Last night United played City in the second leg of the Carling Cup semi final. We were trailing by 2 goals to 1 from the first leg and our away goal at Eastlands would only come into play to our advantage after extra time. The first half was quite a poor game of football but with tensions running high it was only a matter of time before something sparked into life. The atmosphere was red hot and as Craig Bellamy (probably one of the most hated footballers in the country) was near the touchline he got a coin thrown at him and bottles hurled towards him. These people should be banned for life, don’t get me wrong I hate the guy but to throw things like coins at him is ridiculous. The same should apply to those who threw items at Patrice Evra at Eastlands too.

United Triumph

Soon after this snarling affair and after Bellamy had been mouthing off to Rio Ferdinand United broke forward. Rooney skinned the defender, dragged the ball back and flighted in a wonderful ball towards Giggs who raced through on goal. The angle became too narrow and as he placed the ball on a tee for Nani who danced through the defence, Fletcher instinctively set up Paul Scholes to drive home his first Carling Cup goal in 7 years. Old Trafford was in pandemonium. Soon after Carrick made it two and it looked comfortable. However in the 77th minute, Bellamy crossed for Tevez who flicked home in front of Rio Ferdinand and it was suddenly back all square. 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate.

As time ticked down towards the final whistle United piled forward and City keeper Shay Given saved fantastically from Fletcher’s header. From the resulting corner Giggs flighted in the second attempt ball through to the 6 yard area where Wayne Rooney was waiting to head home past a helpless Given. United were through, 3-1 and 4-3 on aggregate. The final will be played on Sunday 28th February against Aston Villa. I can’t wait!

Within the world of SEO there are varying degrees of expertise needed for getting a website to rank for certain phrases. There are some websites that can easily be optimised but some may need an expert eye to check for issues stopping a site ranking. Personally I use a variety of resources if I have a problem I can’t work out on my own. I use forums and often I just search for something if I am stuck. Sometimes people have come across issues before and that is where communities and forums can come in handy.

In the environment I work in however there is usually enough expertise and knowledge to sort out any issues or problems that are preventing a site from ranking. If you just search for a phrase such as “insurance” you are going to be faced with a huge amount of competition so sometimes a long-tail keyword strategy should be put into place. Insurance however is the most competitive industry on the internet, alongside adult sites.

Keep and eye out for Nicola Potts in the new series of Shameless starting tonight, Channel 4, 10pm. Nicola stars as young Tonya in the series, to find out more about Tonya keep your eyes peeled for Nicolas debut; this part has been a fantastic achievement for her. Recently Nicola has been involved with a wide range of productions including BBC/HBO Five Days II, Come Home, Prank Patrol, Strangewayz and Laminat among many others. If you are looking for a dedicated, hard working professional actor based in the North West of England but more than happy to travel for work, then please get in touch with Nicola Potts.

If you would like a reference from people she has worked with in the past then just check out her reviews page on her website. Her role in Shameless is bound to be a successful one for Nicola and I for one am looking forward to seeing her in the latest series.

Twitter the social media website commands a huge influence on the internet which can be utilised to benefit your profile or company.  For example, if you gained say 200 followers on Twitter, you can post a tweet about your company or advertise a product which will be seen by 200 potential clients. Twitter has become one of the most influential Social Media forces over the last 12 – 18 months. Everyone, from individuals to businesses, is starting to use Twitter as a tools to gain followers and have their say on matters affecting themselves or the world.

The possibilities are endless with Twitter, you can find people who talk about day to day activities, follow celebrities and also find companies tweeting about new products and services. When approaching a social media campaign it is always important to include a Twitter account as part of this, follow people who are relevant and tweet regularly.

Here are some useful techniques that can be used for running a successful Twitter account.

1. Style Your Twitter Page. Make the page look more engaging – brand it to match your company logo etc.
2. Follow Similar People: If you are an individual or company, make sure you follow people who have the same interests as you or your company. You have more chance of people following you if your follow people in the first place.
3. Tweet: Don’t forget to tweet. Make sure that you use your Twitter account regularly and tweet about any relevant information.

Another week begins and as the ice and snow melts it’s time to reflect on the film I saw over the weekend. On Saturday I went to the cinema to see It’s Complicated. It was a romantic comedy sort of film but the main characters were a bit older than the usual Rom-Com films. Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin played the lead roles – a divorced couple who found themselves having an affair with each other, ten years after they had seperated.

It's Complicated

Steve Martin played Meryl Streep’s architect and love interest for some parts of the film but his personality didn’t seem threatening enough to break apart the affair that was going on. He too had been through divorce and ultimately he decided not to pursue anything with Streep’s character as he felt that neither of them were ready to move on. The film had a strange ending but it was an interesting story and I enjoyed it – 7/10.