Social Search Archives

Last night, Yahoo announced that they opened up Yahoo Buzz to the whole web. When Yahoo launched Yahoo Buzz, it was only open to less than 500 or so publishers, for users to use. Now, Yahoo has opened it to any web page on the internet, allowing any of their users to submit and buzz up any content on the web. You can read more of the news at Techmeme.

To submit content, go to http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit/. To add Yahoo Buzz buttons to your own content, go to http://publisher.buzz.yahoo.com/about.

We have been a Yahoo Buzz publisher for a while, so you have been able to see the Yahoo Buzz buttons on the bottom of our posts for a while now.

A WebmasterWorld thread does point out that it is "Restricted to US only." But other than that, there is not much discussion around this Digg-like service.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

According to The New York Times, Microsoft will soon be advertising within Facebook. Perhaps this is because Microsoft currently has an ad deal with Digg and Digg might be acquired by Google soon, possibly nullifying the contract (though I don't really know the legal ramifications of such an acquisition).

There's no forum discussion just yet, but the writer of this article wonders how well-targeted those Microsoft ads are ... considering she used to see weird ads on Digg.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

CNET and a number of other blogs report that Google may buy social news site Digg for approximately $200 million. This has been something we've been eying for awhile, with Reuters photographing Digg CEO Jay Adelson with Larry Page of Google (as seen in Valleywag). As a former Digg addict myself (with an emphasis on the "former"), I guess I wonder what Jill Whalen wonders on a Sphinn submission: why would they want it?

Many other forum members are a little baffled by this. In my opinion, it is happening way too late. An acquisition last year would have been more beneficial with the dedicated userbase. One forum member calls this another "fascinating toy for Google guys" and that Google is pulling what Microsoft did years ago: they're acquiring without stopping.

Several forum members across many forums, however, say that they thinks Digg could do better than $200 million. Actually, I think Google could do better than $200 million....

Others think that the search engine takeover was a matter of time, especially since Google has been testing voting features within the search engine for some time. But is Digg really profitable? It might be, and that's because they force you to click twice to get to a page you want to vote upon (which was an issue of contention last September when it was implemented -- but they never responded to this -- since they were aiming for the monetary gain).

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld, DigitalPoint Forums, and Sphinn.

Debra Mastaler's Grab Your Profile Link Before Some Jerk Does points out almost the obvious, but when you think about it, many brands don't bother with it. I cannot express enough how important it is for you to secure your brand name on all the major social sites and communities, espesially those that may have an impact on your brand.

For example, do you think Paris Hilton secured twitter.com/parishilton or did some savvy web marketer grab it and is using it to promote their own site? But it can get bad or evil even. If someone who hates you grabs your profile and uses it against you, it can get nasty. So it is very important to try to grab all your social networking profiles and register them, even if you don't bother using them.

Which profiles do I recommend you obtain?

• Digg
• Delicious
• Twitter
• Plurk
• Linkedin
• Flickr
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Gmail account
• Yahoo Profile
• MSN profile
• FriendFeed
• Bebo
• MyBlogLog
• MySpace
• Netscape
• Pownce
• StumbleUpon
• Niche social sites (aka Sphinn)

I am sure I am missing some, but you should seriously consider securing your brands, names, products, trademarks and so on at these sites.

Forum discussion at Sphinn.

A very cool post by Web Professor was published yesterday about the 11 1 most important stories about Sphinn ever. The post goes into detail about who the big community participants are, what the best posts about Sphinn are, and what kind of Sphinn discussions there have been since its launch last year.

This post goes to show the power of "social" media and how we're all united by a community bond of some sort. Plus, it's a great post that illustrates that many people share information about what they're passionate about.

If you're new to Sphinn, it's a great read. If you're old to Sphinn, it's also a great read. The links (111!) will tell you the ins and outs of who and what Sphinn is all about.

Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.

Dosh Dosh has just written an excellent piece on how to get more Twitter followers. He cites a lot of reasons, but drives it down to the power of your brand. Still, even if you're not a powerful brand, you can benefit from Twitter in the same way that many popular web celebrities do. For example, if you create a tool and promote yourself with it, you can gain a lot of followers. You can also use your website real estate to link to your Twitter profile, such as through banner ads, a Twitter link, and more.

Additionally, your friends can vouch for you or you can run contests. Really, the possibilities are endless and Dosh Dosh touches upon the surface. Your creativity doesn't have to run out with this one.

The article is a must-read (and so is the blog), and forum members think so too. :)

Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.

Before reading on, would you consider forums "social media?" This is the question that is posed on a High Rankings Forum post.

Many people find that the answer varies. Forums, after all, are inherently social -- they bring people together on common ground. But others disagree. Forums are not "social media" because they don't like the negative connotations of social media (such as being "poked" like on Facebook). In other words, the person finds social media as meaningless but forums are meaningful. Your mileage may vary.

Forums really do predate social media. If I'd give my insights, I think forums are not "social media" per se (the way we social media folks see it), but they certainly were a stepping stone and precursor to "real social media." However, of course, there's the other side of the coin: social media is, after all, the technology that people use to share their opinions and insights, and forums definitely provide that.

Yay or nay? Forum discussion continues at High Rankings Forum.

Andrew Shotland aka Local SEO Guide has a very cool writeup on Facebook Pages and Local Search Engine Optimization. He explains that it's possible to do local SEO from your Facebook page and illustrates the process, which includes setting up your own blog, installing a Facebook application called SimplyRSS, keeping content updated regularly, and networking on Facebook very often.

Does it work? He illustrates that an accountant from the UK is using it, and it seems to appear pretty useful. However, with 8 fans, my bet is that they're not applying Andrew's fourth tip: "networking up the wazoo." In any event, with an RSS reader, you can embed your blog posts into almost any Facebook page that you can customize, be it your profile page or a fan/product page, and it's a very valuable tool to leverage.

Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.

In an extremely unexpected move, AOL has acquired social site Bebo for $850 million. Bebo currently has over 40 million members, but nobody realized that AOL would go the acquisition route -- until it did.

Was it worth it? Some people think that the approach is the most important thing:

If they push for international recognition (AOL was mainly based in the US) they should be alright in the long run. If they are trying to promote it in the US more than they should, waste of money.

But in the UK, apparently, Bebo is a great social network, and as long as AOL focuses its efforts on where Bebo is big, it can work for them.

Forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums and WebmasterWorld.

Do you all remember Digg's algorithm change in January? Well, it looks like I was right when I claimed that Digg jumped the shark. Pierre at Social Alerter actually provided an in-depth analysis of how the algorithm impacted the popularity of front page stories. In his post, Digg's Algo Change Cut Promotions by 38%, he shows data that supports this statement. Then he asks, "The question is, was the change worth it for Digg? Did the quality of promoted stories go up? Did it increase the number of users? Only Digg the company and the Digg users can answer those."

Let me give you a short answer: Digg became less of a tech-centric site and more of a mess of random junk. For example, did this story need to hit the front page? Thank you, captain obvious, but I like informational news, not junk.

As some people notice, however, the Digg stories that do get promoted get a lot more traffic. (Not from me, though.) And at this point, I think that Digg can't really have a "fan base" because it totally killed user morale--at least to some like yours truly.

Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.

Over at Cre8asite Forums, member Risa asks about the appeal of social media sites. She's tried StumbleUpon, Facebook, and Twitter, but hasn't used them more than once.

She's not alone. Autocrat adds that he also struggles to understand social media when used in conjunction with search engine marketing.

So what does one do? Well, speaking as a social media aficionado myself, it didn't happen overnight that I started understanding the nuances of social media. At first, I hated Digg. Then I fell in love with it. I've been a StumbleUpon member since 2005. I started using it aggressively in 2007. Twitter wasn't that appealing in 2006 when I signed up. It's now almost indispensable when I use it for advice and networking -- and it's a great tool.

Social media takes time and investment. It also takes understanding what works for you and your business if that is how you intend to use it. Build a profile on one social site and let everything else follow.

What others don't understand is that social media is not search. It is not something you should try in lieu of a decent SEM strategy. If anything, social media should complement it.

I'd also recommend that others should acknowledge that while there are hundreds (thousands?) of social media sites out there, it may be compelling to focus on a social media site that aligns mostly with your interests, but if it isn't a heavily-trafficked site, your efforts will probably not meet your satisfaction. A site like StumbleUpon is great because you can really drill down to your wants and needs and get served (and serve) pages that fit in with your interests. And if you're an active participant, people will become your friend which makes it a lot easier to network.

Forum discussion continues at Cre8asite Forums.

Colin Cochrane noticed that del.icio.us has blocked search engine spiders. He believes that it's not a simple robots.txt exclusion; instead, del.icio.us is serving 404 errors based on the User-Agent. Barry Welford confirmed this by changing the User-Agent himself.

How did he come across this? He was using a Firefox del.icio.us addon that and couldn't locate a page he had referenced before. It was only when he did the search directly on del.icio.us that he found it.

Not many people believe that this approach is a good idea. A 403 response code is better, says Pierre aka eKstreme. Pierre has noticed a bunch of errors lately within Yahoo, including JavaScript errors and pop-up alerts that indicate that something has broken.

Some folks have turned the thread into a rant about the competence of Yahoo at this point. Barry Welford puts it this way: "this may be a sign of a debilitating decline for del.icio.us and Yahoo! is in no position to invest massively in a property that has uncertain monetization."

I honestly hope that that is not the case.

But EGOL says something else. It is possible that many people are gaming their way onto the del.icio.us front page (heck, I've seen some pretty bad-quality sites there myself) and this is the way to not pass juice to them. It's not the most ideal solution, and it's a mistake to do this without being forthright.

Most people believe this is just a bad mistake made on Yahoo's part, which doesn't help since Yahoo has been having a difficult time lately, and this doesn't help matters at all.

Forum discussion continues at Cre8asite Forums.

TechCrunch got a tip that Yahoo Search is testing integration Del.icio.us results in the search results. In my opinion, bad idea Yahoo.

Michael Arrington says it "Delicious search is one of the best ways of searching for things when a standard search doesn’t pull up what you are looking for." True, but Yahoo search users won't understand it. They simply won't get it.

We have discussion on this topic at Sphinn where SEOs and SEMs weigh in. One person said this will lead to more Delicious spam, "so begins the mass creation of Delicious accounts meant to spam." Of course, for bloggers and delicious users, we are happy, as one person said, "What a great step that would be, given word of mouth is a bigger influencer of our purchase behaviour than is any other variable." But as Michael said, "excellent idea, horrible integration, stumbleupon nailed it on the head, the delicious integration is is inferior hopefully they will bring it up."

Still, I don't think Yahoo searchers would get it. I don't even think most Google searchers would get it.

Yahoo just sent me a screen capture:

It should work for you on a search for JAVA, but it doesn't work for me in Safari.

Forum discussion at Sphinn.

Who are you? Google wants to know. This past weekend, we learned of Google Profiles, a way for Google to learn about who you are, what you do, and provide any information about yourself.

Google goes into further detail, explaining that a profile page is a way to "represent yourself on Google products — it lets you tell others a bit more about who you are and what you're all about."

Google Profiles are accessible to everyone but you can show as little or as much information as you like.

Forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums.

If you're a user of the Sphinn social news network, you might be inundated by the folks who participate on a regular basis. So who should you know? A SEOmoz post (or rather, a YOUmoz post - it's in their user generated content section) posted by member bookworm-seo has a real in-depth article of the top 20 Sphinners and why you should befriend them.

So why? Well, they're seeking out some great content that you should read. And they're pretty interesting, as bookworm-seo says.

It's actually a nice read. I won't mention who is on the list since you'll have to look at it yourself.

So who are the top 20? And what do you think about such lists? The discussion continues on Sphinn.

One day, Matt McGee decided to take a deep look at Sphinn (as a moderator) and acknowledged 7 recurring mistakes that continually happen on the booming social news network. He listed them out and encouraged users to be distinct, different, and unique. Here's what you should avoid when pitching to a site like Sphinn or another type of social news website:

1. Avoid sales pitches disguised as "good content."
2. Don't submit your entire website. Social news sites don't need your "about" pages. They aren't directories.
3. Have a good headline. Seriously.
4. Make your description interesting. Don't you want people to vote on your article?
5. Give yourself a noticeable avatar. Stop blending in with the crowd.
6. Create a unique username.
7. Stay on topic and contribute articles that are pertinent to the categories you've submitted to.

(I feel like I've said much of this before and it still works quite well for other social networks. Thanks Matt!)

But what else would drive someone bonkers? Well, for a smallish site like Sphinn, you shouldn't submit more than 2 stories in a row (it's in the guidelines, people). That one frustrates a lot of people.

What would drive you crazy on a social network? Forum discussion continues on Sphinn.

Well, not quite, but forum members are noticing that people are shifting their focus away from forums and into blogs. Do forums have to adapt?

Not necessarily. Some forum members are not yet embracing the blogosphere. The audiences may stay the same.

And so, many think that forums can still coexist with blogs and newer social media. RuudHein adds the following:

By nature, I believe, all social media, including forums, are complementary.

Forum administrators often grapple with this problem. The discussion prompted Cre8asite administrator Kim Krause Berg to blog about it. Jill Whalen of High Rankings forums believes that both can coexist as well, as they're quite similar in what they offer:

But I really don't see forums as all that different from blogs that allow commenting.

Still, some people, like Barry Welford, do:

If you want a discussion with like-minded people, then a forum is the place to go. Social media sites like Digg, or even Sphinn, are like a whitewater river. There is little time to stop and look around. That isn't at all the nature of a successful forum.

Some people will move onto blogs, and others will stick with forums. Yet others will mix and match. There's nothing wrong with that, and forums don't appear to be going obsolete anytime soon. (If they would, Search Engine Roundtable would too, right? We only cover forum discussion, after all!)

Forum discussion continues at Cre8asite Forums and Sphinn.

As a result of StumbleUpon's newest update, a lot of folks are confused about how it's integrating into the Google SERPs. There are two new features, one of which actually isn't a new feature, but it looks like StumbleUpon has finally brought these options to the attention of its users.

Here's an example of what you see with the feature turned on fully. Don't ask me why they categorized one of these as "Car Parts."

It appears that it's just a matter of a recent update -- nothing more, nothing less. In fact, you can turn it off here:

StumbleUpon Toolbar > Tools > Toolbar Options > Configuration Tab > Uncheck "Highlight Recommended Search Results," "Show Names of Friends Who Like Search Results," and "Show Topics of Search Results." At that point, the page will look like it used to -- but you'll still see a "See StumbleUpon Friends Reviews."

Of course, many people are a bit concerned about the privacy implications. I don't mind; I'm a big SU user.

You can disable just about everything, which essentially restores your search results to the normal results you'd expect.

In any event, forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

A Cre8asite Forums thread is buzzing about social media, where a forum member asks if bounce rates are higher than from other traffic sources.

It really depends on the audience and the content. Someone might go to a site and want to know more. Others might just keep clicking the "Stumble" button repeatedly until their phone call ends. Others are intrigued by a headline on Digg, might then access the page, but will then return to Digg. A number of factors come into play here.

Some people are actually seeing lower bounce rates from social media sites (22% as opposed to 50%), which is substantial. If you have the good content, then take advantage of it. :)

But what else could be involved in that metric? It is possible that the searcher didn't find what he wanted for the particular search phrase since many terms have multiple meanings. When you're in a mode for performing a social search, you're likely to meander. Again, there are a lot of factors including the mindset.

Forum discussion continues at Cre8asite Forums.

Google is soon to launch OpenSocial, which I alluded to earlier this week. MySpace, which has recently lost a lot of users to Facebook, has joined forces with the OpenSocial developer initiative. Additionally, Bebo and SixApart have joined as well.

What does this mean for Google? Money.

I think you can be pretty sure that Google makes a profit on the spread between Adwords revenues from ad placed on MySpace and Adsense payouts to MySpace.

Can we expect the Google stock to rise to $800? Maybe.

Is it too late for them, though? Only time can tell.

And finally, can small players participate or is it also too late? Forum members are skeptical of the success of the small person over giants like Google and Microsoft.

Coverage is at Techmeme, and forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld and DigitalPoint Forums.

Want some cash? Got a Facebook application developed? Numerous reports to Facebook developers suggest that Facebook is looking for some cash, and they're willing to share. An application developer has received the following email:

Dear Facebook Application Developer,

Would you like to drive more users to your app? We've expanded our pay-per-action (PPA) beta test and would like to invite you to participate by creating ads for your Facebook application. [snip]

A WebmasterWorld member has pointed out that Facebook is intending to launch SocialAds next week so that advertisers can target Facebook users anywhere. Will SocialAds end up competing with Google AdSense if these ads can be viewed everywhere?

That's certainly a thought. Danny Sullivan suggests that Google is launching a competitive campaign of its own: OpenSocial.

Who do you think will win this battle? Facebook clearly has the lead in the social sphere. AdSense clearly has the lead in the advertising sphere. Will the tides change with the times?

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

As many of you know, I'm a heavy social media user. I love finding interesting content that is typically determined by an audience of my peers who vote on articles on many different web 2.0 sites. A WebmasterWorld member, whose website is typically one of those frequently-voted-upon sites, is having trouble getting regular traffic because all of these links on social sites are nofollowed. He asks, "[I]sn't Google missing on a lot of that action by not taking this new web 2.0 dynamic into consideration?"

A few users suspect that these sites are actually the driving force behind some of the drops in PageRank from the October update.

Google might be missing out, but forum members suggest that other factors may end up causing the algorithm to shift in due time:

With all the "no follow" tags being used these days you'd think it would be nearly impossible for sites to get rankings. My guess is that google will be looking more at the volume of traffic a site gets. Especially if they use analytics.

That's certainly an incentive to use Google Analytics. ;)

Here's a thought: the users acknowledge that these social media sites can be spammed, but what about very popular pages? Should nofollow be removed when the stories reach a certain threshold of votes (assuming there are no negative votes as well--to keep out gamers)?

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

Microsoft and Facebook are new best friends. According to a Wall Street Journal article, Microsoft has invested a considerable sum of money -- nearly $250 million -- to provide advertising on the coveted social platform.

Microsoft Corp. agreed to invest $240 million for a minority stake in Facebook Inc. that values the social-networking site at $15 billion. As part of the deal, the two companies expanded their advertising agreement.

Forum discussion is mixed. Microsoft has valuated the company at roughly $10-15 billion. Facebook is only bringing in $150 million a year. How does it add up?

Others find that Microsoft screwed up.

Looks to me like M$ have got a great deal and FB have gone [nuts].

They've denied themselves any future bids from Google Yahoo! etc., and for what?

A little bit of development cash in exchange for a long term advertising deal - which will get M$'s money back in twenty minutes.

However, even others are happy for Microsoft since this is good exposure for them.

As for myself, I can't say I'm happy with the Microsoft-Digg advertising partnership (I am sick of seeing classmates.com advertisements) so I honestly am a bit skeptical about this relationship.

Additional coverage (lots!) is at Techmeme.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

Since Google can, Google will. With their interest in Facebook (as Marissa Meyer said at a recent keynote at SES San Jose), Google has taken advantage of installing the Google News app on Facebook (account required).

One forum member believes that "two of the greatest internet sites working together" could be a great thing. I think so too... if using Facebook apps is your thing. ;)

Here is how Google News is being used on two different profiles:

By the way, Vanessa Fox wrote about the Google News Facebook application on Search Engine Land too.

Forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums.

A couple days ago, Forbes wrote Digg This Headline, For Google's Sake. The article basically describes how SEOs are using Digg to build links. I have described how that works with my article named The Power Of Digg In Link Building on March 1st of this year.

The article covers news from the Search Marketing Expo - Social Media conference we covered this week. And yes, they quote many of our friends, including our very own Tamar Weinberg as saying:

Blogger and search marketer Tamar Weinberg suggested that users provided contact info with their Digg accounts, encouraging other users to contact them and thus building a network that can be used to float links higher on the site.

Other familiar names mentioned include:

• Cameron Olthuis
• Neil Patel
• Brent Csutoras
• Chris Winfield

Thanks guys for representing our industry!

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

Numerous reports indicate that Microsoft is looking to purchase a stake in Facebook and values the social networking site at roughly $10 billion. That's 5 times as much as Zuckerberg was originally rumored to have wanted to sell Facebook for in early 2006.

Forum members, particularly those at WebmasterWorld, are shocked that Microsoft has put such a high value on the social networking site.

So we're saying Facebook is worth $8billion... what a load of &*"!£$%^. That's more than some serious worthwhile businesses!

Actually, with many people using Facebook during work, the valuation might not be too far off. I happen to know a lot of Facebook addicts. Don't you?

Others aren't as enthusiastic that Microsoft will have access to all the user data.

Somewhere in this mess is a great truth that your personal data has value and that value will be squeezed out of it, lucky us.

Very true -- and very frightening.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and DigitalPoint Forums.

Yesterday, I reported that DigitalPoint Forums members were concerned that a new widget, BlogRush, might be in violation of Google AdSense. Today, a new DigitalPoint Forums thread has emerged from a member who asked AdSense support if it was safe to participate.

Google's answer is that they don't condone it.

Thanks for checking in with us. We don't encourage or endorse the use of a program like this Thus, we're unable to give specific advice regarding BlogRush.

It's kind of a non-answer, as forum members say.

While I can see the concern, I don't think that BlogRush would conflict at all with Google AdSense since there's no confusion with ads and nobody is asking anyone to participate in clicking on ads. A forums member puts it this way:

Isn't this just like some sort of blogroll when two owners of blogs link each other ?

Exactly!

However, in another DigitalPoint Forums thread, a more understandable response is given by Google:

Thanks for your email. I understand that you'd like to have more traffic visiting your site. However, while we're unable to comment on any particular program or service, we do not recommend the use of any program that artificially drives traffic to your site. Use of these programs may lead to activity on your site that artificially inflates an advertiser's cost or a publisher's earnings, which would violate the AdSense program policies (https://www.google.com/adsense/policies) and Terms and Conditions (https://www.google.com/adsense/terms).

However, as I said yesterday both here and on my personal blog, I think the entire BlogRush program is overrated; there's way too much hype about it, and the traffic generation, if anything, will be minimal. Despite this, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums (thread 1) and DigitalPoint Forums (thread 2).

Yahoo has released Yahoo! Mash in what appears to be the closest thing to a Facebook-MySpace clone that I've seen coming from Yahoo. Initial impressions seem to indicate that it's not much different than Facebook at all and many individuals are happier using the older social network.

On WebmasterWorld, moderator martinibuster points out from a NY Times blog that the differentiating feature of Yahoo! Mash is that profiles can be edited by multiple users.

The site, which began an invitation only preview Friday, is quite an homage to Facebook, but it adds one significant new wrinkle: users can edit each other’s profiles, redecorating, changing information, and adding features. Think the Wikipedia version of a social network.

Of course, not all users are enthusiastic about this feature. Would you want to find your profile altered in a bad way by friends (or enemies?) I wouldn't think so. I do have a Mash Pet on my profile though, and I see that my friends are taking good care of him. (Please continue to do so.)

But others think that this is a plus, because you'll only be adding true friends, not people who would blatantly edit your profile. Also, some elements of other users' profiles cannot be altered (I tried. No luck).

For those who don't have access yet, here's a preview of my profile.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld, DigitalPoint Forums, and Cre8asite forums.

Over the past few days, numerous bloggers have been buzzing about BlogRush, a new widget that allows you to get "free traffic" to your blog. It works like this: users (based on referral codes and traffic) get titles of their blogs listed on similar blogs.

By adding the BlogRush Widget to a blog, a blogger can get instant distribution for their latest blog post titles across a network of related blogs.

DigitalPoint Forums members think that this can be a violation of AdSense TOS. But it's really doing nothing but displaying titles, so others disagree with that notion.

I've seen similar traffic widgets which I've also used but haven't seen much traffic increase, so I'm skeptical about this tool bringing traffic to my blog. As it is, most people I know are using full feeds and rarely take advantage of widgets on the sidebar. So, to answer Li at Cre8asite Forums, I'd be interested in seeing if there's anything more than just initial buzz. Right now, the tool does have the right kind of spokespeople behind it and this has prompted a plethora of new signups, but is there anything else?

Forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums and Cre8asite Forums.

As you know, Sphinn, a social news site for lovers of search engines and Internet marketers, was launched last month. My personal blog has been featured on the main page twice and I've only gotten a combined 165 unique visitors from Sphinn.com as the referral.

Apparently, I'm not alone. Matt Webb, aka SEO Honolulu, at Cre8asite Forums, noticed in his analytics that he had a surge of traffic, but the traffic was actually from StumbleUpon, and not Sphinn. I actually recall stumbling upon that site that day. Thus, I'm not surprised.

I've been asked already if it's worth it to submit content to Sphinn and if there will be a good traffic flow to blogs or articles that are submitted. Given my experience and Matt's, I think that we're just watching a baby grow up. As Chris Winfield says, it's still brand new (less than a month old!), but the early adopters can shape it and word of mouth will drive additional traffic to it.

Sphinn is certainly in its infancy and the traffic is not going to blow you away by any means. I think one of the main benefits to it (especially for newer people to the industry or bloggers) is exposure. I came across your blog directly from Sphinn after seeing a few different interesting posts on Sphinn by you. Its also always good to be part of a community from the beginning (if you believe in it and think it will be successful) as you can help shape it.

I personally vouch for Sphinn, not because I help moderate the forum there, but because there is finally a site for people who have a true interest in SEO, SEM, social media, and search to find a community of like-minded individuals where you can actually feel at home. Matt McGee agrees. If you haven't visited yet, I encourage you to do so.

Forum discussion continues at Cre8asite Forums.

Yesterday, Digg made an announcement that it dropped Google as its advertising partner and has chosen to sign a three-year exclusive advertising deal with Microsoft. Search Engine Land quotes Microsoft's Steve Berkowitz about the move:

Our collaboration with Digg is about bringing our advertising technology and sales force to one of the fastest-growing sites on the Web and a true innovator in user-generated content. We believe advertisers will welcome Microsoft and Digg's combined strengths to forge more meaningful connections online.

DigitalPoint Forums members believe that this might mean that Microsoft will acquire Digg, but I'm not so sure.

WebmasterWorld takes a more rational approach. They have an understanding of the Digg community (Digg loves Google but is not so keen on Microsoft), and the story on Digg initially reflected that but people started simmering down as their comments got buried. ;)

Cre8asite Forums members echo the anti-Microsoft sentiment. And what Administrator Adrian said is very true:

I expect a lot of Digg fans will find some way to rationalise it. It's how they are, they're a big crowd of sheep in a way. If someone like Kevin Rose says "Microsoft's cool, we're going to use them for our ads", I reckon a decent sized portion of the Digg crowd would go with it.

I totally see that. Everyone follows Kevin Rose. Even I do.

On Sphinn, the story is a bit different. Search Engine Land writers had the story as did many other prominent blogs. But they were embargoed until 3PM EST. Did Kevin Rose break his embargo? It seems that he did -- two hours earlier. Oops.

Forum discussion at DigitalPoint, WebmasterWorld, Cre8asite Forums, and Sphinn.

Chris Winfield at Cre8asite Forums poses an interesting challenge for those of us who use social networking sites religiously. Is it a threat to your security? This question is promoted by an article where opponents of providing personal information believe that it indeed is a threat:

According to credit information provider Equifax, fraudsters could make off with users' personal information in order to commit ID theft--and the company is urging Web users to limit the amount of info they post online.

Most forum members are cautious about volunteering a lot of information. I understand that. It is rather difficult, however, for the young users of sites like MySpace and Facebook not to volunteer their personal information. The sites encourage it (if you don't enter a birthday on Facebook, for example, you get prompted to do so every time you log in until you do).

Still, that doesn't necessarily work well for some users.

[S]ecurity is a frame of mind, a way of life. You're either secure or not. To give an analogy, why lock the windows if you leave the door wide open? Lock everything!

I believe that users need to exercise caution when providing intimate details about themselves online. There's no reason to share with the world the last 4 digits of your social security number, your mother's maiden name, your father's middle name, or the name of your first pet. However, if this poses a problem in the future, and I can see that it might, it becomes a matter of credit providers to evolve, because there are millions of innocent victims whose identities are at risk on these social sites.

Neil Munroe, external affairs director for Equifax, said in a statement: "The problem is that people don't realize the significance of the kind of information they are putting out on the Web and who may be accessing it." He cited details such as date of birth, e-mail, job and marital status as the kind of data frequently posted online by unwary users.

It's time that those "minor" detail requirements are replaced by lesser known details.

Forum discussion continues at Cre8asite Forums.

Social media is important, as I alluded to today. Many people are finding that mainstream social sites are not always sufficient to address certain interests. Digg is a technology site. Netscape is more politically oriented. Sphinn is a search marketer's dream. What about other sites? Barry Welford starts a discussion on Cre8asite Forums to find social networks that are most suitable for a variety of alternative niches, such as food/drink, household, animals, and gardening. Do you know of any sites that appeal to these interests?

A few great sites have been shared, so I wanted to pass them on:

• 17 Niche Social Media Sites that Send Traffic
• Wikipedia's Social Networking Websites List
• 1200+ Websites in 50+ Categories

That should get you started. I'd be interested in hearing about other successful social sites in other verticals as well.

Forum discussion continues at Crea8asite Forums.

Yesterday, Danny announced the launch of Sphinn, a brand new social site for internet marketing professionals. Features include a forum discussion, a story/comments voting system, and story submission somewhat like Digg. This time, however, you can submit your stories related to SEO without fear of the consequences. :)

I walked through some of the features of Sphinn to show you what it's like. First, the obligatory photo of the homepage:

It's not *only* about SEO, my friends. :) That top story fits in with the internet marketer's theme