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I spent some time this evening researching my Twitter usage and that of a clients.

TW Influence is a handy tool to see where you and your competitors are in the Twitter world. Using Twitters API, TwInfluence will measure your influence in the Twitter realm. The results are not based on the number of followers you have. Your influence is measured on three levels; velocity, social capital, and centralization. (Learn more here)

If you have a moment be sure to share your TW Influence results by commenting below.

WordPress Plugin Review - Exclude Pages from your Navigation MenusDecember 18 2008

This week we located a wordpress plugin that solves an ongoing concern we have had at Her Media.
‘How can I create and publish a page in WordPress without it showing up in our navigation menu?”

dropdown

There is a way to do this by adjusting tags and code, however, for those of us who aren’t coders we have located a plugin to help.

We have a page that outlines the general rules of any blog contests here at Her Media which appeared in our Navigation drop down. I needed to only include the link on each of our contest posts and as you can see from the image to the left, not only do we not have an appropriate parent category but the title was also too long.

After uploading the Exclude Page Plug in and activating it, a simple small check box appeared on the lower right of the edit screen in WordPress 2.7.

excludepageplugin Simply uncheck the box, save the page and it no longer appears in the Navigation menu.

Get The Exclude

Social Media Blog Finds of the Week: Corporate use of TwitterDecember 17 2008

It seems the Holiday’s are not the slow season for Her Media. Website inquiries for help with Corporate Blog Plans and Web Savvy Virtual Assistants has kept me busy all week leaving little time for catching up on my Google Reader list of favourite blogs.

Though my time has been limited, I have found a few great Social Media blog reads on the topic of using social media as a business or brand this week.

1) Do Brands Belong on Twitter ?

Yes, I have great interest in staying up to date on how corporations and small businesses are using Twitter. Mathew Ingram reviews some comments posted over at Mashable over the debate of posting as a brand (i.e @dunkindonuts) versus having an employee or executive posting using their own identity.

Given that I tweet as Her Media, I do feel the balance is in using your brand as a user ID, but clarifying who the name and face is behind the posts. You will see my Twitter profile lists my name and my photo.

2) Guidelines For Brands Using Twitter

David Armano’s post is great and to the point. He touches on a few of the items I feel all businesses need to understand before they jump on the twitter train; transparency, generosity, and value.

Twitter to Follow or Not to FollowDecember 10 2008

Simon Owens wrote a great post on Twitter inflation over at Media Shift some time ago. He lists 5 questions he asks himself before he follows back;

“Did the person fill out his profile? Did he upload his picture? What’s his profession and where does he live? How many followers does he have and how many is he following? How often does he post?

I wanted to highlight number one; did the person fill out his profile? This is one of my largest decision making attributes when deciding if I will follow someone. Everyday I receive notification of new followers who have not completed their profile. Not even a photo or logo. Not listing a website or blog url where I can learn more about you is another reason I won’t follow you back.

I find this frustrating over at blogger as well. Granted some bloggers need to remain anonymous for safety or other concerns. However if you blog on an industry topic as a means of networking or promotion why would you not complete your full profile ?

For

What is Open ID versus Facebook Connect versus Google Friend ConnectDecember 9 2008

If you haven’t already registered for an open ID account you may want to, it will save you time as you manage your Social Media experience online.

“OpenID eliminates the need for multiple usernames across different websites, simplifying your online experience.” Openid.net

I have heard some buzz around the Internet about Facebook Connect this week. Is it the same as open ID ? All three (Open Id, Facebook Connect, and Google Friend Connect) allow users to interact with third party sites.

Google Friend Connect uses Open Social Facebook harnesses the power of a known interface.

Read Write Web’s Marshall Kirkpatrick has a great mind map outlining Facebook Friend connect and open Id features and merits.

I personally feel Open ID is great for blogger and social media applications. However it will be interesting to watch Google’s more easily integrated solution ( a few lines of code to insert) and

Toluu

Her Media - Online Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing

Promoting your business, website, or product service online to women

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