Update:

I emailed Mike Morhaime after posting this, discussing the issue at hand.  I received an e-mail reply today referring me to this thread stating they will not be implementing Real ID on forums at this time.

Good on ya Blizzard!

A Public Relations Epic Fail

Learn what not to do in PR to prevent your public relations and Social Media strategy from becoming an epic failure:

First some background:

In case you are unfamiliar with Blizzard Entertainment, they are the creators of the most popular massive multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft .

Recently, Blizzard Entertainment has joined the ranks of sites known with privacy issues, such as Facebook.  In the beginning of July, Blizzard announced a new feature they would be automatically rolling out to all accounts, called RealID, which they originally touted as voluntary.  The RealID feature works by showing your real name within their gaming universe, as well as the real names of anyone you friend, and their friends much like popular social networking sites do now.  This extends to all of your characters in Blizzard games.

The announcement caused a bit of a stir in their gaming community, but there was relief in knowing you could opt-out by setting up Parental Controls.

Another outrage began today, when they

Picking out the perfect domain name for your upcoming website can be a difficult process.  You spend hours (perhaps days) thinking of the *perfect* domain name.  Finally that light-bulb goes off in your head and you have a “That’s it!” moment.  You immediately go to a registrar and type in your soon-to-be domain name, press “submit” and get a “Sorry, that domain name is already taken”.

Frustrated, but not entirely put off, you wonder to yourself who the other genius was that came up with this domain name.  Typing in the address leads you to a page full of ads and stupid stock photos…with a notice that the domain is for sale! You inquire about the price to find out they only want $5,000 or more.

Then it’s back to the drawing board.  Eventually, you become so frustrated by all the domain squatters that you are ready to hunt each and every one of those punks down personally and stab them in the eye with a hot poker…(okay maybe that’s just me) but it is frustrating.

Don’t worry though, even if it seems like it – not all the good domain names are taken.  Here is some inspiration and advice on choosing one that you like, and fits your business need.

Happy 4th!

Because I am too uncreative (or perhaps hungry) to think up a post that somehow relates SEO to the 4th of July at the moment, here are some fun 4th of July apps for the Iphone & Android!  Have a fun, safe holiday!

Iphone:

I love Fireworks:  Displays realistic looking fireworks on your phone.

Grilling App:  Webers on the Grill app features classic grill recipes for your 4th of July BBQ

Declaration of Independence: Mobile version of the Declaration of Independence

mTrip:  City Exploration app that allows you to plan out where you want to go, and send your location to friends or family through Facebook and Twitter.

Android:

Fireworks: Lovely fireworks display on your phone screen.

Patriotic Quotes: Find patriotic quotes and share with your friends and family.

4th of July Quiz:  Test your knowledge of all things American.

This feature will now include star ratings under your ad:

Google has stated that they only plan to show ratings that have four or more stars, and at least 30 reviews.   This should definitely help in acquiring consumers trust of your brand or product when advertising.

These features will be automatically rolled out to qualifying Adwords accounts.  If you would like to opt out, you may do so using Google’s Opt Out form.

You also have to be using Google Product Search to acquire the necessary reviews for qualification.

More information can be found on Google’s Adwords Blog.

With numbers like that you’ve got to wonder, who am I, and why am I creating another blog to add to this ever-growing mix?  My name is Rebekah, and I’m a local bay area internet marketing and search engine optimization strategist.  The purpose of this blog and website is to share with you tips and advice on not only how to create your web presence online – but how to beat the odds and gain visibility, while avoiding many of the scams that are now prevalent on the internet.

In fact:

More than 133,000,000 blogs have been indexed by Technorati since 2002

- I will teach you how to stand out

77% of Internet users read blogs

- How many of those users are searching for what you have to say and offer? I will offer tips on getting those readers to your blog or website.

Bloggers participate in an average of 5 activities to drive traffic to their blogs.