If you use Facebook Comments on your site you should soon be seeing some benefit to your SEO. Google has updated its search and is now able to index comments left on websites using the Facebook Comments plug in.
This is quite a dramatic change for Google who was previously unable to return results containing comments left via social network plug-ins as they were rendered within an <iframe> making them invisible to search engines.
So while websites tried to make it easier for users to comment without having to create a new profile within their site, it meant they were losing out on any benefit the comments might bring to search ranking.
The search isn’t perfect though and results only show up if you search for a string of text that matches a comment posted. But it’s certainly a step closer for website owners who are working to balance getting the best from their SEO and providing a positive user experience.
However it may have some implications for users as it means Google now has access to information previously held behind privacy settings which means they can track and analyse your commenting habits. If you’re commenting publicly this may be fine with you, but when you consider your comment could potentially appear on the front page of Google this might impact what you say and how you say it.
It’s a nice step forward for Google and for Facebook that now has one less barrier to people using its comments feature. There isn’t much to report yet on the change but no doubt more discussion will be coming out as people start to see the effect in their result.
Editor: We’ll see how this pans out and how much of an impact they can have. We’ll do some testing on this and see what we can work out.
Editor: As most of you may already now, I’ve had an unhealthy obsession with Klout over the past few months. They may in part have been because my score was so high 
Its not anymore. It dropped by over 10 points overnight. Klout is clearly trying to improve their algorithm and rightly so. However there really are some clear flaws in the new algorithm (which I’m sure they’ll iron out). However, if I have more followers, likes, and connections, I am more active and get re-tweeted more, it would make sense my score was higher than someone that was didn’t have any of these things. Sadly this isn’t the case right now. The big concern here is that Klout aren’t testing things behind closed doors properly before they make them live (either that or they have a completely different idea of what is important than the rest of us). This means that people may take Klout less seriously – which would be a shame as I think it has great potential. You check out a podcast on the topic (recorded before the changes): Social Influence and Klout Podcast
Anyone who spends much time on Twitter knows about Klout and its apparent ability to measure how effective you are online.
Most of my friends compare their score regularly and alert their followers to any increase as proof that they are doing something right. So you can only imagine the uproar which followed Klout’s update this week which saw some pretty high scorers drop significantly overnight.
According to Klout’s blog, the update has been planned for a while and its new algorithm is designed to provide a more accurate scoring based on greater intelligence about the people you interact with.
For example, one of the areas you are scored on is your ‘Amplification’ which measures how you influence people with your content. Previously it would measure how many people acted on your comments, e.g. liked or retweeted them. Klout has taken this a step further by looking at how these actions compare with the individuals habits. So if someone ‘Likes’ your comment but also likes numerous other posts during that day it won’t score as highly as someone who rarely acts on content but selects yours as something worth taking action on.
How my Klout score ranks me today
The same approach has been taken with the other areas the tool measures in a bid to reflect quality rather than quantity. But what do the score changes really mean for people?
Anyone working in social media knows how hard it is to measure with any real accuracy the impact of your efforts.
A lot of what we do is based on educated guesswork, instinct and interpretation. So it’s understandable why so many would leap on a tool that claims to provide us with a quantifiable assessment of our impact. If we know how it works we can act accordingly and watch our score go up, safe in the knowledge that we are heading in the right direction.
Many of the comments left on Klout’s blog following the update have complained that they’ve spent the past few months building their score only to find it’s now wasted. I disagree with this claim wholeheartedly and anyone who engages online with the sole purpose of increase a notional score was wasting their time and everyone else’s from the start.
Online engagement is about building relationships and offering your followers and peers good quality content that adds value and interest. If you’re doing this well then your followers will let you know, if you’re not they won’t stick around for long.
So forget about your score and focus on what your customers and followers want from you. And I guarantee it’s probably not a daily update telling everyone your Klout score has gone up by 2 points.
Where are Facebook changes heading?
Is it me or does Facebook seem to be running scared from Twitter and G+? It’s understandable that it would want to keep its product fresh with rising competition from elsewhere in the world of social networking but it looks to me like Facebook is frantically replicating key features and throwing them into the mix. Causing much consternation from many users.
First of all came the updated friends list; this allows users to manage their contacts better and share updates only with key groups. Much like G+ circles, it allows you to group your friends and control what you share and with whom. It also means that you get more from the people you care about most and remove posts from people you don’t.
Next came the subscribe button, a nifty little tool that allows you to start seeing news updates from profiles that aren’t in your friends list. It means that you can see public news items from people you are interested in and allow others to do the same. By activating the subscribe button on your profile, users can chose to see the updates you decide to share publicly.
For your existing friends, the subscribe button allows you to customise the feeds you see from certain individuals. We all have someone in our list who incessantly plays games and posts each and every update into our news feed. With subscribe you can turn these off.
And the most recent update is the news update which now displays what Facebook considers to be top stories personally selected for you. It does this based on lots of factors such as who the person is to you, how many comments or likes an update receives etc. Tope stories change depending on how long it’s been since your last visit and any images linked to top stories display larger than previously.
There is also a news ticker down the right hand side of your page which shows real time updates as they happen. So you can see what your friends are doing while they are online without filling up your news feed.
I have to say that the news feed looks great and minimises the number of updates cluttering up the front page. The stories chosen for me by Facebook don’t seem to come from the people I interact with or view most often which is what I’d expected. And at least for now I can change back to the old look Facebook if I want to.
With all the changes being rolled out, it does appear that Facebook have lost the plot a little bit. While the ideas behind the changes appear sound and clearly are meant to rival the competition by pinching their key features, it feels like Facebook is trying to be all things to all people.
The news feed and ticker now feel like I’m being rushed through my Facebook visit where I would normally have browsed leisurely, something Mark Zuckerberg stated only a few months ago was him aim. The new friends lists feel like Google+ circles, great because they provided a tool for people who wanted to manage a range of contacts and acquaintances in one place, but do I really use Facebook to do that?
It certainly seems like Facebook is covering all of its bases and new tools are always worth trying out but if those changes fundamentally alter the user experience and the underlying principles of the service it does raise a few questions about where this is all heading.
The changes certainly caused a fair amount of negative comment across the web this week and a lot of users don’t seem to be in favour. It will be interesting to see what Facebook unveils at its upcoming f8 conference. Whatever it is I hope it gets a better reaction from the crowd that these recent changes have.
All of the changes are covered in Facebook’s blog
Editor: Lots of peoples reaction to the live feed was “I thought thats what my feed was anyway”. Hence there have been lots of comments about it allowing you to Facebook while you’re in Facebook: http://www.yodawgyo.com/yo-dawg-i-herd-you-like-facebook/ 
I think in reality the changes will help people cope with the volume of things they have ‘liked’. The risk was that otherwise we’d all stop ‘liking’ things as it was becoming manageable. As for all the people moaning about the changes; It’s Facebook, if you don’t like it , don’t use it.
Steve Jobs quits Apple
The news that Steve Jobs was resigning as Apple’s CEO came as quite a shock and the reaction has been a stream of comments and tributes published this last week.
There has been a lot of speculation about the reasons behind his resignation and whether poor health might be a factor especially given Jobs has been on medical leave since January this year. But whatever the reason, his departure appears to have rocked the worlds of many and in some of the tributes you start to question whether he resigned or died!
Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt said of Steve Jobs that he “Had an artist’s eye as well as a definition of what great engineering is”. Lovely sentiment but you have to wonder at the sincerity given the open hostility being shown between these two companies recently. Then again I’m sure there are many of Apple’s rivals who are hoping that this move signifies a decline in their biggest competition so they can afford to be a bit generous with their praise.
While it is certainly the end of an era, Jobs is taking on the role of Chairman for Apple and will still be actively involved in the company, working alongside his replacement Tim Cook who I’m sure is feeling a little daunted by his new role.
While well versed in the company’s operations, Cook will need to make sure he continues to build upon Apple’s reputation as the leader in innovation in order to quiet the critics. Apple’s success is not only the super cool and gorgeous looking products it makes but also the speed at which they keep them coming. And Steve Jobs is widely recognised as the force behind this making his resignation a potentially huge blow for Apple.
However, while Cook has been focused on managing the companies operations, he is not a stranger to leading from the top. He stepped into the breach in 2004 when Jobs was battling cancer and then again in 2009. Added to the fact that he’s been covering the role since January this year, it seems he’s proved himself a worthy replacement.
And it seems most people agree. While Apple shares took a small dip following the announcement, they’ve held steady since and nobody seems to be panicking.
With Apple’s plans for further improvements to both the iPhone and the iPad coming in the next year it seems at least for the foreseeable future Apple has a firm plan in place.
The BBC has pulled together a nice collection of quotes reacting to the news.
Social media censorship
While the Government talks last week have not resulted in any firm decisions, it seems that the likes of Twitter and Facebook may still see heavy restrictions in the future during periods of trouble.
While the Home Office has acknowledged the value of being able to use networks for disseminating crucial updates, it still firmly believes that they had a part to play in enabling rioters to communicate more effectively.
However representatives from Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry all said they felt the meeting was positive and productive and focused on how to keep people safe rather than imposing more restrictions.
But given the Government’s line doesn’t appear to have changed following the meeting, it’s hard to see what it actually achieved.
Everyone will have their own opinion on this but it still seems like social media is being used as a bit of a scapegoat. After all, it’s not the first time we’ve experienced unrest in the UK, and in the pre social media era would we even have considered laying the blame at the door of BT or Royal Mail.
Enough said, I’ll climb down from my soapbox for now.
Home Office calls meeting for social networks
Following on from the recent riots the Government is considering putting measure in place which limit the use of social networking sites during times of trouble in the UK. It comes following calls for tighter policing of networks which were used by some rioters to incite others to join them.
The Home Secretary Theresa May has invited the major networks to attend a meeting at the Home Office to discuss the merits of limiting access in the future if deemed necessary.
Only Facebook has confirmed their attendance so far and were said to be keen to discuss the issues with the Home Secretary. It also wishes to bring to her attention the measures it has already taken to ensure the network continues to be a safe environment for users.
Social media platforms were heavily criticised over the riots due to the high number of people using them to communicate with fellow rioters and encourage the violence to continue.
However Facebook have been keen to point out the fact that many of the posts which were placed by those involved in the riots were actually reported by other users and much of this resulted in early warnings to police. In addition to this, much of the resulting support for clean ups was coordinated through social networks.
The Government has been quick to point the finger at social media as the key method of communication between rioters and suggest that restricting access would have stemmed the violence and should be considered as an option in the future.
However, for many of us this smacks of censorship and the idea of a communication lock down seems to be more at home in the pre 21st century world. And in reality, if people are determined enough they will certainly find a way around any such blockade.
It’s understandable that such a knee jerk reaction would be seen with the public calling for answers and looking for someone or something to blame. However even the police have spoken out saying that in fact they were able to monitor the social networks and this led to many arrests as well as being able to communicate important updates to the public which kept many people safe and away from the trouble.
Whatever the outcome there are going to be arguments from both sides and the discussion is making the rounds wherever you turn. But I for one don’t want to live in a world where the government can restrict media which allows free speech and sharing of opinions to only messages it deems appropriate.
Google buys Motorola Mobility
This week saw Google make its biggest acquisition ever to the tune of $12.5bn (£7.6bn) when it purchased Motorola Mobility, the company’s smartphone business.
This is a massive for deal for Google and push Android to where Google wants it to be. It’s clearly been trying to position itself as serious competition for Apple and Microsoft with the Nortel deal and others with limited success. The acquisition of Motorola Mobility gives it three times as many patents as the Nortel purchase offered and gives Google a hardware option now which sits nicely alongside its operating system.
With Android being so open to personalisation, many users find this frustrating and a barrier to moving across devices with the same software offering. Open source was an attractive prospect at first, but this has led to a great deal of diversification across the market which has dwindled the level of loyalty shown by its customers. Google has recognised this and has made efforts to create a more standardised approach which has proved difficult given the number of devices it runs on. But now having its own device could mean the end of open source and herald a new chapter for Google where it produces its own software on its own devices.
In addition to mobile, Motorola is also the leading provider of set top boxes which brings in a whole new dimension for Google building its business in its customers homes through their TVs.
It makes sense that Google would chose Motorola for this acquisition as it was the first to partner with Google and build phones based around the Android operating system. Building that relationship from the beginning would make it a natural choice to foster closer links and put Google more firmly in competition with other smartphone operators.
Everyone is having their say but the Guardian gives a nice overview.
Google adds more sitelinks
Google has announced it has increased the number of sitelinks shown in its search results. This aims to allow users to more quickly navigate to the section of the site they are looking for by giving more options that fit the search criteria.
For some sites this can mean that almost half of the space is taken up with just their links and pushes other results even further down or even off the page.
The change has come under criticism from some companies who claim that this will reduce the traffic going through their homepage and miss potential advertising revenue. Of course it could be argued that forcing visitors to go through an irrelevant homepage doesn’t exactly offer a great user experience but then again does a user really want 15 different links to one site.
Check out Econsultancy’s blog which is collecting advice and opinions from its guest bloggers.
End of the PC
With the rise of the tablet comes the demise of the desktop according to a recent blog post by Dr Mark Dean, an IBM engineer who worked on one of the first PCs back in 1981.
It appears that so many of us now use a mobile device that PCs, while still having their place, have been replaced as the driving force behind technology they once were.
The claim comes as IBM are celebrating 30 years since it launched the 5150 which set the standards and benchmarks from which everything followed. But even Dr dean admits that his primary device is now a tablet rather than a PC.
I can quite believe this is true for many of us, having not used a desktop for work for at least the last 6 years and the PC at home only being used very begrudgingly when other devices are being monopolised.
Who wants to sit at a desk when you can work from the sofa, the garden or a coffee shop.
Microsoft of course had a different view and believes we are moving not into a post-PC era but into a PC-plus one. According to their predictions, over 400 million PCs are set to be sold next year and will continue to see demand in the future.
Read Dr Mark Dean’s blog in full
Editor: Realistically powerful machines still create too much heat and are too bulky to be laptops. My Mac Pro is great, but realistically for video I need something far meatier (I’m a vege so maybe that should be quornier).
Facebook chat to rival texting
Facebook has launched its new messenger service in the US this week which allows users to communicate with their Facebook contacts via SMS as well as via facebook chat.
While it may appear similar to Blackberry messenger and to the impending Apple messenger on iOS 5, the benefit of Facebook is that it crosses platforms. Blackberry and Apple will be limited to one device, whereas Facebook can go between Android and Apple devices.
It already seems to be proving popular and some have heralded it as the end of texting. It’s not yet released here in the UK and rumours are that the US released was rushed through ahead of Apple’s iOS 5 launch next month which comes with a similar tool built in.
However not everyone is terribly impressed by the new app, purporting it to be a useless additional tool and necessitated only by Facebook chat giving an awful user experience. Ouch.
Facebook have a short overview of the app on their site and it does appear to have some useful functionality on it, but I can see the argument for making it work inside of Facebook’s already integrated chat service. A no brainer really.
Facebook: Is it me, or whatever Facebook bring out I just yawn. Bothered? Not really.
Did Facebook publish all your contacts?
No? Mine either? Probably because this would be horribly illegal and completely wrong. But for many users who recently allowed Facebook to integrate their contact lists this is exactly what they were told had happened. Obviously not by Facebook you understand.
Following the recent mobile app update the message below started appearing in people’s inbox and news feeds.
“ALL THE PHONE NUMBERS IN YOUR PHONE are now PUBLISHED on Facebook! Go to the top right of the screen, click on Account, then click on Edit Friends, go left on the screen and click on Contacts. Then go to the right hand side and click on “visit page” to remove this display option. Please repost this on your Status, so your friends can remove their numbers and thus prevent abuse if they do not want them published.”
Sounds bad? You’ve got to feel for poor Facebook although much of it my be due to poor communication on their part given this isn’t the first time they’ve been hid by bad press over a fairly innocuous update.
The actual function released enabled you to sync your Facebook contacts with those on your device, allowing you to access all of the details you hold for your contacts in one place. So if someone calls and you have them listed in Facebook, their profile picture appears on your screen. And on the other hand, if you have Facebook friends who have allowed their phone number to be visible on their profile, this will be popped into your phone contacts.
It only works if individuals have allowed you access to their details via Facebook and doesn’t trawl either your phone or their private details to populate your list. It’s just bringing two sets of data together and putting it in one place.
The only time it checks for private information is to establish that your phone contact and Facebook contact of the same name are actually the same person, but again it doesn’t give you access to those details unless they are already available to you.
Facebook is clearly trying to encourage its users to use it’s products as a portal for all their communication needs, thus rendering it almost indispensible due to the complexities involved in removing yourself and keeping your contacts intact.
But given the rise of competitors on the social market, it’s hardly surprising and I for one welcome anything that makes my life easier and negates the need to manage different lists in different places. Although I will admit to still owning a pocket address book with all of my most important people written down in it. Just in case.
Editor: People that believe these things seemed to be convinced Facebook is out to get them. WHY ARE YOU ON FACEBOOK IF YOU HATE IT!!!
Social media blame in the riots
Is anyone else baffled by the number of reports linking the recent riots with the use of social media? This week I have read countless articles suggesting that the use of Facebook, Twitter and BBM by rioters somehow implies an element of blame.
Social media is just a tool to communicate, what we do with it is up to us. While the devastation and loss of life is appalling, I doubt we can lay any blame at the door of the channels used to facilitate it. Violent outbursts and mass destruction have been around long before social media and did not require technology to motivate people to participate.
All of these tools are just that, how we use them is a reflection on us and whether we choose to use our resources for good or bad. And while we saw incitement via Twitter and Facebook, we also saw the support and promotion of the volunteer clean up groups and individuals sending out messages of love and support to those affected.
Editor: I sat and watched the riots unfold live on TV about a mile away from where they were happening whilst following the Twitter stream. The stream had me in tears of laughter and despair at various points. Social Media also allowed the tidy up to happen. It also allowed riots with real cause throughout oppressed areas of the middle east take place.
Ciaran talks to Wayne Gibbins from the social network Viadeo who have some 90 million users worldwide. Over a beer we discover a little more about what Viadeo offer and explore with Wayne how you go about marketing a social network on the international stage. Plus we get some great insights into networking relationships for your business and brand internationally but with local flair.
You can get a free profile and find out more about Viadeo at :-
http://www.viadeo.com
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Daniel talks us through Social Media Scoring, and how its beginning to effect how the industry views content. We also talk about reputation management online and how it relates to the Social Media landscape, and the importance of passion and enthusiasm for creating engaging content for your audiences.
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Ciaran and Daniel take a look at building your brand with digital marketing techniques, and discuss best practice and tips with links to some great online examples. Daniel directs us to some great resources for learning more about online branding.
Nike.com
www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nike/en_GB/
Lego.com
www.lego.com
Burgerking
www.bk.com
Cadbury’s Creme egg
www.cremeegg.com
Milka Cows
www.milka.com
starbucks ideas
www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/community/mystarbucksidea
IAB
www.iab.com
IAB UK
www.iabuk.net
check out their online guides at www.iabuk.net/en/1/internetmarketing.html
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