Funny how things pan out. I had accidentally stumbled across the new (as far as I know) Profile you can build on Google a few days ago and have been tweaking it ever since. Then just as I am getting ready to blog about it Chris Brogan beats me to the punch!
I can’t say I’m overly shocked, I regularly find him to be one of the most insightful people working in social media. Even so I’m blogging about it anyway, especially because there are many people out there unfamiliar with Chris who could benefit from the info.
Basically Google has set up a Profile for all their users, one which automatically links all of your favorite social services ranging from Twitter and LinkedIn to Facebook and a plethora of others. Since this Profile is indexed it makes an outpost on the web that you can set up for free which will raise your rankings as time goes by. For an example here is my own Profile (still tweaking it, but mostly there).
Now comes the really clever bit, as noticed by the aforementioned Mr. Brogan:
Earlier, I Googled the local gyms in my town. I found the place I wanted, and just before I made the phone call, I realized that Google had something that said “write a review.” I did, and immediately after submitting it, there was suddenly a little review, with a “chrisbrogan.com” prominently displayed beside it. When I clicked the link, it went to my Google Profile. Whoa, I thought. Matrix “whoa.” Because, hey, that’s like, free advertising. Non?
Check out his original post and make sure to read the comments.
Thanks to those comments we even have a shortcut to get in there and start editing, courtesy of Rob Shore (@shorespeak) who provided the direct link [Edit Google Profile]. As he noted, If you’re not signed in it will revert to a sign in page and then forward you to the profile edit page.
Now get out there and spiff up your profile and share it with us in the comments. (If you have any interest in social media you should also give Chris a follow on Twitter: @chrisbrogan or you could follow me: @SocialGumbo)
While we are on the subject of tarting things up here is a recipe for one you might enjoy, brought to you by A Beautiful Mosiac via the wonders of its Creative Commons licensing:
SUMMER FRUIT TART (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Pâte Sucrée
2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. sugar
1 C. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 large egg yolks
2-4 Tbs. ice water or cold heavy cream
Combine flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 to 20 seconds. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks; add ice water. With machine running, add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. Pat into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round, about 1/4-inch thick. Gently press dough into a 9-inch round fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing into edges. Trim the dough flush with pan. Chill tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes.(There will be left over dough and if you’re ambitious, make some mini-tartlets with the leftover dough.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Line with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake until edges are just beginning to turn golden, about 15-17 minutes. Remove parchment paper and weights; continue baking until deep golden all over, 20 minutes. Cool tart shell completely on wire rack. Remove tart shell from pan.
Vanilla Pastry Cream
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped to loosen
4 large egg yolks
1/4 C. corn starch
Bring milk and vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Cover and let steep for 10-20 minutes.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl (or in an electric mixer) until pale and fluffy. Add corn starch and mix until incorporated.
With mixer on low, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture into yolk mixture. Remove vanilla bean and slowly add remaining milk mixture until incorporated. Pour mixture back into the saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold.
Spoon cold pastry cream into the tart shell. Arrange fruit on top in whatever fashion you’d like. I usually only need about a couple cups of any kind of fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, figs, kiwi, etc.) Refrigerate.
Top with apricot glaze if desired. This is really necessary if you not serving your tart immediately as the fruit may wilt or even turn moldy.
Glaze
3 Tbs. apricot jam
2 Tbs. water
Heat jam in small saucepan over low heat, stirring until thinned. Pass through a fine seive into a small bowl. Brush glaze over fruit.
The original post of this recipe has a number of photos that may be quite helpful if you are new to this type of cooking, tell her you heard about it here!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Woohoo.
http://www.google.com/s2/profiles/108287375489903820185
Fun free stuff thats functional is always good!