Welcome Back to Google Maps

Google Maps already No. 1 among free iPhone apps.

If you were like me I dreaded the thought of updating my Iphone and loosing google maps. I had become completely dependent on my Google Maps app. When I did have to switch to Apple Maps I was shocked and frustrated just how bad it was. My opinion of apple products will be lower forever after tying to get used to Apples version of maps.

Thanks to CNET for clarification.

Google Maps didn’t take long to capture the top spot among free iPhone apps.

Driving back into iTunes earlier today, the app had already reached first place after the first several hours. It’s also garnered close to 8,000 reviews at this point, almost all of them earning five stars.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

The new app offers all of the features that made it an iOS standard in the past but with a cleaner look and feel.

You can search for your destination by typing or speaking it. The app handles specific addresses as well as the names of businesses and landmarks. You can also tell the app whether you’re driving, walking, or taking mass transit. In return, Google Maps provides you with spoken turn-by-turn directions.

You can quickly switch your view from traffic to public transit to satellite. In Street View mode, you can swipe your way around 360-degree panoramas of different locations.

There’s no iPad-optimized version just yet, just the one version for all iOS devices. Otherwise, the app marks a smooth return for Google to the iOS world.

Google Maps was kicked out of the App Store after iOS 6 debuted in September. Apple replaced it with its own Maps app as the default navigation program for iOS.

But Apple Maps proved to be a wrong turn for the company following complaints of missing locations, faulty images, bad directions, and a host of other glitches.

Apple was forced to fess up to its Maps mess, even going so far as to recommend that users turn to other Maps apps as alternatives. Scott Forstall, Apple’s iOS software chief, was reportedly fired over the Maps fiasco after refusing to sign a letter apologizing for the flaws in the app.

6 Internet marketing tips for relationship managment

Internet marketing = Relationship Marketing

When everything you do revolves around your community – customers, fans, followers, employees, etc. – the answer is clear. You will have the reputation, loyalty and love that keeps your business alive and thriving. You will have a connection with your audience, and that’s the key to success for your company.

Take the focus away from the dollar signs attached to your products and services, and focus on what’s really going to affect your sales: relationships.

Relationship marketing online is a fine balance
of technology and personality.

Something that has remained constant throughout the years is the power of relationships in business. Relationship marketing these days is just present in a different arena – online.
There are people who may insist that there were no problems of disconnect until the Internet came along. This simply isn’t the case. Technology is not the cause of this disconnect; the cause is the people behind the computers.

If your online presence is genuine and your brand is “real,” relationships will blossom.

And since nearly 90% of consumers use search engines to make purchasing decision (Digital Influence Index), you better believe that a strong community presence will feed your bottom line.

Relationship marketing from the ground up

To create a healthy community online, set up a steady foundation for your relationship marketing.

1. Understand your audience. Identify your niche market and how you plan to solve their problems. Have a clear vision for who your products and services are going to help so you can target them more directly with a message that resonates more powerfully.
2. Engage with your audience. Write with your audience’s wants and needs in mind. Listen to their feedback – good or bad – and give them a say in the conversation. Conversation is a two-way street, and there’s a difference between talking to people versus talking with them.
3. Be a part of your community. Be present in conversations about your own brand and your industry. A good relationship marketing strategy covers all aspects of a community – from customers to competitors. Find ways to join in on relevant conversations, offering your own opinion, experience, expertise and input. Just be sure you have something worth saying.
4. Demonstrate your expertise. One component of your relationship marketing strategy must address the fact that there is competition for what you’re offering. People will respect and listen to you more intently if your language is confident, clear and beneficial. If you’re not the expert in a certain area, that’s okay. Seek the advice or help of a non-competitor who knows the subject through and through, and give them credit for their knowledge.
5. Answer questions. Create free downloads, pay close attention to what people are asking on social media sites, and set up a blog dedicated to helping visitors find the answers to their most common questions. Your customers want to be acknowledged and appreciated.
6. Provide excellent service. Don’t just stop online with your relationship marketing. Continue the process offline and really show your customers that you appreciate them. Treat them with respect before, during and after a sale.

Final thoughts

The purpose of relationship marketing is to put the “people” back in business and ignite that “warm and fuzzy” feeling. It’s about having actual human beings dedicated to nurturing your online presence and every person that is a part of it.

Take the focus away from profits, put it back on relationships, and trust that the profits will come as a result. That’s relationship marketing in a nutshell.

Are you building relationships with your internet marketing?

25 new twitter tips

New Twitter: 25 Tips and Tricks for Savvy Tweeters

by Brian Anthony Hernandez

The reorganized and refashioned Twitter.com is a markedly different beast than it was just 48 hours ago. Now millions of users who call Twitter’s web destination home are looking for help. Perhaps just 25 soupcons of it. If so, look no further than this list of 25 new Twitter tips.

Sound off in the comments if you have other Twitter tips and tricks to share.

Use These 22 Keyboard Shortcuts

Actions for tweets:

• Click “f” to favorite a tweet (must have an individual tweet open; test it here)
• Click “r” to reply to a tweet (must have an individual tweet open; test it here)
• Click “t” to retweet (must have an individual tweet open; test it here)
• Click “m” to send a direct message (must have an individual tweet open; test it here)
• Click “n” to create a new tweet (can do this on anywhere on Twitter)
• Click “Enter” to see tweet details (must use navigation shortcut “j” first to make this one work; test it here)
• Click “l” to close all open tweets (open a few tweets using the “Enter” shortcut and then try closing them)

Navigation:

• Click “Shift” and “?” for a list of all keyboard shortcuts
• Click “j” to go to the next tweet (can do on homepage or your timeline)
• Click “k” to go to the previous tweet (can do on homepage or your timeline)
• Click the space bar to page down
• Click “/” to search
• Click / to jump to the search box
• Click “.” to load new tweets

Timelines

• Click “g” then “h” to go home
• Click “g” then “c” to go to the Connect page
• Click “g” then “m” to go to your direct messages
• Click “g” then “d” to go to the Discover page
• Click “g” then “p” to go to your profile
• Click “g” then “f” to go to your favorites
• Click “g” then “m” to go to your direct messages
• Click “g” then “u” to search for any user’s timeline