New research in Scotland says that the more Facebook friends you have, the more stressed you are likely to become. Psychologists are even comparing Facebook to a gambling addiction.
It’s not uncommon for young adults on the social networking site to have close to 500 friends, but research says that the average person only has the emotional energy for 2 or 3 close friends.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, researchers at Cornell University say that Facebook may actually boost your self-esteem. They say it’s because we all tend to put our best foot forward online and create a very positive image of ourselves.
In addition to the ideas above, social media can also use up a lot of time during the day! This is especially true if you use Facebook, Twitter or read and write blog posts in order to promote yourself and your business online! Sometimes you’ll find that it’s tough to walk the line between “social promotion” and “wasting time.”
For two and a half years, since the team producing the opening and closing ceremonies for the Vancouver Olympic Games was put in place, the content of the ceremonies has been a closely guarded secret.
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But when thousands of spectators are allowed in for dress rehearsals at B.C. Place next week before Friday’s opening ceremony, observers say it’s impossible that those secrets will remain under wraps.
“You start opening up a performance event with spectators and you want to maintain a high level of secrecy, I just don’t see how it’s even conceivable,” said Richard Smith, a professor of the school of communication at Simon Fraser University. “Certainly people will talk and when people talk, things no longer stay contained.”
Dr. Smith, an expert in social media, said in the age of Twitter and Facebook, he can’t imagine that people will keep mum – even if they do sign a non-disclosure agreement. “Every little blogger on the planet is thinking: ‘Well I could get a reprimand, but think of the hits.’ “
What do you think? We live in an age of instant information. Would you rather watch the Olympics opening ceremonies live and be surprised by what they will be like or will you just read about it on Twitter first?
Link building is a key to search engine optimization. All major search engines take the number of links to a site in account when determining search ranking. So, if you want to increase your search ranking, you will need to get people to link to you.
But how?
Here are some tips of getting others to link to you explained by perhaps some of the most linked things on the Internet: Internet Memes.
“I Like Turtles”
What this teaches us about link building: This young boy with zombie make-up likes turtles. Of course, that’s not what the reporter expected him to talk about when she came up to him.
The point is that relevant links matter. If you run a website about race cars, you’re wasting your time trying to get links from a blog about flowers. Not only do search engines give more weight to relevant links, but you’ll see more traffic that way as well.
Think about it. How likely is it that someone reading a flower blog will click a link about race cars? Not very likely. How likely is it that someone reading a blog about race cars click a link about race cars? Much more likely.
Keep in mind that the site linking to you does not have to have the exact same topic as yours. It just has to be related. A site that sells auto parts might link to your race car site. So might a site filled with sports car reviews. Take some time, find some related sites in your niche, and focus on getting links from those sites.
Anyone who has done any professional or semi-professional writing has no doubt come across the AP Stylebook.
In journalism school we followed its Canadian equivalent (the CP Stylebook) like the Bible.
Basically it gives you guidelines to follow so that news publications have the same standard and that media is consistent. It lists spelling, grammar, abbreviation, capitalization, punctuation, numerals, titles and more.
As the web becomes the main place to do business, companies will turn more of their attention towards it. Looking around the Internet, you will find countless “Search Engine Optimization Experts” and “Social Media Gurus.” With the web as huge as it is, you need some extra help to stand out. That is where SEO and Social Media come in. However, the old statement that “content is king” still holds true.
In fact, it’s much more truthful now than ever before. Never in history have people had access to so much information so easily. Yes, it is very important to get your site noticed. You need to be searchable on Google and you need to promote through social media. You could have the greatest site in the world but, if no one can find it, it might as well not exist.
