Dropping the term SEO is no longer in style. There’s a new acronym taking its place, and now is your time to learn it. The term, SMO, or Social Media Optimization is the new SEO. Rohit Bhargava has been credited with coining the term.
What is SMO?
To understand SMO, you must first understand Social Media. Web sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, Fark, Reddit, and Del.icio.us are just a few examples of the recent surge in social media web sites. So what is social media? In a nutshell, it is content powered by you, the visitor. You decide what you want to see.
In 2000, if people wanted to get updates on Britney Spears, they would have to constantly refresh a page like People.com or CNN. In 2008, Joe Schmo can create a web site from his basement and run a Google Maps API that updates in real time with Britney Spears’ location. Will CNN link to Joe Schmo? Of course not, which is why they are no longer the primary source for news.
Benefits of good SMO:
- Attract visitors/readers/customers who are genuinely interested in your content
- Get those visitors to share your content with other like-minded people
- Web “word of mouth” spreads like wildfire, generating many new visitors
How do you improve your SMO? As a quick start, you need a service like AddThis on your web site. AddThis essentially aggregates all of the most recent Social Media site bookmarking widgets into one easy to implement button. Instead of trying to keep up to date on the latest social bookmarking site, let AddThis keep track of it for you. When users click an AddThis button on your site, they see something like this:
AddThis
This article is still under construction… Sorry 
— 2-11-08
The 2008 Super Bowl commercials have all been posted to bestviral. Enjoy.
One complaint about Vista that is completely unwarranted is anything in regards to Windows Vista User Account Control (UAC). UAC is what causes those horrendous warnings to come up every time you try to make a change in the system. Why is the complaint unwarranted? Because it takes about 60 seconds to turn off. To turn off user account control, follow these steps:
- Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel
- Find User Accounts
Windows Vista Control Panel- Open user accounts, and at the bottom, there is a link to “Turn User Account Control on or Off”
User Accounts Menu in Vista
- Follow the next step, turn off UAC, and restart your computer.
- Voila, Vista is one step closer to becoming usable.
Okay, this may seem easy to some DC natives, but even after living here for four years I still had problems getting concrete information on how to get to BWI using the DC Metro. Let me tell you, unless you are getting a ride from a friend or taking a cab, there is no pleasant way to get to BWI from DC or vice-versa.
I first tried the method of taking the Metro to Union Station, and then using the MARC train, but frankly, that method sucks. You pay for the metro, you pay $6-$12 for the MARC (depending on weekday/weekend), and then you still have to take a 10 minute (albeit free) shuttle from the MARC BWI station to the airport. That’s right, you wait to get on the metro, you wait to get on the MARC train, then you wait to get on the shuttle bus to finally arrive at a place you probably don’t really want to be. YES!
While the WMATA isn’t exactly a magic carpet ride, it at least saves you some money, and saves you from dealing with Union Station, which is a very questionable place.
In case you have stumbled here looking for step by step guidance, here you go.
GETTING TO BWI USING DC METRO:
- Check the B30 Bus Schedule [PDF] ahead of time.
- Take Metro to Greenbelt station, which is at end of the Green Line.
- Look for the B30 Bus when you get off at Greenbelt, the stop will be outside in the parking lot. It costs $3.00 with a SmartTrip, or $3.10 with cash (don’t ask).
- The B30 is an express bus that will take you right to BWI Airport. The bus ride takes around 35 minutes or so, but depends on traffic.
GET TO DC METRO FROM BWI
- The hardest part for me was finding the public transportation bus stop. There will be about 500 bus stops for shuttles to take you to a parking garage, but you have to keep following signs to “Public Transit” or “Regional Bus” in order to find the B30 Bus stop. It is on the lower level outside baggage claim, but depending on which baggage claim you get out at, you may have to walk for 5-10 minutes to get there.
- Once you actually find the bus stop (B30 will be posted on the wall), take a sigh of relief. The hardest part is over. They have the bus schedule posted on the inside of one of the bus shelters. The B30 will take you directly to Greenbelt, just make sure you are getting on the B30.
- Follow the instructions above for any further details.
BWI’s Official(ly Lacking) Instructions are here.
I will try to get some pictures to aid your voyage soon. Check back.
On November 23, 2007 I posted the Don’t Ever Drink From Hotel Glasses video on bestviral. Since then, the video has spread around the globe and back. As of today, the video has received over 2.1 Million views from 197 different countries. These are the views from bestviral.com alone, not including views to the same video on LiveLeak, Break, and a number of other video sites.
Even more disturbing was the follow up video in which the same news team hid a camera in 4-star hotels and found that even a higher price does not dictate improved cleanliness in a hotel. While comments from viewers have ranged from outrage to apathy, it is hard to argue with what is caught on camera.
Matt is a serial entrepreneur who is obsessed with technology. 
