The document discusses various topics related to social media and the social web. It provides summaries of articles about how Google is ranking influencers on social networks, how the social web influences search, and how corporate blogs can attract audiences. It also lists the 25 most influential people on the web according to their impact and role, and discusses how companies are using Twitter to bolster their brands by engaging with customers.

1. Social Web Strategies blog well Sept. 08 Highlights

2. Google To Rank Social Influence Google is harnessing the power of cliques with a patent pending method for ranking “influencers” on social networks. Could this boost its ad business? Via: Business Week October 06,2008 The social Web influences search Image: flickr

3. Image: ffffound Via: Brand Autopsy The social Web has a soft cost

4. The Southwest blog was named best corporate blog by PR Week So what exactly do they blog about? Check it out yourself and find out here . 2008 Best Corporate Blog Corporate blogs that are done well attract an audience Image: flickr

5. As a blog become more popular it starts linking to internal posts more, and to external posts less; much like mainstream media. However, as Steven from WinExtra points out, this is to their detriment: when the links only travel inwards, visitors become fewer. What do you think? The Broken Link Economy Image: flickr Linking out attracts new readers

6. Easiest Word Of Mouth Campaign Create a "friends and family" discount coupon for your employees to share. Employees will share it because they get to help out their friends. The friends will share it because they get to help out their friends, and they get to show off an insider connection that makes them look important. Thanks to: Andy Sernovitz’s Damn, I wish I’d thought of that The social Web rewards creativity

7. 25 Most Influential People on the Web According to Business Week, the following people have the most impact on the Web today. Listed alphabetically. 1 - 10 Below; 11 – 25 next page The Seeker : Steve Ballmer [Microsoft] The Marshall : Mitchell Baker [Mozilla] The Innovator : Jeff Bezos [Amazon] The Searchers : S. Brin, L. Page, E. Schmidt [Google] The Investor : Jeff Clavier [Soft Tech VC] The Papa Bear : Paul Graham [Y Combinator] The Muckraker : Adrianna Huffington [Huffington Post] The Advisor : Joi Ito [Joi Ito] The Mastermind : Steve Jobs [Apple] The Filmer : Jonathan Kaplan [The Flip] Don’t make your audience jump 20+ pages just to see your content – they won’t like you

8. 25 Most Influential People on the Web 11 – 25 The Communicator : Loic Le Meur [Seesmic] The Trader : Jack Ma [Alibaba] The Publisher : Matt Mullenweg [WordPress] The Mogul : Rupert Murdoch [MySpace] The Community Organizer : Craig Newmark [Craigslist] The Traffic Driver : Gabe Rivera [Techmeme] The Poster Boy : Kevin Rose [Digg] The Adult : Sheryl Sandberg [Facebook] The Edutainer : Jon Stewart [The Daily Show] The Money Man : Peter Thiel [Clarium Capital] The Crafter : Maria Thomas [Etsy] The Advocate : Anssi Vonjoki [Nokia] The Crowd Sourcer : Jimmy Wales [Wikipedia] The Blogger : Evan Williams [Twitter] The Fighter : Jerry Yang [Yahoo!]

9. Due to funding cuts of 50% in the past two years, LII has merged with IPL. The Internet Public Library is a huge Web portal hosted by Drexel University and maintained by a consortium of colleges and universities with programs in information science. The IPL is the first public library of and for the Internet community Librarians Internet Index merges with the Internet Public Library Image: flickr Use the Web to learn, and then share useful knowledge with your audience

10. US Publishing house Chronicle Books gets a free blog checkup by Mack Collier at The Viral Garden . At the end of the evaluation, Mack makes Chronicle Books an offer: If they contact him via his blog or e-mail by Thursday (October 9th), he will give them a free 30-minute consultation. Think they’ll notice? Company Blog Checkup: Chronicle Books Image: flickr Go to every post that makes mention of you – good and bad - you may just make a new friend

11. This is a big, fat, wide-reaching net of social media searches to alert you every time your brand or product is mentioned by anybody on a slew of social media sites, including Flickr, Twitter, Friendfeed, Digg etc. Made by Kingsley Joseph Social Media Firehose Image: flickr Make use of free tools on the Web

12. Q: As an online business, how do you get customers to realize that you understand them; that you can relate with what they are going through? A: Empathize. Thanks: Shana Albert Empathy /ˈem-pə-thē/ n. The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner Merriam-Webster Online Empathy and Social Media Image: flickr Communicate clearly and unconditionally on the social Web

13. Digg and Reddit are two of the most powerful communities of social media users on the Web. They are the evolution of message boards and message forums that were the previous forefront of the social Web. Most marketers would be lucky to have their campaign succeed in spreading on these networks, most bloggers are ecstatic when something they’ve written makes page one— in any case, getting there is the result of doing something exceptionally cool. Via: The Future Buzz Influencing Social Media: What Drives Reddit and Digg Users? Understand the community before you become part of the community

14. How Companies Use Twitter To Bolster Their Brands Image: flickr From the article: “ A growing number of companies are keeping track of what's said about their brands on Twitter. Comcast, Dell, General Motors, H&R Block, Kodak, and Whole Foods Market are among a handful of companies haunting Twitter to do everything from burnish brands to provide customer service.” What about you? Via: Business Week Reach out to your customers - help them with their problems; educate them

15. Twitter: @madlid blog-well.com blog well Social Web Strategies Sept. 08 Highlights