Kirk Yuhnke What Did You Do to Twitter?

Hey, buddy, uh…well.. I don’t know how to tell you this Kirk but your name is upside… Did you piss off twitter?

Just a fluke perhaps, but I found it funny that Kirk Yuhnke’s name was upside down on twitter.

And if you don’t follow Kirk you should. He’s a local Phoenix reporter covering morning News. Meet him at the ABC15 Live News Tweet-up they did.

***Update****

Kirk didn’t do anything to make twitter upset, rather he found a site that writes text upside down for you then he cut and pasted it into his twitter account.

Related articles

• How to tweet without regretting it later (prdaily.com)
• Twitter for Your Business: Is it Worth Your Time? (techieapps.com)

Hashtags Trending on Google Plus

3 of 5 Trending Topics on Google Plus Have Hashtags.

Pretty funny considering hashtags are a twitter thing. Perhaps google+ should just copy that as well, oh wait they already did about 4 months ago. Now just wondering when they will add a Red Google+ Bird.

Just goes to show that the Google+ crowd is the same twitter crowd. Are they just copying and pasting their tweets? I wonder who would get dinged for duplicate content in this scenario.

 

English: Google plus one (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• Twitter’s First TV Commercial Is Oddly Endearing (theatlanticwire.com)
• Hashtags on Google Plus too! (hashtagify.me)
• 5 Reasons Hashtags Matter in Healthcare (himss.org)
• Twitter improves integration in the Facebook news feed (digitaltrends.com)

Images of SOPA Protesters

Today was to be the internet blackout day in protest of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). Mike Halvorsen named some big names in his blog post on those that were going to protest: http://michaelhalvorsen.com/2012/01/google-amazon-facebook-twitter-shutting-day-protest-sopa/

Among those names were Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, Yahoo, and Ebay. None of these have actually closed their sites for the day, but a few are voicing some protest on their site. Other big name websites, like WordPress, Reddit, and Wikipedia have stepped up to the plate. Here are screen shots of websites protesting the “Stop Online Piracy Act”.

WordPress

I actually found WordPress.com to have the more unique and creative protests. Imagine how many wordpress blogs could be in danger of SOPA regulations. In fact, this entire blog could be shut down for even using a screen shot of the wordpress homepage. Clearly wordpress has not blacked out their entire site due to SOPA, as this is a wordpress.com blog, and I am personally grateful they did not.

WordPress.org also strikes in opposition of SOPA. Although at the bottom of the page you can find a link back to the old wordpress.org page.

Amazon

Screen Shot of Amazon Homepage 1-18-2012

In case you missed Amazon’s protesting efforts…

So look again and you will see a small box in the top right hand corner labeled “Reasons to oppose or modify SOPA.” Amazon is walking a fine line here as many authors may have reasons to support SOPA.

Google

Google Homepage SOPA Protest

No doodle from Google in protest of SOPA. The google logo still appears on the google maps vertical, but does not appear in google’s other vertical searches. The link on google’s home page takes you to their page dedicated to protesting the movement and includes the following nifty PDF. < click the image to download it >

Surprisingly YouTube shows nothing in opposition of SOPA.

Wikipedia – Biggest Protester

Homepage of Wikipedia in Protest to SOPA - 1/17/2012

Very compelling message by Wikipedia, a site built upon FREE information. They also implement a great call to action to help push phone calls to “your representatives.” Their goal is to melt Washington D.C. phone lines. Worthy attempt. Although wikipedia did not have a complete blackout, and they are employing a rather sneaky redirect. Although I assume that Google will most likely ignore this black hat tactic. You will notice that the above page loads first then the redirect loads on top of that page. My guess is that Wikipedia understands the damage that could occur to their SEO should they show the search engines a bunch of duplicate content and/or pages down. And if you really need Wikipedia to do your homework then try http://simple.wikipedia.org.

Other Notable Protesting Websites

Mozilla‘s home page:

Mozilla’s blog mentions the protest but their blog and all other internal pages are still live.

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Reddit‘s Entire Website for 12 hours:

This includes all of Reddit’s internal pages.

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Wired.com is censored in protest of SOPA

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Pinterest.com, upon login gives the following message and screen shot in protest.

Only visible upon login.

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Slickdeals.net adds a notice on their homepage.

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Congress Woman @RepAnnaEshoo of California is protesting on her site:

http://eshoo.house.gov/

Anna Eshoo represents California’s 14th Congressional District–the heart of Silicon Valley. She is Ranking Member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee.

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Craigslist.org is also adding a protest to their local directories, but with a link to click on through.

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Slashdot.org marks through their logo and posts two articles at the top of their page explaining SOPA.

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Fark.com Homepage Support for SOPA

Watch Why You should Support SOPA Video. Farks deeper pages are all still active. And instead of a blackout they went with a white-out.

Non Protesting Sites as of Today:

Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and Ebay have nothing on their homepages in opposition of SOPA. Bing announced it’s protest, but nothing on Bing shows them as protesting. And while Godaddy was once listed as a supporter, they have nothing on their website going either way.

Perhaps it’s because the bill is nearly dead at this time, but with the exception of Wikipedia and Reddit, I feel that the protesting websites have failed to actually “BLACK OUT”, and their protests are weak. As a business, I can understand the actual costs involved in shutting down for a day. Google would loose millions if it closed it’s doors for one day. Wikipedia has the luxury of being a Non-Profit, so no money will be lost. As for Godaddy, they are smart for staying out of the political heat.

Feel free to add any additional sites in protest to the comments below.

Related articles

• Microsoft opposes SOPA (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• SOPA blackout list grows, as Google confirms plan to include link on homepage (100gf.wordpress.com)
• Stop SOPA/PIPA Censorship! WCMA Joins the Strike! (wcma2.wordpress.com)
• SOPA to be resurrected after blackout protests (slashgear.com)
• Say NO to SOPA & PIPA! (jeenus.wordpress.com)
• Stop SOPA And PIPA (neilperkin.typepad.com)
• What it SOPA & PIPA ? Why it is matter ? (ictreview.wordpress.com)

And that is a day in online protest, from your local pest control guy, at Bulwark Exterminating.

Promoted Tweet on Pest Control Twitter Stream by WHO?

A Promoted Tweet on Pest Control term by an electrical company?

“Technology has to be invented or adopted.”  – Jared Diamond

Okay so this is a cool quote and all, but why?

Why would GE want to promote this tweet on the pest control stream? Where is the connection? Did someone just do some keyword research and find pest control related to technology?  Are exterminators a large consumer of light bulbs? Sorry, just not getting it.  Pest Control Technology… Hmmm…. I mean there is a pest control technology magazine. And I often feel that Bulwark Exterminating is becoming more of a technology company than a residential pest control service… but still not getting the full picture here.

I guess the plus side to this is that I am blogging about this simply out of awe. But does it make me more inclined to buy from the promoter of said tweet?

Related articles

Image by Thos003 via Flickr

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Google Earnings Up Again

2011Q2 Google Earnings Slideshttp://www.scribd.com/embeds/60045802/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list

Google as a whole is moving so incredibly fast and so far up the revenue ladder that its intimidating. I am impressed by what google has accomplished and their record breaking growth. But as a business owner and customer, I am saddened by the lack of concern and attention I am given. I feel like an ant on Google’s boot along for a great ride, but if I draw google’s attention then I am going to get flicked off or worse, squashed and rolled into a ball. As much as I hate that google doesn’t seem to care about me as a local pest control business who buys from them, I really feel that riding on the bottom of their boot will still move me further faster.

Honestly, I hated seeing google get picked on in congressional hearings. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up when I see the government stepping in to play big bully brother. Letting government steal freedoms from my neighboring business means opening up the doors to my coffers as well. But google would do well to make themselves more endearing to those that buy from them. As one SEO put it, “Without and friends, no one is going to help pick them up

Other Popular Google articles

• What’s stopping you writing a business blog? (marketing.yell.com)
• Is Grey the New Red for Google Places? (blumenthals.com)
• Google Business View: Street View Moves Inside (searchenginejournal.com)
• Google moves Street View into buildings (digitaltrends.com)
• Google Buys 27 Companies in 3rd Quarter (usatoday.com)

 

Need Phoenix Ant Control?

The Best Link Placement in Twitter

http://danzarrella.com/new-twitter-data-optimal-link-placement-for-clicks.html

So yes, twitter can be a great place to get traffic and twitter is a link building tool. Dan shows us just where to place links for optimal Click Through Rate (CTR). So the best link placement in twitter per this data is about the 25% mark, or about 20 to 30 characters in. Hmmm, that would be right about where a mention would end. ( @DanZarrella Check http://www.this.com out! ) Which actually leads me to believe that the social side of social media is actually pushing the effectiveness of a link. No statement on if mentions effected the CTR.

And if you want to know just how successful your twitter links are at driving traffic then try using a link shortner: Bit.ly, Goo.gl, Tiny.cc

But is there a correlation with link placement in a tweet and SEO? My guess is “No”.

Related articles

 

• 7 Ways to Integrate Search Engine and Email Marketing (hubspot.com)
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Twitter is a link building tool.

Likable = Linkable

Image by Hug It Forward via Flickr

Twitter is a great tool for engagement. Yes you should use twitter to build links. You find like minded individuals. You share content with them. You tweet out their good content. You make comments on their blogs. You get invited to guest post. You build relationships, you build links. The best links come from humans, not bots, not tools, HUMANS.

In the same stroke. A relationship is about give and take. Again, yes, you should use twitter to build links. But tweeting out self promoting links every 5 minutes, or 10, or even hourly just to build links will sabotage your relationships. ( see rule #3 Thou Shalt Not Blatantly Self-Promote ) So I try to avoid too much self promotion on my own twitter stream. I don’t use my twitter stream to build links for me. I don’t want to loose influence with peers by flooding my twitter stream with ME, ME, ME. I know, as a pest control guy I probably don’t carry too much influence… Even more the reason to guard what little I may have.

No relationships = No Links

FYI- The best links I get and give from twitter usually come from behind the DM curtain. 

Related articles

• New Twitter Data Shows Where You Put Your Link in Your Tweet Matters (blogworld.com)
• New Twitter Data: Optimal Link Placement (everything.typepad.com)
• Should You Host a Twitter Party? (fathomdelivers.com)
• How NOT to Blow Your Social Media Reputation (johnchow.com)

( find me on twitter @Thos003 )

Why Follow on Twitter? Why unfollow on Twitter?

Do you want twitter followers? Well this a little on why I follow or unfollow people on twitter. Not claiming any secrets on how to gain followers. But perhaps a little honesty from a pest control guy could help one figure out this twitter thing.

 

Follow:

I follow people that are willing to converse with me. If you follow me and have a conversation with me on twitter then I’ll usually follow you. If you follow me and respond to a DM of mine, then I’ll follow you. I have a lot of conversations in private. There is a lot that is said behind closed doors. I find those conversations very valuable. There are a lot of people that I check in on, but don’t follow. I use lists.

Unfollow:

I unfollow people that self promote too much. I unfollow people that publish just links. Sorry, but if you if I do follow you and you unfollow me, then I take that as a sign that you don’t want to openly converse anymore and I’ll unfollow you. And yes, I trim down my list on occasion, so if you’re not following me, or not conversing with me then you’re probably not making the cut. Sorry Bob.

Facebook:

Facebook has been a bit more private use for me so I only allow people I’ve meet in real life into my facebook circle. But don’t worry, you’re not missing much if you aren’t there. I don’t facebook much.

I’d also like to thank Kenneth Gonzalez for his engaging conversation that help spur some of this post. Find his blog at,  http://blog.engagedconsulting.com/ … Now back to that problem of me following 666 people. Sorry but need to change that. If you still say, “I don’t get twitter.” then you should read some of the following articles. Or just start posting comments and questions below. …Its called engagement.

Related articles

• To Unfollow or Not to Unfollow – My Twitter Strategy (jonwellman.com)
• It’s not personal, but I’m unfollowing you… (social-media-enthusiast.com)
• The 7 Deadliest Twitter Mistakes (searchenginepeople.com)
• What do you look for when deciding to follow/like someone? (sphinn.com)

Social Media Report: Scorpion Sting Facebook, Google+, Twitter

Social media platforms are constantly put in head to head comparisons. So when Mat Siltala from Dream Systems Media did a post about his scorpion sting on all 3 social media platforms simultaneously, the intuitive nature of Mat kicked in. Between Facebook, Google+, and twitter, which platform would be most responsive to a post about scorpion stings? What would be your guess? The results may surprise you a bit.

Google+ Count

Have Matt in circles (2158) – That is a fairly good audience. Google+ is fresh. It’s the new upbeat social hang out. One could speculate that it has more real users… or not. But Google didn’t take the cake for Mat’s scorpion sting post.

Twitter Count

3,618 Followers – That is a healthy twitter following. Mat Siltala has been a very busy busy body on twitter. His follower to follow ratio is fantastic. He puts out a steady stream of useful content. And he laughs out loud some funny infographics. But can twitter compete with the socialness of facebook?

Facebook Social Weight

Friends (602) – Clearly Mat is more selective with his Facebook audience. With a count of 602 the facebook audience is a fraction of Mat’s Google+ and Twitter following. But honestly, Facebook seems to be more intimate. Mat’s lower friend count is because Mat is selective about who views his Facebook stream. And in Mat’s case, he shares things that are bit more private. So I naturally believed that Facebook would be the best setting for a conversation about scorpion stings. Regular life happens on facebook.

And the Scorpion Sting Survey Says…

Twitter wins!

So wait… twitter isn’t just about news and high-tech stuff? You can actually have a conversation on twitter about life? Do you want to know what I had for breakfast?

Okay… I will keep the meal tweets to a minimum. But I was shocked that twitter got the bulk of the interaction. Granted, this wasn’t a planned out scientific test so there are a number of variables that alter this example. But even still, a pest control guy can pick up a conversation on twitter about bugs. And if you know how to converse then you can effectively communicate with twitter. If you can communicate then you can market.

What are your thoughts on operation Scorpion Sting?

Related Articles

• What does a scorpion sting feel like? (bulwark pest control .com)
• FDA approves Scorpion Anti Venom for scorpion stings (blogpestcontrol.com)
• Video: Personal story of Anascorp saving young boy’s life.  (youtube.com)

Google Places Facelift – Review Button, Like Buttons, Best Ever

New Facelift - Review Button, Photo Button, Best Ever Badge

Google Places gets some upgrades

A – Write a Review Button

The “Write a Review” button is a new feature. They have had something similar in the past, but with the advent of Hot Pot this call to action was not so clear over the past few months. In fact the second item marked A was the only call to action for a review with the previous Hot Pot facelift. It was  by far one of the most discouraging updates from a user standpoint. Trust me, being someone that works with promoting online reviews, the previous click the stars to review idea was a complete nightmare. Users could not figure out how to add reviews.  The new button is very, VERY, clear. Good job google on the new “Write a Review” Button.

Very Clear instructions Google. Kudos.

It is also complemented by a clear “Sign in to rate” button when not signed it. When signed in it mirrors the “Write a review” button.

B – Upload Photos

The upload photos button is another great addition to Google Places. The search engines value user created content. This button and these photos, in my opinion, will add another trust signal to a location. In fact, there are examples of locations ranking very well despite the outside the metro city limits disadvantages due to geo tagged photos associated with that location. You can find my uploaded photo of the Seattle Conference Center (Map Rank E as of this post). The photos are reviewed prior to approval and appearing on the places page. Hopefully this eliminates abuse and spam of photos. Yes, photo spam in google places will be attempted.

Screen Shot from Search: "Phoenix Bug Control Bulwark"

Photos are showing up in search. This just adds to all reasons that you want to claim your place page on Google, so the owners images can show up here.

 

c- Best Ever Badges

The Best Ever badge. While this isn’t entirely new I thought I would take a second to catch up on this feature. The Best Ever badge shows at that top of the places page as marked C in the first image. The badge at the top tallies up the total number of best ever badge. It also shows in the review section as in the image above. While this isn’t a game changer it does give a nice additional shout out from users. For those that willy-nilly hand out 5 star reviews, perhaps this badge might be saved for the Best Ever. In fact, we should all make an oath to only ever assign 1 best ever per category. If you promise, then add a comment now with your pledge. If you make that promise then you can read on….

Only Found in Hot Pot

How to get a BEST EVER BADGE

Hot Pot. It is an option in Hot Pot. to add a Best Ever Badge. It would actually be nice to be able to sort by Best Ever Badges, but Google places reps have told me that the sort by reviews was removed due to review spam. So I imagine that searching for services with best ever badges will not be an included feature. In the mean time, it does add a  little flare to the google places section.

The Smile and Frown Facelift-

This is a cross over from Google’s Hot Pot as well. As you can see in Google’s Hot Pot, there is a dislike like section. For a the restaurant this includes Food, Service, Atmosphere, Value. Google has added similar ratings to its Google Places reviews. So now you can like or dislike the Service. Users can like or dislike the Value. If you choose to select the smile next to Service or the smile next to Value a bolded “Liked Service” or a bolded “Liked Value” will appear at the end of your review. If you choose to select the frown next to Service or the frown next to Value a bolded “Disliked Service” or a bolded “Disliked Value” will appear at the end of your review.

Click Smiley face, get liked section.

Disliked Button - Not Smiley face

Overall, this is a good move toward improving Google Places reviews. Once a user is trained to look for the Liked/Disliked section, they can see at a glance if the value and service of a company was liked or disliked. More importantly, a Google Places user may see a pattern that is not so obvious through the traditional star rating system; perhaps a company provides great service but the value of the service is questionable due to the cost. Plus you may think a service or restaurant deserves a 5 star review while still disliking something about the company. In the image above the review for the restaurant was 5 stars, but the reviewer disliked; “Value”. With two easy clicks of the mouse, a reviewer can qualify his or her review and make it much more useful for the end user.

One con with the new Liked/Disliked button is that it is not easily seen. A suggestion might be to change the color of the text or to add a graphic depiction of their choices. In my opinion, it is important to differentiate the Liked/Disliked section from the text of the review. But they aren’t calling me for Phoenix bug control.

And the Favicon

– Yes, just giving a shout out to the new Favicon in google places. I like it. That’s all.

Related articles

• Is Google Taking on Yelp? (greatfinds.icrossing.com)
• Google Maps Removes Third-Party Reviews (googlesystem.blogspot.com)
• Show Us Your Google News Badges (socialtimes.com)
• Google Offers adds 360 images to Places Page (pestcontrolseo)