Blogging

Looking for the best career search websites? Online tools to help you check out that prospective employee, new next-door neighbor or potentially significant other? Specialty search engines? The story behind LOLcats? Resources to improve your Internet marketing skills? Find music online? Record and promote podcasts?

Find the answers to these random and unrelated questions and more in this set of valuable but difficult-to-classify posts from the last year.

Help wanted. Desperately. by Reflections of a Newsosaur

In a great post about online career resources, Alan Mutter traces the decline of the newspaper industry to the fall in help-wanted classified advertising. Mutter contends that newspapers once virtually owned the business of connecting employers with job-seekers, but, failing to sense the shift happening around them, have conceded billions of dollars in classified ad revenues, first to sites like CareerBuilder, HotJobs and Monster, more recently to SimplyHired, Oodle and NotchUp.

New Sites Make It Easier To Spy on Your Friends by The Wall Street Journal

Though the tone is a bit overly dramatic, Vauhini Vara makes some good points here about how you can use sites like Google Maps and Spokeo to learn things about others they may not want you to know—and how to protect yourself from the same behavior. Most of this is common sense (or at least should be): be careful about what you post on sites like your Amazon Wish List and Flickr, and don’t ever give a social media site access to your email address book.

10 Rules for Setting Your Internet Marketing Budget by Conversation Marketing

In yet another of his many remarkable posts, Ian Lurie provides practical responses to the “It costs WHAT?!” question, such as: “If you expect to get a #1 ranking on Google for $99, you’re insane;” “Reliable hosting costs more than $9.95 a month;” and my favorite: “If you’re spending $250,000 to build your product and get it to market, don’t tell me you can’t spend $15,000 to give it a decent web site, unless you want to watch my eyes bug out like I’ve been suddenly depressurized.”

The Big List Of Major B2B Search Engines by Search Engine Land

The resourceful Galen DeYoung notes here that while “most search marketers focus on Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft…B2B search marketers also have a growing number of vertical search options.” While these search engines / portals / directories have much lower traffic than the big three, that traffic is much more focused. Galen reviews a number of sites that can provide both direct traffic as well as being valuable for B2B SEO links, such as Jayde, Zibb and Alibaba.

The new fame: Internet celebrity by CNN

Reporting from last year’s ROFLCon, an event devoted to Internet culture, Anne Hammock describes how the web has changed the possibilities for, and very definition of, fame. The conference, described as ” the biggest gathering of micro-celebrities ever,” brought together such niche luminaries as “World of Warcraft character Leeroy Jenkins (born Ben Shultz)…Kyle MacDonald, who gained international attention for an online chronicle of his adventures starting with one red paper clip and trading, one item at a time, up to a home in Saskatchewan, Canada” and some of the people behind LOLcats.

Finding Google custom search engines by Phil Bradley’s weblog

Phil Bradley shows how to find Google custom search engines, created through Google’s Custom Search Engine program, which “allows expert human editors to enhance the results (of standard Google searches). For example, custom search engines can be built that provide different information to patients searching for diagnosis and treatment information about a particular illness than for doctors seeking out the latest clinical and scientific research on the same malady.

Improving Your Skillset: Your Path to Becoming a Better Internet Marketer by PluginHQ

Ignore the somewhat spammy opening for this post, because once you’re past it Glen Allsopp provides an excellent list of the various skillsets involved in online marketing, with links to useful blogs and resources that help you improve your knowledge and skills in each area. For example, copywriting (Copyblogger, Michael Fortin), search engine marketing (Gordon Choi, PPCBlog), SEO (SEOmoz, SEO Book) and social media (Chris Brogan, ProBlogger).

3 Reasons Why Purpose is Essential in Business by Words for Hire

In this thought-provoking, almost spiritual post, Karen D. Swim makes the case for the importance of having a clear and consistent purpose behind your business strategy and actions. “Whether you are an entrepreneur, employee, blogger or stay at home parent, life requires you to have strength of character. Without it you risk being tossed to and fro by the whims of life. Purpose keeps you connected with your internal compass, vision and values.”

The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Podcasting by Search for Blogging

Mert Erkal delivers just what this post’s title promises. If you’re a podcasting pro, you can safely skip this one. But those just getting started with online audio will find a great list of helpful resources here, from free podcasting software (Audacity) to guides and tutorials on podcast production, as well as several links to worthy example podcasts.

16 Free Search Engines For Finding Music Online – Start Listening Now! by AddictiveTips

There’s no need to limit yourself to iTunes. This article reviews free search engines for finding and listening to music online, from the popular Last.fm to less-known sites like Karabit, BeeMP3 and Internet jukebox Songza.

Previous posts in this series:

Best of 2008: SEO Guidance, Part 1
Best of 2008: Interactive PR, Part 1
Best of 2008: SEO Tools, Part 1
Best of 2008: Search Engine Marketing
Best of 2008: Web Analytics
Best of 2008: Email Marketing Tips
Best of 2008: SEO Keyword Tips & Tools
Best of 2008: Sales & Marketing Copywriting
Best of 2008: SEO Link Building
Best of 2008: Website Design
Best of 2008: WordPress Tools and Tips
Best of 2008: Web & SEO Copywriting
Best of 2008: SEO Guidance, Part 2
Best of 2008: Social Media Optimization, Part 1
Best of 2008: AdWords Tips and Tactics, Part 1
Best of 2008: SEO Tools, Part 2
Best of 2008: SEM Landing Pages
Best of 2008: Blogging for Business, Part 1
Best of 2008: Interactive PR, Part 2
Best of 2008: SEO Guidance, Part 3
Best of 2008: Social Media Optimization, Part 2
Best of 2008: AdWords Tips and Tactics, Part 2
Best of 2008: Strategy and Branding, Part 1
Best of 2008: Cool Web Tools, Part 1
Best of 2008: Blogging for Business, Part 2

*****

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

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Best of 2008: Random but Interesting, Part 1

Classifieds listings have returned to Facebook, thanks to the social network’s partnership with e-commerce service Oodle. With Facebook Marketplace’s focus on making classifieds “social,” the company hopes to give Craigslist a run for its money. But at least right now, it won’t mean any new revenue streams for Facebook–it’s powered by ads and sponsored listings, with no transaction fees yet.

You may recall that in mid-2007, Facebook launched its own “Marketplace” feature, but it never really caught on. Late last year, Facebook made it public that Marketplace would be relaunched with Oodle’s collaboration.

It’s different from other Oodle-powered classifieds systems (which include News Corp.’s MySpace): namely, it looks like a Facebook news feed. You can fill out listings as though they were the social network’s own status updates, by choosing one of four options (sell, sell and donate proceeds to charity, give away for free, or ask for something). Then, it’ll show up in your friends’ news feeds as something like, “Caroline is selling a lightsaber.” You can sell items to any Facebook member, though friends-only listings are on the way, and when someone looks at your listing they can also see, for example, how many friends you have in common. Oodle and Facebook hope that will boost the trustworthiness factor.

There’s no payment system, which means that buyers and sellers currently need to negotiate a means of compensation. It does, however, leave the doors open for an internal Facebook payment system, something that is either in the works or on the back burner depending on who you ask.

Additionally, at this point, posting a classified on Facebook Marketplace is free. But the service is focusing at launch on the sale and exchange of material goods. You can’t hunt for jobs or apartments on it yet–that’s on the way, and Oodle representatives wouldn’t say whether there may be fees for these listings. (Craigslist makes its money from real estate broker fees, for example.)

Oodle and Facebook are highlighting the “donate to a charity” option, which taps into the array of nonprofits reachable through the Network for Good (it also powers the popular “Causes” application on Facebook). While there are over a million registered 501(c)3 nonprofits in the listing, about 20 are launch partners that have agreed to promote Facebook Marketplace.

See the original post here:
Oodle’s Facebook Marketplace hits the Web

Classifieds listings have returned to Facebook, thanks to the social network’s partnership with e-commerce service Oodle. With Facebook Marketplace’s focus on making classifieds “social,” the company hopes to give Craigslist a run for its money. But at least right now, it won’t mean any new revenue streams for Facebook–it’s powered by ads and sponsored listings, with no transaction fees yet.

You may recall that in mid-2007, Facebook launched its own “Marketplace” feature, but it never really caught on. Late last year, Facebook made it public that Marketplace would be relaunched with Oodle’s collaboration.

It’s different from other Oodle-powered classifieds systems (which include News Corp.’s MySpace): namely, it looks like a Facebook news feed. You can fill out listings as though they were the social network’s own status updates, by choosing one of four options (sell, sell and donate proceeds to charity, give away for free, or ask for something). Then, it’ll show up in your friends’ news feeds as something like, “Caroline is selling a lightsaber.” You can sell items to any Facebook member, though friends-only listings are on the way, and when someone looks at your listing they can also see, for example, how many friends you have in common. Oodle and Facebook hope that will boost the trustworthiness factor.

There’s no payment system, which means that buyers and sellers currently need to negotiate a means of compensation. It does, however, leave the doors open for an internal Facebook payment system, something that is either in the works or on the back burner depending on who you ask.

Additionally, at this point, posting a classified on Facebook Marketplace is free. But the service is focusing at launch on the sale and exchange of material goods. You can’t hunt for jobs or apartments on it yet–that’s on the way, and Oodle representatives wouldn’t say whether there may be fees for these listings. (Craigslist makes its money from real estate broker fees, for example.)

Oodle and Facebook are highlighting the “donate to a charity” option, which taps into the array of nonprofits reachable through the Network for Good (it also powers the popular “Causes” application on Facebook). While there are over a million registered 501(c)3 nonprofits in the listing, about 20 are launch partners that have agreed to promote Facebook Marketplace.

Here is the original:
Facebook Marketplace relaunched with Oodle’s aid

Particls, a company that once provided RSS feed organizers, announced Monday that it has launched a new project, called Particls Fountain. According to the company, the project will replace Twitter Track, which allowed the microblog’s users to follow topics by keyword, and users will be able to use it with Google Talk or Twitter itself.

To start using Particls Fountain, the company says users will first need to follow @particls on Twitter. To track a specific keyword, users can then start a request with “d particls” and follow that with the keyword they want to have access to. Once that tweet is transmitted, any and all mentions of the particular keyword will be sent directly to the individual Twitter user. As you might expect, the service is free.

AOL Classifieds announced Monday that it has enlisted the help of Oodle, a classifieds aggregator that has already inked similar deals with Facebook and MySpace, to power AOL’s classifieds page. According to the company, AOL’s page will feature more than 30 million listings aggregated from more than 80,000 sites. Each classified listing will link users to other properties in the AOL network, including autos, personals, and real estate. A Canadian version is also available Monday and the UK iteration will launch later this week.

Publisher affiliate aggregator Skimlinks announced Monday that it has raised an undisclosed sum of funding in a round that was led by Sussex Place Ventures. According to the company’s executives, who recently changed the company’s name from Skimbit, they will use the funding to expand their new focus as an aggregator.

Insurance.com, an online auto insurance agency, announced that its board of directors has appointed Robert Klapper as its new CEO. Klapper succeeds Dave Roush, the company’s founder, who will remain chairman of the board. Prior to his new appointment, Klapper was CEO at One Day University and a former CMO at Prosper Marketplace, an online peer-to-peer lender.

DubMeNow, a company that provides users with the ability to exchange contact information via text or e-mail in one click is available now on all US phones. According to the company, the tool will load contact information directly into the user’s mobile address book and updates it automatically whenever the contact’s information changes. DubMeNow partnered with Microsoft, Google, Salesforce.com, RIM, and LinkedIn on the technology.

Mission AdWorks launched its “socially responsible” advertising network Monday, which connects publishers, bloggers, and other site owners who are “making a positive impact on the world” with marketers. The network features verticals in topics ranging from environmental community, social enterprise community, youth media and community, and others.

See more here:
Webware Radar: Particls brings keyword search back to Twitter

Responding to its users’ desire for more restaurant review offerings, TripAdvisor announced Tuesday that throughout 2009, it will be adding features that will allow visitors to do more than review eateries on the site. So far, the site features 2 million reviews and ratings on 500,000 restaurants worldwide. To help users search through those more effectively, TripAdvisor added price, cuisine, and “recommended for” filters to its restaurant page Tuesday.

Also, the company has partnered with OpenTable.com to allow U.S. users to make a reservation directly on TripAdvisor’s site. The company’s new iPhone app, dubbed Local Picks, lets users find local restaurants and use the device’s location-based technology to find restaurants nearby. More features will be announced later this year. Goodrec offers a similar service.

Online radio service Slacker Radio has launched five new stations in time for Valentine’s Day. Its Broken Heart Radio station will feature “a melancholy mix of lost love and yearning with a touch of soulful redemption.” Slow Jamz aims at getting you in the mood with songs from Marvin Gaye and others, while Rock Ballads Radio tries to bring you and your loved one back to the 1970s and 1980s. All of the company’s Valentine’s Day stations are live now.

XLR8 Mobile, a company that offers customizable widgets for sharing videos, music, and pictures across social networks, announced that it has changed its name to Dijit. The company’s CEO, Eric Allen, claims the name change was the result of his company’s “commitment” to developing new technology that allows users to share their original content and focus more on sharing. The company’s new name was announced in conjunction with the release of a beta version of its widget platform.

Oodle, a network for online classifieds, announced Tuesday that it raised $5.6 million in funding from existing investors, Greylock Partners, JAFCO Ventures, and Redpoint Ventures. The company, which announced last year that it will power Facebook’s Marketplace, will use the funding to form more partnerships. The Facebook Marketplace is scheduled to launch later this quarter.

Search marketing and analytic firm Enquisite, closed an $8 million round of financing that was led by Castle Ventures and Formative Ventures. According to the company, it plans to use the funding for product development and marketing efforts it hopes will expand its operation.

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Webware Radar: TripAdvisor adds new restaurant features