I don’t ever use this blog to share my political views, but I think this subject is important to every blogger no matter what he or she chooses to write about.  The below youtube video does a great job visualizing the damage that the Protect-IP Act (PIPA) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)—though, the video doesn’t directly mention SOPA—can truly have on our web ecosystem.

PIPA and SOPA are bills which have been introduced in the Senate and the House to give the U.S. government and corporations the ability to censor the net. This is all done in the name of protecting “creativity” and “copyrights.” The law would allow entire sites to be censored by corporate and government entities. All this is achieved by simply convincing a judge that a website is “dedicated to copyright infringement.”

With the birth of 2012 comes the renewed determination to push out content that sits in my drafts folder being perpetually worked on. This post has been one of my perpetual projects since I wrote part one waaaaaay back in September on common SEO mistakes.

Originally with this post there were 16 total mistakes, but the last five were the main road blocks in the post being published. However, with just the below 11 tips this article is already almost 2000 words long. So I don’t think the omitted five mistakes (which will be added to part three) will be missed too much.

Count on one—possibly two—more post that will wrap up this subject. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take me to 2013 to do it. ~Paul W.

“It’s all about people.” ~Mike Davidson

Michael Stelzner, the genius behind SocialMediaExaminer.com and other ventures, just announced what he calls the Networking Clubs. The basic idea behind his idea is having an online forum that is honed in on social media.

Before you leave a comment flaming me about how you already belong to 29 social media groups on LinkedIn/Facebook/Google+/DigitalPoint/WarriorForum/WickedFire and so forth, let me share five reasons why I think Social Media Examiner’s Networking Clubs are different and better.

“I don’t want you with me! I don’t need you! I don’t need anybody! With my strength — my power — the world is mine!” ~The Incredible Hulk

As a kid I loved all the super hero comics, and now, thanks to Hollywood, I can relive them through the movies. Yet, it is even more fun when cartoonist Caldwell Tanner from the College Humor fame turns Internet companies into these same heroes and villains.

Below you will see heroes like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and several others showcasing their unique Internet powers. Unfortunately, I feel that Caldwell has left out some important heroes/villains and some iconic Internet sites. If I were an illustrator I would add them, but alas that is not one of my super powers.

“I am convinced that we are in a terminal process.” ~E. P. Thompson

I found this list on SocialFresh.com which helps you diagnose if you are addicted to Social Media work. Quite enlightening.

A while ago, I wrote a post about how social media itself is more addicting than porn, but I never thought to take into consideration the addictive nature of those who create it. This is most likely because I am among the ranks of these deeply troubled souls!

So, I know this horse is pretty dead, but I think I am going to kick it one more time. As many already know, a few months ago Netflix angered their user base by breaking up and charging more for their services.

My wife and I were one of the many customers that canceled our account with them when they made these changes. The change on their part really made us ask how valuable was this service really to us. I know we would have kept on paying our $9.99 monthly fee without asking this question if they had maintained their usual course. However, once we did ask the question we realized that there was enough free streaming (hulu) and paid DVD (redbox) services for us to confidently walk away from our Netflix addiction.

I can’t say that we don’t miss our Netflix account, and might have actually considered returning for the right “We’re sorry” deal. So, to receive the below email was more like pouring salt in our movie wound.

Yesterday, I was a guest speaker for a university Social Media class. The teacher wanted me to cover SEO and left the specific subject wide open. I chose to present part of the “Importance of SEO” slide deck which I often give to business owners. I also covered the basics of SEO and finished with the main strategy I use to compete on difficult keywords.

The students are in the MBA program and I wished I had shared with them the below infographic by Onward Search. Not all, but most of my MBA friends are hyper focused on the corporate world, and seeing the pay spectrum of corporate SEO jobs might have been helpful.

As it was, I think my presentation fell kind of flat with them. I didn’t manage my time wisely and had to rush through some technical areas, which was a mistake. Several students eyes slowly glossed over from disconnect, and I swear I could almost see the reflection in their bored glossy eyes of the solitary game they were playing on their laptop!

Today is dragging for me so I thought I would post a little humor that my little brother has been emailing me (my type of forwarded emails Ü). Hope you enjoy! ~Paul W.

“The life of the creative man is lead, directed and controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes.” ~Susan Sontag

“You’ll find boredom where there is the absence of a good idea.” ~Earl Nightingale

Like most of the Internet marketing world I signed up for G+ (a.k.a Google+ or Google Plus) right when it came out. I played with it for a few days, tried out different features, and then mostly forgot it about.

I still get notified when people add me to their circles, but I haven’t really engaged with the new social toy since its first launch. However, the below video makes a strong case on why I (and others who use Google products) should take G+ more seriously.

Yet, I still have to wonder if G+ will really live up to its hype, and what will happen if it doesn’t. There are plentiful Google initiatives which have met their demise over the years due to the lack luster of their services. Such Google products like:

A fun infographic from breakingcopy.com on deciding exactly what social network you should post to.

Clever thoughts bubble up constantly, but what’s the right venue for all of them? Now you can consult this handy graphic to help make those hard choices among Google+, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Dilemma solved!