Social Networking For Info Taggers

Posts Tagged ‘Social Networks’

The Walk Main Campaign is an effort to bring people together in a time of impresonal communication like texting and internet social networks. People gather on Friday nights on Main Ave in Bismarck, where people are usually driving aimlessly. We walk, meet people, and just have fun. It’s simple but effective. CREDITS: Music [used with permission] “Slow Five” by The Public Market [from Bismarck] Production, Editing, and Filming by me, with a few shots from Ammon

onlinemultipleincomestreams.com?t=vutsm “Social networks like myspace, youtube, Facebook, and Flickr have gained prominence in this era of web 2.0 technologies as they empower the user by letting them be what they want to be and express themselves freely. These have also turned into virtual marketplace for advertisers and SEO professionals. According to Wikipedia “Social media marketing (SMM)” combines the goals of internet marketing with social media sites such as Digg, Flickr, myspace, youtube and many others. Most SMM goals most will involve some form of viral marketing to build idea or brand awareness, increase visibility, and possibly sell a product or service. “Social media optimization (SMO)” is a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, adding a “Digg This” button, blogging and incorporating third party community functionalities like Flickr photo slides and galleries or youtube videos.

The Social Network game Mafia Wars is huge right now. As of September 2009 there are over 24.5 Million active players on various social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, Tagged and even on the iPhone. This number seems to grow every month. Its safe to say that if you are a member of a social network mentioned above, you or someone you know is playing Mafia Wars.

If you didn’t know the main goals in Mafia Wars are to build your mafia, make money, get loot (items) and run businesses. As with any game you may be looking for a fast track to get ahead because leveling up is key and can be very slow to start. Some have tried to hack the game but this is both illegal and only temporary as these hacks are quickly detected and the accounts using them banned. Pretty much a big waste of time

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So how do you get ahead in the world of Mafia Wars and avoid getting your account banned? Are there really Mafia Wars Cheats? Yes and no. There really aren’t any “cheats” left as they have all been detected and patched by Zynga. You can in a way cheat by following little known tricks that not too many know about.

There are many places you can go to find these tricks. There are numerous websites, forums and even some good guides that can be found online. You can pick up a lot of great Mafia Wars tips just by searching the web. The key is find a strategy that works and use it. Avoid websites that ask you for your Facebook login info. One of the biggest scams I have seen are people claiming that if you give them your Facebook login info they will level you up or get you a million dollars. In truth all they will do is steal your information so avoid these sites at all costs. Same goes for Mafia Wars hacks, these will get patched quickly and all you will do is get your account banned.

Find out how to promote your business on facebook and drive a avalaunche of visitorsto your sales sites. Social networking sites present a giant opportunity for internet marketers. With over 350 million active users on facebook its easy to use this site to create an awesome sales funnel that could see your business leads and ultimately your sales skyrocket. But be warned facebook has strict useage policies and if you breach them your site will vanish and all your hard work will be lost.

How to safely promote your business on facebook

There is only one effective way to promote your business on facebook, always use fan pages Remember facebook is a social site and members quickly get disgruntledwith network marketers who ram products down their throats Success on the social networks is about playing the game Flood people with opportunity marketing and you will find it difficult to develop a fan list and risk getting your site shut down.

To promote your business the right way on facebook follow the steps outlined below:

Step 1:Get a facebook account and start inviting everyone you know to be friends Search for old friends and reconnect as these people can be a great source of business leads. Understand that your friends will automatically receive your information updates every time you post. This includes photos, videos and anything else you post. To draw other people into your facebook sales funnel you need to present a successful lifestyle so always post tasteful information that shows the quality of your life. Most importantly make it entertaining, after all facebook is a social network.

Step 2: Set Up a Facebook Fan Page.
If you wish to promote your business without risking getting banned this is essential. The only safe ststem with Facebook is to promote your business opportunity via your fan page. Links to your sales sites can be placed on your fan pages without fear of breaching facebook policy With your Facebook fan page set up you can start marketing your fanpage to the community. The bonus is people who subscribe to your fan page will now receive all your business advertising updates.

Step 3: Join Facebook Groups
When you become a subscriber of a facebook group you have the ability to post to the group wall. The correct procedure to promote your business using groups is to first post the product or service you want people to see to your fan page, and then send it to your groups with links to your fanpage. This is a safe system but overpost to groups and you could be in trouble

Step 4: Set Up Your Own Group
Another safe way to promote your business is by setting up a group. With your own group comes a platform for marketing. You can have unlimited friends, send mass email, do more promotions, and offer interest driven information. For example I run a record label, Balcony Records. I have a Balcony Records group on facebook that allows me to post important information about upcoming music releases, events and label and industry associated news. We also use the group to post photos and videos of our events and then broadcast new postings to the entire group. Photo and video content is highly viral in nature as our group members often share and tag this content. This is a proven strategy that you can use to promote your business.

Follow the steps above and you will be well on the way to developing a platform for business success on facebook. This article is only a start point for those of you wishing to promote your business of facebook.

Defining the Social Networking Jargon

Norman  Wilson, PHD

Social networking involves the simple act of grouping people. Something we have been doing since our days of living in a cave. Today in the age of instant messaging and information social networking has taken on a more significant persona. Its instantaneity and spontaneity have changed the rules of normal discourse.

As is often the case with new technology there is an increase in new terminology.  Among these terms are social bookmarking, social networks, crowdsourcing, blogging, podcasting, commentary,  folksonomy and Ezines.

Folksonomy is perhaps the most unusual term of the group.  It means social tagging and multiple users can add key words to shared information.  Ezines are digital online magazines and the subject matter is limitless. Anyone may create an Ezine.

Social bookmarking is a way people share, organize, search, and/or follow on the internet. This is not the same as sharing a file. What is not shared is detailed information or actual websites. What is shared are the bookmarks (some call this ‘favorites’) that reference the websites. For example my personal website is http://www.shamanicmysteries.com and when you bookmark that you save only that address (URL), and  no information about what is on the site. The value of keeping bookmarks or lists of sites is for future reference.

Crowdsourcing is taking a task that is normally given to an employee or a contracted person or company and assigning it to a group. This is becoming popular among those of us in the business of writing.  An example is blur media.com.  The purpose of crowdsourcing is to produce leveraging in order to achieve a business goal. In our case, publishing our articles and books.

Podcasting involves blogging and digital audio technology (usually Mp3) and it is available on free servers. Writers and film producers are taking advantage of this. It’s a way of getting excerpts of your works out into the public….teasers. A caution here. It helps if you have a good speaking voice. If you don’t get a friend who does to read your ’stuff’.

Blogging  has become such a part of our National mental image further definition is not necessary. It is an effective way of getting your name out  to the public. However, your blogs must have relevance to public interest or you will not have a great deal of traffic to your blog site.

Commenting on other people’s works, ideas, and blogs is another way of networking. Generally, there is an exchange of ideas and other people get involved.  This builds a base of people who know you.

Writing articles for Ezines is not necessarily profitable in terms of hard cold cash. Some sites do pay but only minimally. The value for a writer is getting name recognition; a platform and brand. Much work goes into Ezine creation and writing.

Videos are making a splash on popular YouTube .com, Twitter.com and Myspace.com. Most of these are not professionally produced. Costs may be a factor. There is a question as to how much revenue is generated in terms of books sales from video trailers.

Getting published is just part of the struggle. A medical doctor friend has advised  we should use whatever helps us get well; be it traditional or alternative medicine. That same holds true for the professional writer. Use whatever helps you to be successful.

Disclaimer: I do not advocate creating a scandal or committing an illegal act to gain notoriety, or to willfully bad mouth someone just to get attention in the public media.

Social networking is one of the most effective medium that can be used for product / service launching, marketing, company branding, customer announcement, customer survey, and many more purposes that are limited to ones imagination. Almost every renowned company has made use of this powerful medium and gradually increasing their present felt on the most popular social networking platforms like Facebook, Ning, blogger, etc. Though all social networks are not equally well for a specific activity, but you may make use of their connectivity and huge community they foster with their free services, innovative tools and productive supports. Just think of a big company name that has not yet developed their presence. You’ll fill in your effort to find hardly one!

Facebook is today’s biggest social networking site and very popular among us, young and adults. We hear them from conversations and discussions at work, school, church, malls, restaurants and anywhere else. It is well accepted by most people for the simple reason that it gives personal satisfaction, is very friendly and free for everyone. An added reason is that, it makes you gain more contacts and friends not only in your own place but also in the whole universe. People are so amazed because impossible things have been made real with this social networking site.

But, to tell you, this is not the only benefit that you can enjoy from Facebook. Have you tried the Facebook Fan page? This is very beneficial especially to business owners who wanted to get close contacts with existing customers and future clients. For existing customers, they can give feedback about the products or services and vice versa, sellers are able to evaluate the needs of their buyers. This is on the cards because the fan page is like a private single web page where both the seller and the buyer can interact with each other.

Moreover, the fan page is made live and amusing as it makes use of photos, and videos to link to people. When your business has new products or services to offer, you can advertise them through the fan page.

You might have seen other benefits in your mind, but this is 100% helpful in doing your product or service promotion. As you can see, there are everlasting possibilities that you can acquire from joining social networking sites.

Now, this one is highly recommended and you can’t afford to be the last to know and lose the opportunities it can give you. Now, this one is highly recommended and you can’t afford to be the last to know and lose the opportunities it can give you. Just visit to: http://www.SocialSiteCreator.com and Enjoy, Sell and Earn!

Twitter recently announced that it has changed its title tags for profiles, making a big impact on how high these pages are ranked in search engines.

The news can be either good or bad, depending on who you are! For those who want visibility, it will be a blessing. Others are going to have to adapt.

If you tweet for informational purposes then the changes couldn’t be better. But if you tweet about your mother-in-law’s annoying habits or why your colleagues could give David Brent a run for their money, then you’d better wise up to increased search engine exposure.

Let’s take a look at the changes, using the US President as an example. I used the Wayback Machine to view his profile, as it appeared in 2007. Take a look at the title tag in my browser.

2007 Format: Twitter / Username

In contrast, today’s format looks like this: Full name (username) on Twitter

Small change – big results!
So, what can you expect when you search for someone’s personal name?

If they have an online presence, you would usually see their profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and My Space amid Google’s first two results pages. With the recent changes, however, you’re likely to see a person’s Twitter page rank highest of all.

It makes me wonder what Twitter will do next, as I’m certain we will see a few more changes made to benefit search.

Interestingly Google has also undertaken a Pagerank update that has slashed the ranking of many Twitter pages. Twitter itself has risen from rank 8 to 9, but most profiles have dropped – from 8 to 6, from 7 to 4 and so on.

Staying on the same topic, Facebook announced yesterday that it is also changing its link structure. The site plans to use the usernames as the URL extension instead of the current, randomly assigned number.

For example:

Facebook has posted:

We’re planning to offer Facebook usernames to make it easier for people to find and connect with you. When your friends, family members or co-workers visit your profile or Pages on Facebook, they will be able to enter your username as part of the URL in their browser. This way people will have an easy-to-remember way to find you. We expect to offer even more ways to use your Facebook username in the future.

Is this recognition that Twitter is one step ahead of the game, having already propelled ‘Tweeters’ to higher search rankings than MySpace and Facebook profiles?

Either way, it’s safe to say that the changes are going to have a big impact, just as the Twitter changes did. And from my point of view, it’s great that these social sites are finally becoming more search friendly.

Are you looking for different websites where you can advertise for free and use your Internet marketing skills?  Then, you may want to check out social networking websites. But, before you start using social networking websites, you will need to know what social networking websites are, their intended use,  and how you can effectively use them to put FREE advertising profits in your pocket. First and foremost, a social networking website is a place where huge numbers of people go to hang out, communicate and interact online. People spend hours with friends, family and acquaintances, chatting and/or viewing each otherâ??s videos on various topics of interest.

Given the fundamental nature of social networks, you can easily understand how this kind of â??largeâ? social exchange can potentially help your online business. Basically, marketing and advertising is a numbers game, and if your business is online, youâ??ll want your ads displayed where there are a lot of people. The large numbers of people in a mall are analogous to the traffic youâ??ll find at social networking websites.

Smart internet marketers know that if masses of people congregate at these sites, then these are potential advertising goldmines. Proof of this is aptly explained in one of this yearâ??s best selling books at Amazon.com, entitled, The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success, by Lon Safko (author), David Brake (author). The key challenge with social network marketing is to advertise on these sites without being perceived as an advertiser. Obviously, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. You canâ??t blatantly advertise on these sites, because these are purely social networking environments.

Take MySpace for example, as a very popular and prominent social networking website. You cannot sign up with a profile called, “Jack’s Online Meat Market”, and then direct MySpace users to your website, by openly telling them about your business. This approach is not accepted at social websites. But, by contrast, if you want to advertise on MySpace, you can communicate your desire to the people who run the site. Simply tell them you wish to advertise, and ask them about their advertising rates and cost for single and multiple ads.

When thinking of free internet advertising and the use of social network marketing, remember, there are numerous social websites where you can spread your â??suggestiveâ? word. This is an ideal opportunity to use your effective Internet marketing skills, where you need the large volume potential of targeted, â?social networkersâ?. To be successful with social network marketing, you have to adapt to the social website environment. Therefore, your social network marketing strategies must embody these key principles. Your interactive approach must be genuine, cordial and friendly, with a â??sharing and giving attitudeâ? for whatever you want to â??shareâ? with others. This unobtrusive and inconspicuous approach can make the difference between success or failure, and possible website expulsion.

Social network marketing is free internet advertising in its most potent and subtle form. So, take the time to learn extensively what works, step-by-step. Then, apply yourself to success proven strategies and techniques which the experts are using to earn six figure residual incomes on a monthly basis. I recently learned that many internet newbies are achieving their marketing and financial goals within six months or less. And, they are not spending a dime on advertising, just the perfected art of social network marketing. If they can be successful, you can be successful. See what these newly successful,  aspiring internet millionaires are doing and how some have advanced to an automated marketing system which helps them create auto-pilot Internet income.

You properly heard of online social networking, and statics shows online Moms population is as big as the whole online women population. I am a mother myself, I love to socialize and network with other women and moms, not just for business reasons, but more to seek helps and advices. What would be more convenient than logging onto your computer online and share voices with mothers and women all over the country, on your own schedule, such as 11pm at night?

There are many Mom social networking sites, the list include: Cafemom.com- the biggest and fastest growing social network site for moms. There are more than 15,000 groups created. Type in your keyword to search for you interested groups, or you can create your own group. This site allows you to have good privacy/ anonymity controls. It’s easy for moms new to online social networks.

Minti.com – another excellent site for someone new to online social networking, there is a brief tutorial of how the site works. You don’t have to register to access the wealth of parenting information on the site. Topics in Minti’s are question-based, users can ask anything and everything. Answers provided by other parents are rated by users for their value and effectiveness.

Mayasmom.com – for moms already familiar with social networking sites, Mayasmom enables you to keep track of your online friends and what they’re saying. Maya’s Mom lets you create a profile, add friends, upload photos and bookmark your favorite activities. Parents can find kid-friendly activities in your area, edit the listings, rate them and add photos and tags.

Mothersclick.com – a little more sophisticated for first-timers. Mothersclick combines group-focused and question-based formats on their home page. You can locate groups in you area by typing in your zip code, the site reveals a map with each group’s description. Other site listings include Activities, Classifieds, Reviews, Recipes, Blogs and Photos.

MomJunction.com- the site provides good tools such calendar, personal messaging and photo sharing. Moms can create groups that reflect their lives (friends, family, neighbors, school parents, organization members, etc.) and interact and communicate selectively between their groups.

ClubMom.com-is one of the largest online social networking site. Moms can connect and share experience with each other. There are Sweepstakes, contests and reward programs on sites, along with the usual photo sharing and scrapbooks.

RealLiveMoms.com-moms can create a scrapbooking slide show, blogs, favorites lists, and more on the social networking site. Windows Live tools are deeply integrated with this service, letting moms chat with each other using the Windows Live messenger, find local parks and other locations using the Live Search Maps, and email each other using hotmail. There are other tools within this network that offer tips for creating a personal space within the Live network, from sharing photos and videos to designing print-free business cards.

ConnectingMoms.com-is a hip, new social-networking website designed specifically for expecting, new, & savvy moms in mind. The site allows members to set up unique, personal profiles describing their individual interests allowing them to build and establish bonds with other mothers. Members can view each others’ profiles, share photos, write movie and TV reviews, join interest groups, post diaries (blogs), engage in discussions, shop online and post classifieds.

Family.go.com ‘a Disney Family website, parents can network for fun and mentorship. Users can do internet search, find articles on key topics such as education and food. There is a “ParentPedia,” a compilation of information on 1,000 topics that can be expanded by users.

MommyClub.ca-is one of Canada’s favorite pregnancy and parenting websites. It is a place for Canadian moms. The website includes the categories of resources, events, blogs, forums, friendship, etc.

Moxie-Moms.com-provides expecting moms and moms a better way to meet others for casual and charitable events, attend fitness classes that welcome little ones, and find discounts at the best local retailers and service providers. Moxie Moms’ primary mission is to help moms succeed in their pursuit of a community of moms for friends, fun and fitness.

MotherBlogs.net -you can blog about your life as a parent and meet other moms through their blogs.

Amiglia.com-family photo sharing meets the cutting edge with the tools at Amiglia. To get an idea of what you can do with your extended family, take the tour. You’ll see the very cool family tree, the power of tagging, your personal family facebook, a family calendar, and a nice slide show feature.

Groups.yahoo.com- such a wide variety of groups, you’re sure to find one that interests you at Yahoo.

Workitmom.com-is an all-purpose site described as ‘helping working moms juggle life.’ And they follow through with a professional appearance and a clickable “How to Use Work It, Mom!” for first-timers. Work It Mom includes articles and interviews, along with a contest page which acknowledges that “working moms can always use a bit of recognition (as well as some great swag!)” If you work and want to talk with other women who also balance career and home, this is the place for you.

Mombloggersclub- an online community for moms who blog. Moms who start out at a more general-purpose social networking site – but find themselves obsessed with blogging – can step up their game here. Not only will you connect with other moms who share your passion, but you’ll also get tips and tricks to become a better mom blogger, find out how to use YouTube on your blog, and learn about syndication and getting your writing on major media sites.

Gotkidsnetwork.com- a social networking site for people that have “got kids” is geared towards finding deals, nannies and advice online.

I’ve heard the argument that companies are so busy building, maintaining and updating their corporate Web sites they don’t have time to manage a presence on social networks.

That’s kind of like saying you don’t need email because you have a Web site. Or you don’t need a cell phone because you have a blender. Your Web site and your social media profiles serve fundamentally different purposes, here are three key differences:

1. The people you want to reach use social media every day –

Think about a professional relationship you have that is rock solid. Maybe it’s your advertising agency, or your CPA, or your number one supplier of widgets. Now, how often do you visit their marketing Web site.

That’s what I thought.

Most B2B sites, aren’t (to borrow a 1990s phrase) “sticky.” There aren’t compelling reasons to come back.  No matter how much your clients and prospects love you and your brand, they probably don’t frequently return to your Web site.

It’s no different in the retail world. Think of your favorite restaurant, tennis shoe manufacturer or beer. Now how often do you get back to that particular company’s Web site?

Or let’s say you really want to connect with the media. Log in to your Google Analytics and tell me how many page views your press section received last month. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Now imagine if your market or audience visited your site every day. Imagine if you could connect with your clients frequently while you are developing the new release of your software.  Imagine if you could tell everyone within 15 miles of your retail location about overstocked USB drives you are selling for $10. Imagine if you could directly connect with the editor of the most important trade publication in your niche industry to talk about your break through research.

Your clients, customers and the media simply aren’t going to visit your site every day, but they are logging on to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn every day. If you are there, visible, communicating with them you can get your message out.

2. Your Web site is a monologue; social media is a conversation -

I know, I know, you have a “Contact Us” form on your Web site. But for the most part, your site probably talks, rather than listens. The magic of social media is just reverse. Social media is the world’s largest, fastest, least expensive and most accurate focus group.

My own company has worked with dozens of clients to help them use social media. Without exception, the ratio of listening to talking is directly proportional to success of a company’s social media strategy. (That is, those that listen do much better).

Here are some examples:

- Sign up for Tweet Beep and see what consumers, the media, competitors, vendors and employees are saying about your company, and your competitors. You’ll find out who your clients are talking to, how your competitors price and what the media really thinks of your latest product.

- Google Alerts can help monitor posts on blogs and other social networks. Even visiting sites like LinkedIn and Technorati and searching on your name provide great insight. Don’t be surprised if you’re surprised. You may be sure that your customers love you because of your product features, and discover that it’s really your customer service that wins them over.  We marketers can sit at a table and work to define our brand, but nothing is as accurate as real time conversation, from real people.

I haven’t called a customer service phone number since I joined Twitter. Today, if I have a terrible shopping experience, or visit a beautiful airport, I tweet about it. In almost every case the brand finds my tweet and responds to me in less than an hour. If you’re not participating in social media and monitoring the conversation about your company, you’re missing valuable market data.

3. Social media is faster than your Web site -

Okay, go ahead and add some content to your site that is relevant to today’s news. Great, okay, now run it by your brand team… and the legal guys. Now send it over to IT to upload to the CMS. Wait! Your search engine optimization agency needs to write some title tags. Good, okay, now upload. But wait! We need a new spot in the navigation for the content. Contact your Web design agency to change the navigation. Come to think of it, we should probably have the usability folks to do a run through as well.

Okay now it’s finally posted!

And the story is three weeks old and irrelevant. Besides, Google won’t even crawl and index the page for another two weeks.

Now, suppose you need three beta testers today. Or you’re shipping a truckload of building materials to an area devastated by a hurricane. Or your new software is current with the new FDA regulations issued last week. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are instantaneous. Your content immediately reaches your audience and shows up in search engines in hours or even minutes.

Yes, you’re spending a lot of time and energy to maintain your Web site. And I’m not suggesting you stop. But while your Web site today is a great way to present a polished corporate image, social media is about listening and engaging in real conversations, with the right people, right now.