Alliance Blog Reviews

Ad.ly , is a brand new advertising network only very recently launched that inserts ads once a day on your twitter account. The ad network seeks your approval first so you would basically be “indirectly” tweeting the ad. Its almost as if you’d be “endorsing by approving” their ad. Interesting… This sort of control is great to have on advertising right? As the publisher so you’re technically deciding very directly what your followers see. This is great in comparison to something like Adsense where the ads are more based on bids than on the content and much less approved by you (what control you do have is choosing who you DON’T want to advertise!). This could be counted as a win-win for both the advertisers and the users on twitter. On the one hand, ad.ly “enables advertisers to reach the highly sought after Twitter audience by connecting brands with the most influential people in the community”. And on the other hand, the publisher gets to choose which ads they think their followers might actually benefit from! It’s like an affiliate marketing and advertising hybrid! When you sign up as a publisher you can actually set your required weekly price from the advertiser, which is another great level of control. That being said I would probably go with the recommended amount or a little less, to get maximum benefit from it. It’d be a shame to lose out on advertisers because you set your price too high right!? On a side note, you can actually donate a part or all of your earnings to a charity of your choice. Excellent! I hope that someone like Bono will use their sea of followers to feed the hungry instead of simply adding to their millions… Over all ad.ly seems like an excellent addition to the world of Twitter. Who wants to start a bet that Google will buy it!? By the way, ad.ly is currently holding a competition for who can get the most users to sign up using a custom referral link. The winner gets a Macbook Pro! © 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips . Ad.ly on Twitter

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Ad.ly on Twitter

Facebook and Twitter have proved to be great marketing tools with social marketing.  Both of these social networks allow you to connect with people universally who are interested in your products and services. I would highly recommend that you utilize both Facebook and Twitter for your social marketing needs.  I will explain this in further detail.  Twitter allows you to build your list in a quick fashion.  Facebook allows you to share your notes and video’s while sharing pictures.  These are useful tools with social marketing.  Facebook provides a great arena for building great relationships with customers or potential customers.

Facebook allows longer messages to be sent to people.  Twitter only allows 140 characters per message.  On Facebook, if people are interested in learning more about your products and services, they can easily click on your blog or your video’s which will lead them to your capture page while signing up for your personal newsletter. Tweeter offers a free tool called “Tweetlater”.  This tool allows you to set up an automated direct message which new followers will receive on their twitter pages as well as their personal email.  It’s an automated tool.  Do not utilize this wonderful tool to spam people for this tool has been known to be abused.  Spamming people within your social network on Twitter can greatly hinder your social marketing campaign. People who follow you on Twitter should be interested in your particular “niche” and follow them.  Your goal on Twitter is to reciprocate following people.  You can post update “tweets” while sharing quotes, news, tips, and information.  You also want to give people in your social circle the option to join you on Facebook. You want to find influential people and follow them on Twitter.  This will allow you exposure in their follower lists.  This will give you free exposure while searching for people to follow you.  Finding and following people within your “niche” will enable you to grow your followers. People who have home based businesses utilize Facebook constantly.  Facebook allows business owners or marketers to create profiles, videos, notes and pictures.  Make sure in the “notes” section of Facebook, you share compelling information with people within your social circle. Create blog posts on training information while submitting articles which get indexed by the major search engines.  Mini articles are great marketing tools on social networks such as Facebook.  You can place links inside the mini articles which lead people to your website page which will show them your products and services which you are promoting. Invite your Facebook friends to join you on Twitter.  You must build your marketing list while exposing people to your business.  You want to build your followers from both social network sites.  Build relationships with people who you feel would be interested in your products and services.  Share important information while inviting people into your social circle.  Create your marketing list while generating sales while building different income streams.  Everything which I have written about within this article comes free to social marketers.  The powers you will find with your marketing skills utilizing social networks are tremendous.  All you will need is creativity and perseverance while watching your income climb as well as experiencing the success you have always dreamed of. [1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503019876@N01/1824234195

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Facebook and Twitter can Prove Helpful with Social Network Marketing

Twitter spam and phishing attacks are on the rise, which is unfortunate because it’s causing a lot of people to lose friends, often times unknowingly. For instance, last night I received nearly 25 spammy DM’s, all of which were from people that I don’t talk with on a regular basis. It left me in an awkward position because I didn’t have time to DM them all back to give them an update, but I knew that most of them were probably losing followers by the hour. It all started with auto DM’s and Mafia Wars games. People would sign up, give access to the application, and then it would DM spam every one of their followers until either they all unfollowed them or they removed the application. From there, it moved to more sophisticated attacks, such as the recent “Hey, is this you?” type of messages. There’s also the “hey, check out this I.Q. quiz thingy.” Although the links might seem harmless, they are actually bait to get you to click the link, give up your info, and then let your account be used against your will in the same way as before. In the future, you can expect things to get worse, that is unless you do something about it. That’s why I want to educate you here, because it’s spam like this that can open your account to virus attacks, malware, or worse. 1. Don’t click DM links unless they are from someone that you talk to often or that you trust won’t fall prey to these attacks. If you see the same message over and over again, it’s a phisher. If you aren’t sure, then send a DM back and ask about the message. Most of the time, they won’t even know they sent one. 2. Check your outbound DM’s on a daily basis to make sure you aren’t spamming people. If you are, head to the next step. 3. If you do find your account compromised, then change your password immediately. In fact, it’s good practice to change your password often to avoid things like this. If your account does become compromised, it’s possible that you might lose access completely. If this happens, you’ll either have to appeal to Twitter to save your account…or you’ll have to start over from scratch. 4. Check your application preferences to see who you’ve allowed to access your account. Click on Settings -> connections to get that menu. If you can’t tell who’s using your account to spam others, then remove each one and start over. Only give access to programs you trust. Only use applications that use OAuth to access the Twitter API. If you don’t see it, then go elsewhere. The problem with Twitter spam is that it often kills someone’s credibility and unless someone is kind enough to tell you that you are spamming them, you’ll see your follow counts dwindle without a clue as to why. The best way to protect yourself is just to be smart and use common sense. If you see someone caught in a spam attack, let them know before you drop them. If that doesn’t work, then kindly move on. Remember, if the link looks suspicious, then it probably is. © 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips . Spam, Phishing, and Hacks – How to Shore Up Your Defenses

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Spam, Phishing, and Hacks – How to Shore Up Your Defenses

By Kalvin “Dr. Kal” Chinyere, M.D. of Dr. Kal’s Weight Loss Tips . Follow him @DrKal . TwitPic is an excellent application that further boosts Twitter’s usefulness. However, so many people use TwitPic incorrectly. Tweeters use TwitPic to tweet pictures of their children at Disney World or pictures of their grandmother at her 100th Birthday Party. C’mon! Your kids are not that cute, and your grandmother??? I don’t even want to see a picture of Halle Berry when she’s 100 years old. Using TwitPic as if it were Flickr is similar to using your iPhone as if it were an iPod. You are missing out on all of its capabilities. Below are 10 ways to use TwitPic to improve the quality of your life and the lives of those around you. How to Use TwitPic Weight Loss Pictures: Use TwitPic to chronicle your weight loss. Every Wednesday is Weigh-In Wednesday. Have someone take a picture of you and Tweet It! Sharing pictures of yourself will motivate you and your followers. Funny Pictures: Use TwitPic to spread laughter across the Twitterverse. If you see something funny, take a picture and Tweet It! Laughter decreases stress and this will lengthen the lives of your followers and help them lose weight. Drunk Pictures: Use TwitPic to improve your vision. You are out on the town and you have been drinking heavily. You meet someone who you find extremely attractive. Before you get into a cab with the attractive stranger, take a picture of them and Tweet It! Have your followers review the picture. There is nothing wrong with waking up to Ugly Betty, as long as you were not thinking you went home with America Ferrera. Food Pictures: Use TwitPic to get food advice. You are on a diet and you are unsure if you should eat something. Take a picture and Tweet It! One of your followers may convince you not to eat it. They may also just give you the nutritional information so you can log it properly. Blind Date Pictures: Use TwitPic to set up better blind dates. You are considering setting up one of your friends on a blind date. Before you take the plunge, take a picture and Tweet It! Make sure you send it to your followers that know your friend. Let the Twitterverse decide if you should continue with this “hook up.” Cheat Day Pictures: Use Twitter for memories. You are on a diet and it is time to eat your weekly Cheat Meal. Before you devour your food, take a picture and Tweet It! The picture will serve as a positive reminder for the rest of the week. If the food really looks good, send it to @FoodPorn also. Five-Second Rule Pictures: Use TwitPic to destroy the five-second rule. Your food just fell on the floor. You are thinking about enacting the five-second rule. Stop it. You are an adult. Instead, take a picture and Tweet It! Let the Twitterverse decide if the number of hairs and dirt particles exceed the eating threshold. Rash Pictures: Use TwitPic for medical diagnosis. You have a rash, but you don’t have health insurance. Don’t cry. Instead, take a picture of your skin disfigurement and Tweet It! There are thousands of physicians on Twitter, including myself. If we cannot diagnose your rash, at least your picture will serve as a warning to anyone considering dating you. Sanity Pictures: Use TwitPic to prove your sanity. You just saw Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster, Notorious B.I.G., Elvis, Tupac, Santa Claus, or Pauly Shore. Take a picture and Tweet It! Now when you tell the story, your followers will not have you put in a Twitter Straight Jacket. Neighbor Pictures: Use TwitPic to bond with your neighbors. You just saw your neighbor “making out” with someone who is not their spouse. Take a picture, but DON’T Tweet It! Instead, use the picture to extort money from them. If they refuse, Tweet It! Hopefully, you now understand how to unleash the full power of TwitPic and you will save the pictures of you kissing your dog for Flickr. These are the ways I use TwitPic. If you have better methods, leave them in the comments. I’ll steal them, claim them as my own, and use them in my next post. Photo by Shermeee © 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips . 10 Better Ways To Use TwitPic

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10 Better Ways To Use TwitPic