65 Fake Twitter Profiles With Hilarious Tweets
It’s interesting to see the way that Twitter is used by various users. It should then be no surprise to find that people are snatching up almost every profile name of celebrities, politicians, musicians, athletes, and even fictional characters. What follows is a list of some of of these profiles. There are funny profile pictures, funny bio’s, funny Twits, and funny profile background pictures. Enjoy.
Click on a category or scroll the list.
- Name brettfavre
- Location Green Bay and Kiln
- Bio What I’m thinking when I’m not saying it.
- Sample Twit “I wish I was on the couch, watching monday night football.”
- Name Roger Clemens
- Location New York
- Bio I am the greatest pitcher in baseball history. The Rocket. The Texas Con Man. Fat Billy. Do you know where I can find some STEROIDS?
- Sample Twit “About to inject Miley Cyrus, I mean MYSELF with steroids.”
- Name Vladimir Putin
- Location Ленингра́д
- Bio KGB and some other stuff…
- Sample Twit “just added @oskarlafontaine remember him, but don’t remember where i met him last time…probably cuba.”
- Name Mao Zedong
- Location Beijing
- Bio I’m living in The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. Welcome!!!
- Sample Twit “30 more days to go before The Games. The whole nation is going crazy. I love chaos!!!”
- Name Osama bin Laden
- Location Afghanistan
- Bio Leader, al-Qaeda
- Sample Twit “Door-tag from UPS Ground says hazardous materials can’t be delivered — curse the infidels! Off to UPS depot…”
- Name KimJongil
- Location Pyongyang, North Korea
- Bio i like bugs bunny and cognac
- Sample Twit “Off the terrorist list for the second time. w00t!”
- Name Condoleezza Rice
- Location Global
- Bio Aspiring NFL Chairman or Concert Pianist
- Sample Twit “Counting my frequent flyer miles. Huzzah!”
- Name Rudolph Giuliani
- Sample Twit “I’m considering referencing 911 on the campaign trail. Would you be more likely to vote for me if I continuously reference terrorism?”
- Name Bill Clinton
- Location NYC but always on AR time
- Bio PISSED OFF!
- Sample Twit “John Edwards…why did you cheat on your wife that has cancer, you’re a dog! If Hillary gets sick, that’s it, no more Hoochies! FAMILY FIRST”
- Name George W. Bush
- Sample Twit “i can write boobies on a calculator!”
- Name Dick Cheney
- Location Washington, DC
- Bio Vice President of the United States of America. Hobbies include listening to Toby Keith, shooting stuff, and maintaining a heart healthy diet.
- Sample Twit “Won a baboon on eBay. Condition as-is, but I’m going to use the little guy for parts anyway. Never know when the ticker might blow a valve.”
- Name Stephen Colbert
- Location USA!
- Bio Just been polishing my Peabodys and Emmys, working on my books, and uncovering the truth!
- Sample Twit “There’s nothing wrong with stretching the Truth. We stretch taffy, and that just makes it more delicious.”
- Name David Letterman
- Location New York City
- Bio Hi, my name is Dave and I’m running for president.
- Sample Twit “Just got back from seeing Regis at the hospital. We compared scars. Pretty similar, of course..I had the quintuple bypass so I win.”
- Name Albert Einstein
- Location Beyond
- Bio Looks like we got a regular Albert Einstein on our hands here.
- Sample Twit “When you kiss a pretty girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.”
- Name Lindsay Lohan
- Location Hollywood, CA
- Bio Yes, it’s really me.
- Sample Twit “@molls - you should stop taking xanax and switch to cocaine.”
- Name Adam Sandler
- Sample Twit “If peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis!”
- Name David Hasselhoff
- Location Hollywood, California
- Bio Star of stage, screen, and song. You love me.
- Sample Twit “Deciding which leather jacket to wear”
- Name MacGyver
- Location Mission City
- Bio Call me Mac….but don’t ask me about my first name!
- Sample Twit “I want to blow something up! It’s a boring weekend. Give me some hair spray and a lighter!!!!”
- Name Fry
- Sample Twit “Wow, Bender started snoring like a construction robot, not just a bending robot. This sucks.”
- Name Bender
- Location 41.927429,-87.707366
- Bio Follow me, jerk! I may not be the real Bender, but that doesn’t mean I’m not great!
- Sample Twit “Man, this economy IS getting rough; the Floozie Bots aren’t raking in nearly as much cash. I might have to switch to Duff!”
- Name Homer J Simpson
- Location Springfield
- Bio I work at a nuclear power plant. Married with two kids and a baby.
- Sample Twit “Homer got a donut
Homer not angry anymore.”
- Name Lisa Simpson
- Location Springfield
- Bio The smart daughter of Homer and Marge Simpson. Maybe I was adopted?
- Sample Twit “I’m glad Mom named me instead of Homer who wanted to name me Bartzina!”
- Name Ralph Wiggum
- Location Springfield, USA
- Bio My cat’s breath smells like cat food.
- Sample Twit “I ate too much plastic candy.”
- Name Peter Grffin
- Location My house?
- Bio if i had job i would not know it
- Sample Twit “alright, should be going to sleep, we got some bad stuff coming out at night, don’t wanna see them”
- Name Stewie Griffin
- Location Quahog
- Bio I am Stewie Griffin, YOU WILL BOW TO ME!
- Sample Twit “Aha! So they do make bigger diapers! That deceitful woman told me I’d have to learn to use the toilet!”
- Name Lost
- Sample Twit “4 8 15 16 23 42″
- Name Sawyer
- Sample Twit “Checking out Kate’s ass”
- Name Chewbacca
- Location Rome, Italy
- Bio hnnnhrrhhh awwgggghhh wrrhwrwwhw!
- Sample Twit “AAAAAaaaahurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnn! WWHheeerrrrRRRRrrrrn”
- Name Han Solo
- Location Free space.
- Bio Don’t get cocky.
- Sample Twit “Sorry I haven’t updated in a while, carbonite kinda restricts the typing fingers. 200 followers! I got more while frozen than I did thawed!”
- Name Luke Skywalker
- Location Yavin 4
- Bio Jedi Master. Husband. Father.
- Sample Twit “Solo wants to chat. I’ll bet Leia’s been giving him jip again.”
- Name Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Location Jedi Temple, Coruscant
- Bio Life is stress.
- Sample Twit “Anakin botched his waffles. Said, “They’re a bit on the dark side.” Ahahaha. Haha. Ha. No, I didn’t think it was funny, either.”
- Name @-_-@ Princess Leia
- Location Aldera City, Alderaan
- Bio @-_-@ Teenage rebel. Interested in hair maintainance and *really* fabulous up-dos. Solo heiress of the Alderaan Organas (daahling).
- Sample Twit “@-_-@ This is like my most desperate hour, evah. Help me de-Nerf my updo R2, you’re my only hope.”
- Name r2d2
- Location Tatooine
- Bio beep boop beep beep squawk wheet
- Sample Twit “*bloop doot deet doot doot…SQUAWK!*”
- Name C3PO
- Location Some dusty hell hole.
- Bio Hello, I am C-3PO, human cyborg relations. How might I serve you?
- Sample Twit “Trying to loose this stupid little droid that just beeps and whistles. Figured I would try stairs seeing as he doesnt have any legs.”
- Name bob
- Location refueling in Wellington, NZ
- Bio put captain solo in the cargo hold
- Sample Twit “Just as I thought, Google Tatooine is somewhat lacking in detail. Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold!”
- Name Darth Vader
- Location Empire, CO
- Bio Evil Orphan Annie™
- Sample Twit “Heard through the Imperial grape vine that Dick Cheney is going as me for Halloween. Funny ’cause I’m planning on going as him.”
- Name Darth Sidious
- Location Coruscant
- Bio Dark Lord of the Sith. Tyrant of the galaxy. Sometimes I feel misunderstood.
- Sample Twit “Dark Lord is back. Now to decide which of the ninkinpoops to choke. As an aside, it sure is hard to type properly with these long nails.”
- Name The Emperor
- Location Coruscant
- Bio Sith Master. Ruler of the Galactic Empire.
- Sample Twit “A note for would-be emperor McCain: Do not trust your young apprentice.”
- Name Admiral Ackbar
- Bio Mon Calamari. Supreme Commander of the Rebel Alliance Fleet.
- Sample Twit “Just received transmission from an old friend. I can get a free Y-wing if I signup for a few free trials and get six friends to do the same.”
- Name Lieutenant Worf
- Sample Twit “Washing my hair and getting ready for my date with @DeannaTroi. Brut or Old Spice?”
- Name Jean-Luc Picard
- Location USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-E
- Bio Starfleet Captain. Donut Fiend.
- Sample Twit “Captain’s Log: What is this Stardate revision stuff? Daylight Savings Time doesn’t work in space!”
- Name Deanna Troi
- Location U.S.S. Enterprise
- Bio I’m in ur mind empathing ur thoughtz.
- Sample Twit “@Will_Riker My mother is coming aboard at our next stop and would like to have dinner with you. Please be punctual. *wink*”
- Name William Riker
- Sample Twit “Running a level 3 diagnostic comb of my beard”
- Name Borat Sagdiyev
- Location Kazakstan..Very Nice!
- Bio I make Sexy Time!
- Sample Twit “Justine..Wow wow wee waa! Sexy Time??”
- Name Terminator
- Sample Twit “@Cvalenti Possible response: Yes/No Or What? Go Away GIVE ME YOUR ADDRESS Fuck you Fuck You Asshole”
- Name Indiana Jones
- Location Around the Globe
- Bio Archaeologist, Professor of Archaeology at Marshal College, and Obtainer of Rare Antiquities
- Sample Twit “Saw the new documentary for the first time this weekend at Cannes Film Fest…. I Have to say… I still got it!”
- Name Deep Thought
- Location Earth
- Bio 42 is the answer. But what is the question?
- Sample Twit “mmmmmh… maybe 6×7?”
- Name Marvin the Robot
- Sample Twit “here I am, brain the size of the universe”
- Name Aragorn
- Bio Still not King
- Sample Twit “Got a job offer from Sauron. Considering it - Think I would look good on a dragon. Still not King.”
- Name Frodo Baggins
- Location The Shire, MiddleEarth
- Bio Legendary Hobbit from Middle-earth
- Sample Twit “We have now departed from Lothlorien after recieving a gift from Lady Galadriel…she wants me ;)”
- Name Sméagol Hobbit
- Location Subterranean Lake
- Bio Hello precious
- Sample Twit “Oh twitter! Me loves me loves! It’ll lead me to my precioussssss!”
- Name Tony_Montana
- Location Miami, Florida
- Bio Say Hello To My Little Friend!!
- Sample Twit “The cops didn’t believe me when I said I was a baker, man. It was flour in my trunk, I’m not lying, man.”
- Name The United States
- Location US of A. Heard of it?
- Bio 232 year old warrior-poet.
- Sample Twit “Yeah, hi. Wal*Mart customer service? Yes, I’d like to return this economy. Receipt? Well, uh, it was a gift.”
- Name The Earth
- Location Sol
- Bio What are all of these apes doing on me?
- Sample Twit “I feel like I’m taking on a lot more water than I used to… wonder if that has to do with all that gas inside me… where’s the Pepto?”
- Name Uranus
- Location Outer Sol
- Bio Whoever named me is getting a foot up the ass
- Sample Twit “So you think my name is funny? You suck.”
- Name Santa Claus
- Location North Pole
- Bio I LOVE Christmas all year long. And I hope YOU still believe in Santa
- Sample Twit “My, I have really fallen behind in email. I thought the elves were kidding me when they told me I had 3 months worth of email to read!”
- Name ebenezer scrooge
- Sample Twit “humbug”
- Name thegrinch
- Location In that black place in your he
- Bio I’m kind of a big deal.
- Sample Twit “@santaclaus and what are you doing twittering and driving a sled? is that safe? Nice role model…seriously.”
- Name God
- Location heaven
- Bio Hells yeah, it’s me!
- Sample Twit “Palin follows me. I don’t follow her. She is a good mom, but she is unfit to lead the country. Me as my witness, I am supporting the Dems.”
- Name Satan
- Location Hell
- Bio fallen
- Sample Twit “a big question on my todo list for today.. making google more evil or helping microsoft buy yahoo!?”
- Name Batman
- Location Gotham
- Bio Dark Knight. Superhero.
- Sample Twit “Last night’s patrol was quiet. Tonight should be the same. I keep hearing about a guy flying around in red and gold armor. Must investigate.”
- Name Metallica
- Sample Twit “Shopping for extra-small jockstraps.”
- Name Michael Jackson
- Sample Twit “Heading off to McDonald’s playland”
- Name Master Chief
- Sample Twit “My other car is a warthog.”
- Name Sanjaya Malakar
- Location Burbank CA
- Bio I am a singing wonder
- Sample Twit “devistated…heading home now - thanks for nothin’ america”
I’m sure this list reflects only a small fraction of the phony/fake profiles out there. The not so phony profiles of the two guys that created this list are Schooley02 and Netgeek06. Let us know what you think.
Don’t Believe these 10 Social Media Myths
Post by Eric Brantner
The importance of establishing a strong social media presence has been discussed to exhaustion. You know that you need to be an active user on these sites because social media can produce numerous benefits for you and your brand. Of course, as the bandwagon for social media has filled up, many myths have been spread.
That’s why I’ve created this list of 10 social media myths to avoid buying into.
1. Great Content Always Goes Hot- This is one of the biggest mistakes social media newbies make. They automatically assume that a good article will catch fire online and spread throughout the Internet. It’s simply not true. Great content doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. It’s not enough to simply submit a good article. There are tons of other factors involved—who is submitting it, if it’s targeted at the right audience, and how well it’s promoted (to name a few.)
2. There are No Rules- Another misconception is that there are no rules to social media. Some people believe they can do and say whatever they want without consequences. The truth is the community knows what everyone is up to. If they see you’re a shameless self-promoter, you’ll be buried. You’re better off following the rules of social media etiquette.
3. You Can’t Build Quality Relationships Online- I’ve heard numerous people suggest that it’s stupid to connect with people online that you don’t know in real life. They believe connecting with others is pointless and doesn’t lead to any lasting relationships with your brand. I couldn’t disagree more. Social media gives you the chance to be face to face online with your target audience. Even if they don’t go onto become paying customers, you still get valuable insight into what they think and what they react to.
4. The More Friends, the Better- On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who think that added everybody as a friend will get them social media success. Just because you’re connected with thousands of users, doesn’t mean you’ll build a strong connection with everyone. Remember, quality trumps quantity every time.
5. Social Media Marketing is Easy- This goes back to the first myth. Those who don’t understand how social media works assume it’s as easy as starting up a blog. They subscribe to the ‘if you build it, they will come” mentality. Fast-forward a few weeks when no one is visiting their blog or promoting their content, and they then swear off social media forever.
6. Social Media Won’t Last- There are numerous skeptics out there denouncing social media marketing as nothing more than a fad. They believe to get involved with it would just be a waste of their time. This couldn’t be further from the truth. While the face of social media will certainly evolve in the future, conversational marketing will not vanish. The internet is an inherently social platform. It’s this ability to connect with people throughout the world that makes it so appealing.
7. Social Media will Replace Traditional Marketing- At the forefront of the social media bandwagon are those who ignored the “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” advice. While I’m certainly a huge proponent of social media marketing, I’m not foolish enough to ignore the value of traditional marketing techniques. The best marketing strategy is a well-rounded one.
8. Social Media is a Cure-All- While social media is a great tool for online reputation management, it’s not a cure-all either. Again, don’t get so drunk on the idea of social media that you ignore the other problems of your marketing strategy. Social media is not a cure-all; it’s just another in a long list of tools you should be using.
9. Social Media is for Kids- When most people hear about social media or social networking, they instantly associate it with some 14 year old teen’s Myspace page. That’s not what social media is about. The fact is sites like LinkedIn are a prime example of social media’s relevance to the adult crowd. Trix are for kids; social media is for everyone.
10. Digg is All that Matters- I love Digg, but it’s not the be-all end-all of social media. If Digg is the only thing you focus on, you’ll end up being sorely disappointed. Again, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. There are numerous social media sites out there for you to take advantage of. Find the ones that fit best with your niche.
What social media myths would you add to this list? Share them in the replies.
Is Twitter Rank a Phishing Site?!
Twitter Rank has been get a sizeable amount of tweets lately. Whether Tweeples are just fanning their egos or checking to see how their profiles stack up, Tweeples are turning over their user names and passwords to Twitter rank - all to get a statistic.
Oliver Marks posted an article about this here where he says:
I picked up on this after seeing Tantek Çelik retweet:
@t RT @brianoberkirch Twitterank is a vast conspiracy I created to steal all of ur passwords + shame Twitter into OAuthing. + make u look vain.
Check out this screenshot of the source code captured by @nateritter:
When reading the Tweet and the comments in the source code, it hints that the developer has a chip on his shoulder with Twitter’s API policies.
Having been told that Twitterank.com is stealing passwords and has potentially stolen yours; coupled with the above evidence; it would be easy to get worried and start to warn others. Does this mean that Twitter rank is guilty of anything bad?
The comments in the source code never claim that there is anything harmful being done with the passwords. In fact, the text on the actual page says the exact opposite.
It seems that Twitterank.com had the viral effects of the social web help it’s blazing speed growth, and consequently, the spread of rumours and fear among twitter land in the worst possible way…..virally.
Adam Ostro wrote a great article on this: Twitterank Might Not Have Been A Phishing Scam, But It Sure Was Intersting
The 11 Rules of Social Media Etiquette
Post by Eric Brantner
Since social media is, well, a social medium, it’s important that users understand the proper ways to behave online. No, just because you’re behind a computer monitor in your mom’s basement doesn’t mean all social etiquette goes out the window. It’s quite the opposite—following proper social media etiquette is a key to being successful online (and to making sure you don’t make a complete idiot out of yourself.)
1. Give More than You Receive- If you want to receive attention from others online, you have to be willing to give it first. It’s the old “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” routine. You can’t bust onto a social media site with a sense of entitlement thinking you should be a top user immediately. You have to earn respect from others. How do you do this? By giving more than you receive.
2. Don’t be a Keyboard Gangsta- Probably the worst thing about the Internet is the keyboard gangstas. You’ve surely run across at least one of these in your lifetime. They sit at their keyboard talking trash to everyone they encounter. They say things online that they would never have the nerve to say to a real person’s face. Don’t try to ruin everyone else’s online experience because you don’t have any friends in real life.
3. Add Value to the Site- At the end of the day, the thing that will earn you great connections with others is if you add value to the community. This means not submitting content that nobody cares about and not constantly promoting your brand. Before you ever submit anything to a social media site, ask yourself “Does this article really add value to the community?” If not, reconsider submitting it.
4. Don’t Sabotage Other’s Efforts- This is self-explanatory. Drop all of your e-beefs and hatred. Don’t try to bury others just for the sake of getting ahead. Making enemies on social media sites will get you nowhere fast, and you really do reap what you sow.
5. Remember that Cheaters Never Win- Instead of trying to game the system, why don’t you focus on building a successful social media presence the right way. Sure, you might be able to get some amazing results by cheating, but eventually, you will get caught. And once everyone sees you for the cheater you are, you can’t un-ring that bell.
6. Build Quality Relationships- People are more willing to help those who they really know. By building quality relationships with other users, you’ll always have someone in your corner to back you up. Remember, relationships require the participation of both parties; so, always be a good participant in your social media relationship.
7. Stop Pushing the Envelope- One of the fastest ways to alienate people online is to constantly flood them with requests for helping you out. Whether you’re constantly shouting your content or always Tweeting asking people to comment on your blog, eventually, everyone will lose their patience with you. It’s like the boy who cried wolf. People will tune you out if you’re constantly pushing the envelope.
8. Respect the Community- This might be the most important rule of social media etiquette. Show respect to the community. It’s not that hard to do. Just make sure you don’t step out of line, and always treat everyone the way you want to be treated. These are simple social skills you should already be following in real life; now, you just have to follow them online too.
9. Listen to Others- Your first reaction whenever someone disagrees with you online is probably to tell them how wrong they are. Instead of constantly fighting back, take the time to listen to what they’re really saying. Listen to the people commenting on your blog or Tweeting at you. Understand where they’re coming from. You don’t know everything, and you can learn from others if you take the time to listen.
10. Be Accountable for Your Actions- Because of the anonymity the Internet allows, there is little to no accountability online. People say and do whatever they please without facing any repercussions. Don’t be that guy. Instead, try to be honorable by taking responsibility your actions online. By being accountable, people will respect you, whether they agree with you or not.
11. Be Nice- All of these points add up to one thing—just be nice. Is it really too much to ask for people to be kind to one another? Call me old-fashioned if you like, but there’s nothing wrong with being nice to others online.
What rules of social media etiquette would you add to the list? Share them in the replies!
18 Rules the Best Web Developers Follow
Posted by Jeremy Schooley
There are many practices that web developers follow. The best web developers though, set themselves apart by staying on top of the latest trends, maintaining a high level of credibility, and establishing a diverse and robust web presence. Following the 18 rules listed below will surely get you closer to being one of the web’s best web developers, if you are already not one.
1. Don’t push information on your visitors. Let your visitors choose and decide what they want to read. Giving them the control over their viewing experience. Ask yourself: what would be my reaction to a dozen of pop-ups and tons of ad blocks?
2. Poor advertising is evil. Don’t focus on the ad revenue side of your site. Visitors start forming opinions about your site within seconds of visiting your page. If it is loaded with ads, it may actually have a negative impact on your visitors, which can hurt your ad revenues in the long run. Try to balance your ad placement and quantity with the flow of the content and page layout.
3. Be a source of information. Virtually everyone on the web is looking for specific information. Whether it is for a product, service, or just educational, sharing your expertise and experiences sets your website apart from the others and adds value to the content.
4. Develop your own style. Never ever “copy” someone else’s efforts. Try to be as original as possible. This will make your site and its content unique and fresh. A fresh spin on something that has been done before is acceptable because having a new take on existing material creates unique content. So, surf the web and let it inspire you.
5. Obey the standards. Standards may seem like a pain, but sticking to them will save you headache in the future. Code that is written in compliance with web standards has a much better chance of being rendered properly in the various browsers people use on the web these days. It also has a better chance of being rendered properly for the various versions of these browsers; older and newer.
6. Be clear. Your website needs to communicate as clearly as possible to its visitors. You only have a few seconds to make that initial impact on the visitor. Telling them exactly where to find things and exactly what product or services you offer help the visitor feel comfortable in using your site to gather information and/or make their decision. If it is something that is complex, break it up into digestible chunks.
7. Use Internet Explorer as a baseline. Don’t design your code for special browsers or special resolutions. Regardless of how you feel about Internet Explorer, it still used by more than 85% of web users; and that demands a web developer’s respect. In most cases, getting your code to render properly in IE6 means it will probably render properly in most browsers. There are, of course, exceptions. One day IE6 will be ancient and there will be a new baseline, which is determined by the most popular browser used.
8. Content is king. Some of the most successful websites bring something new and useful to the web. There are millions of cookie cutter websites out there and users get bored with them. Fresh, useful, and entertaining content is in high demand and you will find visitors to your site thirsty for more once you give them a taste.
9. Web-crawlers and SEO should be an afterthought. Don’t think in keywords; unless you want your website to seem artificial. Time spent on SEO would be much better spent on creating more useful content. Creating great content and sharing it through the web will naturally help your search engine rankings improve.
10. Share content naturally, don’t spam. Sharing your content naturally means, you are sharing with people who would actually be interested in it. Think about the sites they are likely to visit. Keep in mind that you are writing to a human being, who can effectively spread your content across the web by sharing it or using social media to bookmark it, etc. Don’t spam or advertise, offer useful content for the potential readers of the content.
11. Answer your e-mails immediately. Quick personalized responses are a must with communicating through email on the web. Make the person you are communicating to feel important by giving a personalized response and show them that you think their time is valuable by responding quickly. Automated emails feel cookie cutter and can leave a negative impression of you.
12. Engage in Social Media. Gain visibility for your site by using Digg, Reddit, Mixx, del.icio.us, Ma.gnolia, StumbleUpon and hundreds of other social media websites. The great thing about social media, is that it is word of mouth advertising for the web. Once social media users find useful content, they often share it across the web using other social media sites, linking to your content from their blog, and more.
13. Make connections, and nurture relationships. The best web developers often write guest posts on other blogs. They are active in developer forums. They are administrators for comments on blogs and more. Doing these thing helps build key connections that will increase your credibility as well as build on your list of relationships with other developers who have strong credibility. This can open many doors. Make sure, when forming strategic relationships on the web, balance the give and take to make sure there is something in it for both parties.
14. Take advantage of the “worldwide” web. The world is a big place and more and more people are coming to the web. Don’t be afraid to expand your web presence beyond your local niche or country. As long as the information you are providing is useful, the visitors will come to learn more, regardless of where they are. Ideas transcend borders.
15. Build sites for “users”, not the site “owner”. This can always be tricky when dealing with clients. Most developers have had the experience of clients who envision a site that is really meant for them and not for users. It is our job as developers to educate our clients to ensure that the websites we create are built around the user’s experience. Most clients are grateful when you share this information.
16. Always keep learning. The landscape of the web changes fast and developers have to change with it or else their skills run the risk of being outdated. The best way to do this is to subscribe to blogs using RSS. Social media is now playing a big role in the way informational pages are tagged and shared. Check out our List of 100 Web Designers to Follow on Twitter.
17. Find inspirational resources for creativity. Sometimes all you need to do is browse through other people’s work to get ideas. Sometimes you just need some coffee. If you still can’t shake the creativity block, take a break to clear your mind or get some exercise to get the blood flowing in your brain.
18. Beautify the Web. Most web developers realize CSS designs are beautiful; not to mention more efficient on the coding side of things. Even if you don’t know CSS very well, you can still get ideas from CSS Table Gallery, CSS Zen Garden, Comment Design Showcase, Typography, and Form Assembly Garden.
Some of these rules may seem very basic, but remember that it is the combined implementation of these rules that make the web’s best developers stand out. Please feel free to provide with any feedback or any suggestions of what should be added to this list.
7 Challenges to Sharpen Your Online Marketing Skills
Post by Eric Brantner
The key to becoming truly great at online marketing is to constantly push yourself by getting out of your rut and trying new techniques. Many of us have gotten so caught up in following the same old formula over and over again that we never evolve. Sure, we get consistent results with our websites by playing it safe, but truly great results come when you push yourself out of your comfort zone, forcing yourself to stop relying on the typical SEO/ internet marketing crutches.
What follows is a list of 7 challenges that can ultimately help you sharpen your SEO skills.
1. Promote a friend’s website without changing its structure- If you provide SEO services to outside clients, you understand why this challenge is important. There are those clients who are stubborn and who don’t want you to mess with their site too much. They restrict you from fully doing your job, but they want the same great results you normally produce. This will challenge you to find unique ways to make their site visible in the search engines without altering significantly.
2. Generate 15 links to your lowest performing content- Let’s face it, we don’t always hit home runs with our content. In fact, sometimes our articles just plain stink. But what if you have a client who needs inbound links and doesn’t want you to write new content for them? You need to find creative ways to generate quality links to even your worse content. This doesn’t include spamming in forums or blog comments either.
3. Overhaul your website- Again; this pulls you out of your comfort zone. It can be easy to fall into a rut of designing every page with the same general look. Comfort stifles innovation. For this reason, I challenge you to completely overhaul your website. Include an element in it that you don’t usually use (video, graphics, interactive elements.) The more you push yourself, the better you’ll become.
4. Follow 5 new blogs and guest post on them within a month- Guest posting on other blogs is beneficial for several reasons. It builds new connections; generates inbound links; improves your site’s visibility; and it establishes you as an authority. The goal of this challenge is to help you find a completely new audience and to build great relationships in a short amount of time.
5. Follow 5 new blogs without promoting yourself- The reason for this is simple it’s not always about you. You don’t have to constantly be promoting yourself. Become an active member on 5 new blogs without ever promoting yourself. You’ll find that you can learn new things from others, and that it feels good to not have to be constantly marketing your site.
6. Write an SEO e-book your mom would understand. Quiz her at the end- I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard SEOs say My parents don’t even understand what I do for a living. If you can’t even explain to your own mother what you do, how can you clearly express the value of SEO to a prospect? Write a brief e-book over the basics of SEO, and quiz your mom at the end to see how well she understands it.
7. Get a press release published in a reputable newspaper or trade journal once a month- Online press releases have completely changed the entire press release process. With self-publishing, you no longer have to fight with editors to get your press release in their newspaper or journal. As a result, the internet is flooded with boring, poorly-written, keyword-stuffed press releases. Try to bring back the art of press release writing by getting one published in a reputable newspaper or trade journal once a month. This will make you focus on writing quality pieces that truly engage others.
There are several more things you can do to become a better internet marketer. How do you challenge yourself on a daily basis? Share your challenges with us in the replies you just might help someone become a better Internet marketer!
Digital Labz Now Has Unlimited Bandwidth
Due to the growing popularity of our site and the high demand for our content, we have upgraded our bandwidth to an unlimited bandwidth status.
We apologize for any incovenience in the past and will continue to make every effort to make sure that our site remains up so you can access information and/or use our tools anytime, anywhere; such as from our newly updated twitter account. www.twitter.com/digiallabz
70+ Cheat Sheet Resources for Web Designers
Posted By Thomson Chemmanoor
Cheat sheats, or reference sheets, are a helpful and quick way to remember things. Web designers, by nature of their work, are forced to cram their heads with TONS of information ranging in many different areas. In this particular post, we have created a dynamite list of 70+ helpful cheat sheets we found on the web to help web designer’s manage all this information. If you are a web designer/web developer looking for reference sheets on HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP, JAVASCRIPT, PHOTOSHOP, COLORS & HTACCESS, this list is for you! Also comment on your favorite cheat sheets and any other which we have missed. Enjoy.
HTML Cheat Sheets
1.HTML Cheatsheet from Web Monkey for Beginners
2.Forget what some of the tags in HTML do?
3.List of up-to-date HTML tags / codes Cheat Sheet
4.HTML cheat sheet is a one-page A4 printable document
5.COMMONLY USEDHTML ELEMENTS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING CODES
6.A free online cheatsheet by VisiBone
7.HTML Code Cheat Sheet to look up HTML tags
8.HTML Cheat Sheet lesliefranke.com
9.HTML Cheat Sheet by Dave Child
10.HTML Cheat Sheet from Petefreitag.com
XHTML Cheat Sheets
11.XHTML cheat sheet provides an at-a-glance perspective of common XHTML practices
Action Script Cheat Sheets
14. AIR Cheatsheet ActionScript Card
JavaScript Cheat Sheets
17.JavaScript reminder and reference sheet
19.JavaScript and Browser Objects Quick Reference
20.The most common DOM methods at a glance
21.Addison-Wesley’s JavaScript Reference Card
23.Javascript Document Object Model for Web Browsers
24.Printable Javascript Cheat Sheet from John Robert Morris
25.Prototype JavaScript Library 1.5.0
CSS Cheat Sheets
27.Cascading Style Sheets Quick Reference Guide
30.CSS cheat sheet is a one-page reference sheet
32.Cheat sheet for creating Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) files.
34.Cascading Style Sheets Level 1 properties Cheat Sheet
35. CSS Cheat Sheet from Petefreitag.com
36.CSS LEVEL 1 AND CSS-P QUICK REFERENCE CHARTS
AJAX Cheat Sheets
38.Ajax a web 2.0 cheat sheet by Amy Hoy
Web Color Cheat Sheets
41.Hex Web Color Cheat Sheet from funky-chickens.com
44.Web Designer Color Reference Hexagon Mouse Pad
45.RGB Values for Macbeth Color Checker
PHP Cheat Sheets
47.PHP Cheat Sheet from Blue Shoes
48.The PHP cheat sheet is a one-page reference sheet
49.Popular PHP Cheat Sheet in widget form
53.Php Cheat Sheet from Digilife
55.PHP tips/tricks Cheat Sheet
56.Smarty Cheat Sheet for Template Designers
Adobe PhotoShop Cheat Sheets
57.Adobe Photoshop CS3 Keyboard Shortcuts
58.Brush Tool cheat sheet for Photoshop
59.Photoshop 911 FAQ and Short tips
60.Adobe Photoshop Quick Reference Guide.
61.Black & White Cheatsheet For Photoshop
62.Photoshop Quick reference card
MySQL Cheat Sheets
63.MySQL cheat sheet is designed to act as a reminder and reference sheet
64.Handy Cheat-Sheet of MySQL Commands
66.Quick MySQL Cheat Sheet/Quick Reference
.htaccess Cheat Sheets
67.simple cheat sheet for the .htaccess file
69.Apache htaccess cheatsheet list
Word Press Cheat Sheets
Some of the other places where you can find some useful cheatsheet resources
Cheat Sheets
Lorelle’s Cheat Sheet Lists
Cheat Sheets for Front-end Web Developers
Cheat Sheet Round-Up: Ajax, CSS, LaTeX, Ruby
The 14 Peculiar Social Media Users
Post by Eric Brantner
As social media has become increasingly popular, trends have developed in the people using them. Social media users fall into one or more of these descriptions. Which type of social media user are you?
1. Sir Spam-a-Lot- Everyone is familiar with this social media user. This is the guy who submits spam, spams the comment section, tries to befriend you so he can spam you, and keeps on spamming until he finally gets banned. He’s a pain in the @$$ and nobody likes him.
2. Clueless Self-Promoter- At first glance, this social media user is the same as Sir Spam-a-Lot, but he’s a bit different. The clueless self-promoter is, well, clueless. It’s not so much that he’s trying to be a spammer; it’s just that he really doesn’t know any better. He read an article about social media marketing and assumed he could endlessly promote himself on here. He’s also a pain in the behind, but he usually disappears after his efforts produce no results.
3. Mr. Rain on Your Parade- This guy has severe mommy issues. He obviously wasn’t hugged enough as a child. So, he acts out by bringing his elitist attitude to every post he can find. Nothing is good enough for him. Every article he reads sucks, and he’s going to let you know it. He peppers in a few complex words to appear intelligent, but the truth is he’s a college dropout living in a cramped room at his parents house.
4. The Know it All- This guy is annoying enough in real life, but he’s ten times worse online. Whether the topic is movies, music, politics, or sports, it doesn’t matter he knows everything. He’s a cousin to Mr. Rain on Your Parade because he also hates everything. His opinions are usually complete garbage, but he says it with such a condescending tone that you want to cyber slap him into oblivion.
5. Crazy Political Extremist- He’ really active right now because it’s election season, but he’s always around waxing political. Unfortunately, the Political Extremist is slightly off his rocker. He only submits stories about conspiracy theories, and he swears he has the inside track on all the inner workings of the government. He’s hurriedly preparing himself for 2012 when he claims we’ll switch to a 4 President system.
6. The Guy with No Spine- This social media user is nice enough, but he’s really pretty useless. He’s nowhere near a top user, and he’s not completely clueless. He’s just hanging around posting comments that offer no insight into the topic at hand. He seems to think every submit is pretty cool, but that’s about all you’ll get out of him.
7. Casual Observer- This is someone who isn’t looking for any trouble. He’s kind of like the Guy with No Spine, but he doesn’t post as often. Instead, this social media user is content to watch the action from the sidelines. He’s having a good enough time watching all the other users interact, but he has no urge to jump in.
8. Average User- The Average User is a fairly active user who understands how everything works but usually doesn’t put in the time to become an elite user. This social media user won’t spam you, and they’ll lend a helping hand whenever they can.
9. Good Samaritan- For every 10 Mr. Rain on Your Parades, there is at least 1 Good Samaritan. These strangers go out of their way to provide you with useful supplemental resources, and they tell you not to listen to the haters.
10. Sheltered Person - The sheltered person is someone who’s heard about sites like Digg, but they never got around to visiting them. Now that they’re here, they can’t believe the things people are saying. The comments they read are a sharp contrast to the dialogue they hear on Leave it to Beaver. At first, they try to ask everyone why they have to be so offensive. After a few weeks, they realize the battle is too big to fight alone, and they leave the site for good.
11. Wide Eyed Enthusiast- This is a pretty good social media user. They’re just now getting into it, and they want to take the time to learn it properly. They won’t be spamming you, and you don’t have to worry about them hating on your content (although they could turn into a hater after a few years.)They’ll usually submit useful content, and they’re down to help out their friends.
12. Second-Tier User - The Second-Tier User probably started out as Wide Eyed Enthusiast. Now that he’s learned his way around the networks, he’s quickly rising in popularity. He even has connections with the top users on the site, but he’s not quite on their level. A good percentage of his submits go hot, and he’s usually willing to help a friend get his content promoted.
13. The Bragger- This guy is usually a combination of several of the previous users, but where he really separates himself is with his success on his submits. He likes to talk about how often his submits go hot. He’s usually not willing to help out others; instead, he sits back talking mess about how great he is and how much you suck. Eventually, it comes out that he’s gaming the system, and he ends up getting banned.
14. The Elite- This is who The Bragger really wishes he was. Few make it to this level, but when they do, the social media world is in the palm of their hands. If you notice, you always see the same users hitting the front page of a given social media site. They’ve taken the time to figure out how the network works, and they’re successful because of it.
So, which category do you fall into?
7 Steps to Optimizing Your Site Before it Goes Live
Post by Eric Brantner
Most businesses make the crucial error of hurriedly launching a poorly constructed site for the sake of having something online. It’s only after the site starts performing poorly that they begin to realize something needs to be changed. This is usually when they start searching the internet for solutions, and they learn about SEO.
What happens from here is they usually try to tweak their existing site into one that’s more SEO friendly. When they fail to see any considerable spike in traffic or search engine rankings, they say that SEO is bull****, writing off the entire industry as a scam.
The reality is simple tweaks to a site not built for SEO just doesn’t cut it. Instead, they should have followed these 7 tips for optimizing their site before it ever went live.
1. Competitor Analysis- Regardless of what business you’re in, you need to know what your competition is up to. How can you expect to outperform them if you don’t know what they’re doing? The most obvious first step to competitor analysis is to see what keywords they’re targeting. But it goes beyond that. You also need to understand their linking strategies, their off-site SEO, and other steps they’ve taken to achieve top rankings.
2.Keyword Research- Keyword research is the bread and butter of SEO. Think of it as the foundation for your entire site. Without good keyword research, your site will never make the splash in the search rankings that you want. One mistake companies often make is to try to target keywords that are far too broad to rank well for. For instance, if you sell windows, you don’t want to target just windows. Instead, you should focus on specific phrases like hurricane proof windows or energy efficient replacement windows.These are the keywords that will bring you highly targeted traffic.
3. Content Optimization- Contrary to what you might have read, SEO friendly content doesn’ t have to be keyword-stuffed, unreadable passages. Unfortunately, thats exactly what tends to pass as SEO copywriting these days. In my mind, content is properly optimized when your readers don’t even notice the keywords peppered throughout the copy. Aside from the use of keywords, the rest of your copy should adhere to the traditional rules of copywriting. This includes a strong call to action, short passages of text, and benefits-driven copy.
4.SEO Friendly Design- This goes back to the original point of this post. One reason optimizing after your site has gone live doesn’t work is that it wasn’t designed to be SEO friendly in the first place. Your page needs to be designed so that it’s easy for the search spiders to crawl through it. Although the search engine’s ability to crawl flash websites has improved, it’s still far more effective to employ CSS on your website. Additionally, your pages need to be designed to load quickly so that your bounce rate won’t go through the roof.
5. Conversion Driven- Is there anything worse than visiting a website that’s impossible to navigate and that includes almost no contact information? If your website isn’t conversion driven, it doesn’t matter how high you rank in the search engines because you’ll never get any sales. You need to lead your customers down the path to taking the action you desire. Make your call to action easy to see. It should never take more than one or 2 clicks for a website visitor to become a customer.
6. Interlinking- Interlinking is important for both SEO and navigational purposes. In addition to your main menu bar, you should also interlink to other pages on your website throughout the body of your content. These links shouldn’ be in there just for the sake of adding links. Any time you include a link, it should make sense to helping the reader move forward through your site. Additionally, you should make your anchor text keyword rich. This helps both the readers and the search engines get a better understanding of what the target page is about.
7. Usability Review- Before launching your site, the last thing you should do is review its usability. Sometimes, it’s easy to get so caught up in building your site for the search engines that you overlook the human user experience. Review your site to make sure it’s easy to navigate and that the content makes sense. Give your website visitors a simple to follow web layout, and they’ll be likelier to stay on your page longer.
What other tips would you add to this list? Tell me what SEO strategy you follow before launching a new website.