Anyone can come up with a 350 word post on any topic in 15 minutes or less.  But then again, that 350 word post can be 340 words too long or 350 words too short.   Really, just like gifts, it’s the thought and skill that goes into the post that really matters.

Often, well written posts with substantial content will outperform posts that have been written hastily just in order to secure the claim of being the first to break a story.  There may be a premium for being the first to post, but long term rewards go to those who post articles that skillfully convey a story in a manner that will be useful to a lot of people.

There is a way to balance currency and immediacy with craftsmanship and quality content that will give an article enduring relevance and contribute to building up traffic for a blog long after the posting date.

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Twitter for Android

After several months of waiting the Twitter Android app has finally received a much needed update and more even: features similar to the iPhone Twitter app.

The new and improved app for Android users finally has Multiple account management, push notifications and improved home screen widgets, as well as numerous bug fixes.

Fans of Push notifications: Open your account settings and select Automatic refresh. After doing so you can select whether you want Push notifications for Direct messages, Mentions and/or Tweets.

While the Twitter Android app seems to finally catch up with other Twitter clients for Android, especially by adding multiple accounts management, it would be nice to see a visual refresh of the app as well. Most Android apps still severely lack when it comes to visual design , and Twitter is no exception here. Twitter’s design has seen massive improvements over the last 12 months but we hope that Douglas Bowman, Twitter’s Creative Director, would start using an Android phone and subsequently improve the design of the Twitter Android app.

Klout users who pay close attention to their own Klout score and the scores of their friends, business partners and other users will now discover that the company has added Foursquare check-ins to the mix, adding more user based information to their overall social reach algorithm.

Foursquare is added to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn which was added to the program in June.

Adding Foursquare to your Klout account is a very simple process, first log into your Klout dashboard, next click on the “Foursquare” button at which point you can use your login name or Facebook and Twitter accounts to tie your Foursquare account to your Klout account.

Klout has picked up a lot of steam ever since they announced the +K button which allows users to give Klout to fellow users in specific areas deemed “influential” for that user by Klout.

While it is still unclear how Klout will integrate Foursquare with their system it’s likely that a users badges, mayorships, friend counts and location based check-ins at physical locations will all be taken into consideration. read more

Google+ (Plus) may already hit 10 million registered users and is expected to hit 20 million users by this weekend.  But it’s still a long way off from Facebook’s 750 million registered users.

If Google were just counting on its estimated Gmail subscriber base, it won’t catch up with Facebook at all.  But perhaps the bigger source of sign-ups will come from people who use Google search where people all over the world key in more than one billion searches a week.

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Will Google+ (plus) bitch slap Facebook and Twitter?  Will the king of search become the king of social too?

There are a number of ways to look at the brewing feud between Google+ and two of the most popular social media sites.  One way is to look at the numbers of registered users, another way is look at the quality of user experience, and yet another is the revenue that the sites generate — not just for itself, but for its users.

Right now, in terms of number and user experience, Google+ has a sparse landscape.  There are no page updates, no game or application notifications, no mindless tagging, no incessant and irrelevant wall posts, and no scrolling streams of updates.

Coming from Facebook or Twitter, it can feel like opening a window and finding yourself confronted with an Alaskan or Siberian landscape after all the snow in the world has fallen.

The usual question that comes to mind is, “So, what’s next?” and answering it is actually when the “fun” starts.

It actually begins when you start looking for other people that you know who are already on Google+ and start adding them in “Circles”.

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Location based services such as Foursquare, Gowalla and even Facebook allow users to check-in at their locations, share information about those places and find where their network of friends are hanging out and now advertisers will be able to take advantage of that information in a more manicured way thanks to MomentFeed and their recent round of funding that has brought the company $1.2 million.

In the most simple of terms MomentFeed allows company’s with more than one location to manage their various location based campaigns with ease. For example Macy’s may offer different specials at all of their stores throughout the United States and now they can examine how those Foursquare or Gowalla campaigns are converting sales for their stores.

The program works by pulling in merchant location data from Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter and Gowalla and then giving an easy to examine view of check-ins, deals and specific specials by location. The program also offers Factual’s location data so cross-service inquiries can be examined.

By examining how locations are converting using different services a store can adjust their campaigns. For example Macy’s could determine that Facebook Places is converting better at their New York store while their Chicago locations receive more love from Foursquare users, leaving them to adjust their campaigns to whichever platform is acting most favorable for their needs.

The LA-based startup received their new funding round from a handful of investors that include DFJ Frontier, DFJ JAIC, Factual founder Gil Elbaz, Walter Kortschak and Raplead founder Auren Hoffman. read more

Recently the world learned about the case of, Liu, a Taiwanese blogger who was arrested and given a 30-day suspended sentence for giving a restaurant a bad review.

Liu’s case has drawn so much attention because of how outrageous it seems. To be arrested and convicted criminally for giving a restaurant a bad review seems insane, especially in the U.S. and other nations that put a high value on free speech.

But while Liu’s case may be an extreme one, bad reviews are actually fraught with legal peril. To be clear, many of the legal problems that are associated with negative reviews also hold true for positive ones but companies and individuals tend to be far more angry and far more litigious about people saying bad things rather than good ones.

So, if you’re looking to write a negative review, here are a few things to watch out for as they could be levers that your target might use against you and your site in an attempt to silence you, justly or unjustly. read more

One of my favorite things about bloggers is their willingness to experience pain. We all know the classic stereotype of ‘basement bloggers,’ but it turns out that the blogosphere is comprised of millions of tough-minded people who are (mostly) slow to anger.

How can I tell?

After blogging and writing professionally for a handful of years, I can say with conviction that writer’s block is one of the most painful and frustrating experiences I have went through in my life. Staring at a blank page or a blinking mouse cursor in the wee hours of the morning is dreadful.

Yet, like every other blogger, I’ve willingly put myself in that situation time and time again as I’m attempting to craft a new blog post as an Internet marketer. Over the years, I’ve picked up a few techniques from newspaper editors, other bloggers and great writing minds that have not only helped free myself of a lot of writers block, but they have also improved the quality of my work.

These seven ‘writing hacks’ have optimized my blogging and I’m able to find the right frame of mind on a regular basis for writing blog posts that I’m extremely proud of. read more

When you’re attempting to launch an IPO that could value your company at more than $100 billion it’s important that you have all your finances in order and that includes even the smallest of items such as keyboards and mouse at tech firms, that’s why Facebook executives have begun employing computer accessory stocked vending machines to track inventory.

At one point executives at the company’s headquarters used a sign out sheet which allowed employees to sign out any computer accessories such as a mouse or keyboard that they required, however an insider says only about 5% of the company’s employees used the sheets and it was creating an accounting nightmare.

It wasn’t until an employee was walking through an airport and saw an Apple iPod vending machine that they came up with the idea to track components digitally with the machines. Employees must now swipe their name badges at machines located throughout the office in order to receive the computer components they need. read more

Video hosting giant Youtube has revealed a new design called Cosmic Panda.

Youtube Cosmic Panda Design. Ads continue to be annoying.

The new design, here shown with the viral Nyan Cat video, is more polished than the previous Youtube design. Video player control buttons have been repositioned and are now more prevalent, while being integrated in a nicer way. Ads still continue to disturb the experience. read more