Monday, February 28, 2011

Google Finally Cracks Down on Content Farms

Google used their Official Google Blog to announce a change to their search algorithm that impacts 11.8% of their queries. Google explains:
"This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on."
Google's announcement is a followup to what Matt Cutts stated in his blog just over a month ago:
"And we’re evaluating multiple changes that should help drive spam levels even lower, including one change that primarily affects sites that copy others’ content and sites with low levels of original content. We’ll continue to explore ways to reduce spam, including new ways for users to give more explicit feedback about spammy and low-quality sites. 
As “pure webspam” has decreased over time, attention has shifted instead to “content farms,” which are sites with shallow or low-quality content. In 2010, we launched two major algorithmic changes focused on low-quality sites. Nonetheless, we hear the feedback from the web loud and clear: people are asking for even stronger action on content farms and sites that consist primarily of spammy or low-quality content."
Google notes that this update does not utilize the new data they are receiving from the "Personal Data Chrome extension" that they launched just last week. However, they are "very pleased" to report that 84% of the top several dozen domains reported to be blocked by the extension are also impacted by the algorithm change. This could be very bad news for the high profile eHow.com because it is routinely referred to in the media as a site with lots of low quality content. If people are voting via Chrome it's likely they are one of the top domains Google is referring to.
However, our own small batch of test searches at WebProNews does not show any negative changes for eHow. For instance, eHow still ranks number one in Google results for "level four brain cancer", the same as we earlier reported. WebProNews will be further reviewing the impact of this change on eHow and other mass content producers over the next few days. Additionally, Google states in their posting that, "We’re working on many more updates that we believe will substantially improve the quality of the pages in our results". 

The message to content producers is clear, publish shallow content that is obviously SEO'd and disliked by users and eventually you won't be rewarded by Google's search engine.

About the author:
Rich Ord is the CEO and founder of iEntry, Inc. which includes WebProNews, Twellow, WebProWorld and numerous other B2B blogs and Internet communities.
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/25/google-finally-cracks-down-on-content-farms

Apparently, No One Likes Mobile Device Users

While we may be a nation of mobile device users -- largely, anyway -- it’s clear almost no one is using their device in a respectful, concerned-for-others manner.  What’s worse is, even if a large majority of users knows mobile device user behavior is largely inconsiderate, it doesn’t stop them from acting the same way when they’re using their own devices.
Such are some of the findings from a recent Intel study over this very topic: Mobile Technology Etiquette 2011. Most, if not all of Intel’s findings are either A. not surprising, or B. obvious when you observe others using their mobile toys.
The biggest issue concerning mobile device etiquette is a distinct lack thereof. Some of the findings (pdf) include:
- Nearly all U.S. adults (91 percent) have seen someone using their mobile device in an unusual place. The most common locations include behind the wheel (56 percent), in a Public restroom (48 percent), in a movie theater (32 percent) and on a honeymoon (9 percent).

- The majority of U.S. adults (76 percent) say that if they had to choose, they would give up something other than their mobile Internet-enabled device for 1 week.

- Seventy-four percent of U.S. adults believe that poor mobile etiquette has created a new form of public rage/violence, much like road rage

- Sixty-five percent admit becoming angry around people misusing their mobile devices inappropriately.
All interesting facts and figures, but perhaps the most informative part came when 92 percent of the respondents wished people would use better etiquette when using a mobile device.  While this sounds like a reasonable request, when contrasted with this tidbit of data:
“Eighty-eight percent of U.S. adults agree that people rarely take others into consideration when using their mobile devices in public”
You get the feeling the war for mobile device etiquette has already been lost, no matter how many suggestions Anna Post offers.  For instance, tips like the following are clearly lost on today’s mobile device user:
“The solution is two fold. First, manage your time and other’s expectations, no matter how easy the technology makes it to respond immediately. You can return a call instead of answering, wait to answer a text, or excuse yourself for a minute to check email. Better yet, don’t keep a mobile device handy when you know you shouldn’t answer it. In a meeting? Put your laptop lid down. Better yet, keep your mobile devices in your handbag, briefcase or pocket.”
A reaction consisting of “yeah, right” comes to mind, especially when it comes to the almost-extinct ideas of consideration and respect for others.  Throw a mobile device into the mix and it’s clear Post’s considerable writing ability would be better spent developing step-by-step guides for watching paint dry and lawn mower usage.

About the author:
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest search news
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/25/apparently-no-one-likes-mobile-device-users

Friday, February 25, 2011

Bing Spreads Facebook "Liked Results"

People who use both Facebook and Bing should soon become more familiar than ever with the concept of "social search."  The integration of Facebook "Likes" into Bing's results is continuing so that searchers can see which sites have earned their friends' approval.

A post on the Bing Search Blog explained this morning, "A few months ago, we announced an exciting partnership with Facebook to make search more social.  As part of that work, we introduced Liked Results, which promotes links your friends have publicly liked or shared via Facebook.  Today we are extending Liked Results to annotate any of the URLs returned by our algorithmic search results to all users in the US."

So here's the bottom line: "If your friends have publicly liked or shared any of the algorithmic search results shown on Bing, we will now surface them right below the result."
Of course, this development calls into question whether you trust the opinions of your friends more than those of professional reviewers, but that's a problem for individuals, not Bing, to resolve.  The initial "cool" factor of seeing that your friends liked a certain search result is considerable, regardless.

Indeed, it's not hard to imagine that more people will now give Bing a try, at least when conducting certain types of searches (for restaurants or bands, maybe).  Google and Yahoo don't have anything that can really compare to the "Liked Results" feature.

The Bing blog post promised that additional changes are on the way, as well, so something even more interesting related to Facebook and social search may be introduced in the near-ish future.

About the author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news. 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/24/bing-spreads-facebook-liked-results

MyBlogLog Coming to An End

Yahoo is shutting down MyBlogLog, a service acquired by the company a few years ago, that lets you see who's been visiting your blog. It's been known for quite some time that it would happen, but users received an email today setting the date. It said: 

You have been identified as a customer of Yahoo! MyBlogLog. We will officially discontinue Yahoo! MyBlogLog effective May 24, 2011. Your agreement with Yahoo!, to the extent that it applies to the Yahoo! MyBlogLog, will terminate on May 24, 2011.

After May 24, 2011 your credit card will no longer be charged for premium services on MyBlogLog. We will refund you the unused portion of your subscription, if any. The refund will appear as a credit via the billing method we have on file for you. To make sure that your billing information is correct and up to date, visit https://billing.yahoo.com.

Cloudspace developed MyBlogLog in 2005, and in early 2007, it was acquired by Yahoo for over 10 million dollars.

MyBlogLog To Shut Down Soon 


Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/24/mybloglog-coming-to-an-end

Fashion Brands Using Facebook To Best Effect

Lots of companies have a strong presence on Facebook, with Chipotle, Ford, and NBC all making significant moves just this week.  But when it comes to effective marketing in the UK, new data from Experian Hitwise indicates that fashion brands know how to use Facebook best.

Robin Goad, who shared that finding in a corporate blog post earlier today, arrived at it by examining which sites people search for after leaving Facebook.  Then he "created an Index score which measures searches for a brand after Facebook compared to searches for a brand in All Categories."

You can see the results for yourself below, and Goad explained, "An Index score of 100 would be an average, but any score over 100 indicates that a brand is getting a much higher proportion of its searches after a visit to Facebook than it does in normal search."
Not familiar with those names?  Jack Wills, Republic, Topman, Topshop, River Island, Asos, Miss Selfridge, and New Look all make or sell clothing.  (Play.com deals in CDs, DVDs, books, and the like.)

Marketers should take a close look at how fashion brands build up and interact with their audiences on Facebook, then.  Perhaps not every tactic will be applicable elsewhere, but it looks like everyone has plenty to learn.


About the author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news. 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/24/fashion-brands-using-facebook-to-best-effect

Social Media: More than Twitter and Facebook? Uh, yeah.

The following post is based on a discussion at the Cincinnati Social Media LinkedIn Group.

In what seems to be a race to oversimplify EVERYTHING, we're creating misdefinitions. In many cases there's simply (a lot) more to the story.

Social media provides the latest example. Do you know anyone with "T&F Tunnel Vision?" This unfortunate condition involves the assumption that the social media landscape starts and ends with Twitter and Facebook.
Yelp life
I've ranted about this before -- more than a few times. And I'm taking this well-worn soapbox with me down to SXSW for a panel discussion I'm on with David Binkowski and Krista Neher about influencers. Simple math shows the folly in T&F Tunnel Vision and Geoff Livingston deconstructs Twitter in a recent post.

Recently I was reminded about an uber-important site for any local strategy -- Yelp.

Think Local, Act Social (with Yelp)
Alex Shebar and I connected recently so I could get up to speed on his role as Yelp's Cincinnati community manager as well as some functionality to the site of which I was unaware. I've used Yelp before. But until recently I had not visited frequently/regularly.

It's safe to say I'm a minority in Cincinnati. Ohio has community managers in three cities: Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. That's rare and speaks to our level of activity on the site. States larger than ours have only one manager in one city.

Yelp became a bigger focus for me when looking at how small businesses are using social media. In a recent presentation, I spent more time discussing Yelp than I did Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. It's because small businesses stand to benefit by focusing their time and effort on Yelp.

Word of Mouth "is the primary factor behind 20 to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions" per NM Incite. And Yelp's community is just that. It's tagline is "real people. real reviews." Search is the place to start to determine where your customers are talking about your brand. And these reviews can impact search results in a big way. So even if your customers aren't hitting Yelp, they might be reading the reviews via search results.

Yelp 101
So what can businesses do to step up their Yelp presence? Alex gave me two links as the perfect examples.

** Business Owner's Guide to Yelp: This section of the site shows you how to claim your page, respond to reviews and even buy ads. It lays it out step by step.

** Check-In Offers: This is similar to checking in on Foursquare, but focused more on easily-customized customer incentives. "It provides a measurable way to reward your most loyal customers while attracting new ones."

Based on the type of business, Yelp can be a valuable tool for building word of mouth. You should check and see where your company/your clients shake out. And if you have a great experience retail, food, drink or otherwise? Spread the word on Yelp.

As Alex noted in our conversation, "if you find yourself sitting at home complaining that there's nothing to do, you have no excuse. There's plenty to do. You just need a site to help you find it."
Driving Miss Social Media

Everyone wants a dependable car that gives them no problems, performs well and gets the job done. But everyone wants to be seen in the sports car that's getting a tune up as much as it's parking a mile from the building so no one scratches the paint job.

Did I just call Twitter a Ferrari and Yelp a Honda Accord? I'm being dramatic to make a point. But, yeah, there are popular sites and their are relevant sites. Relevant sites are different for every brand and for every customer segment. Relevance wins.

I think I just named a new line of cars. Make check payable to...

---
Full disclosure: I decided to create this post after the discussion with Alex and due to my recent focus on the site. I did not "unlock any offers" by doing so. In fact, I had to bug Alex to send me the links.

About the author:
Kevin Dugan is the author of the popular Strategic Public Relations blog. Kevin is Director of Marketing Communications for FRCH Design Worldwide.
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/24/social-media-more-than-twitter-and-facebook-uh-yeah

Thursday, February 24, 2011

How Much is a Tweet or a Like Worth to You?

ChompOn has released some interesting findings (pdf) related to social media sharing and its value to e-commerce. Specifically, the firm sought out to answer the question: "What is the value of a social action in online commerce?" 

What they came up with is that a Facebook Share was worth $14, a Facebook "like" was worth $8, a tweet was worth $5, and a Twitter follow was worth $2.

"Admittedly, we believe the true value for likes and follows to be much higher due to creation of long-term loyalty," says ChompOn. "Additionally, it is not possible to directly attribute traffic from these actions so it was necessary to estimate.

ChompOn Puts Value on Tweets, Likes, Shares, Follows

Obviously, you have to take into account their methodology, which is where that estimation factor comes in. 

"For shares and tweets, we were able to directly attribute sales to the original action, so we simply took the total revenue attributed to each action and divided it by the total number of shares/tweets," the firm says. "For likes and follows, we had to estimate attribution by looking at our traffic references and subtracting out purchases made through shares/tweets as well as purchases made through direct traffic."

ChompOn is also careful to point out that gross revenue depends on the products and services being offered. 

In reality, you may find a greater dollar value in all of these social interactions, or you may find now dollar value at all. There are a lot of potential variables to consider, but if nothing else, it shows that you can indeed place a dollar value on a tweet, on a "like", etc. 

That's really the moral of the story. Many complaints have been voiced about a lack of measurable ROI when it comes to social media. If you have this complaint, it may be time to re-evaluate your measuring strategies.

About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237
 Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/18/how-much-is-a-tweet-or-a-like-worth-to-you

Facebook Continues to Improve in Search

I wrote an article a couple months ago, asking: What if Facebook goes search while Google struggles to go social? I looked at some of the things Facebook has done related to search, and made the case that the social networking giant has a lot of potential for becoming a bigger player in search in general. 

Now, they're making more adjustments to Facebook's internal search feature, which make it more useful. They've started separating the results that appear automatically into different sections. This includes things like: People, Pages, Apps, Groups, Shared Links, etc.
Facebook Search Update Separates Categories
Google is in the process of rolling out a significant update to its social search feature, throwing social results into the mix (as opposed to separate at the bottom of the SERP). A glaring hole in Google's offering, however, is a lack of Facebook data - arguably the most important social data there is, given that Facebook has so many more users than any other social network. It would be nice to see articles "liked" and shared by Facebook friends in Google's results (luckily Wajam adds some Facebook data to your Google results if you install a browser extension). 

Last fall, Facebook started adding "liked" articles to the search results. "Consistent with how we treat other Open Graph object types, we’ve introduced the ability to see articles shared by your friends in the search typeahead," said Facebook's Namita Gupta.  "For instance, if your friend clicks 'Like' on an article at a news site, the article will appear in your News Feed and can now also surface in the search typeahead."

Now, with "shared Links" they're organized better, and often appear above other results.

Facebook has the strongest collection of person-to-person interactions on the entire web. You'd be hard pressed to find many authoritative sites that don't have some kind of Facebook integration, even if it's just "like" buttons. As long as Google doesn't provides this information in search results, it's never going to be as good as it could be. 

This is one reason why Facebook is a potentially dangerous opponent of Google's. To reiterate points made in my previous article, it's not that far-fetched to see Facebook put more emphasis on search the way Twitter did, and Facebook already uses Bing for web results, and could easily fill in the gaps with those results. Bing has no qualms about supplying search results to other major search engines through the back-end (see Yahoo deal). What if Facebook just became a real search engine competitor - instantly personalized, with some sections powered by Bing. They've already pushed for users to make Facebook their home page

Let's also not forget that Facebook recently acquired search company Chai Labs (founded by a former Google exec), and has stolen many Google employees away.  Also remember that Facebook has also been encouraging the addition of different types of information to be added to its internal network with things like Facebook Questions and Wikipedia-like community pages. In time, Facebook Places (combined with Bing Mpas) could evolve to power some powerful local results too.





About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/22/facebook-continues-to-improve-in-search 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Social Media Killing Blogs...Here We Go Again.

Here we go again with another one of those silly social media vs. blogs debates. The New York Times stirred the pot this time with an article called, "Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter."

"Blogs were once the outlet of choice for people who wanted to express themselves online. But with the rise of sites like Facebook and Twitter," writes Verne G. Kopytoff. "They are losing their allure for many people — particularly the younger generation."

This idea that blogs are dying has been around practically as long as either Facebook or Twitter, and it almost always gets dismissed as a ridiculous notion.

Wordpress founding developer Matt Mullenweg took some issue with the piece: "The title was probably written by an editor, not the author, because as soon as the article gets past the two token teenagers who tumble and Facebook instead of blogging, the stats show all the major blogging services growing — even Blogger whose global 'unique visitors rose 9 percent, to 323 million,' meaning it grew about 6 Foursquares last year alone. (In the same timeframe WordPress.com grew about 80 million uniques according to Quantcast.)"

In fact, in 2010, Wordpress had over 6 million new blogs created in 2010, and pageviews were up by 53%.

New York Times Blog Directory

"Blogging has legs — it's been growing now for more than a decade, but it's not a 'new thing' anymore," says Mullenweg. "Underneath the data in the article there's an interesting super-trend that the Times misses: people of all ages are becoming more and more comfortable publishing online."

Major web content forces like AOL and Demand Media recognize the power of blogs. AOL is buying them, and Demand recently launched a blog syndication program

As is established every time this debate comes up, blogging and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter complement one another. End of story. Without blogs, people would have less interesting content to share on Facebook and Twitter. Without Facebook and Twitter, bloggers would have a harder time getting the readers. 

Kopytoff does make a critical point, however. The lines aren't always crystal clear about what is truly "blogging" and what isn't. Even Twitter use is often called "microblogging". 

"The blurring of lines is readily apparent among users of Tumblr," says Kopytoff. "Although Tumblr calls itself a blogging service, many of its users are unaware of the description and do not consider themselves bloggers — raising the possibility that the decline in blogging by the younger generation is merely a semantic issue."

People blog on Facebook all the time too. They call them "notes". No matter where it's happening, blogging is not going away. You can call it what you want, but people will continue to put their thoughts into words and publish them online. Sometimes, they'll even do it in more than 140 characters. Some people even think Twitter should expand their character limit.


About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/21/social-media-killing-blogshere-we-go-again

Facebook Chat In Hotmail Goes Live Worldwide

Five months ago, Microsoft announced that Hotmail users in Brazil, France, Germany, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. could begin to chat with their Facebook friends while checking their email.  Now the integration of Hotmail and Facebook Chat is complete in every place where Facebook is available.

We'll admit: this may not sound like a big deal insofar as it's pretty simple to toggle between a Hotmail tab and a Facebook tab.  But the development at least goes to show that relations between Microsoft and Facebook are as good as ever.

Also, a slight increase in usability is something, and the change could come in handy when access to Facebook is restricted (by employers, for example).

Finally, a post on the Inside Windows Live blog pointed out, "Since announcing the availability of Facebook chat in Messenger worldwide two weeks ago, nearly 2.5 more million people connected their Facebook accounts to Windows Live, bringing the total to over 20 million customers.  And with three out of four Hotmail customers using Facebook, we expect that many more people will want to take advantage of this feature . . ."
So if you're interested, the post later suggested, "[F]irst connect your Facebook account to Windows Live and make sure the 'Chat with my Facebook friends in Messenger' box is checked to give your consent to Facebook.  We'll link your accounts (this may take a few minutes), and you can start a chat from Hotmail just by clicking on the name of a Facebook contact.  If this doesn't work right away, sign out and back in again, and you should be good to go."

About the author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news. 

Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/21/facebook-chat-in-hotmail-goes-live-worldwide

Thursday, February 17, 2011

User Feedback: The Next Google Ranking Signal?

Google's Matt Cutts has indicated in recent weeks that Google is working on projects that will deal with some of the search engine's quality issues with regards to content farms. It looks like one of those projects is now here.  Google has launched a Chrome extension that lets users block sites from search results.

Will you use the Chrome extension to send signals to Google about search quality? Let us know

If you're a Chrome user, you can now block any content farm you want, on a personalized basis. And while it may be personalized, there's more...

"We've been exploring different algorithms to detect content farms, which are sites with shallow or low-quality content," says Cutts. "One of the signals we're exploring is explicit feedback from users."

"If installed, the extension also sends blocked site information to Google, and we will study the resulting feedback and explore using it as a potential ranking signal for our search results," says Cutts. (emphasis added)

New Chrome extension to block sites in Google: http://goo.gl/nETVU Tell Google which sites you don't want. Please RT!less than a minute ago via web
Now that's interesting. 

However, we can only assume that a pretty small percentage will actually take advantage of this tool, so how much weight will such a signal actually carry? Only a certain percentage of Google users use Chrome in the first place, and I'm guessing only a small percentage of Chrome users will go to the lengths of actually installing this extension, and that's of the ones that actually know about it. Then, how many of those that find out about it, and install it, will actually use it on an ongoing basis, looking to send Google search quality signals throughout their daily lives. I'm guessing not a lot.
Chrome Blocklist Extension
Is this the grand solution to the content farm/search quality problem? Probably not. But it's a start. At the very least, those concerned about the quality of their search results have a new way to filter their own personal Google experience. One issue is that some of the content farms actually do have some quality content. I'd hate to miss out on the good stuff, just because I don't want the majority.

Of course, that's the approach Blekko has taken. DuckDuckGo also has an interesting strategy, which founder Gabriel Weinberg shared with us. He says it's easier for a StartUp like his to take action on content farms than it is for Google.  "From Google's perspective it's a lot harder because they can get in trouble...they're under government scrutiny, and all sorts of things," he told WebProNews. "They can get in trouble for censorship...it's much easier for a startup to do it (like us) than it is for Google."

Does it have to be all or nothing with content farms? I guess time will tell. Cutts has said they want to solve the problem algorithmically, as opposed to using human editing.
I wonder which sites will be blocked by users the most. That would be an interesting list to see. I wonder if it will be similar to Blekko's banned list.

The extension is called the Personal Blocklist Extension


About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237
 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/14/google-chrome-extension-provides-search-quality-signals-blocks-content-farms 

Getting Creative With The New Facebook Page Image Ribbon

Since last week's sweeping changes to Facebook Pages people have been scrambling to unearth all the little tricks that the new format affords.
One of the bigger changes from a look a feel standpoint involves the placement of five recently updated images along the top of the Wall page. The images are now one of the most prominent features of the page and marketers are analyzing ways to take advantage of this new placement. (Personal profiles have had this look for a while now.)
 A couple factors come into play when considering a marketing use of this real estate.
New 5 shot image ribbon on top of Facebook Page Wall
1) The images that make the top 5 are the last 5 by default, although if you remove one by hovering over it and click the X the next one in line jumps in. The images are displayed randomly with each refresh of the browser page. (Personal profiles show the images in a static order so some profile owners have gotten very creative with this space.) My guess is that the random display is being used on pages to inhibit the use of this space like a banner ad.
2) When clicked, images now expand into an ajax photo viewer right there on the page, complete with image description and any corresponding conversation about the image from fans. This is a much better user experience, but it also opens the door for some marketing plays.
This is an image expanced in the new image viewer for Facebook Pages
For the moment (all things with Facebook can change instantly) marketers are starting to use this space as a place to sprinkle in images with marketing calls to action. They then create offers or links to other pages and sites in the image description. You could certainly abuse this, but business pages have a little more leeway in terms of promotional messages and you can expect coupons, infographics, and free report offers to crop up in this space pretty quickly.
Here are a couple examples: (If you're not a fan of the page you may land on a page other than the wall – click the wall link in left sidebar to see the images.)
The technical aspects of this are pretty simple.
  • Create an image that is 970 px x 680 px (or some variation of this 1.42:1 ratio – any other size ratio will cause the image to get cut off in the thumbnail creation – although you might be able to play with this from an artistic standpoint)
  • Upload the image through you photo tab
  • Facebook automatically creates a thumbnail for the wall.
  • After you upload the image you get a chance to describe it with a post. Use this space to make your call to action clickable by adding commentary and a link. (make sure to use http:// so it's live.)
Your image and associated commentary will go into your news feed so it's probably wise to go cautiously here and keep the promotion as low key as would be expected by your fans. This is great place to create awareness about content that may reside in other places. I also think you'll want to keep this area fresh and rotate in new images and events and don't always use it to sell!

About the author:
John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson - due out in the fall of 2006 He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com

Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/16/getting-creative-with-the-new-facebook-page-image-ribbon

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

YouTube Details Processing Speed Improvements

No one could have expected that YouTube's decision to allow lengthier, higher-quality video clips would come without a price.  Specifically, it only made sense that it would take longer for the clips to go live.  But YouTube's made great strides in improving the processing and publishing speed for videos.

A post on the YouTube Blog explained late yesterday that one technique "is to overlap uploads and video processing without waiting for the upload to finish.  This results in a base quality version of your video going live very quickly after the upload completes, making the link to your video active and shareable."

Then, "The second technique, which we've internally codenamed Hydra (after Greek mythology's nine-headed monster) tackles this problem by leveraging Google's massive cloud computing capabilities.  We split a single video into small chunks and process each chunk simultaneously on different machines.  Hydra then reassembles all the processed chunks so that you see a seamless video, processed and published in a fraction of the time it would have taken to do it previously."

The results are hard to argue with.  Apparently YouTube now processes clips seven times faster than it did in 2008, and things have gotten four times faster in the last six months alone.

That means 60 percent of all clips now go live in less than a minute, whereas none of them beat that target last year.

The YouTube Blog post hinted that additional improvements could further decrease wait time in the future, as well.

About the author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news. 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/15/youtube-discusses-processing-speed-improvements


YouTube Attracts 8.4 Billion Streams In January

Online video usage in the U.S. is up significantly from the same time last year as time spent viewing video on a PC/Mac/laptops from home and work locations increased 45 percent, according to a new report from Nielsen.

The number of unique online video viewers only increased by 3.1% from last January, but the level of activity was up as viewers streamed 28% more video and spent 45% more time watching. Total video streams also saw significant year-over-year growth, up 31.5% to 14.5 billion streams.

January saw new entries to the top 10 most popular video brands  with music and entertainment site VEVO and video rental site Netflix entering at #3 and #9, respectively. Still a relatively new site, VEVO is showing signs of potential with over 32 million unique video viewers during the month, fewer than 100,000 viewers behind Facebook.

YouTube continued to be the most visited brand in January with 8.4 billion video streams followed by Hulu with more than 813 million streams and VEVO with more than 346 million streams.

Top-Video-Brands

When looking at the most engaging video brands – as measured by time spent – Netflix was the top destination as the average U.S. video viewer spent over 11 hours watching video on the site from home and work locations.

Nielsen also found 7 of the 10 most engaging video brands also saw double-digit increases in average time per viewer. U.S. video viewers nearly doubled their time spent viewing video on Veoh, spending 2 hours, 16 minutes on average in January. Justin.tv also saw notable growth as U.S. viewers increased their video viewing time on the site by 56% from last month.

About the author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/14/youtube-attracts-84-billion-streams-in-january

User Feedback: The Next Google Ranking Signal?

Google's Matt Cutts has indicated in recent weeks that Google is working on projects that will deal with some of the search engine's quality issues with regards to content farms. It looks like one of those projects is now here.  Google has launched a Chrome extension that lets users block sites from search results.

Will you use the Chrome extension to send signals to Google about search quality? Let us know

If you're a Chrome user, you can now block any content farm you want, on a personalized basis. And while it may be personalized, there's more...

"We've been exploring different algorithms to detect content farms, which are sites with shallow or low-quality content," says Cutts. "One of the signals we're exploring is explicit feedback from users."

"If installed, the extension also sends blocked site information to Google, and we will study the resulting feedback and explore using it as a potential ranking signal for our search results," says Cutts. (emphasis added)

New Chrome extension to block sites in Google: http://goo.gl/nETVU Tell Google which sites you don't want. Please RT!less than a minute ago via web
Now that's interesting. 

However, we can only assume that a pretty small percentage will actually take advantage of this tool, so how much weight will such a signal actually carry? Only a certain percentage of Google users use Chrome in the first place, and I'm guessing only a small percentage of Chrome users will go to the lengths of actually installing this extension, and that's of the ones that actually know about it. Then, how many of those that find out about it, and install it, will actually use it on an ongoing basis, looking to send Google search quality signals throughout their daily lives. I'm guessing not a lot.
Chrome Blocklist Extension
Is this the grand solution to the content farm/search quality problem? Probably not. But it's a start. At the very least, those concerned about the quality of their search results have a new way to filter their own personal Google experience. One issue is that some of the content farms actually do have some quality content. I'd hate to miss out on the good stuff, just because I don't want the majority.

Of course, that's the approach Blekko has taken. DuckDuckGo also has an interesting strategy, which founder Gabriel Weinberg shared with us. He says it's easier for a StartUp like his to take action on content farms than it is for Google.  "From Google's perspective it's a lot harder because they can get in trouble...they're under government scrutiny, and all sorts of things," he told WebProNews. "They can get in trouble for censorship...it's much easier for a startup to do it (like us) than it is for Google."

Does it have to be all or nothing with content farms? I guess time will tell. Cutts has said they want to solve the problem algorithmically, as opposed to using human editing.
I wonder which sites will be blocked by users the most. That would be an interesting list to see. I wonder if it will be similar to Blekko's banned list.

The extension is called the Personal Blocklist Extension



About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/14/google-chrome-extension-provides-search-quality-signals-blocks-content-farms


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Facebook Pages Get Profile-Like Redesign Treatment

Facebook announced some new changes to Facebook Pages today that effectively make the Page design more like the recently re-designed profiles. 

For one, you can now navigate and interact with other areas of Facebook. "This means you can choose to receive notifications about fan activity, Like and comment on other Pages as your Page, and get your own News Feed where you can engage with the latest and most important news from other Pages you like," the company explains

FacebookWe are excited to announce major improvements to Pages, making it easier for Pages and fans to connect.
Easily embed social conversations
In addition, you can feature photos at the top of your page, and highlight other pages you're connected with and those who are managing the page. 

Facebook also announced an "Everyone" filter on the wall, to provide a way for people to see the most interesting posts first. Plus, they've created a place for people to discover friends and interests they have in common with the Page. 

Facebook Page Redesign

Facebook has also updated the model for building apps on Pages, using iframes in Page tabs as opposed to FBML. Developers can now build apps that run across Facebook using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. You can also integrate social plug-ins and the Graph API within your tab. 



About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237 
 
 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/10/facebook-pages-get-profile-like-redesign-treatment


Twitter for Android Becomes More Like Other Twitter Apps

Twitter has launched a new version of its Android App. The company says its designed to feel more like its other official Twitter apps to provide a more consistent experience. 

"You can use Twitter for Android even if you haven't signed in or don't have an account," says Carolyn Penner with Twitter Communications. "You can view trends, browse your interests and see suggested users in several categories, including fashion, entertainment and travel, or search to find out what people are saying about topics you care about, such as big sporting events. You can now also sign up for Twitter from within the app."

Android device owners: you really should check out the new version of Twitter for Android. Just launched! http://t.co/mTR3kZ0less than a minute ago via Tweet Button
"We made some significant changes in the design of the new app," she says. "When you first sign in, you’ll see your timeline, along with icons along the top that let you view @mentions, messages, and lists. This layout makes it fast and simple to navigate Twitter on your Android device. Also, the @mentions tab now includes Retweets; seeing replies and Retweets in one place offers a quick way to better understand which Tweets are sparking interest and engagement. In addition, we introduced auto-complete for usernames."
New Twitter for Android
Another new feature of the app is the addition of universal search, so you can search tweets for specific keywords, get tweets from nearby users with those keywords, search for people, or search for specific accounts. At the bottom of the search section, you can scan your address book to find people on Twitter - that should help for user discoverability (though it only works for users who choose to be discoverable).

About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237
 
Source : http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/10/twitter-for-android-becomes-more-like-other-twitter-apps 

Twitter Translation Center Opens Up

Twitter has announced the launch of the Twitter Translation Center, which crowdsources translations from Twitter users. 

"Translators will be translating the product itself, not the Tweets. If you go to the settings page on Twitter.com and change your language, you’ll see what we mean," explains product manager Jinen Kamdar. "Crowdsourcing translations isn't new for us. Since October, 2009, we've counted on Twitter users to volunteer as translators and help us localize Twitter. For this launch, we created a completely new system, based on feedback from translators, to improve the translation experience."

We just launched our new and improved translation product! More details here: http://t.co/p58wAje.less than a minute ago via web
"The new Translation Center allows any Twitter user to sign up, choose a language and begin translating immediately," adds Kamdar. "Translators can now help localize twitter.com, mobile.twitter.com, Twitter for iPhone and iPad, Twitter for Android, Twitter Help and the Twitter Business Center. We also improved the Center's search functionality, added phrase tagging, created special translator profiles, enabled commenting on phrases and much more."

Twitter is currently offered in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. The company says the next languages will be Indonesian, Russian and Turkish, and these have been added to the Translation Center.




Twitter Translation Center launches

About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Follow WebProNews on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter: @CCrum237 
 
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/02/14/twitter-translation-center-opens-up