Twitter SEO Tips

Most companies make a conscious effort to search engine optimize (SEO) traditional web-based communications, such as press releases and websites. The same principles apply with Twitter! Since people are finding tweets and users based on keyword searches, you can search engine optimize your tweets and bio to better reach your desired audience.

The following Mashable post summarizes ten commonly used SEO Twitter tricks. Try them and perhaps you will gain a couple of followers!

1. Choose a good handle

2. Select an account name wisely

3. Make your bio count

4. Spread the word

5. Remember your URL

6. Select the initial characters of each tweet carefully

7. Write keyword-rich tweets if possible

8. Mind your retweetability

9. Provide some link love

10. As always, give ‘em what they want

New Facebook Fan Box Widget – brand engagement o-rama

Facebook just rolled out a Fan Box Widget. This is basically, as Facebook puts it, “to gain more fans and share your Facebook updates.”

All it takes is embedding the code on your site, so big companies or musicians or …. dog groomers could easily take advantage of this.

To me, this is Facebook’s response to the huge uptick of people and companies embedding their Twitter feed onto their sites. Companies like Zappos have made this a huge part of their community interaction and company transparency initiatives.

This should be a great way to easily create a gateway for brands to socialize with their audiences. Also, there’s a potential to include it or embed it with a product launch release/microsite and to drive fans of individual products (like a new handset, for instance). We at Harold’s Kids will experiment on how to get this going on our blog! To be continued . . .

Michael Jackson Memorial – CNN coverage streamed with Facebook Statuses

A la the inauguration, CNN has partnered with Facebook to stream coverage of Michael Jackson’s memorial alongside commentary from Facebook. It’s going on right now, join the conversation here: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=100639101957&h=S-ADC&u=fwrDx&ref=nf

Screenshot of Facebook status stream accompanying CNN's live broadcast

Web Site Story – CollegeHumor video pokes fun at trendiest Web sites

Story of our lives, huh?

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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The iPhone 3GS – Announced at WWDC 2009

Credit: CrunchGear

At WWDC, Apple just announced the newest iPhone — the iPhone 3GS. “S” stands for Speed. iPhone 3GS will have video, better camera quality. Built-in video editing. Voice control, compass, Copy and Paste!

There will be no change to the hardware. The 16GB will run $199 with the 32GB at $299. iPhone 3G will be $99, so used ones will probably be selling for around $50. This lowers the barrier to entry for new iPhone users a lot.

The iPhone 3GS will be available starting June 19, 2009. I’m guessing lines will begin forming…NOW.

Apple’s site is updated with 3GS information: http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Face-to-Facebook Confession: The Pope’s on it

 

pope2you.net is the new Web hub for all things pope

Holy heck! The Pope is rocking the social media world. His holiness has a site, pope2you.net, is on YouTube, Facebook and the iPhone. One can only guess that Twittering is not so far away. Maybe doing a 140 character Mass? Condensing the “Our Father” into 140 characters. I would love to see it done.

Here’s the bad news: He’s not a Facebook member, per se (sorry, you can’t poke the pope quite yet). They’ve actually created a Facebook application called “The pope meets you on Facebook,” which allows people to see the Pope’s speeches and messages, same deal for iPhones / iPods.

Growing up Catholic, I think it’s so cool to see this happening. A church traditionally known for being, well, traditional, is changing the game to interact with young christians. 

A quote from a Reuters article reads: “We recognize that a church that does not communicate ceases to be a church,” said Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican’s Social Communications department.

Did anyone else gasp “the Catholic church has a social media department?!” These are the times, eh? The whole initiative was launched around the Vatican’s World Communications Day this Sunday. Well done, Vatican.

CEOs who Twitter

 

Richard Branson, CEO/twitterer

 

 

Businessweek recently put out an article about the top 50 twittering CEOs.

Virgin Group’s Richard Branson, Zappos.com’s Tony Hsieh, and dozens more CEOs harness the simple powers of Twitter. Guy Kawasaki of Alltop uses the microblogging service as a way to broadcast; Phil Libin of Evernote has been converted to Twitter after being a skeptic; and Gary Stockman of Porter Novelli likes being able to engage in global conversations. 

 

Send to twitter

This summer vacation brought to you by Twitter

I reckon you’ve heard of the H1N1 flu epidemic (née swine flu). Maybe you’re currently wearing a face mask to work and changing seats on the bus when someone nearby sniffles. Or, perhaps, you’re in my camp and are thinking that maybe, just a little bit, this whole thing is sounding overhyped.

When a family friend’s condo in Puerto Vallarta suddenly become available for mid-June, I began following the minute-by-minute news with a more personal interest. I had to decide: take the plunge and commit to a possible flu-tainted vacation, or pass up the condo and remain, pouting, in the relatively safe backwaters of Oakland.

Like any good researcher, I turned immediately to my online resources. I Googled “swine flu and Puerto Vallarta,” which revealed some incredibly helpful blogs by local PV residents. Particularly useful was a frequently updated blog by a local Registered Nurse. I was also connected to chat rooms via TripAdvisor and Yahoo Answers, all with posts by people who had just completed, were currently enjoying, or planned to soon enjoy their Mexican vacations. Twitter Search provided the final piece I need to make my decision.

Sure, some folks were afraid. “Pandemic” is a pretty scary word, after all. But mostly, people were enjoying their time in Puerto Vallarta, flu free and happy. When I realized that there were fewer cases of H1N1 in PV than there were in my own backyard – and when flights dropped $200 in one day – I took the plunge. Tickets were purchased and I’m now on my way in five weeks. Olé!

To celebrate said ticket purchase, I posted a status update to Facebook, which was seen by an old college buddy of mine who also happens to be a local TV news reporter. She was just closing a story on the swine flu epidemic when she saw my post. She contacted me via Facebook and asked if I would agree to go on camera with my tale of bravery in the face of disease-tainted travel. Sure, why not?

Within 10 minutes, she was downstairs with a camera crew. I shared my story and gave Twitter a complimentary shout-out and, just like that, my anti-fear, pro-Mexico message was broadcast to the Bay Area. Huzzah!

Thanks, Google and Twitter. I’ll raise a banana daiquiri to you in five weeks.

Tracking the Swine Flu

The latest thing to make Americans squeal is news of the Swine Flu. This started to surface over the weekend when it was reported that the Swine Flu had taken 68 lives in Mexico, and, of course, many compartments of the Internet are reflecting the spreading concern. Here are some bits and bites of the Swine Flu on the Net:

*Tweeting the Swine Flu: As is its nature, Twitter has been filled with chatter about the Swine Flu. See the below chart from Trendrr mapping the chatter over the past day. 

 

Twitter reached 10,000 mentions of "swine flu" PER HOUR!! (Trendrr)

 

*In addition to pulling info from the CDC’s Swine Flu microsite http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ , you can follow the outbreak on a world map, that is pimped out with heat indicators to demonstrate how severe the situation is in a given location. See a sample below, which I grabbed from Mashable.

 

Tracking an epidemic - one outbreak at a time

*You can also set up an RSS feed from the WHO (world health organization) site, which (according to Mashable) is the best source for real-time updates. They are also equipped with an RSS feed, which means you could set up to receive emails through a site like FeedMyInbox.

 

 

World Health Org

 

As nerve-racking as this is, there’s a good chance we’ll see some evolutions to new media born from this (just like we saw with the southern california wildfires, and the new uses of Twitter to spread news).

I’m sure we’ll all stay posted.

Tweeting Cat Door

 

Cat Door that uses Twitter

“Each cat has a small RFID tag on the collar. When a cat is in the close proximity of the door, a small RFID reader reads the tag and if the cat is authorized, a servo will unlock the cat door. The RFID reader and the servo controller are connected to an old laptop. The software on the laptop is written in Delphi and for each “cat door event” is sending a Twitter message and a picture to twitter.com”

http://twitter.com/GusAndPenny