Central Perk

joi, 21 iulie 2011

How to Be a Good Content Curator Graywolf's SEO Blog

Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:55 AM PDT

Being a good content curator or curating good content is one of the latest social media buzz terms to emerge this year. While I loathe actually using the term, the concept is good, and I think it’s something everyone can use to add value to their blogging, social media, or outbound marketing strategy.

What is a content curator? At its core, it’s sifting through the mounds of information, separating the good stuff from the bad stuff, and giving it some context. A good real world example of content creation everyone is familiar with is Reader’s Digest. Social bookmarking sites like Digg, stumbleupon, and reddit do this to a certain extent, using social proof or the wisdom of crowds to accomplish this goal. But these things are subject to voting cabals or other attention- and monetarily-incentivized groups. I know for a fact that, for a 6 month time period, the homepage of digg was controlled by a handful SEO/social media consultants who could almost guarantee a front page placement for a fee.

If the editor is able to maintain journalistic integrity and not be influenced by nepotism, their value within the community rises…

Techmeme is another example of content curation. While it sounded good on paper and worked well for a short while, pretty soon it became an incestuous, ego fueled orgy of a select few high profile tech bloggers (looks in the direction of Robert Scoble and Techcrunch). While there are a few good articles on Techcrunch from time to time (hi Alexis ), by and large it’s like watching a once great journalist who lost the battle with drugs and is going through withdrawals (metaphorically speaking–I’m not implying in any way that anyone has a problem with substance abuse). It simply doesn’t deserve to be on the leader board or rewarded for its page view journalism.

While it’s easy to sit around and pick apart others and what they are doing wrong, I think it’s just as important to highlight someone who is doing it right. For example, SAI business insider sends out an early morning email of the top 10 things I need to know in tech.

SAI 10 Things in Tech I Need to Know

It gives me a one or two sentence summary of the most important tech news in the past 24 hours and link to a more detailed complete story if I want to read it. By having the stories chosen and vetted by a human editor, I know the information wasn’t biased by a voting gang. If I trust the editor, I know the information is important and trustworthy, and that is the key to the role a curator serves. A curator can use automated tools to filter what might rise to the top via social proof or the wisdom of crowds, but they still need to use some level of judgement to determine if it deserves to be there. If the editor is able to maintain journalistic integrity and not be influenced by nepotism, their value within the community rises.

As the barrier to become a publisher drops to near zero (see Clay Shirky’s Cognitive Surplus Book Review), we need human curators, not machine coded algorithmic ones, to overcome filter bubbles. If you are willing to invest time and resources in creating/hiring or becoming a curator, you can solve the problem of readers having a limited amount of attention in a world where more and more people are competing for it.

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This post originally came from Michael Gray who is an SEO Consultant. Be sure not to miss the Thesis Wordpress Theme review.

How to Be a Good Content Curator

“Hello, this is the International Space Station”

Your Daily Snapshot for
Thursday, July 21, 2011

"Hello, this is the International Space Station"

At 5:57 a.m. EDT this morning at Kennedy Space Center, the space shuttle Atlantis touched down safely. This historic event marked the end of one era of American space flight, but it also marks the transition into a new era of exploration. On July 15, the President spoke with Commander Ferguson and the crew of the mission.

Click here to see the video, and read some of the highlights .

In Case You Missed It

Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog.

First Lady Michelle Obama Announces Commitments to Expand Access to Healthy, Affordable Food (video)
First Lady Michelle Obama announces nationwide commitments from major food retailers to open or expand over 1,500 stores to help provide healthy, affordable food to millions of people in underserved areas.

Shutting Down Duplicative Data Centers
As part of the President’s Campaign to Cut Waste, we will shut down 178 data centers in 2012, bringing us to a total of 373 data centers that will be closed by the end of next year.

President Obama Supports the Respect for Marriage Act
President Obama expresses his support for the Respect for Marriage Act, which will be introduced in the Senate on July 20

Today's Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

9:30 AM: The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

10:00 AM: The President meets with senior advisors

11:00 AM: The Vice President meets with Ambassador Karl Eikenberry to thank him for his service in Afghanistan and throughout his career

12:30 PM: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney

12:30 PM: The President and the Vice President meet for lunch

1:45 PM: The President meets with General Cartwright

2:00 PM: The Vice President meets with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip of Estonia

2:05 PM: The President meets with Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League (NUL), and Ben Jealous, President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NAACP)

2:30 PM: The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of Treasury Geithner

6:30 PM: The Vice President and Dr Jill Biden host a barbecue for members of the Cabinet

Get Updates

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Tracking Online Marketing Campaigns in Google Analytics

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 06:06 AM PDT

In recent months I have found myself using the Google URL builder tool significantly more across a range of projects, including tracking emails and tagging PPC accounts.

One of the most frustrating things I found about the Google URL builder tool is how time consuming it was and the fact that I was constantly copying and pasting the URL into a spreadsheet to record what was being tracked.

After searching for a simple free tool that would help make this process more efficient, I decided to create a spreadsheet that would do just the job – http://goo.gl/jI1Wd.

Why Track Online Marketing Campaigns

Ensuring that you are tracking all of your marketing campaigns is essential to seeing which channels are working for you and which are not. These online marketing channels could include Email, PPC, Social Media or SEO, to name a few.

When launching a product, a retailer would market the product across multiple marketing channels including online. Online marketing allows you to track how well the campaign has done and can put a ROI on the activity that has taken place, where traditional offline marketing makes this a lot more difficult.

A typical online marketing campaign would include, but not be limited to, PPC, SEO, Email and social media to enable promotion across multiple platforms and ensure maximum visibility. Below shows an example of how tracking codes could be used across different marketing channels promoting the same campaign.

Email Campaign – ?utm_source=Link 1&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Product Launch
Social Media Campaign – ?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social Media&utm_campaign=Product Launch
Social Media Campaign - ?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social Media&utm_campaign=Product Launch
PPC Campaign – ?utm_source=Yahoo&utm_medium=PPC&utm_term=Product Name&utm_campaign=Product Launch

If your online marketing campaigns are not being tracked then you will not be able to get the data that could be available to you if you had tracked your campaigns.

So I have told you about my recent frustrations with Google URL Builder and why you should be tracking your online marketing campaigns, so let's have a look at the spreadsheet.

How the Spreadsheet Works?

The spreadsheet works in exactly the same way that the Google URL builder tool works, with the user having to enter the URL into the destination URL cell, followed by filling in the following fields:

Campaign Source*
Campaign Medium*
Campaign Term
Campaign Content
Campaign Name*

*Should always be used

Once these fields have been filled in, the tagged URL will be generated within the "tagged URL field"; the URL can then be copied directly into your campaign.

Once your campaign is live you will start to see data filter through into Google Analytics via Traffic Sources > Incoming Traffic > Campaigns. Once your data has come through you can start to tweak your campaigns further to ensure maximum ROI.

The biggest advantage that the campaign tracking spreadsheet has is the ability to create/edit/delete a large number of tracked URLs easily, in a single document. The campaign tracking spreadsheet can then be used as a master document to ensure that all campaigns are recorded and archived.

Campaign Tracking Spreadsheet: http://goo.gl/jI1Wd

The spreadsheet is a very basic concept, but I feel that it does the job well, whilst leaving room for improvement and modification if you require something more sophisticated.

Have a look at the spreadsheet, copy or download it and let me know if it helps you save time and makes tagging URLs more efficient. I look forward to hearing your comments below or on twitter @danielbianchini.

I would like to give my thanks to Tony Sutcliffe who helped me make the formulas as efficient as possible.

Seth's Blog : Building a job vs. building a business

Building a job vs. building a business

Either can work, both do, but don't confuse them.

The shoemaker/copywriter/plumber who seeks a regular itinerary of gigs is building a job, a job with multiple bosses at the same time there is no boss, but it's still a job. You wake up in the morning and you do your craft, with occasional interruptions to do the dreaded looking-for-work dance.

The entrepreneur is in a different game. For her, the gig is building the gig.

• Email to a friend •

miercuri, 20 iulie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

China PMI in Contraction; IMF Wants Further China Tightening to Combat Inflation
Jim Grant on going forward with a gold standard, "This is not a threat, this is not a promise, it's going to happen"
Sad State of Employment - Employees Covered by Unemployment Insurance Still Below 2001 Recession Low; How the BLS Determines Employment Revisited

China PMI in Contraction; IMF Wants Further China Tightening to Combat Inflation

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 08:54 PM PDT

China is overheating on the backs of massive property speculation, needless infrastructure building, and rampant credit growth. In spite of that inflation, HSBC's China flash PMI points to contraction.

HSBC's China "flash" Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a 28-month low of 48.9 in July, down from 50.1 in June, marking the first time the guage has indicated a contraction since July 2010. The preliminary version of the PMI output index also showed further deterioration, dropping to 47.2 in July from 49.8 in June. HSBC economists said the PMI data seemed to indicate an industrial-production rebound seen in last month's data was temporary. "We expect industrial growth to decelerate in the coming months as tightening measures continue to filter through," said HSBC economist Hongbin Qu. HSBC's final version of the PMI is due out at the beginning of next month.

China Overheating

MarketWatch reports China should tighten further, IMF says

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said China should continue to withdraw stimulus in part to combat risks of higher-than-expected inflation.

In its annual review of China's economy, the IMF directors "saw room for further tightening of monetary conditions" and suggested "greater reliance on interest rates and nominal exchange rate appreciation."

In addition to possible inflation risks from food supply shocks, the IMF staff said China also faced the risk of a possible property bubble and a decline in credit quality in the lending undertaken to protect the economy from the financial crisis.

The IMF board repeated its recommendation that China should allow its currency, the yuan, to strengthen further.

China's representative at the IMF, Jinxiong He, had the rare opportunity to rebut the report. He disagreed sharply with the suggestion that the yuan was below fundamentals, saying the staff analysis is based on a flawed benchmark.

The Chinese official also complained that the IMF did not mention that the U.S. Federal Reserve's quantitative easing had fueled inflationary pressures and constrained options regarding the policy mix.

The IMF seriously understates the the Chinese property bubble, credit bubble, and risk of a Chinese economic implosion.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Jim Grant on going forward with a gold standard, "This is not a threat, this is not a promise, it's going to happen"

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 12:10 PM PDT

Jim Grant speaks about going forward with gold standard, and away from a "PhD Standard" ruled by academics like Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.

Link if above video does not play: U.S. Debt Crisis Is Contrived, James Grant Says

Select Quotes

Debt crisis is contrived
Treasury market operating on muscle memory, up in price down in yield for 30 years.
People have come to view treasuries are intrinsically safe when in fact pieces of paper emitted by a government that is cash-flow negative and the printer of the world's reserve currency.
On going forward with a gold standard, "This is not a threat, this is not a promise, it's going to happen"
The gold standard is a better alternative for money management. The historical evidence is incontrovertible.

Jim Grant essentially describes the problems and solutions presented in Hugo Salinas Price and Michael Pettis on the Trade Imbalance Dilemma; Gold's Honest Discipline Revisited. Please give that a read if you have not yet done so.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Sad State of Employment - Employees Covered by Unemployment Insurance Still Below 2001 Recession Low; How the BLS Determines Employment Revisited

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 07:52 AM PDT

Here are some interesting charts from reader Tim Wallace regarding "covered employees", those employees that have unemployment insurance.

Covered Employees by Quarter Since 2000

click on any chart for sharper image

Note that the number of covered employees is still below the 2004 trough and that it took 16 quarters in the wake of the 2001 recession to get back above the pre-recession highs.

It has now been 11 quarters since the 2008 high. However, we are still not back to the previous recession dip.

Change in Covered Employee Coverage by Quarter

Cumulative Change in Coverage Since 1st Quarter 2000

No Driver for Jobs

The number of covered employees soared during the housing and commercial real estate bubbles and at the end of the dot-com bubble.

What will be the next big driver for employment? I cannot come up with any nor do I think there will be any in the midst of a Schumpeterian Depression phase of the Long Wave trough.

That is one of the reasons I proclaimed three years ago "expect structurally high unemployment for a decade". The others reasons are global wage arbitrage, tax policy, and massive consumer debt.

For a detailed explanation of Schumpeterian Depression please scroll down to the sections of Creative Destruction labeled Comments From "BC" followed by Schumpeterian Depression.

Slowing Global Economy

Bear in mind the global economy is slowing with many structural problems as noted yesterday in Gold Reacts With "Big Yawn" to ECB Announcement

Partial List of Problems

Sovereign debt default crisis in Eurozone PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain.
US debt ceiling concerns
US fiscal deficit concerns
US total debt concerns
Reckless, unsustainable credit growth in China
Rampant inflation in Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the BRIC countries.
Yuan peg to the US dollar
Debt and deficit concerns in the UK
Japan interest rate and total debt concerns
Massive global trade imbalances

I could easily add another 10 items related to global housing bubbles, demographics, unfunded future liabilities, state pension plans etc.

Not only are there huge US structural debt issues, there are huge global issues. For a suggestion as to how to fix the global imbalances, please see Hugo Salinas Price and Michael Pettis on the Trade Imbalance Dilemma; Gold's Honest Discipline Revisited

Reader Question on Covered Employees

Reader Will Worth from Texas also sent in a chart of covered employees similar to one of the charts from Tim Wallace. Will Worth asks ...

Mish,

In the jobless claims data, "covered employed" dropped by 8.3 million people during the recession it has since recovered by only 247,323 people. Yet, as estimated by the monthly "establishment" and "household" surveys, there have been between 1.4 million and 1.7 million jobs created. Why are those not "covered employed" positions?

Will Worth

Closer Look at the Self-Employed

Self-employed are not covered by unemployment insurance. Thus, all of the people who have gone into business working for themselves are not covered.

The "self-employed" group includes all of those selling trinkets on Ebay as a job as well as all of those "working" in their multi-level marketing "business". Others struggle as non-covered employees in family related businesses.

Many of those jobs are not "real" and produce little or no income. However, these people are counted in the workforce if they respond to the BLS in the household survey that they "worked" any hours.

Once again the BLS does not ask directly ask people if they are employed. Rather the BLS determines that answer with a set of questions that likely produce a far different, and higher answer.

How the BLS Determines Employment

I covered this at length previously with a detailed list of actual questions the BLS asks in "Dropping Out of the Workforce"; Implications of the Falling Participation Rate

The key question appears to be question number two: "LAST WEEK, did you do ANY work for (either) pay (or profit)?"

Anyone selling trinkets on Ebay or selling any products in multi-level marketing companies is likely to answer yes. If so, they are "employed" but they certainly are not covered by unemployment insurance.

The implications of the above charts and commentary should be obvious. Things are much worse than the BLS presents.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

joi, 21 iulie 2011

How to Be a Good Content Curator Graywolf's SEO Blog

How to Be a Good Content Curator Graywolf's SEO Blog

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“Hello, this is the International Space Station”

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Why Track Online Marketing Campaigns

How the Spreadsheet Works?

Seth's Blog : Building a job vs. building a business

Building a job vs. building a business

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miercuri, 20 iulie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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joi, 21 iulie 2011

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Why Track Online Marketing Campaigns

How the Spreadsheet Works?

More Recent Articles

miercuri, 20 iulie 2011

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