Rob’s Recommended Reading of the… um Last 2 weeks or so

I’ve been a busy boy the last couple weeks with new clients coming online and the end of my semester at school rapidly approaching. I’ve been keeping a list of good stuff for you guys, it just hasn’t exactly made its way to the interweb until just now.

Does This Campaign Make My Ad Group Look Fat? An exploration of how Adwords is kind of like a Psycho girlfriend and what you can do to cope. I wrote this for my Adwords Monster Blog, it's been floating around the office for a month while we tried to figure out if it would be funny to people that aren't us. I think it's awesome personally :)

12 Reputations Every Company Should Monitor Online Some good tips from Andy Beal who will probably visit my website now that I mentioned him. Hi Andy! He gets into some things you might not have thought to monitor like key executives and PR people.

10 Reasons Why Everyone Should Love PPC I thought this was a great take on the upside to PPC. I really like the control you have over the medium, the ability to split test easily, and the ability to start and stop at will.

The True Cost of SEO I have to try to explain to somebody at least once a week that SEO is not free. The traffic is free, but what is your time worth? How much do you have to pay an SEO to get you started? How much did your web guy charge you to implement changes? That stuff costs money even if the clicks don’t!

Study Shows Targeted Ads Make Users Uneasy There they go again proving things that don’t need to be proved. Of course people feel a little weird when they stop and think about it. But if an ad is properly targeted a user shouldn’t notice it.

Best Practices When Moving Your Site (by Google) Google’s Webmaster Central Blog gives out some pointers on moving a site to a new domain without nuking your rankings.

Where are all the Google Data Centers? I’m such a cool guy I found you a map!

21 Reasons Why Twitter is Bullshit I’ve come to like Twitter, but I’ll admit at least 2/3 of this is basically true. I’m personally having problems with number 17: “Just ‘cos you work on the internet, and Twitter happens to be on the internet, does not mean Twitter is work.”

While I’m talking about Twitter, Check out this Video with the Twitter Founders. Notice towards the end when asked about monetization there is a 4 minute diversion about being a global resource first and the money will follow or some crap. They did however launch Twitter Japan with an ad block in it. Sign of things to come that actually turn a profit?

6 Ways That Bloggers are Like Rappers Pure genius :) Can’t wait to see Shoemoney on Cribs, he better have a Lambo or at least a Rolls.

The Web 2.0 Site Screw You Coefficient You didn’t know we did math here did you? A fun explanation of how unpopular features that might make money get implemented into websites.

Do You Have My Stapler? I didn’t realize Milton was on LinkedIn  And by the looks of things, his LinkedIn question drummed up at least 24 leads in regards to the whereabouts of his stapler.

Danish PM Finds Running Partners on Facebook How cool is that? Honestly. It’s stuff like that that makes me want to move back to Scandinavia.

You Walk Wrong! As somebody that logs 20-30 miles a week on foot this was really interesting to me. Plus it explains a lot of the weird aches and pains I get in my knees and hips. If I could walk around barefoot and not be looked at like a crazy person I’d be all about it. I would still buy shoes out of force of habit though. The Vivo Barefoot shoes they shout out in the article are kind of interesting to me, but I don’t think I would part with $150 for shoes that are barely shoes.

Reputation Management Basics You Can Do Today

When you stop and ponder the vast indexable depths of the Internet it can be easy to think nobody is going to care what you do or see what you post. This could be true, but more often than not someone will see what you have hidden away in various corners of the web. Right now is the time to start managing the content you have published or is connected to your name and make sure it correctly reflects you. Your name is your personal brand and it is up to you to protect your good name!

I've put together 10 actionable items that you can do today to reinforce your personal brand, keep yourself out of trouble, and protect against a future Internet based PR disaster.

1. Google Yourself

It sounds kind of dirty doesn't it... Everybody on the planet with an Internet connection is capable of a Google search. It may be in your best interest to see what this Google fellow has to say about you. Don't forget your friends, parents, present employers, prospective employers, etc. all have access to the same Internet you do.

The best way to go about this is to Google your name in quotes (i.e. "your name"). If you're like me and have a borderline unpronounceable last name the results you see are probably going to all be about you. If you have a really common name you may have to add in a city or a state to get results specific to yourself.

2. Set Up Personal Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a cool, free program that allows you to basically subscribe to a search query via e-mail. For example whenever my name pops up in a blog or somewhere else on the web I know as soon as it is indexed. That way I can react quickly to a little problem should it arise as opposed to being completely unaware until it turns into a big problem that is much more difficult to handle.

3. Buy Your Name as a Dot Com Now!

There isn't very much downside to having your own name as a dot com, it's cheap and it allows you to own a bigger slice of control over your own name. Even if you're not very tech savvy having a web site isn't very hard. You can usually get a basic content management system from your hosting provider or use a free tool like Blogger or WordPress to manage your site. Load it with things that are professionally beneficial like your resume, articles you have written, and other good things like that. Personal stuff is ok; just make sure it isn't too personal. Topics like politics, religion, and the escapades surrounding your drunken Saturday night, are best left alone unless you happen to be a politician, a pastor, or Paris Hilton.

4. Check All of Your Existing Profiles, Blogs and Other Pages and See if You've Said Things You Shouldn't Have Said

Chances are if you did something you shouldn’t have online it has already been saved and indexed somewhere, but you can still manage what people can see on your profiles current version. Look for things you've written to other people as comments, things you've written in your own pages, and things people have written on your page that wouldn’t help you get hired somewhere... or worse yet would help you get fired from somewhere. And don't just check out the sites you're using right now, think about all the places you may have left your mark in the past. Still have a Friendster account that you haven't signed into since 2002? Go find it and see if you still agree with yourself.

5. Set Anything Not Business Related to Private

In social networks private is a relative term, but it is one more step between your personal profile and people you don’t want to share with.

6. Sign Out and See What Your Private Profile Will Show Someone That is NOT Your Friend

I’ll admit I got caught in this one recently. I didn’t realize that my "friend status" on Myspace was broadcast onto my private profile page. Luckily I didn't say anything all that bad, it was just poorly timed and marginally embarrassing between me and about 3 people. But it serves a good reminder that even if you think something is private it isn't.

7. Build Up Search Results in Your Name Now to Defend Against a PR Problem That May Pop Up Later

I’m going to go ahead and call this Strategic Web Based Narcissism. There are a lot of sites out there that you can use to generate free content that have the potential to rank well in the search engines. Go out and set up a professional looking Myspace profile with your name as the customized URL, set up a professionally slanted Facebook page, make a page about yourself on Squidoo.com, write a blog... the list goes on... There are hundreds of ways to promote yourself online and dominate the Search Results for your name. Just remember to keep it professional and to build good content.

8. Remain Vigilant

The Internet doesn't stop growing so you can't stop watching! Make sure you are proactively managing all the content you create, moderating comments left on your profiles/blogs/etc, and watching the search engines to see what they have to say about you.

9. Don't Bad Mouth Your Boss/Workplace In Writing

Complaining about work is a time-honored tradition carried on by essentially anyone with a job... basically ever. That’s all well and good; however if you publicly project your distaste for your boss on your Myspace or in a Forum don't be surprised if you find yourself in search of new employment in the near future.

Also while we are talking about work... don't write about internal events like firings, pending litigation, and projects that aren’t public yet. Chances are your Facebook page is not the corporate Public Relations point of contact!

10. Don’t Post Anything You Don’t Want To Be Famous For!!!!!

If you remember anything I've written this is the one. Think about everything you write and post being in the newspaper available for anyone to read. And if you're not sure about something, chances are you probably shouldn't!

Guest Blogging...

I recently had the chance to share one of my posts with Your People Professionals for their Human Resources Blog. I wrote a piece on Online Reputation Management, something I've been putting a lot of effort into recently, and I am excited to be able to share my expertise with their monthly HR e-mail newsletter readers. Remember, never do anything you don't want to be famous for!

I'm going to be doing some more articles about reputation management in the coming months, and my business has added reputation monitoring to it's services. If you want to catch my future articles you can subscribe to my Internet Marketing Blog. If you want to check out my article you can read my YPP article here.