Marketing online for a small business allows many opportunities, particularly with social media. This is even further seen in social media websites such as Google Plus and Facebook, services that allow free reign of social interaction and infinite space like a cloud company.

Google Plus is combative and formidable in their quest to control and overtake their competitor, Facebook. Their “circle” option has allowed more exclusivity and privacy for users, who can isolate their friends into groups. This helps regulate information that is appearing to other users, a common complaint of the social media phenomenon. Google Plus has implemented chat rooms similar to Skype, where users can video chat, an option that Facebook currently lacks.

Google Plus has a slowly growing audience, and that is not quite the fault of the users, but more so Google itself. Their invite-only basis has limited their audience, though that is expected to drop soon. As well, Google Plus is limiting who exactly can make a profile. When initially launched, businesses were unable to make accounts. This turned off many marketers who were looking to move to their service. Though that has been lifted, they still limit your name availability, which can dissuade users who want multiple accounts or want to do something other than be completely truthful. The long term effect of this is still being observed.

Regardless of Google Plus’ few faults, they are doing quite well. But Facebook is not interested in waiting for their decline. Facebook has combated Google Plus with holding their own attributes that are key to Google Plus. They opened up a “friends list” option extremely similar to Google Plus’ “circles.” This helps further regulate their privacy issues, and helps to defend against Google Plus’ new innovations.

The advent of Google in the social media market is troubling for Facebook, but with such a massive audience, it will take quite some time before Google Plus gains any momentous ground. Both social media options are of high quality, and as time goes on, they both seem to be getting ever so similar in interactivity. But it is still to early to fully grasp’s Google Plus’ marketing potential in the competitive field. But you can be confident that with a backing like Google, SEO marketers, users, and businesses alike will flock to their all-encompassing influence.

Gone are the days that a stack of indexed URL’s makes you the cool kid on the block. Here are the times of Google’s new Panda update, an update that has revolutionised the world of search engine optimisation.

Previously, the secret to successful SEO: a large site and heaps of keywords. This is now news of the past; the times have changed.

Google’s new Panda update works to push higher quality sites (both big and little) up in the search engine rankings. The update crawls out web pages with more narrow, in depth focuses and higher valued keywords ensuring the quality of content in relation to a website’s ranking. Google’s spin on its Panda update has changed search engine optimisation tactics from quantity to quality. It’s about time.

Life post- Panda: What you should know to boost your SEO and maintain your traffic?

• Headlines grab a reader’s eye… and search engines’ robots. Your site’s headlines should include quality, informative keywords. Keywords should not surpass the three word recommended limit.
• Push your best quality pages forward and revamp or remove your older, lower quality pages.  All of your site’s pages should include original content and your sitemaps should be up to date.
• Refer to the journalist bible: Readers have a two second attention span. Cram your text into short bites of information, keeping your word count to a minimum. Apply the inverted pyramid to your content’s layout: Place the most important material towards the top of your page, beginning with the first sentence. Information of lesser importance should remain at the end.
• Choose URLs that are most valuable to your website. Index them well. Trash any low quality or duplicate URLs from your index.
• Ads are not quality additions to your page; Spread advertisements throughout your website, avoiding the “clump ads in one location” mistake.
• Google detects manually inputted material. Automated material may make building your page simpler, but will do nothing for boosting your search engine optimisation.

The internet is the ultimate place to express your opinion. You can like the page of your favorite political party on Facebook, join in on a discussion about world economics on Twitter and +1 the pages of the forum you like most on Google. With the development of the internet, the concept of free-speech has grown a lot as well. This might seem like a great accomplishment, but as it turns out it also brought a lot of difficult issues. What if one uses the internet to spread dangerous ideas? This is were the government comes in and it seems like the western countries are welcoming a new way to use the internet.

These days a new discussion is going on: can the government shut down the internet or place filters? It is getting more common for western countries. Recently, politicians in Norway have discussed new methods to limit online anonymity and prevent web extremism. This is due to the recent massacre in Norway. Breivik used the internet to spread his ideas. Australia is considering a new 18+ control on Facebook to protect children. Last week the riots in London caused some huge commotion. Different suburbs were surrounded by violence. These riots were lead through social networks like Twitter and programs like BlackBerry Messenger.  British Prime Minister David Cameron already mentioned that it might be a good idea to restrict the use of services like these.

It is not a new phenomenon that a government has a hold on the internet. In 2009, China blocked the internet in the Xinjiang region after riots. It stayed like that for ten months The European Union even has a policy when it comes to internet and the safety of its citizens.

But is this fair? Some say that the actions of one group affects everybody, other say that if the public is in danger, the government must act. It seems like the success of the internet brought us to a new puzzler: Can a government control the internet?

What we do know is that nations all around the world are facing a new era and how what the standard will be if it comes to internet censorship is for us to find out soon. But, for those who do not like the government on their computer: the University of Michigan and the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a new system that would make it impossible for a government to block individual sites. The program is called Telex and was successfully tested in Beijing. A client was able to stream videos through YouTube, even though it is blocked in Beijing. The system is presented on the 12th of August. It is not clear if it is going to be available for customers.

Google+ has been up and going for a little while now. Some say that with the launch of Google+ Facebook has a new serious competitor. Others do not think that is the case, due to the fact that Google tried to beat Facebook before and failed. Ofcourse nobody knows what will happen, but what we can do is give you an update about the project so far.

Google Plus
We have known the world of online communties for a while now. We have YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook… what makes Google+ so different? The main functions of Google+ are the same as with other communities. You can upload photos, chat, change your status and so one. The difference is that you can control which group of friends can see your posts. There is a lot of privacy for the user. You can divide all your connections in so called circles and differentiate them. Google+ has ‘Hangouts’. A user can go to there and chat with people. The connections receive a message if they are online. This way you don’t have to speak to somebody directly.

What happened in the first two weeks?
In two weeks time 9.5 million people singed up for a account. Google launched a trail version first and right now it is impossible to sign up. You can leave your emailaddress. You will receive a note as soon as the server is open for everybody. This strategy is working pretty good; the ones who cannot get it now, want to have it in the future. On Twitter the first reactions to the social network were positive. Since the launch of Google+, more websites have added a +1 button, next to their ‘share in Twitter’ and ‘Like’ buttons.

Why now?
Why did Google launched Google+? And why is the community online, even though a lot of features are not working yet? According to Google we should not see Google+ as a social network. Google is slowly transforming all her features into user generated/ social orientated products. Google is well known for its fast way of making things availabe (think about Gmail). Their strategy is not the one of the ‘Facebook-Killer’, is the all about relations, data and people. The introduction of Google+ is just the start of a huge social inmigration between the products of Google.

Google+ for your business
The network is not available for businesses yet. In their blog Google points out that they are working on special profiles for companies. These profiles will be connected to Google Analytics and Adwords.

Social media are a great way to spread awareness and advocate for social and political change. It enables us to have better information’s transparency and circulation. Using social media to motivate and ask people to get involved in ideas which are important for you, is now an extremely powerful tool.

Let’s pick up one of this very interesting social media push: “When social media impact Saudi women’s rights.”

An online movement started back in June to support Saudi Arabia women who defy a ban on female drivers. By this time, Saudi women’s rights activists called for the country’s women to start driving their own cars on June 17. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that prevents women from driving. This ban is not based on any laws, only on religious rules.

The movement was pushed via different social media before some of those accounts were shut down:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• You Tube videos

Al-Sherif was arrested and put on jail after publishing a You Tube video showing her driving a car! 9 days later, she was released after pledging that she will never drive a car again or take part in the Women2Drive initiative.

But online supports for the campaign has lived on through:

• Viral campaign that has spread all around the world. For example, The Honk for Saudi Women showing people honking their horns to support the movement
• Petitions on change.org to ask support

The results of the online campaign are positive:

• 22^nd June: women keep driving cars
• An international support from European Union’s and U.S high representative
• Positive feedback from the Saudi conservative members

As you can imagine, some people disagreed with this campaign. For example, someone broke the car’s glass and left a word “Don’t drive again, Bitch”.

Even though, Al-Shamasi, an activist woman, thinks the campaign might pick up speed. “I think more people are going to drive soon, and we can see that through YouTube,” she says.

In addition to spreading word, Women2Drive initiative hopes that their new online advocacy will inspire kingdom into overturning a ban on female drivers.

Facebook has not only exploded into our personal lives, it is also having a dramatic impact on how businesses operate and market themselves. However, many business owners are quick to admit they are pretty lost when it comes to marketing themselves on Facebook. Many people set up their Facebook pages and then think “now what?” So we’ve put together some simple tips to help you get started, get more “likes” and engage your fans more effectively.

Add a Like button to your website

It may sound obvious, but adding a ‘Like’ button from your website is a simple way to attract traffic to your Facebook page. Moreover, you’ll be attracting the right people – your current and potential customers that are visiting your website. Try including a strong call to action such as “Like us on Facebook for exclusive offers, discounts and news.” Make sure you use the Facebook logo or F icon as it will be highly recognisable to your visitors.

Keep it smart

Clearly state your strategy and what your business stands for or about and keep it Simple, Meaningful Attractive, Relevant and Targeted. Make sure your info tab on your Facebook page clearly states what your business is about, what you do and why you’re different.

GRAB their ATTENTION:

Offer various discounts, incentives and promotions to give people a reason to like your page. One of the most commonly cited reasons for “liking” a Facebook page is just this so give them what they want.

Start a debate:

You can periodically ask questions or comment on a topic and encourage conversation. Make your page interactive to create an experience for the audience and bring people back.

Contact or connect to groups:

When it comes to messaging ability, groups are more powerful than pages. Pages send updated info whereas groups send message directly into your Facebook messages inbox. However, it all depends on how scalable you want to be – groups are limited to 250 members whereas pages can have limitless fans.

Use video and video blog:

A video blog is an extremely powerful tool yet very underrated. Video is a great medium to engage audiences as it is interactive and easy to consume. Regular video blogs on your Facebook page give people a reason to keep coming back and facilitate viral referrals.

Connect to other links:

Place a link of your Facebook page to related websites and interesting articles. Content sharing is still the number one activity on social networks. If you find an interesting article, photo or video that you think would interest your fan base link to it from your Facebook page.

Run a contest or games to engage your audience:

Engaging people to enter a game or contest is another great way to increase likes, visits, viral referrals and fan engagement. Moreover, if the competition is a “game of skill” your fans will be required to create their own content (e.g. upload a photo/video or “tell us in 50 words or less”) which can be disseminated as content on your Facebook Wall.

Make your audience a part of your community:

Through a clear strategy and effective message a page can create a community where people share their common interest and feel a part of it. It also helps encourage people to invite their friends to join.

Blogs:

Write, manage and update a blog to get your followers engaged and give them a richer content experience. Write about topics that will interest your audience such as news from your business industry news, and relevant trends, and encourage people to comment and blog.

Use a powerful and effective profile picture:

Think of your profile picture as a marketing banner. You may not realise but it can be over 400 pixels tall. Maximise use of this space by not only including your logo but also promoting any special offers, new products and/or a strong call to action. It can catch customers’ attention, motivate new visitors to “like” your page and promote new offers to existing fans.

Interactive page:

Try creating attractive and exclusive campaigns such as a ‘Fan of the month’ promotion can work to get fans engaged and motivated them to visit and interact more. Rewarding your best customers and more loyal fans will only help to build a more loyal fan base and facilitate word of mouth marketing.

Like, Share, Suggest:

Encourage current fans to share their stories and suggest friends to join and like you page. Remember: don’t ask, don’t get, So don’t hold back!

Network with other Facebook pages

Talk about your page on other related pages by tagging your page in posts. However, make sure you are contributing to the conversation on the other Facebook page, otherwise you will come across as SPAM which is a big “no, no”.

Ask Question:

A poll of various ideas and promotions. will help to get more people to visit, like and improve your page and business. You can now do this directly on your Facebook Wall using the Facebook Questions feature. Simply ask your question and set the answer options. It’s a simple and easy way for people to interact with your page.

Facebook unveils its answer to Google+ Hangouts on Wednesday, 6th of July, at its headquarters in Palo Alto, California: Skype and Facebook have teamed up. You can now make video calls on Facebook, and send instant message, import your newsfeed, comment and “Like” all from within Skype. “We’re using the best technology out there for video chat with the best social technology,” Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said at the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto.

The goal of Mark Zuckerberg is to integrate some new apps on Facebook like Skype, to repeat the success obtained with Zynga.

So far Facebook users had to leave Facebook to call someone. Now, all they need to do is download a small Facebook plugin and boom – instant video messaging.

As you know, Skype was purchased by Microsoft in May, $US8.5 billion. Therefore by integrating video calling, Facebook not only reinforced its own feature list but also strengthens their partnership FB/MS alliance against their common enemy: Google.

This alliance between Facebook and Skype is a win-win for the two companies – enabling each to extend its sphere of influence and occupy a more prominent position for both consumers and businesses.

Last Tuesday, Google unveiled Google +, a new social network project to compete with Facebook.

It is not the first try; in February 2010, Google launched Buzz, a social networking and messaging tool which did not work because it endangers user privacy.

Google + has been built in the realistic way. “Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools.” said Google on its website, before adding: “In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it.”

BASED ON THE “REAL-WORLD”

When Google was building Google +, it was thinking about some real situations and places. For example, “+hangouts”, live multi-person video, has been built to make gatherings fun, fluid and serendipitous. It is supposed to be a virtual pub/coffee where you meet and talk with your friends when you have some time to kill.

However, the main innovation of Google is “+Circles”, which have been brought to make a circle, add your people, and share what’s new with them. You can drag and drop them very easily. You don’t have to share your life with your family, friends, boss and colleagues at the same time. You can share selectively all the time – with circles, as you do in the real life.

However, Google + is very close from Facebook as it has all the main options of a classic social network. However, as XKCD, American blogger of a romance, sarcasm, math, and language webcomic emphasizes ironically, it looks like Facebook but it is not Facebook. Therefore, it could find a public: the ones who have been disappointed with the biggest social network in the world…

Did you like the recent YouTube takeover party launched by Desperados? If you like me was super impressed, you’re sure to love the stunning Perrier’s campaign on YouTube, French sparkling water.

It features a video of a scene club with a thermometer in the side which measures the temperature. The more that people watch the video, the more scenes will get unlocked and the hotter the video will become.

This campaign is very innovative because the viewer has two reasons to share the video: showing something cool and fun to their friends and get more out of the experience for themselves. However, a Perrier rep notes, “Viewers can unlock the next video immediately for their own viewing simply by sharing the campaign via the email, Facebook and Twitter buttons directly below the video screen. Here they can also download the Babe Youth song that plays in the background of each video.”

The channel generated 174,000 views in the first 24 hours of the campaign being live. So far the channel has received over 4,191,395 views, which has unlocked 4 of 6 levels.

Michele Vieira, brand manager of Perrier says of the campaign, “In addition to the break-through digital activation, a strong TV and digital media buy, point-of-sale materials for on and off premise and mobile components round out this 360 degree integrated campaign. The integrated experience carries over to the cocktail napkins used in cafes and bars, which will invite consumers to call a phone number where an automated voice encourages them to receive information via text about the promotion.”

Perrier says it earned 2,000 Facebook fans in two days and “le Club Perrier” was the first tweeted French video in the world on Wednesday, 8^th of June.

Great work Perrier! Ready to enter the party?

How do you say Twitter and Facebook in French? You don’t! At least if you are on TV or radio, where bring them up is banned unless they are specifically part of the story. Actually, a 1992 decree says that mentioning such services by name is an act of advertising.

French anchors should say “Find us on social network” instead of “Follow us on Facebook or Twitter”. This measure is impotent because it won’t stop the viewer from going on Facebook and Twitter, it will only make it harder. This is one of the reasons why Matthew Fraser said in his blog “Anglo-Saxons who live in France, as I do, constantly struggle with the puzzling paradox in a society universally admired for its splendid “joie de vivre” – yet infamous for its oppressive bureaucratic culture of legalistic codes and decrees.”

You are probably wondering how the French government justify this reform. Christine Kelly, France’s Audiovisual Council, said, “Why give preference to Facebook, which is worth billions of dollars, when there are other social networks that are struggling for recognition? This would be a distortion of competition. If we allow Facebook and Twitter to be cited on air, it’s opening a Pandora’s box. Other social networks will complain to us, saying, ‘Why not us?’.” She added that “the authority was not seeking to block the networks, only to foster fairer practices. We encourage the use of social networks … Perhaps one day Facebook will become a generic term, but for the moment it is a commercial enterprise – a leading one, certainly, but not the only one.”

Can you imagine this measure in U.K or America? Everyone would protest to have it abolished. In France, there was scarcely any reaction from media. No stupefaction, no outrage in the mainstream press. However some bloggers and journalists have ventured into a more detailed analysis.

Some commentators have suggested the ban is another effort to control the influence of Anglo-Saxon cultural influences, particularly those seen as encouraging the use of English. Are French holding their language and culture in perhaps too high esteem?

Few days ago French President Nicolas Sarkozy (400 000 fans on Facebook) met with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. But Pierre Haskim, the editor of the online French daily Rue 89, says that beyond that celebrity moment, France is showing itself as “out of touch” thanks to the new law.

On the radio France Inter, journalists in the studio wisecracked on air over what they called a ludicrous law.

Loic Le Meur, French who moved to Silicon Valley, is close from the government as he participated to the web politician campaign of Sarkozy in 2007. However he said on Twitter: “French regulation forbids TV networks to say Facebook or Twitter? My country is screwed…”