A search engine optimizer is only as effective as his or her tools. In order to keep up with this fast paced industry and still produce excellent results, you need to have a toolkit. A good construction worker always has a hammer by his side and other essential tools that he couldn’t do his job without. The same is true for the SEO.

Keep in mind there are dozens of great SEO tools but for brevity sake I only mention the ones that I have found most useful in my day-to-day SEO projects. Two tools I do not include in this list but should be required for SEOs are Google Analytics and Google Adwords. To help get your toolkit get started, below are five must-have tools.

1 SEOmoz Toolbar

This handy dandy plugin gives you a wealth of information to evaluate websites. The main toolbar shown in the picture below allows you to view the domain authority and page authority of any site you visit. It also gives other metrics to help you determine where they rank in Google, including moz rank and domain trust. Click on the icon on the top right side of your bookmarks bar to get an even deeper analysis of the site. You can check their page title, meta description, link data, IP Address and country of origin.

From the SEOmoz toolbar you can have direct access to other essential tools to aid your analysis of the website. The toolbar gives you the opportunity to quickly view certain types of links on a website. Click on the type of link you wish to find, such as do-follow or internal links, and the SEOmoz toolbar will highlight all links that correspond with your request. This section of the toolbar also allows you to type in a particular keyword you wish to see highlighted throughout the site.

2 Open Site Explorer

Enter a URL to see the domain’s full link analysis. Open Site Explorer is a great tool to view competitor backlinks and what anchor text they are using. Add multiple domains to compare page, root and subdomain metrics. View the website’s top pages determined through Facebook shares/likes, Tweets, Google +1, inbound links, and page authority. Afterwards, create a CSV with the unique filters you placed on the information making link analysis reports easy.

3 CrawlerFX

This relatively new tool created for ecommerce companies will crawl your website and provide actionable tips to help boost your search engine ranking. CrawlerFX is a great tool for starter SEOs and companies who are doing their own SEO. The tool gives you a website grade based on 15 ranking factors. In order to receive this free report put in the website you wish to have crawled and the keyword you want it to rank for in Google. CrawlerFX will email you the report card along with practical steps you can take to make your site more search engine friendly.

4 SEOquake

This free program shows a site’s basic information right under its listing in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). The toolbar shows the domain’s age, rank, number of pages indexed, and various other factors important for SEO. SEOquake works best when using Firefox. Customize the toolbar to show just the information you want to know.

5 RankTrackr

A big part of SEO is tracking results to make sure your tactics are increasing your client’s page rank. RankTrackr uses a unique algorithm to track various ranking factors of a website. You can even use the tool to track YouTube videos. RankTrackr allows local tracking for Google places to see how you rank based on location. For those who constantly want to know where they stand, RankTrackr has a mobile app.

The Internet is full of people sharing interesting things all day. From liking pictures on Facebook to retweeting cool articles, sharing is something everyone enjoys doing in one way or another. Yet receiving likes and retweets can seem impossible. Why is this?

Here's the secret to receiving social shares: you need to create content that people like. When people can empathize with, or are impressed by, something you post, a part of their brain is triggered that makes them want to share with their friends. Here are seven guidelines you can follow to achieve this effect.

1. Value Exchange

Before you post anything you need to take a step back and really consider what interests your followers. Instead of taking for granted that your fans will enjoy hearing about your brand in each of your posts, try to discover the things that spark their passions and provide value to them in those ares. This is why General Electric, for example, links to sources across the web that explain technology in addition to telling their brand story.

2. Disruptive Ideas

If you post something that challenges people's understanding of the way the world works, they will stop to notice your idea. Take, for example, women's rights activist Moira Johnston, who is tearing down male-female double standards one public topless appearance at a time. When people see Johnston walking in New York or Philadelphia they learn that just as men can legally appear shirtless in public, women can, too. Minds blown, bystanders shoot pictures and videos and quickly share with friends.

3. Great Story

A story worth sharing does more than tell the rational aspects of the latest gadget; a story becomes worth sharing when it inspires emotions. This is why the Humans of New York blog receives thousands of shares every day. More than posting great photographs, Humans of New York includes text that pulls on our heart strings and makes us say, "I just have to share this."

4. Fresh Interest

People want to share content that is new and interesting. How can you tell if something is new or interesting? Here's a simple test: share your content with a friend. If his immediate response is, "So what?," your content didn't pass the test.

5. Social Proof

Never underestimate the power of the crowd; people are more inclined to do something they've seen others do before them. This is why Mashable's site is organized by the social momentum articles have gained and how many shares articles receive.

6. Creative Participation

When people creatively participate in creating your content they are much more likely to share. This is why social media campaigns like USA Today's #chewievine are so popular.

7. Simple Advocacy

"Ask and you shall receive." This may be one of the most common yet unheeded pieces of advices to content marketers: asking fans for a share makes them much more likely to do so. It's a proven fact. So stop being a scaredy cat, make your content easily shareable, and then (tastefully) ask your fans for a retweet. It's that simple.

Follow these guidelines and you'll be on your way not only to creating better content, but creating content that people want to share. Just remember the little people when you grow jaded from Internet fame.

Source: Social@Ogilvy

Xbox gamers waited with baited-breath for the big reveal at Microsoft's Tuesday announcement, however what was actually revealed immediately stirred some geeks into a frenzy. See Microsoft only demoed a fraction of the promised 15 exclusive titles and then dropped the bomb that the Xbox One will not be backwards compatible with any of those predecessor Xbox 360 games you already own! Nor can you borrow or lend out games amongst your friends. Beyond some extra processing power, the only real advancement some critics are claiming is the ability to now watch live television, but then again, why would you drop about $500 to watch TV on your TV?

Microsoft has been full of jokes recently with their don't get Scroogled by Google campaign and even recently sticking it to Apple's iPad in favor of their Windows 8 tablets, so we thought we'd turn the tables on them for a minute and round up the funniest new Xbox parodies going viral on the web, all right here for your viewing pleasure!

via 9gag
 

 

They've Basically Invented Something That Already Exists

No One Was Actually Cheering During the Xbox Reveal

HAL 1000

Gordon Ramsay's Take on the Xbox One

Meanwhile at Microsoft...

Gamers Are Never Satisfied

Your All in One Box Fails

Xbox One Used Game Blocking Console Wash

Rest in Peace Xbox

via memebase
 
via offlinecomic
 

Xbox One: What They Tell Us vs. What We'll Get

via dorkly
 
So what do you think about the new Xbox One?

Microsoft does it again. After their Windows phone ad pitting Samsung and Apple users into battle and parodying Chrome as a spying, money-making machine, Microsoft has unleashed another attack on a tech competitor. This time, Microsoft aims for the Apple iPad.

Here Microsoft films a side-by-side comparison of the iPad and a Windows 8 tablet. The iPad's lack of a dynamic, auto-updating homescreen takes the first jab and its lack of multi-tasking abilities comes next. "I'm sorry, I can only do one thing at a time," Siri says as the Microsoft tablet plays a video while simultaneously chatting with a friend. "I guess PowerPoint isn't one of those things," she continues as the Microsoft tablet edits graphs and the iPad merely views them. "Should we just play 'Chopsticks?'" Siri says as she throws in the towel. The video ends with a price comparison of the iPad ($699 for 64GB) and the Asus VivoTab Smart ($449 for 64GB).

Watching Microsoft hold a one-sided argument with Apple reminds me of yesteryear when Apple released a series of ads promoting Macs over PCs. So much has changed since then.

Although Microsoft seems to be quite the bully lately I have to say that as a power user I would, indeed, rather use a Windows 8 tablet over an iPad for work. Props to you, Microsoft, for developing a great product, but listen: there's no way you'll advance if your biggest concern is matching competitors' standards rather than setting the standards yourselves.

How convinced are you that Microsoft is making a comeback?

via Intel

Last week Intel hosted their International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix. There, 1,600 students from around the world were invited to present their award-winning projects and compete for over $4 million in awards and scholarships. Here are some of the coolest new technologies invented by these stellar high schoolers.

A Way to Charge Your Cell Phone in 20 Seconds

via Intel

You read that right. Eesha Khare, 18, of Saratoga, California has developed an energy storage device that can be fully charged in 20 to 30 seconds. This tiny device can fit inside cell phones and potentially car batteries and charge them faster than the time it will take you to read this article. The supercapacitor, as the device is officially called, can last through 10,000 charge-recharge cycles compared with 1,000 cycles for conventional rechargeable batteries, Khare told NBC. Khare won Intel's runners-up award and received $50,000 in scholarship funds for her work.

A Test to Tell You if You're Allergic to One Cat Vs Another

Using the DNA in a cats' saliva, Savannah Tobin, 18, of West Salem, Oregon has created a test that allows people to tell if they are allergic to one cat versus another. Her quick diagnostic test could allow shelters and pet stores to provide allergy ratings to potential pet adopters, potentially encouraging people to adopt who otherwise wouldn't. Tobin scored a $5,000 award from Intel for her project.

A Self-Driving Car that Costs Less Than than $4,000

A 19-year-old high schooler has developed the technology to run a driverless car for a fraction of the cost of existing technologies. Compare Romanian student Ionut Budisteanu's system with that of existing systems, such as Google's, and you'll see why his research is so innovative. The 3D radar that allows Google's car to detect objects in the car's path costs about $75,000. The cost of Budisteanu's detection system? No more than $4,000. With Budisteanu's technology, driverless cars could become affordable for the masses and help prevent the 50 million injuries that happen each year due to traffic accidents. "And 87 percent of the car accidents are only because of human mistakes," Budisteanu said. "They don't see the cars, they don't see the traffic signs … the self-driving car will see everything." Budisteanu took home Intel's top prize of $75,000 for his invention.

Simulations that Help Scientists Better Understand the Universe

Henry Wanjune Lin, 17, of Shreveport, Louisiana, simulated thousands of clusters of galaxies. The result: he's provided astrophysicists with valuable new data that allows them to better understand the mysteries of the universe like dark matter, dark energy, and the balance of heating and cooling in the universe’s most massive objects. For his work, Lin took home Intel's runners' up award and a $50,000 scholarship.

A Computer Algorithm that Can Diagnose Leukemia

An 18-year-old from Sarasota, Florida, has developed a cloud-based "artificial neural network" to help doctors diagnose and potentially treat patients suffering from mixed-lineage leukemia, or MLL. MLL is an agressive form of cancer that generally has a five-year survival rate of only 40%. Using her computer algorithm, Brittany Wenger discovered four gene expressions in the body that can be targeted with drugs to treat MLL. This was not Wenger's first time developing an artificial-intelligence technology to diagnose cancer. Previously Wenger used the same infrastructure she uses now to diagnose MLL to diagnose breast cancer. "I wanted to prove that the infrastructure I built could work with multiple diseases," she said. Wenger received a $3,000 award in Intel's computer-science category along with numerous other awards including a $20,000 award from Intel in March for her work in breast-cancer diagnosis. Check out Wenger speaking at TEDx.

How impressed are you with the projects of these high school geniuses?

Photos via Intel

Again and again, people I meet in real life or on Facebook tell me that they do not "get" Twitter.

Twitter is very simple!

It is essentially about 6 kinds of messages (called tweets).

1. Conversation (like text messages) You can all do this right??!! Just talk 

For example:

"@danielzeevi Congratulations on reaching the top 10,000 visited websites in the US Daniel. How many on staff do you have now? Do you make your own infographics?"

Compliment or thank them. Feed them something to reply to that is in their niche.

2. Simply posting links

Post links to good info or maybe post a quote you like. The aim of these is to get them shared by others (see No 4) Anything goes! For example "The 6 kinds of tweet by @mqtodd http://dashburst.com/types-of-tweets/"

3. Expressing opinions or thoughts or simply what you are doing or a combination of 2 or 3 of these things

For example:

"It's a beautiful day in #Tokyo. Hope we get a good crowd for the @TokyoGarden Party at the @PinkCow tonight"

or

"Time for Japanese to follow the lead of Germany (in embracing non nuclear energy alternatives)."

These kind of tweets will often get your Twitter followers to comment and conversation will ensue that will often drag in others.

4. Sharing good tweets from others. ("Retweets" or "RTs")

For example:

"RT @ramikantari Signs Of Twimg, #Twitter's Photo Hosting, In The Wild http://tcrn.ch/jgla by @sbhsbh RT @mqtodd @silverstar22b"

So someone called @sbhsbh wrote this. @silverstar22b saw it and shared it and so did I and @ramikantari then saw my tweet and shared it too. Then somebody else did too. So the original content by @sbhsbh went to potentially hundreds of thousands of people.

5. Connect and promote. Tweets designed to connect or promote other people.

For example:

"Key SM networkers in Asia > @kzamri @dryorikotodd @i4harold @NealSchaffer @vanwouw @AskAaronLee @MerrinPearse @JayOatway"

So here I have connected Kaz, Yoriko, Harold, Neal, Neil, Aaron, Merrin and Jay with each other plus also recommended them to all my followers. And all their followers will also see the tweet. Can you see the power of doing this in public rather than doing it just in private??

6. Thank! The power of gratitude.

If somebody shares your tweet or connects or promotes you or adds you to a list of their favourite followers then thank them.

For example:

"@gerrit_bes Thank you for scooping and tweeting my latest post about Twitter Gerrit. Am learning scoop.it from you"

This seems absolutely basic but only around 1% of people do it. The ones that do are invariably the ones who succeed the most. Dale Carnegie would have loved Twitter.

So this is pretty much what Twitter is so just keep a balance of these 6 different kinds of tweets.

First, decide 2 or 3 main things that your account is about. If you have too many people will be unable to list you or to connect and recommend you. You can easily see that mine is about Japan, the Environment and Twitter/Social Media. Talk mainly about these things and people will then go to you for info and/or recommend you to others.

At the start do 40 % of Number 4 as that will make you known to the key people in your niche and gain their engagement with you.

Do 10- 15% of each of the other 5 kind of tweets and you will soon see your account blossom.

Follow aggressively (it is not like friending people just simply indicating you are interested in what they say).

Unlike Facebook where things are extremely formulaic, Twitter has NO rules. What I have said are basic guidelines you may choose to use to get started with. Many have succeeded by doing things a completely different way and solely post links or solely converse or solely offer opinions!

5 more slightly high level things that are not absolutely necessary but if implemented will make a massive difference for you.
1. Study what #hashtags are (I have made a YouTube video about this). They link conversations and links about a particular subject together and enable search and branding.You can see that in Number 3 and 4 above I have hashtagged #Tokyo and #Twitter.This makes me stand out as being interested in these topics and gets my tweets searched for by people wanting info about these things.

2. Build lists of your favourite tweeters on your different favourite topics.You can make 20 lists and have 500 people on each list. Why wouldn't you?? Even non twitter users can then go to that list as a constantly updating source of fantastic information. For example I love my list http://twitter.com/mqtodd/mediatechnology for the very best in tech news.

3. Use people's Twitter @names when mentioning them. Then they will see your tweet and your followers will be able to connect with them readily too. For example in Number 2 above, I used @TokyoGarden and @PinkCow rather than for example their real names Tokyo Garden Party and The Pink Cow. Twitter language I guess.

4. Keep your tweets as short as you can so that people can use them in their reply or retweet you.

5. Also, constantly review your last 20-30 tweets to make sure that they are a good mix of all the 6 kinds of tweets.

Twitter is not so hard right?? It is an amazing community and we welcome everyone warmly.

Be fun, have fun, be giving and receive. It's a party!

Thats about it! Any questions???

Anything to add by way of advice for newbies that I have overlooked?

Just do it!
Michael

With the Senate set to vote on the comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill, tech leaders, politicians, companies, and organizations are holding a "virtual march on Washington" to urge senators to vote in immigration's favor.

What Is the March?

The March for Innovation (#iMarch) is the largest ever virtual demonstration on Washington and is designed to bombard senators with messages that are pro immigration reform. The March was organized by the Partnership for a New American Economy, Organizing for Action (OFA), and Republicans for Immigration Reform and is joined by tons of big-name tech leaders and politicians such as AOL co-founder Steve Case, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, and Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, to name a few. Don't believe such a huge bipartisan effort could ever go down? Then imagine this: at the start of the March, President Obama retweeted Jeb Bush urging immigration reform and promoting the #iMarch hashtag:

Delaying solutions will only make the problem grow. NOW is the time for immigration reform. Join the #iMarch at bit.ly/13KCBor

— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) May 22, 2013

Tastefully done, Obama.

Why Care About Comprehensive Immigration Reform?

The Senate passing CIR is one of the first steps toward (finally) passing immigration reform. The proposed reforms include increased border security, a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, and reforms to legal immigration designed to streamline the process. It is with this last point that the March is most concerned. Many fear that current immigration laws place unnecessary restrictions on skilled foreign workers and are thereby stunting companies' ability to hire the cream of the crop of the world and grow to their potential. "Our immigration system should be fostering innovation – keeping and attracting the best and brightest here in the United States," the March posted on its website.

Another fear driving the March is the United States being overtaken by countries with more progressive immigration laws and thereby losing its place as a global hub for innovation. "America can't afford to fall behind in the race for global talent – a race we're already losing. Already, other countries have incentivized innovation and encouraged startups while we make it difficult for talented immigrants to even apply for a visa," reads the March's website. Those supporting the March assert that CIR will make it easier for foreign workers to obtain work visas for the United States, and that American companies will therefore be able to broaden their candidate pool and hire only the most ingenuous workers from around the world.

Supporters of CIR also tout that immigration is good for the economy. Here are some tweetable points:

• One in 10 workers privately employed in the United States is employed by a business owned by an immigrant <Tweet This>
• Immigrants are more than two times as likely than the native born to start a business <Tweet This>
• 28% of all companies founded in the US in 2011 had immigrant founders <Tweet This>
• Immigrant-owned businesses generated more than $775 billion in revenue for the economy in 2011 <Tweet This>

Immigrants are a major driving force to the US economy and reform would only strengthen the economy.

The March for Innovation Live Streaming Website

The March launched marchforinnovation.com to live stream its multi-channel approach. The top of the landing page sports a handy widget visitors can use to contact their state senators via Twitter, Facebook, or phone (preferably by midnight on March 23, when the March ends. That would be midnight of Eastern Standard Time).

The page also includes a live stream of their "pass-the-baton" style event where top #iMarch supporters urge viewers to visit marchforinnovation.com. So far the event has included a Google+ Hangout with entrepreneurs at 10Gen, a Twitter Townhall with former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a Reddit AMA with José Antonio Vargas which is happening as I write this. Plenty more is to come; check out the schedule here.

The March's Tumblr, titled "Why #iMarch," also serves as a sort of live stream for the event. The blog shares individuals' perspectives on why CIR needs to be passed: anyone can submit a post. Take, for example, a recruitment representative of the National Academy of Sciences who posted, "CIR is the largest potential overhaul to the US immigration laws in over 20 years – we need the Senate and the House to get it right this year so that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators will continue to want to achieve critical acclaim — and create jobs — in our country."

How the March is Getting Around

In addition to pushing updates to its own Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts, the March encourages its supporters to announce their solidarity through whichever channel they choose. As you can imagine this has resulted in a blitzkrieg on all areas of the Internet where senators are posting to Vine and media sites are giving the March plenty of attention, such as Steve Case posting on Mashable and Michael Bloomberg writing for The Huffington Post.

Convinced or at least interested in comprehensive immigration reform? Make sure you visit March for Innovation's website and put your social media skills to good use.

Comic via Pando Daily

Twitter has announced a new way for brands to hand out offers like discounts, newsletter signups, and more. The new Lead Generation Card for businesses allows you to give your email address to a brand you trust without leaving the Twitter page or wasting your time filling out yet another form.

How the Lead Generation Card Works

When a brand has something, say, a downloadable coupon for Father's Day gifts, to offer you, the brand will tweet about the deal. If you're interested you can click to expand the tweet, and there you'll be able to send your email address to the company with one click and receive their offer. No one but the company will see your email address when you click send and you'll be on your way to receiving some cool swag from your favorite brand. Here I've embedded a pretty sweet deal Priceline recently put out. Notice that if you visit Priceline on Twitter you'll have the option to expand the tweet and send Priceline your email address. Go ahead, try it out:

Need a hotel deal? Sign up now and priceline will email you a 10% Off Express Deals Coupon Code! cards.twitter.com/cards/c9frv/1h

— Priceline.com (@priceline) May 21, 2013

So far the Lead Generation Card has been tested with Priceline (obviously), New Relic, and Full Sail. It's currently only available to Twitter's managed clients but be on the lookout because Twitter plans to launch the Card soon globally to small and medium-sized businesses.

Brands have reported that the new Card "was instrumental in driving a low cost-per-lead compared to other technologies in their marketing suite," according to Twitter's blog. If you are a brand interested in learning more about the Lead Generation Card visit Twitter's help center.

Do you see yourself using the new Card to sign yourself up with brands on Twitter?

Google is looking to make the process of creating and accessing your stuff to be, well... less of an actual process. Today, the Google Drive app for Android has received several major improvements to make creating and finding your stuff on-the-move smoother!

Now to help you find all the content you care about quickly, Drive files are displayed in a clean and simple Google Plus card style. You can easily swipe files to see larger previews to quickly review and explore through your stored information. And most importantly, if you want to keep some Drive files on your given Android device, you can now directly “download a copy” from the actions menu inside the settings!

Also do you have an issue keeping track of all your important paperwork through some messy file cabinet system or something worse? The updated Drive for Android app gives you a way to keep track of all your important paper documents like letters, receipts and other billing statements. By simply clicking 'scan' from the Add New menu, you can snap a photo of your document, which Drive will then turn into a photo for safekeeping. And amazingly Drive can recognize text via your scanned documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, so you can still conduct a simple search to retrieve any scanned document later! No more frantically scrambling through those file cabinets or your actual pockets for important business cards or that needed receipt!

And finally the editing experience in Google Sheets has also gotten some upgrades. You can now adjust font types, sizes, tweak cell colors and alignment in spreadsheets directly from the app. Also, the Drive app comes with a standard Cloud Print support giving you the ability to print anything in Drive via a Cloud Ready printer.

You can get the new Google Drive app today over at the Google Play store.
 

 
What do you think about the new Google Drive app?

Truthfully, I've never been a huge fan of the recent Superman movies. I'm not sure if it's Superman's ridiculous red cape or the lack of a compelling story-line in Superman movies compared to other DC Comics films like Batman, but Superman's never been my thing. So let's just say that when I heard about another Superman remake I was less than excited.

But at some point in every person's life comes a day the need to fess up to their mistakes, and today appears to be my day, folks. The new Superman movie looks sick, in a good non-feverish type of way. Watching this trailer is like being slapped in the face by a 300-pound bouncer and apologizing for your face being in the way. It's that good.

The Fate of the Planet trailer is narrated by General Zod, a supervillain played by Michael Shannon and otherwise known as the creepy dude from HBO's Boardwalk Empire. That to me is perfect casting as he immediately sends chills through my spine, and Superman's too, with one simple message: "Surrender within 24 hours or watch this world suffer the consequences." Fortunately for us we have until June 14th to comply!

If you think this new trailer looks awesome, apparently "you are not alone." Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.