Search Engine Marketing Blog | Tug » Facebook

Thanks to Microsoft your productivity will be boosted

Carlo Pandian — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:55:08 +0000

I love technology because it makes my life easier and I adore it when it makes me work more efficiently ?. As I work in SEO and in particular link building, I am always looking for new tools and software that can speed up my tasks while improving my overall results. I strongly believe this is a key aspect of everyone’s work and nowadays it is essential to be competitive in the market.

Microsoft has launched a great tool called Outlook Social Connector that can help you in different tasks (from online PR to sales) and boost your productivity. As soon you type an email address in the receiver form, the software enables you to check the social activity of the receiver . In particular it pulls out data available in two main social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn so you can see the name of your contact and her/his conversations.

As sometimes I need to email hundreds of bloggers, this has helped me to craft bespoke emails and has saved me a large amount of time which I would have spent checking their profiles or searching for their real names. I am now tailoring better emails without wasting time and I am also increasing my connections on LinkedIn, the main platform for business purposes.

As people have lost their confidence with their privacy and have extended their personality online with public profiles, I bet this kind of tool will become more popular so early adopters, be aware!

Why you should try Topsy? What’s going on in the search engine market this week?...
How many social networks are there on the Web? At the beginning it was MySpace with a large community...
London SES – Thursday’s Top Tip Takeways! Really enjoyed Thursday’s sessions at SES London last week and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Facebook IPO Filing: Zuckerberg’s Letter to Investors

Ben Romberg — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:41:27 +0000

Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to investors following Facebook’s £5bn Initial Public Offering (IPO) – one of the largest in Wall Street’s history – reflects some big changes in the way the web has shifted towards being more “social” and how social networks have sought to monetise themselves.

Below we have pulled out some key quotes from his letter that are worth checking out.

On Facebook as a business

“We don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services.”

On Facebook and politics

“We believe that leaders will emerge across all countries who are pro-internet and fight for the rights of their people, including the right to share what they want and the right to access all information that people want to share with them.”

On Hackers

“The word “hacker” has an unfairly negative connotation from being portrayed in the media as people who break into computers. In reality, hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done. Like most things, it can be used for good or bad, but the vast majority of hackers I’ve met tend to be idealistic people who want to have a positive impact on the world.”

Hacker culture is also extremely open and meritocratic. Hackers believe that the best idea and implementation should always win – not the person who is best at lobbying for an idea or the person who manages the most people.”

Unofficial slogan?

“We have a saying: “Move fast and break things.”

Read the full letter here on engadget:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/01/zuckerberg-outlines-idealistic-facebook-mission-in-ipo-filing/

President Barack Obama Meets Mark Zuckerberg President Barack Obama met with Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook)...
The Facebook Timeline So I was naive and thought that we all had...
Facebook Launches Guide for Businesses Facebook has just launched an in-depth guide for businesses, providing...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Facebook Timeline

hannah — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:39:11 +0000

So I was naive and thought that we all had a choice over whether we have to move over to the new Facebook format. On my way home last night I read an article which informed me that within two weeks I would have the Facebook Timeline!

I do like the new layout, this is not the issue I have with it. It’s more the fact that I was 17 when I first signed up and I’m pretty sure there are a few images, posts and comments that I’d rather not be reminded of. Now I’m aware that I have the chance to remove all this within the next couple weeks but Facebook is making having an account a chore rather than the social networking opportunity that I signed up for.

The debate around the changes for a lot of people is about privacy and how it’s violating our human rights etc etc etc. I wouldn’t go this far, as when you sign up to a social network surely it is with the aim of sharing information about yourself? Otherwise what would be the point? However, I do believe that there must be a method, which is not such a divulgence of personal events i.e. the break up you’d rather forget that was so publicly displayed on your wall.

The aim of this blog is not actually to moan, it’s more just a big nudge to let you know that if there are certain things you do not want your friends, employer or Mum – who’s just recently discovered Facebook, to see, then you have around two weeks to edit your life.

Facebook Launches Guide for Businesses Facebook has just launched an in-depth guide for businesses, providing...
The Irish are angry at Facebook The Irish data protection commissioner has strongly recommended Facebook take...
Quick tips to optimize a Facebook Fan page for SEO While social media marketing is growing, Search Engine Optimization is...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Facebook Sponsored Stories in the News Feed

turan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:55:54 +0000

Facebook has begun rolling out Sponsored Stories in the news feed. The ads started rolling out gradually from the beginning of January, allowing brands to reach users whose friends have interacted with their pages – for instance with a like, a comment, or another action.

“You will only see Sponsored Stories in your news feed about your friends or people you are connected to,” Annie Ta, Facebook spokesperson confirmed. She added, “We want to be really thoughtful about this, so we’ll have a lot of rate limits in place. We hope to show people no more than one Sponsored Story in their News Feeds per day and we’ll clearly label the story. They’ll also be of the same size and treatment as other stories in News Feed.”

The new ad placement could lay the foundation for Facebook to finally begin advertising in mobile.

Facebook F8 Announcement – More Changes Coming Soon Mark Zuckerberg announced more changes to Facebook during the F8...
Facebook Launches Guide for Businesses Facebook has just launched an in-depth guide for businesses, providing...
The Facebook Timeline So I was naive and thought that we all had...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Facebooks trouble with worms

hannah — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:15:11 +0000

Apparently a computer worm has stolen 45,000 login credentials from Facebook. It has said to have largely affected accounts within the UK and France. The malware responsible is the well known ‘Ramnit’, which has been invading computers and stealing bank details since it was first discovered in April 2010.

In order to spread the virus at a higher pace it is suspected that Ramnit is using stolen credentials to hack into accounts and subsequently send malicious links to friends.

Social networks are like a hub of personal information and for this reason they are especially appealing to viruses.

“It appears that sophisticated hackers are now experimenting with replacing the old-school email worms with more up-to-date social network worms. As demonstrated by the 45,000 compromised Facebook subscribers, the viral power of social networks can be manipulated to cause considerable damage to individuals and institutions when it is in the wrong hands,” said Security firm Seculert.

Seculert has estimated that between September and December 2011 over 800,000 machines were infected with Ramnit. The problem is that it is not always visible that Ramnit has passed through your computer. It is stealing passwords with no announcement of its presence. The advice given is to run your anti-virus software and hope for the best!

Twitter increases its security Two weeks after Ashton Kutcher’s Twitter account was hacked, for...
How many social networks are there on the Web? At the beginning it was MySpace with a large community...
Yandex Buys The Tweeted Times Russia’s top search engine Yandex has bought a social newspaper service...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Irish are angry at Facebook

hannah — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:15:11 +0000

The Irish data protection commissioner has strongly recommended Facebook take a long hard look at the current privacy status of Facebook, with special attention made to how data is used on the site.

Facebook Ireland was given responsibility for all non-US and Canadian data back in September 2010 hence raising the significance of these findings. Facebook now has six months to consider and implement these new changes.

Facebook apparently welcomed the review, saying: “We are pleased that the report demonstrates how Facebook adheres to European data protection principles and complies with Irish law.

“Of course, the report highlights some areas where we can improve and reach best practice.”

The report suggested widespread changes, including:

a mechanism for users to make informed choices about how their information is used and shared on the site, including in relation to third party apps
increased transparency and controls over how personal data is used for advertising purposes
transparency and control for users via the provision of all personal data held to them on request and as part of their everyday interaction with the site

A second formal review will be carried out in July to check up on the progress.

Germans do not like the Like Button An independent privacy and data protection authority in Germany wants...
Which country loves Facebook the most? Last weekend I had the joy to reunite with my...
Quick tips to optimize a Facebook Fan page for SEO While social media marketing is growing, Search Engine Optimization is...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Littlewoods advert…I like it

hannah — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:03:43 +0000

So I don’t know if you have seen the Littlewoods Christmas advert this year but I like it. It’s a children’s nativity all about presents and gifts. Sounds pretty normal. However it has been plagued with hundreds of complaints. Mum’s and Dad’s are accusing it of ‘ruining Christmas for kids’. Their Facebook page and the ad on YouTube have been hit by numerous comments requesting that the advert be banned.

“What a great example to kids to know that what makes a mother a good one is how much over-expensive bling she buys them at Christmas.”

Littlewoods is attempting to keep the damage to a minimum by disabling the comment option on YouTube and apparently censoring its Facebook page – although it has denied this. They are maintaining that the number of complaints in comparison to the number of views is minimal and the positive response overshadows the minority.

Encouraging consumerism or just another Christmas advert encouraging people money?

Littlewoods Christmas Gift Advert

Series of Fun Facts: Part lV Last day before Christmas Eve and the office is so...
Facebook Sponsored Stories in the News Feed Facebook has begun rolling out Sponsored Stories in the news...
Facebooks trouble with worms Apparently a computer worm has stolen 45,000 login credentials from...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Google+ Brand Pages

hannah — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:28:03 +0000

Google seems intent on rivalling Facebook in numerous ventures. Where previously Google+ only allowed individuals to hold profiles, they have now opened their doors to any business, group or entity. However, reactions have been mixed.

One issue arises in the fact that although it is very easy to set up a brand page, this also means it is very easy to set up a fake brand page. The biggest hurdle when setting up a fake brand page is you have to agree to Google’s Page’s Terms, which state that only users “with authority over the subject matter” can set up a Google+ Page. If these terms are then breached, Google will or take down your page.

Google has attempted to take steps to prevent this by providing verification badges to confirm authenticity of the page. Jim Prosser, a Google rep – “Verification badges are designed to help our users find what they’re looking for by ensuring that people, brands and businesses that are subject to broad-based impersonation are protected,” he says. “Because of this, it’s intended primarily for global or broadly known brands.” Such badges appear as a check the right of the brand’s name on its Google+ page; if you run your cursor over the check mark, it reads “verified name.”

Google has always previously had a lot to say about fake accounts but their current relaxed approach does not seem to reflect this. Facebook and Twitter have tighter regulations when creating pages and hopefully as Google+ grows the same will be said for them.

Promoting Your Facebook and Twitter Pages for a Snip This shouldn’t work but it does. Although Google generally requires...
Google Tweaks Quality Score in Favour Of Landing Pages This week Adwords announced a tweak to its Quality Score...
What would you recommend on Twitter? It is not a secret that the best advertising resource...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Which country loves Facebook the most?

rainelda — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:11:10 +0000

Last weekend I had the joy to reunite with my family and friends in Riga (Latvia). On a Saturday evening I had an interesting discussion with my friends about Facebook, Twitter and a social portal that is popular in Latvia called draugiem.lv. It appears that almost all of my friends, that I was spending time with that evening, don’t like Facebook at all. They said that it is complicated and that the overview isn’t enjoyable at all.

Naturally I got curious – how many Latvians use Facebook? And which countries use Facebook the most?

So if you are as curious as I was, see below the Top 10 countries using Facebook:

In 10th place it is Germany. The total number of Facebook users in Germany is reaching 21 634 380 and grew by more than 3 857 920 in the last 6 months. Facebook penetration in Germany is 26.29% compared to the country’s population and 33.22% in relation to number of internet users.
The 9th place was achieved by France with the total amount of Facebook users reaching 23 248 340. In the last 6 months the amount of users grew by more than 1 994 240. Facebook penetration in France is 35.89% compared to it’s population and 52.10% in relation to number of internet users.
8th place goes to Philippines reaching 26 725 000 Facebook users. The penetration is 26.78% compared to the population and 90.07% in relation to to the number of internet users. The amount of users grew by more than 3 532 360 in the last 6 months
Mexico took the 7th place with reaching 30 121 140 users and grew by more than 6 166 720 in the last 6 months.
In 6th place is Brazil. It is reaching 30 453 260 Facebook users and in the last 6 months grew by more than 12 888 040
Respectable 5th place was achieved by Turkey. In the last 6 months it grew by more than 2 064 240 and is reaching a total of 30 473 280 unique Facebook users.
Who do you think conquered the 4th place? Well say “Hello” to the United Kingdom reaching 30 481 300 Facebook users. The penetration is 48.89% compared to the UK’s population and 59.25% in relation to the number of internet users.
And in 3rd place it is India reaching 38 045 000 Facebook users and growing by more than 12 646 400 in the last 6 months.
Right in the middle is Indonesia achieving the 2nd place with reaching 40 829 720 Facebook users and growing by more than 4 224 960 in the last 6 months.
So who do you think was able to take the 1st place? I guess it won’t be a surprise to anyone, that the United States of America is the leader here. The Facebook penetration in the USA is 50.28% compared to the country’s population and 65.20% in relation to the number of internet users. The total number of Facebook users in the United States is reaching a massive number of 155 981 460 and grew by more than 1 023 720 in the last 6 months.

And what about Latvia? Giving the fact that there are approximately 2 245 357 people in Latvia, it achieved the 106th place with the total number of Facebook users reaching 304 740.

The Irish are angry at Facebook The Irish data protection commissioner has strongly recommended Facebook take...
Facebook Sponsored Stories in the News Feed Facebook has begun rolling out Sponsored Stories in the news...
The Facebook Timeline So I was naive and thought that we all had...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Chinas Quest for Control

hannah — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:37:59 +0000

China is the world’s biggest internet market. However, only a few weeks ago a new list of “cultural development guidelines” was implemented which includes tighter restrictions on social media, and penalties for the distribution of “harmful information. On top of this, 39 companies have today agreed to even further censorship of potentially harmful online content.

Chinese Authorities have continually been questioned behind their motives for having such tight guidelines on internet usage, with many speculating that this is just another means of maintaining control over its forever growing population.

China attracted a lot of attention back in 2009 when it famously banned social networking site, Facebook, claiming that it was the means and cause of social unrest and consequently was not healthy for the development of the country. With China having more than 500 million internet users, it is hard to imagine how they have managed to cut out what other societies now accept to be such a norm of everyday life. With the help of a series of censorship policies and human rights violations, China is going to pretty much any length possible in an attempt to control the information its citizens can access.

I can understand where the Chinese authorities are coming from, in the sense that sometimes the internet has been known to do more harm than good. Rumours, gossip and slander have the ability to spread like wild fire within a matter of minutes. But, and this is a very BIG BUT, is China going too far in its quest to supposedly maintain peace and serenity in its nation?? Is Facebook really that dangerous?

The Facebook Timeline So I was naive and thought that we all had...
China v. Google FIGHT! continues…. In the latest chapter of the worsening relationship between internet...
Facebook IPO Filing: Zuckerberg’s Letter to Investors Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to investors following Facebook’s £5bn Initial Public...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.