Social media has exploded in recent years due to sites such as YouTube, Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, and thousands of other social marketing websites. What really stared the trend was in 2004 at a web conference the term “Web 2.0” was coined by Tim O’ Rilley. Web 2.0 is a way for internet users to directly interact with other internet users on the web via social networking sites, social bookmarking sites, social media sites, blogs, etc. When internet marketers realized the potential of these social media sites is as a way to gather customer information they began to join social and actively participate in these networks. There is a goldmine of information that customers share on social media websites.

All these new means on communication created new jobs in the internet marketing field. There are now companies desperately seeking out designers, programmers, internet marketers, and social media gurus to maintain and grow the company’s presence on the web. Businesses even have entire departments devoted to social media marketing specialists that spend all day interacting with others on the web. This has become a full time job and if your business is not participating in social media marketing strategies then they are falling behind and losing customers to their competitors.

What does all this mean for you? It means there are many job opportunities available in the field of social media marketing due to the influence of the internet and the trillions of websites that have emerged. All these websites are potential employers and many of these businesses are very lucrative; while the majority is unfortunately failing. This is where internet marketing, specifically search engine optimization and social media marketing techniques come into play. If you are looking to get a job involving social media there are endless opportunities out there; from start ups looking to make a name for themselves to established businesses that are looking to boost their presence on the web.

Most social media jobs do not require formal schooling or college degrees, but rather prefer to see that you have had hands on training and experience in the field of social media. You have to love internet marketing and always stay up on the latest trends and topics because what works today may no longer work tomorrow. The internet evolves at a rapid pace so formal education does not play a role in the hiring process; although it is always a good idea to get a college degree in Business Marketing. If you are looking for upper level positions you may want to inquire a MBA program in your local area.

MySpace was once the largest haven for marketers, musicians, and people to visit. That lasted for a few years and then Facebook emerged. Facebook changed the game completely with the live stream, chat features, image and video tagging, and many other innovative features. A few years later Twitter emerged as a micro-blogging platform and has become a favorite site for most internet users. And do not forget about YouTube, which is the second most popular site on the web. All these changes happened so quickly and unexpectedly that to be a successful internet marketer you need to always be reading social media news.

Many job boards have emerged in recent years such as Monster, Indeed, Career Builder, Craig’s List, and many others. These are like social networking websites that allow employers to post jobs and employees to seek out jobs related to their expertise. Another useful way to find a job I to go to the website and search for employment opportunities or a contact us page. This will lead you on your way to finding out who is hiring and how the selection process works.

The day after Thanksgiving is well known by all shoppers as Black Friday. Once the turkey and dressing settle you might find the urge to sit in line at your favorite big name department store. Those who were not able to complete their shopping list are still in luck because Small Business Saturday is the day after Black Friday. You may not have heard of Small Business Saturday but all it takes is one look at your social media homepage to find out just how big of a deal it is.

Black Friday has been around forever, while Small Business Saturday is only in its second year. Retailers involved in Black Friday spend a lot of money generating support through television and radio ads. Small business owners do not typically have the resources to spend on costly ads but that has not slowed down the pace of Small Business Saturday. The second annual Small Business Saturday has generated a lot of promotion by reaching out to consumers through well known social media platforms. Websites like Google+, Facebook and Twitter are the most active partners in generating support for Small Business Saturday.

This year Facebook had 2.7 million people hit the like button for Small Business Saturday. That number may not seem like a lot when you think of Facebook’s 800 million users but when you compare it to the 1.2 million people who did the same last year, you can definitely see the increase in exposure. Twitter saw over 30,000 tweets that had something to do with Small Business Saturday. Google even changed its search engine homepage on Saturday to make sure the second annual Small Business Saturday would not go unnoticed. This level of exposure was a good boost in the numbers from last year. One might even say that the level of violence at this years Black Friday will only lead to more people skipping it and waiting for Small Business Saturday next year.

This time of year many people are overwhelmed by department store sales and the urge to spend. It is safe to say that many of these department store shoppers do not realize that small businesses makeup almost 99% of all American businesses. By shopping on Small Business Saturday consumers are supporting the most important bracket of business owners and paving the way for even more Small Business Saturday sales next year.

anSocial Media as a concept has been flipped several times, and surprisingly has revealed varied faces. In a broad sense of a term Social media is a medium of connecting and drawing communities together in an engaging activity or discussion. A process occurring the other way round with communities being drawn together first and then being cumulated into a social group will also refer to Social Media.

There is another facet to Social Media, it is although a marketing tool, and it involves a number of technology giants to get social media solutions. This marks the coming together (to clash or to merge is a big question) of two different fields of operation – Technology and Marketing. While Social dynamics drive purchasing and branding, technology enables branding and further activities.

In general social media is the common thread that blends technology and social interaction, resulting in creation of value. Social media is a communication instrument that not just provides information, but also interacts by the means of comments and likes or dislikes. Social Media is also different from the usual one way media instruments such as reading a newspaper or a magazine, without the writer or creator of news being unaware of user comments or opinions. Social media contrarily is a two way communication process.

Social Media is a frequently tossed phrase, and there are various social media websites with varied motives and functionality. There are Social Bookmarking websites like the Del.icio.us, Simpy etc; Social News websites like the Reddit, Digg etc; Social Photo sharing websites like the Flickr and YouTube etc; and the most famous of all Social Networking Websites like Hi5, Facebook etc.

Today’s society is being taken over completely by Web 2.0, human existence boiling down to network computers. Internet and its usages have changed drastically, so has the way human beings interact and use it. Web 2.0 is the force that brings people together over a wide platform – the Internet, through the medium of social media. Web 2.0 is thus responsible for creating a wider and a much interaction friendly web that receives and responds. It makes this harnessing of interaction easier thus making it easier for everybody to use and interact.

Social media is thus a wide perspective, unfathomable by mere descriptions of social websites. It is a revolution that is changing its tone and intensity with every passing second, revolutionizing lives of the entire human community as whole, which belongs to the World Wide Web.

One way not to land a social media job is to submit a resume with little to no social media experience. It would be like applying for a job as a writer, with no writing experience or writing samples to show for. Social media positions are many and on the rise, but they’re competitive. It’s a dream job if you love interacting with people, and brand promotion. Some jobs can also be done from home. Here’s what you need to do to position yourself to land one:

Prove that You’ve Branded You

You may not be able to show any experience promoting a business brand if you’re new to social media. It would be nice if you can show on your resume or portfolio how you took an unknown product and made it known on social media channels, as evidenced by increased sales. However, if you’re not there yet, then there’s one brand that you need to build, and that’s you. Employers are going to go to the social media channels and enter your name. They’ll do a Google search to see what comes up. If you’ve built your personal brand, and have followers and fans, they’ll take note. If you don’t, why should they bother?

Know and Understand SMO

The social aspect of social media is important, but just as important is the technical aspects. You must know and understand social media optimization (SMO). An employer sees value in someone who already gets it and doesn’t need to be trained in that area. They like it because they want people to find your tweets or other YouTube video. If you don’t know SMO and are serious about finding a social media job, then get the online training you need and start learning it soon.

Social media jobs are growing, and business owners are willing to outsource work to freelancers. It’s a great way to supplement income and eventually strike out on your own.

There are so many add-on’s for Mozilla Firefox, that it can become a headache to sort through all of them.  If you are an internet marketer there are tons of valuable SEO addons for Firefox that are free and can save you hours of time.  I will discuss a few of the more popular search engine optimization add ons below.

SEO Book Toolbar

Pulls useful market research data right into Google’s and Yahoo!’s search results, including the following data near each search result. Shows information such as: Google PageRank, website age, inbound links, .edu links, .gov links, social media data, technorati, Alexa rank, cached pages, dmoz listing, Yahoo Directory listing, WhoIs, and much more.
Download SEO Book today!

SEO Quake

There are two parts, the SeoBar and search engine results information. SeoBar can be described as an additional toolbar, which shows the values of selected parameters for the page currently opened in the browser window. Set of parameters shown by SeoBar is fully customizable by user. SeoQuake shows values of the parameters for search results under each search result shown on SERP. Set of parameters shown is fully customizable by user. Loading of parameters can be handled in two different ways – simultaneously with the loading of the SERP or after SERP loading, by user demand. Ranking of the results by selected parameter in ascending/descending order and storing results in file are available features.
Download SEO Quake today!

Firebug

Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page…
Download Firebug today!

Web Developer

This is the most popular Firefox SEO addon for webmasters. So I assume that it is most likely that you are already using this Firefox SEO addon. This toolbar has all the tools that a designer would require to test the design and layout of a webpage such as in analyzing style. It also allows you to view the site without images, shows the layout format, outlines tables, forms etc, validates the code, among the many other things that this addon can perform.
Download Web Developer today!

SEOpen

Provides some basic tools to help with search engine optimization. Including google backlinks, yahoo backlinks, PageRank check, http header viewer, and more. All features are available by right-clicking on an open area of a web page, or by using the included toolbar.
Download SEOpen today!

Link Checker

LinkChecker checks the validity of links on any webpage. Check webpage links at a glance with simple color coding. Ditch those massive listings of bad links that provide no context and add LinkChecker to your arsenal of web development tools today.
Download Link Checker today!

User Agent Switcher

The User Agent Switcher extension adds a menu and a toolbar button to switch the user agent of a browser. View websites in different browsers and mobile devices with this useful tool.
Download User Agent Switcher today!

Search Status

Display the Google PageRank, Alexa rank, Compete ranking and SEOmoz Linkscape mozRank anywhere in your browser, along with fast keyword density analyser, keyword/nofollow highlighting, backward/related links, canonical links, WHOIS, robots and more.
Download Search Status today!

Foxy SEO Tool

Foxy SEO Tool is a free, open source toolbar that provides quick and easy access to a multitude of search engine functions such as Google Site, Yahoo! Site Explorer, Live Fromlinks. Also included are famous web traffic analysis sites such as Alexa, Compete, Quantcast, popular statistic aggregators like Quarkbase and WebSiteOutlook. You can check a site’s listing in important directories like Dmoz and Yahoo! Directory, buzzing Web 2.0 sites such as Technocrati, Wikipedia, Digg, Delicious and links to useful network functions like Whois, Geotool, Internet Archive, etc.
Download Foxy SEO Tool today!

X-Ray

One installed the X-Ray command is available by right-clicking as well as in the Tools menu. When applied to a page it can help you see how the document was constructed without having to go back and forth between the source code and the page in your browser. Is that list made of li, dd or p elements? Is that an h3 tag or just some bolded text? X-Ray shows you what’s beneath the surface of the page.
Download X-Ray today!

K Gen

KGen (Keyword Generator) allows you to see what keywords are strong on visited web pages for search engines.
Download K Gen today!

Flagfox

Flagfox provides a wide range of uses such as: Site safety and malware checks, Finding similar sites and reviews, Automatic translation to your language, SEO and web development research, Diagnostics like pings and traceroutes, Whois and DNS information, Page code validation, Quick URL shortening, Copying a server’s IP address or other info, or you can create your own custom actions!
Download Flagfox today!

What Mozilla Firefox addon’s do you use to help with your daily search engine optimization / internet marketing techniques?  Leave your responses below.

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The door is always open to newcomers who want to enter the social media race. Some may think they have what it takes to make an impact on the market but that doesn’t mean they will. Namesake is one company that has embarked on a journey to build a reputation for itself in the world of social media. If the people at Namesake have done their homework and made attempts to understand what makes larger companies work, they should have no problem generating users.

Social media marketing has become an asset to large companies and the best friend of others who want to showcase their talents. With so much competition it is important for new companies like Namesake to find its place even with websites like Facebook and Twitter constantly innovating. The two founders of Namesake are no rookies when it comes to the internet and its many avenues. Dan Gould and Brian Norgard are well known as the masterminds behind Newroo, a news aggregation service that was purchased by News Corp in 2006. If their good fortune with Newroo carries over to Namesake it will be here for a while.

Namesake is in its beginning stages but it is safe to say that it will be the topic of many conversations among social media users. While browsing through Namesake you will find that it is setup similar to other sites like Facebook and Twitter. One of the big differences is the ability to post job opportunities that other Namesake users can view to see if it is something they are qualified for. The simplicity of Namesake has a lot to do with its appeal among users and those who are just getting familiar with it.

Namesake is geared more towards business owners and others looking to market their talents. The process of setting up a profile for Namesake is fairly easy and free. Once your profile is setup you can look around and join in on conversations that interest you. If there is anything on your mind, that you would like others to comment on you can start a conversation. Starting conversations and joining in on conversations is the fastest way to spread the word about your talents and build your brand. Anybody who has spent time using Facebook and Twitter will be able to see the difference and the advantages of Namesake.

Bill gates and his Microsoft brand have held a top spot in technology for a very long time. If you thought Microsoft had no plans for a social media network, new rumors would say you are wrong. The game changing innovation that Microsoft brings to the table is something like a having Micheal Jordan on your team. If the rumors surrounding Microsoft are true, any network that came before it just might be in for a fight.

Bill gates is not the second richest man in the world for no reason. Maybe Microsofts new social media weapon will be what he needs to become the richest man in the world. The secret social media network is supposedly named Tulalip. If you are wondering where it came from, just know that anything Microsoft does is for a good reason. Tulalip is actually the name of an Indian tribe that is located in Washington, which just so happens to be the home base for Microsoft and its group of technology gurus. One can only speculate on the meaning of this name or even if it is the real name. Maybe the leak is just a strategy to get Facebook and Google+ to expose more of what they have to offer.

Really, nobody even knows if Microsoft has a social networking website in the works except for Bill Gates and his team. After word of Tulalip hit the web a message was posted at socl.com saying ”Thanks for stopping by. Socl.com is an internal design project from a team in Microsoft Research which was mistakenly published to the web. We didn’t mean to. With MySpace slowing down and Facebook in a battle with Google+ it seems this wouldn’t be a good time to enter the social media race. We can’t forget about Twitter and their 170 million followers sending 200 million tweets a day.

Facebook unveiled new video chat features to combat Google+ and its video chat but if Microsoft decides to make a move it will have the advantage of being able to see those features and improve them. Rumor has it that Microsoft might possibly use Bing to offer a search engine inside their social networking site. This very useful feature is something neither Facebook or Google+ offer to their users. If and when Microsoft enters the race you can be sure that they are going to provide a quality social media network. If history repeats itself you will see Microsoft setup a network that will put a strong hold on the market just like its operating systems. For some reason I don’t see any company being a problem for Microsoft and its run at the top spot in social media, if they decide to do it at all.

The nature of business is to grow and stay one step ahead of the rest. No matter what business you run there is always going to be another company who will try to move you over. Innovation and competition are the two main factors that drive the market in this era of social media interaction. Even with competition from one of the biggest names online you can be sure Facebook is ready and willing to defend its territory.

Many companies have tried to find a spot in the social media debate but the mountain named Facebook has shown that it is too large to climb and too wide to go around. The well equipped team of people at Facebook ensure that competitors will have to work hard in order to move a giant that never sleeps. Google is using the media to build anticipation as a way to win over social media users but Facebook is planning to match them with the use of technology and a experience. While some people are looking forward to the newest thing, Facebook has shown the competition that they are in the business of providing you with the newest thing first.

If you thought Facebook was going to roll over and leave its top spot open for Google+ to move in, think again. Microsoft recently purchased Skype for a whopping $8.5 billion in cash and now Facebook has developed a partnership with Skype. Microsoft and companies associating with it, have always had a strong influence and major say in the direction of this digital era. The latest move in a series of power plays from Facebook has to do with perfecting the contacts, chat and instant message option between users. Facebooks relationship with Skype will also allow users to post and like things on Facebook directly from Skype.

The ability to deliver video chat through Skype is another feature that will light up the eyes of current Facebook users. It works great for marketing because it gives Facebook users something to be excited about right before the launch of Google+. The technology developed through this partnership could possibly stop Facebooks newest enemy before it even gets started. Facebook currently has over 700 million users and Skype has 170 million users. Analyst are not sure but they expect Skype users to become the newest members of Facebook after word spreads of this partnership and its new features.