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By The Squirrel, on August 30th, 2010
 Facebook Places Poor Facebook. It seems to be under constant attack from pranksters (or haters?) always starting rumors. The latest had nervous folks indiscriminately posting the following in their status:
ATTENTION!!!! Facebook launched Facebook Places yesterday. Anyone can find out where you are when you are logged in. It gives the actual address & map …location of where you are as you use Facebook. Make sure your kids know. Go to”Account”, “Account Settings”, “Notifications”, then scroll ………down… …to “Places” and un …check the 2 boxes. Make sure to SAVE changes and re-post this!
Sadly, I saw this reposted over and over. All taking the above actions do is remove Notifications to your email or cell when someone has tagged you in a Place or comments on a Place you visit. This is even less helpful from the point of view of the privacy conscious.
In light of this, Facebook posted this notification to each profile:
Get the Facts about Places
There is a false rumor that Facebook shares your location without your knowledge or consent.
You control your information on Facebook. With Places, you choose when to share your location by checking in or allowing friends to check you in. Your location is never given to anyone automatically.
Learn more about Places.
Want some truly useful advice about Places and your privacy? Change the ability to let others tag you in Places. Go to Privacy Settings, choose Customize settings. Under “Things I Share” enter your desired level of privacy in “Places I Check In To”. (Note: Places is an OPT IN service. You don’t Check In, you aren’t anywhere.) Then scroll down to “Things Others Share” and again choose your desired level of privacy.
Granted, Facebook has been careless with our privacy in the past, but it seems to me they’re slowly starting to “get it”. I just can’t fathom why someone would enjoy creating urban legend after urban legend. But, even more astounding to me is the blind trust associated with the constant reposting of the information before even checking it out.
By The Squirrel, on August 7th, 2010
 Blogging all the time. Blogging really is an art form. You need the ability to hold the attention of your reader, maybe even entertain then a bit, engage them, all while getting your point across. But don’t be discouraged and run out to get that journalism degree – some of the best bloggers never went to journalism school.
Here are some quick tips on the general tone to use when blogging…
Talk to your audience like you would a friend – but without the cuss words and off-color comments. (Unless of course, that is your “shtick”.) Be friendly. If they feel they know you a little maybe have a smidgen of a rapport with you, they are more likely to use your service or buy your product.
Avoid the newspaper article tone. Too many sites are dry and humorless. Consumers just aren’t drawn to it. If they wanted to read the newspaper, they’d be on that website reading emotionless articles instead of your blog.
Don’t write posts that are too long, or too short. The general consensus is 250-750 words per post. Got more to say? Break it into a series. Series do well, and keep the reader coming back.
Comment sincerely on other blogs writing on the same topic. But don’t spam people with your site – read the post, and comment about the post – only. (MS Spammers should read this. I will not post your ads for illegal purses or male enhancement products, ok? I have a spam catcher that works great… It deletes your ‘comment’ before anyone ever sees it.)
Sorry, I got carried away… (Not that I feel strongly about spammers or anything 
Most comment forms allow a link back to your blog. Commenting is a great way to subtly invite other bloggers to visit your site.
Respond to comments in positive tones, even to the detractors, whenever possible and reasonable.
Most of all, be honest – this builds trust. Be humble – this creates a sense of compassion. Be yourself – this shows courage.
By The Squirrel, on August 1st, 2010
 WordPress Once again we’re blogging about blogging.
Wait, don’t go! This might actually be useful. Well, if you have a blog it’s useful, particularly if it’s a WordPress blog.
Here’s a list of our favorite WordPress plugins, in alphabetical order:
Add To Any Share/Save – This popular plugin allows your readers to share your content with dozens of popular social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, etc.
All in One SEO Pack – A few themes are already SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly, but if yours isn’t already, this is a perfect addition. Continue reading Our Favorite WordPress Plugins
By The Squirrel, on July 24th, 2010
 Blogging about blogging. Again. In a previous post, we talked about Tips For Promoting With Social Media, and promised a followup post on the topic of connecting with your readers.
When I tell people I have blogs where I write articles and stories, they often give me a quizzical or blank look. Many don’t know websites are often blogs, probably because they don’t understand there is really very little difference between the two. Occasionally they’re bold enough to ask, “What is a blog?”. I used to say ‘It’s a web page on the front end of my web site where I post articles or stories I write’. Still, the blank look would persist. Now I tell them it’s a dynamic web page with constantly updating content.
That seems to work much better.
One important difference between a website and a blog is Continue reading How Your Readers Can Connect With You
By The Squirrel, on July 19th, 2010
 Facebook login page. Now that you’ve got your Facebook Fan/Like page, what do you do with it? (If you missed our first post on the topic, check out Facebook Pages, Formerly Known As Fan Pages.
Your goals should be along the lines of gaining interactions, comments, and ‘likes’ on your page as well as driving traffic to your website or blog.
These few tips should help make for satisfied followers who stick around:
1. As much as you may love your new page, don’t suggest to all of your friends they add it. This is considered guerrilla marketing and is anti-social. Instead, suggest it to those who you feel would genuinely be interested in the product or service. Grow your followers through legitimate interest rather than random clicks. That way you’re more likely to get the customers you want – the ones who actually want to buy your product or service. Continue reading 5 Facebook Page Marketing Tips
By The Squirrel, on July 3rd, 2010
 Marketing Squirrel's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/MarketingSquirrel We don’t quite know what to call Facebook’s new, previously called, Fan Pages.
“Like” Pages?
It’s kind of like when Prince changed his name to that symbol… nobody knew quite what to call him so they just called him ‘the artist formerly known as Prince’. For now we will just refer to the old Facebook Fan Pages simply as ‘pages’. That is until they change them again.
Sorry, you’re on your own with what to call “the artist formerly known as Prince”.
Having created several pages for clients before the switch, I was used to things working a bit differently: You could create the page (which makes you top Admin), add the company principals as Admins, and then remove yourself as admin when the project ended. At that point, the next person under you (the second one you had added as Admin) became the chief Admin.
But not any longer. Continue reading Facebook’s Pages Formerly Known As Fan Pages – UPDATED
By The Squirrel, on June 30th, 2010
According to Mashable June 30th is Social Media Day.
What, you didn’t know?!
Ok, I like to think I’m pretty connected to these things, but I didn’t know either. I mean, really when did this start? Yesterday?
I learned this from The Bloggess. She thinks Mashable might have made it up. I’m thinking she’s right. But really, do we need a holiday to post and tweet?
I think not.
So… Happy Social Media Day! I think you should take the day off and celebrate properly.
(Guest post by Secret Squirrel)
By The Squirrel, on June 27th, 2010
 Domain name extensions What You Need To Know Before You Buy A Domain Name or URL
A friend is starting a business, and recently asked me about buying a domain name or URL. While I probably gave him too much advice, there are really only two things you absolutely must know before you buy a domain name.
First, and most importantly, do not let someone else purchase your domain name for you. If you only ever know one thing about buying a domain name, let this be it. If you intend to hire a web designer or graphic artist to create your site, whatever you do DO NOT let them purchase it for you. The purchaser is the legal owner and should be the owner of the company, product, or service.
We have a client who allowed the web design firm purchase all of his now very popular domain names. When he hired us for additional services not covered by the design firm, I asked for needed access to the website, etc. I came to find out no one in the company knew any of that information, not even the Marketing Director. No one at the company had any access to the website – everything was controlled by the web design firm. I asked who owned the names, and while the Marketing Director said the company owner did, a little further digging proved this to be incorrect. The web design firm purchased the domains. While they did it on behalf of and at the request of the company owner, by doing so the design firm became the legal registered owner. Continue reading Read This Before You Buy A Domain Name or URL
By The Squirrel, on June 20th, 2010
 Social Media Promotion These days everyone needs a website, and just about everyone over the age of twelve has one, or three. However inaccurate, it lends a certain level of authenticity and legitimacy to you or your company, which in turn provides a sense of comfort to your visitor and prospective client.
But having a website isn’t enough. Even if people happen to find it, you want them to keep coming back. You need to offer more than just good content, and some freebies. Instill the idea in your visitors mind they will get something good by regularly coming back to your site.
The trouble is people have short memories. Tell me, can you remember what you had for breakfast yesterday? Most likely it took you several minutes to remember. Probably because you have no emotion attached to that event. But what about an event for which you have attached emotion? You can probably remember every detail, down to the color of your socks, of major events. The trick is to get your visitors to attach an emotion, hopefully a positive one, to visiting your site. Continue reading Tips For Promoting With Social Media
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