This week, Google rolled out a significant expansion of sitelinks, capping years of experimentation on the search feature. The changes have kicked off a big debate in the SEO community about how companies may be helped or hurt by the expanded sitelinks.

For those unfamiliar with sitelinks, they are links that appear underneath a search result that link to a sub-section of a website. As its “Inside Search” blog reveals, Google has been tweaking sitelinks since 2006, going from a small single line of sitelinks to the most recent version, which gives each sitelink its own full-size search result.

If you can’t see the expanded sitelinks yet, here are some illustrations using popular websites as examples.

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Some people, like Marketing Pilgrim’s Frank Reed, think that the new sitelinks are overkill. Others, like some of the commenters at Search Engine Land, argue that the sitelinks are fine, if only Google would allow site owners to change sitelinks via Google’s Webmaster Tools.  The one thing everyone agrees on, however, is that the new-look sitelinks make it even more important for brands (and personal brands) to secure the number one spot in Google search results and maintain interesting, content-rich websites.

What Google’s sitelinks change represents more than anything else is that the Web is constantly in flux. People will always turn to the Internet to find information — about the weather, about a new restaurant, or even about you. The way that people access that information, however, will change. In order to stay on top of your online reputation, it is important to stay current on the way search engines and social networks index and share information.

That’s what we’ve been doing at Reputation.com since 2006, and it’s what we’ll continue to do now and in the future.

In today’s Quick Hits, we offer some reputation management tips for police officers, talk about an odd new Facebook application, and ponder the privacy problems associated with smartphones and geolocation technology.

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PoliceOne.com: Survival Guide for Cops on Facebook

This article from PoliceOne.com explains why personal social networking profiles are a big risk for law enforcement professionals. In her article, Lauri Stevens offers advice on how police officers can protect their reputations and personal privacy by using Facebook responsibly. Reputation.com offers similar advice in our Resource Center article on Savvy Social Networking for Law Enforcement Officers.

Facebook Improves Search Results

According to AllFacebook, “Facebook appears to have upgraded its own search: the site now groups query results under category headings.” Facebook has become a dominant force on the Internet. Not only do millions of people use the website everyday, they spend lots of time on the site clicking around and visiting friends’ profiles. The better Facebook gets at improving navigation and search within the site, the stronger it will get, which is why traditional search websites like Google are working to integrate social features into their algorithms.

Facebook App Gives Relationship Alerts

Are you waiting for Mr./Mrs. Right, but they’re stuck in a relationship? Now, thanks to the Facebook Breakup Notifier, you don’t have to stalk their profile looking for changes in their relationship status. According to Doug Gross at CNN, the new free Facebook “is super simple — and will probably be super popular.” Gross continues writing, “It lets users pick certain friends whose relationship status they’d like to monitor. If one of those relationships changes, the user gets notified by e-mail…So, if that old high school flame suddenly becomes “single” or the receptionist you’ve pined for decides that her on-again, off-again relationship is now “complicated,” you can swoop right in.”

Today Show Tips on Facebook Sharing

In an article for the Today Show website, Anna Attkisson of Laptop magazine offers a number of tips for Facebook users to protect their privacy and reputations on the world’s largest social networking website. Attkisson also offers general advice on sharing etiquette and how to use some advanced features and third-party programs to schedule updates.

How Smartphones Will Reveal Your Every Move

In an article today for the Sydney Morning Herald, Julian Lee makes a compelling argument that our smartphones may soon reveal our every move to advertisers. Quoting from the article, “Within the next year, half the mobile phones in use will be smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy, embedded with technology that can pinpoint your position to within a metre.  Within three years the number of internet searches made through mobile phones will outstrip those via computers. Google has found that when a person gets a smartphone, the number of searches they make increases fiftyfold.”

The article goes into how geolocation tools work, how marketers will use smartphones to deliver geotargeted advertising, and what it means for individual privacy rights.

In today’s Quick Hits, the rest of the media world picks up on the bizarre story of a nursing student who was kicked out of her classes for posing for a picture with a placenta and posting it on Facebook. Also, Marissa Meyer talks about Google’s social shortcomings and some interesting stats on Facebook usage.

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Mainstream Media Picks Up on Story of Nursing Student Who Was Kicked Out of School for Placenta Photo

The Wall Street Journal, and other major newspapers, have picked up on the story I shared last week about a Kansas nursing student who was kicked out of her classes after posting a picture to Facebook posing alongside a human placenta that her class was studying. The student, who promptly removed the photo when asked, alleges that she had permission from her teacher, and that she was not given a proper hearing. In addition to the Wall Street Journal report, Forbes blogger Kashmir Hill also offered her take on the story.

71% of U.S. Web Users are on Facebook

According to a new iStrategyLabs report, there are146.8 million U.S. Facebook users. According to data from e-Marketer, which says that there are 206.2 million total U.S. internet users, that means that 71.2% of U.S. web users are on Facebook. In the last year, Facebook saw a 46% overall growth in the United States.

Volvo Contractor Fired for Calling Workplace to “Madhouse”

According to a UPI report, “a Swedish man said he was fired from a Volvo Powertrain engine plant for describing the facility as a ‘madhouse’ in a Facebook status update.” Although calling one’s workplace a madhouse seems fairly tame, the man’s superiors apparently fired him for the statement, alleging disloyalty. In the report, Marten Vikfors, head of media relations at Volvo Group AB, said workers are “expected to be ‘judicious’ and ‘show respect’ when using social media.”

Marissa Meyer Talks About Google’s Social Shortcomings

In an interview with MediaBistro’s MediaBeat, Google Vice President of Consumer Products, Marissa Meyer, talked about her company’s failure to fully embrace social media technology. Quoting from the interview, “One of the things that we’ve learned is that Google hasn’t gotten social right yet. That said, social is really important; it’s something that we’re working very hard on. I think that we will get it right. I think that if you look at some of the main platforms of the Web, it’s search, video, mobile and social. We’ve done really well in three out of those four, and we’re working very hard on the fourth.” Google is reportedly working on a social feature called Google Me, which seems to be a social sharing tool.

Is Quora the Next Big Thing in Social?

The question and answer website Quora is generating the same kind of buzz now that Twitter was generating back in 2008, leading some in the tech press to proclaim the company the next big thing in social media. In an article for the Telegraph, Milo Yiannopoulos explains why Quora may be more instantly accessible to users than Twitter, and why it will be much bigger than Twitter (if it deals with future issues like spam, abuse, etc).

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about the future of Internet advertising, whether Facebook is going to build a search engine, and how a resourceful car wash owner tracked down a TV thief on Facebook.

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AdKeeper Raises $35 Million Round of Funding

As debate rages on in Washington D.C. over the legality of Internet tracking and behavioral advertising, one company has received lots of attention for its innovative take on Web ads. AdKeeper, which recently raised a $35 million second round of funding, gives Internet surfers the chance to skip advertisements by clicking an icon and “keeping” interesting web ads to browse later. The company already has a large group of advertisers on board, and will likely release its first public product this year.

Wall Street Journal: What Your Facebook Page May Tell ID Thieves

With the sheer mass of information available about each one of us online, it’s no wonder identity theft is such a big problem. This article in the Wall Street Journal explains how information shared on one’s Facebook page can become perfect fodder for identity thieves. Even the most seemingly inconsequential piece of data can help an ID thief, because, as the article states, “thieves steal identities in pieces and layer them on each other for a clearer picture.” That’s why maintaining control over your Facebook profile, and your personal data elsewhere on the Web, is so important.

ZDNet: Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide

To help people get started on their Internet privacy resolutions for the New Year, ZDNet has compiled a four part guide to locking down a Facebook account. The multi-step guide offers insight into every part of the Facebook experience, including some of the lesser known features that allow backdoor entrances into user profiles.

Search Engine Land: Is Facebook Search Inevitable?

In an interesting article for Search Engine Land, Greg Sterling wonders what Facebook has planned for its recently announced $500 million round of funding. After discussing possible tweaks to Internet advertising, Sterling writes that the next possible step for the company would be a proper move into search either through the acquisition of a social search company like Blekko or some further development with current investor Microsoft (and its search engine Bing).

Car Wash Owner Tracks Down (and Friends) Thief Via Facebook

The tech and gadget website Gearlog recounts the unusual story of how one man found justice after a thief stole a TV from his car wash. After learning that a TV was stolen from his business’ bathroom, the car wash owner looked over security tape and saw that the thief had previously paid for his service with a credit card. Using the name on the Credit Card receipt, the owner looked up the robber on Facebook and friended him. The thief, who apparently accepts friend requests from anyone, accepted the request, giving the owner access to the young man’s pictures. Once the owner determined that the thief was indeed the same young man, he offered him one chance to return the TV without police involvement. After the thief deleted the owner as a friend, the owner informed the police who promptly arrested the robber.

ClickZ: What to Expect From Online Privacy in 2011

In an article for the marketing news website ClickZ.com, Kate Kaye breaks down some of the big privacy events of 2010 and analyzes what they might mean for the issue of Internet privacy in 2011. Specifically, Kaye discusses Internet advertising and the likely introduction of stricter privacy laws and regulations, such as the FTC’s “Do Not Track” rule, in the new year.]

Woman Sues Four Companies Over “History Sniffing”

In an article for Forbes, privacy blogger Kashmir Hill writes that a New York woman has filed a federal lawsuit against McDonald’s, CBS, Mazda, and Microsoft for using the advertising agency Interclick to track her online behavior. An Interclick spokesperson said the case has no merit, but similar lawsuits have settled out of court in the past, proving that there may be good money for law firms interested in suing over privacy issues.

In today’s Quick Hits, Google and Facebook intensify their feud, a possible correlation between texting and risky behaviors among teens, and page previews in search results.

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Google Facebook Feud Escalates

Between poaching its employees and challenging its Internet advertising supremacy, Google has had enough of Facebook. Recently, the search giant lobbed a small shot across Facebook’s bow by telling Google users that Facebook will “trap” their data if they try and import their Google contacts into the popular social networking site. Before allowing a user to import their contacts, a Google pop-up message asks, “Are you super sure you want to import your contact information for your friends into a service that won’t let you get it out?” The message also allows users to register a complaint about “data protectionism.”

Teens Who Text More Likely to Drink and Have Sex?

A study from Case Western Reserve University has polarized technology advocates and child safety groups after it found a “a strong correlation between texting, time spent on social networking sites, and risky teenage behavior like drinking, smoking, drug use, and having sex.” Some experts argue that the correlation is not explained by the technology itself, but rather that teens who spend excessive time online or texting are less likely to have strong parental oversight.

Advice for Parents on Connecting With Their Kids on Facebook

Should parents be friends with their children on Facebook? In an advice column for the Chicago Tribune, which has since been syndicated to dozens of major newspapers across the country, Heidi Stevens talks about how she interacts with her kids on Facebook and offering other advice from parents and child safety experts.

Facebook Adds “Account Protection” Sidebar

According to Inside Facebook, “Facebook has implemented a new security feature called Account Protection which informs users of how secure their account is. The feature is displayed in a new sidebar module and as a status bar at the bottom of the “Update Your Security Information” page which debuted last month.” The feature helps prompt users to add additional account retrieval functions to help protect against spammers and hackers.

Google Offers Instant Page Previews from Search Results

Google is rolling out a new feature that will show an instant page preview of a website from search results, allowing a user to see the content of a page without clicking through to it. The potential effect that this change will have on businesses which rely on click-throughs for page impressions and advertising dollars remains to be seen, but from an online reputation management perspective, it makes it even more important that individuals and businesses maintain a professional presence on Google.

In today’s Quick Hits, two men are fired for Facebook, Google gets stuck in a territorial dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and Germans are still suffering over Street View problems.

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Location Services Fail to Find Mainstream Audience

The hype over location check-in services like Foursquare and Gowalla may have come too soon. According to a Pew Research Center report, only “4 percent of Internet users are even using location based services.” What’s more, “on a given day, the percentage of Web users checking in via their mobile devices falls to just 1 percent, per Pew’s research.” These numbers might change once more people begin to use Facebook’s new location-based service, but the low numbers suggest that regular people are disinterested in these products, or wary of the security risks associated with using them.

Two Workers Fired for Insulting Their Boss on Facebook

Two Canadian workers were fired from their jobs after making aggressive statements and homophobic slurs about their boss on Facebook. The pair attempted to argue that their dismissal stemmed from their successful efforts to unionize workers, but those arguments were rejected. While this story itself is not necessarily shocking, the fact that the workers were friends with their boss online and continued to make derogatory remarks toward him is. It shows how some social media users don’t consider the ramifications of their actions before sharing content online.

Woman Removed from Jury Pool Over Attempt to “Friend” Defendant

Facebook and juries simply don’t mix. In a political corruption trial in Atlantic City, a woman was dismissed from the jury for allegedly sending a friend request to one of the defendants. The judge dismissed the woman, but advised her not to make comment without first consulting an attorney. It remains to be seen whether she will face criminal charges for ignoring the judge’s order to avoid Facebook contact with the defendants.

Google Maps in the Middle of South American Border Dispute

Demonstrating Google’s widespread reach, the company is currently embroiled in an international border dispute over its Google Maps feature. According to a Wall Street Journal report, “The Internet is abuzz with claims that a Nicaraguan commander justified a raid into neighboring Costa Rica after using Google Maps.” Costa Rica has petitioned Google to change Maps to reflect that the disputed territory is theirs, while Nicaragua has requested Google ignore the request and keep the map the way it is. It’s hard to believe that this all started with a search engine.

Errors Undo Street View Blurring in Germany

Several bugs have been uncovered in Google Street View that allow individuals to see German homes and businesses that were supposed to be blurred out. Google agreed to black out the images, but the German Data Protection Agency is arguing that Google needs to delete the data from the company databases completely, as it agreed to do prior to rolling out Street View in the country.

In today’s Quick Hits, Bing launches social search, Facebook predicts the election results, and a hacker steals explicit images of women and posts them online.

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Bing Goes Live with Facebook Social Search

Microsoft has officially gone live with the Bing-Facebook Social Search integration. A CNET report describes how the new feature works: “If you opt to link your Facebook account with your Bing log-in, searching for the name of one of your Facebook friends in Bing brings up a link to that person’s entire profile in your results. This is true even if that person has elected not to share their Facebook profile with any search engines, since only you can see those results. So if you have a Facebook friend named Jerry Seinfeld, a link to his profile will appear alongside results for the famed comedian.”

Hacker Steals X-Rated Photos and Posts Them on Facebook

A 23-year-old California man was arrested for hacking into the e-mail accounts of more than 3,000 women and then posting explicit images he found on Facebook. According to the report, “Police believe that Bronk broke into about 3,200 Web mail accounts by guessing the answers to password reset questions used by services such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Microsoft’s Hotmail.” The man used Facebook profiles to get detailed information about the women to help answer the security questions. So far, police have identified 20 victims, but they expect to find more. Police speculate that the man “posted images to between 170 and 176 Facebook pages, and also e-mailed them to the victim’s friends.”

UK Says Google Broke Law with Street View Wi-Fi Snooping, but Won’t File Charges

Following in the footsteps of the United States, Britain’s Information Commissioner Christopher Graham has decided not to fine Google for accidentally collecting WiFi data, e-mail information, and passwords, despite calling the incident a “significant breach” of UK law. According to an Ars Technica report, Graham said “he would rather be content with a written promise from Google that such a thing wouldn’t happen again” than pursuing further legal action.

Google Trends Over 24 Hours

CNET’s Tom Krazit has an interesting article examining how Google Trends, the company’s barometer of what people are searching for, changed over the course of one whole day. The results show how Google provides an accurate pulse of what the nation is discussing, and also how the company scrubs the list to make sure no inappropriate content comes up.

Facebook Accurately Predicted Election Results

Clearly, a politician’s social media presence is important in getting their message out, but until now nobody knew for sure if having more “friends” meant getting more votes. According to Facebook’s political team, however, Facebook friends really do add up to votes. A Fast Company article this morning discusses how politicians with more Facebook fans than their opponents “won 74% of House races and 81% of Senate races.” It wasn’t a guarantee though, as Facebook friends were inaccurate in predicting victories for Christine O’Donnell, Meg Whitman, and Sharron Angle.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about Faceook and Microsoft’s intriguing partnership, why you shouldn’t post videos of yourself speeding on Facebook, and how the DHS uses social media to uncover fraud.

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Microsoft and Facebook Team Up to Target Google

Microsoft and Facebook deepened their partnership yesterday with the announcement of a Facebook-powered search option for Bing. The feature, which would incorporate Facebook’s social functionality into Bing search results for a personalized user experience, is widely seen as an attempt by both companies to compete with Google for search traffic.

Homeland Security Document Reveals How Government Uses Social Media for Spying

The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently uncovered a Department of Homeland Security briefing on how government agents use social networking websites, and the narcissism of social media users, to monitor individuals online. According to the DHS document, “Narcissistic tendencies in many people fuels a need to have a large group of ‘friends’ link to their pages and many of these people accept cyber-friends that they don’t even know. This provides an excellent vantage point for FDNS to observe the daily life of beneficiaries and petitioners who are suspected of fraudulent activities.”

Police Charge Driver After Finding Reckless Driving Video on Facebook

An Israeli man was charged for excessive speeding and reckless endangerment after police discovered a video on Facebook showing him driving 162 mph on the freeway. The video, which was passed on to the media by one of the man’s friends, also showed the driver momentarily taking his hands off the wheel while he was speeding.

Facebook Offers One-Time Use Password

To help protect users from malicious software like keystroke loggers and other identity theft programs, Facebook recently announced the ability to request a one-time use password if they are using public computers. To get the one-time password, a user must text “otp” to “32665″ from a Facebook-verified phone.

New Study Shows 64% of CEOs Avoid Social Media

A new study from PR firm Weber Shandwick revealed an interesting statistic about CEO social media use. According to the report, 64% of CEOs do not actively use social media websites on behalf of their companies. In part, CEOs avoid social media because of the reputation risk associated with being online, but interestingly, there is also a reputation risk to not being proactive online. In the study, the CEOs who used social media were rated as more admired than those who didn’t.

In today’s Quick Hits, a major university shuts down social media, an Internet expert thinks Google is making us dumb, and some info on why searching for “free” online isn’t the best idea.

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Harrisburg University Bans Social Media for a Week

Harrisburg University in Pennsylvania has decided to temporarily block access to all social media sites from university computers for a week. The decision to ban social media access came from Provost Eric Darr, who told NPR that he wants students to think about how and why they use technology in their daily lives. Given the prevalence of smartphones on campus, however, the ban may not even affect student access to social media websites.

Does Google Make Us Dumb?

Nicholas Carr believes that the Internet is making people dumber, or at least less capable of solving problems on their own. The author of the book The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains recently talked with the BBC about Google and how the company has “an industrial view that everything’s about how efficiently you can find that particular bit of information you need – and then move on to the next.” Carr argues that while Google’s philosophy has allowed the company to make innovative products, it runs the risk of making it impossible for users to concentrate on complex tasks.

Kids Don’t Use Internet Search

A new study from human-computer interaction researcher Jakob Nielsen of the Nielsen Norman Group reveals that young Internet users do not frequently use search when they are surfing the Internet, but rely rather on “bookmarks, remembering their favorite sites, and accessing paid subscription content and games.” This tapers off as kids get older (11-12) when they begin adopting search mentalities similar to adults.

McAfee Warns Against Searching for Free Stuff Online

A new study from McAfee reveals the danger of searching for free content online. According to a CNET report, McAfee’s findings revealed that “adding the word ‘free’ when looking for entertainment content in search engines greatly increases the chances of landing on a site hosting malware.” As an example, “searching for free music ringtones increases the chances of hitting a malicious site by 300 percent.”

Bing Surpasses Yahoo

According to a Nielsen report, Microsoft’s Bing search engine has eclipsed Yahoo to become the number two most-used search engine in the world. Google still holds the top spot with over 65% market share, but Bing’s growth to 13.9% is an impressive climb. Yahoo entered a search agreement with Microsoft last year that allows the company to use Bing’s search technology to power Yahoo search. The full integration of Bing into Yahoo search will be completed by 2012.

In today’s Quick Hits, a woman’s Facebook photos earn her a ticket for illegal deer hunting, a professional skip-tracer explains how to disappear online, and Google gives us hints about new search features.

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Couple Cited for Illegal Hunting Thanks to Facebook Photos

A man and woman in Inverness, Florida, were given a “citation for possession of wildlife taken illegally” after an Internet crimes unit found pictures of the woman skinning a deer on Facebook. This is not the first time that Facebook has helped law enforcement officials investigate a crime, but it is certainly one of the more unusual cases and clearly demonstrates how important Facebook and other social networking websites have become in our everyday lives.

Facebook Testing New Feature That Could Make Stalking Easy

Facebook is reportedly testing a new feature that would allow users to “subscribe to” other user’s updates. Some in the media have speculated that this feature would make Facebook stalking easy, but it’s unclear yet whether you will be able to subscribe to anyone’s profile, or if the feature will be limited to your friends. Given Facebook’s previous problems with safety, it would be a surprise if the company rolled out this product as an “opt-in” feature.

“Stop Those Boneheaded Facebook Comments”

In their latest netiquette column for CNN, Brenna Ehrlich and Andrea Bartz discuss the fine art of Facebook commenting and offer advice on how to avoid leaving “boneheaded” comments on your friend’s wall. Ehrlich and Bartz offer three amusing, but all too true, scenarios.

Professional Skip-Tracer Releases New Book on Privacy

Throughout his career, professional skip-tracer Frank Ahearn has helped track people and put them into hiding. Now, he’s taken his years of experience and put out a book to help regular people “vanish without a trace.” This USA Today interview features a short interview with Ahearn where he discusses the subject of social media and digital privacy.

New Google Logo Hints at Streaming Search Results

Yesterday, Google’s interactive logo set the Internet on fire, even becoming a trending topic on Twitter. Today, Google has put out another interactive logo that many feel may be a hint that the company will announce the rollout of streaming search results during a press conference today. Some users are already seeing streaming search on Google.