Posts Tagged ‘social’

The First Paid Google +1 Popularity Building Unsolicited Email?

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
The Google+ Plus Project

The Google+ Plus Project

It was probably just a matter of time before someone tried to monetize Google’s +1 by selling them to webmasters either desperate for search engine attention or too naive to understand exactly the type of manipulation that Google frowns upon. In case you don’t quite understand what G considers a poor and manipulative practice, this is it.

This email came in through an old email address that I have not used in 2+ years, but check from time to time because 1 client still emails it when they can’t seem to find my current address. It is my first (the first?) unsolicited email from an, *ahem*, internet marketing company, selling +1′s for the express intent of adding algorithmic social media weight to search rankings. And for as little as $0.59 for each +1!

The 1st Google Plus Paid +1 Building Email

The First Google Plus Paid +1 Building Email? (click for full image)

Here is the full email transcribed with identification data scrubbed.

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Bing’s Small and Powerful Social Media Marketing Move – Facebook “Like” Button Now on Home Page

Friday, April 8th, 2011

In a progressive and highly tactical move, Bing has added a small and significant Social feature to their home page: the Facebook “Like” button.

Bing.com Adds Facebook Like Button to Home Page

Bing.com gets social, adds the Facebook Like button to the home page

Bing is the first search engine to add the Like feature to their home page. In truth this is probably not even something that Google could do as they do not have any featured daily or consistently changing content that an audience would engage with. However, since Google and Bing have repeatedly tried to mimic the others features, it would not surprise me if Google did copy this implementation and use it for their occasional holiday and event homepage doodle logos.

Why is this Significant?

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20 Takeaways from The Science of Timing Webinar #TimeSci

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

“From my heart and from my hands, why don’t people understand, my intentions….”

“From my heart and from my hands, why don’t people understand, my intentions….”

I’ve always had an affinity for science. At a very young age I owned a microscope and a junior science kit from which I conducted ground breaking research into boogers, dead bugs and saliva. 2nd graders across this country are still reaping the benefiting from my saliva to spit wad ratio theory.

For Christmas one year my prized gift was a telescope, which opened up this young child’s mind to an entirely new and amazing world of planets, stars, solar systems, Uranus jokes, and the dressing (or should I say undressing) habits of the cute girl down the block who I had a serious crush on.

Thinking back, these early forays into science might help to explain my devotion to the movie Weird Science and my serious intention to build my very own Super Model through the use of technology, a little gumption and yep, you guessed it: Science.

Today I still like music of Oingo Boingo and Thomas Dolby, have the Science Channel as a Favorite on the cable remote control, and frequently answer the question, “What dead historical person would you most like to meet?” with Asimov, Einstein, Sagan and Newton.

“Hello, my name is Chris Lister and I’m a science geek.”

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How To Succeed on Yelp (Without Even Really Trying)

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Yelp Logo

WebRanking is proud to present the following guest blog post by Don Bourassa, the Portland Community Manager for Yelp.com.  We wanted to personally thank Don for taking time out of his busy schedule to put together this informative post featuring 8 tips to help local businesses find success on Yelp.

Take it away, Don…

As the Portland Community Manager for Yelp.com, the number one question I hear from business owners is: How do I make Yelp work for me? The value of positive consumer reviews (and even some negative ones) to sustain and grow business is beyond obvious, but in a social media market dominated by broadcasting tools, Yelp’s model for business/consumer interaction can be a learning curve for some. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you reap the benefits of the lush information available in consumer reviews.

1. Do: Join the conversation!

Last month alone, Yelp had more than 38 Million Visitors

Last month alone, Yelp had more than 38 Million Visitors

Every day on Yelp, millions of people (38 million last month alone) are searching, reading, and writing reviews of businesses like yours. They’re discussing your products, your service and really everything about your business. And as with any conversation, you have two roles to play: listen, and respond. Yelp gives you the tools (for free) to do both.

How, you ask? By unlocking your Business Owner Account on Yelp, you have access to a bevy of tools that allow you to do things like track page hits, post special offers and announcements, respond to reviews (both publicly and privately), add and correct information about your business like address and phone number, complete an About This Business summary, recommend other businesses, and share your business’ history.

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4 Father’s Day Tips for Being Successful in Social Media

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

The Lil' Dictator

The Lil' Dictator

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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Red & Black vs. Black & White: Yelp Publicity Story for Small Businesses

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

The Red & Black Cafe - Portland, OR

The Red & Black Cafe - Portland, OR

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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3 Social Media Guidelines for Keeping Your Private Parts Private

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Are your private parts private on your social media accounts?

Are your private parts private on your social media accounts?

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 Interview Part 3: Luther Lowe Discusses Free & Paid Tools for Businesses, Opting out of Reviews & New Webinar Series for Small Businesses

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Yelp.com LogoThis 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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Facebook in the News – Adds Live Search and Acquires FriendFeed

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

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.

Facebook Social Network

Facebook Social Network

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Bing and Twitter Sitting in a Tree

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

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.

bing & twitter
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Twitter is the Freedom Engine?

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

twitter.comWhile 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. Continue reading “Twitter is the Freedom Engine?” »

WebRanking is now on Twitter

Friday, May 15th, 2009

Follow WebRanking on Twitter

Follow WebRanking on Twitter


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