internet marketing

Your awkward family photos already make for hilarious comedic relief on the popular blog Awkward Family Photos. Beginning today, those photos will also score you at least 33.3% off your next family vacay to Orlando and potentially much more, as Virgin America has partnered with the meme blog to promote its upcoming new service to Orlando.

Virgin America is encouraging families to upload their most awkward photos to Awkward Family Photos (AFP) for a chance to win four roundtrip tickets to anywhere the airline flies. Submissions will be accepted via AFP and Virgin America’s Facebook Page through Oct 5, at which time the 20 most uncomfortable finalists will be selected and put to a public vote.

AFP voters will decide on the winner of that prize, but one California entrant will also be handpicked by Virgin America and AFP to win an Orlando family getaway including flights and accommodations. “The winners will be whisked in style from Los Angeles onboard Virgin America’s celebratory flight and greeted on arrival in Orlando at a red carpet welcome party hosted by Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson,” according to the announcement.

The grand prizes are enticing, but even if your family’s awkwardness is not the most awkward of all (perhaps a good sign), you can still get the 33.3% family discount (for parties of three to six people) on a Virgin America Orlando flight. The same discount applies to Awkward Family Photos lookie loos who vote on their favorite submissions.

Prizes aside, the Virgin America Orlando promotion is quite interesting given the airline’s unorthodox choice for a contest partner. Instead of a Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter or class='blippr-nobr'>Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook-driven campaign, Virgin America is opting to partner with a niche blog for a specialized purpose.

AFP, like many other many meme-oriented blogs and viral sensations, survives by making money through advertising, online stores and book sales. When Internet users vote with their attention, a meme is born. Virgin America appears to see opportunity in affiliating their brand name with an online pop culture phenomena, potentially paving the way for more big brand meme partnerships to come.

At the end of the day, the AFP photo contest is an interesting twist to social advertising and promotion norms that celebrates and supports class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet memes — what an awkwardly appropriate way to launch a new city.

Image courtesy of Awkward Family Photos

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Ten years ago, we identified ourselves online with handles, and anonymity ruled the web. It was not unusual to correspond with “Jetsfan77″ or “HikingGirl_06.” The idea of having all your information attached to your name — your real name — seemed crazy. As we’ve moved away from handles, using our legal monikers has ushered in an era of more authenticity and accountability on the web.

And as distinguishing your identity across the web becomes increasingly important, it has also become increasingly difficult. With almost 30% of the world’s 6.7 billion person population using the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet today, there are bound to be many of them who share the same name.

There are 149 other “Sarah Kesslers” on Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook. Twenty-six of us have Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter accounts, 93 of us use MySpaceclass="blippr-nobr">MySpace, and 78 of us are Linkedinclass="blippr-nobr">LinkedIn. Staking out digital territory across the web, needless to say, has been difficult. And my name isn’t even among the most common.

In a world where almost 80% of hiring managers Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google job candidates, it’s important to make sure that the people looking you up find you and not someone else with your namesake.

This importance became clear to Pete Kistler when he figured out that he was being turned down for jobs because he shared a name and age bracket with an ex-convict. To help others like him, he started Brand-Yourself, a personal online reputation management service. We caught up with the site’s Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Ambron for his advice on staking out an online identity when there’s competition for your name.

1. Register Available Domain Names

Domain names are important. So important, in fact, that a largely abandoned WordPressclass="blippr-nobr">WordPress blog that uses my name in the title is currently the first search result for my name.

Ambron says that claiming your domain name is the first and most important thing that you can do to make yourself more visible in a Google search. Claim your name on whatever domains are available. Even if you don’t plan to use yourname.co, .info, .net or .mobi, you’ll be preventing other people who share your name from using those domains to compete with you for search result status.

“Google loves the domain name,” Ambron says. “It’s a powerful indication that site is going to be about you.”

2. Mention Yourself on Your Website

It might feel weird to talk about yourself in the third person, but labeling your website’s tabs with your name can give you an advantage in search results.

“This is called keyword density,” Ambron says. “When Google spiders index a site, they look to see how often certain words are used to determine what the site should rank. If your content never mentions your name, how will spiders know it’s about you?”

Even though you might be thinking, “of course it’s [your name]’s bio. Who else’s bio would be on my site?” it’s important to use your full name so that search engines recognize that the site is about you when someone searches for your name.

3. Link to All of Your Content

“ considers each link to your site a vote for the site,” Ambron says. “Google has gotten pretty smart, so where those links come from is very important. The more reputable links are better votes. A vote from CNN is better than some site you made that you just linked to yourself.”

Fortunately, as an individual, there are an abundance of opportunities for you to create links to your site from reputable sources in the form of profiles. A vote from your friend’s website might not count for a lot, but a vote from Facebook will be counted as much more reputable.

Sign up for as many directories and social sites as possible, and make sure to link them all together. One tip that Brand-Yourself advocates is to locate profiles where your name is still available. You can also locate and reserve your name across the web using one of these websites.

“Even if you don’t plan on using all those social sites, and there are plenty of them, it’s good to grab them up,” Ambron says. “It’s good that you’re keeping someone else from using them with your name and contributing to their results.”

4. Create Content and Get Social

“Google loves updated content,” Ambron says. “And the fastest way for an individual to have updated content is to have a social profile that they use.”

One easy way to make sure your blog is always updated, for instance, is to integrate your Twitter account’s RSS feed. Every time you tweet, you’ll update your blog and improve its prominence in search results.

“If you have a blog post that you put on your site, Facebook and Twitter, and five people Like it and share it,” Ambron says, “that’s five credible links from Facebook and from Twitter to your site.“

Do you have a digital doppelganger who has caused confusion in your life? Tell us about it in the comments below.

More Personal Branding Resources from Mashable:

- 7 Services to Find and Reserve Your Name Across the Web/> - 5 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Personal Brand Online/> - 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Social Media Identity/> - HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube/> - HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, carrollphoto, fitzer

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

A Teary Emanuel Gets Dead Fish At White House Send-off - Political <b>...</b>

At the 8:30 staff meeting in the Roosevelt Room this morning, departing chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was given a gift by Council of Economic Advisers chair Austan Goolsbee: a dead Asian carp. Political Punch Blog.

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Data journalism trainer and writer Paul Bradshaw explains how to get started in data journalism, from getting to the data to visualising it • Guardian data editor Simon Rogers explains how our data journalism…

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Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

eric seiger do skin and vein center

Your awkward family photos already make for hilarious comedic relief on the popular blog Awkward Family Photos. Beginning today, those photos will also score you at least 33.3% off your next family vacay to Orlando and potentially much more, as Virgin America has partnered with the meme blog to promote its upcoming new service to Orlando.

Virgin America is encouraging families to upload their most awkward photos to Awkward Family Photos (AFP) for a chance to win four roundtrip tickets to anywhere the airline flies. Submissions will be accepted via AFP and Virgin America’s Facebook Page through Oct 5, at which time the 20 most uncomfortable finalists will be selected and put to a public vote.

AFP voters will decide on the winner of that prize, but one California entrant will also be handpicked by Virgin America and AFP to win an Orlando family getaway including flights and accommodations. “The winners will be whisked in style from Los Angeles onboard Virgin America’s celebratory flight and greeted on arrival in Orlando at a red carpet welcome party hosted by Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson,” according to the announcement.

The grand prizes are enticing, but even if your family’s awkwardness is not the most awkward of all (perhaps a good sign), you can still get the 33.3% family discount (for parties of three to six people) on a Virgin America Orlando flight. The same discount applies to Awkward Family Photos lookie loos who vote on their favorite submissions.

Prizes aside, the Virgin America Orlando promotion is quite interesting given the airline’s unorthodox choice for a contest partner. Instead of a Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter or class='blippr-nobr'>Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook-driven campaign, Virgin America is opting to partner with a niche blog for a specialized purpose.

AFP, like many other many meme-oriented blogs and viral sensations, survives by making money through advertising, online stores and book sales. When Internet users vote with their attention, a meme is born. Virgin America appears to see opportunity in affiliating their brand name with an online pop culture phenomena, potentially paving the way for more big brand meme partnerships to come.

At the end of the day, the AFP photo contest is an interesting twist to social advertising and promotion norms that celebrates and supports class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet memes — what an awkwardly appropriate way to launch a new city.

Image courtesy of Awkward Family Photos

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Ten years ago, we identified ourselves online with handles, and anonymity ruled the web. It was not unusual to correspond with “Jetsfan77″ or “HikingGirl_06.” The idea of having all your information attached to your name — your real name — seemed crazy. As we’ve moved away from handles, using our legal monikers has ushered in an era of more authenticity and accountability on the web.

And as distinguishing your identity across the web becomes increasingly important, it has also become increasingly difficult. With almost 30% of the world’s 6.7 billion person population using the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet today, there are bound to be many of them who share the same name.

There are 149 other “Sarah Kesslers” on Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook. Twenty-six of us have Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter accounts, 93 of us use MySpaceclass="blippr-nobr">MySpace, and 78 of us are Linkedinclass="blippr-nobr">LinkedIn. Staking out digital territory across the web, needless to say, has been difficult. And my name isn’t even among the most common.

In a world where almost 80% of hiring managers Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google job candidates, it’s important to make sure that the people looking you up find you and not someone else with your namesake.

This importance became clear to Pete Kistler when he figured out that he was being turned down for jobs because he shared a name and age bracket with an ex-convict. To help others like him, he started Brand-Yourself, a personal online reputation management service. We caught up with the site’s Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Ambron for his advice on staking out an online identity when there’s competition for your name.

1. Register Available Domain Names

Domain names are important. So important, in fact, that a largely abandoned WordPressclass="blippr-nobr">WordPress blog that uses my name in the title is currently the first search result for my name.

Ambron says that claiming your domain name is the first and most important thing that you can do to make yourself more visible in a Google search. Claim your name on whatever domains are available. Even if you don’t plan to use yourname.co, .info, .net or .mobi, you’ll be preventing other people who share your name from using those domains to compete with you for search result status.

“Google loves the domain name,” Ambron says. “It’s a powerful indication that site is going to be about you.”

2. Mention Yourself on Your Website

It might feel weird to talk about yourself in the third person, but labeling your website’s tabs with your name can give you an advantage in search results.

“This is called keyword density,” Ambron says. “When Google spiders index a site, they look to see how often certain words are used to determine what the site should rank. If your content never mentions your name, how will spiders know it’s about you?”

Even though you might be thinking, “of course it’s [your name]’s bio. Who else’s bio would be on my site?” it’s important to use your full name so that search engines recognize that the site is about you when someone searches for your name.

3. Link to All of Your Content

“ considers each link to your site a vote for the site,” Ambron says. “Google has gotten pretty smart, so where those links come from is very important. The more reputable links are better votes. A vote from CNN is better than some site you made that you just linked to yourself.”

Fortunately, as an individual, there are an abundance of opportunities for you to create links to your site from reputable sources in the form of profiles. A vote from your friend’s website might not count for a lot, but a vote from Facebook will be counted as much more reputable.

Sign up for as many directories and social sites as possible, and make sure to link them all together. One tip that Brand-Yourself advocates is to locate profiles where your name is still available. You can also locate and reserve your name across the web using one of these websites.

“Even if you don’t plan on using all those social sites, and there are plenty of them, it’s good to grab them up,” Ambron says. “It’s good that you’re keeping someone else from using them with your name and contributing to their results.”

4. Create Content and Get Social

“Google loves updated content,” Ambron says. “And the fastest way for an individual to have updated content is to have a social profile that they use.”

One easy way to make sure your blog is always updated, for instance, is to integrate your Twitter account’s RSS feed. Every time you tweet, you’ll update your blog and improve its prominence in search results.

“If you have a blog post that you put on your site, Facebook and Twitter, and five people Like it and share it,” Ambron says, “that’s five credible links from Facebook and from Twitter to your site.“

Do you have a digital doppelganger who has caused confusion in your life? Tell us about it in the comments below.

More Personal Branding Resources from Mashable:

- 7 Services to Find and Reserve Your Name Across the Web/> - 5 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Personal Brand Online/> - 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Social Media Identity/> - HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube/> - HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, carrollphoto, fitzer

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

A Teary Emanuel Gets Dead Fish At White House Send-off - Political <b>...</b>

At the 8:30 staff meeting in the Roosevelt Room this morning, departing chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was given a gift by Council of Economic Advisers chair Austan Goolsbee: a dead Asian carp. Political Punch Blog.

How to be a data journalist | <b>News</b> | guardian.co.uk

Data journalism trainer and writer Paul Bradshaw explains how to get started in data journalism, from getting to the data to visualising it • Guardian data editor Simon Rogers explains how our data journalism…

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

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