Matthew Gilbert

As search and social become ever more entwined in Google’s and Bing’s algorithms and search results, search engine optimizers cannot afford to turn a blind eye to social media. Bing incorporates Facebook data into its search results. Google has taken another big step with the introduction of Search, Plus Your World. Last week we explored the social media impact of Search, Plus Your World, in "Google Integrates Google+ in Search Results." In this article, I'll focus on the search-engine-optimization impact of this new feature. - Matthew Gilbert

Dudes don't drink diet. Or at least that's the idea behind Dr Pepper Ten, a 10-calorie soft drink Dr Pepper Snapple Group is rolling out on Monday with a macho ad campaign that proclaims "It's not for women." The soft drink was developed after the company's research found that men shy away from diet drinks that aren't perceived as "manly" enough. To appeal to men, Dr Pepper made its Ten drink 180 degrees different than Diet Dr Pepper. It has calories and sugar unlike its diet counterpart. Instead of the dainty tan bubbles on the diet can, Ten will be wrapped in gunmetal grey packaging with silver bullets. And while Diet Dr Pepper's marketing is women-friendly, the ad campaign for Ten goes out of its way to eschew women. - Matthew Gilbert

Summary: In this special guest post, Wil Reynolds explains why Google+ simply can’t be written off — and why brands and authors should seriously consider adopting it! Below is a special guest post by Wil Reynolds, founder of the SEO/SEM company, SEER Interactive. If you missed his piece from last year regarding social media’s direct impact on SEO rankings, be sure to check it out as well. - Matthew Gilbert

The most interesting wave hitting the social web in 2012 is social curation. This was kicked off in 2011 as Pinterest's growth was noticed by Silicon Valley and a number of companies quickly followed suit - Snip.It launched as a social information curation platform, Quora adopted boards for a similar purpose, and Fab.com launched a structured social commerce feed. In this blog post I will discuss the evolution of social media from long-form to push-button, the emergence of social curation on sites such as Twitter and Tumblr, and the move to structured sets of curated content on Pinterest and its brethren. - Matthew Gilbert

Search has always brought you information from across the web. Now, search gets better by including photos, posts, and more from you and your friends. When signed in with Google+, you’ll find personal results and profiles of people you know or follow. You can even expand your world by discovering people related to your search. - Matthew Gilbert

When it comes to Coca-Cola products, people tend to be die-hard fans. Many of us know someone who can't go a day without a Diet Coke (or two or three). And while Diet Coke has been a leading sugar-free soft drink since it was first released in 1982, it came to light that young adult males shied away from this beverage -- identifying diet cola as a woman's drink. The company's answer to that predicament came in 2005 -- in the form of a shiny black can -- with the release of Coca-Cola Zero. - Matthew Gilbert

This infographic designed by FFunction for Zeo, a company that makes an electronic "sleep coach," is less of a real data visualization than a set of illustrated facts. But the facts are pretty gobsmacking. For example, we, as a nation, seem pretty tired all the time: Only 7% of people get eight hours of sleep a night. But the effects of this might be calamitous: Getting less sleep is associated with a 200% rise in cancer, a 100% rise in heart disease, and a 20% rise in the likelihood you'll be dead in 20 years. Not only will you be less healthy, you'll be fatter. People who sleep an hour more each day lose 14.3 pounds per year. (?!!). And 1 in 3 women find themselves too sleepy for sex: - Matthew Gilbert

Jobvite's 2011 Social Recruiting survey found that 89% of respondents will recruit through social media this year, up from 83% in 2010. The survey also found that organizations' recruiting departments are using multiple social networks to engage potential new hires, with LinkedIn leading in usage (89%, up from 78% in 2010), followed by Facebook (55%) and Twitter (47%). Forty percent of companies surveyed use all three top networks--LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter--as part of their recruitment process. - Matthew Gilbert

The survey was conducted online between May and June 2011; over 800 human resource and recruiting professionals in the U.S. participated in the survey. Respondents answered questions using an online survey tools and the response data is available only in aggregate form. Get the full report for data on: use of social media like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for recruiting; growth trends in use of social networks for recruiting; recruiting investment plans; quality ratings of recruiting sources; use of online profiles in reviewing candidates; hiring plans of employers and more. - Matthew Gilbert