The development of design, content, links, networking and media coverage of social media has improved enormously, it’s well documented and new innovations are continually being introduced. Social networking is a phenomenon I never thought I would get into, never mind checking my profile and searching for friends regularly, this was more so when I first signed up.

Online profiling on such networking sites as, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter or any type of blogging sites will enhance and develop your profile across the web, depending of course on your privacy settings. Content quality and use of keywords all effects how you rank in search engines, such as Google.

The following selection of tips may enhance your visibility and optimization…
1. Include good quality content
2. Utilise any links to other sites you blog on etc
3. Update your blog / social networking site regularly
4. Use keywords to enhance ranking capabilities.

Over the past few months my colleagues have been talking about Twitter, I didn’t really want to join another social network, (having one I thought was enough work for me), and a couple of months ago I decided I had had enough and finally gave in.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I have benefited from joining Twitter – from a work/industry perspective anyway. As I mentioned in an earlier entry I am fairly new to the world of PR and SEO, following people on Twitter who have much experience and sharing links / articles on related topics has helped me immensely.

I often find with social networking some can people become obsessed over it, depending on whether it’s used for social or business purposes…. Is it ok to be obsessed with it? What do you think? Am I alone with this perspective? And have you tried typing your name in Google to see where / if you rank?

The controversy escalated when a senior member of the NUJ posted short-tempered comments reacting to the blogger’s activities, in the process, outing the full name of the colleague being accused of unprofessional behaviour.

The Guardian took the story up in a big way and the controversy continued as the writer of The Guardian’s think-piece is actually married to an NUJ member who was also posting comments on the original blog post (this was stated on his article). [Edit - see clarification in comments, she is actually an ex-member]

Hope you are following this…

NB – let me declare my interests in this (limited though they are). Our blogging seminar leader was Martin Belam, another employee at The Guardian. Also, a few years ago I had an NUJ training course arranged for me by someone right at the heart of the scandal. Yes, yes, I do move in the right circles…

To a career journalist working for a serious publication / outlet there are complex rules and standards about reporting, such as – never depend on a single source for information, don’t publish opinions as facts etc. etc.

Should bloggers follow the standards of reporting as employed by organisations like the BBC and Reuters? 

Here’s my twopennorth –

Blogs are not reports
From the very earliest days of blogs, there has always been the understanding that a blog is somewhat personal – in other words an “op ed”, or “opinion piece”.
(NB, the word “blog” is an abbreviation of weblog, meaning a journal)

Are the navel gazing “In my life” columns that feature in all our major newspapers subject to the rigorous fact-checking processes that a news report is subject to?  No, I don’t think so. In fact, I would guess some of them they have pretty obviously been dashed off in the last half hour before deadline with only the slightest bit of thought!  (Yes, that is professional jealousy…)

However, of course some standards should be met and many bloggers are completely unaware of even their most basic responsibilities.

I am a journalist by training, over the years working primarily on features and marketing content.

Nevertheless, I still have a hazy memory of McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists and therefore do my very best not to libel anyone, make wilful mis-statements (no matter how riled I am) or affect the proceeding of active court cases. 

Everyone blogging should adhere to these basic principles, but they don’t.  Yes – I’m looking at you Perez Hilton!

Basics

1. Don’t publish immediately after writing. Take a break, walk away and ideally get someone else to take a look at what you’ve written.
2. Don’t call Mr So-and-so down the road a paedophile, whether because you think it’s a funny thing to say, or if you really think he is one (if so, go to the police!). Furthermore, don’t even hint that someone on your road is a paedophile – technically anyone who fits your vague description could sue you.
3. Don’t panic if someone contacts you to argue about what you’ve written and don’t respond immediately! Take another look, ideally with a second pair of eyes, and see if you think you were fair.

   There are lots of ways to deal with complaints – valid or otherwise.  Often giving a complainant the right-to-reply suffices. Almost always, a friendly response is the sensible option and if your correspondent turns out to be irrational – end the conversation immediately.

4. Never, ever steal information…

There are lots of other legal considerations.  If you think there are any that bloggers should regard as a priority, please add a comment.  Thanks.

Many larger corporations and anyone who can afford to use SEO companies and/or multilingual SEO organistions, are there to improve or enhance your site in order to gain better search rankings, however there is no guarantee that an SEO company will improve your site rankings. Search engines tend to keep you in the best position for your site, and unless you suddenly produce the best possible site there is a limited possibility that you will drop your position.

Consider the following factors to enhance your search results:
• Content – ensure the quality is good and contains plenty of keywords to maintain visitor numbers, to further your content make the use of niche words. Also bullet points in content will always be picked upon, try to add them in your content.
• Design of the site and software used to build it can also make a difference as to where you rank. Text is important in helping the visitor get to the information they have searched for, whether the content is written on your page or there is a link to whatever the visitor is looking for. If you have any images on the pages, ensure they have alt tags and title tags. Important Note: alt and title tags should always differ.
• Title of your site should contain no more than 12-14 words (include keywords in the website title). The header of the post must contain keywords also in order to attain higher page rank.
• Navigations should always be created using text, the use of images will deplete any page rankings you have. The keywords used in the navigation menu should always be the same as they are general web standards.
• Any links which are on your pages should relate to your site, to increase the chance of high search engine rankings, any external links should relate to your sites niche.
• An up-to-date site and an eye on your competitors will ensure you stay ahead, keep an eye on current SEO news and use the techniques to your advantage.