Facebook’s Version of the Retweet Has Arrived

We’ve long speculated as to when Facebook might get its own version of Twitter’s retweet, and it appears that the time is now. This evening, the site rolled out a “via” feature that lets you repost another user’s shared items, with a “via” link attached for attribution.

It appears the feature is live for everyone. To try it, just go to a friend’s posted item in your news feed, click “share,” and you’ll see a “via [your friend’s name]” (with an option to remove it). Once shared, the item will appear on your profile, with a via link that points to your friend’s profile. Your friends will also see the item in their News Feeds, creating the viral loop that is the Twitter retweet.


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http://mashable.com/2010/01/16/facebook-via/

Apple iPhone is set to debut their iPhone credit card reader

Mophie, a popular retailer of Apple iPhone and iPod accessories, is set to debut their iPhone credit card reader — said to be named “Credit Card reader” — and complimentary processing application.

We’re just a week away from the annual gadget-lover’s dream event, otherwise known as CES. One company that everyone will have their eyes on this year is Mophie.

This will allow merchants to accept credit card payments by swiping the card through a special iPhone case. While details around the device add-on are slim, interest is already high.

The buzz building around Mophie, the palpable excitement and interest stimulated by Square, and an increasingly competitive mobile payment system market means that 2010 will be the year that consumers will buy and sell from their mobile phones.

Google loses Groovle domain name claim

In the complaint, Google asked for the judges to rule that 207 Media transfer the domain name over to it. Google said the domain name used by the small business, 207 Media, was too similar to its own, but mediators the National Arbitration Forum disagreed.But three judges appointed by the forum refused the request.They said the name was not similar enough to confuse people and the word 'groovle' was more closely linked to "groovy" or "groove" rather than Google.

The entrepreneurs behind Groovle.com said they had used the site for more than two-and-a-half years without any complaints by Google.The judges also refused to examine other claims made by Google, including that the Canadian business had no "legitimate" interest in the domain name and had registered it in "bad faith".

People can upload personal images onto the site and then go on to search the web from that page. The site is powered by Google but describes itself as a way for users to create a customised internet homepage.

It is only the second time out of 65 that a complaint made by Google against companies about domain names has been rejected. In 2004, Richard Wolfe, the owner of froogles.com managed to persuade an arbitration panel his site could not be confused with Google.com. People can upload personal images onto the site and then go on to search the web from that page.

Dos and Don'ts for Bing Ranking

It's easy for businesses to get caught up in Google's expectations for their sites, when trying to market through search. That's certainly a wise thing to do, considering Google dominates the search market by a huge margin. Still, there are other search engines that people are using, and it is also wise to make sure your site is performing to the best of its ability in those too.

We don't hear as much about what Bing wants out of a site for rankings, but Rick DeJarnette of Bing Webmaster Center has shared some dos and don'ts of link-building for Bing. Like Google, Bing places great emphasis on quality links to determine its rankings. "Just don't make the mistake of believing it will result in instant gratification. Successful link building efforts require a long-term commitment, not an overnight or turnkey solution," says DeJarnette. "You need to continually invest in link building efforts with creativity and time."

What To Do:

DeJarnette some tips for getting more quality links. Following are Bing's tips for effective link building :

• Find relevant industry experts, product reviewers, bloggers, and media folk, and make sure they're aware of your site/content

• Publish concise, informative press releases online

• Participate in relevant conversations on blogs/forums, referring back to your site's content when applicable

• Publish expert articles to online article directories

• Use social networks to connect to industry influencers (make sure you have links to your site in your profiles)

• Create an email newsletter with notifications of new content

• Participate in relevant industry associations and especially in their online forums

• Strive to become a trusted expert voice for your industry, while promoting your site

• Create an email newsletter with notifications of new content

What Not To Do:

DeJarnette shared a list of things that you should avoid in your link building efforts, if it is a good Bing ranking that you are after. Here is what Bing says will get your site reviewed more closely by staff:

• Many inbound links coming from irrelevant blog comments and/or from unrelated sites

• The number of inbound links suddenly increases by orders of magnitude in a short period of time

• Using hidden links in your pages

• Linking out to known web spam sites

• Receiving inbound links from paid link farms, link exchanges, or known "bad neighborhoods" on the Web

Most of the stuff DeJarnette shared is nothing any savvy search marketer is not already aware of. That said, there are clearly plenty of online (and offline for that matter) businesses out there that don't have savvy search marketers on the payroll. It can be quite helpful when a search engine itself lays out what to do and what not to do to help webmasters get better rankings.