‘Social Media and Search’ Archives
Unleashing the power of wikipedia
Powerset is a powerful search engine for Wikipedia. Once used I would argue that you will never want to go back to the in-site search on the Wikipedia site again. This is how Powerset describes itself and what it does: 'Powerset’s goal is to change the way people interact with technology by enabling computers to understand our language. While [...]
Creating a site map for Google
With more and more people finding sites through search engines it is essential that your site is search engine friendly. One way you can improve your 'relationship' with search engines is the creation of a Google sitemap. Google sitemaps help Google to crawl your site, telling it where all your interesting content is, which done properly can help [...]
Blogging for business
I recently, through Friends reunited, caught up with a very very old friend. When I knew her she was still a school girl but now is married to a fireman, has three children and also owns her own manufacturing company. So clearly a hugely busy person, so how does she have time to bring up the children, run her business and be part of a couple? How [...]
The Cuil new search engine… but how Cuil is it?
I noticed a large number of 'Tweets' from my Twitter feed about a new search engine called 'Cuil' which has been created by former employees of Google, and for some a possible threat to Google's dominance. The Google association has without doubt helped feed the publicity for what otherwise could have just passed as just another search engine [...]
Google asks are you in the Knol
Google have launched Knol, trumpted as a potential threat to Wikipedia, though for me more another source of information (as part of an information mix) and opportunity for individuals and organisations to demonstrate and share their knowledge and specialities. For companies, organisations and individuals, Knol offers a huge opportunity. A [...]
Getting an identi.ca
I have been a great fan of Twitter for sometime, however lots of copy cat sites keep popping up and today I checked out identi.ca the latest that had come to my attention. Signing up is not as easy as it could be. The sign up form does not include any dynamic verification so that only when you submit will you discover that you have either done [...]
Five Social Media must do for politicians
There are thousands of social media sites, which for someone who hasn't even got a Facebook profile must be overwhelming. Whilst I have written about creating a profile network I realise that to start with many politicians will need to take a few 'baby' steps into the realm of social media and enabling their constituents to find information about [...]
Fake profiles on Facebook, is someone pretending to be you?
One of the greatest compliments is to be copied, however if you are a famous person someone pretending to be you is full of hazards especially if they use your photograph, name, location and age to try and persuade people they are you then write as you saying things you may not want to be associated with. Facebook has always been a haven for [...]
Show it Qik.com
Qik is (from their site) 'Qik enables you to share moments of your life with your friends, family and the world - directly from your cell phone!' Qik offers opportunities for both businesses and politicians. So your having a store opening, product or policy launch, wanting to highlight a key local issue. With Qik.com you can get your message [...]
Should I get LinkedIn?
Whilst many business professionals have been getting LinkedIn for many years, the site has over 20 million profiles based in over 150 countries, it is not always been seen as a priority for politicians - which is an opportunity missed. A LinkedIn profile that has been made public will be found by search engines and form part of your profile [...]
Guidelines for producing YouTube video
YouTube is an excellent way to quickly and easily get across a message. When creating these you need to take some of the following into consideration. Setting up an account or 'channel' is free and is very easy to do. Even if you have video on your own website you should also put this content on YouTube. By doing this YouTube users will find your [...]
Controlling your privacy on Facebook
A simple and easy guide to how to set up your privacy settings on Facebook. I mainly use Facebook to communicate with my friends, facilities like sharing photos of fun nights out are great. But what do you do when someone you would not want access to this asks to become your friend. It could be your boss or work colleague, or if you are a [...]
Best practice for 404 pages
It's scary when you are lost. Even worse if someone starts shouting at you for reaching the wrong place. Worse still if there is nothing to help you find where you originally wanted to go. Welcome to the world of good and bad 404 pages. Get it right, you keep your visitor. Get it wrong, they head back to where they came from and you have missed [...]
Twhirl your Twitter
Twitter is an excellent tool. It is a quick and easy way to let your friends know what you are doing without insisting that they have to visit Facebook to see your current status. Because it is a micro-blog entries take no longer than to send a text message. For politicians Twitter is an easy way to let constituents know what you are doing and [...]
The True Face of Facebook Democracy
Following the defeat of Ken Livingstone in the London Mayoral Elections in May 2008 I set up a Facebook page called 'Boris Watch'. The idea of the page was to monitor the new Mayor Boris Johnson and it quickly gained over 3000 members. The noticeboard was extremely busy, with members (and Boris supporters) debating issues - but it seems [...]
Has Friends Reunited left it too late to let you unite?
I joined Friends Reunited long before the term 'Social Network' was being used to describe a wave of sites that now connect millions around the world. In the early days you could not add photos (even a profile picture) without paying a subscription. Email addresses and website addresses were banned, leading me to resort to describing my site as [...]
Aka-aki comes to Großbritannien
After reading about a new type of social network, ever eager to try out something fresh I clicked the link and registered at aka-aki, a German based social network which has just launched an alpha version in English. The point of the network seems to be to link to other aka-aki users who are near you via your mobile. When it detects another [...]
Is Bebo better than Facebook? Creating a profile network
As part of my research into social networks I recently joined Bebo, a social network popular in the UK and in particular among younger people. After being an avid Facebook user for some time I wasn't overwhelmed by the service, however added my profile details and added a link to the page to my homepage at wellbelove.com. Being a regular [...]
Labour bloggers – discover Labour supporters who blog
An increasing number of Labour councillors, MPs and activists are using blogs to communicate with their constituents and share their views. Many of them are brought together on a website that 'unites Labour supporters blogging for Labour' which is an excellent initiative helping Labour supporters find other blogs where they will find hints and [...]
Facebook and blogging – the future of Elections
In recent months the prominence of the internet in elections has become increasingly evident. With increasing numbers of voters using the internet the need to get your online campaigning strategy right is more important than ever before. In the 2008 London Mayoral elections I spotted that both Conservative Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrat Brian [...]
