and that on March 23rd, 2011 LinkedIn reached a major milestone: 100 million professionals worldwide!  This makes LinkedIn the fourth American social network after MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter to do so.

Here’s a cool illustration by Infographics that demonstrates the growth…

Just read an really interesting post by Recruiterpoet called “Networking Needs Compassion” and loved the way he summed up the Rules of Networking…

Some approaches can be successful but one must always remember a few key principles of networking.

1.) It takes time. Networking is like a fine red wine. It takes time to age but when you finally open it, the rewards are bountiful.

2.) Networking needs compassion, trust, and respect. We will get into this further on in this article, but the bottom line is don’t be a selfish networker. You know who you are. You only reach out to people when you need something. You play the sales role well by shaking hands, taking cards and buying a drink or two but never follow up unless you need something. Bad, bad, bad networker.

3.) Diversify your network. Now I sound like Jim Cramer. Use a variety of means of networking including face to face, social media and internal corporate channels. Do not limit yourself, but also do not over extend yourself.

4.) Continue to evolve and grow. As your professional, personal, volunteer, publications, events, and other aspects of your life add to your life summary, update that information and ensure that all the individuals in your network are aware of how well you are developing and diversifying.

5.) Be cautious of hitchhikers. There is nothing wrong with aligning yourself with open networkers but be careful of their message and what they are trying to gain. Aligning yourself with the wrong individuals could have an adverse affect on your reputation.

6.) Be generous but be aware. Be generous with how your share your time and connections but do not over use your power. Your closest networking counterparts put a tremendous amount of trust in you and if you use them too much that is an abuse of the trust and it could damage a relationship.

Please follow this link to read the whole post…
Networking Needs Compassion « Recruiterpoet’s Blog.

Do you fancy yourself a good networking?  Please click comment and add your tips below!

Not just a blog but also an intuitive and friendly content management system, WordPress forms the stable and secure basis for thousands of websites, commanding a whopping 87% of all blogs. Powerful and flexible with an enormous developer base, WordPress can be customized to fit your website needs, no matter how complex, with its easy customization and over 10 thousand plugins to choose from. Specializing in WordPress-powered sites, Sue Sutcliffe can help you build a knockout website.

I was just informed that WordPress, in head-to-head voting against Joomla and Drupal, has won this year’s Open Source CMS Hall of Fame award.

We have to be careful because if this trend continues people might think WordPress is a real CMS, useful for more than just a blog. This would ruin our stealth campaign and might bring dozens of new users to the WordPress community. If you could keep this on the DL we’d appreciate it.

We don’t want WordPress to develop a reputation.

via WordPress › WordPress Wins CMS Award.

The iPhone has an app for everything. So does WordPress. Check out these top ten plugins to make your WordPress website work harder for you. Best of all – they’re free!

1. Google Analytics (Plugin: Google Analyticator)
   This free tool measures the success of your marketing efforts by providing detailed information and statistics on visitors to your site, traffic patterns, etc.
2. Email Forms (Plugin: cformsII or Contact Form 7)
   Email forms have two major advantages. First, they hide your email address, making it harder for spammers to harvest it. Second, they prompt visitors for the information you need, like their contact details and how they heard about you.
3. Comment/Submission Spam Protection (Plugin: Akismet)
   Spammers exploit email forms and blog comments. This tool blocks the majority of spammers, saving you review time.
4. Search Engine Optimization (Plugin: All in One SEO Pack)
   The goal of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is to boost your website higher in search engine results so visitors find you before they find your competitor.
5. Subscription Tool (Plugin: G-Lock Double Opt-in Manager)
   Asking visitors to provide their email address (with a double opt-in check to confirm their interest) lets you to contact them directly, rather than hoping they come back to you. For happy subscribers, indicate the frequency of your mailings, include value and avoid oversaturating them.
6. Social Media Presence (Plugin: Social Profilr)
   Social media icons on your site tell your visitors that you keep up with the times, and that your company is evolving. Include icons for social media platforms that welcome visitor participation.
7. Sharing Buttons (Plugin: AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget)
   Adding sharing buttons on your site encourages your visitors to let their friends know about you, using their favourite social networking tools. It’s the power of word-of-mouth, spread virtually.
8. Intuitive Navigation (Plugin: PixoPoint Menu Plugin)
   This plugin organizes multipage websites using drop-down menus. It helps visitors navigate quickly and effectively.
9. Regular Updates (Plugin: Future Dashboard Widget)
   Posting fresh content on a regular basis drives traffic to your site. This widget informs visitors when and how often they should return for updates.
10. Favicons (Plugin: Favicon Generator)
    Favicons are the small images that “decorate” a URL on a web browser. These distinctive icons, often a tiny company logo, accentuate and personalize your brand on browser tabs and favourites lists.

What’s your favourite WordPress Plugin?

Today, Sue Sutcliffe is presenting her introductory Social Media 101 webinar, followed by her introduction to WordPress Blogging.

Every week, Sue hosts two knockout fabulous Webinars on Tuesdays from noon to 1pm, followed by another from 5pm to 6pm, each one including a half hour question and answer session.

Next week, Sue will be offering another chance to catch the WordPress Blogging course, along with her new introduction to Facebook:

WordPress Blogging (12pm – 1pm)

Not just a blog but also an intuitive and friendly content management system, WordPress forms the stable and secure basis for thousands of websites, commanding a whopping 87% of all blogs. Powerful and flexible with an enormous developer base, WordPress can be customized to fit your website needs, no matter how complex, with its easy customization and over 10 thousand plugins to choose from. Specializing in WordPress-powered sites, Sue Sutcliffe can help you build a knockout website.

Facebook (5pm – 6pm)

With more than 500 million active users, Facebook offers a flexible and powerful tool for making connections with potential clients and reinforcing the ones you’ve already made. As many as 50% (250 million!) of these users log in every day and collectively spend 700 billion minutes on Facebook every month. Sue Sutcliffe will help you tap into this vast resource and aid you in creating a Page to promote your business and connect with a whole new world of exposure to build and develop your business.

In the following weeks, Sue will introduce you to blogging with WordPress, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and Ning. Join in, learn, and grow your business!

Today, Sue Sucliffe is kicking off her new Techie Tuesday workshop series with a double billing of Social Media 101, your introduction to social media.

Every week, Sue hosts two knockout fabulous Webinars on Tuesdays from noon to 1pm, followed by another from 5pm to 6pm, each one including a half hour question and answer session.

Next week, Sue will be offering another chance to catch the Social Media 101 course, along with her new introduction to WordPress Blogging:

Social Media 101 (12pm – 1pm)

You’ll find out what social media is, who’s using it, and how to automate your communication to social media spaces such as like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. You’ll learn:

• - nine essential steps to social media success
• - how to manage your social media profile efficiently
• - pitfals to avoid
• - tricks to make it as easy as sending an email

Seating is limited, so reserve your seat today and details you require to sit in on this webinar e.g. phone number to call and link to see presentation will be emailed to you.

WordPress Blogging (5pm – 6pm)

Not just a blog but also an intuitive and friendly content management system, WordPress forms the stable and secure basis for thousands of websites, commanding a whopping 87% of all blogs. Powerful and flexible with an enormous developer base, WordPress can be customized to fit your website needs, no matter how complex, with its easy customization and over 10 thousand plugins to choose from. Specializing in WordPress-powered sites, Sue Sutcliffe can help you build a knockout website.

In the following weeks, Sue will introduce you to blogging with WordPress, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and Ning. Join in, learn, and grow your business!

Like many bloggers, I utilize All in One SEO Pack plug-in to optimize my posts to achieve higher search engine rankings. This nifty piece of software allows you to specify page title, description, and keywords for each post.

Once you’ve logged into your WordPress Dashboard (normally found at http://www.mydomain.com/wp-admin), there are two things you’ll want to do regularly – add/edit posts and pages.  The guide below tells you how to tell the difference, and how to make changes.

POSTS
Most of the time, you’ll be adding posts to your blog.  These are usually things which change frequently, or things you would include in a newsletter.  Things such as news, events, tips, quotations, etc. would normally be added to your site as posts.

To add a new post:

• Click ‘Posts’ on the left side of the page
• You should see a new menu appear, click ‘Add New’.
• In the empty box at the top of the screen, enter the headline for the post.
• In the larger box below, enter the body of your posts’ message.
• If you’d like to add any formatting, use the icons along the top of the message box.
• To add photos, click the small ‘‘ icon next to the words Upload/Insert.
• Once everything looks good (which you can check using the ‘Preview Changes’ button), click ‘Publish’, and the new post will appear at the top of your blog page.

To change an existing post:

• Click ‘Posts’ on the left side of the page
• You’ll be taken to a page which lists all the posts on your site.
• If you hold you mouse over the name of the post, you’ll see some options appear – click ‘Edit’.
• Make the changes you wish to the copy, and then press ‘Publish’ on the right-hand side of screen.

PAGES
Pages make up the ‘brochure-ware’ of your site.  These are normally facts about your business which don’t need changing very often.  Things such as About Us, Contact Us, Services, etc. are normally entered as Pages.

Pages work much the same way as Posts, but the options are listed below the ‘Posts’ heading on the left hand side.

If you’d like a more in-depth description, please go here:  http://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging

Claim.io (formerly ClaimMyName) now injects your brand into 300 of the most popular social media and social networking sites, creating an account on each site, securing your name and/or vanity URL, and embedding your messaging, logo and links into each account.

Why Claim Your Name? 

• Brand Protection - Claiming your name and other high value keywords on the most popular social networks prevents your brand from being hijacked and helps ensure that you own and control your presence online. Don’t wait until someone else claims your name and its too late.
  
• Brand Exposure - Claim.io goes beyond protecting your brand. We establish a rich presence on each social network that includes your brand’s messaging, logo and a link back to your primary website. You fill out one form and we take care of the rest.
  
• Search Engine Visibility - Increasing the number of inbound links (other sites that point to your website) is one of the most effective ways to increase your visibility on major search engines. When you claim you name across 300 social networks, each account that we create for you becomes a site that points back to your website. 

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