Friday Favourties by Mick Sharpe rounds up HOAs and articles.

Friday Favourties by Mick Sharpe  rounds up HOAs and articles. 
I have some reading catch-up to do this weekend.
#hoas   #googleplusreading  

Originally shared by Mick Sharpe

It’s gone!

No surprise that the demise of Google Authorship was one of the big talking points this week. Also no surprise that Mark Traphagen stepped up to the plate to give us all the insight we could need. Coinciding nicely with the First Tuesday Digital Marketing Answers Show Mark joined Eric Enge and David Amerland for The End of the (First) Authorship Era (http://goo.gl/2eUMJE) outlining how things stand at the present and what might come to pass in the future. You can always rely on the #FirstTuesday team to give you the no-nonsense answers you need. So keep calm, carry on creating valuable content that is very much focussed on your audience needs and you’ll be fine.

The value of Google+ has always been the relationships and a recent article by Mark Traphagen outlines just how much of a benefit personalised search may be to your business. In How Many People Use the Web Logged in to Google+? (http://goo.gl/UO9pJ0) Mark discusses the growth of logged in search over the last two years and suggests that it’s becoming ever more necessary to produce valuable content and build strong relationships here on Google+. Were any of us thinking differently?

It was a special one to one The Mia Connect Power Chat this week with Yifat Cohen joining Mia Voss to talk all things Google+ (http://goo.gl/02I6MW). These two are very watchable, together they are unmissable. Hangouts, tribes, fake followers, cyber bullying there was a lot of great discussion. Always top class #infotainment

I almost missed this great little HOA to help you Get More Done with Online Collaboration (http://goo.gl/KjgOJx). Trevor Beck, Ronnie Bincer, Michael Daniels and Heather Kraafter undertaking a live demonstration of using Google Docs collaboratively. A very useful overview of how to get started and rounds off with some use cases that can be easily transferred to your business processes. I have to say I use Google docs all the time but some of the messaging features discussed here were new to me. Great job guys.

In stock now

Rick Eliason applies his 50 tips technique to e-commerce with his new series 50 things to do on your ecommerce site right now. Really looking forward to the complete series but here’s the first three to get you started:

Order Dispatch Emails Are Boring; Sprinkle A Little 2014 Into Your Customer Service (http://goo.gl/9L3El9)

Give Key Referral Sources The Special Treatment (http://goo.gl/QQ2W9y)

Forward Planning for Discontinued Products & Out-Of-Stock Issues (http://goo.gl/Sil0Y1). I’ve seen this one happen way too many times in the wild!

I have no doubt that this will become a must-have reference for those running an ecommerce site.

Brutally effective

Thomas Hanna | BlogPhoto.tv shows you how to Drive Engagement: 5 Easy Ways To Supercharge Your Social Curation (http://goo.gl/F62Hrl). Thomas delivers some sensible advice, based on real examples from fellow Plussers, that will help you add value to your curation efforts. Sure it’s going to mean a little extra thought and care but that really is what’s needed to start to raise your head above the crowd. Also a big thank you to Thomas for including these #FridayFavourites as a good example.

I enjoyed this week’s #ISOOSIChat Keyword Research : Digging for Ideas & Opportunities (http://goo.gl/6DokK5) and if you were thinking this was going to talk about the keywords META Tag it was mentioned by Ammon Johns who said There is only one use for it; put in all the rubbish keywords that don’t convert so that your competitors try chasing those and waste their time. That’s the only use Can’t fault that advice ;-) Guest panellist Dan Shure joined Ammon and the regulars Carlos Fernandes, Erik Stafford and Bill Slawski for an interesting discussion that interwove many other aspects of search, authority and the bottom line. Some interesting points in the middle section on whether good content can do without SEO and wrapping up with some tips for your own research efforts and content creation.

Thinkers corner

I’ve often stated the value that can be found in the discussions here on Google+ and this week we were treated to a fine example involving many Plussers and posts. We all know how difficult it can be to stand out from the crowd. I’ll bet that we have all upped the ante and pushed artistic licence to the edge in an effort to get our content noticed. Where is the line?

The conversation starts with Jason T. Wiser’s Specialists would never hire Generalists; Generalists hire Specialists (http://goo.gl/UAa3O7). A rebuttal to Ryan Hanley’s article Google Has Killed the Generalist or Why No One Cares You Can Do Everything (shared in Jason’s post). Now the two sides of this debate have merit and are well worth reading (along with the comments). Overall an excellent discussion about  differentiation, USPs and marketing.

Another angle was added with Nicholas Cardot’s The Revival of Yellow Journalism (http://goo.gl/yhycxH) exploring sensationalism in content marketing which sparked another lengthy comment section. Jason also alerted me to a share of this from Carolyn Capern Sensationalism sells. Does that make it good? (http://goo.gl/xxDCXa). Carolyn adds a great introduction that is worthy of inclusion in its own right.

Take the time to read through all the posts and comments. It’s things like this that differentiate  Google+ from everything else in the social sphere.

And finally…

Two this week. Mike Elgan gave us OMG: This is horrible! (http://goo.gl/JCHl0S). Spiders that bark! What more could anyone need for a smile? A gem from Mark Traphagen Ikea Heights: A Soap Opera (http://goo.gl/RrSjvv). Absolutely priceless polyester pillows breathe. My task for the weekend is to seek out the rest of the series. Thanks Mark.


Have a great weekend wherever you are

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Created by Mick Sharpe of Bitingedge