LinkedIn is has become one of the most powerful Social Media platforms for business, and with simple these simple changes below to your LinkedIn Profile you will quickly create a LinkedIn Marketing Machine. Plan on spending a couple of hours to make these changes to your LinkedIn Profile.

Many of you will hopefully already have some of these "Must Dos" in your profile. Others are probably really incomplete. Here’s what I think you must be doing and why (*note: if for some reason any of this violates LinkedIn’s terms of service, I’m not aware of it- so feel free to correct me):

1. Understand Your Keywords: Understand what keywords you want to rank for first before completing your profile. Once you know the keywords you want people to find you from, you will be using these extensively throughout your profile. This is how people will find you in the search. Tip: LinkedIn is one of the only sites I know of that still ranks the density of keywords in your profile to where you appear in their search results, so the more you use your keywords throughout your profile, the higher you will rank for that term in the search results. If you want to get an example of what other people are searching for, just use the search bar on LinkedIn. If no one is searching for the keywords you think are good, find one they are search for and use that.
2. Complete Your Profile: Make certain you complete your entire profile! LinkedIn will tell you what percentage your are complete and exactly what to do. Not completing your profile is a garantee your LinkedIn profile will not rank high in LinkedIn search.
3. Use Your Main Keywords in your Headline: Your headline, the line just below your name, is one of the most important factors in search. Make sure you use your keywords there!
   
4. Select the appropriate industry: How do you know where best to put yourself? Look at what other people have used that rank high for the terms you want to be found for and use what they used (don't recreate the wheel if not necessary)
5. Fill your profile with interesting facts about you: Use real captivating words up front, not like "works at XYZ company", but instead, like an advertisement for you, because that’s what LinkedIn is!
6. Add Multiple Current Jobs: Current jobs is another way you will be found for your keywords on your LinkedIn profile. Don't worry if you really only have one job since all of us wear multiple hats nowadays. If you have a blog (or multiple), use it. Then in each job description, use your keywords (I hope you are starting to get the point of keyword importance in your LinkedIn Profile about now)
   
7. Add Multiple Previous Jobs: The same rules apply from the above LinkedIn Tip.
8. Add your email address to your last name: For someone to connect to you without directly knowing you, they need to know your first and last name, as well as a valid email address. Make it easier by turning the last name field of your profile into your last name and then your email address (example: LastName myname@myemail.com). This gives people an easier way to connecting.
9. Complete Your Summary: Make your LinkedIn profile summary section complete and really easy to read. I suggest using your main keywords by section and breaking down each section using simple headers for each with a colon afterward (example: Internet Marketing Strategist:).
   
10. Use Your Keywords in Specialties: In your specialties section, use all of your keywords followed by a line break to make it easily redable.
11. Solicit colleagues and friends for recommendations: People love to read reviews. And there is no better review then someone else talking about YOU. Make sure you’ve got some great recommendations for the work you have done. Don’t be afraid to solicit recommendations. I always recommend in return for every one written about me. The trick is: write what you truly feel about the person in the nicest possible terms, and never oversell someone you don’t recommend. That can come back to bite you.
    
12. Add plenty of passion: People who are going to bother to read your profile want to know who you are. If you merely put down that you’re an operations manager at XYZ company, that’s all they have in their minds about you. Add that you’re passionate about Cub scouts and that you play guitar and sing in the shower. Make sure people know about YOU, not just your job history.

The trick of setting up your LinkedIn profile is spending a little focussed time upfront to reap the benefits thereafter. If you put up a LinkedIn profile that poorly covers the details, and barely populates the profile with much of interest, you will likely not get connections beyond former coworkers looking to make a lame connections. Should you be seeking to cast a net, develop relationships, and eventually find other opportunities through your LinkedIn profile, you’ll want to put a little more effort in and use these LinkedIn profile tips.

How are YOU using LinkedIn?

Has LinkedIn created some open doors for you? Do you have LinkedIn profile or LinkedIn Marketing tips I didn’t cover that you’d recommend to other LinkedIn users? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments, and let’s open the discussion to better understand the ways to change/use your LinkedIn Profile for building opportunities for you in the future.

A couple weeks ago, we wrote a post wishing Twitter a happy fifth birthday, but also noting that there was still much work to be done. In particular, search and archives range from weak to non-existent. Today, Twitter has taken a few small steps to alleviate at least one of those issues.

In a post on their blog, Twitter notes that an update to their search algorithms will now suggest key accounts to follow for any topic you search for. For example, if you search for racing, you’ll get a bunch of NASCAR and other folks suggested to you. Previously, these searches were only looking for a term like “racing” in an account’s name or username. So yes, this is much smarter, and better.

The other key change is buried at the bottom of Twitter’s post:

One more thing! Now, when you search on Twitter.com, you’ll see a tip from Twitter. This tip points you to a set of search operators and our advanced search page, which help you more quickly find what you’re looking for.

Yes, Twitter has finally ported over Advanced Search to Twitter (or “New Twitter” if you can still call it that). Previously, these advanced options like phrases, hashtags, people, places, sentiments, and others only resided on the Twitter Search standalone site. As we noted in our post a couple weeks back, some of these features were useful, but no one seemed to use them because it was nearly impossible to find them.

Now, Twitter is highlighting advanced search under the main search box after every search you do. And the entire thing resides on twitter.com instead of a separate sub-domain.

To be clear, even with Advanced Search, Twitter is far from where it needs to be in search — results still only go back five days. But this is a good first step. And the much improved alignment between search topics and users is also a nice change.

Google Docs is an excellent product from Google company which helps to user to edit the document in online without any use of special software’s. The latest news from Google is they are going to update new commenting feature for Google docs, so it’s like a real time chat between the users which are editing the same document with comment feature. Whenever user comment on the document and that comment will appears on right side of  the document including with their profile pictures and timestamps. Even you can use “@” to interact and reply with particular user comment or discussion on that document.

If user is offline the comments will appear on their e-mail account, so that you can reply for that comment via email without visiting the Google docs web page. Users can also read and view the full discussions simply by clicking the discussion button from the top menu of that document.

This is soooo cool. If you are not yet using Google Docs, do so quickly. It has replaced document storage for all of my business needs now completely.

How are you using Google Docs? Leave a comment below.

Top 12 iPhone Apps That'll Increase Your Productivity

The best thing about iPhone is the incredible world of apps its users can access and use. But it's easy to get lost in those hundreds of thousands of apps. That means finding the right apps to enhance your productivity could in itself be an immensely unproductive exercise if you don't know what you are looking for.

Thankfully, you've got Dumb Little Man and myself to lean upon. This list will show you 12 iPhone apps that could significantly enhance your daily productivity. Like most of the lists published on this blog, this one too is diverse with all kinds of good and innovative tools.

Oh, and before I forget, if you are Android user, worry not. The next list will be for Android users. So stay tuned.

Simplenote
Simplenote is a note taking solution that has received rave reviews from various corners of the tech world. Hence it's iPhone app can be safely considered as one of the best when it comes to quickly jotting down text notes and keeping them organized.

Mint
Mint's iPhone app is a must-have if you intend to be productive with your personal finances. It's free to use and has a ton of features like easy budgeting, investment tracking, nice and detailed graphs, and many more that let you know what's going on with your hard earned money.

Lucyphone
Don't you feel frustrated when you are kept waiting for a long time in the call queue of a customer service department? Who wants to hold that long, right? Well, get Lucyphone on your iPhone and get rid of that problem. You just need to give them a number to call you back on. The app will do that when it can get a customer service rep on the call. Cool, isn't it?

Remote
Apple's remote app for iOS devices could come in extremely handy when you don't want to manually shuffle songs in iTunes on your computer again and again. You could use it on occasions like a party at home, to quickly change music. Here's a detailed guide on remote controlling iTunes using the iPhone Remote app. If you have Apple TV, you can use your iPhone as the remote to access your iTunes account on your TV.

Instapaper
Instapaper is undoubtedly one of my favorite services that I use every day. That makes its iPhone app one of my favorites too. It can make your daily dose of reading so much more productive.

Twitter's iPhone App
For a long time I thought that Twitter's official iPhone app is inferior to the other third-party Twitter apps out there. Turns out I was wrong. I discovered two months back that the official Twitter app has features that can make you much more productive while using Twitter on your iPhone. Make sure you give it a shot.

Dropbox
You've heard about Dropbox, haven't you? Well, this online backup service has a pretty cool iPhone app too. It lets you easily access important files on your iPhone and also do a lot of other things. Do check it out.

ReQall
The ReQall iPhone app does many things but it's mainly focused on reminders. And it's really good at organizing the reminders and helping you know what you need to do at the right time.

Evernote
Evernote is without a doubt the most popular note-taking organizational tool out there. It has got some amazing features for sure, and it recently gave a complete overhaul to its iPhone app to make it better. It's a must-have app for your iPhone.

TripDeck
When it comes to efficient and productive planning for your upcoming trip, the Tripdeck iPhone app really stands out. Be it organizing your travel itinerary, managing hotel reservations or flights, finding phone numbers that matter....it just has a lot to offer for the traveler.

Bump
Bump is one of the most innovative tools I've ever come across. If you are at a conference or a party, and want to share stuff like your contact details or photos with someone there who also has an iPhone, then using this app you could just bump your phones together and the sharing is taken care of. Cool and easy.

Jott
Finally, we've got Jott for iPhone that can quickly convert voice to text. You can send emails, take notes, post to Twitter and do much more, all using your voice. There are many more features that you'll come to know once you start using the app.

Saw this complication and thought my reader would love it. Go ahead and show me you are alive by leaving a comment if you found this as valuable as I did.

Images are great. They bring web sites, blogs and email marketing to life. However, images used incorrectly can end up being blank holes or gaudy eye sores in your online marketing, especially in your email marketing.

Melania Attia of Campaigner gives these six suggestions for better email marketing

• Use images to enhance your message. Pictures may be worth a thousand words but don’t rely on them to tell the entire story. If a recipient is using a mobile device or has disabled images in emails, make sure they can read what others are visually seeing. A good rule of thumb is to use a 30/70 ratio: 30% images and 70% text.
• Place larger images below the fold or preview pane. Use this format so readers using a preview pane or have blocked images from downloading automatically do not miss your message. No matter where you place the image, keep it to 600px width to keep it from being cut off on the screen.
• Include a clickable call to action with your image so you can see how your readers respond to each graphic. Data about who clicks on a photo’s hyperlink will give direction to future interaction. If the report shows traffic, use it in a future email. Don’t forget to include a text click-through for those who have turned off the graphic display option.
• Never use a background image when designing an email. The chances are great that it will not render properly (if at all).
• Forgo image maps in email marketing. These are graphics with multiple paths or URL options (for example, click a, b or c). Most email editors do not support image maps and strip them out. Rather than compromise your visual message, use them on your website instead.
• Before you send out your email, preview the email to ensure that it looks good with images turned on and off. You can do this by sending the email to yourself.  A good email marketing service will also allow you to view print versions of HTML and text emails, resize the preview window size and to preview the viewing area or simulate different email window sizes, indicate the email file size and show/hide images.

A big, powerful wild card just entered the movie distribution business. Warner Bros. Entertainment announced today it will begin distributing movies for sale and for rent through Facebook, beginning with "The Dark Knight." Initially it will be available for rental for $3 or 30 Facebook credits. Ultimately, other Warner movies will be available for both rental and for purchase.

Heath Ledger in Dark Night

Facebook is already the fastest-growing video service, so adding movies and, one would presume, TV episodes, should accelerate that. Facebook was the sixth-largest video provider in January, according to ComScore, ahead of Microsoft, Turner and Hulu. Unlike Hulu or YouTube, Facebook (thanks to Zynga) already has a robust credits marketplace made up largely of people buying virtual goods for games like "Farmville" and "Mafia Wars."

Hulu and Apple's iTunes have plenty of content and have been working to add social functionality to their services. Why? Because while search is great, TV and movies are social experiences, and they believe that social connections should play a big role in the discovery of content. People want to know what their friends are watching, and Facebook is best positioned to facilitate that.

The big question is how far YouTube goes into movie and TV sales and rentals. Right now YouTube has a limited catalog of movies for rent, such as "Reservoir Dogs" for $1.99, and via ad-supported streaming, like Jackie Chan's "The Young Master." YouTube's strategy seems pretty clear: It won't pay big Hollywood fees for content. Rather, it's looking to cultivate a new market for short-form video that exists largely outside Hollywood.

"The Dark Knight" isn't a new release (2008), and Facebook appears to be getting the same terms as iTunes, which rents the film for $2.99 and sells it for $9.99. One thing Facebook (and Netflix) have that Apple doesn't is a beachhead as an app on most internet-connected TVs.

Another way they're similar: Facebook takes a 30% cut of credits transactions, just like iTunes. Still, if Facebook allows studios to sell their wares directly and set their terms, there's no reason its catalog won't expand quickly. Netflix shares opened nearly 3% lower on the Nasdaq the morning this deal was announced.

No surprise here. Facebook is going to start making a ton of money off their primary strength, shear number of people.

How do you feel about renting movies on Facebook?

Facebook is becoming an intriguing hot spot when it comes to receiving the latest information. On one end of the spectrum, we have the media sources that offer the latest local and world news. Conversely, it is also a spot for the latest updates on the personal lives of our friends. Today we look at five different tools that aggregate all of this content a layout that looks like a newspaper or magazine, which some people might consider more organized than how social media sites are designed. Read on to learn more about these applications.

Flipboard

Flipboard offers iPad users the opportunity to create a digital magazine experience from your profile on Facebook. Begin at a table of contents offering a variety of different social sites the application utilizes. Begin by simply connecting to your Facebook account. The app then offers all of the information shared by your friends and the pages you follow, in a layout that truly has all the attributes of a magazine.

The service makes it easy to access and comment on posts directly from within Flipboard. With a sleek design and layout, it serves as an alternative to check for updates besides using the Facebook application. I have read and heard of a few bugs and hiccups along the way which including page-loading time as an example. The application is a very popular selection though, and it even was named Apple’s iPad Application of the Year in 2010. Considering it is free, do you have much to lose? Give the application a try here.

LinkNotify

LinkNotify brings you links shared by your friends, as well as pages you follow, in a news headline format that makes it easy to stay current in a more time efficient fashion. Using the service, you can block any unwanted friends or page links, without permanently removing them from your news feed.

Overall, LinkNotify is most useful for those who follow a number of businesses and news source. For anybody who feels as if content from pages takes over their news feed at times, the free service presents the latest from shared sites in a way that is less overwhelming. It also, at least in my case, entices me to click on more of the content.

Besides page loading issues I have personally seen — I had to hit the refresh button on more than a few occasions — this service does deliver on its promises.

Newsbook

Newsbook is an innovative social media content aggregator that just launched this week, calling itself a “cheat sheet for the most popular news online.” The tool offers a worthwhile shortcut to finding popular trends on Facebook.

This app organizes the biggest media sources — including CNN and The New York Times — into convenient categories. Under each article, you will find the total number of viewers that have shared the item. This is makes the hot topic issues just a click away, and makes staying current more time efficient.

Overall, Newsbook is certainly worth a visit. In the chaotic way new information is often presented on the web, this content aggregator offers a simplified digital news experience powered and directed by all Facebook users.

Paper.Li

Paper.Li is an original concept, offering a Facebook newspaper comprised of various public posts built around a topic of your choice. Simply choose a title, a subject, which language you speak and within a couple of minutes your paper will appear.

Peruse your paper in six sections, as they would be organized in an actual printed edition. At the bottom of each update you will see the page or user that shared the information. While I was slightly confused as my initial expectations were that the content seen would be that from my own personal friends, I did quickly become just as intrigued by the information on the screen.

Paper.Li is a creative application that adds a worthwhile spin to viewing the world of Facebook from a vantage point of a newspaper. Take a glance at hot topics surrounding your specific interests, and check back on a daily basis for updates. If you do not mind your news updates being a bit random, you can certainly find interesting information on the application.

Thanks to allfacebook.com for this great list. I personally love Flipboard. Tell me what you think of the sites after your visit.

In other words, go ahead, leave a comment below :)

First of all, there is nothing more entertaining then YouTube (for me that is) and it is the birthplace of most viral videos.

Special thanks to Search Engine Journal for putting this clever collection of viral videos together

Instead of spending all my time writing thousands of words worth of explaining each of these videos I thought I would spend more time finding some of the best/interesting/funniest viral videos out there to this date. Some are from ad agencies, some from users optimised by companies. Enjoy!

1. Brick Thief

An interesting one to start off the post this one and it is there to show the people of the world just what can be done with a few Lego bricks. Have a watch and see for yourself, if only I could make half the things this guy could make!

2. Banned Xbox 360 Ad

This will always be a favourite of mine this is simply because it was around the time the Xbox 360 was first released. I was doing some heavy research at the time to see if the system was worth getting and it is when I came across this video. Although it was banned (for obvious reasons?) it is hilarious and really shows how brilliant Microsoft advertising can be. This is a really big shout out to gamers including the lag aspect right at the end. I wouldn’t say this convinced me to buy the console as I loved the original Xbox but let’s just say this didn’t  harm the decision process.

3. Coke + Mentos

Although this campaign was not originally designed for either Coke or Mentos it is something that both took on with open arms when they saw how well it was doing, generating a big increase in sales for both Coca Cola and Mentos and resulting in many a botched test at home I am sure, this video takes the theory to the extreme!

4. John West Salmon

Using the power of Jim Henson’s creature creative skills and a very clever advertising agency this piece was thrown together. I remember watching this one on television for the first time and heading out to buy this salmon the next day. Sure I buy salmon anyway but I wouldn’t have brought this brand if it wasn’t for the awesome advert.

5. Will It Blend?

Collectively these videos have become one of the most successful marketing campaigns on the net. I certainly expect these blenders to be the biggest selling blender in the world now. Of course although the videos are very dangerous and they do say you shouldn’t try it at home I am sure it has resulted in a few people trying it in their homes! The clever thing about this is that in the background they have safe blended videos like the Avocado and other fruits and vegetables.

6. Wedding Entrance

This video was put together by the creative minds of a family, nothing more, and nothing less. Instead of taking the song off YouTube (something owners can do) Sony decided to use the popularity of the video to sell more Chris Brown records, it worked. Take a look at the number of views on this video. Even if a small proportion of the people that have seen this brought just the single you are looking at millions that wouldn’t have been made otherwise.

7. 7 Billion

Ending on something to think about I think with this National Geographic video. (Coincidently the 7^th video on the list) The figure that really stands out above everything else is the fact that all of us put together could fit inside LA. It really does put things into perspective.

These are by no means the defined list of successful viral campaigns out there but they are ones that have either made me laugh or read further into what it was talking about. If you have anything to add to the post then let me know in the comments!

ChangeWave on Thursday released the results of a survey of 4,050 U.S. wireless customers, conducted just before this week's announcement that the iPhone 4 will arrive on Verizon's network Feb. 10. The survey indicates more customers want to leave AT&T than in any other poll dating back to June of 2009.

Of those surveyed who are AT&T customers, 16 percent said they would switch to Verizon if the competing carrier began offering the iPhone. And even without the iPhone factored in, 15 percent of AT&T customers said they would switch wireless providers in the next 90 days.

Solely among iPhone owners, an even higher number -- 26 percent -- said they planned to switch to Verizon to have the iPhone on the rival network.

By comparison, only 4 percent of Verizon Wireless customers said they planned to leave their carrier in the next three months. That was the best in the industry, beating the 10 percent who plan to leave Sprint, and 15 percent who want to ditch T-Mobile.

Of the customers who said they are likely to switch from AT&T, 42 percent said they planned to leave because of poor reception or coverage. Another 27 percent said the reason for their departure would be dropped calls. Just 17 percent said their main concern was the cost of AT&T's service.

I will be one of them, how about you? Leave me a comment below with your thought on the iPhone and AT&T coverage (my main reason for leaving).

The Verizon iPhone rumors are going wild at the moment. Many Verizon subscribers have been screaming for a Verizon iPhone for years and the latest rumors are in. According to the rumors, a source that is familiar with the situation says that Verizon and Apple will be holding an event on January 11 in New York, where a CDMA version of the iPhone will be unveiled. We’ve previously heard rumors that it will be arriving at the end of January, but as long as it arrives this month, we’re not going to complain. We’re not talking about an iPhone 5, of course, this will be a version of the iPhone that has been adapted for Verizon’s network, and there isn’t any confirmation if the phone will support the carrier’s new 4G LTE network, though chances are that it won’t. With January 11^th within touching distance, we won’t have to wait too long to find out if this rumor is true or not.

Post updated with invitation notice from Verizon. Picture courtesy of Gizmodo.

Wonder what the plan will be for this? If it is worth dropping my AT&T unlimited data plan, I am out of here...

What do you think? Are you dropping AT&T???