Remember Google Buzz? No? Well, neither does anyone else. Especailly not Google, who seem determined to try and out-Facebook Facebook. This time, it’s with social sharing.

Forgetting that the main reason we all use Google is the clean, simple, uncluttered interface and generally trustworthy results, Google have decided to let people mix up the results they see. The new “Google +1″ button allows you to like a result, the same way that you do on Facebook. Starting from today, it’ll be integrated on a number of websites, meaning that if you log into your Google account, your results will be influenced by what your friends have been plus-oneing.

So the next time you do a search for shoes, prepare to be bombarded with your brother’s hideous taste in trainers or your cousin’s inexplicable penchant for crocs.

Fortunately, most people don’t have Google accounts, but if you do, take a leaf out of our book. Log out of your account, clear your cache and enjoy the clean, untainted results that we all know and love.

And sooner or later, +1 will disappear onto the same scrap heap as Buzz and Wave.

Probably.

The Queen, excited about Farmville

As of yesterday, Her Majesty The Queen and her assorted children, grandchildren and royal hangers-on have joined the social media revolution and signed up for the internet’s most popular networking website, Facebook.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to add Queen Elizabeth as a friend, poke Prince Philip or RSVP to Prince Harry’s famous fancy dress parties – the Royals will be available only through a British Monarchy Facebook Page, as opposed to individual user accounts.

You will have to be careful about minding your manners in front of Her Majesty too, as the Royal Internet Moderation Team have been deleting the inevitable spam and trolling that high profile Facebook pages generate. As such, we’ve put together a quick guide for those wishing to leave messages on Her Majesty’s wall:

Do…

• Be polite. For two reasons. One, it’s good manners. Two, The Queen has a retinue of bodyguards, an army, an airforce, a navy and a grandson who punched his way out of a Taliban prison in a Channel 4 mockumentary.
• Use the correct terms. “Alright Liz? ‘Ow’s Phil the Greek doing?” will get you nowhere. For reference, Queen Elizabeth’s full title is “Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith (followed by a huge list of medals and knighthoods). Probably quicker to stick with “Your Majesty” or “Ma’am” to be honest.
• Remember the Queen’s probably not spending hours reading your comments. She has people to do that for her, filter out the nutters and provide her with a brief rundown of anything important.

Don’t…

• Swear. Remember what we said about that air force she’s got? We’re not sure if The Queen can order an airstrike on someone describing her in four-letter words, but do you really want to risk it?
• Express your preference for a Republic in ALL CAPS WITH BAD SPEELING. You’ll come across as a nutter.
• Spam. Do you think Her Majesty really needs to buy your special enlarging pills? And don’t even pretend to be a Nigerian Prince. She’ll only double check in her phone book.
• Tell her that you thought “Bohemian Rhapsody” was great. It might be funny, but you’d be stealing my joke.

If you do become a fan of The Queen’s page, don’t forget to swing past the FirstFound Facebook Page while you’re logged in!

If keeping up to date with SEO is more up your street than keeping up to date with Royal appointments and appearances, follow FirstFound on Twitter.

Before the first ever Tweet, before FourSquare checked into the scene and before Facebook became the all-encompassing behemoth that it is now, there was social bookmarking.

SEOs loved social bookmarking websites. They were easy to use, passed along some authority and generated huge amounts of traffic. Then, slowly, the social bookmarking sites started to implement the dreaded nofollow tags. No link juice flowed, and no authority was passed down to bookmarked sites.

Power users rose up and dominated the landscapes, forming rings and cliques that made it harder to hit those all important hot news spots – and the SEOs became even more disenfranchised.

Then, the final insult. The new! New Digg! New Sphinn! Sites that make it even harder for the average Joe to direct traffic. The death knell for social bookmarking.

Is there any point in social bookmarking any more?

Let’s find out.

Runners and Riders – The Social Bookmarking Sites You Should Know

Digg

Since the highly unpopular update of Summer 2010, Digg has gone from being an incredibly popular news aggregator to a pale husk of its former self. Digg disenfranchised its former power users, took away the ability to downvote stories and set itself up as a way for news sites and popular blogs to automatically promote stories. The backlash is still reverberating, but Digg is seemingly a spent force in the social bookmarking sphere.

Worth a look if… you’re really desperate for a no-follow link that only six people will see.
Do say… “This place is a pale husk of its former self. I’m off to Reddit.”
Don’t say… “I think Digg v4 has really revitalised this place!”

Reddit

Simply put, Reddit is a place for the Reddit moderation team (Redditors) to share content that they want you to see, whilst aggressively downvoting anything they percieve as “other”. Reddit recieved a huge boost in users when people abandoned Digg, but it still remains firmly in the hands of a clique.

Worth a look if… you want to see pictures of cats.
Do say… “…”
Don’t say… anything to be honest. You’ll only bring unwelcome attention upon yourself.

Sphinn

Sphinn was the go-to bookmarking site for anyone in the online marketing industry. Set up along the same lines as Digg and Reddit, users could vote on stories, discuss them with each other and generally feel like they had a voice in the community. Then they got rid of voting. Featured stories are now selected by a crack team of editors, making it extremely difficult to have any content featured.

Worth a look if… you don’t mind disappointment.
Do say… “Of course I agree with your choices. I’m glad that someone smart gets to choose what we should read.”
Don’t say… “Actually, we rather liked democracy. It wasn’t perfect, but at least we had a voice.”

SERPd

The spiritual successor to Sphinn, SERPd is basically what Sphinn was 6 months ago, but with a much tighter knit community. Plus there’s a SERPd blog which allows members to submit their own guest posts – which really adds to the community feel.

Worth a look if… you’ve written a top quality article on any aspect of online marketing.
Do say… “I rather like democracy. It’s not perfect, but at least we have a voice.”
Don’t say… “Actually, I’d rather someone smart would just choose what I should read.”

StumbleUpon

If you need traffic, StumbleUpon will generate it. It won’t be targeted traffic, and users won’t stick around, but if you can write an eye-catching piece StumbleUpon will get it seen. If only for a split second.

Worth a look if… you want to increase the traffic to a page, and think you can grab the attention of the hyperactive.
Do say… “This’ll only take a second!”
Don’t say… “Thanks for reading. Now if you make yourself comfortable, the lecture will be split into two, one-hour periods. Are we comfortable? Let’s begin.”

Delicious

The world’s largest social bookmarking site, Delicious plays fast and loose with their nof0llow tags, meaning that popular bookmarks may have some tangible SEO benefits. Otherwise, the site offers an extremely easy to use way to file away important articles that you might need to refer to in the future.

Worth a look if… you need to keep tabs on various online resources, whilst passing on slight benefits to your own sites.
Do say… “Here’s a great article on social bookmarking, and one on SEO, and one on…”
Don’t say… “This is my article on scams, and this is my guide to social media, and this is my homepage...”

Social Bookmarks – Wah! Huh! – What Are They Good For?

As we mentioned above, social bookmarks aren’t going to pass on lots and lots of page rank. They just aren’t going to be an integral part of an SEO strategy. But when they’re combined with an SEO campaign, social bookmarks will provide some tangible benefits for an online business:

• Increased exposure: Millions of users log on to social bookmarking sites. Why not show them what you’ve got?
• Increased traffic: Using social bookmarking sites properly can drive thousands of new visitors to your landing pages. You won’t see huge conversion rates, but every little helps.
• Networking: You’ll meet interesting new people on social sites – and they might be able to scratch your back once in a while

Over to You

So, what do you think? Can social bookmarks be useful for SEOs? Are there any sites we’ve missed that do pass on link juice? Have we done any of the sites above a disservice?

Let us know in the comments section below.

Photo Credit

Now users won’t just be able to catch up with BBC TV programmes, they’ll be able to share thier opinions of the show using the integrated social media functions.

You’ll be able to sync iPlayer up with your Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as pre-downloading shows so that you can watch them immediately after broadcast. This of course means that you should be able to instantly post spoilers for Doctor Who before the rest of your social circle have chance to watch. Although we at the FirstFound Blog would like to advise you that this is a social faux pas that could lead to you being blocked, unfollowed or worse.

The new BBC iPlayer will be available to download later this week.

The South Asian Communist state has signed up for YouTube, Twitter and Facebook – aiming to share its interests and dreams with the wider world. As you’d expect, those interests are anti-South Korea and anti-USA propaganda, glorifying the Dear Leader and dreaming of a world in which all of Korea is run from Pyongyang without American interference.

We imagine that those Tweets and status updates are going to get quite boring very quickly.

If you want interesting videos, Tweets and status updates that don’t focus on why we don’t like our neighbours, follow FirstFound on Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

Ivy enjoyed a cult following, cultivating online friendships with people like Peter Andre, Gordon Brown and Richard Wilson. Unfortunately the 104 year old passed away early yesterday, leaving the identity of the current oldest user unknown.

All of the major papers are running obituaries and memorials, but here at the FirstFound Blog, we’ve been trawling through Ivy’s collection of Tweets to find some of her best updates.

hello everybody hope you are well we have been watching the football here at the home but we dont have to any more its a shame
Ivy on the 2010 World Cup

all the staff here are my PAs but they dont employ laptop experts your right we just cant get the staff
Ivy on the care home staff

when i met Peter Andre
Ivy meets her celebrity friend

Having a chat with Gordon
Ivy meets the (then) PM

hello everybody its fish and chip day
The secret of Ivy’s longevity?

For other Twitter updates, follow FirstFound – we might not be the oldest Tweeter, but you will stay up to date with the latest SEO news.

Taken from The Royal Collection © 2010, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

It looks like even the Royal Family are embracing social media sites. The British Monarchy now has an account on popular photo-sharing site Flickr.

It’s not your typical family photo album, unless your idea of a typical family photo includes forced smiles and overly elaborate clothes, but it does provide an interesting look back at generations of Royal history.

From The Queen’s great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, to her grandchildren, the Flickr album encompasses over a century of British history. Unfortunately there are no memes or LOLcats included, but it’s probably only a matter of time before Her Majesty uploads a few pictures in the traditional “MySpace Pose”.

If you’d rather look at some pictures of contemporary Manchester, don’t forget to take a look at the FirstFound Flickr Account.

Image from The Media Blog

Oh dear. It’s not like the Beeb to make a mistake with their microsites. But as The Media Blog reported over the weekend, someone in the BBC web design department doesn’t like Facebook.

The page was only a placeholder while the new Olympics microsite was completed, but the saddo label is hardly going to encourage people to engage with the BBC on Facebook.

It’d be far better to word it like this:

For instant news, views and insights, follow FirstFound on Twitter.
Join the FirstFound Facebook Page and dive into the conversation.

That’s much friendlier!

Despite the sponsors, it’s not telling you to drink more cola, move your money to a particular bank or wear a certain pair of trainers.

And despite the players, it’s not telling you to swear at referees, roll around on the floor or spill a ball into your own net in a tragically comedic fashion.

No, what the World cup is really trying to make you understand is that success isn’t about one person striving out on their own. It’s about a team effort.

Whether you want to win the World Cup or succeed in the online marketplace, you’re going to need to put together a team. So let’s introduce you to the players at your disposal.

Goalkeeper – Search Engine Consultants

Without a good ‘keeper, you’re going to struggle to get out of the group stages, let alone win the final. Your goalie’s job is to keep you in the game, stop anything unexpected from causing you trouble and help you build from the back.

Sounds like your search engine consultants to us. They’ll be there to bring your SEO and AdWords into play, stop a sneaky breakaway from the search engine algorithms derailing your whole campaign, and generally to provide a safe pair of hands when you need them most. Just make sure you select a Gordon Banks or Dino Zoff. Robert Green need not apply.

Centre Backs – On Page SEO

Good centre backs are the solid foundations on which winning teams are built. Unflappable, dependable and consistent, they’re essential to any side. And if they can pop up with a goal or two from set pieces, so much the better.

Your on page SEO needs to be just as reliable. By consistently ranking on the search engine results pages, on page SEO provides a sustainable level of traffic – and just like a towering centre back rising to score at a corner, it will lead to a fair number of conversions too.

Fullbacks – AdWords

In the modern game, a fullback has to do it all. Remain steady in defence, and rampage forward in attack to create space. Versatility is the name of the game, and speed is needed to back that versatility up.

Fast and versatile? Sounds a lot like AdWords to us. When you need to keep it steady, your AdWords campaign can focus on your core areas. Then, in an instant, it can switch, probing forward to find spaces, trends and unexploited key phrases.

Holding Midfielders – Inbound Links

Possession. Holding territory.  Supporting the defence. You can’t win a World Cup without a holding midfielder, as Gennaro Gattuso can attest. By supporting the defence and neutralising the opponent’s advantages, the holding midfielder is the key to a team’s success.

And by supporting your on page SEO and giving you a competitive edge, inbound links are the key to your online success. Good quality inbound links fortify a website’s rankings, and building new links is a great way to gain ground on the competition. It might not be pretty, but it’s rewarding.

Wingers – Social Media

Always probing forward, looking to link up play and create openings and opportunities – the winger is the prime creative force for any football side. Nobody in the side reacts quicker, and the winger is always looking to turn a situation to his advantage.

In the modern game of online marketing, social media is your way of reacting quickly to unfolding events. It also helps you create openings for conversions by building up relationships, and by monitoring what potential customers want and need, it shows you a myriad of opportunities.

Strikers – Online Shop

Despite what Emile Heskey’s apologists will tell you, a striker has one job. Convert chances into goals. Simple.

Your online shop has one job. Convert visitors into customers. Simple. So make sure it can do its job, and then set up the rest of your side to create opportunities for your star striker to convert.

The Manager – You.

Football is a team game, but there’s still got to be someone to stand up and take responsibility. Someone to put the strategy together and make everyone on the team pull in the right direction. And the same is true of your online marketing strategy.

It’s your company on the line, so you need to be the one to take charge. Sure, you can rely on your goalkeeper to command the defence, but you need to give him clear instructions.

But if the pressure gets to you, remember one thing. Unlike the World Cup, there’s no chance of you being knocked out on penalties.

If your team needs a safe pair of hands at the back, call FirstFound now on 0161 909 3400. We’ll even coach your wingers for free with our handy Social Media Guide.

Finding it Hard to Understand Social Media?

Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, Mixx… Do any of those words actually mean anything to you? If you’ve spent the last few years building your business instead of surfing the web, then the rise of social media might have passed you by.

But now you’ve heard about it, you’ve probably got some questions. What is Social Media? Who’s using it? And the big one…

Wondering How it can Benefit Your Business?

How can social media benefit your business? Thousands of self-styled gurus have written millions of blog posts calling social media everything from a magic salve to snake oil, and you just don’t have the time for trawl through everything that’s ever been written on the subject. What you need is some help. What you need is…

Need Expert Advice and Assistance?

Expert advice and assistance. A helping hand from someone who knows what they’re talking about. Someone who knows online marketing inside out, someone who’s been around for a while and has seen everything the Internet has to offer to businesses.

Not to be too cocky, but you want someone like FirstFound to show you what’s going on.

Help Is At Hand!

That’s why our online marketing experts have spent the last month putting together a guide for you.

Making the Most of Social Media - The FirstFound Social Media Guide

Covering everything you need to know about putting together a social media strategy for your business, Making the Most of Social Media is a free 13 page ebook designed to get you on the road to social success.

With overviews of popular sites, explanations of how social media can help your business, and a sample campaign to inspire you, Making the Most of Social Media is an indispensable guide for anyone looking to take their business into the social networking sphere.

So don’t delay, click here to download your free copy!

And please, leave any feedback you have in the comments section below.

Photo Credit

For more social media advice, visit the FirstFound Blog Archives or follow FirstFound on Twitter.