One of my clients is using Facebook to manage their online brand and customer relationships. As part of this process they searched Facebook for clients and sent them each a “Friend Request”.

As time went on, my client discovered the “People You May Know” box on the left. Many of the recommendations indicated that they had 20 or more “Friends” in common with, until now, strangers. They clicked Add and were able to establish new connections.

The problem was that not everyone responded to their “Friend Request” and over time the number of “Pending Friend Requests” in their account exceeded 100. I believe 100 to be the number that triggers a Penalty. It’s a soft Penalty, but restricts your ability to add people that are not part of your network. In other words, those whom you don’t have “Friends” in common.  Now the client needed to reduce the number of “Pending Friend Request”.

How to do this easily manage “Pending Friend” Request.  Just do the following.

Go to Account ->  Edit Friends -> Search “Friend Request Pending” ->  Click the X to the right of Add to List to remove the request.

Here is a narrative version:

1. First go to “Account”, Then click “Edit Friends”.
2. Now a list of all “Friends”, including those that are “Pending” will appear.
3. Use your keyboard and do a Control F to trigger an on-page Search. Type in “Friend Request Pending”.
4. You will pop to the person that is “Pending”.
5. Now, just click the “X” to the right of “Add to List” to remove the request.

Hope you find it interesting.

Managing your personal brand, without having your own website.

• Deciding on your brand.
• The elevator pitch: I am an Internet Strategist: I help businesses utilize the Internet to reach new customers.
• Personal Brand: By day, I work to assure my community’s health and wellness though implementation of county policy and good fiscal management. On my own time, I work with community members one on one to help them accomplish goals or overcome obstacles.
• Unifying your Message.
  • What you write
  • The pictures you post
  • The connections you make
  • The links you recommend
  • Basic SEO
    • Picking your forums
      • Facebook – Linkedin.com
      • WordPress.com – Blogger.com
      • Flickr – picasaweb.google.com
      • Youtube
• Create Placeholder accounts
  • Add 100 Accounts where you only have a profile and a link them to your forum sites. 10 links to all, the remainder to your primary forum
  • When you set up the forum profile, you will be able to add a link along with your bio. Vary this link as needed. If you can add three. Add three
  • Add pictures , video and  articles your top six
• Start interacting with the community you have chosen
• Visit each primary site at least once a month and add something
• Visit your primary site at least once a  week and add something
• Use Twitter to notify your community of new content.

I had a problem accessing my client Google Analytic portal this morning. I have common access to most under a single email address. It makes it a lot easier than having to use the client’s gmail account every time I need to update reports. Anyway, I could not get in to the accounts through my gmail account. I kept getting this message “Error Has Been Detected Message”. When I used my other master account, no problem.

After a bit of searching I came across a note from one of the folks at Google. Go to the link below and you will be able to add your email address to the team’s “fix it” list.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pKyhdPcaY98d84kyJhdBELg

When you arrive at this address above, you will see the message below. Hope this helps

Error Has Been Detected Message

Use 3 to 4 word descriptions. Remember, the purpose is to have the graphic described by a “text to speech page reader”. This is designed to help those that are visually disabled utilize and fully understand your content. The SEO value is neutral. Do it for the right reason. Don’t do it correctly and there could be a penalty.  If your site falls under the rules governing Section 508, and you fail to do this correctly, there may also be an action from the Department of Justice.  http://www.ada.gov/websites2.htm to learn more about ADA compliance.

Organic  Search Engine rankings (free) are achieved due to a combination of On-Page and Off-Page SEO.

Search Engines are increasingly giving more importance to the off-page factors in determining rankings.  In order to calculate what efforts need to be done to compete for a given search term, the first step is conducting a Search Engine Optimization Evaluation.

I can conduct a full examination of your site including review of the sites meta tags, keyword relevance and density, tags, meta titles and overall coding structure of your site.  This includes a complete “on page” SEO review and a technical analysis of your related technology.  I will provide you with a full report of the results of this evaluation.

Nearly five million people see Grand Canyon each year. Most of them see it from overlooks along the South Rim, including Grand Canyon Village, Hermits Rest Road, and Desert View Drive. The South Rim, 60 miles/97 km north of Williams and 80 miles/129 km northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona, is the most accessible part of the park and is open all year.

A much smaller number of people see the canyon from the North Rim, which lies just 10 miles/16 km (as the raven flies) directly across from the South Rim. The North Rim rises 1000 feet/305 m higher than the South Rim and is much less accessible. Heavy snows close the North Rim from mid-October to mid-May each year. Even in good weather the North Rim is harder to get to. It lies 220 miles/354 km by car from the South Rim, or 21 miles/34 km by foot across the canyon by way of the North and South Kaibab Trails.

The Inner Canyon includes everything below the rim and is seen mainly by hikers, mule riders, and river rafters. Many opportunities exist here for adventurous and hardy persons who want to backpack, ride a mule to Phantom Ranch, or take a river trip down the Colorado River.

How do people get across the Colorado River within Grand Canyon? The South Kaibab Trail crosses the river on a narrow suspension bridge 70 feet/21 m above the water. Only one way across the canyon is accessible by automobile – the Navajo Bridge, located downstream from Lees Ferry, where the canyon is only 400 feet/122 m wide.

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At Grand Canyon 75 species of mammals, 50 species of reptiles and amphibians, 25 species of fish, and over 300 species of birds exist.

The South Rim of Grand Canyon lies on the edge of a high plateau whose gray-green forests stand out in sharp contrast to the arid lands below the rim. From here the cliffs drop 5000 feet/1524 m to the Colorado River, crossing several biotic zones in the process. It is a landscape characterized by abundant sunshine, extremes of temperature, and long periods of drought punctuated by torrential downpours in summer and snow in winter. The soil is thin; bedrock lies just a few inches below the surface. The competition for moisture in this dry land is keen.

On the rim at elevations above 7000 feet/2134 m, ponderosa pine is the dominant tree in the forest. Below 7000 feet/2134 m, pinyon pine and Utah juniper are the dominant trees. Gambel oak is another common member of the forest. The trees are interspersed with drought-resistant shrubs like cliffrose, fernbush, and serviceberry. Warm, sunny areas along the rim may be home to desert plants like banana yucca and claretcup cactus.

Below the rim, it’s another world. The temperature within the inner canyon can be as much as 30 degrees F/18 degrees C higher than temperatures on the rim. Summertime highs along the Colorado River can reach 120 degrees F/49 degrees C. Much of the inner canyon is considered desert, excluding the areas along the river and tributary streams which have rich riparian (streamside) habitat. Much of the vegetation in the inner canyon is typical of that found in deserts to the south: cacti and drought-resistant shrubs. Riparian plants include thickets of willow and tamarisk.

The park is home to a wide variety of animals. Mule deer are common throughout the park and are the mammals most commonly seen on the rim. Desert bighorn inhabit the remote slopes of the inner canyon but are occasionally seen on established trails. Bobcats and coyotes range from rim to river, and a small population of mountain lions exists in the park. Among the smaller mammals that inhabit Grand Canyon are ringtails (closely related to raccoons), beavers, gophers, chipmunks, several varieties of squirrels, rabbits and bats. Reptiles and amphibians are represented by a wide variety of lizards, snakes (including the unique Grand Canyon “pink” rattlesnake), turtles, frogs, toads and salamanders. Hundreds of species of birds make their home in the park, along with countless insects and arachnids (spiders and scorpions).

Grand Canyon National Park is home to a number of threatened and endangered species. The native Colorado River fish have suffered as a result of the dramatic changes in water volume, temperature and sediment load since the completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. These fish include the Colorado squawfish, humpback chub, and bonytail chub. Several species of endangered birds make Grand Canyon home, including the peregrine falcon, bald eagle, and willow flycatcher. A number of endangered plants can also be found in the park, including. More and more, protected lands like Grand Canyon National Park provide a refuge for plants and animals that are under increasing pressure elsewhere.

Grand Canyon attracts the attention of the world for many reasons, but perhaps its greatest significance lies in the geologic record preserved and exposed here. The rocks at Grand Canyon are not inherently unique. Similar rocks are found throughout the world. What is unique about the geologic record at Grand Canyon is the variety of rocks present, the clarity with which they are exposed, and the complex geologic story they tell.

Two separate geologic stories exist at Grand Canyon. The older story is the one revealed in the thick sequence of rocks exposed in the walls of the canyon. These rocks provide a remarkable record of the Paleozoic Era (550-250 million years ago). Scattered remnants of Precambrian rocks as old as 2000 million years can also be found at the bottom of the canyon. The story these rocks tell is far older than the canyon itself. Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks (250 million years old to the present) are largely missing at Grand Canyon. They have either been worn away or were never deposited.

The second geologic story at Grand Canyon concerns the origin of the canyon itself: when and how did it come to be? On one level the answer is simple: Grand Canyon is an erosional feature that owes its existence to the Colorado River. Of equal importance are the forces of erosion that have shaped and continue to shape the canyon today. These include running water from rain, snowmelt, and tributary streams which enter the canyon throughout its length. The climate at Grand Canyon is classified as semi-arid. The South Rim receives 15 inches/38 cm of precipitation each year. The bottom of the canyon receives 8 inches/20 cm. The rain comes suddenly in violent storms, particularly in the late summer of each year. The power of erosion is therefore more evident here than in other places which receive more rain.

Grand Canyon owes its distinctive shape to the different rock layers in the canyon walls. Each responds to erosion in a different way: some form slopes, some form cliffs, some erode more quickly than others. The vivid colors of many of these layers are due mainly to small amounts of various minerals. Most contain iron, which imparts subtle shades of red, yellow, and green to the canyon walls. Climate plays an important role in the appearance of the canyon. If there was a higher amount of precipitation at Grand Canyon, the plants and trees that grow here would be very different. The canyon walls might be covered with lush vegetation, rather than the cacti and shrubs growing there today.

How old is the canyon itself? The early history and evolution of the Colorado River (of which Grand Canyon is only a part) is the most complex aspect of Grand Canyon geology. We know that the erosion which has shaped the canyon has occurred only in the past five to six million years. This is only yesterday, considering the age of the rocks through which the river has carved.

Grand Canyon continues to grow and change. As long as rain and snow continue to fall in northern Arizona, the forces of erosion will continue to shape Grand Canyon.