The term ‘Deep Web’ is becoming more widespread. Just what is the Deep Web (or the Dark Web or Invisible Web as it is often termed):

The Deep Web Defined

The Deep Web is simply content available on the Internet that is hidden or undiscovered by search engines such as Google, Live and Yahoo. Typically search engines ‘crawl’ the Internet by following links (URLs) found on Internet pages being indexed. As an example, the page you are currently reading has numerous links to other pages. A search engine will follow the links and index the results of those linked pages.

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Google Webmaster Tools is a free service that provides a wealth of information directly from Google. Once you have verified a site with Google, they’ll give you access to all sorts of information.

Here are just a few features of Google Webmaster Tools:

1. Errors
Google Webmaster Tools will show all sorts of errors with a site. Not only does it show broken links on the site, but also links that are driving traffic to the site for which there is no valid page. Google even tells you pages it knows about but has been restricted from crawling. That’s good to know incase someone accidently blocks to much.

2. Set Site Defaults
Tell Google to show your page with the www or without, set a geographic target and select if you want the images show up in Google’s enhanced image search; aka Google Image Labeler.

3. Analyze Meta Descriptions and Title Tags
Google will provide a list of URLs that have duplicate title tags or duplicate meta descriptions as well as if there are pages with to short, or to long, meta descriptions or titles.

4. Top Search Queries
Ever wondered what people search... read more >>

There is a lot under the covers of Google Latitude that you do not really notice they have made them so subtle.  After you get a Google account (I publish under IdoNotes at that google dot com thing), here are some starters:

Adding friends:
When you are adding via either the mobile device or on the web (I prefer the web for a lot of contact management, one or two is fine mobile) then look for the blue square icon next to their name.  It means they are already using Latitude and you just need to set sharing controls.  Everyone else gets email and not every checks it.  I grow more by posting a tweet then using the email service.

Privacy Controls:
This is a huge area and needs your attention.  Google can automatically detect where you are through GPS (3.0.2 for Blackberry) or the best location by cell towers.  Unless you want your every moved watched, I do not suggest this one.  I prefer setting it manually.  You could hide it from everyone, but since Google does not offer any history, who cares?

At this point you now decide how much information each person can see.  Sharing for friends ofers some options which in turn affects our next section on icons and what you see.

• Sh....

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So you’ve decided to move beyond Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and ratchet up your social media, marketing and PR efforts. Congratulations! There are dozens of ways to take full advantage of the Web You.0 era.

Whether you’re embarking on a broader effort for personal or business reasons, there are a number of things that will help make the process go more smoothly. Some are must-haves in order to create key accounts.

Here is a recommended list of the top tools to set up, before you dive into the deep end of the social media spectrum:

Google Account

OK, you don’t have to have a Google account, but in my experience it will make your life much easier in several important ways.

Begin by creating a new account, specific to your social media campaign. In other words, unless you’re doing this strictly for personal use, do not associate your social media accounts with an existing, personal Google account. Instead, set up one tied to your organization’s name. In a few minutes, you’ll have the full arsenal of Google toys to enjoy.

Gmail:The first thing you’ll benefit from is a Google Mail (Gmail) account. This is both an ideal email address and a full bore system to use when setting up other soc... read more >>