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Last week, I read this blog. It inspired me to think about the value of social media, e-readers, and e-publishing. As writers and thinkers, we have a responsibility to the future. Or more accurately, we have a responsibility to preserve history. We must make published documents accessible for future generations.

Do you think they’ll use the same technology in 2511 we use now? Is publishing our most valuable information in such a way that is likened to thousands of authors 500 years ago writing a trillion documents on papyrus, shredding each document into 10,000 pieces, and strewing those documents across the earth the best way to preserve our history?

In that blog, the author jokingly theorized that perhaps future generations might study Kanye West’s tweets. Do you think civilizations 500 years from now will consider what he tweeted, in the midst of zillions of gigabytes of information, that valuable? I’d argue that in the 26th century Kanye West and Lady Gaga will be celebrated, if they are known, in the same way we celebrate minstrels. Do you consider lyrics of a minstrel from 500 years ago valuable? Do you know any?

I theorize ancient civilizations had better means to preserve their most valuable documents. Though, just as we publish in a way that is the most convenient and cost saving for us, perhaps they published in the same way.

What do you think? Is e-publishing likened to thousands of authors, writing trillions of documents, shredding each of those docs into ten thousand pieces, and strewing them across the earth? Or is e-publishing likened to the advent of the printing press? I’d love to know your thoughts.

Stay social, my friends!

Erick

Last week, Avinash Kaushik tweeted that some people don’t think before they Tweet, and that can lead to adverse consequences. I Replied, “It makes one consider that the freedom of speech has given rise and justification to the freedom of criticism.” I thought I’d write out a Social Media Marketing Rights version of U.S. citizens’ Miranda Rights:

“You have the right not to post or tweet everything you’re thinking or doing all the time. Anything you post or tweet can be used against you by anyone, anytime, anywhere for any reason at all. You have the right to maintain a social media presence separate from your everyday social and personal life, now and during future interactions with your friends, followers, and fans. You have the right to hire or consult a social media marketing agency, before you engage in social media. If you cannot afford to hire or consult a social media marketing agency, you’re on your own. If you must let everyone on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and other social media sites know what you’re doing and thinking all the time, all those free social media tools you use may cost you your job, privacy, and dignity.”

Like your Miranda Rights (If you’re a U.S. citizen), which are meant to remind you that you don’t have to incriminate yourself under police interrogation or in a court of law, your Social Media Marketing Rights should remind you that when engaging with your friends, fans, and followers on social media sites, there are just some things better left unsaid because not leaving those things unsaid could spell trouble.

Stay social, my friends!

Erick

No matter whether you’re a social media novice, aficionado, or expert, there is bound to be something in this book you can glean from. It’s a great resource for teachers and students, and it covers all of the basis from blogging to the importance of a social media plan.

If you’ve read this book, let me know your thoughts. I’d love to glean from you, and learn what has and has not worked. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, you can buy it below.

The Social Media Survival Guide by Deltina Hay

You can learn more about Deltina by visiting her website, Social Media Power, or following her @Deltina.

Stay social, my friends!

Erick

Yesterday, I came across a blog with the term “Google +” in the title. Chances are you’ve seen a blog or article with this term. Just as the + symbol holds a different value than a digit in math, it holds a different value than a letter for the purposes of SEO.

For example, check out the SERP for +, or Google “Google” and then “Google +.” As of this morning, both resulted in 12,240,000,000 hits. As the Internet expands, that 12 billion will increase; but both will always show the same number of results.

So, how can bloggers and Web content writers get Google to recognize the + symbol, which is normally used to search for two terms together (i.e. social+media means “social media”)? Type “Google+” with no space or “Google Plus;” though, I wouldn’t use “ Google Plus,” since that’s not the title.

Now, you want to know why the search giant used this symbol for their latest social media endeavor. My guess is to condition people to think of the + symbol, so they would become accustomed to using the +1 button. Though, I argue the +1 button won’t work for the social search purposes for which Google created it for.

Now, if I could just find the article in which a top Google executive said the +1 button will only reach about 1% of social search potential (I calculated about 3%, but they’re the experts). If someone else saw that article, it would be great if you would put it in the comments or tweet me. Thanks!

Stay social, my friends!

Erick

If there are two things you like, it’s free and it’s lists. Blogs with lists of free stuff always get the most views. I try to write my blogs in list or bullet point format as much as possible, but I don’t list free resources (i.e. other sites) as much as I once did. If I list a social media or related start-up and that start-up goes under or is acquired by a larger company, I am left with a broken link. And that’s not good for SEO.

Recently, someone contacted me about trying their site and writing a review. Someone else asked me to review their book on social media marketing, which I will post within the next week or two (e-mail erick @ seobridges . com if you’d like me to review your book, site, or product).

I stopped focusing on posting lists of free resources because while it is great for my initial SEO because it attracts visitor, it is potentially bad for my overall SEO because those sites may cease to exist or the URL may change.

While I may post the occasional review of a social media or social media related site, which has been around for a while, that’s not my focus. My focus is to help you understand the principles of SEO and social media marketing. Yes, I will continue to give you tools, when it’s appropriate; but understanding those principles will prove of higher value to you over time.

What do you find most valuable about my blog?

Stay social my friends!

Erick

Hootsuite uses it, Scribd uses it, and several other sites use it to be more search bot friendly and interactive for users. Here’s a list of the most social link types, attributes, and elements in HTML5.

Article Element – This tells search bots when content is related to other content, such as with blog comments.

Cite Element – This cites sources and is a great way to give credit where credit is due.

KBD Element – Under certain circumstances, this can be used as a voice command.

Embed Element – This represents integration with non-HTML points, such as applications or other interactive content.

Link type “Author” – This can be used with link, a, or area elements and creates a hyperlink. When used with the a or area element, it indicates further information about the author of the article. When used with the link element, it indicates information about the author of a page.

Link type “Help” – This can be used with link, a, or area element and indicates that the referenced document provides help. When used with the a or area element, it indicates help for the article. Within the link element, it indicates help for the page.

Link Type “Pingback” – This may be used with the Link element and creates an external link resource to let authors of other blogs or articles know you referenced their information.

Accesskey Attribute – This generates keyboard shortcuts that activate elements.

If you’re an SEO, you should know the basics of HTML, and you should be aware of the upgrades in HTML5. If you don’t, W3 Schools is an excellent place to learn.

Stay social my friends,

Erick

If you’ve perused my blog before, you probably noticed a few recent changes. No more large buttons at the top of the right hand column. I like to play with widgets, and I like to see how people who visit my site interact with widgets I use. I thought it was time for a change.

First, let me tell you why I added the widgets I added. I added the tag cloud because people like to click. I’d rather just click a button than type words. For those who want to find specific blogs, using specific keywords, or still like to type, I kept the traditional search feature. I kept the Amazon widget, but I may play around with the colors. I added widgets to a couple of my favorite bloggers, and I may add widgets to a few more. I may also add more widgets.

I want to make my site more interactive, meaning I want you to come to my site and get the information you need related to my site. I want you to know you can bookmark my site, click on it when you need it, and click on whatever topic you want to find related to my site. I want you to trust you can find the information you want to find, related to my site, by going to my site. And I want you to know I am listening to you.

So, please let me know what I can do to make my site more user and search friendly and more interactive for you. I have my magnifying glass out, I hear the theme music, Penny and Brain are running across the screen, and a trio of women are singing “Inspector Widget.” Sometimes, the best way to be more social is just to ask, so I’m asking you how can I be more social for you?

Stay social my friends,

Erick

I have a meeting this morning, so I am not going to write a blog that requires much research. I try to write informative blogs or offer videos that give relevant information. This morning, I am just going to encourage you that whether it’s tweeting, writing blogs, going to meetings, or anything else, consider the ROI (Return on Investment).

I view my meeting this morning as an example of the culmination of all my social media efforts or at least one example. That is to say that all my blogs, every single tweet or Facebook post, and all my social media efforts has led up to this meeting. There have been other significant days, and there will be more significant days; though, if you look at each day as a mile stone, you’ll accomplish more.  Set goals and consider the ROI of your action according to those goals.

Set personal, financial, physical, social, spiritual (if you are spiritual), career, and family goals. Start out by setting tangible goals you can work toward now. Keep them as simple as something like “Make my bed daily.” Yes, that’s one of my goals, and I do it. Then, set one year goals, such as “Read 20 books.” It’s a little harder, but not undoable. Last, set five year goals, such as “Publish a novel.”  Right now, that one seems about 20 years off.

Take it one day at a time, the next day won’t seem as bad as the one before it.  Oh, and think about asking a friend, your spouse, or a business partner to hold you accountable to achieving your goals.

Stay social my friends,

Erick

You can make your #blog attractive to #search#engines by making it attractive to potential readers. That means adding keywords but not too many.  Stuffing your blog or article with keywords is like wearing too much makeup.

Along with keywords, you want to maintain a conversational flow. That could mean starting your paragraphs with strong transitional sentences, offering links to other resources, or engaging your readers in conversation by asking questions.

Here are ten more tips:

1. Include keywords in the title that draw readers in and allow search bots to categorize Web pages better.

2. Use short paragraphs, lists, bullet points, or other devices that allow readers to skim.

3. Link to blogs, articles, or other online resources that offer valuable content and/or resources.

4. Don’t offer information 500 other bloggers offer.

5. Your description (this appears in search engines below the title) should pose a question or challenge, offer something free, or otherwise draw people in.

6. Use black font on a white or light background. No white font on a black background.

7. Use Arial, New Times Roman, or another easy to read font.

8. If you use a CMS such as WordPress or Drupal add something personal, link to other blogs, and allow people to comment. Unless you’re Seth Godin, your content alone won’t grab people’s attention.

9. Spell and grammar check with a tool like PaperRater. You’re going to misspell words and use improper grammar. Don’t lose sleep over it.

10. Embolden or underline important text to let readers and search engines know what information you consider the most important.

Can you think of any other tips to give blogs sex appeal?

Stay social my friends,

Erick

When you present yourself and your company, your book, or services online, it’s important to be authentic. People do business with people, and blogs are a good way to let people know who you are. But your readers don’t need to know about all of your dirty laundry. Some may consider this “spin” without an authentic ring to it, but I think of it as putting your best foot forward. It’s the difference between what you would tell someone you just met, and a dear friend you would vent to over a glass of wine. Though you may have regular blog readers, more than likely they are not the same people you love and trust. And remember, things can spread quickly and you’ll be hard pressed to take it back once it’s out there on the internet.

So now I know you’re remembering that last week I said it’s okay to be human, to admit your mistakes, and I still stand by that. But how much you need to tell is where it gets tricky. Especially if you’re mad because someone other than you messed up big time. This happens a lot with vendors; but it could just as easily happen with editors, agents, publishers, and others.

A while back we made some pretty pointed comments on our company blog about a manufacturer with whom we no longer had a business relationship. The comments were not in any way flattering, and we promptly received a letter from their lawyer claiming libel. Now the comments were true, so more than likely a case could not be made for libel in court. We opted to edit the post, and not spend our time, energy and money with our lawyers, but rather on growing our business. We then used the experience as an opportunity to create guidelines for ourselves on what we would—and would not—post about in future editions. Ultimately you’ll have to decide for yourself, but here’s some questions to ask yourself:

Will telling the tale benefit you and your business in anyway? I’m not talking about will it make you feel better to get something off your chest, but will it cause a change in the relationship with your vendor– a change for the good? Will it bring you more business? Will it elevate your status or improve how others perceive you?

Will telling the whole truth, names and all, benefit your customers (those folks reading your blog) in any way? If not, don’t do it. Turn the story into something beneficial for your customer base. Your tale of woe could become a post on Ten Tips for Working With A Vendor (or editor or publisher). In our case, once we made the edits, it was a pretty good post about quality and what our expectations are, which in turn let our customer base know how we do business.

So if your only reason to tell the story is to get something off your chest, I would recommend instead that you write a letter (but don’t send it), scrawl your anger in a journal, or share your frustration with a trusted friend.

Truth be told, we initially wrote our post in anger. And it backfired because you get back what you put out there world.

–
Jennifer Simpson, aka Je Sais (I know)
DID I BLOG YOU?
http://akajesais.com/