[click image for larger size]

According to the infographic provided by Gigya:

Using Facebook as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  46%
• Entertainment Sites:  52%
• News Sites:  25%
• B2B Sites:  37%

Using Twitter as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  14%
• Entertainment Sites:  15%
• News Sites:  45%
• B2B Sites:  18%

Using YAHOO as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  13%
• Entertainment Sites:  11%
• News Sites: 10%
• B2B Sites:  18%

Using MY SPACE as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  7%
• Entertainment Sites:  14%
• News Sites:  1%
• B2B Sites:  3%

Using Linked In as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  2%
• Entertainment Sites:  0%
• News Sites:  1%
• B2B Sites:  3%

AOL and ther IDs reported at 1% or less.

Source: Gigya. See the full infographic.

This great infographic will help you define where on the spectrum your friendships are, and help you grow them to the next level.

(Click image for a larger -easier to read view)

Thanks to Mike Auaraz:  http://www.mikearauz.com/images/spectrum_friendship.jpg

Do you use Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, or the endless list of Google services for your business?

How many of them are “free”?

Now, define “free” for me.

For YEARS I have been telling my clients, friends, family…even strangers who start up conversations with me about the Internet [while I am wolfing down a Panera Fuji Apple Salad and doing my online College classwork] that there is NOTHING FREE on the Internet.

Immediately, they disagree and come back with an entire list of free services, as I did above.  Sometimes I smile and continue to eat and work…other times I explain what they give up for those “freebies”….and sometimes – if they are REALLY interested – I tell them the true cost of those freebies (data centers, datalines, staff, legal review, coders, testers, etc).

Anything you get for FREE has a price.  The price tag for the services that I listed above is YOU.  You are the price tag.  YOU are their target for behavioral marketing, search, and other services those listed businesses actually sell.

I believe we have all gotten far too used to the “freebies” on the web, we have all become “comfortably numb” (thanks Pink Floyd) to their real cost, and then when someone takes away your “assumed right” to privacy, you scream.

It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee – either pay for a similar service where you have the right to your privacy, or assume YOU are the price for free use of their service.  Those, really, are your choices.

While Google already provides secure (SSL) socket layer to it’s gMail and Google Docs, today they have launched a beta secure search engine.

Why secure search? Lots of reasons…a good example would be:
.
Interlopers can see what you do by the information you send out of your computer. [Interlopers can mean a person or a bot monitoring traffic on any network]. Standard web activity is not encrypted data. So, if you type in “Iron Man 2″ in a search box, if your provider has bots monitoring the traffic on your network, or if you have some 14 year old who thinks it’s cool to monitor your unsecured Wi-Fi network traffic, then they see you are doing a search for “Iron Man 2″.

By using an SSL (https://) for Google Search – just like the banks and other websites do, they now would see **** *** * instead.
It evolves privacy to the search level, making it harder for someone with bad intentions to act on them – which is nice. While t first you just may not see the importance f it, Just think of examples you probably wouldn’t want others to see, then you “get” the reason for this move on Google’s part.

A good example would be a small business owner doing research on a business idea they have. If someone or something is monitoring your search and Internet use, it’s not a long shot to think they could figure out what you are doing – especially if they are monitoring your email as well….yes, email is also NOT FULLY encrypted and is never to be a trusted environment for ANY sensitive information unless you purchase a highly encrypted email service [which usually requires that the end recipient have a digital ID to open it].

I applaud Google for this extension of security – and privacy. It’s a step in the right direction.  In my opinion, it is going to be a great tool for them to go head to head with Facebook – who at this writing, is busy spreading our information all over the Internet without our permission and making it increasingly more difficult for those of us wanting privacy to block their efforts.

As Google brings this live, simply type in:  https://www.google.com to use it.  (https) being the important part to make sure it’s secure.

Really hard.

If you have been to a seminar on Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Blogging, or anything else that is made to look SIMPLE to do…and 48 hours later you still have not done it….

then you just may have

“Magellan Ship Syndrome”.

What is that?

It’s when seeing is not believing.

Magellan explored many islands without opposition.  The theory is that the natives did not attack Magellan as one would have expected them to do upon the arrival of  his big ships with a bunch of strange looking creatures on them.

Why?  The natives did not know what they were looking at – they had absolutely no point of reference.  In fact, they were so taken by what they saw, they laid down their spears and brought their canoes ashore. Watching the big ship with huge billowing sales was so far from any experience they had previously had, that they were in awe, welcoming Magellan and his crew, and treating them like Gods.

Lucky for Magellan he got out of town before the Natives were able to discern what he was really doing, and what would follow!

I’m Just SAYIN! that is why there are College Degrees for this stuff!

Quoted Source:  Stephen Simon, Producer

Winning depends on a a lot of factors, and it’s hard.  Really hard!

A lot of people I talk to are looking for a quick fix.  Everyone is into SEO now.  SEO is definitely one of the rock-paper-scissor elements.  To hear the talk, you would think that Keywords are the ANSWER.

Well, they aren’t.  What!??

They are NOT. Studies show that more than 75% people will find you site using a search engine.  When they are doing their search, they are NOT looking for keywords!  They are looking for real, well thought out and researched ANSWERS!

Therefore, beating your website into submission to load it with keywords might get you traffic, sure.  Then, as soon as the visitors arrive and do not find the answer they needed, that ‘traffic’ will leave.  So what have you gained?  Traffic?  Good for you!  The REAL measure of success is NOT traffic, it’s conversions.  Are you there just to get people to come and do nothing but leave?  Or, are you there to get them to come, stay, and ACT.

You answered your own question.  Use keywords for what they are meant to do.  That is to tell the crawlers and spiders of the search engines a bit about your content.  It’s the CONTENT that is KING!  Make it great – 250 words or less at a time,  use headers and sub headers to make the information easy to discern and make sure to write, edit and re-write until it’s an ANSWER!   If you do that realy well, you will have a website worth the visit.

P.S.  When you do your research on keywords, do not bother using what YOU would search for.  Ask your friends – that is part of the research.  Knowing what OTHERS would type into the search box is what will make your keywords successful.

Business Insider had a great article today on Facebook’s new Open Graph Initiative.  According to Facebook’s Founder,  Mark Zuckerberg stated that “the power of the open graph is that it helps to create a smarter, personalized web that gets better with every action taken.”

To it’s opponents that means that Facebook now has the ability to “connect the dots” where developers lay the groundwork for it to do so.  Thus, if you are on one of the “early adopter” sites like Orkut or FriendConnect, what you do there will be ‘added’ to your Facebook activity.  The more and more sites that sign on for this graph initiative, the more you are tracked for what Facebook calls “actionable intelligence”.  That is a marketing term for “hey we know what you are doing, when and where, and now we can deliver ads and information that reflect your interests even better!”

This is behavioral targeting at it’s finest, IF it works according to Facebook’s plan.  This article claims that Facebook may have just found a way to surpass Google.  I would put the brakes on that thought.  Think a little harder and you will recall that Google is poised to bring FTTH (fiber to the home) in the U.S..  In the U.S.,  I would say that Google definitely holds the trump card.  Facebook may be able to get ‘actionable intelligence” from it’s users from all over the Internet via this new initiative; but Google can “own them” at their home.  Touche!

Second, as Facebook begins this effort, they have International Privacy Laws to contend with that will have a direct effect on any global ability.  Just because you have it in your EULA or Terms of Service doesn’t mean that it will be upheld around the world as approved.  It also doesn’t mean that countries like China will permit you to do this, or won’t want the information for their own use.  Trust me, there is more to come on this subject!  Just ask Google.

The closing thought in this article was the most funny one:  ”Bonus conspiracy theory: former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer (and genuine, great guy) Chris Kelly is running for California Attorney General.

California’s Governor is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Ahnold was The Terminator.

Circle. Complete.”

What do you think?

Leave a reply below, I would love to hear from you!

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-may-not-be-skynet-but-it-is-getting-smarter-and-thats-bad-for-google-2010-4/#ixzz0lqLFGL00

Effective today, March 1, 2010 Impulse Connect states our intention:

We will begin our plan to create 100+ new jobs in 2010.

Off we go!!

UPDATE:

On June 1, 2010 we signed a five year contract with a value of $5,000,000/yr with PrimaryCareDirect.com and ReturnOnHealthcare.org.