How to Avoid the Problem

Facebook has been proactively removing the unpleasant images from user feeds and profiles, but they aren’t gone entirely. You’ll have to take a proactive approach if you want to avoid the array of erect penises currently lurking in the shadows. Fortunately, this is pretty simple: don’t click on links if you’re not sure you know what they do. The regular Facebook interface is safe, of course, and so are any Facebook apps you’ve already installed.

What you want to avoid are links that read “check out how many people viewed your profile” and promise to show you something that you just won’t believe. (Having seen some of the images, I can assure you they are actually rather believable, or even beliebable in a few cases.) Basically, if you’re reasonably paranoid about the links you click you should be safe.

What To Do If You’ve Fallen Victim

In the event you make the mistake of clicking a bum link, or think you may have clicked a bad link in the past, change your password right away. While you’re at it, be sure to make it a secure password like a multi-word phrase, a password based on a system you design, a password based on word association, or one you simply can’t remember.

You’ll also want to check the apps you currently have installed. You can do this by clicking on the little down-facing arrow in the upper right corner of the page, clicking on Account Settings, and then choosing the Apps section. If you see an app that doesn’t belong or you simply don’t recognize, click the x across from its name to delete it.

If you do all of this, you should be nice and safe. Happy Facebooking, and enjoy your freedom from porn!

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.  Twitter’s the best way to contact him, too.

10 Reasons Why You’ll Be Using Google Plus In A Year

1. This Time Google Is Serious. Google did an incredible job incubating with influencers and have a very open dialogue and listening to everyone.
2. Google Owns About 23% of Browser Market. The ability for developers to quickly build integrations in Chrome with G+ is awesome.
3. Google Owns Android
4. Google Owns All The Tools Competitors Want Or Are Flailing To Acquire – The Youtube integration is a super cool feature for adding videos to a post.
5. Google Owns Business Applications And Servers
6. Google Owns Search. The SEO of being able to have your posts searched on the internet is huge.
7. Making A Connection Does Not Require Approval From The Second Party. Publishing to public or sending to the Friends in your Extended circles helps draw new followers.
8. Circles are Mandatory On Plus, Which Will Feel More Comfortable. Circles rock as a way of Grouping.
9. Google Can Afford to Let Plus Be Just A Social Network. All of Googles other products benefit new users from Google+.
10. Everything on your account is exportable—in an obvious way

Source: http://www.tomsguide.com

**** Check Out These Related posts: ****

1. Google+ Feature Share Your Favorite Circles with Others
2. Google+ Circles Social Media “Do Over” Opportunity Strategy for Channels
3. Dear Empire Avenue Fail: Eliminate The Chat Mods Conflict of Interest for Ethical Reasons
4. Google+ Review of Googles Social Media Network Site
5. A Smart Way I’m Using Circles To Engage on Google+

Hamilton Chan is CEO and founder of Paperlinks, which provides the leading QR code infrastructure for businesses. Codes generated through Paperlinks app can be scanned by the free Paperlinks iPhone app or by any QR code reader on any smartphone platform.

While the debate rages on whether QR codes are a passing fad or a marketing phenomenon, those little suckers continue to pop up all over the place. From product packaging to retail signs and even to food, almost any surface in the universe seems fair game for a QR code.

However, if brands deploy QR codes merely to claim they are using the latest social media marketing tool, then QR codes are doomed to fall in the “fad” bin, never to realize their full potential. The task for marketers is to use this interactive tool to deliver useful and meaningful experiences to their users.

So, how can you assess whether you are using QR codes to their full potential? Although very few QR marketing statistics exist, here are a few tips for businesses looking to deliver a meaningful QR code experience.

1. Define Your Purpose

The first thing to realize is that QR codes can be as much about utility as they are about marketing. The more your QR code enhances or streamlines the lives of customers, the more engagement you can expect. As such, the most important step in making your QR campaign a success is to think clearly about the purpose of your code.

• Is the purpose to provide an instructional video, a photo catalog of products, contact information or product suggestions?
• Or are you looking to incentivize mobile purchasing behavior through coupons and loyalty rewards?
• What is the advertiser hoping to garner – an email address, social media engagement, a phone call?
• Are you seeking to provide information about a single product or about the entire brand line?

The clearer you are about the purpose of your campaign, the easier it will be to discern whether your goals have been achieved.

2. Call On Your Customers

Now that you have defined your purpose, craft a customer call to action. Think of your QR code as a doorway, only you need to explain what’s hidden behind the door. The brief text sitting next to your code should be the world’s shortest elevator pitch.

For instance, you’ll see high scan rates if your code says, “Scan this code for an exclusive gift” or “Scan this code for our lowest price.” Be sure to explain any incentive associated with the code truthfully — it will increase trust, consumer interaction and the overall return on your campaign.

3. Design and Usability Is Key

 

Understand that looks matter. Ideally, opt for a designer code rather than a black-and-white checker box. Designer codes earn higher scan-through rates, look better on your materials, and even provide an element of security to assure users that this is indeed the brand’s QR code (and hasn’t been somehow covered over).

In addition, the design of the mobile landing page is critical. The cardinal sin in QR code campaigns is directing users to your desktop website. Not only does a desktop site provide little added value over what a user could have obtained without the code, but the site usually looks and functions terribly on a mobile phone. If you do not have a mobile-friendly version of your website, consider using one of the many available tools to create one. Using one of these platforms makes it easier to update content in real time and track campaign analytics.

4. Measuring Scans

The most important metric of a QR campaign should not be the number of daily scans. Rather, the length of engagement time that your code is generating should be a marketer’s primary indicator of campaign success.

If people are spending two to three (or more) minutes on a link, the campaign is a success. The power of a QR code is to transform the user experience from a “quick glance” to a “deep dive.” When users spend a lot of time on your QR site, it shows that you have developed something captivating — a brand worth the interaction.

On the flip side, having a low number of scans should not discourage the advertiser, although generating zero scans is a definite red flag. If no one is scanning the code, it’s likely that something is wrong its scanability, or that its placement is not conducive to scanning (think high-up ads on the subway).

Another thing to keep an eye on is the number of scans over time. If your QR code has been constant displayed (e.g., in your retail window or on your cashier counter), you should see a long tail of interactivity as people continue to engage with your code. Achieve this by providing fresh content and incentives. Unlike other marketing vehicles (TV commercials and newspaper ads) that typically only generate one big spike in impressions, QR codes allow businesses a consistent promotional tier. If the number of scans drops to zero after the first week, this is a sign that there wasn’t enough allure to the experience.

5. Social Metrics

Finally, businesses should look at the points of interaction beyond the QR code experience to judge the success of a campaign. Did a business receive more hits to its website, more followers on Twitter, more fans on Facebook? While trying out the latest high-tech marketing tools is fun, we must ultimately be driven by results.

The QR code experience is limited only by your imagination. The more creatively you can provide a meaningful customer experience, the more interaction your QR code campaign will enjoy.

QR codes provide metrics by tying real-world marketing (outdoor signs, magazine ads, etc.) to the mobile web. By being imaginative, purposeful and experimental with campaigns, advertisers and consumers alike can reap rich QR rewards.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, youngvet

Make sure you are maximizing the tools and potential to grow your business by taking advantage of the options available to you.

Not yet convinced Facebook is of immense value to your business marketing plans?

Consider the Facebook facts:

• Facebook has 850 Million global users. Only Asia has more Internet users than the entire user-base of Facebook
• There are 60 Billion Likes and Comments Monthly on Facebook
• 50% of Facebook users log on DAILY (425 million people!)
• The average monthly minutes spent per user on Facebook in the US is over 415.  The next nearest is Google Sites (which includes google.com, youtube.com, gmail, google maps, etc combined) at approximately 240 minutes per month

sources: M. Lazerow, Buddy Media & Comscore 2011

No other platform enables brands to empower their users to be brand evangelists like Facebook!

8 Vital Facebook Marketing Tips for Resorts and Destinations:

1. Monitor and Respond!

A study by Socialbakers recently outlined an utterly amazing statistic.  They found that a whopping 95% of Wall Posts go unanswered by Brands.  You must, I repeat, MUST, monitor and respond to posts.  I would venture that the stat should be just about flipped, you should be responding to 90-95% of all posts on your wall (we’ll let you off the hook for those ‘hidden’ area you might miss!).  It’s critical to respond.  This is like marketing to drive people into your restaurant and then ignoring them when they come in the door and never getting them to a table and offering them a menu!

Need assistance with monitoring?  Use a service like Sendible or HyperAlerts to help you monitor chatter.

2. Fill out the Info Tab meticulously!

While this is a simple tip, it is important and must not be overlooked.  Your Facebook Page Info tab offers SEO value.  It is indexed by Search Engines so make sure you complete this in detail with a focus on including your most important keywords for your products and services.

As destinations, make sure you complete your address to enable the Bing map on the page which also enables visitors to Check-in at your locale.  Check-ins are free viral sharing, so encourage this!

3. Add Custom Tabs!

You work hard to set your brand apart on your website, in your literature, and in other key marketing areas so why wouldn’t you go beyond the basics offered by Facebook for all Pages and make your Page stand apart?  At a minimum, add a custom default landing tab so that the first time visitors come to your fan page on Facebook you give them a branded experience and not just drop them off at the wall.

Custom tabs can be easily created using third-party platforms like TabSite.  These services enable you to quickly and easily add your logo, other images, and content to a landing tab on your Facebook Page.  Keep the landing tab focused and concise.  You have about 3-4 seconds to give that first impression.  Use additional tabs for things like a Product showcase,  Specials, or to bring your YouTube Channel to your fan page.

4. Engage!

This is critical to your success on Facebook.  Having a fan page is not enough, you must be active in posting and your posts need to be strategic to draw in people to comment and Like the post.  You will also want to ask opened questions, meaning ones that invite a person to comment. (Example: “What are your thoughts on our new feature, xyz?”.  Ask for the “Like” (Example: Give us a “Like” if you think our new feature is cool!).  Softer sell words have better engagment rates than pushy sales pitches as well.

5. Like-Gate (fan-gating)

This is a important tool to help boost your Facebook Page “Like” count.  Getting the “Like” is important, but more than that, this allows you to continue to communicate to the user because your Wall feed posts have opportunity to be in their Ticker and Newsfeed on their Facebook profile!

Use a third-party tool with Like-Gate or fan-gating capabilities like TabSite so you can show non-fans a specific message to help encourage them to “Like” the page.  Keep it simple, keep it clear.  Remember, the “Like” is the gateway to start your relationship engagement, not the finish line!

6. Pictures and Videos are worth more than a 1000 words!

Images and videos drive engagement up!  Research shows that “Posts including a photo album, a picture or a video generate about 180%, 120%, and 100% more engagement than the average post, respectively“. (Data from this post was sourced from the Facebook Marketing Bootcamp).
So, make sure you are using images and also short video clips if you have them.  Users can now watch videos right from their Facebook Ticker, and Facebook has also recently increased the size of the images in the Newsfeed when they are uploaded to your Page Albums.  See the size!

7. Know when to hold’em, know when to post’em

Ideal posting times vary by industry, and you need to understand that often the ideal times can be outside of the 9 to 5 work zone!  Studies have shown that the best engagement rates during the 24 hour period are between 7-8 a.m., after 4 p.m. and between 10-11 at night.

For Travel and Hospitality industries, highest engagement rates often occur on Thursday and Friday, so these are important times to plan to post.  As well, understand that too much posting can turn fans off.  5-8 posts a week, or about 1 a day can be adequate.  Use Facebook Insights to review your stats on impressions (times shown) and engagement to get a better feel of what drives the most value for your organization.

8. Capitalize on the Moment!

Particularly for destinations and resorts, when the people are there, they are happy, so get them to post!!!  This is a great marketing weapon and an asset at your doorstep, literally!  Hotels, resorts and destination locations need to key in on Facebook mobile users and offer “social photo-ops” and reminders to “check-in” and share with friends.  Locations can even consider using signs with QR codes that lead to your fan page on Facebook, making it easy for users to scan and post a picture in the moment.

So, think strategically about your opportunities to turn your Facebook fans into evangelists, and ways to turn guests into ambassadors!

What has been your experience with Facebook marketing?

What has improved your Facebook Page engagement?

3) Post relevant, interesting content but don’t spam your followers!Share content that’ll be interesting to your followers and that you believe will add value to their stream. Test out what works best for you but keep it fresh and keep it a little unpredictable. If you have great posts, people will make sure to seek you out even if you post in the middle of the night!

2. Hangouts are awesome!
From hangout concerts to a conversation between Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, we have seen a remarkable range of uses for hangouts. As a brand and a business you should be thinking about how hangouts can add value to the way you communicate with your followers. You should also be thinking about who should be hosting them on your end – it’s a great opportunity for you to show the human face of your brand/company.Host them from your page by clicking the “Start a hangout” button on the right side of your home page. Some ideas to get started with are:
- Product demos
- Customer service office hours
- Hangouts with key individuals within the company
- Hangout to share financial results
- Q&A/feedback hangouts about a product or service
- Free, public tutorials and lessons, and classes

We envision that company/brand hangouts will be more successful if they have a set topic and people know what they’re joining – so rather than ‘Company x is hanging out’, you’d share a message prior to the event ‘Company x is hanging out out to share thoughts and get questions on product y.’ Plan ahead and use this feature to come face-to-face with your customers in a new, exciting way!

3. Manage your Circles
Managed right, circles can be a great tool for ensuring that you get the right message to the right follower. For example, a clothes brand might want to send one message to their fans interested in soccer and another to their fans interesting in running. It allows you as a brand to tailor your message and increase relevance in your messaging. While we’re working on ways to help you manage circles better, there’s a number of ways, in which you can manage your circles:
Create a post that you reshare regularly; have it say something like ‘we want to make sure we get the right messages to our fans, so +1 the comments below to let us know what circles you want to be part of. Comment on your own post with a comment for each potential circle (for instance, football, soccer, running, tennis, dodgeball, and barrel rolling). People can then indicate what circle they want to be in by +1’ing that comment – you can follow up and add people to circles based on their choice
We’ve seen Pages get creative and use photos to do this as well – have them +1 the photos that refer to the circle they want to be part of
Alternatively, you can encourage people to privately message your brand with their circle preference and add them that way.

As always, we want to hear what you’re thinking and doing! Check back regularly for the latest tips and tricks about how to make your page work best for you.

What Is Google Plus And How it Works?

Google Plus is a new initiative from Google, which aims to simplify your social sharing experience and connect with people who matter to you in real life. But wait…don’t we already have Facebook, Twitter and dozens of social sharing sites already?

Yes, but Google plus takes a different approach towards social sharing, and this guy has better privacy control on the features provided.

Don’t you hate it when a random friend adds you to a stupid Facebook group? Do you go mad when you receive tons of spam mentions on Twitter? They are all public and anyone can find it via a simple search [@your_Twitter-handle]. Are you fed up with people who mass tag you in photos and videos, which really gets in the way of your social privacy? You don’t want to remove those friends from your social life, it’s just that you want to prevent them from doing the same nonsense over and over again.

Enter Google Plus – same social sharing and connections but no more fiddling with user privacy. In Google Plus, your friends or followers will have to take prior permission from you, if they want you to tag in a photo or video. There is no Wall so the question of spam links and malicious apps being posted on your profile is burned to death.

If you tag someone in a post, and share it only with him, none else can see it. Not even mutual friends !

How Circles In Google + Works

Everything in Google + works through Circles.

A Circle is an identifier for the network you create and it is visible to you only. You can create as many circles as you want, and add friends to one or more circles that you have created. No one except you will be able to see the name and visibility of your Google Plus circles.

The best thing regarding Google Plus is that Google will automatically scan your email contact list and Android contacts and suggest you people whom you might want to follow. You may add these people to your circles through a beautiful and intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

If you want to follow a celebrity or a famous person on Google Plus, simply search for his name on the search box and add him to a circle you have created. Again, this circle is visible only to you so you can safely name it anything you want.

Your Google Plus Life Stream

Your Google Plus life stream will contain updates from all the people whom you are following. This includes photos, status updates, videos and comments from people whom you have added to your Google + circles.

Filtering Updates From Specific Circles

On the right pane, you will notice that all the circles are listed one after another. Click the name of a circle and you should see the filtered life stream, containing updates from people who have been added to that particular circle only. This is super useful and helps you to stay in touch with family members, and friends, so you never miss out catching up the updates of “quiet” people among those who are highly active on Google plus.

Your Google Plus Notifications

On the top right corner of your Google plus profile, you will notice a sleek notifications button. This little kid will continue monitoring your Google plus activity and alert you whenever someone comments in a post you commented earlier, someone replies to your status update or tags you in a photo uploaded by you.

Further, you will see a brief preview of which of your friends are participating in a discussion within your circle. This is really nice and quite similar to Facebook, the only difference here is that there would be no notification like “Mr X tagged you in a photo” . Anyone who wants to tag you in a photo will have to obtain your prior permission, which is very very useful and a godsend.

Chat With Plus One Buddies Or Email Them

Every social network has an option to send instant messages to their followers and friends and Google Plus is no exception. The chat widget is placed down the bottom of right pane where you can click the name of a person and send him an instant message right away.

Contrary to Facebook and Twitter, there is no way to send private messages to your Google plus friends and contacts. Instead, there is a handy option called “Email’ placed right below the profile photo of your Google Plus friend, click it and you can send a private message directly to his email inbox.

Please note that your friends can choose whether he wants to allow you to send him an email or not. In some profiles, you may not find the “Email Me” option, this is because the person has customized his email settings to suit his needs.

Controlling Email Notifications

For all your Google Plus activity, you will receive email notifications to the email address you used to sign up for Google Plus. Individual notification settings can be toggled from the notifications page

Google plus In Android

Android users can install the official Google plus application using this link. Here are some screenshots of Google plus application for Android [thanks Sathya]

There are a lot of other tips and tricks for Google plus which you should learn. We are still digging out more features, settings and shortcuts for Google plus, come back soon!

1. You Can +1 a Page to Show Support or Add Them to Your Circles

We know you love some brands and businesses. Others you may want to show a quick note of support, but not see all their updates. So just drop a little +1 and keep going, or add a page to any circle you want. You’re in control.

2. No Google+ Page Can Follow You Until You Follow Them

We want Google+ to be a place you love to share. Pages cannot circle you until you follow them first. Of course, if you are in their circles, they can share great deals, exclusive coupons, product tips and hangouts, but the relationship is yours to start.

3. In Fact, Google+ Pages Can’t Even Mention You Unless You’re Connected

That’s right. The +Google+ page can’t even say your name unless you’re following. No +mention spam.

4. Google+ Pages Automatically Unfollow You If You Unfollow Them

If you remove a Google+ Page from your circles, you are automatically removed from their circles. You always are in charge.

5. You Can Find Google+ Pages In Google Search

With a new feature we call Direct Connect, just type + followed by the brand name in Google Search, and you can see pages automatically display. Type +Pepsi to see Pepsi, and +Dell for Dell. It’s that easy.

We’re very excited about the great work we’ve seen with Google+ Pages so far. So many amazing companies are here, and you can see from all the work we’ve done that we want your experience on Google+ to remain a fantastic one.

Once all of the virtual wires are connected, these services are extremely user-friendly, allowing anyone with a bit of web knowledge to become the “system administrator” for their office.

Follow the steps below, and you’ll be on your way to a customizable and scalable business infrastructure that lives where your employees do: in the cloud.

1. The Master Key: Your Google Account

Create a free consumer-level Google account (essentially, a Gmail address) that you’ll use to administer your business domain.

This could be your existing Gmail address, but if you already have other Google products connected to this account (YouTube, Docs, Blogger, etc.), we recommend creating a new profile –yourbusinessname@gmail.com, for example.

Note that for the purposes of this tutorial, this will not be the e-mail address that you’ll be using to conduct business and correspond with clients. Consider it the “Master Key” account, which you will use to access the rest of your domain. Be sure to choose a strong but memorable password.

2. Create a Blogger Site

Head over to blogger.com. Log in with your “Master” Google account, and you’ll have the opportunity to create a blog on this popular Google-owned platform. Using a blog as your company website has a number of advantages:

• The platform is free.
• The backend is easy to use, so anyone can update or change it.
• Your data can be accessed from any web browser, as opposed to more complicated FTP software.
• Custom templates can get your site looking good even if you don’t have web design experience.
• Integrating elements from your business’s social media presence is a breeze.

This blog will eventually become your business website, so title it with your company’s name. The blog URL is less important because we will be mapping it to your custom domain in the next step, but for consistency, create yourbusinessname.blogspot.com, if available.

Choose the default template for now (we’ll be customizing it later). Once you’ve set up the blog, you’ll be taken to the Dashboard, which is where you can start creating content for the site.

You’ll have to decide: Do you want a traditional informational business site (with pages, links, etc.)? Or do you want to keep the blog format and create content on a regular basis? We urge you to choose the latter – business blogging is one of the best ways to distinguish yourself in any field or industry. If you decide to stick with this format, you’re off and running. Experiment with your content and layout, and skip ahead for some resources on finding the perfect template design.

If you’ve decided to stick with a more classic site layout without the blogging format for content creation, you can still utilize the Blogger content management system (CMS). Simply create one blog post that will serve as your home page. Title it accordingly, and add information about your business.

In your dashboard, choose “Design.” The “Page Elements” screen is where you can manage and rearrange the items that appear on your site. In the box labeled “Blog Posts,” click “Edit” to bring up a list of settings. Since you will only be creating one blog post to act as your home page, uncheck all the items on the “Post Page Options” list. This will remove things like the date, time, and sharing options, and format the entry like a simple page, rather than a post. As this will be your only entry, it will always appear on your home page.

To create static pages (About Us, Contact Us, etc.), click the “Posting” tab and then select “Edit Pages.” Pages are formatted like posts, but will not appear as part of the blog feed. Instead, they can be arranged like traditional navigation links at the top of your site. You can also configure the order in which they appear, and whether certain pages are visibly linked in this navigation.

Note that Blogger utilizes Picasa to host images. You can upload post images and business header logos directly through the Blogger interface, but if you want to manage your images more directly bookmark the Picasa Web Albums site, and simply log in with your master Google account to see the Blogger album(s).

3. Design Your Site

Now for the fun part. You don’t have to be a web designer to build a great looking blog. There are plenty of free template resources available, particularly for the Blogger platform.

We’ve previously highlighted some of our favorites, many of which are clean and versatile — perfect for business use. Additional quality templates can be found on these sites:

• Deluxe Templates
• BTemplates
• Templates Block

You’ll need to download the template XML file and upload it to your blog. Under the “Design” tab, choose “Edit HTML.” This is an area where advanced users can make more specific tweaks. For now, you can upload the template of your choice by selecting the downloaded file and hitting “Upload.” This will change the look and layout of your site, but the content itself (Posts, Pages, etc.) will be unchanged.

Note that templates utilize different layouts and page elements. Changing or altering your template will never erase your content, but it may arrange it in a way that’s undesirable. You should always download a backup copy of your current XML template before installing a new one. That way, you can revert back to it if something goes awry.

As you become more familiar with how templates and blog elements work, you may want to do some further customization by tweaking the XML and HTML in your layouts and posts.

4. Register and Map Your Custom Domain With Google Apps

Now for the overhead cost. A whopping $10 will allow you to register your custom domain through Google with one of its registrar partners. Domain registration should be a top priority for all businesses these days, and setting up shop with Google offers the added benefit of its integrated apps — an e-mail, calendar and document system identical to the free products on the web, but which operate within your custom domain.

From your Blogger dashboard, click “Settings,” then “Publishing.” Currently, you’re publishing on the “Blogspot” domain, but click the link that says “Switch to: Custom Domain.” This will take you through the process of checking your domain’s availability and making the purchase with a credit card. Because you are doing this directly through your Blogger account, the system will map your site to the new domain name automatically — no DNS manipulation is required.

Once you’ve registered yourbusinessname.com, you’ll have the opportunity to set up your employees’ accounts — up to 50 of them, as needed. Explore the administrator backend to find out what other settings and features might be useful for your company’s workflow.

Conclusion

You’re off and running with a complete, cloud-based business infrastructure that you can customize and administer from any browser with one Google account and password. As you begin to experiment with more online content, your master Google account connects you to a host of other useful products like YouTube, Google Voice, and AdWords — all of which can easily be integrated on your site, and all “live under one roof,” so to speak.

For $10 and a bit of DIY time investment, this is a small business web solution that’s certainly worth experimenting with. If you give it a shot, let us know if it meets your needs in the comments below.

There’s little doubt that a custom-designed and developed website is ideal for business. A trained professional can help you optimize your site for good search engine rankings, custom-tailor the look and feel to appeal to your target audience, reinforce your company’s image and ensure that your content is easily accessible and the user experience enjoyable. However, large web-development budgets often just aren’t possible, particularly for small businesses or entrepreneurs who are just getting started. In these cases, a number of web services exist to allow you to grow your company’s presence online, often in just minutes. We’ll take a look at five of them below.

1. Squarespace

 

 

One of the most popular of these services is Squarespace. With subscription prices ranging from $12 to $36 per month, you can create an entire website for not much more than you would pay for basic shared hosting. All Squarespace accounts include hosting, the Squarespace content management system, the visual designer tools and access to widgets and add-ons to incorporate into your site. You can also use your own domain name with all levels of Squarespace accounts. Larger plans give you room for more pages, more bandwidth, more management staff and access to advanced features like FAQs, SSL, form builders and member registration.

One thing we really like about Squarespace is its visual designer. You can choose from available themes or create and customize your own, either via user-friendly point and click, or by directly editing the theme CSS files.

2. Weebly

 

 

For those of you on a really small budget (or who just like the idea of getting something for free), Weebly is an entirely free service that will have you up and running on the web in no time. For the price (or lack thereof), Weebly’s feature set is quite impressive. You’ll be able to use your own domain name and choose from more than 100 professional themes, which can then be further customized via the theme editor. Weebly also has gallery/slide show functionality, audio and video players, a custom form builder and built-in blogging platform.

The company has been around for five years and gets revenue from several paid subscription plans and is backed by one of the largest VC firms around, so it’s safe to say Weebly will be a player for a while.

3. Jigsy

 

 

Jigsy is another easy-to-use website builder offering hosted plans for businesses and individuals alike. Jigsy’s plans range from free (ad-supported, with limited functionality) to $30 per month, and all paid plans will actually let you host multiple websites from the same account. Jigsy also has a powerful blogging platform and utilizes a widget-based system for expanding and adding functionality to the sites. Widgets are available for features like Google maps integration, RSS feeds, PayPal and eBay selling and more. Jigsy also offers tools for easily creating photo galleries and slide shows.

Further, Jigsy allows you to customize the layout and look of your site via the website builder, and unlike some other services listed here, it also handles email hosting.

4. SnapPages

 

 

If you feel a bit intimidated by the thought of having to manage and customize your own CSS files or widget code, SnapPages is a drag-and-drop website builder and hosted service provider that aims to make website creation as simple as a few clicks. Many themes are available and, like similar services, each is customizable. Features for all plans include a blogging platform, photo galleries, calendars and basic access control via a “friends” list. Plans range from free to $30 per month, much like Jigsy.

With the paid plans ($8 or $30), you’ll be able to host your own domain name, add your own custom HTML and JavaScript code, gain access to powerful analytics and control various SEO options. SnapPages’ top-tier plan is intended for developers and will allow you to do all of this, as well as manage multiple accounts, track projects and create invoices, so you can use SnapPages to build sites for your network or clients.

5. Yola

 

 

Last, but not least, Yola is another web site creation service offering free and paid plans (from $99 to $499 per year). With more than 100 themes to choose from and customization options via Yola’s site builder, you’ll be able to easily create a website that’s just right for your business. Other features include analytics and traffic statistics, premium styles and multi-site hosting.

If you spring for Yola Premier (the $499 per year plan), Yola will also throw in one-on-one consultation with professional designers, and both paid plans include advertising credits on popular ad platforms like Facebookand Google AdWords.

What other website-building platforms have you tried? Let us know in the comments.

Soon, the startup will be incorporating daily deals from partners such as Groupon, LivingSocial, Gilt Groupe and others into its product.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Foursquare co-founder and CEO Dennis Crowley stated the company would be passing on daily coupons from these marketing partners to the service’s users — and taking a cut of the revenue along the way.

“We are trying to see if our targeting works and how users will react,” Crowley told the Journal.

Currently, Foursquare partners directly with around half a million merchants, many of them small and medium-sized businesses, who use the service as a marketing medium. Through these accounts, merchants are able to deliver specials, including discounts and freebies, to users who check in at their locations.

However, merchants don’t pay for the privilege, and Foursquare makes no money from these merchant-initiated specials.

Foursquare recently passed the 10 million user milestone. The startup also raised a $50 million Series C just last month.