1. The launch of Google+, a competitor to Facebook
2. The update of the social media revolution video series by Erik Qualman; and
3. Our thoughts regarding what may be considered a social media bubble.

Google+

Pete talks about his experience using Google+ and Mark discusses his impressions based on articles he has read. Overall, they agree that you shouldn’t discount the social media effort by Google, even though previous efforts (as in Wave and Buzz) have been less than spectacular.

Pete points out that one thing Google has going for it is for many people, Google already houses their electronic address database. Adding a social networking element like Facebook to an existing set of Gmail contacts – where you know who your top 20 emailed contacts are, and so much more data – is easier than developing your social network from scratch on a new social media platform. But of course, Facebook has volume with some 600-million-and-counting users.

Mark and Pete discuss the ability in Google+ to create circles and assign contacts to specific spheres of influence, like college, neighborhood, friends, church, etc. This functionality is nice and user friendly.

For a 10 minute video overview of Google+, we recommend this video from Jason Falls.

Social Media Revolution 3

The author of Socialnomics, Erik Qualman, has recently released an updated video documenting social media’s rapid growth and acceptance. You can check the video out on YouTube.

A Social Media Bubble

For all the talk of social media tools, there remains talk of return on investment.

With recent IPOs Mark asks the question: “Are we putting too much value on social media?”

Mark and Pete discuss the social media trend of these last few years and what the future may hold.

We Added Music

Here we are more than a year into our podcast and we’re finally adding something we’ve missed – music!

Funny how we counsel others on how to create a professional podcast and are slow at taking our own advice. What can we say? We’ve been busy.

We extend a special thank you to Pete’s friend, Tyler Castleton, for contributing the theme music for the Online PR Podcast.

Join the Conversation

What do you think?

Have you already received a Google+ invite? Have you experimented with it? What are your impressions?

Do you like the soundtrack used for the new Social Media Revolution 3 video?

What do you think about the idea of a social media bubble?

We’d love to hear from you.

Image via Mashable

This week they address the state of the Online PR Podcast – lessons learned and rationale for continuing the podcast, Google’s Panda update to its search engine, and recent IPO news from LinkedIn along with rumors of a Facebook IPO in early 2012.

About this Podcast

Although it was March when the last Online PR Podcast episode was published, Pete and Mark have discussed the podcast and scheduled and re-scheduled times to record the next podcast. The good news is both of them have been so busy that is has been difficult finding time to schedule the podcast. That’s the bad news as well.

Looking back, however, both Mark and Pete recognize the value of the podcast in maintaining a firm grasp on current trends and issues. They both feel that although it may take some commitment to schedule time to get together and record Online PR Podcast episodes, the time spent is well worth it.

So, the good news for listeners is that we plan to continue the podcast, at least posting updates every few weeks.

Google’s Panda Update

Mark and Pete discussed changes they’ve seen in Google’s search performance since the company initiated its Panda Algorithm update.

Before the podcast they reviewed this post on Search Engine Land that featured a Q&A with Google’s Matt Cutts, Google’s top spam cop, discussing Panda.

Mark mentions the tool WooRank for identifying inbound links on your site.

Social Media IPOs

Pete and Mark addressed the recent LinkedIn initial public offering and rumors and speculation about Facebook’s IPO which is supposedly planned for early next year.

See what Mashable reported on June 13 about Facebook’s upcoming IPO.

Feedback

We welcome your comments and feedback. Please let us know what you’d like to have us address or leave any questions by submitting a post comment or contacting us here.

Beyond website programming and coding, Google offers a wealth of information for workers in marketing, public relations and corporate communications.

On Jan. 14 Pete published an article on his blog, Using Google services helps with search placement, which outlines his belief that making use of Google’s free services helps your site’s Google juice (helps your site be more Google friendly).

In this episode of the Online PR Podcast Mark and Pete discuss the features and benefits of Google services like Search, Analytics and FeedBurner, as well as the Google XML Sitemap plugin for WordPress.

Resources

Google’s SEO Starter Guide
Google Webmaster Central YouTube Channel