Posted by Lauren Litwinka on January 27th 2010 in Blogging, Community Manager, Rants | 15 comments
Here at aimClear, we’re proud of our in-house authors. Like many publications we also open our pages as a community platform to host guest bloggers. Sometimes guest posts are written by industry professionals whose practices are perceived by some as controversial.
Wait. Let’s stop right there. “Controversial.” That word can carry a negative connotation, one of altercation, agitation, even acrimony. But on the flip-side of the coin, “controversy” can be a beautiful thing. Controversy when hosted on a public, unbiased, progressive platform, such as a third-party blog, can function as an open invitation for conversation- healthy debate, passionate exchange of perspectives and core occupational beliefs. Other times, visitors with an unrelated agenda attempt to ruin the discourse. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Blogging, Community Manager, Rants | 15 Comments »
Posted by Lauren Litwinka on January 22nd 2010 in Interviews | 2 comments
Matt McGee (@mattmcgee) is a respected member of the online marketing community, helping companies understand “the Internet” and succeed online since the late 1990s. Two years ago he created the SEMMYs, an annual awards event that laudably recognizes “the great content produced across the search and online marketing industry.”
I had the pleasure of holding a candid interview with Matt this week on the eve of the 2010 SEMMYs (don’t forget, folks- SEMMY finalists will be announced this Monday, January 25, public voting begins January 29, winners are announced February 1st!). Here’s what he had to say. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Interviews | 2 Comments »
Posted by Lauren Litwinka on January 15th 2010 in Community Manager, Social Media | 41 comments
When Twitter launched four years ago, it (perchance inadvertently) gave businesses the most precious gift imaginable: an intimate glimpse into consumers’ daily lives. It gave them the power to monitor brand reputation in a clean, accessible interface. Corporate brands like @Zappos & @Zappos_Service, @Starbucks, @DellOutlet, @JetBlue, and @TheHomeDepot, as well as personal “brands” like @StephenFry and @AlyssaMilano have been wildly successful with social media because they’re structured, devoted, attentive, engaging and personable.
Tragically, there are also bandwagon-jumping companies and celebrity glory-whores who go at Twitter like a portly dude at a buffet. They use it as self-centered bullhorn and nothing more. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Community Manager, Social Media | 41 Comments »
Posted by Dennis Yu on January 14th 2010 in Paid Marketing | 23 comments
But before you scroll down to find out how, I want to tell you that you can fly Southwest for FREE. Yes—Southwest is giving away free tickets in a promo that expires tonight! Or so the ad on the right would seem. It’s got the Southwest Airlines logo and is worded such that you’d think that Southwest is running this Facebook contest.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Paid Marketing | 23 Comments »
Posted by Marty Weintraub on January 8th 2010 in SEO | 28 comments
Read it and weep. Google seems to be testing even deeper integration of real-time search in SERPs (search engine results pages). Either that or maybe it’s a bug. Check out these suggestion results (found at the bottom of the SERP) for our KnowEm friend, Michael Streko.
Obviously, Google is now cruising real-time search and Twitter for SERPs suggestions. Here’s where that suggestion is derived from: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in SEO | 28 Comments »
