Social Networking

Is Disqus Broken ?

I’ve been using the Disqus comment system on this blog for some time, but just recently my pages have been slow to load and sometimes don’t fully load.

I had this problem when I first started using Disqus, but because it was slowing things down I removed it.

I recently set it back up again and all was well, but now I am back to the same problem of slow loading and not fully loading pages.

It might be connected with upgrading to WordPress 3.00 if anyone else had the same problems and found a cure please let me know.

Using a Social Network to Promote Your Products

by Millicent Courtney-Ware
WeekendBooksTV.com

A social network is a tool that is used to bridge the barriers that exist between persons of similar interests. Aside from the camaraderie that exists within such networking sectors, a social network allows a person or business the unique opportunity to sell their products and/or services to their intended target market. In order to be successful in this mission, there are several methods that must be employed to maximize the usage of the social networking process.

It all begins with research. Take a look at existing social networks to find the one(s) that best meets your specific needs. If you are looking to promote your business, then, you must choose a social network that has various creative avenues to promote your products and services. Being on the World Wide Web gives you a great opportunity to locate the social networking tool that is most suited and aligned with your marketing objectives.

Once you have found the appropriate network for your needs, join it! Establish your membership, immediately, to take advantage of its membership opportunities; as well as its flow of traffic to increase the exposure of your goods. Delaying your membership could mean that you are passing up the chance to sell your product or service to potential customers; or, that you are missing out on a chance to meet a contact person that could assist you in furthering your goals for future success.

Once your membership has been established within the social network of your choosing, create a profile. This profile must clearly define your goals for selling your products and/or services. This is accomplished, first, by writing a bio that clearly states your objectives, provides your contact information, and, the availability to view or sample your product or service. The creation of a clear profile assists your customers in making a concise decision to utilize your offerings over any other; and, increases your sales!

As a part of networking, it is very essential to meet new people. Make friends on your new network! New contacts mean new opportunities. Utilize each of them to promote your products to potential customers; or, to add value to the services that you are currently offering.

Within a social network, there is also a wealth of information that is contained within the groups that have been created within it. Be sure to join the groups that your network has to offer so that you may learn as much as you can from its participants; as well as contributing to the group in areas of your own expertise. In addition, if you see a niche that is not currently being fulfilled by the existing groups within your social network, create a group of your own!

Lastly, use the services that are offered by your social network to increase the visibility of your product and services. Examine each of their programs and choose the ones that will best further your sales agenda. Remember, the purpose of any social network is to unite its members within their common goals. So, don’t just add your name to the membership roster, utilize your social network and watch your business flourish!

Originally published on SearchWarp.com for Millicent Courtney-Ware Sunday, March 15, 2009
Article Source: Using a Social Network to Promote Your Products

Create Connections Through Business Networking!

Create Connections Through Business Networking!
By Kenn McCarthy

Business networking is all about connecting the dots; it’s all about relationships and creating connections. It is about meeting others to create and sustain business relationships. It’s important for business-owners to be known within their community and it helps to create and strengthen conversations and knowledge about them and their business.

One can easily ascertain the importance of a business network by comparing the following scenario. If someone with a weak network is compared to someone with a more powerful one while, people have the same amount of time and roughly the same amount of energy; all other factors being equal, the person with the more powerful network will consistently outperform the other in business. Eventually the person with the more powerful network has the possibility to upgrade their quality of life. This happens due to their abilities to produce equal outcomes with much less time and energy that they can now put to use elsewhere.

Building relationships is critical for personal motivation as well as the future growth of business. Make contacts and you can expand your network for personal support by associating with your peers. To interact with potential clients and suppliers, one needs to do networking with various groups and organizations. Attending seminars or courses helps build a good network of like minded business individuals.

Few points are outlined for effective Business Networking:

• Stress-free communication so as to expand business in new directions.
• Word-of-mouth marketing is the best! It’s difficult to spread word out about what we do.
• The more interconnected we are, the more channels we have for finding exactly what we need for our own businesses.
• Creating relationships and growing and contributing to community within associations and groups online or in-person.
• Share stories about the value and benefits of your services. Paint the story with before and after stories.
• Get comfortable about talking and of how it has served others.

Continental who’s who is an exclusive membership organization and one of the growing publishers of business biographies around the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenn_McCarthy
http://EzineArticles.com/?Create-Connections-Through-Business-Networking!&id=2858990

How to Benefit From Social Networking – Without Doing it All Day

How to Benefit From Social Networking – Without Doing it All Day
By Keith A Stauffer

I don’t know about you but I find social networking to be somewhat exhausting. I’m not the only one because the majority of people working at making money on the Internet do not want to hang out in social networking sites all day.

This brings up the question of how can you benefit from social networking without having it take over your life?

1. If you do not have a blog you need to start one right now. Hosting your own blog using the WordPress platform is the best way to do this.

Any serious Internet marketer can post one or two articles a week on their blog. There are a couple of key things you want to keep in mind when you do this.

First of all you should target a keyword phrase that is based on something relevant to the theme of your Internet business. Try and use a longtail phrase of three or more words.

The reason for this is search engines will pick up on that and you stand a better chance of ranking high for those words then you do shorter phrases which are more competitive.

Secondly you should social bookmark your blog post to some of the top directories. You can use a submission service such as Onlywire to reach multiple directories with one click.

This includes bookmarking to Twitter, Facebook, Technorati and Stumbleupon which are some of the most important ones.

The benefit of social bookmarking is the amount of traffic and backlinks your site builds up. It also lets search engines know that you are constantly adding fresh content and they will begin to spider your blog on a more consistent basis.

2. You should find one or two discussion forums that you enjoy and hang out in those every week. This is not only fun but can also lead to good traffic and increase rankings in the search engines as well.

The key is to write forum posts again, keeping keyword phrases in mind. You should also hyperlink your primary keyword phrase in your signature file to build up relevancy for that phrase.

3. One final point I want to make is about social media. You can benefit from adding videos and audio to your site without creating those yourself.

Google owns YouTube and you will never run out of free videos for your blog.

This helps liven up your blog and make your visitors experiences more fun. By adding videos, audios, and graphics as well, your blog becomes more exciting which will help increase the number of subscribers to your RSS feed and repeat visitors.

In summary you do not have to spend all day to benefit from social networking. It is important that you do participate at least in a small way as we have outlined in this article.

Keith Stauffer can show you how you can have the time and freedom with online marketing and social networking. If you are searching for real information about creating wealth online please click here now.

http://keithstauffer.com

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http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Benefit-From-Social-Networking—Without-Doing-it-All-Day&id=2857203

Using Social Networks To Boost Your Business

Using Social Networks To Boost Your Business
By David Lockley

So what exactly is Social Media? A simple definition

Social media is people having conversations online. These conversations can take a variety of forms, for example blogs and comments or photo sharing. It is the collaborative part of the Internet. In the online world, it involves people chatting, sharing, co-creating, tagging each other’s content and generally connecting with each other via the web.

It can be complicated to increase web traffic and there’s no easy solution. However, the sites with the fastest traffic growth in the past twelve months have all been using social media marketing. With its diverse set of abilities, it works on several levels at once to efficiently drive traffic your way.

There are a number of ways in which social media marketing increases traffic and keeps customers on your site for longer periods of time.

Social media is exceptionally popular. People love to interact and online social networks make it easy. Having social media functionality on your website will draw more users but the best is once they’re in they’re far more likely to stay for a while and get involved.

Why would this be? Online communities are exciting. Reviews and discussions are stimulating and engaging as not only do they offer a variety of opinions and experiences, but they give your users the opportunity to participate and contribute themselves. Everyone loves websites with an interactive element as they make you feel involved, at least in some small way. Online communities tap into this desire in a big way.

Encourage frequent repeat visits. The on line community is constantly growing, changing and updating which is very attractive to the consumer. They will find it interesting and want to come back to find out the latest news. With news feeds and alerts you’ll have ample opportunity to entice users back to the site by sending them an invitation every time something new occurs.

User generated content drives traffic fantastically as it engages people and gives online social networks their popularity. Provide a place to blog, discuss, post videos and share images. Thus your traffic will increase.

Key Benefits of Online Communities

Quoted below are possibly the five main reasons why businesses, charities and public-sector organisations are using social media and building online communities.

1. Stronger relationships with customers will improve loyalty.

2. An online community will increase Search Engine Optimisation thus driving more traffic to your website. It will also increase the proportion of positive consumer comments online.

3. Your online community will provide a better understanding of customer needs and a platform for immediate customer feedback on new ideas and services.

4. Online communities build and amplify positive word-of-mouth, advocacy and public relations.

5. An ongoing dialogue will help keep customers at the heart of the business.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Lockley
http://EzineArticles.com/?Using-Social-Networks-To-Boost-Your-Business&id=2939074

List of websites using Disqus

I’ve just started using  Disqus Comments on this site and some of my other sites. It seems to be a great system so I have decided to create a list of websites and blogs that use Disqus.

If you use it on your websites or blogs please let me know by commenting at the bottom of this page and I will add you to my list of sites that use Disqus, and if this list gets big enough I will create a directory of websites that use Disqus and a seperate directory of blogs that use Disqus.

List of sites using Disqus (comment below to add to this list)

blog.disqus.com
The official blog from the Disqus team

Podline Social Networking Blog
Just a place I use for waffling on and connecting.

slashfilm.com
Blogging the Reel World – latest Movies news, reviews and trailers.

avc.com
Musings of a Venture Capitalist in NYC.

scripting.com
All way over my head, but the blog of Dave Winer who pioneered the development of weblogs.

louisgray.com
Silicon Valley Blog for early adopters, technology geeks, RSS addicts and Mac freaks.

davidrisley.com
Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger.

mashable.com
Social Media News and Web Tips.

nbrightside.com/blog/
Blog in isolation – Digging in a Habari sandpit

mattflies.com
Sarcasm, Tech, News, and More.

michelfortin.com
Copywriting and marketing tips by copywriter Michel Fortin
(recommended by TJ)

http://midre.blogspot.com/
Mindful Drivel.

Getting the Most Out of Your Social Networking Promotion

Getting the Most Out of Your Social Networking Promotion
By Charles Kassotis

If there is an online social network out there, businesses are a part of that community in an effort to boost traffic to their website. These social networking sites are dedicated to the interaction of people who want to read and share information they find on the Internet. Many users will share links, online reviews and articles via with their friends which is why the business finds a great home within these networks.

If you are trying to promote a business with a social networking website, it is not as simple as signing up and logging in to post. You need to familiarize, read and join.

Familiarizing yourself with an online social network and the tools the network offers is the perfect first step to Internet marketing. Each network will offer different tools, but all are used to share information with users. Before posting and adding friends to your network, take a look around at the top users and the website itself. There could be some hidden marketing gems that you would never see if you just jumped into the socialization.

Reading the terms of service is another huge step in creating and maintaining a strong social connection with your readers. Each social network will have a different set of terms. These details in the fine print could include information about linking to outside sources and the number of links allowed per post. It is important to know what rules you need to follow and keep track of those rules with a handy “How To” guide for each network.

Joining groups within the social network is a great way to build readership without spending hours looking for friends who are interested in your niche. If you are running a dating website, for instance, there could be a social networking group within the site that already has thousands of members. Joining this group will give you immediate access to people looking for information on dating.

Along those same lines, many business niches have groups within social networks as well. These business niches will often be filled with other businesses looking to promote their products or services which could mean learning more about online marketing but will often not lead to additional hits on your website.

Forums as Social Networks

Forums are a form of social network that tend to be a bit more rule oriented than say FaceBook or MySpace. There are forums available for every website niche, but joining these forums and sharing often requires following a set of rules. Many forums require a new member to post a certain number of times before they can share a link in a signature or within a post. This can be a great thing as it takes time to build a relationship with members of the forum.

Relationships are at the heart of social networks and those relationships can mean all the difference to a website that wants to build quality traffic. While links shared on social networks are not (as of the posting of this article) indexed by search engines, that is not to say they won’t ever be indexed. Just imagine the power of your website if you get into the habit of posting regularly on a social network when a search engine begins to recognize these links.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Kassotis
http://EzineArticles.com/?Getting-the-Most-Out-of-Your-Social-Networking-Promotion&id=2904008

Is Twitter Really Worth Getting Into For Your Business?

Is Twitter Really Worth Getting Into For Your Business?
By Brian Horwitz

Getting into Twitter can really get your business rolling. Today it seems like everybody’s business is already on Twitter and that’s because it’s fast, easy, free and has the potential to reach your target market on a personal level. You can easily find the target market for your product and because your followers on Twitter are basically people who have the same interests, marketing products is that much easier to do.

So what’s there to lose? Not much. In Twitter, you get an audience that is young and open minded and you can get them without having to shell out any cash for it. So nevermind if some of them will ignore your tweets, because for every person who is not interested, there are probably others who will give your site a little visit. This is the same thing that happens when you set up shop at a mall, or rent out commercial space — some of the people will just walk past you, but if you seem interesting enough, prospective customers will possibly browse around your store and maybe buy a thing or two. But the main difference is that in Twitter, marketing is free and is open to a bigger market. It’s like having a store in all the seven continents!

Of course the benefits do not stop there. If you use a business approach that is built on customer relationships and not spamming or mass tweeting, you will find that you have just recruited your online team of advertisers and marketers. If you take care of your followers, catch up with them from time to time and end up being their friend, they will do an RT or “re-tweet” of your tweets, bringing your profile and your products to more people. You know what that means: more followers = more business and more sales. If the idea of getting a bigger market and a mini squadron of online marketers is not enough to convince you, then consider the fact that Twitter is getting a lot of Google-love. With the change in the title tags that Twitter made earlier this year, Twitter profiles, whether personal or business, are getting one way tickets to the front page of Google. This is a huge for business. With Twitter you do not only get a wider audience for your business, you also get the benefit of being highly visible on the top ten links for a search term on the only search engine that matters for most people.

But there is one tiny drawback. It will definitely make your to-do list a bit longer than usual. You will have to browse profiles everyday, follow people and start a conversation with them. You will also need to write nice, interesting tweets about trending topics after looking up what the trending topics are. You will also need to follow up and reply to the people who mention you or ask you questions. You will also need to monitor your followers and engage them with your product. It might take an hour or two of your time, but those hours could very well be the best investment you’ve ever made for your business.

Brian and Krysti Horwitz are professional Internet Marketers that coach hungry entrepreneurs how to use free and paid advertising online to seriously profit in business. They are the authors and creators of BulletProof Marketing, a “must-have” lead generation training tool for any network marketer, home business owner or entrepreneur. Gain access to their Free training right here: http://www.BulletProof-Marketing.com/?t=ez_70

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Horwitz
http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-Twitter-Really-Worth-Getting-Into-For-Your-Business?&id=2931339

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How to Make Money Now With Social Networking

How to Make Money Now With Social Networking
By Don Bethune

How does social networking work With SEO? This is an important part of the puzzle that will help you answer the question, “How to make money now online?” This is a question millions of entrepreneurs are asking themselves each day. We have the answers.

As more and more web users begin to use tags to find information (a tag is a keyword that a user associated with a website or blog, vs. a keyword that a search engine attributes to a website), SEO professionals cannot ignore the increasing dominance of the social networks.

However, you need to view the correlation between social networks and search engines as an effective and balanced union. Social networking gets you in front of people in ways other than through the typical search engines. People are locating their information through referrals or bookmarks/tags.

But the added, and perhaps more beneficial bonus, is that while you grow in popularity with social networks like Digg and MySpace, your search rankings will continue to increase as a result! Your popularity signals Google that you are an authority in your market according to your human audience. Adding the human touch will allow you to make money now online.

Three key elements come into play:

1)Article or Blog Promotion- Try and manage several blogs for your site (as well as article pages) that contain posts written purely to capture the imagination and interest of your niche market. For instance, if you sell dog beds, gifts, and items, develop a series of blog posts or articles that talk about a controversial or hot off the press topic that pet lovers either find highly valuable as an information resource, or highly intriguing or emotionally stimulating. Then promote it to various social bookmarking and blogging networks, as well as popular bloggers ” who will then circulate the story and generate traffic back to your website.

2)Social Promotion- This is super effective for people who target teens, young adults, musicians, or other highly active social groups, You need to implement social promotion campaigns on networks like MySpace, FaceBook, Catch27, and CraigsList to spread the word about your business. Even if your niche does not target the myspace crowd, you can almost always devise a creative campaign to get the web buzzing.

3)Video submission- The importance of Youtube cannot be missed. Youtube is not just for teenagers seeking the latest SNL or stupid pet trick video. Many savvy marketers are using Youtube for promoting their business website. You can post a daily, weekly, monthly video crammed full of valuable information that your target market seeks. The videos can be very short but full of important information. The video can be as short as 3 minutes and as long as 30 minutes.

The content is the most important thing. Also, you are creating a following, so make certain your posts are consistent. If you say you are posting daily, post daily. Miss a day and you may lose a prospect or follower.

How to make money now?

You can make money now by using as many marketing aspects of the internet as possible at the same time and for an extended period of time. The duration of time your marketing efforts sustain is possibly the most important part of the puzzle.

Most people try several methods of marketing online and stop, only to see all their hard work getting thrown away time after time by the search engines. Try multiple marketing strategies, but continue the old ones so they have an opportunity to work. It takes time for the search engines to pick up on what you have done. These are important factors for new and seasoned marketers.

Follow the instructions in the resource box below for more details.

Don Bethune is a marketing strategist and coach who has taught thousands how to make money online. See what he loudly proclaims to be the single best money making and life changing system on the planet. You will be shocked! Learn how to make money now! Visit http://www.YouWillBeShocked.com now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Bethune
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Make-Money-Now-With-Social-Networking&id=2829701

New Social Networking Sites – They Can Help You Build Your Local Business

New Social Networking Sites – They Can Help You Build Your Local Business
By Steve Boston

Unless you have thousands or millions of dollars to spend on a marketing campaign to start a business, or grow the one you already have, you must take a serious look at how to drive traffic to your website through new social networking sites and get on board the social media bandwagon. Don’t limit yourself to outdated methods and old fashioned thinking.

Many businesses have an online presence. They build a website and hope that customers will come to them simply because they are on the internet. Things just don’t happen that way. If you have name recognition the people who know you will find you, but if your idea is to build a new business or to expand the one you already have you must take steps to ensure that new customers will be able to find you. In order to do that you will have to learn some online marketing techniques and to create a marketing campaign that will not cost you anything more than the time you invest in applying what you will learn.

Did you know that you can upload videos to YouTube using a web cam built into your computer or you can buy one and attach it? You can then use search engine optimization keywords (popular words or phrases that people search for related to your business) to get the best available spot on Google’s page rankings. This may sound complicated at first but it really isn’t. If you learn to use and develop modern technology to your advantage you will be huge steps ahead of your competition. No one will do this for you, however.

To be successful using new social networking sites to build a business you must spend some time learning how to use YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. These sites are filled with virtual world communities of people who are looking for the things you are offering. They just need to know that you exist.

Steve Boston is a television producer, author and online marketing specialist. To help you build your business he offers free social networking tutorials from his own site http://www.opportunityworldwide.net and examples of how a simple website with video content can draw new customers to your own business. http://www.healthworldwide.biz

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Boston
http://EzineArticles.com/?New-Social-Networking-Sites—They-Can-Help-You-Build-Your-Local-Business&id=2870525

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