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How Search-Like Are Social Media Sites?
Like search? Who doesn’t — great traffic, huge brand value and an audience ready to convert. Like social media? What’s not to like — huge growth, tons of buzz and an entire new marketing frontier that is opening up. For the search marketer looking at social media, how does it measure up? Which social media […]
Obama: Talent Imitates, Genius Steals
As the campaign progressed many pundits were taken aback by the way in which the candidate had managed to use the net to mobilise supporters in a way never seen before. By allowing supporters to take his core values and messages, tweak them and broadcast them in whatever way they saw fit (such as the […]
AOL Debuts Bebo “Social Inbox”
AOL is repositioning or perhaps enhancing Bebo as a kind of dashboard for the internet using the concept of a “social inbox.” The Wall Street Journal has coverage of what’s at stake for AOL and the challenges facing social media ad revenues. The social inbox idea is about aggregation of content and services (e.g., email) […]
Why Social Media May Not Be Right For You
I was recently asked whether, if I had to make the choice, would I choose to work in just SEO or social media. Without any hesitation I answered SEO. In the current climate it’s obviously more accountable and seems a more obvious choice to me for brands looking to make reduced marketing budgets go further. […]
New Media Is Only New If You’re Old
I recently had the dubious honour of being told that I looked a lot younger than one of my closest friends, who was in the same year as me at school. It’s a dubious honour because no matter how well I may be fighting off the wrinkles and laughter lines that pattern the faces of […]
How Social Media Is Invading Traditional Media
Over the last few years we have seen a real explosion of social media sites and services, influencing the way we network, read, and search the web. With sites like Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Delicious, social media is here and it is here to stay. The success of social media really shouldn’t a mystery […]
Watching The Presidential Debate? Use New Twitter Election Site To Share What You Think
Twitter announced the launch of Election 2008 on Twitter. The mashup brings together all US political discussions around the 2008 elections from Twitter. For example, I twittered, “Will McCain do the debate? Honestly just testing election.twitter.com” and it showed up seconds later on election.twitter.com.
Blog Marketing & Pay Per Post: They’re Not The Same
The vitamin supplement company Berocca has been engaged in a vaguely interesting piece of blog marketing over here in the UK. Taking their cue from the recent New York Times article suggesting that blogging can be highly stressful, they have put together a blogger relief pack which consists of a number of ‘stress-busting’ desk toys […]
How Social Media Can Help Your PR Efforts
The emergence of social media has been a game-changer for newspapers and magazines. On the one hand, they have seen their print numbers continue to drop as more and more people turn to the internet to get their news and information. On the other hand, they (the smart ones) have seen that by embracing social […]
Social Media Marketing ROI – Metrics And Analysis
When I attended South by Southwest 2008, I had the pleasure of attending a panel where four somewhat lost panelists were (with difficulty) trying to come up with metrics to measure success from a social media marketing campaign. I was a little annoyed when they concluded that there were no metrics available right now, and […]
Really Boring Products That Rocked In Social Media
One of the most frequently asked questions we get while speaking on social media marketing at conferences is “How can something boring be successful in social media?” Well, there is really no product, service, or topic that cannot be successful in social media marketing if you are willing to be creative. To prove the point […]
Del.icio.us Now Delicious.com, With Improvements
Delicious has now relaunched under Delicious.com with some new functionality. The old Delicious was at del.icio.us and should soon redirect to the new dot com address. Along with the domain change, the Delicious site has been redesigned to aid newcomers on using the site. Here are before and after screen captures:
A Comprehensive Look At Digg’s Recommendation Engine
It’s hard to believe, but Digg‘s latest feature, the recommendation engine, is one that has been in the works for over two years. Before they developed images functionality, launched visualization tools, released Google, Netvibes, and Myspace widgets, developed Facebook functionality, rolled out dataportability enhancements, released updates to the comment system, updates to digg the candidates, […]
Microsoft Live Search Coming To Facebook
When Microsoft made its investment in Facebook I always had thought that Live Search would come to the site, together with search monetization. Later it appeared that search wasn’t part of the deal. Facebook’s competitors all have web search, including Google’s much publicized deal with MySpace. Well today Microsoft announced that Live Search will be […]
Are You BLVD Status? New Analytics Package Tracks Conversions
Last week, my friend Chris Bennett at 97th Floor and his brother Patrick at Modern Blue launched a new analytics package called BLVD Status that I am particularly excited about. I was one of the original pre-beta testers and was able to see this grow into a really powerful and helpful tool for anyone trying […]
Very Recent & Addictomatic: Finding What People Are Buzzing About Right Now!
Tom Churm pinged me about a new tool that he’s crafted, Very Recent, designed to pull back top results from "recency search engines," for lack of a better word. Blog search, news search, social news plus Twittering, all in one. It needs a lot of work, but I found it a pretty neat idea. And […]
Social Media Is Always Changing… But Do You Change With It?
Social media marketing is one of the fastest changing forms of marketing online. Every time a new site, service, or community is launched, there comes both new opportunity for marketing and the possibility that the site you just spent months participating in will become obsolete. Social media is not something you can do in […]
Me.dium Launches “Real Time” Social Search
Me.dium has introduced a social search engine that blends results from a “real time” index of what people are currently viewing online with Yahoo’s full-scale web index. The result is something I’ve not seen elsewhere—and despite my long time skepticism regarding social search, this approach actually holds promise for delivering a unique view of relevant […]
Search Illustrated: The Impact Of Social Media On Search Results
A search engine marketing campaign isn’t complete without including some elements of social media. While engaging in social media alone can provide impressive results, this week’s infographic illustrates how properly planned tactics can have a positive impact on your search results:
Triage Time For Yahoo, Delicious Founder Latest Departure
Are we watching an awkward transition at Yahoo or something more like a collapse? To declare my biases openly, I hope it’s the former. Yahoo and Google need strong competitors to keep them on their toes. But what’s happening at Yahoo certainly does not look good. The company has gone through several “reorgs” in the […]
Facebook Group Using Google Maps To Go “Dipping” At Strangers’ Pools
Facebook ‘dipping’ craze irks pool owners from the Telegraph reports that teenagers on Facebook are using Google Maps to locate pools in their neighborhoods and then hold pool parties as uninvited guests. The new phenomenon is called “dipping” and has caused concern in the Bournemouth, UK area. These “dippers” have been inviting others via Facebook […]
Social Networks In The UK: Security Isn’t A Problem & The Future’s Mobile
Anyone reading newspapers or watching the TV news in the UK over the last couple of months could be forgiven for thinking that, along with computer games, social networks posed a bigger threat to personal security than anything this side of a full on recession. Headlines have concentrated on the supposed dangers involved in having […]
Is Your Site Social Media Friendly?
You should consider many factors when getting involved in Social Media Marketing, such as the quality of your content, your domain name, and who is submitting your content. But there is almost always one thing I find myself looking at before any of the above conversations even begin: the design. You need to make sure […]
Microsoft Joins The Social Bookmarking Game
Microsoft’s John Martin has shared a preview of the new Microsoft social bookmarking tool that will be demonstrated at the TechEd North America event in the upcoming week. John provided a shortlist of features and two screen captures of the social bookmarking tool at his blog post. Based on the limited detail I can see, […]
Representing Your Business on the Social Web
The Web is getting more social, and the internet allows conversations between consumers and those who sell goods and services online on a scale that can be global in reach. The nature of that conversation has changed from the days of mass media to now, and success in business on the Web may rely more […]
MicroHoo Act III: Microsoft Looks For A Piece Of Yahoo, Yahoo Offers A Bland Response, Facebook Wants Its Independence
Yahoo responded late last night to Microsoft’s statement that it had proposed a new deal but something less than a full acquisition. The Yahoo response was boilerplate and bland and betrayed nothing about Yahoo’s potential receptiveness to a scaled-back deal. The speculation and rumor is that Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo’s search business and/or that […]
Summize Gains “Local” Twitter Search Option
Summize has already turned into my preferred tool to search for what people are saying on Twitter. Now it’s gained a way to see what people are twittering about near a local area. Say I want to see what’s been happening in Newport Beach, California, in terms of Twitter activity. To do a local search, […]
10 Steps For Digg Success When You’re The Villain
If you’re using Digg as a linkbaiting tool, then you’re perceived as a villain. Everyone from Digg itself, to the community, to other self-proclaimed social media experts thinks you’re the bad guy. Even though good linkbait provides value to the community (because who doesn’t like remarkable content?), if they know you’re putting up the content […]
del.icio.us Extension For Internet Explorer Adds Firefox Features
The Delicious Blog announced the release of a new beta version of the del.icio.us bookmarks extension for Internet Explorer. The new version helps the IE version catch up with the Firefox version, which was released on April 30th.
Twitter Beats (Wow, By 3 Minutes) The USGS With China Earthquake News
Hey, I like Twitter, but this entire thing Robert Scoble started about how Twitter had news of the Chinese earthquake before the US Geological Survey seemed absurd. Did it really? As it turns out, probably so — by about three minutes. Reading some of the accounts, you’d get the impression Twitter seemed to alert the […]
Google Friend Connect Introduces Social Widgets For Site Owners
Contrary to some earlier reports, Google’s new Friend Connect, launching today, is not focused on data portability or a direct answer to MySpace “Data Availability” or the new Facebook Connect. While there’s a data portability dimension, it’s focused on the flip side of the equation: site owners who want to make their sites more “social.” […]
Microsoft’s Facebook Ad Deal Doesn’t Include Search
Wondering why Microsoft’s search isn’t being promoted on Facebook? Greg Sterling has noted this odd absence a couple of times, such as in his article today on a possible Microsoft purchase of Facebook. Others have as well. The answer is simple. Last year’s big Microsoft-Facebook ad deal didn’t include search. I asked Facebook about the […]
Microsoft & Facebook Do Mating Dance As Microsoft Seeks Alternatives To Yahoo; Google Now Uncertain On Yahoo?
At one point or another, most of the big online media companies have talked about buying Facebook. Yahoo is rumored to have made an early offer of almost $1 billion for the company, which was (obviously) turned down. But as the MicroHoo discussions appeared to be deteriorating, Microsoft apparently made some formal inquiries about Facebook’s […]
The Elevator Pitch Is Dead. Introducing The Twitpitch
The landscape of corporate public relations is changing fast. First the press release died and we told you how to write a press release for the social media audience. Now the elevator pitch is dead and here’s how to adapt.
Google Loses PR Chief Elliot Schrage To Facebook
It’s going to be harder for Google to spin they haven’t lost their mojo to Facebook with news of the latest exec to depart the Big G — that being chief spinmaster Ellliot Schrage bailing from being vice president of global communications at Google to become VP of communications and public policy at Facebook. Both […]
Facebook Search Box Is Low-Hanging Fruit For Microsoft
Now that the Microsoft play for Yahoo appears to be over (appears to be), everyone and their grandparents are speculating about what Microsoft and Yahoo are going to do now. One quick thing that Microsoft could do to increase its potential reach in search is encourage Facebook to put a Live Search box on the […]
Twitter Wrote This Column For Me
By now you have probably seen a bunch of talk about Twitter. And after all of this talk you might be still thinking: OK, so what the heck is Twitter really and why should I care? How is it going to help my business at the end of the day? Rather than writing this column […]
Tools For Engaging In Social Media
We all know Social Media Marketing can be pretty time consuming. There are numerous social media communities, each requiring you to sign up, make a profile, and participate, in order to have any success with them. So it is only natural that you would like to have some helpful tools to short cut the process […]
Former Googlers Ready Mechanical Zoo Social Recommendations Engine
CNET writes about a new “stealth startup” from former Google News product manager Nathan Stoll. The new site “Mechanical Zoo” is reportedly in alpha right now. Here’s how CNET’s Stefanie Olson describes its intended function:
Yahoo Including Facebook Profile Images In Search Results
The Digital Inspiration blog is reporting that Facebook profile images are now appearing as thumbnails in general Yahoo search results (as opposed to image search results). I tried several times to find the images, using different people’s names along with related phrases including “Facebook profile,” and was unable to duplicate the results. (Google has been […]