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My thanks to those who are making submitting their Top Ten Favorite Users of FriendFeed a priority. The first submission is already in and Derek Semmler’s FriendFeed choices are excellent.  I first found Derek at StumbleUpon so I was pleasantly surprised to see he has included many of my old SU favorites in his FriendFeed list. Some of them I hadn’t found yet at FriendFeed.

I know we’re all busy so I want to remind those reading this of the good participating in challenges like our Favorite Top Ten FriendFeed Friends Challenge can do for you and others: Read more…

I was prompted to write this post when I came across a beautifully designed blog called My Tropical Escape. Their theme is extremely attractive and most of the important functions are there - except search. I wanted to link to one of their posts that I saw mentioned elsewhere, but when I didn’t find it in the first few pages and couldn’t search for it they lost that opportunity (until I created this one instead).

The only factor more important than the ability to easily find and then quickly search any site is making it obvious what the site is offering. Here is why search is critical to EVERY site:

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One of the most important posts we’ve made to date was There is NO Done Because There is Always More To Do. Until you develop an eye for what is missing on your site, how will you know how much that lack is holding you back?

We spot important missing elements on even the most beautiful, popular, and best designed sites. Starting today I will start posting links to these already excellent sites with commentary on what they’re missing that could make a significant difference in their online success. Read more…

TwiTip’s Top Ten ‘Must Follow’ Niche Twitter Lists were such a hit that I’m proposing a Top Ten FriendFeed Friends Challenge and would love it if YOU would participate. I’ve added a post on How Using FriendFeed Benefits You as further encouragement.

To kick it off the challenge here are my choice of exceptional Top Ten favorite FriendFeed users:

1. Louis Gray - Who else to kick off the list but our friendly neighborhood FriendFeed expert himself. Check out the latest post in his blog by guest writer Jesse Stay: Pull Your Blog Into FriendFeed and Increase Exposure.
2. Robert Scoble - I really started using FriendFeed because I wanted to join Robert Scoble’s discussion and talk to him directly. Read Scoble on Tech on the FastCompany blog. Visit his FriendFeed discussions any time or the ScobleRoom on Thursdays.
3. Mike Fruchter - Check out his series of FriendFeed Users to Follow on his Michael Fruchter Blog. You can start your FriendFeed profile by checking out his first thirty recommendations. (Direct links at the end of this post.)

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Who you follow at Twitter is more important than how many you follow or how many follow you. Early today, Darren Rowse challenged TwiTip readers to Construct a Top Ten Must Follow List for Your Niche. That post is at 78 comments and counting. [Update: Submissions are up to 186 and they're still coming in. Have you submitted your list yet? Have you entered our FriendFeed Challenge?]

You may be able to find a list for your own niche posted among the comments there. We had previously shared a way to Use Twellow to Determine Who to Follow at Twitter that is niche specific.

Are you interested in determining who the Most Influential Twitter Users Are so you can follow some of them? You can also compute your own Twitter influence at that link.

NEW to Twitter or not even using it yet? Start with Ten People All Twitter Beginners Should Be Following.  Don’t stop there, though! Use the strategies above and the lists below and keep adding interesting Twitter users.

If you make your own Top Ten List let us know and we’ll link you into this post so others can see it and visit you. Remember to add your link at TwiTips. If you don’t have a site post your list in the comments at TwiTips.

Here are my Top Fourteen (ok, I just couldn’t stop at Ten!) Twitter Users based on how influential and helpful they are overall (not just at Twitter - also through their work and their blogs): Read more…

The odds are 100% guaranteed that you have not done all there is to do to grow your business. We can say that with confidence because it is completely and totally impossible. There is always something else you can do to improve your site, increase your conversions, create more relationships, and raise your visibility - ALWAYS.

Success is not a destination; it is a never-ending process of growing your business.

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Social Media has official come of age. CNN wrote:

One of the top headlines today on CNN.com is titled “Tweeting the terror: How social media reacted to Mumbai.” The opening sentence of the piece is even more to the point: “It was the day social media appeared to come of age and signaled itself as a news gathering force to be reckoned with.”

News reporting may never be the same again. Yes, Twitter is a source of serious Journalism. Just remember not to believe everything you read, whether on Twitter or in mainstream media.

So many Social Networking sites and so little time. We learned tonight that FriendFeed is a great way to interact directly with bloggers we may only wish would follow us at Twitter. We have Robert Scoble to thank for giving some Twitter users a lesson tonight in using Twitter and FriendFeed together. We simply followed a link to the discussion he started there.

If there are bloggers you would love to have a conversation with, FriendFeed (FF) is a much more likely answer than any other Social Networking site. Simply search for their membership (or follow the little FF emblem from their blog or other Web site) and check out their feed. See if there is a pattern to when they start discussions and pop in on the next one.

There were some really helpful FF users in on the discussion who pointed us to a treasure-trove of FriendFeed posts over at Read more…

The difference between message types at Twitter is not immediately obvious. I am certain I am not the first new Twitter user to think only those who follow you can receive messages from you - especially when they receive a direct message they can’t answer because the sender is not following you.

Debbie had the same confusion: “It’s true that lots of people are confused about @replies. It hasn’t always been clear to me who can see what and why sometimes people don’t seem to see my replies to them if they aren’t following me. I personally really like seeing all of them, kind of like eavesdropping and finding interesting conversationalists, i.e. good people to follow, that are friends of my friends. ”

I tracked down the answer in the Twitter Blog and here it is: you CAN send a message to someone who is NOT following you by using Read more…

Twitter is no different than any Social Networking site when it comes to growing your network. If anything it is more challenging because you can only efficiently contact people who are already following you! So the key to making Twitter work for you is to find followers IN YOUR NICHE!

Hopefully you noticed the emphasis on which followers you want to attract. Sheer numbers won’t do it - especially now that Twitter limits how many you can follow. Instead of wondering What Happens If I Hit a Limit at Twitter be proactive - follow the Twitter users you most want to follow you.

Fortunately for us, WebProNews has provided us with the perfect tool for finding the perfect Twitter relationships: Read more…