With the release of a new WordPress version— WordPress 3.3 “Sonny”, it’s best to create a list of favorite plugins any WordPress user can’t live without. As you know, plugins are similar to apps which significantly add vast functionality to a WordPress site.

Here are some of the most-sought after plugins for WordPress 3.3:

1. Akismet 
This WordPress 3.3 plugin is included with each new install of WordPress. The reason why is because it works every time. It plays a significant role in a WordPress site such as filtering the spam out of website comments. Akismet was created by Automattic which is also the same team that brought us WordPress. Now you know why Akismet and WordPress interact seamlessly and smoothly.

2. Contact Form 7
Almost all websites today need a contact form. With this in mind, many WordPress users prefer Contact Form 7 because it is flexible and presents tons of useful features. You can create multiple contact forms that cater to your style and needs. Contact Form 7 is easy to use and has fully customizable options. Contact Form 7 makes it all possible to create forms from a wholly detailed questionnaire right down to a simple contact option.

3. EZPZ One Click Backup
It is the most important plugin for most WordPress users simply because every website needs to be backed up. Well, backing up is one major task but it does not mean it’s the most complicated of all. EZPZ offers an easy-to-do yet comprehensive backup option. It can backup your entire website from theme files to database. EZPZ presents an option for scheduled backups or manual backups.

4. Share and Follow
Obviously, it’s great to have your own website but letting other people see it is always the next move. Share and Follow will help you accomplish this task through the help of social networking. This is probably the best and quickest way to get your contents across the web! Share and Follow plugin can easily add all the social networking options to your website, specifically the social networking giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+1. Plus, you get to access complete customization in the process.

The good news here is that these plugins are free, although the organization will appreciate donations. Take note that the developers render time and effort to give you functionality and convenience. See it as a way of thanking them for all their hard work.

Facebook has definitely changed the way people connect. It’s a whole new different ballgame for internet marketers as well. Evidently, new updates are being implemented in Facebook as the entire internet media platform where virtual transactions are done every millisecond.

Facebook has not gained more than 500 million registered users for nothing. This only goes to show that Facebook is not only built to please consumers all over the globe but more so, it was built to satiate as well as to improve with the ebb and flow of modern demands.

Basically, successful implementation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is what makes Facebook stand out among social networks and other impending competitor; and that is besides the fact that theirs is the most user-friendly interface and the most interactive features any individual or business would ever want to have.
It has set the trend and the definitive pace for other social paradigms as well, which poses as a real challenge for others to beat or at least afford to be in the same plane with them. What does it take to level off the playing field then? Hints are geared towards a better and more optimized year 2012 for Facebook which is bound to implement innovative ploys towards leveraging better advertisement results for the year to come.

Here are the 2 Facebook Tools designed to give you the ultimate marketing edge:

• CalmSea -

This stands to be the forerunner of Predictive Social Marketing which strategically combines the elements of ecommerce, social networking, and that of predictive analysis in order to employ the appropriate advertising strategy to target clients. This gives businesses the ability to monetize Facebook in more ways than one.

The premise revolves on being able to acquire and then segment users, then consequently keep them engaged on your page. You should be able to deliver what your clients want and to advertise across multiple channels. Content is the key to get clients and to keep them coming back to your page; and finally, to convert them into sales.

• InfiniGraph -

its ultimate function is the ability to consolidate Facebook and Twitter data in order to properly pinpoint relevant affiliations, interests, and content that are intrinsically trending within the circle of a specific product or brand. This allows businesses determine which of the trending updates are closely relevant to one’s followers and which of these do most people like or are more interested in. This will then serve as your clue as to be able to effectively deliver to meet your client needs and demands.

Bottom-line?

Data is the epitome to get across varied channels in today’s modern industry. It ultimately depends on the perfect consolidation of content as well as the timing of delivery. This is where Facebook powers up its social leverage on gaining access to all information necessary regarding clients, engaging them with relevant and interesting content. It also seals the deal and get repeat clients who will encourage others as well to like your page and purchase. This is how viral Facebook is and will continue to be in the next years to come.

Well, it’s official. Twitter has changed it’s look, and probably what it’s going to be for a couple of years: a social networking site with advertisements; yes advertisements just like SEOs and those pop-up boxes that urge you to click them. But this Twitter scheme is different and is a far cry from SEOs.

What happened?

Well, the new version of Twitter has been out and there definitely has been changes on the site. It was said that Twitter was given a make-over to become more user friendly. Here are the new changes:

1. The retweets, lists, searches and mentions are above the timeline. According to Twitter, this will show a single line on the left side.
2. Now on the right side, there are still some old features such as your recent follows and followers, the Trending Topics and your favorites.
3. It is in an ad format. Paid ads are all over the page. (Yes, advertisements, just like SEOs)

Despite these changes, users are still given the choice of how they want their Twitter page to look like. Users can opt to bring back the old Twitter.

Twitter in where?

iPad. Twitter in iPad. The Twitter team has developed Twitter to become compatible in iPads. The social network will now come out as an application in iPads. This version is built in HTML5. Here are the features:

• The upgrades will be seen in the iPad version. Upgrades meaning the new look, the ads, and its functions.
• Other upgrades that Twitter is currently working on.

What exactly does the Twitter ad-version mean?

We all know that the internet is now full of advertisements (SEO, click ads, etc)It is now made known as “Promoted Tweets”. The concept is quite simple actually. Promotional tweets, in the form of advertising, from different brands become present. But only from those brands that you follow. You can also easily remove the tweets in one click.

Just like normal tweets, these promoted Tweets scroll down to the bottom. And, they only get to the top once, so if they are scrolled down to the bottom already, they’re not getting back up. This change was done with the user-friendliness still in the minds of the Twitter team.

Now, although there are a lot of people complaining about the changes that were brought about, Twitter was firm on such upgrades. They want to be consistent on how Twitter is going to look like.

So folks, it looks like a done deal. Say hello to the new Twitter, the one with the iPad version and the advertisement Tweets. Say bye bye to the ad free Twitter.

Twitter is a very popular social media site that has more than 190 million users and more than 60 million posts daily. This is why it is an ideal promotion tool for a website. Even though twitter links are “nofollow”, there are still ways to use this social media site for promoting a website. Twitter pages have a direct influence on Google’s SERPs so it is very useful in improving search engine visibility.

Basic Twitter SEO Tactics:

Using Twitter for Traffic

Tweet about every post that you make on your blog or site. Many Twitter users also use it to search for useful and informative tips. Make the tweet interesting in order to catch the attention and curiosity of Twitter users. Make sure that the topics of your posts are useful to other web users.

Link Building with Twitter

Obviously, it is important to have as many Twitter followers as possible so that more people will see your posts. Choose followers who are within your niche or those that have similar interests. Around 25% of the users you follow will follow you back. It is also highly probable that your followers will make posts regarding your latest content. This results to great link building. Google doesn’t index shortened URLs but instead index the actual URLs so this is definitely a great website promotion opportunity.

Other Important Tips

Keep in mind that all your tweets shouldn’t be about your own website. This turns other users off and usually causes fewer followers. If the tweets are always about your products or services, it would appear spammy and this discourages followers. The posts should be interesting, engaging and useful to your followers.

How to Optimize Your Twitter Page

First of all, your username should be relevant to your business or particular niche. It’s a part of the URL of your page and title tag so it greatly affects website promotion. The account name should also be relevant in order to boost Twitter website traffic. This is because the account name is also included in the page title. Build links to your Twitter profile for promotion. Pasting a link to your account on a noticeable part of you website will do the job. Choose your bio text wisely because it also serves as the meta description tag. Think about website promotion when choosing your bio text.

Twitter tactics are very easy to implement. It is definitely worth your time and you will experience very good benefits from doing so. This social media site is absolutely full of potential in terms of SEO.

With time and the advent of technology it is but fair that man must adapt to the changes. The politicians of today are no far behind. Be it twitter or Facebook or any other social networking sites, politicians are coming up with new and improved forms of campaigning and reaching the people as a whole. Twitter seems to be the favorite amongst the politicians and now and then we see some encouraging, informative or debatable tweets being posted. It is as though an entire new generation of politicians have been born who have taken technology as their tool for campaigning.

The White House, led by President Obama, started to post on twitter not to campaign any kind of new bill/law, neither to inform about any form of media trivia nor did they try to create any kind of controversy which would lead to any form of negative publicity. The White House used twitter to make the American people aware of the dangers and precautionary methods of swine flu. The Library of Congress is also known to share lots of historical free pictures on Flickr and many agencies have opened up channels in YouTube to handle their media content.

My.barackobama.com is a website which allows hundreds of users to use the website as a blog and this is an online way of getting the opinion of the people forward to the President and his team. Such innovative ideas can be a huge boon to all such politicians who are looking forward to making a bigger change to the economy and social life of the people. Social media is the place where you can connect with millions instantly. What better way to get your voice heard?

The Indian politicians are also coming up with their own set of technology tools and tech-savvy mentalities. We are all aware of the controversies which were initially associated with Shashi Tharoor, but inspite of that, Mr. Tharoor has a huge fanbase known as “followers” on twitter and is a regular user of the service.

Not far behind is the C.M. of Gujarat, Mr. Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi is considered as one of the most tech-savvy politicians in India and is very often seen keying messages on his palmtop or browsing the internet on his laptop. It is highly encouraging to see that Indian politicians are coming up with new and innovative ideas to stay connected with the “junta”, a common Hindi term for the Common Man.

If you search on Facebook you will also come across a fan page dedicated to the Indian prime minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The fan page supports opinions of the direct fans and there are lots of updates from the minister’s side which talks about political as well as personal updates. A true visionary and a big supporter of technology, Dr. Singh has made good use of social media to bring about harmony in the online world.

Whenever Steve Ballmer talks, we all know it is Microsoft. The Microsoft CEO, will definitely not count his words while speaking about Microsoft.

So when Steve Ballmer, was questioned by Search Engine Land Editor in Chief,  Danny Sullivan, at the Search Marketing Expo in Santa Clara, California, on March 2, 2010 , let’s see what the CEO, Microsoft talked on Microsoft’s Bing, Windows Phone, Twitter and Google.

Let’s look at what the gentleman, who knows to play his cards right, said.

Bing!

He certainly binged on ‘Bing ‘, the Microsoft’s decision engine.

Ballmer did not deny the possibility of association with apple, just kept it slightly glanced off by mentioning, “A Bing for iPhone search deal is still possible”.

He mentioned that Windows Phone 7 series, unveiled on Feb 15^th in Barcelona, Spain, will definitely use only Bing as the Search engine. It was not made clear whether the smart-phones running windows mobile 6.x would be upgradable to the new operating system.

He also stated that,” Microsoft isn’t interested — at least for now — in releasing a Bing application for Android phones.”

Raw Twitter posts, buried in Bing, will they come up?

On Microsoft’s association with Twitter, he swerved the question by mentioning that though the partnership with Twitter is great, they are not sure about acquiring it. He said that as an independent company, Twitter has lot of value and creditability.” Would they have that same credibility with the user community, if they were captive?” he questioned back.

Has Bing been improving its offerings, in an attempt to eat away at Google’s share?

When queried about what future he sees for Bing against competition, the big wheel said, “There’s no good answer to this question. If you say ‘yes,’ you sound arrogant. If you say ‘no,’ you sound like you are happy with second place.  No one aims to be second, so the answer is ‘yes’”.

When asked whether he believed Microsoft would eventually overthrow Google in search, Mr. Ballmer said, “I don’t know how old I will be when that’ll happen”.

Looks like Mr. Ballmer admits that Google dominates the search engines.

Stirring up trouble for Google in Europe through third parties,

When Danny Sullivian confronted him on the article by the Wall street Journal on Microsoft steering third parties to push against Google in terms of antitrust issues, the suave entrepreneur handled the question with ease. He admitted that Microsoft had been in discussions with antitrust regulators over its search-engine rival being scrutinized by a number of government agencies, ranging from the Federal Trade Commission to the Department of Justice.

The CEO certainly knows to make hay while the sun shines.

Social Media – The word that is driving many people crazy is actually unpopular amongst the  CEOs of Fortune 100 companies. In a recent survey carried by ÜBERCEO, it was revealed that very few CEOs have ever touched the social media sites. And the ones who did create an account, never came back to update or manage their profiles on the social media sites.

The popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Flickr, etc. have failed to lure the top bosses to use them. Take a look at the presentation from ÜBERCEO and get to know the real stats.

What did this presentation tell you? Do you think that the top bosses are lazy in not maintaining their social media profiles? Will their active participation help their companies to fare better than others?

Share your opinions and you might just be able to make a difference.