Free safety posters. Help your people think about safety beyond work. Download the posters here. http://www.kevburns.com/safety-posters/

How to Blog the Courageous Way without Hurting Your Credibility

My first blog post in a while, born of frustration that folks seem to think I come up with stuff like 'strategy before tactics' out of thin air and an urge to sell books.

I've sold 100 copies of my book, for God's sake. If that were my goal I'd be walking into Elliott Bay with 100 lbs of weights strapped to my ankles.

Concerned about your privacy online? How to stay anonymous online

Playing nice

I’m sure you will have noticed some of the tension creeping into the stream over the last few weeks. It’s inevitable in any environment that there will be periods such as this as the population grows, evolves and finds a new equilibrium...until the next wave of change. I’m pleased to see that many of those discussions have reached an amicable conclusion and also inspired some very thoughtful posts.

It’s perhaps also very timely that the subject of the latest +Network Round Table Small Biz Happy Hour HOA was How To Use Humility in Small Business (http://goo.gl/dUy6nY) +DENNIS N. DUCE, +David Amerland and +Teodora Petkova share some very interesting ideas about finding commonalities in this global dynamic environment. For me this thought from David is one that we should all embrace  everyone matters or no one does and we should also take note of Teodora’s final thought Humility is the power to surrender to change and to embrace and trust others

This HOA was also an inspiration for +Gina Fiedel’s A Case For Humility… In Social Media & Business (http://goo.gl/qeDd9n) Gina does an excellent job in exploring the power of humility, being receptive to the ideas of others and constantly re-evaluating your own knowledge. It’s posts and HOAs like these that really highlight the value of G+ I know I’m in the right place! Also well worth a read through the comments on Gina’s post too.

And back to the #infotainment

I’m always interested in listening to +Sarah Hill so I was glued to the screen for this week’s +The Mia Connect Power Chat (http://goo.gl/X1OicU) If you haven’t yet discovered Sarah and +Veterans United then please do take the time to watch this. Sarah really gets the power behind the technology available today and her thoughts on #HumanMedia and #SeeCommerce make complete sense. Take advantage of your own broadcast tower. Do look out for Sarah’s DIY treadmill desk towards the end of the show - I may have to give that idea a try! As usual +Mia Voss has put together the #BatCrapCrazy #timestamp post for the time-challenged - aren’t we all? (http://goo.gl/F34dNG)

Mia was centre stage for the follow up Ammonize (http://goo.gl/KpeSUG) and I have to say it was a most entertaining and informative session. +Ammon Johns and +Lee Rickler were joined by three of my favourite Plussers +Scott Scowcroft, +Jessica Dewell and +Mani Saint-Victor. The breadth of experience and the individual perspectives of the panel really put this discussion in a field of its own. Whether you’re looking to develop your personal brand or not you’ll find this is worth your time. And the context for the discussion - the live consultation HOA can be found here (http://goo.gl/Mc3tgl)

There was a lot of good advice in the latest The Roadmap To Entrepreneurial Marketing HOA The Do's & Don't-Even-Think-About-It's of Websites (http://goo.gl/ugBwCF) +Carmen Rojas and +Stephanie Sims talked with +Ammon Johns about getting the most from your website. Ammon really does hammer home the real value of your website. It’s your sales team, shop front, media team and customer support that works for 24 hours a day, every day of the year. There are a good few website myths dispelled in this show too. I really need to put this in front of all my customers, or rather prospective customers, as it always makes a difference to have the external validation / reinforcement when discussing their ideas and offering advice. Great job to all involved..

Common sense was also flowing in +Jeff Sieh’s The Manly Pinterest Tips Show featuring special guest +Ileane Smith (http://goo.gl/loylwN) Ileane shares her thoughts about Driving Traffic With Pinterest looking at the techniques she employs and the tools she finds useful. I really enjoyed Ileane’s relaxed delivery in the show, she has a gift of taking the trepidation out of using technology. Have a listen and lift your use of Pinterest to the next level.

More for the small business

Another very useful show from the +RightStart Websites team: Relationships: The Key to the Castle For Small Business Marketing (http://goo.gl/6PYftK) +John Moore and +Marilyn Moore invited +Wade Harman to share his thoughts on the power of relationships for the small business. Marilyn, John and Wade did an excellent job of making the information clear and accessible. The tip for social listening is something that I always recommend for a small business. Find the customers’ problems and show them the solutions whether it’s something you provide or not - they will remember how helpful you are. That perception of your business is priceless.

Another intriguing +Fearlessly Questioning this week with +Joey Giangola and +Alexandra Riecke-Gonzales Fearlessly Questioning Your Proximity (http://goo.gl/6eLxqK) and one which provides some insight as to why online engagement can sometimes go wrong. Also interesting about the accelerated trust building when meeting face to face - yes it is very much worthwhile if at all possible. Wrapping up with a great question from +Nicholas Cardot this is well worth watching and remembering the next time you feel your temperature rise.

Thinkers corner

+todd l lebeauc gives us plenty of food for thought in his epic apples (http://goo.gl/oYwHHQ) Sharing some of his journey and his reflections of recent interactions with others here Todd acknowledges the problems that arise when we feel that our words are falling on deaf ears and when we too fail to listen carefully to others. I took great comfort when Todd states that he has grown from the experiences of the last few weeks and it would appear the same for others commenting on the post. Do take the time to read this as I’m sure it will make you think about your own interactions here and perhaps be a little more receptive when challenged and a little less accusatory when challenging. It can only be a good thing.

+Bruce Marko gives his own unique perspective on some of the heated discussions around Thought Leadership in Thoughts Adrift (http://goo.gl/zGVouF) Bruce always manages to distil the essence of any situation very eloquently, summed up by this line: We waste a great deal of collective intellect and energy which could be put to many constructive uses instead of haggling over the intention of a label or defending our identity from the slings and arrows of outrageous ego. ‘Nuff said!

And finally…

It seems I can always rely on +Eli Fennell to surface something amusing and this had me giggling right the way through. If Apps Were Superheroes (http://goo.gl/62QpRD) takes a punt at Social Media in its many guises. Guess who saves the day!


Have a great weekend wherever you are

#WeeklyRoundUp  #WeekInReview  #Google+

#BitingedgeFridayFavourites  #MicksPicks

Created by +Mick Sharpe of +Bitingedge

Curtains for Polls?

My sincerest apologies for the title of this week’s post but it was too good an opportunity to let pass! Any new feature here creates a little bit of a buzz and I’m sure your stream is awash with Poll posts. One piece caught my eye in the poll post profusion and that was from +Ben Fisher. Will You Be Using G+ Polls For You Business? (http://goo.gl/Mll01a) has some very sensible tips if you’re here for business and were thinking about throwing a poll or two at your audience. I’m sure there will be lots more to come over the next few weeks.

It was great to see the return of Google+ Business Spotlight this week (http://goo.gl/Kb87bF). +Stephan Hovnanian and +Ben Fisher opened season 4 with a great guest in +Adam Tratt of +Haiku Deck. Kicking off with a wow moment that Haiku Deck’s four million users were drawn in through social alone Adam talked through their philosophy of keeping the creative process as pain-free as possible. Also very interesting to hear of how they use social and how they are committed to customer support. Great start to the new season guys.

Being helpful

If the title Is Your Marketing More Interesting than Your Customer's Wife? isn’t enough to attract your attention to this week’s #OnTrackTips show (http://goo.gl/Kl6ESB) the fact that +Jason T. Wiser’s guest is +Jay Baer should definitely have your interest well and truly piqued! The author of Youtility, Jay is a great believer in providing value in whatever you do and playing to your strengths. I found the section on web traffic particularly valuable for some of my customers - the numbers only matter when the visitors are doing something that impacts on your bottom line. As ever Jason packs an incredible amount into this 30 minute show so if you need a more detailed breakdown check out the #timestamp post from +On Track Tips | Wiser Sites here (http://goo.gl/hXIwKT)

And if this has left you wanting a little more from Jay then take a look a +Mark Traphagen’s Live Blog of Jay Baer’s Pubcon Keynote Presentation (http://goo.gl/mXkuxS). Mark has done a great job to capture the presentation (confirmed in the comments where Jay thanks Mark for his killer notes ) Well worth a read.

Road Warrior +Eric Enge introduced this First Tuesday #DMShow from #Pubcon (definitely power in HOAs!) Looking at Scaling the Semantic Web (http://goo.gl/fj2as0) Eric kicked off with the +Stone Temple Consulting research into knowledge type results in searches through Google Now, Siri and Cortana with +David Amerland and +Mark Traphagen joining in with a data dense discussion of the latest in semantic search. I found the live demonstration around the Empire State building particularly impressive. Search really has come a long way. About midway there is a section on the role of Google+ in the future of search and the latest post from +Dave Besbris. Fantastic as always and unmissable. Not enough time to watch? Then take a look at +RightStart Websites’s #timestamp review of this HOA (http://goo.gl/GGN66E)

More Amerland wisdom in Identity and Reputation in the Semantic Web (http://goo.gl/b9FyRP) This is one of those complete posts that is destined to be reshared in perpetuity. Bookmark it now or share it to your private community and make sure to read it.

I almost missed the 10th #SMTPowerTalk The Visual Power of Hangouts (http://goo.gl/uuhTAa) - I’ve got to make a note to keep an eye open next month! +David Amerland, +Yifat Cohen and +Kristin Drysdale talk about their use of Hangouts (and Google+) and what it means to them and their business. As Yifat explains Google+ makes it very easy to listen which is always the starting point for developing strong relationships. Hangouts really drive the process of connecting at a human level, allowing trust to develop rapidly, perhaps more so than in close physical proximity. Another fascinating show.

Do you actually need a website?

As a web developer it may surprise you to know that I sometimes advise potential clients that they don’t need a website. Why? No it’s not because I don’t need any money. It’s because a  website, for some, would not be the best way to invest their time and/or money at that point. It would be much more valuable for them to spend that time building relationships in the places where their potential customers can be found. That, in essence, is the message that can be gleaned from an informative video series from +Google Webmasters introduced to me in +Joshua Berg’s Bring your business online—no site required! (http://goo.gl/2jcmCj). Even if you need a website, and yes most of you do ;-), this series is definitely worth a look as it will help clarify your objectives especially if you’re just starting out.

Controlling the flow

Some timely advice from +John Skeats if you need to know How to Get Rid of Junk in Your Google+ Home Stream (http://goo.gl/RchucF) that’s as useful for those new to G+ as it is for seasoned veterans. John covers the four reasons for junk posts appearing in your stream and more importantly how to nip it in the bud. Many thanks John.

A cosmopolitan Midweek Marketing Mix (http://goo.gl/T3OpWb) this week with panelists from Italy, Brazil, Canada and the UK. +James Dearsley introduces individual sections with his usual aplomb. +Kath Dawson starts with the latest Panda update and a discussion about thin content. Bottom line if you haven’t got it by now is do the things that benefit your visitors and you’ll be OK in search. Ello occupies the next segment with +Nazim Beltran giving an overview of the newest social media kid on the block. The latest Google+ news is delivered by +martin shervington including an interesting diversion into Social SEO. And watch out for the falling palm leaf! +Anna Bennett wraps up with a discussion around Pinterest and I was a little shocked to learn that most Pinterest users in the UK are men (I must get pinning more or at least some!). Another diverse and well executed show backed up by the ever helpful #timestamp post from +The Digital Marketing Bureau here (http://goo.gl/GBPFEL)

Thinkers corner

+Colin Walker looks at change and some of the arguments offered for and against in Because always (http://goo.gl/447w4Q) I’ve certainly been on both sides of a change and I’m totally in agreement with Colin on this one - because it’s always been this way is not a sensible counter to either side. Change, in any organisation, is at best, a disruptive process so it should demand a considered appraisal of the merits, or otherwise, of any proposed changes. I suppose the main problem area is when change is imposed because of a need to cut costs rather than an improvement in the service. That then becomes more personal and we see the familiar because it’s always... lines offered up. Thanks Colin.

As if by magic the Poll post I was waiting for just popped into my stream. It is, of course, from that questioner extraordinaire, +todd l lebeauc. In *The Good of the Many vs
The Good of the Few (or the One)* (http://goo.gl/6StnMb) Todd raises the question of ethics and the problems of bias, polarisation and the ability to change yor vote. Thanks for putting this out there Todd.

And finally…

+Eli Fennell has been giving Steiner the rough treatment again in Hitler Finds Out About Ello (http://goo.gl/SYgcQB) I always enjoy Eli’s video memes and this one will have you chuckling away. I’m off to ebay to pick up a $5 invite ;D


Have a great weekend wherever you are

#WeeklyRoundUp  #WeekInReview  #Google+

#BitingedgeFridayFavourites  #MicksPicks

Created by +Mick Sharpe of +Bitingedge

Knowing what really makes visitors click will help you increase your conversions:

Please help us test these 2 new (free) tools. 

Page Title Length Optimizer
http://www.kayakonlinemarketing.com/page-title-seo-tool

Meta Description Length Optimizer
http://www.kayakonlinemarketing.com/meta-description-length-tool

Adhering to our commitment to K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simply Smarty), we've made these extremely simple to use and hopefully fun as well.

#bettermetadescriptions   #bettertitletags