Category: Facebook

Facebook and related SEO and social media marketing issues.

Improve Social Media Interaction With Wibiya

Wibiya Interactive Web Toolbar
Wibiya Interactive Web Toolbar


I am such a fan of this product that I want to tell you this right upfront: I have not been hired by Wibiya to market for them, and I do not have anything at stake here. My reason for blogging my review of Wibiya is nothing of the sort. It is just so cool that I was compelled to give my testimonial. Now, shouldn’t we all be so fortunate to have fans who feel like that?

Wibiya is kind of a funny name, and it may not just roll off the tongue the way Twitter, Facebook, or Squidoo does. All the same, I think this is a social media service you will see in use a lot more in the future.

Website Toolbars Are Not Created Equal

I have used toolbars on various websites before, and some were pretty cool. I have even scripted my own website toolbars from scratch and made them work really nicely with social sharing links, custom URL shortener, and all of the neat stuff you can pack into the little 50-80 pixel space you would expect from a toolbar. I am kind of geeky like that. I very often choose the hard way of programming, by doing it all myself from beginning to end. That way I get the exact result I am looking for, and not include all of the extra junk that most off-the-shelf programming code will include for meeting every possible scenario on every possible type of website. As you can see at the bottom of each page on my blog, I have chosen Wibiya on this website, and for some good reasons.

Here are just a few things I like about Wibiya:

  • Non-invasive and fast-loading (unlike some web toolbars).
  • Wibiya is highly customizable.
  • Simple site-search function located out of the way of other site elements.
  • Easy photo and video gallery implementation with multiple photo sites.
  • Nice RSS features.
  • Users can do more and see more without leaving the site.
  • Additional statistics reporting for Wibiya application usage.
  • Many available applications ready for use.

Social Media Interaction and Wibiya Toolbar

Social media interaction is clearly an important part of my job. I interact with blogs (mine and many others), Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a big list of other social networks. There is no better way to know if my work is useful than to share it with others and hear from others to gather their opinions. That is why most bloggers love comments on their work. It means people are paying attention.

Another way to know if people are paying attention is how long they are on your website and how many pages they visit. My blog has an average time on page of over four minutes, over two pages per visit, and a bounce rate around 20-25 percent. To me, that is about as awesome as bacon (I love bacon)! So, any way that I can improve these stats would be even more awesome … like cigarette and coffee flavored bacon.

One great way I have found is to not just let people see that little piece of you, but to see a bigger picture. This goes for big corporations and individuals alike. If you have something valuable to share, you should share it in whatever way people want to receive it. That can mean meeting them where they are, on their terms, and on their preferred networks. This is something Wibiya can help to improve.

Try it out and see what I mean. There is a Wibiya toolbar on the bottom of each page on my blog. Click a few things and find out why I like it. I will also include a couple websites by friends (and my wife) who chose to use Wibiya. Check them out and see how they used it.

If you decide you want one for yourself, you can get yours at Wibiya.com. There is a free version and multiple upgraded packages available to choose from.

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Are You Going to Eat That Digg Fame?

Damn You Kevin Rose!
Damn You Kevin Rose!


If you are not going to eat that Digg fame, may I have a bite?

I was feeling a bit down about Twitter yesterday after remembering those days when Twitter was the next big Digg.com-like traffic-generating left-coast geek craze. If you were there, you would know it as the days when everybody who Kevin Rose (of Digg.com) had worked so hard to encourage to get their moment of Digg fame had become Twitter-stunned. It was back when anybody who had been kicked off Digg.com professed that tweets were the new diggs, and it was time to adapt to the new rules.

What The Heck is Digg?

For my readers unfamiliar with Digg, I will explain it in simple terms. Digg.com is a massively important … no, wait … monumental piece of Internet marketing history. It is a largely bullshitopotomus platform for zit-faced Star Wars fans to gain importance by stroking each other’s ego. The primary demographic are 17 year olds pretending to be 30, and 45 year olds still wearing Scooby Doo pajamas. Digg users can be largely summed up as semi-adult with $200 per hour talent getting paid $13 per hour to submit “diggable” stuff without looking like a “business digger”. They will carefully digg a squillion things per day while they sit in their mother’s basement passing time until she kicks them out on the street to get a real job and stop playing on that damn computer.

Typical Digg Users Need Jobs

A typical Digg user would be more inclined to plagiarize somebody’s good resume and hack their way into a real job, but there is a catch. They are hard-pressed to find time in between potentially popular photos of Lego sculptures and celebrity gossip to throw their Digg authority upon and earn another $0.43 per click for that advertisement which is cleverly placed between that badass Lego sculpture of The Empire State Building and Jennifer Aniston photoshopped making out with their buddy. When they have time to eat their bologna sandwich and chips (thanks mom), they sit there thinking “Damn those Lego statues and funny photos of the dude crashing his skateboard. I could have been somebody! … and Damn You Jennifer Aniston!

The Big Point About Digg

So the point of this article was actually this: I wrote something yesterday to tease Twitter users. I titled it “How To Become Popular on Twitter Without Actually Being Useful” and it was pretty well-received. Fame? No, not fame really, because I used to see many times as much attention to an article on Twitter … any article on Twitter. Heck, I could tweet about blowing my nose and see 100 retweets back when Digg was supposedly dead.

Damn it … those zit-faced kids went back to Digg, but I still found some people amused by my Twitter humor and snarky insight. What I have done here is to point out yet another typically popular thing to do. If you have something popular come out of your blog, it is often a good idea to follow it up with something of a similar nature that people can relate to. It really is an important practice, because your audience will tell you what they want, and you should be willing to deliver it.

I was going to blog about something totally different today. Blame the 40-something year old in the Scooby Doo pajamas and those knucklehead Twitter people who surprised me with their signs of a heartbeat yesterday.

By the way, I should add that those zit-faced fellas on Digg really don’t have a sense of humor. They just act like it for $0.43 per click. Sorry … this is one blog post the Digg fellas probably will not like very much, but you are welcome to Facebook it!

Photo of Kevin Rose courtesy Brian Solis on Flickr.

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The Power of Written Words on Day 3,479

The Murnahans of Day 2912
The Murnahans of Day 2912
I thought for a moment that this article belongs on another of my blogs, but then I realized how it fits here as well. This is a bit different from my typical marketing article. It is a piece that I posted on Facebook in November of 2008 addressing the power of written words. It is not specifically marketing oriented, but it does involve something that bloggers and marketers deal with, which is that of having the right words, and the importance of written words. In this case, it addresses the power of a love letter, but it has a good message that can be applied to many other relationships in your life.

I will note that today is number 3,479. It is also my eighth wedding anniversary, which gives me even more reason to honor the day with something meaningful. This story is about day 2,912. I hope that you will enjoy this inspiration. Here you go:

How Do You Remember Day Number 2,912?

As I witness friends with troubles in their marriages, I am reminded of many whom have come to me or to my wife for advice and counseling. I got to thinking about why we are so popular in this area, but it should be no surprise. We have a great marriage. We communicate our feelings, and let down our pride when it is necessary. We show our love every day, and we do not take the other for granted.

We always try to help our friends when they come to us with marital struggles, and sometimes we are really helpful, but I thought a proactive approach would be even better.

I guess I am trying to lead by example, in hopes that others may start to think of their relationships, and how they can be even better. I wish to inspire others to share their love with their spouses and loved ones, and never wait for a better time.

Put it in writing. It is far too easy to let another day slip by without putting it in writing. Our days together come and go, and the opportunities to put feelings into words diminish with each moment, and with each heartbeat.

The written word cannot be taken away. When you put it in writing, it is a promise … a contract of how you were feeling at the moment it was written. There is no substitute for the written word. We say “I love you” so much that the meaning is often not taken. A love letter is timeless, and it may be just what you need.

It does not have to be complicated. Hiring a pilot to write it in the sky does not show that you care more, and the big gestures like that are often far less frequent than what he or she deserves. Just a quick compliment or something romantic on a Post-It Note can do the trick, if you do it with feeling. It is even better if you do it often.

Let it get your heart pumping. Let it get your tears flowing. Don’t be ashamed to feel, and never be afraid that it will not be taken right. Just the act of thinking about them and putting it in writing can be great for both of you.

There is not a perfect love letter. If I ever thought there was a perfect love letter, I would just make copies and give it to my wife each day. Keep practicing. You will get better at it, and you will love the way it makes you and the special recipient feel.

Say it with meaning, and be very personal. Don’t re-write it a bunch of times to get it just right. Write it, deliver it, and repeat. Here is a quick and simple example:

Dearest Peggy,

I am writing this to you today as a profession of my love. Today is not an anniversary, or a date that would immediately spark a memory. Today is another date in the calendar of our marriage that may one day be just a blur along with the other 2,912 days we have spent together. Today represents another thread in the tapestry that makes up our lifetime together.

Why should I choose to write this today? It is because I love you. I love you every day. I love you with all my heart. Day number 2,913 may not be our greatest. Our days are numbered, and we may not yet know how truly meaningful day number 2,912 is to us.

On day number 2,912 I am reminded of day 556. Day 556 was the day I promised to love, honor, and keep you for all the days of my life. I am reminded of our great pride 2,210 days ago when our son was born, and two days later when we brought him home and wondered “what do we do with him now?” Then just 223 days later, we were wondering how to postpone his walking just a little longer, because “they just aren’t supposed to do that yet”. I am reminded of day 1580 when we rushed to the delivery of our baby girl, and how you were so strong as you pushed through the labor, and how pleased you looked when I introduced you to her for the first time. It is hard to believe that was 1,332 days ago, or that it was 55 days ago when we heard our new baby’s heartbeat and that we will do it all again in the vicinity of day 3,062.

I am reminded of these days, along with the many days of sadness for the death of loved ones, successes and failures, good times and bad times. Best of all, I remember those little moments in between. I remember days at the park, holding hands, stomping around in puddles, cooking a great meal, cuddling on the couch. I remember knowing that you were there each of these 2,912 days, receiving my love with an open heart.

Today is a great day to love you. I look forward with great joy to spending day number 2,913 with you.

All my love,

Mark Aaron

This was a while back, and now we have another member in the family, Jack Walden Murnahan. Things have changed, but one thing that does not change is the power of written words. Use them, practice them, and never forget their importance!

Facebook Privacy Fears Are Absurd!

Tagged on Facebook!
Tagged on Facebook!
I know, I just slapped a lot of Facebook’s 400,000,000+ users with an insult. The real insult is how many “Chicken Little” minds there are out there crying “The sky is falling!” You are a “grown up” right? You can take responsibility for things you say and do, right?

I have read about the biggest fear-mongering pitches ever surrounding Facebook’s privacy settings. I see people moaning about how all their privacy has been taken away and they feel all exposed. They whine about the fact that they actually have to take responsibility for the stupid things they don’t want the rest of the world to see. For me, that has simply been obvious. I mean, I keep my wallet in my pocket instead of leaving it on a counter at the airport. I have routers and virus protection to keep my data safe from prying eyes. If I don’t want somebody to have something, I just don’t give it to them.

Free Facebook Privacy Guide

Didn’t anybody ever read the privacy information published by Facebook in “A guide to privacy on Facebook: Understand and control how you share information” or was that too much work? The service is free, but people still want to complain that it has some rules and guidelines.

If you are afraid of things like somebody tagging you in a photo on Facebook, how do you feel about blogs, email, or even fax for that matter? Is it the service’s fault for transferring the information? That seems kind of absurd to me, considering that transferring that information is exactly why people use Facebook. If people will just take a little time from their selfish Facebooking life to set how they want their information to be handled, maybe they can move on and complain about something else.

Facebook Privacy Beyond Facebook

If you are concerned about what somebody will see, keep it off the Internet. Did you forget that anything on Facebook or any other website can be copied and pasted, printed, or otherwise reproduced without your authority? Who are you going to blame for that? Will you blame the copier company?

I entered a couple of comments on a blog post about Facebook privacy on Mashable.com a moment ago. I will share some of what I said here, and I invite you to go and see the context of my comments as well.

My Comments:

“Facebook is not the whole Internet. What if they take the photo and email it and post it on their blog? Would you like Facebook to control that, too? What if the Internet didn’t exist at all? Couldn’t people still be embarrassed by a bad photo? Marilyn Monroe was, and she didn’t use Facebook.”

“That is the business they are in, but that does not make Facebook, Google, Twitter, or any other site responsible for our indiscretions, or for our privacy. I do not want my documents read when I take out the trash, so I shred them. I do my part to protect my privacy. My privacy is my responsibility. What others do to reduce my privacy by posting a photo or writing something about me is often beyond my control. That does not make me stay indoors. I just know that if I pick my nose while I am in public, those in my direct contact may not be the only public who see it. The fact that there is a venue to share it does not mean the venue should be blamed. It is like blaming the phone company for somebody sending a fax about you. The person doing the faxing is at fault, and not the phone company or the fax manufacturer.”

My point here is this: If you want to blame Facebook instead of yourself, it is like blaming your Internet service provider because you got a virus but did not protect yourself with up-to-date antivirus software. Take responsibility to know the services you use online. If you are not willing to take the time to know the rules of a service, and to keep up to date with those rules, don’t use the service. Nobody is breaking your arm to use Facebook.

Let’s be grown-ups and stop blaming everybody but ourselves for our personal responsibilities. Go set your Facebook privacy however it makes you feel comfortable, or delete your Facebook account like many fear-mongering technophobic users are suggesting.

Defending Facebook

Facebook is a corporation that makes decisions based on their interests. That is the way a corporation is supposed to work. Sure, you can whine that they should ask your opinion, but it seems apparent that they have a pretty good feel for what people want. Maybe you think a company with such a big omelet can do it without breaking a few eggs, but I don’t see anybody else attracting 400,000,000 people across the world for their great plan.

It seems to me that with a user-base larger than all but three countries in the world, they are doing just fine without you in their boardroom.