Word Food: the Web 2.0 Issue

Hi Name,

Since Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I'd mention Web 2.0. Uhh... get it? Halloween...? Web? (Maybe I need a different photo).

For those not in the know, Web 2.0 refers to social groups on the web and the power of collective intelligence. There are a ton of groups you can join and build your own "page" or profile.

As I see it, Web 2.0 has rendered link campaigns somewhat obsolete. In the old days, it was your goal to get high ranking sites to link to you as a way to increase your search engine visibility. So you typed a friendly email to a fellow webmaster in the hope of a link swap.

Today, Web 2.0 puts YOU in control of the inbound linkage. Instead of begging for links, build several profiles on some of the highest-ranking Web 2.0 sites, and keyword-link back to your own site. And while you're there, cruise the topic categories of your interest and get to know a fellow business provider or two.

Why am I telling you about social networking and Web 2.0? I am a copywriting and marketing professional. That means I'm in the business of branding. I build social profiles for my own site, as well as help my clients do the same. It's a way to attract new business. And yes -- it works.

Web 2.0 is a ridiculously low-cost form of marketing. (If you do it yourself, it's f^ree.) Just like your teen is building his MySpace page and making friends around the globe, you should be out there cruising the Web 2.0 world and sharing your expertise with future customers.

The socializing is the easy and enjoyable part - that, you can handle on your own. It's the crisp, professional business image development that takes meticulous work and knowledge of copywriting, branding, HTML, and web marketing/linking power.

Today I'm proud to share with you a comprehensive article on Web 2.0 Marketing, from SiteProNews's Kim Roach.

If you'd like your Web 2.0 profiles to look fresh, sound professional and echo the voice of your unique brand... contact Dina@Wordfeeder.com for a copy and marketing quote today.

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Drop me a line!

Web 2.0 Marketing

by Kim Roach

If you're like me, then you are probably tired of hearing the term Web 2.0 passed around the net like a buzzword on steroids. However, although this term may be overblown, it does have significant influence on the current changes taking place on the Internet.

Wikipedia has defined social search as the following:

"Social searching is the latest innovation in the search engine industry. Sprouting from web2.0 concepts like folksonomy or social bookmarking it gives the user the ability to interact with the search engine and promote what they feel are the relevant results. This is a user based approach website relevancy as opposed to the traditional webmaster based approach"

We are currently seeing a multitude of social search engines exploding onto the Internet's virtual landscape. Sites like Digg, del.icio.us, and MySpace are attracting millions of users.

The Internet has always strived to give power to its users. Social search develops upon this cultural bedrock. It provides a human editorial factor that cannot be obtained by traditional search engines. By using the wisdom of crowds, people are able to access more customized and targeted information.

What This Means for the Internet Marketer

Social search is definitely something you should keep in mind when planning your marketing activities. However, it should only be a piece of the marketing puzzle, combined with search engine optimization, article marketing, blogging, etc.

Having said that, here are some of the Web 2.0 hot spots that you will want to be involved in.

Collaborative Directories

http://www.prefound.com
http://www.zimbo.com
http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.stumbleupon.com
http://www.kaboodle.com

Create Your Own Profile Pages at:

Squidoo http://squidoo.com
Windows Live Spaces - http://spaces.live.com/
Yahoo 360 - http://360.yahoo.com/
Google Personalized - http://www.google.com/ig
MySpace - http://MySpace.com

Social Networks:

Social networking sites are all about connections. After all, the Web has and always will be a social space. According to Wikipedia, the first social networking service was Sixdegrees.com, created in 1997. Since that time, these social hangouts have exploded, allowing you to meet and network with hundreds of like-minded individuals.

Social networking sites allow you to make connections all around the Internet. These acquaintances may turn into business partners, joint ventures, or just great friends. Either way, you don't want to be left out of the loop.

To get some additional insight into social networking, I talked to Dina Giolitto of http://www.wordfeeder.com. She is one of the first people I have seen to offer Web 2.0 marketing to her clients, helping web sites to get noticed on all of the Web 2.0 hotspots, including Squidoo.com, the Ryze Business Network, Digg, Technorati, and more. Here is some of her insight into social networking:

"Web 2.0 will get you networking, learning, link swapping and forging alliances with millions of website owners and future customers. Join as many groups as you have time for, but then choose one or two where you see an opportunity to really get to know people on a deeper level (professionally), and then participate regularly in those places."

If you haven't gotten involved in a social community yet, now is a great time to do so. To find a group that's right for you, check out the following list of social networking sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_web sites

Content 2.0

Web 2.0 has transformed the publishing platforms that are available today. Because of this, there are now many more outlets for your articles and your valuable resource box. Listed below are some resources that will help you to further syndicate your content.

http://www.comagz.com/
http://www.zimbio.com
http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.squidoo.com

(The lenses being created on Squidoo are getting traffic, credibility, and even showing up in top Google results. You can use a lens to increase the number of authoritative inbound links to your site, position yourself as an industry expert, announce the latest news within your niche, or promote your very own radio show.)

Social Q&A Sites:

Yahoo Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com/)
Google Answers (http://answers.google.com/answers/)
http://www.answerbag.com
http://www.wondir.com

The key to being successful in the social realm of the web is to create unique and valuable content that people will want to link to. Then, once you have valuable content that is worth sharing,
share by tagging, pinging, and sharing your bookmarks on all of the major bookmarking services.

However, don't forget that you are part of a community and you are there to provide value to that community. This means that you should share other web sites as well.

Social search is unlikely to overcome the traditional search functionality of algorithmic search. However, it will be a great supplement to both organic and paid search and will provide users
with additional insight that larger search engines cannot offer.

The ideal search solution would be to combine traditional search, social search and human editorial input. This would allow users to experience the power of human mediated search with the
comprehensiveness of algorithmic search.

Copyright 2006 Kim Roach. All rights reserved.

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Kim Roach is a staff writer and editor for the SiteProNews (http://www.sitepronews.com) & SEO-News (http://www.seo-news.com) newsletters. You can also find additional tips and news on webmaster and SEO topics by Kim at the SiteProNews blog (http://blog.sitepronews.com/). Kim's email is: kim @ seo-news.com

This article may be freely distributed without modification and provided that the copyright notice and author information remain intact.

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10 Ways to Make a Six-Figure Income as a Freelance Writer

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