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!

Here is the full email transcribed with identification data scrubbed.

Continue reading “The First Paid Google +1 Popularity Building Unsolicited Email?” »

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 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?

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

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.”

Continue reading “20 Takeaways from The Science of Timing Webinar #TimeSci” »

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!

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.

Continue reading “How To Succeed on Yelp (Without Even Really Trying)” »

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.

Continue reading “4 Father’s Day Tips for Being Successful in Social Media” »

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.

Continue reading “Red & Black vs. Black & White: Yelp Publicity Story for Small Businesses” »

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.

Continue reading “3 Social Media Guidelines for Keeping Your Private Parts Private” »

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:

Continue reading “Yelp Interview Part 3: Luther Lowe Discusses Free & Paid Tools for Businesses, Opting out of Reviews & New Webinar Series for Small Businesses” »

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.

Continue reading “Facebook in the News – Adds Live Search and Acquires FriendFeed” »

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.

Continue reading “Bing and Twitter Sitting in a Tree” »

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

Continue reading “WebRanking is now on Twitter” »