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18Feb 2012 by Peter Lang 2 Comments
Facebook confirms Timeline for Pages

Facebook confirms Timeline for Pages

Facebook
  Facebook's change to the Timeline profile has created much speculation that Pages will be next. On February 15th, Facebook executives confirmed there are changes ahead that will affect everyone. They plan to add Timeline for Pages this month. No one can predict the subsequent changes this will have for brands and third-party platforms. In the midst of Facebook's IPO and a business reliant on 3rd party applications it makes sense that the people in charge are looking for ways create deeper engagement with Facebook applications.   Facebook, developers and businesses Facebook chose to create an open platform that created opportunities for third-party developers to add their creations to the Facebook platform. Obviously they care about their relationships with developers and businesses as they could have built a closed, static…
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03Feb 2012 by Peter Lang No Comments
The Hacker Way a 21st-century manifesto

The Hacker Way a 21st-century manifesto

Facebook, Social Media
I'm enjoying Facebook's road to IPO but I have to take a moment to acknowledge something from Facebook's S-1 filing. Over the last few days, colossal amounts of attention were paid and will continue to be paid to Facebook's amazing business results:  the 800+ million active users, the $3.7 billion (!) in revenue, and their growth rates, too. These are grand but I hope many of you don't forget to pay attention to the culture and process that made those achievements possible. In that respect, I want to share with you a n excerpt from Mark Zuckerberg's letter to shareholders. He labeled their internal approach and continuous strive for improvements and iteration, The Hacker Way. It's surely a 21st-century manifesto for a new way of doing business. Here's the excerpt: Simply put: we don’t build services to make money; we…
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16Jan 2012 by Peter Lang
Do you blog or podcast?

Do you blog or podcast?

Social Media
Do you blog, or run a podcast? I ask because every so often, I get an email that reads something like this: "Hi Peter, I've been working up the courage to ask you this for a long time, and I finally decided to go for it. My blog/podcast doesn't have a huge number of subscribers, but I'd really like to do an interview with you - would you have time to do that?" My answer is always YES - I'm happy to do it! For few reasons: 1. I appreciate any opportunity to spread the word about my work. 2. When I was starting out, people with much bigger names than mine took a chance on me, and I'm happy to do the same for others. 3. Helping others empowers the web.…
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27Dec 2011 by Peter Lang No Comments
Advanced Web Ranking 8.6 – What’s Not To Love?

Advanced Web Ranking 8.6 – What’s Not To Love?

Internet, Marketing
Avid readers already know my fondness for Advanced Web Ranking from my earlier post. In this post, I won't cover the general working of Advanced Web Ranking but will instead focus on the upgrade from 8 to 8.5. There are so many cool additions in the version I'm testing (8.6) that I will focus on the changes and improvements made to this Advanced Web Ranking. First off, lets start with the integration of Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a staple for many web owners and the fact that AWR went and incorporated it into their latest version is simply awesome. You can view much of your regular analytics data but you can also utilize the information those analytics provide into very useful charts or take the data and use it…
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13Dec 2011 by Peter Lang 5 Comments
Top Tips for Staying Secure on Facebook

Top Tips for Staying Secure on Facebook

Facebook, Social Media
Some of you have little interest in using your brand for personal development. Some of you are happy using social networking to interact with a small group of family and friends. So these steps are great for you. Here are some steps to stay safe while on Facebook. Only friend people you know. Make passwords account specific. Use a separate password for each account you may have. (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc..) Don’t share your password. If you need help and that requires giving them access make an alternative password and change it once the help is finished. Alternate your password on a regular basis. Change it at least once a month. Limit the amount of personal information you share with people and companies. Log into Facebook only ONCE each session.…
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05Dec 2011 by Peter Lang 2 Comments
Why are you using Social Networks for Blogging?

Why are you using Social Networks for Blogging?

Blogging, Social Media
If you love to write, and do so on a regular basis, it seems peculiar that you would eschew hosting your own content in favor of dumping all of your stuff into social networks. Social networking sites do give you the ability to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within your personal networks. I use social networks, more than most, and I have seen an increasing trend of people using it as a blogging platform. So, is that a good or bad thing? Keep reading. I admit to not being a huge Google+ user but the time I have spent there has revealed the same issues found on Facebook: blogging via social networks. I see the appeal in it, you get real-time commenting and a high level of engagement. That…
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05Dec 2011 by Peter Lang No Comments
Where Book Selling is Headed

Where Book Selling is Headed

Books, Internet
The last decade has unveiled big changes in the publishing world. Ten years ago the only e-reading I remember was on a Palm Pilot. Now I'm reading on a slab of electronics that also connects me to the world. But what does all this mean? It means the big book store chain, Barnes & Noble, is doomed, at least in a physical store front in our neighborhoods. The WSJ writes: The bookstore chain's stock sank 16%, to $14.59, after the company reported a worse-than-expected loss of $6.6 million, or 17 cents a share, for the quarter ended Oct. 29, compared with a loss of $12.6 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales declined 0.6% to $1.89 billion from $1.90 billion in the year-earlier quarter, with the biggest…
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19Nov 2011 by Peter Lang No Comments
6 powerful persuasion techniques – in social networking terms

6 powerful persuasion techniques – in social networking terms

Personal Branding, Social Media
Today's focus is social networking persuasion techniques. The big 4 social media giants down to the recreational blogger utilize different forms of persuasion to grow and engage their communities or the communities existing within them. Lets give you some background info. In the video clip below social excerpt Robert Cialdini describes the most powerful persuasion techniques found in marketing. Read below for a short snapshot of what these 6 core influence principles mean and observe the current time example from our social media world. 1. Authority Most people have an easier time making the decision to buy something if they are influenced by someone they see as knowledgeable or having authority in a certain industry. Our trust in authority figures enables us to connect with and buy into certain brands…
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11Oct 2011 by Peter Lang No Comments
Comparing Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Google+ [INFOGRAPHIC]

Comparing Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Google+ [INFOGRAPHIC]

Facebook, Social Media
The adoption of social media is continuing it's growth with rapid acceleration. The real race is with the big four – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ – these networks have gained the most attention and have seen an unprecedented amount of man-hours put into there development. This infographic from creative agency One Lily looks at the state of social media today. (Source: One Lily.)
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