WordSmith › Social Search is King, Social Security Is Not

“Pithy PRognostications from a recovering journalist …”

 

Words of the Day

“The government is clearly as adept a PR machine as there ever was one.” – Adam Sohn, Author

 

The Emergence of Social Search

Earlier this year Social Media Examiner predicted that 2011 would be a breakout year for social search.

 

You may have already noticed that socially shared content is rising to the top of your Google search results. So, if you want to earn higher rankings with Google, you not only need to be creating high-quality content, but also actively encouraging its sharing on the social networks.

 

Social Content Matters for Search

Why so much emphasis on social content? For one, there’s so much of it. Google can’t ignore the fact that social content is being created at a breathtaking pace. And because search is all about content, they have to go where the action is.

 

The second reason is that social content is contextual—rich with original perspectives that result from sharing on the social networks.

 

Social Search

Search is what drives the web, and Google is still the leader with nearly 65 percent of the market. However, Google recognizes that Bing is a viable competitor that happens to have a partnership with Facebook, as well as with Yahoo. To maintain their dominance, they’re making adjustments. You’ll have to do the same to keep your business relevant online.

 

Tune-in to WordSmith to find out some of the leading best-practices for maximizing social search.

 

For The Love of (Uncle) Sam, Social Security Overpaid Billions!

Call it another example of government ducking it’s duty … with a capital $B!

 

The Social Security Administration made $6.5 billion in overpayments to people not entitled to receive them in 2009, including $4 billion under a supplemental income program for the very poor, a government investigator said recently.

 

In all, about 10 percent of the payments made by the agency’s Supplemental Security Income program were improper, said Patrick P. O’Carroll Jr., the inspector general for Social Security. The program has strict limits on income and assets, and most of the overpayments went to people who did not report all their resources, O’Carroll said.

 

Error rates were much smaller for retirement, survivor and disability benefits, which make up the overwhelming majority of Social Security payments, O’Carroll told a congressional panel.

 

“By any standard, the scope of these problems is considerable,” said Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., chairman of the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee. “Regardless of whether a payment occurs because of simple error or outright fraud, improper payments harm Social Security programs in the long term, jeopardizing benefits for those who may need them in the future. They also cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year.”

 

Social Security also made nearly $1.5 billion in underpayments, raising the total amount of improper payments to $8 billion in the 2009 budget year, O’Carroll said.

 

There’s no wonder why a bankrupt Social Security system is looming on the horizon. WordSmith is not holding his breath for retirement!

 

Golden Mic

Each week, WordSmith will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned … and step-up to the mic!

 

The WordSmith News Bureau is based at Deane, Smith & Partners, a full-service PR, marketing and advertising agency. Got PR? Need marketing strategy? Ad consulting? Message Wordsmithing? Creative & online initiatives? Reach the WordSmith at wordsmith@deanesmithmedia.com.