Pretty much everyone gets that you need to have a social media presence as a part of your marketing strategy these days. Well, maybe not everyone. But a lot of people. The big question is, "How does social media make me my business money?"
Food For Thought: What does Bread Winners get out of Social Media?
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Follow changes to any website
"At Google we're always looking for ways to take advantage of work being done in other parts of the organization. So when a team approached us with a way to follow changes from websites without feeds, we jumped at the opportunity. Post by Liza Ma, Product Manager.
Feeds make it easy to follow updates to all kinds of webpages, from blogs to news sites to Craigslist queries, but unfortunately not all pages on the web have feeds. Today we're rolling out a change in Google Reader that lets you create a custom feed to track changes on pages that don't have their own feed."
Official Google Reader Blog: Follow changes to any website
Feeds make it easy to follow updates to all kinds of webpages, from blogs to news sites to Craigslist queries, but unfortunately not all pages on the web have feeds. Today we're rolling out a change in Google Reader that lets you create a custom feed to track changes on pages that don't have their own feed."
Official Google Reader Blog: Follow changes to any website
The Truth About WordPress SEO
"WordPress users have been subjected to an incredible amount of hype surrounding the topic of search engine optimization (SEO). They’ve been told WordPress is an SEO friendly platform, there are countless SEO plugins in the repositiory, and almost every premium theme on the market claims to be able to improve your site’s SEO."
The Truth About WordPress SEO | WPblogger
The Truth About WordPress SEO | WPblogger
Caller ID Technology for BlackBerry Phones by Privus Mobile
Cell phone Caller ID technology at its finest. Privus Mobile delivers Mobile Caller ID to BlackBerry phones, including the Bold, Storm, Tour and more!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Twitter Hole Open for Hackers
"Twitter has a hole in its coding which potentially exposes millions of accounts to malicious hackers. A security expert based in Florida says he has found a security flaw in Adobe Flash which could allow hackers to see the passwords of Twitter users.
Senior security analyst Mike Bailey of Foreground Security in Orlando says he found a problem in the way Twitter’s website is coded which could allow hackers to exploit a well known vulnerability in Flash.
Adobe has known about the exploit since it was originally found in 2006 and has taken steps to inform programmers on how to handle it. Adobe has also posted warnings for webmasters who use Flash however many do not know about them."
Twitter Hole Open for Hackers � Online Radio / Podcast Network for the B2B and Digital Marketing Industry :: WebmasterRadio.FM:
Senior security analyst Mike Bailey of Foreground Security in Orlando says he found a problem in the way Twitter’s website is coded which could allow hackers to exploit a well known vulnerability in Flash.
Adobe has known about the exploit since it was originally found in 2006 and has taken steps to inform programmers on how to handle it. Adobe has also posted warnings for webmasters who use Flash however many do not know about them."
Twitter Hole Open for Hackers � Online Radio / Podcast Network for the B2B and Digital Marketing Industry :: WebmasterRadio.FM:
Friday, January 22, 2010
Challenges For Advertisers Hidden In Google's Earnings Call
"Google's earnings call Thursday brought a few hidden challenges for marketers to light.� There may not be problems for all; still, taking a closer look at� recent Google events discussed could shed light on how the Mountain View, Calif., giant will work to keep the lead in paid search and display advertising."
Understanding the web to make search more relevant
Answer highlighting in search results
Most information on the web is unstructured. For example, blogs integrate paragraphs of text, videos and images in ways that don't follow simple rules. Product review sites each have their own formats, rating scales and categories. Unstructured data is difficult for a computer to interpret, which means that we humans still have to do a fair amount of work to synthesize and understand information on the web."
Most information on the web is unstructured. For example, blogs integrate paragraphs of text, videos and images in ways that don't follow simple rules. Product review sites each have their own formats, rating scales and categories. Unstructured data is difficult for a computer to interpret, which means that we humans still have to do a fair amount of work to synthesize and understand information on the web."
Google I/O 2009 - Search Friendly Development
Maile Ohye Talks about onsire optimization...
Thursday, January 21, 2010
What are some best practices for indicating breadcrumbs?
Breadcrumbs in google SERPs.. @mattcutts does the intro video.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Follow Friday - SEO - #whitecoatSEO
#FollowFriday #WhiteCoatSEO - SEO, Internet Marketing.
I occasionally have people participate in SEO Experiments on Twitter, most odf them can be found on the #whitecoatseo Twitter list.
but allow me to explain.... some of the people i follow... and why... if you apply the metaphors to SEO... you will get it... if you don't then.. well.. they do..
@pageoneresults - kinda like the chemistry professor that always called you out on your mistakes to show the class an example, and he was always right.. in chemistry things are pretty cut and dried.. then again so is Professor Lewis.
@thegypsy - remember the guy in the Cheech and Chong Movie that made the pot that would turn people into Lizards? Well... take that guy and mix him with a Samurai... and a CPA... He is one of the keepers of the patents... owns a closet full of white lab coats.. and swords...
@cyandle - i'm not sure if he still has a job, i'm not sure if he is still in chemotherapy... but if u live anywhere near this guy and can put him to work, he works hard, is very polite and has participated in soo many experiments, i can vouch for his knowledge and understanding of PPC and SEO.. plus he is one of the most down to earth honest good people i know.
lookadoo - Dana... have you ever been around someone that instantly strikes you as a good listener, and then by the time you are wondering if she really heard everything you said, she gives you a completely different perspective along with how it relates to everything you just said? If you are a thinking person.. this woman is like pure crack..
wilreynolds - i met this guy briefly at IMSB, then heard him speak, very very very effectively, he didn't lose me the entire preso... and his tweets are consistently making me think, he has an awesome brain and the ability to express himself.. and of course a good guy thru and thru.
monicawright - if there is any female in SEO qualified to be an SEO ninja.. it's her.. did she get her black belt yet? as with everyone on this list.. a great brain...
neyne - a new addition to the #whitecoat seo list... i'm not going to say he provokes me or would i say challenges me, but more of says the right thing at the right time to help me align the cylinders in my head..
rustybrick - not sure what i can say about Barry Schwartz other than.. if you are not following him you are missing half the world.. he is a daily resource of information you didn't know you should already know.
AlanBleiweiss - he and i have much more in common then he knows.. and maybe more in the future... a great brain.. but warning... after hours is after hours on his tweets...
fantomaster - still trying to figure if Ralph is a bot in old man's costume or not.. oh... and you think I tweet a lot... pshhh
dr_pete - You think we would have a #whitecoatseo group and not have an actual White Coat Lab Doctor type? Aside from always giving quality gifts before you need them in Mafia Wars.. one of the greatest minds on twitter.
martinbowling - Martin Bowling Loves Zima.. if you don't believe me google it... Martin was an accomplice in pulling the biggest SEO prank of all time... on Matt Cutts and Danny Sullivan at once... plus he is the perfect lab assistant.
I occasionally have people participate in SEO Experiments on Twitter, most odf them can be found on the #whitecoatseo Twitter list.
but allow me to explain.... some of the people i follow... and why... if you apply the metaphors to SEO... you will get it... if you don't then.. well.. they do..
@pageoneresults - kinda like the chemistry professor that always called you out on your mistakes to show the class an example, and he was always right.. in chemistry things are pretty cut and dried.. then again so is Professor Lewis.
@thegypsy - remember the guy in the Cheech and Chong Movie that made the pot that would turn people into Lizards? Well... take that guy and mix him with a Samurai... and a CPA... He is one of the keepers of the patents... owns a closet full of white lab coats.. and swords...
@cyandle - i'm not sure if he still has a job, i'm not sure if he is still in chemotherapy... but if u live anywhere near this guy and can put him to work, he works hard, is very polite and has participated in soo many experiments, i can vouch for his knowledge and understanding of PPC and SEO.. plus he is one of the most down to earth honest good people i know.
lookadoo - Dana... have you ever been around someone that instantly strikes you as a good listener, and then by the time you are wondering if she really heard everything you said, she gives you a completely different perspective along with how it relates to everything you just said? If you are a thinking person.. this woman is like pure crack..
wilreynolds - i met this guy briefly at IMSB, then heard him speak, very very very effectively, he didn't lose me the entire preso... and his tweets are consistently making me think, he has an awesome brain and the ability to express himself.. and of course a good guy thru and thru.
monicawright - if there is any female in SEO qualified to be an SEO ninja.. it's her.. did she get her black belt yet? as with everyone on this list.. a great brain...
neyne - a new addition to the #whitecoat seo list... i'm not going to say he provokes me or would i say challenges me, but more of says the right thing at the right time to help me align the cylinders in my head..
rustybrick - not sure what i can say about Barry Schwartz other than.. if you are not following him you are missing half the world.. he is a daily resource of information you didn't know you should already know.
AlanBleiweiss - he and i have much more in common then he knows.. and maybe more in the future... a great brain.. but warning... after hours is after hours on his tweets...
fantomaster - still trying to figure if Ralph is a bot in old man's costume or not.. oh... and you think I tweet a lot... pshhh
dr_pete - You think we would have a #whitecoatseo group and not have an actual White Coat Lab Doctor type? Aside from always giving quality gifts before you need them in Mafia Wars.. one of the greatest minds on twitter.
martinbowling - Martin Bowling Loves Zima.. if you don't believe me google it... Martin was an accomplice in pulling the biggest SEO prank of all time... on Matt Cutts and Danny Sullivan at once... plus he is the perfect lab assistant.
How To Make 45K a Day Scamming Facebook Ads
It’s amazing personalization that’s done for your benefit to “provide advertising or special offers that we think will interest you.” Large data aggregators, not just folks labeled as “spammers,” are combining their databases together to form a complete picture of you. They have access to public records such as drivers’ license data and phone books—then can tie it with product warranty registrations and forms that you have completed on the web to claim your “free” prize. Scary, huh?
See How people everyday are being scammed and paying to give their identity away to phishers.
AimClear Blog
See How people everyday are being scammed and paying to give their identity away to phishers.
AimClear Blog
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Caller ID APP for iPhone
iPrivus iPhone App Demo by Privus Mobile
Friday, January 08, 2010
WordPress Blog Tutorial - 6 Easy Steps to Secure WordPress
If you're one of the millions of people using WordPress you'll probably be targeted by a hacker at least once in your blogging career. Don't take it personally, hackers simply target the most popular platforms. Thankfully, there are six easy steps you can take to secure your WordPress installations and make difficult, if not impossible for a hacker to harm your website.
One of the most basic security measures no matter what system you're talking about, whether it's WordPress or your banking PIN, is to use strong passwords. What makes a password a strong one? Making it hard to guess is a good start. Using words like password, god, love, qwerty, asdf as your password will make it easy for potential hackers to gain access to your website.
Instead, make your password something unique to you and preferably at least 8 characters long. Your password should also contain both lower and upper-case letters as well as at least 1 number.
Also, do NOT use the same password for all your sites. If you have one password that you use for every login everywhere, you leave yourself much more exposed if someone were to discover your password. Besides, variety is the spice of life, right?
Another very simple step to securing your installation of WordPress is to change the default administrator's username. When installing WordPress, the administrator's username is always "admin." Unfortunately, that makes it easy for would-be hackers to guess the login name. By simply changing the user name, you'll make it much more difficult for hackers to gain entry.
Taking this recommendation one step further, it's also a good idea to use display name or nickname that's different from your username. If the byline of every post on your site gives away your username, you've greatly diminished any benefit you gained by changing the login name.
Perhaps the most important step to keeping your WordPress installation safe from hackers is to keep WordPress up to date. As security gaps or potential exploits are discovered, the WordPress development team moves quickly to update the platform and close off any potential access points.
However, if you ignore the messages telling you to update, don't log in for an extended period of time, or don't keep tabs on WordPress security announcements, the dev team's efforts won't benefit you or your site. Updating can at times be a hassle, but as new exploits are found, the number of people attempting to use those exploits skyrockets.
Trust me, it's much better to take a few minutes to upgrade to the latest version than to try and recover from a successful hacking attempt.
When the WordPress development team patch a security hole or fix a potential exploit, they almost immediately release a new version of WordPress. That allows hackers to know what versions of WordPress are still vulnerable to their attack.
Unfortunately, WordPress also displays the version you're running by default in the header.
Displaying an out of date version number is like posting a flashing neon-red "Hack Me" sign on top of your website.
Some themes remove this tag by default but if your theme of choice doesn't, you can drop this bit of code into the file that stores your functions (usually functions.php or custom_functions.php).
Another great way to prevent unauthorized access to your WordPress site is to restrict the number of login attempts. There was recently a "brute force" attack that made its rounds across the WordPress community that basically automates the process of trying to guess your login information.
Now, having a script generating thousands of login attempts per minute isn't going to do nice things to your site, even if they don't eventually get in. But thankfully, there's the Login Lockdown plugin that limits you to 3 failed login attempts per hour before shutting off access to your IP. If someone tries to start guessing your password, they'll either be VERY lucky & get it in the first 3 tries (in which case you probably didn't follow step 1), or they'll be locked out of your site.
No matter how vigilant you are with your WordPress security measures, you can't eliminate 100% of the risk of getting hacked. Maybe your site is one that the hackers discover a new exploit on, or maybe someone records your keystrokes or who knows what... the point is, you COULD still get hacked.
Backing up your Wordpress installation on a regular basis will help you recover from a hacking MUCH quicker and will a LOT less effort than if you had to start from scratch.
There are several plugins available that automate the process so you can set it and forget it (you can check out my WordPress backup system here) but having been through multiple hacks myself, I can promise you it's well worth the time it takes to set it up.
As previously stated, these six steps won't make your WordPress site 100% hacker safe but they'll take you a LONG way down that road. For a 15 to 20 minute investment, you can save yourself a lot of headaches and frustrations down the line. So what are you waiting for? Go secure your site!
1. Pick Strong Passwords
One of the most basic security measures no matter what system you're talking about, whether it's WordPress or your banking PIN, is to use strong passwords. What makes a password a strong one? Making it hard to guess is a good start. Using words like password, god, love, qwerty, asdf as your password will make it easy for potential hackers to gain access to your website.
Instead, make your password something unique to you and preferably at least 8 characters long. Your password should also contain both lower and upper-case letters as well as at least 1 number.
Also, do NOT use the same password for all your sites. If you have one password that you use for every login everywhere, you leave yourself much more exposed if someone were to discover your password. Besides, variety is the spice of life, right?
2. Don't Use Default Admin Username
Another very simple step to securing your installation of WordPress is to change the default administrator's username. When installing WordPress, the administrator's username is always "admin." Unfortunately, that makes it easy for would-be hackers to guess the login name. By simply changing the user name, you'll make it much more difficult for hackers to gain entry.
Taking this recommendation one step further, it's also a good idea to use display name or nickname that's different from your username. If the byline of every post on your site gives away your username, you've greatly diminished any benefit you gained by changing the login name.
3. Keep WordPress Updated
Perhaps the most important step to keeping your WordPress installation safe from hackers is to keep WordPress up to date. As security gaps or potential exploits are discovered, the WordPress development team moves quickly to update the platform and close off any potential access points.
However, if you ignore the messages telling you to update, don't log in for an extended period of time, or don't keep tabs on WordPress security announcements, the dev team's efforts won't benefit you or your site. Updating can at times be a hassle, but as new exploits are found, the number of people attempting to use those exploits skyrockets.
Trust me, it's much better to take a few minutes to upgrade to the latest version than to try and recover from a successful hacking attempt.
4. Don't Display the WordPress Version
When the WordPress development team patch a security hole or fix a potential exploit, they almost immediately release a new version of WordPress. That allows hackers to know what versions of WordPress are still vulnerable to their attack.
Unfortunately, WordPress also displays the version you're running by default in the header.
Displaying an out of date version number is like posting a flashing neon-red "Hack Me" sign on top of your website.
Some themes remove this tag by default but if your theme of choice doesn't, you can drop this bit of code into the file that stores your functions (usually functions.php or custom_functions.php).
<?php remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_generator'); ?>
5. Restrict Login Attempts
Another great way to prevent unauthorized access to your WordPress site is to restrict the number of login attempts. There was recently a "brute force" attack that made its rounds across the WordPress community that basically automates the process of trying to guess your login information.
Now, having a script generating thousands of login attempts per minute isn't going to do nice things to your site, even if they don't eventually get in. But thankfully, there's the Login Lockdown plugin that limits you to 3 failed login attempts per hour before shutting off access to your IP. If someone tries to start guessing your password, they'll either be VERY lucky & get it in the first 3 tries (in which case you probably didn't follow step 1), or they'll be locked out of your site.
6. Make Regular Backups
No matter how vigilant you are with your WordPress security measures, you can't eliminate 100% of the risk of getting hacked. Maybe your site is one that the hackers discover a new exploit on, or maybe someone records your keystrokes or who knows what... the point is, you COULD still get hacked.
Backing up your Wordpress installation on a regular basis will help you recover from a hacking MUCH quicker and will a LOT less effort than if you had to start from scratch.
There are several plugins available that automate the process so you can set it and forget it (you can check out my WordPress backup system here) but having been through multiple hacks myself, I can promise you it's well worth the time it takes to set it up.
As previously stated, these six steps won't make your WordPress site 100% hacker safe but they'll take you a LONG way down that road. For a 15 to 20 minute investment, you can save yourself a lot of headaches and frustrations down the line. So what are you waiting for? Go secure your site!
Thanks To Ben Cook from WPBlogger.com for writing this fine article.
You can follow him on Twitter @skitzzo
Ben Cook provides WordPress Tutorials and free Thesis skins over at WPblogger.com.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
M/C/C Blog: Looking back at 2009 and Internet Marketing
"One of the biggest events in 2009 was the rebranding (again) of Microsoft online search engine. LiveSearch was re-programmed by Microsoft last spring and then re-launched as Bing in June 2009. Bing has maintained small, but consistent, growth since its original launch back in June. While it may only have 10 percent of the market share, it’s important to note that those numbers are actually up 31 percent from Microsoft’s previous search engine market share last year. It’s also important to note that Google’s market share has remained around 65 percent the entire time so Bing wasn’t exactly taking away from Google’s existing market share, but it did prevent the online giant from stealing any new users from existing search engines to grow.���"
Monday, January 04, 2010
Manage your Social Network with Google Android
The new Android Mobile OS from Google has very quickly been accepted into the mobile phone market. It has some features that dominate other mobile operating systems, the primary one being the easy-to-understand Software Development Kit that has allowed a large number of computer programmers make Android applications that you would usually have to buy on an iPhone, or would simply be unavailable anywhere else.
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