Those of you who do read Blazing Minds often will know that the blog has now been going for just over 3 years and has grown to a point of almost being known for not only the flame haired avatar but also for the diverse amounts of subjects that are posted on the blog.

So now the time has come to look forward and hope that all the work that myself, the guest bloggers and you the reader has put in to Blazing Minds has started to help and pay off. I know there are a few of you out there that retweet and share the blog posts across many of the social networks etc and this is so much appreciated.

Over 3 Years In The Making Could This Be More For BlazingMinds

It’s now time to help with increasing not only the blogs popularity but the Blazing Minds name as well, so I ask you all to help by voting for the official Blazing Minds Twitter and blog via the 4th Annual Shorty Awards. It’s easy to vote and only takes a matter of seconds to cast you vote and help Blazing Minds go even further than it has already.

All you have to do is vote for me at the Shorty Awards with a simple few clicks and a tweet! Yes, that’s all there is to it.

Nominate Karen Woodham for a social media award in the Shorty Awards blogger category

So that’s all there is to it, so a big, big thank you in advance to everyone that takes the time to vote for me, your time and votes are appreciated.

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As the race to crown a new men’s and women’s tennis champion at this year’s edition of the Australian Open is served up beginning Monday, Jan. 16, Mashable is reporting that this year’s event could emerge as the most digitally connected major sporting event in history.

While the event already offers a number of social media options, tournament officials will reportedly man the Australian Open Twitter feed 24/7 right through the finals on Jan. 29.

Fans tuning in will have access to a fan leader board that lists players from top to bottom due to buzz, along with offering a social counterpoint to on-court results.

Mashable spoke to one of the digital team organizers, who noted that the event was the first Grand Slam on Twitter, while interaction with fans has been increasing not only there but also on Facebook.

Fans can also look forward to learning more ins and outs of the event through the Fan Centre leader board, which will continuously list the top 10 male and female players in the event who are being mentioned most on social media, and whose content is attracting the most attention on the Australian Open site.

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Image by Adam Crowe via Flickr

Many businesses and companies direct all their efforts to SEO for their sites, and don’t remember to optimize their brand names. It is very vital to optimize your brand to make it easy for people to find you through search engines. So how do you go about SEO for your brand?

1. Research

You need to think like a customer or supplier as you research. Type in your brand name into search engines and see if the name appears in the first three pages. Write down all the positive articles, reviews and feedback about your brand. In addition, find out what people are saying about your competition. This way, you will be able to know where you stand compared to the opposition.
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Image via Wikipedia

Social media combined with SEO is vital for building a successful online brand. The following are some tips for maximizing SEO benefits from your social profiles.

Link between profiles

Linking between your social profiles encourages web users to interact extensively with your brand and your company. The more you engage them, the more likely it is for them to convert.

In addition, interlinking your social profiles offers you the opportunity of connecting with your audience on several platforms, thus enabling you to reach more people online. If someone follows you on Twitter, you could also invite them to connect on LinkedIn or to like your page on Facebook. Any of these profiles might have a greater impact on their online lives. Therefore, linking social profiles ensures that every message is spread in several platforms.

In social media marketing, you need to remember that the ultimate goal is to drive traffic from your social profiles to your site, and not the other way round. Your website needs to be aimed at converting visitors, not making them friends, followers or fans.
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A successful business has ‘secrets’ that keeps them afloat.

If you’re a blogger, then majority of your activities online would include shopping and networking. When you need to experience the other side good side of a business, you need to look for actionable secrets and take bold steps immediately.

Social media marketing is very effective these days and one of the most sought after topic on the internet. The reason is simple: Google and other search services are going weird by the day; who can predict what’s going to happen next?

Responsible content marketers have lost everything they worked for when algorithm was updated. Do you think your content is the best amongst millions? Please think again!
Social media marketing is the next and best alternative.

Why I Love Social Media Marketing

Social networks exist to fulfill the ultimate goals of life (sharing, connecting). When properly done, you would see a tremendous business growth. Whatever it is you’re doing online would be profitable if you begin to share with others and connect because you care. Not because you want to make some quick bucks – that’s not a good reason!

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All of you web wanderers who think you’ve seen it all, let me tell you about something completely different. Last month my oldest friend, Jacob, turned 25 so I decided to throw him a party to remember. Jacob is sweet and friendly, but he’s also super shy. Despite this shyness, he’s a real social media junkie. In an attempt to bring him out of the web world and assimilated more into real society, I decided to combine both elements and throw him the ultimate social media birthday bash.

The Guest List

I made a list of the friends we had in common and set about rounding up some invitations. I decided to go with quirky invites and scored a great deal by ordering from Storkie.  I mailed those to the locals and turned to the Internet to contact people Jacob knew online. From his Facebook page, I sent a general invitation to everyone on his friend list.  I knew most were unable to attend so I asked them to send a photo and a short birthday greeting of 25 words or less similar to what they might say to Jacob on Facebook or Twitter.
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For police in several Texas cities, the hunt is on for a black male who they allege has sexually assaulted four members of the same college sorority.

Reports indicate that the reported attacks took place over several months in the cities of Plano, Coppell and Corinth. Police, meantime, did provide the media with a video they say shows the suspect, thought to be in his late 30s to mid-40s and on the heavy side, they believe responsible for each of the assaults.

What makes the case more interesting is that the four victims have been out of college for decades now, and were all members of the same sorority, Delta Sigma Theta.

One police spokesperson noted that the suspect reportedly knew personal details about each of his victims; victims’ police say did not know their attacker.

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