On September 13th 2009 Owen Matthew (a.k.a The Lil’ Dictator) was born and life as I knew it changed forever. You see I had become a father for the first time in my life and this momentous occasion spurred a huge change and maturation in me personally, forcing me to reprioritize my life, focus on my career and reduce the hours spent at the local brew pubs.

I’ve only been a Dad now for a little over 9 months, but through this crash course called parenthood I’ve managed to pick up some solid life lessons that are applicable not only to fatherhood, but also to my day job as a social media marketer (and addict). With Father’s Day right around the corner, I thought I’d share the 4 things that Fatherhood has taught me about being successful in Social Media.

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The Red & Black Café is a worker owned, collectively managed, anarchist friendly, vegan coffee shop and restaurant located here in Portland, Oregon. A curiosity in some parts of the country, but here in the Northwest just another place to get a vegan meal and a cup of coffee… unless that is; you’re a Portland Police officer.

Recently the Red & Black café made national news when they asked a uniformed Officer to leave the premises because his presence reportedly made some of the other patrons uncomfortable. See, the Red & Black has a Safer Space policy, and according to reports, one of the “owners” asked the officer to leave (after they sold him his cup of coffee) because a good number of their patrons don’t feel safe around the police.

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There has been a lot of discussion as of late regarding Facebook and their new “Your Information is not as private as you might have thought it was” privacy policy. While I really don’t have anything new to add directly to this conversation that hasn’t already been said, it does lead to a discussion about the importance of filtering your social media presence for both your personal and professional personas.

By keeping the following simple guidelines in mind you can hopefully avoid those awkward “I can’t believe my Mom now knows I party like that” moments.

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Yelp has been getting a lot of attention recently and none of it is for being funny, useful or cool. With multiple lawsuits in the works, and claims of extortion and review manipulation being bantered around daily, the integrity of Yelp’s has been up for debate. In an attempt to quell those complaints and add more transparency to the process of how reviews are filtered, Yelp announced today on their official blog two major changes to the way they do business.

The first change, and one that has been requested by reviewers and business owners alike, is the ability to see the reviews that get caught in the oh so secretive review algorithm. That’s right, all of those reviews deemed to be from disgruntled ex employees, revenge seeking former lovers, unethical competitors, robots, the business owner’s family and the solicited 5 star customer are now available for all to see.

Want to discover reviews for your favorite restaurant or even your own business that didn’t make the cut to prime time? Here’s how you do it:

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This is the third and final part of my interview with Luther Lowe, Business Outreach Manager at Yelp.

In the first part we discussed what it means to be Yelp’s Business Outreach Manger, the recent class action lawsuit brought against their company and how Yelp is a transactional social media website. While part two covered why Yelp frowns on review solicitation, how they protect businesses from fraudulent reviews and the do’s and don’ts on interacting with customers who have posted negative reviews about your business.

Today we will discuss the free and paid tools that are available to businesses, the possibility of opting out of Yelp reviews and a new webinar series designed exclusively for small businesses.

Following is the final piece of my three part interview with Luther:

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This is the second part of my three part interview with Luther Lowe, Yelp’s Business Outreach Manager. In Part One, we discussed what it means to be Yelp’s Business Outreach Manger, the recent class action lawsuit brought against their company and how Yelp is a transactional social media website.

In this second part of the interview we look at why Yelp frowns on review solicitation, how they protect businesses from fraudulent reviews and the do’s and don’ts on interacting with customers who have posted negative reviews about your business.

Following is the second part of my three part interview with Luther:

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I recently had the opportunity to sit down for an extensive interview with Luther Lowe, Yelp’s Business Outreach Manager. Luther was in town to speak at SEMpdx’s Searchfest, and was kind enough to set aside some time to enjoy a couple pints of locally brewed IPA and answer questions regarding his role at Yelp, the recent lawsuits brought against their company and how small businesses can get the most out of their Yelp business listing.

Following is part one of my three part interview with Luther:

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Yesterday on their official blog, Yelp.com announced that they have launched new categories for business owners.  The expansion is quite thorough and allows the niche business to separate themselves from some of the more general category listings.  From “Disc Golf”, “Tattoo Removal”, “Window Installation”, “Lasik” and “Cosmetic Dentists”, there are now specific categories to match up with more specific user searches (see the complete list of 70 new categories below).

If you have not yet claimed your business listing on Yelp…well, what are you waiting for?  Yelp is a fantastic way for local businesses to promote themselves to their community and allows business owners to gauge the pulse of how they are being received by their customers.  Smart business owners will see definite benefits when they monitor their reviews, respond professionally to negative reviews, and interact positively with their current client base that utilizes Yelp.

If you find a reoccurring theme in your reviews, like your receptionist is frequently rude, your valet parking prices are too high, or cleanliness does not appear to be a priority, then these are all areas that can be addressed internally and if rectified will create a positive buzz and better customer experience.  And most importantly…better reviews.

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I love you. 

No, scratch that. I hate you. 

Wait, please don’t unfollow me.  I didn’t really mean that.  I’m sorry. I was…drunk, yeah that’s it. I wasn’t thinking straight. Really, it’s not you…it’s me. 

I really do love you…but to be honest, I think I might hate you at the same time.

We have been seeing each other casually now for quite some time, but I have to wonder where this is going?  I remember the early days of our relationship, when you were just an occasional blog post, or we would slum around together on SixDegrees & Friendster. 

Boy, the times sure have changed and you are more popular then ever before.  Everyone is talking about you and seems to want a piece of you.  Maybe it is out of jealousy, but it  hurts to hear my friends and Search colleagues talk about how you “put out” great results when they are with you. 

Personally, I don’t like to tweet and tell.

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Facebook was making a little news on Monday, as they launched a new search interface that allows members to view all posted results from the entire network of registered Facebook users, or just results from current Facebook friends. This new “Everyone” filter is very similar to Twitter’s search feature, as it allows you to monitor the entire Facebook network for information and updates on real time news and events. This feature was tremendously popular during the recent Iranian elections, as it allowed users to stay up to date when information from other, more traditional media outlets was scarce.

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Anyone doubting the power and pull of social media needs look no further then the impromptu gathering last night / this morning at Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, where through the power of Twitter and Facebook, a crowd of thousands showed up to hang out with the elusive and hilarious Dave Chappelle. (more…)

In an effort to get a leg up on Google when it comes to real time search, Bing has started integrating real time Twitter messages into their search results. According to their official blog, Bing will now provide results from a handful of the more “prominent and prolific Twitterers” coming from a wide range of spheres.

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While Bing might be promoting itself as the decision engine, Twitter could make a play for being known as the “Freedom Engine”. According to an article in the Washington Times, the State Department last weekend asked Twitter to delay it scheduled maintenance this week, which would have cut daytime service to Iran on Tuesday, just as protests against the recent elections continue to gain momentum. (more…)

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