Being a blogger can get you in trouble nowadays, at least if you write something that sufficiently vexes your employer.

Delta Air Lines last year fired flight attendant Ellen Simonetti because of her blog. Friendster, Google and Microsoft also have waved goodbye to employees or contractors who, in the opinion of a corporate manager, were unacceptably indiscreet in their online scribblings. As the popularity of blogs grows and search tools get better, such intracompany tiffs are likely to increase.

The word "blogging" refers to the process of writing a Web log--basically a specialized Web site to which individuals can post their thoughts. Those could be about politics, religion, or even about a blogger's cats and their daily antics. Popular sites that offer free blogging include Google's Blogger.com and LiveJournal.com.

In an effort to separate fact from fiction, CNET News.com offers this list of frequently asked questions about blogging at work and at home. Feel free to contribute your own thoughts and experiences in the "talkback" section at the end of this article.

Can blogging hurt my career?

If you're already employed, your blog could get you fired. Delta Air Lines, Friendster, Google, Microsoft and Wells Fargo have all reportedly fired employees or contractors over the content of their online journals. In most cases, the bloggers were let go for either criticizing the company or fellow workers, disclosing embarrassing or confidential information or otherwise offending the boss' sensibilities.

How risky is blogging really?

Blog firings are relatively rare. In a recent survey of 279 human resource professionals by the Society for Human Resources Management, just 3 percent of companies reported disciplining bloggers and none reported firing anyone for blogging. You're more likely to get in trouble for fooling around online or downloading music at work. About half the companies in the survey said they've fired or disciplined employees for Internet use that was unrelated to work duties.

Blogging is a pretty new activity. Is my company likely to have guidelines and policies about it yet?

Few companies have created policies that specifically address blogging. But most corporate policies already address many issues related to blogs, such as protecting confidential information, upholding the company's reputation, and Internet use at work.
Can my employer fire me if I blog from home on my own time?Yes. The odds of your company perusing your blog is slim. "But if your boss should see your blog and be offended by something there, in most states you have virtually no protection against being fired," says Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute in Princeton, N.J.

Wait--does that mean that where I live matters?

Yes. California, New York, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota recently have enacted laws limiting when an employer can fire you based on something you do off-duty that's not related to your job.

Web Site Marketing - Diffusing The Google Bomb

submits "Each month, or thereabouts, as search positioning changes are noticed as a result of the latest Google algorithm updates, an analysis of what happened occurs. The analysis of the update ensues in many news groups and discussion groups and invariably, there never seem to be many people happy with the updates.

This month, the focus of attention is links, and the way Google uses them. I've noticed a lot of discussion in Search Engine Watch(1) about the fact that "out of touch executives" no longer displayed their link to #1 at Google. The discussion veered between almost paranoid sounding "Is Google censoring results it does not like?" to the more rational and scientific, "If Google changes X then Y is the result, therefore it is logical that the results would be affected in this way." Invariably, there were holes in every argument except one, which although was not quite on the mark, at least pointed in the right direction... read more"

Getting Googley Eyed!

Google! You probably don't know this but we've been helping you succeed for the past four years.

You see, we're a search engine optimization company dedicated to ensuring proper indexing within your search engine. Well, actually, ALL of the top search engines, but everyone wants to be ranked highly on yours, so we pay very close attention to your mood swings and temperament in order to keep you satisfied.

Winning this keyword was my dream

Winning this keyword among the search engines was my dream come true. I've been working over this keyword for the last 2 years and finally seashellwebs.com is there when queried for Search Engine Optimization Mumbai and Search Engine Marketing Mumbai at Google.com.
After a long and dedicated work I planned the content of my website and finally reached this peak.

Through out the exercise I made it a point that I do not spam with the keywords. I hired my junior collegues to manually find all relevant Search Engine Marketing Consultants all over the world, and then asked to add them to this directory manually. Soon the directory due to its genuine listings become popular and there's it now ranking for http://www.blogger.com/">Search Engine Optimization Mumbai

My next goal is now to try and optimize the website for search engine optimization india, Another valuable keyword. I hope to reach there soon.

Knowing all this, why aren't there more blogs?

Before you say "It's too hard to set up," or "We don't have the resources to keep it up," consider that there are many free blog software packages out there that only take minutes to set up. Then all that you need to do is commit to posting on a regular basis - whether it's daily, weekly or every couple of weeks.

And really, all you do when you post is report on your industry. For example, if yours is a site devoted to home building, why not post about the latest industry news such as new regulations in your area, new techniques being employed, the latest salary reviews and more?
Anything to do with your industry that will help you build your brand is acceptable blogging material.

In fact, I recently helped a client do just such a thing. They sell houseplans online and their concern was like many I've heard, "But what do we write about?" Once I told them to merely report about the industry they were amazed. "That's all we have to do?"

Since then they've been posting 2, 3 even more times every day. Their blog is now referred to by dozens of other builders' sites on the web and their backlink count has increased by a few hundred.

That's the other benefit of blogging - the increase in backlinks. This is one of the most natural ways to build links to your site. Not only that but they are the best type of links - those highly relevant, highly related links the engines look for when determining your link popularity.
No longer do you need to spend hours hunting for links. Now the links can come to you provided the blog content is timely and relevant to your industry.

So before you dismiss blogging as an effective organic search engine positioning strategy, take a look at the most recent State of the Blogosphere and look at just how quickly it's growing. Also consider that while you are dismissing it, your competitors may be considering it or have already implemented an industry blog.

Rob Sullivan is a SEO Consultant and Writer for Textlinkbrokers is a link building company. Please provide a link directly to Textlinkbrokers when syndicating this article.

Google Tower

Google Tower

Google Tower

Google Tower

Hi-Speed Web Hosting Provider WebStream Announces Organic Search and Pay-Per-Click Marketing Programs

WebStream (http://www.webstream.net), whose services include hi-speed web hosting, has announced its launch of new search engine optimization (SEO) plans designed to increase traffic to client web sites.

The company’s new plans offer the latest applications for achieving higher rank through leading search engines by ensuring sites comply with the ‘organic’ search engine rules currently prevalent. Using the company’s applications and techniques users can observe substantial Google Page Rank and Yahoo Web Rank increases.

The plans feature extensive keyword research, link popularity reports, image optimization, meta-tag creation, usability and site-flow reports, DMOZ directory submission, robot text files and customized “error 404” pages. Certain plans include hi-speed hosting, competitor analysis, RSS news feeds and a press release service alongside Pay-Per-Click (PPC) services for programs like Google’s AdWords and Yahoo’s Overture.

Based in Fort Lauderdale, WebStream serves the “business-to-business” market in more than 200 countries and the United States. The company offers hosting solutions to terrestrial and Internet radio stations, co-location services, ecommerce services, and web design and programming

Google Search: more, more, more....!!!

Alerts Receive news and search results via email
Answers Ask a question, set a price, get an answer
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Book Search Search the full text of books
Catalogs Search and browse mail-order catalogs
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News Search thousands of news stories
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Blogger Express yourself online
Code Download APIs and open source code
Desktop Info when you want it, right on your desktop
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Pack A free collection of essential software
Picasa Find, edit and share your photos
Talk IM and call your friends through your computer
Translate View web pages in other languages

more in http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

WebStream Announces New SEO Plans

Feature different levels of applications and offers keyword research; also includes hosting, competitive analysis and local listing creations for Google & Yahoo.

WebStream, a web hosting company and Internet services provider, recently released new and enhanced search engine optimization (SEO) plans for increasing traffic for client web sites via the major search engines.

The company says that its new SEO plans are scalable in cost and incorporate the latest applications for achieving higher rankings and search engine results. The new SEO plans feature different levels of applications and include the use of keyword research, link popularity reports, image optimization, meta-tag creation and usability and site-flow reports.

Additionally, the plans provide DMOZ directory submission, robot text files and customized 'error 404' pages. Some plans also include hosting, competitive analysis, local listing creations for Google and Yahoo, RSS news feeds, and press release services.