We've probably all heard of "viral marketing," but perhaps it would be better to instead think about going "bacterial." See, viruses are inherently destructive, while some bacteria are actually helpful.

A small business owner answers the question: why should small business owners care about social media? He's got some great real-world examples of why blogging, twittering and other online social strategies are a good fit for small businesses.

From the article: "I find the colloquialism 'You must join the conversation' a tired phrase legacy of 2006. It’s overused, oversold, thrown around and just not accurate." So, how do the people you're trying to reach interact with the web?

Dire warnings about insidious subliminal messages contained in popular music. (Be sure to read with your sense of humor intact and fully operational!)

It's a whole new world out there for political campaigners. Starting PPC ad campaigns in the USA in the traditional August/September timeframe doesn't make sense. Campaigns need to build up history and quality score *before* then to be most effective.

From the article: If you have any doubt that the 1970s were a confused, disturbing time, just look at what they were doing with Jell-O brand gelatin dessert.

If you're contemplating social media marketing, your customers deserve honesty. Big companies such as Walmart and Sony can survive debacles involving phony blogs or other deceptions, but smaller companies may not have that luxury.

Cost of this easy marketing idea: less than one dollar. Value of the free publicity: priceless. Small businesses everywhere could learn from this. Brand enhancement, repeat business, free PR. And it's super simple to do. Doesn't get any better than that!

After time, continued SEO on a site can lead to poor user experience, especially if multiple people (with multiple specialties) are working on the site. Sometimes it pays to step back and take a fresh look at the overall impression the site gives.

The traffic enjoyed by social media communities creates financial incentives for bad actors who want to hijack traffic for their own purposes. Online marketers have a responsibility to protect their own brand and not poison the well for everyone else.