In this post, I want to look at just the question of when it makes sense to use Facebook Connect, Twitter Oauth, OpenID, Yahoo Browser-Based Authentication, Google Friend Connect or basically any of the other authentication mechanisms. Example What do I mean? Here’s the block that you see when you look at a blog enabled by Disqus (a third party commenting tool that can be embedded in blogs and other content): It allows you to authenticate yourself using Facebook Connect , Twitter Oauth (sign in with Twitter), OpenID , and Yahoo Browser-Based Authentication .

What if there was a tool that let you hear when people were so upset at your competition that they wanted your startup to rescue them? Use these tools: Twitter’s Advanced Search - Use this tool to hear what people say on Twitter. Google Alerts - When Sean Well there are, but are you using them? Listen to conversations about:

The minute a company notice its stock price has started to wobble, IROs should go online and search sites like Google blog, socialmention.com or stocktwits.com – be sure to adjust your search time frame to last five days or less During the last year, I’ve spoken to numerous investor relations officers (IROs) on the topic of social media and investor relations.  IROs tend to be the last holdouts within a company’s communication teams to embrace changes in the communications process. 

12/9/09 Facebook launched “new privacy settings and tools to give you greater control over the information you share on Facebook” . The three components of this launch are: Transition Tool Changes in how Security/Privacy works Publisher Security But I think the key change is the definition of Everyone. Additionally, it may be visible in search engines or through RSS feeds. (note that link only works AFTER you've completed the transition) For many users this may be their first exposure to Facebook privacy settings, and while it’s better than nothing, it can be improved greatly.

Repost of SMCLA's Going Goo Goo Over Google Analytics The Google Analytics panel was a big success with a great turnout of over 150 people at the  Mahalo office in Santa Monica. It takes 5 minutes: Google Analytics is about as easy to setup as setting your alarm clock. Set aside 5 minutes, get your cut and paste Below is a highlight video of the evening.  To To view the entire talk click here .  

And let's face facts, we normally are talking Google search. If you don't know the basics here, go look at Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (PDF). Which is also really important: off page SEO. However, if all you do is follow the on page SEO advice, it is unlikely that you will get much traffic via search. Off Page SEO The other aspect of SEO is at its most basic, how many pages with decent Google Page Rank point to you using anchor text that helps you with optimization. I recently had a conversation with an pre-launch startup where they discussed how SEO was going to be really important for them.

Individuals use social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Plaxo as career-advancing tools, even more useful in a down economy. Social networking sites and microblogs are used not only to build company brands, but to foster productivity; social media tools help build communities around the question, "What are you working on?" Top officers of some of the leading social media websites and tools (including Facebook, MySpace and Yammer) will be Just a quick note that I'll be moderating a Technology Council Event : Social Networking as a Business Strategy May 19, 2009 - Culver City Social networking media are used on a daily basis to grow businesses and expand career opportunities.

The other day I was in a meeting and was using one of my favorite productivity tools, RoboForm, and someone looked over my shoulder and asked me about it.   We got to talking and I realized that I am addicted to a bunch of tools - some of which you may know about and some of which you may not know about.   This tool sits on your browser toolbar and memorizes all your log in information for various websites.  I hope you find the following list helpful! RoboForm: A web password vault system that goes a few steps further than others. 

I haven’t even used Google Wave yet and I’m already bored of it. Google released 100,000 golden tickets into the wild this week, in the process enabling thousands of poor folks to generally make an ass of themselves begging for, spamming about and even selling the exclusive invites. can understand the fuss to a certain extent, after all it is Google, and real time is HOT HOT HOT. Not so much bored, I just know it’s not for me. Basically it’s a feeding frenzy of Apple-like proportions clogging up Twitter streams nationwide.

Los Angeles-based magnify360, a provider of web page optimization tools, has lauched a new product for optimizing Google AdWords advertising, the firm announced today. magnify360 said its new Google Cost Optimizer automatically synchronizes with AdWords accounts, and provides campaign performance metrics to users about return on investment in individual keywords, cost per click, conversion rates, and other information. Among features of the new tool are the ability to tie specific individual leads and customers to the keywords that generated their clicks, and ways to optimize landing pages for specific keywords and profiles.