Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra created Pinterest in December 2009 and the social medium left beta status just three months later in March 2010. This particular social network is a “virtual pinboard” that allows users to post and share anything they feel is interesting from the web. Each pin is an image that you add to your particular pinboard for people to see.

Created by Monetate

That concept is very simple but once again the question remains “why do I need another social medium in my life?” Folks, no one really “needs” a social network but the sites are great ways to stay in touch with family and friends and connect with new people. Pinterest adds enough unique features that skeptics wanting to avoid taking a look at the service because it may be a repeat of what they do with their Facebook account just may be pleasantly surprised.

The fact is many people have taken the time to check out the site and more important, many people are starting to utilize the social network. Shareaholic posted on January 31 that Pinterest was #5 for the month in terms of driving referral traffic, putting this social network above YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace. That is incredible when you consider that this social network is a mere 23 months old!

Pinterest has a long ways to go before offering a serious threat to Facebook or Twitter but the fact that the social medium is performing so well against a much more publicized and hyped social network like Google+ is encouraging news for Pinterest. If you are interested visit the Pinterest site today to request an invitation to join this fairly new entry to the social media world!

AdamSherk.com – Adam Sherk – Pinterest: Great Opportunity for Lifestyle Publishers and Brands
Forbes – Erika Morphy – Maybe Facebook Should be Worried About Pinterest and Not Google+
Search Engine Journal – Diane Kinney – Leveraging Pinterest: How “Pinnable” Is Your Content?
Search Engine Watch – Danny Goodwin – Pinterest Driving More Referral Traffic Than Google+ [Infographic]
WTVM.com – Taylor Kinkade – Pinterest website helps boost businesses

Back on December 6, 2011 StumbleUpon unveiled a new look and to say that the changes were pretty dramatic is an understatement. Take some time to watch this quick video about the recent changes to StumbleUpon.

Learn more about StumbleUpon

Part of the changes to this social medium involves the removal of blogs, groups and themes off the website. The curious characteristic of these changes is the fact they push the user off any real focus on the actual site. Instead, StumbleUpon users now are basically moved back to the toolbar whether that toolbar was iframed or installed. PCMag.com defines an iframe as “an HTML structure that allows another HTML document to be inserted into an HTML page.”

Another big change that veteran users of the site may have issues with is the removal of direct links back to sources within the actual content. Now StumbleUpon users will see a button that states “Stumble This” If a user clicks that link he or she will be directed to an iframed version of that particular content.

Change is constant, ever-evolving and not necessarily ever a negative thing. Considering this change barely took place approximately two months ago it remains to be seen how users will react to the changes in the long-term. If you use StumbleUpon as your discovery engine take some time to navigate through and utilize the social network to determine how comfortable you are with the changes.

Calorie Count Toolbar – Let’s be honest, one of the toughest parts about maintaining a good diet is the hassle involved with keeping track of calorie intake. The Eat Meter on the Calorie Count Toolbar allows the user to maintain a count of calorie consumption and visit forums that can offer support in the weight loss process.

Grocery List Generator – Making a grocery list can be a severe pain if this is something you have not been accustomed to doing before. This handy little function makes it easy to store recipe ingredients for your favorite dishes plus any other groceries you do not want to forget when at the store. If saving money was your resolution this is a great tool.

Quitomzilla – People that have never smoked before have no idea just how difficult it is to give up this habit. Many times it is not a case of the individual not wanting to quit. Smoking is an addiction that is very tough to eliminate from an individual’s daily routine. Quitomzilla is a great tool to assist in the process. This Mozilla function will provide you with updates about how much money and time that was spent smoking you have saved since you started to use the tool.

Be sure to visit Mozilla even if you do not use Firefox as your primary browser for many more fun features and tools you can check out!

It is a sign of the times that no longer are debates (there have been far too many of those) and television ads the primary methods of painting an opponent in a negative light. Both of these gentlemen and their accompanying Super PACS have been spending a lot of revenue on negative advertising. “Winning Our Future” is a Gingrich Super PAC that has spent more than one million dollars just in January alone with the bulk of that money going toward ads aimed at Romney in Florida. The latest ad links to MittsBloodMoney.com, a site that depicts Romney as a “progressive”, a “serial flip-flopper” and implies the former Governor was right in the middle of a Medicare scandal while at Bain Capital. Meanwhile, the Romney Super PAC “Restore Our Future” focuses on Gingrich’s work with Freddie Mac and how he made over one million dollars while working with the agency that was a primary focus of the recent mortgage scandal in the United States.

At least both of the Super PACs possess the last word of “future”, right?

While the Republicans have been using the internet to smear one another in an effort to win the nomination President Obama has used social networking as well to spread his message. The President participated in a Google Hangout Monday afternoon, January 30 with five hand-picked participants, answered some questions from users submitting them via YouTube and even answered some questions on camera. Needless to say the event did not go off without a few “interesting” moments.

We have a long way to go in this year’s race for the Presidency and there are sure to be many more uses of the internet, particularly in regards to social media, in an effort for candidates to win over voters. Stay tuned for more in the upcoming months!

If you missed the virtual Town Hall with President Obama on January you can watch it here.

Your Interview with the President 2012

Nearly three weeks after the initial launch people can start asking the question, “Is Search plus Your World relevant and more important, is it a manner in which Google can force people to start using Google+ rather than Facebook, Twitter and other social mediums?” The answer is “possibly” on all counts, but that depends on whom you ask.

Google search chief Amit Singhal, the gentleman who is responsible for the development of Google Search which includes overseeing the development of the Google search algorithms states that so far the public response has leaned toward the positive end of the spectrum, good news for Google since there was initial public outcry from the competition. If you are interested in reading some of the responses take a look at the Google Search Forum link that was just provided.

Singhal responded to one of the major criticisms surrounding Search plus Your World, the claim that Google was favoring social media search results from Google+ over other social networks. According to Singhal unless competitors such as Facebook open up their content to Google, “we only have access to personal content and personally shared content from Google Plus. We don’t have that access from other companies.”

Just after Search plus Your World was released a new tool called “Don’t be Evil” was released, a function that may just counter every claim that Amit Singhal and Google has issued. Take a look at the Don’t be Evil link and determine for yourself if you prefer that tool or Google Search plus Your World.

Google Privacy Policies – Back on January 24 there was a Google blog post in regards to an update to privacy policies and terms of service. What we really did not touch on this past Thursday but a very important point to consider is the integration of a user’s personal data from multiple services into one profile due to the launch of Search plus Your World. Today if you were to create a Google personal profile you are going to have a Google+ account as well, whether you want one or not. Some users may have some discomfort about this change. There are ways to remove this automatic combination, please read the SEOMoz post linked below for more information. The Google blog post is interesting considering that many people have been accusing Google of being loose with the handling of its users’ personal data for years and those accusations continue to be expressed.

Google+ for children and teens – Thursday, January 26 Silverback Marketing reported that Google’s social medium Google+ had lowered its minimum age requirement from 18 to 13. This move is an obvious attempt to better compete with Facebook in terms of traffic. Parents should still keep an eye on their children using the service to ensure their kids do not divulge important private information or interact with less than desirable people on the social network.

Criticisms about Google Search – Since we are in the heat of the GOP debates for the Republican Presidential nomination it is relevant to question how the whole mess was created by Google in terms of how nominee Rick Santorum could have experienced such a horrible search result on Google. Silverback Marketing prefers not to engage in banter that could be viewed as inappropriate, so this post will not focus on the search itself. It is a fair question to ask though how Google could have allowed the search result everyone on the web has been chatting about for weeks in regards to Mr. Santorum could have occurred.

Have a great weekend!

Econsultancy – David Moth – New Google privacy policy shares user data across multiple products
Search Engine Journal – David Angotti – Google Plus Promotes Network and New Security Features to Young Teens and Parents
Search Engine Land – Danny Sullivan – Dear Google: Crappy Results Like This Don’t Give The Impression You Care About Search
SEOBook – Is Google Selling Investors Private Search Data?
SEOMoz – Dr. Pete – Face-off  – 4 Ways to De-personalize Google

Thursday morning, January 26, the VP of Product for Google Bradley Horowitz released a post on Google+ entitled Google+: new safety enhancements, now available for teens. There is quite a bit to cover from that post but the most important item is this; Google+ is now available to children as young as 13 years of age.

Social media is something that parents and guardians need to actively participate in if they allow their children to communicate with others via a social network. Google realizes this, which is why when the social medium was first released the summer of 2011 a minimum age requirement of 18 was set at that time. This change brings Google+ in line with the age standard Facebook had already set, sure to be one of the reasons for the decrease in age requirement.

Google has taken the Circles feature already on the social network a step further when dealing with children and teenagers. Safety is a big concern with the Google folks, reminding children to think before they post, explaining to them that only people in their Circles can communicate with them. More important, if a teenager is video chatting with friends in a Hangout and a stranger enters, the teen is removed from the chat to protect him or her with an option to rejoin later.

Many, many children use the internet and many of them use social media. It makes perfect sense that Google would open up its social network to a wider audience. The question is will children use Google+ with restraint and wisdom and will their parents help educate them in how to use the platform in a fun but safe manner?

Click this link to read more information from Google regarding the upcoming shift in privacy policies. Back on September 3, 2010, Google had cut down on the wording regarding privacy in its effort to make the policies more transparent and easier to read for its clients. This clearly may be one of those instances where “less is more”. The more an individual has to read in order to understand legal rhetoric the better chance that individual will simply refuse to read the material. By cutting back on the actual wording Google is providing a pretty nice service for its users.

The big push revolves around Google integrating a user’s multiple individual accounts into one neat package. Search plus Your World is a recent example of a tool Google has introduced to the online world that will make it easy for an individual to search for a particular item or service and not only find general search information, but find social media type activity that your friends have shared with you via social mediums such as Google+ and YouTube. The idea is to condense and simplify searches for the user.

Google’s terms of service has been updated as well. The update did not eliminate necessary items but condensed the terms of service, making it easier now for users to read and really comprehend the terms. Google is very clear in its blog post that these changes were designed to make the Google experience and comprehension of Google’s service even easier. Take a look at the updates to Google’s privacy policies and terms of service to see how the updates affect you.

Indianapolis hired a local firm by the name of Raidious to be in charge of all strategic planning for the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee. Part of this process was the development of Raidious Control, the center that will be the social media command center during the period leading up to and during the 2012 Super Bowl between NFC champion the New York Giants and AFC champion the New England Patriots. The people manning this station will consist of Raidious employees as well as college volunteers.

Raidious Control will utilize social mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Foursquare to bring a lot of pertinent information to the people visiting Indianapolis, making it an easier process for the visitors to find parking during the event, locate hotels and necessary emergency information. There is also a Super Bowl blog created by Raidious dedicated to providing even more information for Super Bowl attendees.

This could be an incredible tool for people that are visiting Indianapolis to use, rather than relying on the old methods of asking travel agents and hotel workers these questions. This is another great example of the power of social media and how use of different social mediums can make a great experience such as attending the Super Bowl even better.

Nevada Senator Harry Reid (D) who is also the Senate Majority Leader stated that the vote on H.R. 3261 (SOPA) will be postponed for now. Likewise, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R) stated that the committee would “postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution.” Obviously the more than 12 million users between Google and Wikipedia that responded in some manner to the possibility of the Stop Online Privacy Act being voted on tomorrow, January 24 was enough to cause Congress to reconsider moving forward for now, particularly in an important election year.

Senator Harry Reid seems confident that PIPA will eventually return, stating that “I admire the work that Chairman Leahy has put into this bill. I encourage him to continue engaging with all stakeholders to forge a balance between protecting Americans’ intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the internet. We made good progress through the discussions we’ve held in recent days, and I am optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks.” Lamar Smith also stated he still believes piracy is a major issue and vows that “the Committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”

The fact of the matter is there are many organizations that are pressuring Congress to move forward with both PIPA and SOPA and were not amused when the two divisions of Congress decided to wait for now instead of continuing with debate and eventual votes. The Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America in particular were very unhappy with the RIAA stating that “the Senate had an opportunity to have a national conversation about an important and urgent issue: protecting American workers and consumers from foreign criminals. It is a shame that the Senate will not have that debate next week.” Opposition to SOPA and PIPA continue to dispute the amount of money Hollywood and the entertainment industry lose every year due to copyright infringement.

What are your feelings about Protect IP and the Stop Online Piracy Act?