When social media took flight in the days of Myspace, nobody expected it to be the way it is now. MySpace introduced the world to a new way of communication that seemed to change the life of every person. Then Facebook came along using the basics of MySpace while adding new features to enhance the social media experience.

As Facebook rose to the top, many new companies came along searching for a piece of the pie. Those who were loyal to MySpace kept their profile but Facebook gave them so much to get familiar with. As they seemed to forget about MySpace the increased competition sent MySpace to the grave and led to the rise of Twitter and LinkedIn. As Twitter stepped on the scene with its 140 characters and unique look, people who frequently communicate on Facebook, created a Twitter account to see what it was all about. The birth of these new websites still couldn’t slow down Facebook but Google + was in the background with a secret of their own.

Facebook continued to shows its hand and unveil new products not knowing that Google was working on Google+. While Facebook spent most of its time trying to keep it users happy, platforms like Google+ continuously look for ways to generate new users. People love options but the generic friendships on Google+ do not seem to have the same appeal and sustainability when compared to Facebook. With over 800 million users it is safe to say the 40 million Google+ users are more than likely already on Facebook. Many celebrities like Britney Spears and Pit Bull are fan favorites on Google+ but there is not any real communication. It is actually more of a promotional page that seems to be ran by publicist.

Google entered the social media scene and tried to control the amount of users who could sign up by making it invite only. That actually had a negative effect because it took away the interest for those who wanted to sign up right away. While Google built its social media brand to overthrow Facebook it looks like it will be many years before the search engine giant will reach the number one spot. The buzz surrounding Google+ and its hangout feature was supposed to be big selling point but it has not worked as a way to excite social media users.

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 of landscape of social media has changed in many ways since the days of MySpace. While many people do not like change there are millions who embrace it with open arms. The swing in social media has come at a time when users continuously want is the newest thing. Those who were fortunate enough to take part in the tech boom have been found a way to stay involved and give users what they want. Sean Parker of Napster fame is one of these people and you can be sure he will not slow down anytime soon.

A new breed of programmers have teamed up with those who were around in the very beginning. Sean Parker is well known for his role as Napster Creator. His knowledge and expertise of what people want is the main reason he has managed to keep his place in social media. Everybody thought they had heard the last of Sean Parker when he lost his courtroom battle with Metallica and the music industry. That was until he found out about Facebook and used his name to befriend Mark Zuckerberg. His cool guy persona and technology expertise led to him becoming one of the initial Facebook investors. When he stepped down from his position at Facebook, the social media world should have known it would not be the last they hear from Sean Parker.

The tech boom has opened the door for new ideas and made a way for programmers to become millionaires. The competition has led to the creation of powerful partnerships similar to that of old mafia families. As new programmers work to build their brand, advice and financing from social media legends is well invited. When Sean Parker signed a check to become an investor in Spotify it definitely put a smile on the face of Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Sean Parkers ability to predict what social media users want was put on display in the blockbuster movie Social Media. It was only a matter of time before he used his knowledge and contacts to boost the Spotify appeal.

When Facebook held its annual developers conference Sean Parker was on hand with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. The buzz surrounding Spotify just might be the reason they were able to generate 100 million dollars in funding during the month of June. The new partnership with Facebook is sure to bring Spotify new users and more money. To celebrate the success of Spotify Sean Parker decided to host a lavish event that will never be forgotten by the millionaires and billionaires who were invited.

Social media started out with the MySpace monopoly. Then the world witnessed the rise of Facebook and Twitter. Just when you thought the tide was calm, a series of new social media platforms emerged looking for a piece of the pie. Some may think there is too many websites to keep up with but the people at Yammer have a different outlook on the future of social media.

The name Yammer may seem like a joke but this group of people is all business. The basic idea behind Yammer is an enterprise social networking site for corporate employees to hold discussions. Yammer is in good hands because its founder is none other than David Sacks who earned notoriety when he held the COO position with PayPal. When Sacks started Yammer in 2008 nobody knew if his vision would be well received. That all changed when some of the most influential people in social media took notice. When it came time to generate funding for the startup it was clear that Yammer was on the right track.

One man who was around for the rise of Facebook took his talents and hefty bank account elsewhere. Facebooks former Vice President Chamath Palihapitiya returned to his roots as a venture capitalist Instead of sticking around to be apart of the next stages in Facebook . His new business venture Social+Capital Partnership has been making a name for it self recently because of its relationship with Yammer. Most of the conversations having to do with Chamath Palihapitiya being the man behind the money. His time at AOL, Mayfield Fund and Facebook, gives him and his company Social+Capital Partnership strong credibility in the business world. Not to mention the large amount of wealth that can be used to back his ideas and resume.

The first round of funding for Yammer brought in close to 41 million dollars. This latest round of funding led by Chamath Palihapitiya and Social+Capital Partnership helped to add another $17 million. Chamath Palihapitiya is one reason Yammer generated such a large amount of money. His company Social+Capital Partenership put in $15 million that boosted the funding up to the $17 million dollar mark. This large $15 million investment is one way to see that Chamath Palihapitiya truly believes in what Yammer has to offer. The fact that this deal also gave Social+Capital Partnership a board observers seat at Yammer also had a lot to do with the large investment.

There was a time when people spent hours trying to perfect their MySpace page. You had the option to decorate with pictures, creative back rounds and music to reflect who you are. MySpace was the first of its kind and our preview into the world of social media. As MySpace found its way into households world wide, it was only a matter of time before competition would creep up from behind.

The MySpace era of social media seems to have gone just as fast as it began. In 2005 News Corp. purchased a thriving MySpace for $580 million. At that time they were the first to have a major impact on social media and the way we share information. The birth of Facebook and Twitter seemed to put a dent in the armor of MySpace. The advertising programs and cult like movement of Twitter and Facebook led to their share of control in the world of social media. News Corp revamped MySpace and geared it more towards music marketing as a way to co exist but that did not work well and consequentially sent MySpace into dinosaur like extinction.

Once users jumped ship for more advanced outlets like Facebook and Twitter, advertisers did the same. Sean Parker, co founder of Napster and ex President of Facebook spoke to Jimmy Fallon and explained why he thought MySpace was on its way out. “[MySpace failed] to execute the product development,” he told Fallon. “They weren’t successful in iterating and evolving the product enough, it was basically this junk heap of bad design that persisted for many, many years. There was a period of time where if they had just copied Facebook rapidly, I think they would have been Facebook. The network effects, the scale effects were enormous. There was so much power there.”

Users of social media giants Facebook and Twitter will always remember MySpace for the way it changed our lives. On this 30th day of July in the year 2011, News Corp. is finalizing a deal that would sale MySpace to Justin Timberlake and his friends at Specific Media. I am hoping you were not expecting to hear a sale price anywhere near the purchase price of $580 million. MySpace will be turned over to its new operators for a mere $35 million, which is better than nothing if you look at it from the News Corp. perspective. Specific Media is looking to mix its knowledge of online advertising operations with the popular appeal of Justin Timberlake to provide social media users with a MySpace they can be excited about.

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.

Social media optimization or call it SMO is a new addition or another chapter under the field of SEO. Search engine optimization happens to be a tool of increasing the search engine results and website’s performance. The SMO on the other hand is the same principal applied to make your website visible over the various social media sites. It incorporates number of strategies of driving traffic towards your website using social media, since search engines are not the only one to do this job. So in the industry of SEO, SMO has emerged as a new buzzword which is gaining popularity, thanks to the massive number of users over the social media. The following are the ways you utilize the concept of SMO to drive more traffic towards your website:

Play a part – Participate: You can participate by joining the conversation, remember social media is a two way track; hence you need to be the part of the discussion with a number of communities. In this way you create your own awareness and prolong your buzz. When you keep this going for long, it will certainly create a long lasting impact. By participating you can help the message spread further and faster.

Understand the way you target your audience: Make sure you know and understand your target audience the best. Though you may want everyone using your product or services, however, you need to be realistic. There could be limited number of people or class who would be relevant to your products and not all. This is your target audience whom you need to appeal, so better understand them the best and attract them towards yourself in an innovative fashion.

Create Content: There is specific kind of content which spread socially in a natural way, regardless of the industry or product you represent. You can therefore create contents even for the products which seem quiet boring and it will work for you. So you can do anything right from widgets creation, writing whitepaper, making people smile and laugh etc. can be done. You just have to understand the kind of content which will work for you, after this you can create them.

Be real: The social media communities do not reward fakers. So the information or content you create must be real rather being based on hype or myths. Though the concept of SMO is becoming popular that doesn’t mean you avoid the old SEO. Remember, Google and Yahoo still pull large number of people or traffic using the same SEO thing, so don’t think of avoiding it. You just have to use the upcoming trends but not ignoring the previous which is still relevant.

SMO still seems to be in its nascent stage, there are number of more things awaiting to explore and tried upon. It’s just the beginning of the concept called social media optimization, which seems to be working since a huge amount of users exist over the popular networking sites like the Facebook or Twitter. Hence while optimizing your website, make sure you utilize this idea by being real along with trying the old concept of SEO. After all SMO is very much the part of SEO.

Alia Haley is very passionate when it comes to blogging and writing. She is a gadget freak and loves to write on technology. Her articles include various aspects associated to tech help and currently she is working on a blog on tech games and Urban Design.

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.

http://www.20six.co.uk

http://www.angelfire.com

http://www.beep.com

http://www.blinkweb.com

http://www.blog.com

http://www.blog.de

http://www.blog.ca

http://www.blog.co.uk

http://www.blog.hr

http://www.blogdrive.com

http://www.blogetery.com

http://www.bloghi.com

http://www.blogger.com

http://www. bloggerteam.com

http://www.blogreaction.com

http://www.blogs.ie

http://www.blogsome.com

http://www. blogster.com

http://www.blogstream.com

http://www. blogtext.org

http://www.blurty.com

http://www.bravenet.com

http://www. busythumbs.com

http://www.devhub.com

http://www. edublogs.org

http://www.fc2.com

http://www. fotopages.com

http://www.freeblogit.com

http://www. freehostia.com

http://www.freewha.com

http://www. flukiest.com

http://www.flixya.com

http://www. freeflux.net

http://www.gather.com

http://www. hpage.com

http://www.hubpages.com

http://www. i.ph

http://www.insanejournal.com

http://www. inube.com

http://www.jimdo.com

http://www. journalspace.com

http://www.livejournal.com

http://www. moonfruit.com

http://www.multiply.com

http://www. my.opera.com nofollow

http://www.nireblog.com

http://www.officelive.com

http://www.ohlog.com

http://www. onsugar.com

http://www.posterous.com

http://www. quizilla.teennick.com

http://www.rediff.com

http://www.snappages.com

http://www.sosblogs.com

http://www.squidoo.com

http://www.tabulas.com

http://www.tblog.com

http://www.terapad.com

http://www.thoughts.com nofollow

http://www.tripod.com

http://www.tumblr.com

http://www.twoday.net

http://www.typepad.com

http://www.typolis.net

http://www.upsaid.com

http://www.webs.com

http://www.webnode.com

http://www.webspawner.com

http://www.webstarts.com

http://www.weebly.com

http://www.wetpaint.com

http://www.wikidot.com

http://www.wikispaces.com

http://www.wordpress.com

http://www.yola.com

http://www.yousaytoo.com

http://www.zimbio.com

http://www.zoomshare.com

http://www.