Digital Biographer™

The Secret to Conversing with Non-Humans by Chris Kieff - www.1GoodReason.com

“There are Non-Human Entities among us. Many people have seen them, or claim to have seen them. They move amongst us quietly, unseen by most. However, they carry immense power. These things can make or break companies, individuals, and careers. They can give you million$ of dollar$, or take them away.”

In a chapter entitled ‘The Secret to Conversing with Non-Humans‘ Chris reminds us of four important things you must bear in mind when you talk to the rather important non-humans you’ll encounter online : —

1. Be honest
2. Bottom Line up Front
3. Avoid using synonyms
4. Stay on message

>> Read the full story from Chris Kieff and 236 other contributors: Buy Age of Conversation 2 today…

David Petherick is one of 237 authors who contributed to the book ‘Age of Conversation 2‘. For the first 237 days of 2009, he is highlighting a chapter from one of his co-authors, briefly discussing their contribution, and linking you to their blog or online presence.
All proceeds from sales of Age of Conversation 2 go to charity.

2.0, authors, brand, commerce, conversation 2.0, search marketing, share, social media aoc2, Chris Kieff, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Search Engine Optimisation, Search Engines, search marketing, social media

This article was originally written for The Next Web Blog and appeared on Saturday, 17th January 2009.

Today, we found out that Google, where search is the core of its business, have added a link to new experimental features to its home page, which show options that can be added to the ’standard’ search.

The most dramatic of these is probably ‘Alternate views for search results‘ which, due to its nature, gives you different search results and rankings in different views of the same search query. So Search Experts take note: Page 1 of Google now has at least four different results!. Your site can be #1 in one type of search, but be invisible in others.

The standard Google search results page now also has “News about search term” appended to your search results as you can see below.

Google’s New ‘Alternate View’ Search Types

It is worth taking a look at this new feature for searches that include:-

• Search Results in Timelines [try this]
• Search Results on Maps [try this]
• Search Results in ‘Info Views’ which allow further refinement ‘on the fly’ [try this]
• One-click returns you to ‘Standard’ List View

You can obtain these views immediately using the standard google search interface by adding “view:map” “view:timeline” or “view info” following your search term - so rather than a search for ‘the next web’ you search for “the next web view:timeline”.

I’d recommend you check out these new search views, and also ensure that your site’s metadata is structured to ensure you appear in these new formats of search results.

There are also three other experimental search features at present -

• SearchWiki with sound - when you remove a result from your personal results, toy can have a sound effect play along with the animation whenever you remove a result. The sound is recorded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
• Keyboard shortcuts - use your keyboard to navigate results - so J Selects the next result, K Selects the previous result, etc.
• Accessible View - As you navigate, items are magnified for easier viewing. If you use a screen reader or talking browser, the relevant information is spoken automatically as you navigate.

Google continues to innovate and to develop its search technology, and in my view these new experimental features show that it’s still the very best at delivering search results. It’s also a wake-up call for you to ensure that the information on your web pages is given proper semantic structure - or meaning - because that will be a crucial differentiatiator as the amount of data online increases.

(Screen shots created by David Petherick using plasq’s Skitch)

2.0, commerce, mobile search, search marketing, social media experimental, Google, Search, Search engine optimization, search marketing, seo

Twellow, the ‘yellow pages for Twitter‘, has improved its utility with the ability to create your own biography entry.

As well as being able to claim your twitter profile, and classify yourself in up to 10 categories (although I’m in 14 for some reason), you can also add your own social media links to your profiles on Pownce, LinkedIn, Flickr, FriendFeed, etcetera - as well as creating a brief summary and what’s termed a ‘bio’ or biography entry.

The search facility in Twellow includes the data in your summary and pick ups keywords and links used there, and your biography information can also include basic HTML, so links and visual formatting can be added. The summary is indexed in search - the biography does not appear to be indexed yet.

Apart from being a great way to find people using Twitter with similar interests, and pinpointing interesting people to follow, categorized Twellow profiles are also becoming visible in Google and Yahoo searches. So I’d recommend making sure you claim your profile at Twellow and add your details and social links to ensure your online visibility and credibility stay high. It’s free, and there are over half a million people listed there, so it’s worth spending a few minutes to make sure you’re visible, coherent, and linked up here.

2.0, authority, brand, googlicious, linkedin, microblogging, online identity, search marketing, social media online identity, online reputation management, search marketing, twellow, Twitter, visibility