Eric Schmidt: The New Google Will Be Autonomous, Personal And Faster

8 Ways Restaurants Can Use Facebook Pages

We are seeing more and more restaurants using Facebook as a way to get more customers.  With the new FBML technology we can now build full Facebook Platform applications for our customers that deeply integrate into a user’s Facebook experience.  We can hook into several Facebook integration points, including the profile, profile actions, Facebook canvas, News Feed and Mini-Feed. This a real breakthrough and if you or anyone you know owns a bar or restaurant they should read this article on 8 ways restaurants can use Facebook pages to gain more clients. MySpace had this and I used it for my Golden Spoon Yogurt Stores goldenspoonyogurt to learn how to use Facbook Pages and build your fans click this link  Read More

How 2010 Health Care Legislation Impacts Employers

By Arthur Chinski, Joshua Mizrahi, Philip J. Wolman,

David M. Kozak and Carol L. Lucas

April 2010

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Act”) into law, and on March 30, 2010, signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which made significant changes to the Act. The Act, as amended, represents comprehensive health insurance reform that will have a direct impact on employers. The Act provides for the establishment of “exchanges” through which employers will be able to purchase health insurance for their employees, and imposes new requirements on employers and the employer-sponsored health insurance plans.

Click here to read more

15 Easy Ways to Build Traffic to a New Blog or New Website – Tips for New Bloggers

Here is a list of 15 Easy Ways to Get Visitors & Tips to Build Traffic to a New Blog or a New Website:

1. Focus on creating content – do not create content just for search engines. Eventually people will stop coming if your content is useless.
2. Create New Content. This is easier said than done. Or you could create different content. As an example, you will find thousands of websites showing how to set up a free blog on WordPress. There is nothing new you can write about it. However, you can create a demo video about that. That’s different! Off course, there has to be good text around the video to please the search engines as well.
3. Look for exciting topics that people have consistently looked for. Typically, if your blog is not as famous as the New York Times or the CNN, people will most likely not come to you to find out what is the latest development in national politics! Instead focus on something that has proved to be popular for a long time.
4. Keep your blog software updated. Older versions often do not have many unique functionalities to make your presentation attractive. Google, for instance, noted that it will index WordPress blogs that use the most updated versions to prevent security flaws.
5. Create content regularly. And when you do, do not repeat your previous articles blatantly. Regularity is very important. It serves 2 purposes – search engines always look for newer, updated content to index & deliver in search results & keeps your blog fresh in the minds of your readers.
6. Write sincerely on the subject. Allow due credits in case you are using someone else’s content. Be cautious that you do not end up creating another set of links. There are too many directories with links telling what others are doing. There is always a serious need to sincere people who are offering something new.
7. If you have to show ads, then show them. But keep in mind that ads distract readers. Especially flashing ads, pop-ups, pop-unders, exit ads irritate the users. Moreover, such ads often conflict with the readers’ browser causing them to crash inadvertently. Go with Text & Image ads or Shopping Ads to begin with.
8. Get to know people who are equally trying to get traffic. Social networking is very important in the long run. But it could be a challenge to have your links up on the blog of a famous blogger. So look for other bloggers who are starting new & you could start sharing links with them. When I began, I used to request everyone to share my RSS feeds. Many did and many more did not. But whoever did, helped me in getting attention from their friends.
9. Write with facts. There is a saying that controversy gets attention. This is true. You can definitely write about something controversial, but at the same time, be open to criticism. Controversy also gets you harsh comments & critics. Also, while talking on a controversial subject, do not write false information. Keep the facts straight.
10. Write is very lucid language. Think of the reader while you write. Read your own post before publishing & correct grammatical mistakes, spelling mistakes & data errors.
11. Be open to ask for opinions. Not every readers would bother to write a comment, some will. Comments often form a sort of a mini-forum for your readers to talk on the subject. Remember to moderate such comments & always allow a healthy discussion.
12. Submit to search engines regularly, especially when you blog is very new. Once in a couple of months is a good time to submit your blog to search engines. If you are publishing a blog, submit to blog search engines as well. We have listed the important search engines that you should consider submitting your blogs.
13. Allow readers more than one way to keep in touch. Twitter, Facebook, Technorati are good examples that millions of readers use to track authors. Subscribing to feeds is another non-intrusive way to connect with your readers.
14. Join popular link exchange programs. They are like free advertising for your blog without paying any money for it. It is a simple system when you show other people’s ads & in turn they show yours.
15. Be consistent on your subject. You may have decided to create niche content or publish general content. But if readers want to keep coming back is because they find you as an expert or someone with good sincere opinion on the subject. If you have too much variety, like you talk to movies & physics in the same blog, you are trying to become a small mediocre news magazine.

Networking Tips For Business

If you are like me you may be wondering what to do every time you go to a networking event to get the most out of your time, money and effort.  I have been to Meetups, Mixers, Social Networking Groups and I have always walked way asking myself what could I do differently so that when I am in a situation where I am meeting new people, I can make meaningful and long lasting relationships.  Here are some tips that may help you that have helped me.

1. Keep in mind that networking is about being genuine and authentic, building trust and relationships, and seeing how you can help others.

2. Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in networking meetings so that you will pick groups that will help you get what you are looking for. Some meetings are based more on learning, making contacts, and/or volunteering rather than on strictly making business connections.

3. Visit as many groups as possible that spark your interest. Notice the tone and attitude of the group. Do the people sound supportive of one another? Does the leadership appear competent? Many groups will allow you to visit two times before joining.

4. Hold volunteer positions in organizations. This is a great way to stay visible and give back to groups that have helped you.

5. In networking conversations. This means questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple yes or no. This form of questioning opens up the discussion and shows listeners that you are interested in them.

6. Become known as a powerful resource for others. When you are known as a strong resource, people remember to turn to you for suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc. This keeps you visible to them.

7. Have a clear understanding of what you do and why, for whom, and what makes your doing it special or different from others doing the same thing. In order to get referrals, you must first have a clear understanding of what you do that you can easily articulate to others.

8. Be able to articulate what you are looking for and how others may help you. Too often people in conversations ask, “How may I help you?” and no immediate answer comes to mind.

9. Follow through quickly and efficiently on referrals you are given. When people give you referrals, your actions are a reflection on them. Respect and honor that and your referrals will grow.

10. Call those you meet who may benefit from what you do and vice versa. Express that you enjoyed meeting them, and ask if you could get together and share ideas.

Why My Grandma Totally Rocks

By Elizabeth Brewer

Mrs. Petzold’s 5th Grade Class

Wagon Wheel Elementary School,  Trabuco Canyon, California

Are you really asking me why my grandma rocks?  That’s like asking why and elephant has a trunk! I’ll tell you why my grandma rocks.  Ask for an outfit?  She buys it.  Want some food?  She fixes it.  Need some advice?  She tells it how it is.  So, maybe she lectures me a lot about strangers and dangers and all that good stuff, but I realize that she is not nagging me.  She is preparing me.  And in the end, when my heart shatters from break ups or make ups or grieving no-lucks, I will always have that special person full of wisdom, full of youth, and full of heart to help me out at the end of a long day.  Just talking to talk? She doesn’t mind.  She like to listen.  Very needy?  No problem, she will do whatever you want. Hard homework?  She’ll help, just sit back and listen to her every word.  What else would you want in a grandma?  I pretty much got the perfect one, and an equally awesome grandpa to go with her.  Mhm, I am so lucky.  I’m not rambling on about some wonderful fictional character of awesomeness:  I am talking about my grandma.  And yeah, that’s why she totally rocks

Effective Twitter Tools for Following and Unfollowing

For those of you who may be new to Twitter and are wondering how to manage growing number of friends and followers on twitter these tools can offer a solution. If you want to follow back people who are following you or opposite – unfollow people who don’t follow you back check out these amazing tools.  Read More

Handy SEO Glossary

If you are like me and wonder what all the fancy speak means when SEO is being explained you might find this SEO Glossary helpful.  Please understand that SEO is all about relevancy and popularity.  If you want to learn quickly where your website might need SEO help, go to http://www.websitegrader.com and type in your domain.  If are selling products online and want to see how you stack up against your competition go to http://www.spyfu.com and type in your domain and see the statistics on your competitors and how they might be beating you to the punch.  SEO Glossary

Monitoring and Measuring Social Media for Your Business

One of the most popular arguments of why NOT use social media is that it’s too hard to track and calculate ROI.  Here are 10 tools to utilize when monitoring your social media presence and ultimately verifying the success of your campaigns:

1. Google Analytics – This is a tracking service offered free by Google.  By creating a campaign in Google Analytics that allows you to track back any and all links you post to your website, you’ll have an immediate ROI.  Google Analytics is a great tool when used correctly, so you’ll need to make sure you have someone knowledgeable on your staff to set up a campaign successfully.  Once the link goes active, you’ll be able to see how many people clicked through to your website and track where they went or what they purchased upon visiting.  make sure you capture any sales derived from links you’ve posted on social media sites by setting up goals within your analytics campaign.
2. Backtype – A real-time, conversational search engine that gives you an update about what people are saying about your company and products.  Compiled from Twitter, blogs and social networking article sites such as Reddit, Backtype allows you to effectively understand which bloggers will help you and your company establish a presense as an industry thought leader and could lead to an additional story about your company.
3. Twitter Search - Gives you a live feed of people discussing your company on Twitter.  Check up on trending topics involving your company to find the latest compliments, issues and opportunities.  Can’t find anyone talking about you?  Twitter’s a great place for your company to start the conversation and get noticed by potential customers.  Developing an online community of “followers” helps you have candid conversations with people who may not otherwise have any exposure to your brand.
4. Facebook Fan Pages - Facebook is used for individuals to connect, share photos, and relate to like people.  This social networking site offers many opportunities for small businesses to expand their audiences externally.  Whether your’re trying to develop new talent, increase ecommerce, or simply build brand awareness, Facebook offers measurement tools within a groups’ admin rights.  By measuring number of fans, amount of comments and shares, you can benchmark where you started and set goals for impressoins and click-throughs.  Here you can tell if what you are putting our is actually being read and from there what those fans are doing with that information.  Are they clicking back to your website? Sharing it on their own pages?  Facebook might seem like a big project, but by listening and measuring, your time spent will have a good ROI.
5. Addict-O-Matic - Similar to Backtype, Addict-O-Matic creates a custom page highlighting conversations, pictures, videos and articles mentioning your company.  If you’re looking for an all-encompassing snapshot of the buzz you’re creating online, Addict-O-Matic is the tool for you.  From a coporate perspective, Addict-O-Matic is the perfect tool for a busy CEO.  It allows you to stay on top of your online presense without signing into each individual service.
6. Website Grader - A free SEO tool that measures the marketing effectiveness of a website.  Website Grader scores your website based on things like website traffic, social popularity and SEO and then provides basic advice on how to improve your website from a marketing perspective.  The tool is a perfect compliment to a well-positioned social media campaign, as it helps make it easier for search engines to find and identify your corporate website.  As a CEO, utilize this tool to evaluate where your website currently stands and where it has room for improvement.
7. Compete.com - Gives you the opportunity to compare your website’s popularity and analytics to those of your competitors.  By entering your website address, as well as up to two competitors’ website addresses, you’ll be able to see a line chart highlighting the traffic to each of the websites as well as top search terms and referring sites for each company.  This is a great benchmark tool to help track success of your competition.  If your competitions’ score is higher than yours, research what they’re doing online and create a campaign that incorporates their successes.
8. Delicious – A social media bookmarking site that allows users to tag, save and share web pages in one place, Delicious helps you to better understand whether or not people find the content you’re publishing interesting and relevant.  The more people adding your website to Delicious, the more popular your website becomes and the higher it appears in search rankings.
9. Digg – Digg allows people to share content published anywhere on the web.  Once an article is shared, users can vote on the internet of the article and increase its popularity.  As popularity increases, your article is sorted to the top of the Digg pile, appearing for more people.  Oftentimes, you’ll find a select group of people are “digging” your content.  Follow up with these people as they may be interested in your industry or company specifically.
10. Social Meter - Social Meter scans major social networking websites to analyze a webpages’ popularity.  It looks at link-backs on websites such as Digg, Delicious, Google search and Technorati and tallies any results in a comprehensive bar chart.  By releasing relevant information via press releases. Twitter and blogs, you can increase your social meter score.  The higher the score, the more people are reading your content.

By: Lois Arbogast, Vistage International

6 Ways To Create Opportunities on LinkedIn

If used properly LinkedIn can be a great tool for creating opportunities.  This is a great article with some pointers on what you should do.  Again, be sure not to join groups and sit on the sidelines without getting involved.  Do not spam since constantly pushing your products or services all the time without interacting with people individually could be a turn off.  Try and connect on a personal level with people and the best way to do this is customize your invitations by adding their first name and why you want them to join your network.  If you are an Open Networker and you are just looking for volume be careful about who you accept especially if you are sharing your connections.  Learn More

Still Think Social Media Is A Fad?

Scott McLeods and Karl Fisch follow up their debut “Did You Know” video with this gem that speaks to the Social Media Revolution that is taking place on the planet. What I found interesting is the statistic on Blogging. There are over 200,000,000 people posting content daily on Blogs, Twitter and approximately 34% of blogging is opinions about products and service. Never before has word of mouth had such exponential influence on consumer behavior than  Social Media. To learn more go to www.socialnomics.com