April 4th, 2008
I just heard about this new photo editor today. Since I need all the help I can get with images I thought I would give this one a whirl. I created a free account at Picnik and uploaded the photo below. I’ve already admitted that I’m not great with images but as far as I can tell it looks like Picnik does a lot of things that photoshop does. It’s also compatible with a lot of social networks including, Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket and more. I’m looking forward to playing with this one.
Ahhh, isn’t she sweet?
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Posted in Blogging, Online Publishing, Online photo tools, Web 2.0, WordPress | 1 Comment »
April 4th, 2008
It would be damn near impossible not to notice that there seems to be a trend in social media networks. At this point, I can’t decide if it’s a trend or a demand but either way it’s everywhere. I’ll admit that I’m a total social network geek. I say that and yet currently I have only about 30 some odd friends in the social networks that I use. To my fellow social network geek that’s considered a poor turnout. Now, you may be reading this all smug thinking, “I’m glad I haven’t fallen prey to these social media traps,” but chances are that you have. For example, do you have a Netflix account? How about Ebay; ever tried that one? And those are some of the pioneers in the web 2.0 world. The point is the web 2.0 world is the fodder of social media networks and honestly it’s hard to avoid. People like to connect and social media networks allow them to tangibly see who they are connecting with. It’s just plain fun!
But there is something new in the cyber air and it’s the “vertical” approach to these social media sites. In this sense “vertical” means niche or narrow. It’s a way to narrow down your audience and target specific individuals. These vertical social media sites are springing up all over the web for movie lovers, baseball fans, healthcare audiences and on and on it goes. It’s a smart thing to do and has proven results.
There is a SEO theory that discusses the long tail of search. Basically it states that the more specific a page or keywords can be the higher yield of pageviews the page will earn. For example, if your website is about Weddings you probably will find that the competition for that keyword is extremely high. You and thousands of other web pages are competing for the “Wedding” search traffic. So to give yourself an edge you would want to put something much more niche like, “Skydiving weddings” or “Seattle skydiving weddings.” That’s the way to focus on the “long tail.” Vertical social media networks should follow the same pattern. The more you can narrow down your audience and gear your SMN to a specific group the less you will have to compete. Many of these vertical SMN are finding that the more vertical they can become the more necessary their members find them.
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Posted in Blogosphere, Online community, Web 2.0 | No Comments »
