The Nobel peace prize is a very honorable award determined by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on a yearly basis. This prize is awarded to nominated candidates that have brought about peace and harmony among nations of the world. The Nobel peace prize committee awarded the prize to US president Barack Obama this year. They stated his win was “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The news that Obama had won the Nobel peace prize spread like wild fire on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. Many people were shocked and had no clue he was even nominated this year for this prestigious honor. Seeing the effect of “hypes” and “buzzes” businesses are also using social networks for their social media optimization campaigns so they can spread awareness about their products and services and generate traffic back to their website.

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There were mixed reactions that were expressed by Facebook and Twitter users. Social networks were used by people to express their views on this controversial topic. Some felt he had done nothing to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. Others felt it was going to signify what he will do as a leader in the near future, for all of the nations around the world.  Even Obama supporters felt that the prize was given to him prematurely before he had a chance to prove anything. Twitter comments included opinions that expressed that the Nobel peace prize should not be given for the intentions of a candidate but for their accomplishments instead. Many people felt that he should graciously refuse it. Obama has stated he will donate the $1.4 million to charity. Charities are also gaining exposure and getting more donations through social media optimization. Non profit organizations promote their worthy causes through social media optimization to increase volunteer participation and encourage people to visit their website and make a donation.

Obama has been generating a lot of publicity lately through social networks. Recently he was actually given a death threat by a Facebook user asking people in a poll if he should be killed. This controversy stemmed from the push Obama was making for health care reform. Health care reform remains a disputed topic as it could drastically affect the cost of health insurance for Americans. The Obama administration heavily depended on social networks to gain supporters during the presidential elections. Their social media optimization campaign brought about awareness of their goals and directed traffic back to their website. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter were used to reach out to Obama supporters and gain the votes of those who were indecisive about who to vote for. His social media optimization campaign eventually led him to win the election and become the first African American president of the United States. Many people around the world followed the progress of the election through social networks. Twitter and Facebook users gave their opinions and support through their status updates and by posting comments in groups and forums.

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In the same way businesses can promote their websites through social media optimization. Through the use of social networks, businesses can connect with their consumers and communicate to find out how to improve their products and services to boost sales. Social networks will provide companies a platform to promote their website and improve their website rankings.