It will be a fun and educational experience for all.

Here is the show description:

Long time online privacy advocate, search engine analyst and blogger, Blog Bloke describes the recent changes made to the Google Plus social media platform and what they mean. Blog Bloke provides analysis of the changes, how they relate to other social media platforms, and the reasons for the changes. Blog Bloke offers advice for returning the better features of the previous Google Plus layout and how to utilize the better aspects of the new format. Blog Bloke also discusses the effect of Google Plus on search engine rankings, and also the impact of the changes for mobile users. Blog Bloke also offers his thoughts on the recent updated statements from Google about how they are addressing the constant challenge of spam.

You can also find all of my radio shows here. See you there!

That is the question a new video from Google’s Matt Cutts answers about what we can soon expect with respect to SEO and search engine results.

Below are 10 points that Matt addresses in his video:

1. Penguin Update: The next Penguin update (which is expected to launch soon) will go even further than before. I can hear the screams already.
2. Queries: Spammy queries will soon come under scrutiny of the Google microscope. Nuff said.
3. Swimming with the Sharks: Matt Cutts says Google will travel “upstream” to terminate link spammers and any unfair advantage they got. Will the Blog Networks be included? I highly doubt it.
4. Judgment on the Advertorials: The Google god will get medieval with advertorial sinners more than ever now. No more link juice and there must be “clear and conspicuous disclosure“.
5. Better Link Analysis: Cutts promises Google is getting even better at link analysis. “We’ll see if that bears fruit or not“. Whateva.
6. Warning and Removal Of Hacked Sites: Google is working on new features to better detect and warn us about hacked sites. This is a good thing if it really works.
7. Damn the Domain Spam: The number of times the same domain name shows up in Google’s search results (”clusters“) is supposed to diminish this year. I see this happening far too much in my own blog tips niche. As always it’s the phonies who are the worst offenders.
8. Boosting “Authority”: This one really concerns me. Google will artificially give a ranking boost to certain sites that it deems an “authority“. It’s hard to believe that Google is actually admitting doing this and it opens Pandora’s Box to playing favourites. What goes up will unfortunately bump others down. So the question begs to be asked … what will determine who is the “authority“. The most Plus Ones? LOL. Sounds more like an opportunity for Google bias to me.
9. A Reprieve from Panda Hell: Apparently Google wants to “soften” the blow on some sites (mine included) that Panda had screwed the pooch. So Google admits that it made a mistake. God forbid.
10. Google to Earth: Google claims (again) that it will improve communications to us in Webmaster Tools. We shall see.

(Gina Trapani, Leo Laporte and Jeff Jarvis at Google I/OQ)

Now that’s what I’m talking about. This is why nobody else bitches about Google. Who wouldn’t like the VIP treatment. (Rhetorical).

But seriously I’m not holding my breath for this update. This sounds more like Google fudging the search results than anything else.

I’ve heard too many promises about how Google is going to do this and fix that. There seems to be a lot of experimentation going on but nothing much really changes. The information resellers continue getting away with content theft, Google has its favourites (um, I mean authority sites) and honest bloggers are lost in the shuffle as usual.

It’s no wonder the establishment bloggers aren’t complaining. They have the most to gain. If I was a rookie blogger today I would be screaming loud and hard right now.

My first venture as an entrepreneur I used a bookeeping program called Quicken and learned how I could alter the results by tweaking the filters. I could make bad data look good to the unwary eye by giving more weight to what I wanted others to see. Push the desirable stuff to the forefront and throw the rest to the back of the bus.

It’s no different with search engine algorithms, and that’s what most people don’t realize. It’s not a one size fits all process. Nor is it rocket science. It’s tech art, and the artsy fartsies at Google can’t resist meddling with the results. It just goes from bad to worse. Or like the old addage says, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Readers have often asked me if Google will throw me to the back of the bus for speaking frankly about this sort of nonsense. Well all I can say to that is it’s a fact I am one of Google’s most outspoken critics. My past battles are legendary and I am definitely on their radar. I have heard of other bloggers being targeted by Google and I have my own war stories to tell. Nor am I invited to their gala events.

Nuff said. Indeed Google does play favourites and shit often happens. Time will tell if things get any worse. Or like Tom Hanks once said “who knows what the tide could bring”. Especially when it comes to Google.

Remember when we were all so enamoured with Google’s “unbiased“, “do no evil” and “intuitive” search results? Well I think it’s safe to say that is all in the past. It’s about self-serving corporate interests and to hell with whomever or whatever gets in the way. It’s about elitism and protecting your own. 

The Google god has spoken. Yes it is depressing. Still don’t believe me when I say that SEO is a Dog Chasing its Tail?

Online reputation sites such as Kred and Klout will be discussed.

We will also talk about social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus and even Blogs, and how we can use them for managing our online reputation.

It will be a fun and educational experience for all.

Here is the show description:

Social Media Practioner and Community Manager at Social Media Farm, Jewel Fryer; and long time blogger and influential online reputation spokesperson, Blog Bloke describe the importance of maintaining your social media reputation for your business and career success. Jewel Fryer and Blog Bloke provide ideas for establishing a positive online reputation on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn And Google+. They offer advice for creating solid and effective profiles that evoke confidence from clients or employers. They share ideas for avoiding the mistakes in posting text and photos that can derail a business, career, or potential employers. They will point out how employers routinely look up current or potential employees on social media sites, and how a bad impression can spell the end to a promising job or career. Learn how to keep your social media profiles looking their best.

You can also find all of my radio shows here. See you there!

P.s.: For the record, I didn’t “nod off”. LOL

But seriously one thing that I like about Twitter is it forces us to condense our thoughts down to a few characters. That makes it a perfect medium for creating quotes.

Over the years I have created a quote or two (otherwise known as Blokeisms), and instead of letting it disappear into the twittersphere I thought it would be smart to list them here. That way I will get credit. (Ya know what I mean.)

So here they are listed below in all their glory. I hope you enjoy them. Just remember my tongue-in-cheek sense of humour. (I know, it doesn’t always translate well in the written word.)

Here goes:

1. If you want engagement then be engaging.
2. Let’s face it. When it comes to choosing between reality and blowing smoke .. the smokers win every time.
3. The most successful people in life tend to be the ones who learn to manipulate the best. Unfortunately they can also be the most unethical.
4. The need to feel constantly connected through technology is an emotional dependency and should be treated like any other disorder.
5. When you are pretending to be an “expert” only a phony would outsource.
6. Is it asking too much? We need politicians driven by ethics and common sense. Not by political agenda and feathering their nests.
7. I’m making changes in my life. Stop wasting time with insincere people who take but give nothing back. Words without action mean nothing.
8. First and foremost Google is an advertising company that caters to marketers. ‘Original‘ content? Who cares so long as it’s ‘content’.
9. Being a good blogger is more than just being a good writer. It is also wearing many hats, including being a techy.
10. Any of those who claim to be making money I always ask for proof. None so far have bothered.
11. When you are trying to build authority in the SERPS don’t take shortcuts. Be ethical and think the Long Tail.
12. I would say most exaggerate incomes from blogging. In fact most of the bloggers that I know make it from other sources.
13. Another week of chasing a buck. Trying to be fab. Wooing followers and generally BSing our way through it all. Let the games begin!
14. Working hard only goes so far. Another well known euphemism is it’s not always what you know .. it’s who you know. Colloquially speaking, it’s more familiarly known as brown-nosing.
15. Without exception everyone with a large follower list has either leveraged off some affiliation with another person, business, association, or cheated (buying followers).
16. Personal attacks just for the sake of hurting someone is being a #troll. Intelligent, erudite tongue in cheek humour is allowed. Valid, constructive criticism is not being a#troll. “Valid” and “constructive” being the catch words.

There are plenty more where those come from. So please stay tuned for part 2.

It was a lot of fun and educational experience for all.

Here is the show description:

Social Media Practitioner and Community Manager at Social Media Farm, Jewel Fryer and long time blogger Blog Bloke describe how Facebook can expand and build your business. They add their thoughts on Twitter, and how recent Google feeder changes affect bloggers. The guests share their ideas for utilizing Facebook more effectively, and how Facebook business pages present an opportunity for companies seeking to build new relationships with customers. Jewel Fryer and Blog Bloke present their ideas for ensuring that businesses gain maximum exposure and benefit from Facebook and other social media. Learn how to put the relationship building power of Facebook to work for you and your company.

You can also find all of my radio shows here. See you there!

LOL

Yesterday Google announced it is closing down it’s popular online newsreader Google Reader. To most of us this news was a shocker including Herr Hitler himself. It was to be expected it would be met with a lot of negative reaction and not even Hitler was fooled by Google’s latest kerfuffle. Here is what he had to say. (Warning … extreme rant alert.)

To most of us this news is a shocker, and not surprisingly it has been met with a lot of negative buzz on the web.

Here is what Google had to say:

We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months. Source

Declining over the years? Give me a break. It’s more like social networks such as Google Plus are gaining prominence.

This is just more smoke and mirrors from Google my friends. It’s sleight of hand, bait and switch. Bring in the new and phase out the old.

It’s about Google pushing it’s social agenda down our throats at the expense of bloggers.

The fact is Google Reader is an extremely popular newsreader and is indispensable for bloggers and web apps like Feedly that rely on it. That Google can be so cavalier about telling us (nonchalantly at the bottom of a list) speaks volumes to me.

Yeah right, as if it is no big deal. Nice try Google.

To tell you the truth I am totally miffed reading this. I suspect this is Google’s way of sounding the death knell for blog newsfeeds. All those years of painstaking work nurturing a following down the drain.

Well good luck with that Google. How dare you. So I’m thinking…

1. This is Google’s strategy to kill off RSS for blogs and push it’s social agenda on us.
2. Does it seriously think we will just pack in our blogs and run to get a Google Plus account (if we don’t already have one)?
3. Does Google really expect us to get all of our information from Social Networks?
4. What will be next on the chopping block. Blogger perhaps?
5. (Maybe not, so long as Google keeps making advertising dollars from all the splogs. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.)

I suppose it was only inevitable following Feedburner’s demise. But this is definitely an attack on RSS for blogs (and blogs in general) given Google’s social agenda. Mind you I didn’t say Google will be successful, but it is an attack nonetheless.

Still don’t believe me? Then read what I previously wrote three years ago ‘Google Declares War on the Blogs‘.

(Update: Today even Hitler agrees with what I wrote last night.)

Well you know what I say to that. Fooey on Google. It ain’t gonna happen. Nope. Who needs it.

Even if I have to hand-code my RSS from scratch and distribute it myself just like the old days.

RSS and Blogs are here to stay.

It just goes from bad to worse. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The sooner I can divorce myself from the Google god the better off I will be. 

Thoughts?

2nd Update: The New York Times chimes in.

Automattic’s WordPress.com just launched WordPress.com for Business. The business accounts, which will cost $299 per site, per year, and will come with advanced design tools with support for custom web fonts, 50 premium themes and unlimited storage for videos and audio, as well as live chat support. Business users will also get a free domain name for their sites. Source

This is basically WordPress.com’s $99 per year Pro Bundle on steroids with live support, premium themes and unlimited storage priced for small to medium sized businesses.

BullySWAT is not completely new as it has been in the planning for several months now. Which explains the sparse blogging here at Blog Bloke Central.

Why BullySWAT:

I have been bullied most of my life. It started when I was a youngster through high school. I grew up with a revoltion for bullies and carried that throughout my adulthood when I got into law.

Since I began Blog Bloke over a decade ago the trolls / bullies have tried to take my blog down by flaming my comments section, sending DDoS attacks my way and shunning me from their elitist blog networks.

Just for telling the truth about what is really happening online. But despite all their efforts I’m still standing tall.

Last year I was deeply disturbed by the cyberbullying story of Amanda Todd. Then I became a victim of a different kind of cyberbullying.

My Twitter account had been hijacked, I was being cyberswarmed, libelled and trolled by real (and not so real) crazies. Phantom profiles were tracking and maligning me everywhere I went online. It was nuts. It was hell.

Then friends started coming out of the woodwork with similar stories and a pattern began to emerge. Pretty soon we had a posse of fellow victims who were supporting each other. A vision began to form in my head of a group to combat cyberbullying and support those who are being similarly bullied.

I came up with the BullySWAT name, registered BullySWAT with Twitter, Facebook et al, created aTwitter hashtag and a Facebook group with the help of my friend Jewel Fryer.

What is BullySWAT:

We are a coalition of bloggers, social media users, researchers and specialists investigating the phenomena of cyberbullying.

What We Want To Accomplish:

• To raise awareness, educate and empower individuals who are being bullied. 
• To share news stories and find more information and resources. 
• To give victims of bullying a safe place to share their personal stories and get support. 
• To open a dialogue with the public to discuss real solutions for bullying victims. 
• To lobby government, businesses, social media networks to do more about cyberbullying.
• To start a movement that will (hopefully) mark the beginning of the end of cyberbullies and trolls.

Our Team:

Blog Bloke: Founder and Head of Project

Jewel Fryer: Co-Founder and Community Manager

Diane Bjorling: Research and Development

Our Address:

Twitter Account: @BullySWAT -> http://twitter.com/BullySWAT

Twitter Hastag: #BullySWAT  -> http://twitter.com/search?q=%23bullySWAT&src=hash

Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/BullySWAT

Our Twitter Chats are held every Friday at 7 pm PST (10pm EST). We hope you will support us and see you there.

P.S.: A little bit of trivia. The logo above is actually my flyswatter that I have here at home just a few feet away from me. I had to clean it up a little to make it more presentable. I will leave the rest to your imagination. Cheers!

It will be a fun and educational experience for all.

Here is the show description:

Long time blogger, BlogBloke and I discuss techniques for utilizing social media effectively as part of an overall blogging strategy. We talk about how Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ can be used to not only drive traffic to the blog, but become integral components of the blog itself. We describe how a blog is the hub of a social media family of sites, and how traffic flows between the blog and social media sites, and between the social media platforms themselves. We also share ideas for utilizing the power of the blog to build more social media connections, as the power of the blog and social media flow in several directions at once. Find out how social media enhances and extends the conversations taking place on the blog itself, and how social media can enrich the blog’s comment section. You will discover how the use of YouTube videos can boost your business, and find additional exposure from embedding on the blog, and from promotion through other social media sites. Learn how social media connections can also become regular blog readers and commenters as well.

You can also find all of my radio shows here. See you there!