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Concerned about best practices for search engine optimization [seo]?

The primary goal of your search engine optimization (SEO) is to drive relevant people that are interested in your industry or company to your website.  If you follow SEO than you know how fast things change.  You also know how hard it can be to keep all with these changes.

SEO is actually a relatively simple technique that requires small changes based on major changes the search engines announce. I bold major changes because the changes really need to be major to affect your overall website rankings and SEO strategy.

Here are nine SEO techniques that you should always follow regardless of the changes the search engines are continuously making.

You can follow the ‘via’ link above to go to the source and read the rest of the article if you’re interested in learning more…

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Cloud computing offers a lot of benefits to small-medium business and other cost conscious organizations. Here’s how you can avoid some of the risks…

With Cloud Computing becoming more widely utilized, it is important for organizations to understand ways to maximize benefits and minimize risks of a move to the cloud. This paper details the significant benefits that Cloud Computing brings and provides guidance to IT decision makers to help their decision making process. This is especially important given the plethora of vendors in the marketplace today. Buyers need to appreciate that assessing individual providers is critical to the success of Cloud Computing programs.

Go to the source to read the article: rackspace.com

If you seriously want to understand the benefits [and pitfalls] of cloud computing, go to the source. If you want to apply the benefits and avoid the pitfalls in your organization, ‘connect with me’ to discuss your scenario…

Fast Food Chain Helps Americans Rise From The Rubble Of The Rapture

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The folks at Lifehacker took a poll on the top calendaring applications. Here are the results…

“Nothing’s more important to your productivity arsenal than a solid scheduling tool, and considering so much of what we do happens at the computer, a good calendar application is just the thing to bring order to your agenda. On Tuesday we asked you to share your favorite calendar application, and today we’re back with the five most popular answers. Keep reading for a detailed look at the top five and to cast your vote for the calendar tool you like best.” Source: Hive Five: Five Best Calendar Applications 

Me? I use Google calendars — the free one associated with my Google account as well as my business calendar in Google Apps. Go to the source to read the whole article — it’s worth it!

Amber Naslund & Jay Baer at The County Line
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Jay Baer says…

Social media is growing up fast. No longer a niche plaything of the digerati, social media is firmly entrenched as a societal game changer of historical importance. For many, social media and social networking are so ubiquitous and pervasive that we presume we have it figured out, that we have a finger firmly on the pulse. But we don’t. Data about how social media really works, who uses it and how, continues to surprise.

This point was driven home in The Social Habit II, a new report from Edison Research and Arbitron that follows up on their landmark study in 2010 (and their 19th study about the Internet overall).

My friend and the architect of the study, Tom Webster, was kind enough to give me a preview of the report (I also very much recommend Tom’s blog BrandSavant), and here are my personal highlights – the pages that made me say “hmmmm”.

I encourage you to peruse the entire report, which you can access for free in a day or so. Tweet me or Tom (@webby2001) to get the URL. It’s a 50+ page orgy of data based on 2,020 telephone interviews of Americans ages 12 and up, conducted in February, 2011.

You can follow the ‘via’ link above to if you’re interested in obtaining the 9 facts…

social media, bloggingBlogging and Search Engine Optimization? Consider this… 

A great idea: That’s what inspires most to start their own blog. But no matter how great your idea is and how well-written or visually pleasing the blog is, no one will read it if they can’t find it. Search engine optimization for bloggers is often as elusive as the Philippine Eagle is for birders. But Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing told the audience at BlogWorld & New Media Expo that SEO doesn’t has to be that elusive — and with the right formula, one can propel his blog from Page 15 of Google’s search results to Page 1.The first secret to having a successful blog is being specific in your blog’s topic. Finding that niche community for your blog is important to set it apart from other blogs. This will also assist in SEO as well. Odden recommends the following to dominate search engine results…

You can follow the ‘via’ link above to get 7 ideas on search engine domination. Comment or ‘connect’ to discuss how this applies to you and your organization…

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Will you use Google Wallet?

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All the topics that interest US in the past 24 hours…

 

You can follow the ‘via’ link above to get the scoop. Comment or ‘connect’ so we can talk about how this applies to your organization…

Something to ponder…

Are you about to start a conversation with a statistic?

Stop.

Emotion must lead, reason must follow.  Because that’s how you commune with the human brain.  Emotion first, reason second.  Heart, then facts.

Please, REMEMBER THIS.  Whatever your cause, whoever your audience, you must start every conversation with the emotional heart of your cause, not the facts of its scope or scale in the world.  If you don’t create emotional space in the mind for your cause, there will be no place for your information to find a home.  And if you do not create a social landscape for a relationship, there is no place for human connection.

If I had a dollar for every person who asked if this applied to them, I’d have a lot of money for my nonprofit.  My answer is always this: There are no exceptions to the rule that you must awaken the heart to arouse the mind.

David Brooks says this so very eloquently in his new book, The Social Animal:

“Reason is nestled upon emotion and dependent upon it.  Emotion assigns value to things, and reason can only make choices on the basis of those valuations.  The human mind can be pragmatic because deep down it is romantic.”

Decision making is not a point in time, says Brooks: “We are primarily wanderers, not decision makers… We are pilgrims in a social landscape.”

So true.  So well said.

Hmmm. I’ll have to think long and hard about this one. How many times have I started a class or a presentation loaded with statistics? I’ve lost track!

Is an MBA worth it?

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Here are 4 great ways to find rss feeds for Google Reader

  1. Use the ‘add a subscription’ button in Google Reader to search for great content…
  2. Search for great content using Alltop and add their feeds to your Google Reader account…
  3. Click the rss feed icon on any page and add it to Google Reader…
  4. Search for specific content using Google Alerts and add the feed to Google Reader…
  5. Add your own great ways in the comments!

I’m a firm believer in the power of Google Reader to consume and publish great content — use the search box to find other things I’ve written about it. If you have questions do like Donna did and give me a call — I’ll be happy to show you how it all fits together…

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You can follow the ‘via’ link above if you want more great ideas from John Jantsch on the topic of Facebook pages. Comment or ‘connect’ so we can talk about how this applies to your organization…

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All the topics that interest US in the past 24 hours…

 

Why Animals Sometimes Eat Their Poop

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Curious, eh?

Yesterday, I said…

“Speaking of sex and smartphones or maybe sexy smartphones, I’m going to take this opportunity to rant about the iPhone AND Android phones for a moment. Excuse my language, but they both suck — that’s right — they suck! Why the iPhone? Because #1 it’s a closed system — yeah, there’s an app for that but they must all be approved by Big Brother at Apple — and #2 because AT&T is the worst cellular network in the world!” Source: Sex and Smartphones, part 1

…and promised to talk about the Android today…

Over the past two months, I have been experiencing a love/hate relationship with a Samsung Moment running Android. My final take? I went back to my old Blackberry Curve. I was attracted to the Moment for two reasons: it’s Google-created operating system and the appeal of the sliding keyboard on the Samsung Moment. Personally, I think the HTC Hero is one of the most beautiful pieces of industrial engineering I’ve seen in a long time but I hated the software-only keyboard on the iPhone so I thought I’d better try the Samsung Moment first. As it turns out, most critics agreed that the Hero is pretty, but underpowered — kind of like Obama’s healthcare plan, but I digress!

The Samsung Moment was a frustration from day 1 like this author describes…

“So all that being said, I found myself standing in a Sprint store faced with two choices, the Samsung Moment and the HTC Hero. I bought the Moment. Thankfully there was a 30 day trial period!” Source: WTF was SAMSUNG thinking?? Quick Review: Samsung Moment « RichandDaveShow.com

Do go to the source and read his comments if you’re thinking about a Moment. He really nailed it here…

“Wow, the battery on this thing is horrible! There is no possible way this phone, fully charged, could make it past lunchtime if you used it for anything other than a paperweight. ” Source: WTF was SAMSUNG thinking?? Quick Review: Samsung Moment « RichandDaveShow.com

Here are some that he missed…

  • The screen is horrible. I hate touchscreen devices like iPod touches because I’m really anal about my screens and fingerprints bug me and the Moment is even worse than the iPhone…
  • Most of the cool new apps for Android are for 2.1, not 2.0 and 2.1 for the Moment isn’t coming out anytime soon…
  • While I’m at it, Android 2.0 seems pretty half-baked…
  • Not only is the battery life bad, but memory management sucks too…
  • Pandora and other streaming apps didn’t work. What’s up with that?

Had enough? I did. I reactivated my old Blackberry Curve! It syncs with Google Apps, does a great job of email and texting, Pandora rocks again, and I’m not missing any calls. Calls are easy to make. All the basics are covered. Life is good again. Basic, but good…

My trial period is over but I’m going to return it to Sprint anyway and they better take it back! If you’re thinking about stopping by your Sprint store and getting a Samsung Moment take a moment and don’t. Get a Moment that is…

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