic backdrop affected the trends? Who has been spending online marketing budget and on what? To understand how Google makes money we need to look at the high level revenue trends and the team at Wordstream Inc have just released an infographic that tells a very interesting story. With 96% of Google’s $37.9 billion revenues coming from advertising the big online spenders are revealed as are some of the very highly valued key words and phrases by industry sector. © WordStream, a Pay…
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Brian Solis
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Meet the Mother of All Processes
8 Feb 2012 | 10:32 amGuest post by John M. Bernard, author of the new book, Business at the Speed of Now, and Chairman and Founder of Mass Ingenuity. Imagine going to work in one of Henry Ford’s factories a century ago, proud that management referred to you a “hand” or a “hammer” or maybe even a “wrench.” The labels reflected Ford’s emphasis on automation and management’s view of laborers as mere cogs in the machine. Screw this nut onto that bolt; weld this strap to that frame; do it over and over and over again until your brain froze with boredom. Of course, management needed workers to get the… -
2011 Was the Year of the Mobile Consumer, What’s in Store for 2012? Value.
7 Feb 2012 | 10:10 amChris Silva, my colleague at Altimeter Group, released a useful report today that I wanted to share with you here. Mobile is important and I believe you know this. However, when we consider mobile, we often think about the experience when and where it begins. But, we often miss the opportunity to lead a more meaningful journey as it may travel from small screen to larger screens across laptops, desktops and beyond. And along the way, we must now determine our role in this journey to provide information, shape decisions, and influence behavior. In Chris’ report, he reminds us that 2011… -
Season 2 Finale: How Yamaha invests in new customer experiences
3 Feb 2012 | 10:52 amThis is it…the Season Finale! And, what a way to end Season 2 of (R)evolution…. In this episode, Yamaha shares what is by far the most expansive view of disruptive technology’s impact on business infrastructure and culture on the show to date. What you’ll see is a genuine discussion with Jeff Hawley and Rick Williams of Yamaha explore how an already successful business is exploring new opportunities to better define the customer experience before, during and after transactions. It comes down to workflow. Nowadays, it either works for you or works against you. Here,… -
Smartphones, Tablets, PCs, The Devices People Use to Discover Information in Social Media (and when)
2 Feb 2012 | 3:13 pmMy friends over at bit.ly published an interesting graph that reveals the devices as well as the days/times that people use different devices and how and when they consume information. As you can imagine, it’s across the board, but as you can see, there are waves that every device follows, except the desktop. Desktops are of course the devices that we can assume people use during work hours. As such, they are most heavily used on weekdays before noon. Interestingly enough, phone traffic peaks at about the same times, but not to similar effects. What’s also telling is that tablets… -
What’s Love Got to Do with It? The 3P’s of Identity
2 Feb 2012 | 6:16 amGuest post by Allison Cerra, author of Identity Shift With the 2012 Presidential election looming, there’s no shortage of polls to help narrow the field of candidates. I find a recent one from Fox News to be particularly fascinating. Among other questions, Republican primary voters were asked which Republican presidential candidate is most likeable and which they would most trust with a nuclear weapon. While Newt Gingrich scored at the top of the heap in earning the trust vote, he scored only marginally well on the likeability scale. The topic was discussed on the network’s “Fox &…
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MarketingVox News & Trends
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Top News: Google's cloud storage service | GigaOm buys PaidContent | Groupon's earnings
9 Feb 2012 | 5:28 amCloud Services: Google near launch of cloud storage service. Social Media: Google Social is exploding online. Skimlinks is the real story behind Pinterest’s success. Publishing: GigaOm buys PaidContent.org. Ecommerce: Groupon shares decline after Q4 loss. Retail: Google may open retail store at European headquarters in Dublin. Mobile Computing: Protesters target Apple stores in 'ethical iPhone' campaign. Google: We want 2.25% of the iPhone sticker price. Privacy: Privacy warriors sue FTC [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marketingvox/rss/~4/fdiduvxIEWI"…
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Social Media Darwinism
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Gut Feeling or Analytics – which is better?
8 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amSo I was talking with a CMO buddy of mine the other day over dinner and this topic came up. Of course you know as a CMO of a leading Social Media analytics firm – I think you can guess which side of this argument I was on. But seriously, my buddy honestly wanted to know – so what can you do with all this good social media analytics that you talk about? He really didn’t know. So here is what I told him that marketers should be doing with analytics but haven’t truly adopted. I think part of the problem is that some of these tactics haven’t become a standard operating procedure but… -
What Social Data can Teach You about Audiences
1 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amMy son is a senior in high school and I am beginning to help him with his search for the right school. One of the aspects of college life that he is looking forward to is belonging to a university with strong school spirit. So to help with this, I suggested that we use football teams as a proxy to find the right environment. With this in mind, we set out to find a simple list of “2011 NCAA Football Rankings” – an easy Google search is there ever was one. I assumed that the top result, ESPN’s 2011 NCAA Football Rankings, would be the perfect match for our search, until I looked at… -
Trust is hard to come by these days
25 Jan 2012 | 10:00 amFor years I have kept tabs on the Edelman Trust barometer report, which comes out every January in Davos. And this year was no exception. After last year I figured this years report could make an excellent gauge of the economy worldwide! Simply put the report states: Trust is down in every industry and every country across the board by an average of 6%. So what does this mean for marketers and for major brands in an era of social media? Well 2 things … Hidden in the data is the fact that CEOs and Government officials are at the very bottom of the totem pole when it comes to delivering a… -
Brands: It’s not enough to be liked
15 Dec 2011 | 10:00 amImagine a company that has upscale retail locations around the United States receiving tens of thousands of customer visits. Now imagine not having anyone there to greet and interact with those customers. What’s the point of the storefront? Facebook fan pages are much the same thing. But only 0.2 to 2 percent of fans go back to a page. Why? Because there is nothing going on that interests them. Fan pages are a unique marketing canvas to connect with avid consumers. Yet some brands are terribly underutilizing these pages, making them basically brochureware repositories — essentially… -
How important is real-time data? It’s all relative
7 Dec 2011 | 6:35 amThe speed with which social media spreads ideas and information has led many marketers to place a premium on capturing data in real time. But should real-time data be such a priority? Real time means different things to different people when the term is used as a proxy for recency. To an evolutionary biologist, real time could mean thousands of years of species development data. To a 911 dispatcher, real time is a few seconds worth of critical information from a telephone call. What about marketing and advertising? This notion of “relative real time” extends there, too. To a marketing…
