PageRank update January 3, 2005

 

Hasta la vista spyware January 3, 2005

 

The BBC are reporting that spyware companies could face hefty fines in California:

"From 1 January, a new law is being introduced to protect computer users from software known as spyware.

The legislation, which was approved by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, is designed to safeguard people from hackers and help protect their personal information."

This sort of legislation is arguable long overdue, but I can't help worrying about how the California courts will define Spyware. Time will tell.

 

Bloggers reveal their motives January 3, 2005

 

As predicted last week, I'm confident that 2005 will prove to be the year of RSS.

I also suspect that blogging will continue to become ever more common and mainstream, and that a large number of "new" issues within the workplace will arise and have to be resolved.

A BBC News article examines the blogs of a British Policeman and a medical technician, and why they write about their daily working lives.

All very interesting, especially when you consider that the word "blog" only appeared on the BBC website less than two years ago.

 

New keyboard forces new habits - guaranteed to flop January 3, 2005

 

EverythingUSB are reporting on a new keyboard:

"The new keyboard from New Standard, whose keys are arranged alphabetically, has the first 13 alphabet keys from A to M sitting the left side and the rest on the right hand side. Besides this radical change, the cursors and the function keys are relocated to the middle and bottom of the keyboard respectively."

It's yet another case of not only redesigning something that already works perfectly well, but also forcing the user to learn something completely new. My prediction? A guaranteed flop.

 

ThomasB2B Expands Ad Network January 3, 2005

 

ClickZ News are reporting that ThomasB2B.com are expected to announce new plans to distribute ads via PRWeb:

"Ads will appear on PRWeb's freely distributed news releases, targeted by business category. PRWeb will update its submission form to enable indexing of each submitted release according to ThomasB2B's 10,000-category business classification system. Relevant sponsored text ads will be served by ThomasB2B's pay-per-click ad network, based on both the ThomasB2B classification and the search query used to arrive at the page.

Bids start at $0.25 per click, which is higher than the minimum bids on Google or Overture. Dan Savage, CEO of ThomasB2B.com, said this isn't an attempt to artificially inflate the costs, but a necessity to convince distribution partners that joining the network will be profitable, as most of ThomasB2B's partners aren't high-traffic sites."

 

Learn (for free!) how employees of 200,000 specific companies and organizations use the web January 4, 2005

 

"Need company-specific marketing information (instead of generalized statistics)? VisitorVille Intelligence (VI) reports how employees from 200,000 of the world's top companies, universities, non-profit organizations, and government agencies use the Web. We collect detailed referrer data on company-level visitors from a network of thousands of web sites, and from this data create 5,000,000 marketing intelligence reports that you cannot find anywhere else.

Constantly updated, VI is an ideal decision-support tool for Web marketers, designers, executives, salespeople, and advertisers."

 

Looming pitfalls of work blogs January 4, 2005

 

From the BBC news website:

"This year, "blog" was included for the first time in the US Merriam-Webster dictionary. It entered the Oxford English dictionary last year, reflecting its entry into mainstream language.

There are more than five million blogs, or online diaries, and the number is growing.

But increasingly, people are landing in hot water with employers over blogs about their work."

 

Online tills ring with Christmas cheer January 4, 2005

 

ZDNet UK are reporting that Christmas was a busy time for online shoppers, with the US spending up by 25%.

"The report, from Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen/NetRatings, said US holiday shoppers spent $23.2bn online, not including travel. That's up 25 percent from the $18.5bn spent last year.

Analysts said shoppers went online for the usual reasons: variety, convenience and price. And while e-commerce used to be stymied by fears of credit card fraud and other perceived or real online shopping hazards, the Internet now benefits from mainstream familiarity."

 

The state of blogging January 4, 2005

 

From Pew Internet:

"By the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key part of online culture. Two surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in November established new contours for the blogosphere:

8 million American adults say they have created blogs;

blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users;

5% of internet users say they use RSS aggregators or XML readers to get the news and other information delivered from blogs and content-rich Web sites as it is posted online;

and 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs. Still, 62% of internet users do not know what a blog is."

 

SEO Tools - Future PageRank January 4, 2005

 

This tool will query Google's various data centers to check for any changes in PageRank values for a given URL. Usually all data centers will output the same, but if queried during an update, you might get a glimpse of any upcoming changes in your chosen URL's PageRank value.

 

Tools for online tracking January 4, 2005

 

From Small Business Software:

"In order to determine which advertising and marketing efforts are effective you must have ways to measure the results of those efforts. Alerts and instant notifications can be instrumental in monitoring search engine position, trademarked terms, monitoring competitors and staying abreast of online occurrences."

 

Study: Magazines Risk Losing Core CPG Advertisers to Web January 4, 2005

 

From ClickZ News:

"Traditional offline media could be in danger of losing a substantial portion of their consumer packaged goods (CPG) advertising base, according to a new study by JupiterResearch."

 

Commodore finds new lease of life January 5, 2005

 

The BBC News website are running an article on the once-famous Commodore rising up from the ashes.

Two things struck me:

1) That the Commodore 64, launched in 1982, was one of the first affordable home PCs. It sold more than any other single computer system, even to this day.

2) That it's now been more than twenty years since my family bought one.

 

Microsoft's 'A1': A Secret Security Sauce for Windows? January 5, 2005

 

From Microsoft Watch:

"Among Microsoft's hottest hot buttons in 2005 will be - no surprise - security. And among the betas due up soon, according to our tipsters, is Microsoft's anti-virus/anti-spyware subscription service, code-named "A1.""

 

Broadband adoption increases by 50m across the globe January 5, 2005

 

vnunet.com are reporting that the number of broadband lines grew by 50 million worldwide in 2004, but that the growth slowed slightly from 63 per cent in 2003 to 50 per cent in 2004.

 

More on Google's 60 Minutes January 5, 2005

 

The transcript of the 60 minutes feature makes for quite interesting reading.

A few excerpts:

"To this day, Google has still never run a TV commercial. Their popularity has spread literally by word of mouth around the world, as people everywhere search for everything under the sun."

"Another goal is to make TV shows and video clips searchable online. Google has teams working on all sorts of change-the-world ideas."

""I think it could be summed up in, 'search will no longer live only on your PC,'" says Battelle, when asked to speculate on what the next big breakthrough might be. Google is already moving that way, testing a new product that allows people to send short text messages from their cellphones and get an immediate reply to the search."

"And if that's not science-fiction enough, Battelle describes another advance potentially on the not-so-distant horizon. Users would, he says, "have a device which is in your pocket, which looks like a phone, and you go to a supermarket and you see a potentially overpriced box of pasta. And you take that device and you wand it over the product code, and you see comparison prices from Google of three other stores that are within a mile, OK? That's power. That's search."

 

MWW Debuts Blog Marketing Practice January 5, 2005

 

From ClickZ News:

"Interpublic-owned PR firm MWW Group today launched a Web log marketing practice. Blog 360 will advise clients on strategies to create, participate in, monitor, and advertise in blogs."

"The role of blogs in corporate outreach and image making has been a hot topic lately. A recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found blog readership increased by 58 percent between February and November 2004. In December, Highbeam Research launched a ChiefBloggingOfficer.com initiative to encourage bloggers to cite its research in their posts."

 

Gates opens biggest gadget fair January 6, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting on Bill Gates opening of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

"Mr Gates made no announcement about the next generation Xbox games console, which many gadget lovers had been hoping for.

About 120,000 people are expected to attend the trade show which stretches over more than 1.5 million square feet and runs from 6 to 9 January."

 

New Year's texting breaks record January 6, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that in the first 24 hours of 2005, more than 133 million text messages (SMS) were sent in the UK alone.

 

Microsoft dipping toes into paid search? January 6, 2005

 

DMNews are reporting that a recent recruitment drive by Microsoft suggests that they may be developing a paid search program:

"Kenexa, a Wayne, PA, employment recruiter, last month posted job vacancies on MarketingSherpa.com, Monster.com and HotJobs.com, seeking paid search specialists for Microsoft. A Kenexa recruiter confirmed yesterday that he is recruiting for jobs at MSN for pay-per-click account executives, marketing analysts and marketing specialists."

 

Microsoft Windows Anti-Spyware Beta overview and screenshots January 6, 2005

 

2005 looks set to be Microsoft's Year of Security.

From the Geekzone:

"On 16 December 2004 Microsoft announced its acquisition of Giant Company Software, Inc., a provider of anti-spyware and Internet security products. The company started working on incorporating Giant's technology into a new product, called Microsoft Windows Anti-Spyware. The first beta of this new product is available for download from today.

The beta scan a customer's PC to locate spyware and other software threats and enable customers to remove them. It available for Windows 2000 and later, including Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Pro."

 

Seven Resolutions to Improve Your Bottom Line January 6, 2005

 

An interesting article on ClickZ Experts by Heidi Cohen:

"With the arrival of the New Year, it's time to take stock of 2004's marketing successes and failures. It's also time to make a list of resolutions covering what you want to achieve this year.

Before developing a list of resolutions, analyze last year's performance. Start by listing every 2004 marketing campaign and promotion that exceeded expectations. Create a similar list for every campaign and promotion that disappointed. Consider 2004's results to understand what happened and why before finalizing 2005 plans."

 

Personalized search RSS feeds January 6, 2005

 

Findory have just launched RSS feeds for their personalised search of news and blogs:

"Execute a news or blog search on Findory and, at the bottom of the search results, you'll see links to RSS feeds for those searches. The personalized version of the RSS feed (visible only if you are signed in) highlights recommended articles from the search results."

This is a great idea, and just the sort of thing that I expect to see more of this year.

In a similar vein, Sharon Housley recently setup an RSS feed for her SoftwareMarketingResource.com Forum. Check it out at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/forum/rss.php

Without a doubt this will be the Year of RSS.

 

Interview with Bill Gates January 6, 2005

 

CNET's News.com have an intriguing interview with the man himself. Makes fascinating reading:

Some highlights.

On blogs:

"Now, with blogs, you always have to be careful. The decay rate of "I started and I stopped" or "I started and nobody visited" is fairly high, but as RSS (Really Simple Syndication) has gotten more sophisticated and value-added search capabilities have come along, this thing is really maturing."

On Apple:

"They had a hit with the Apple II, they had a hit with the Macintosh, and they have a hit with the iPod, so this is a company that's had three hits, and that's very impressive. There are a lot of companies that don't have three hits."

On Google:

"We've been in the search business even before Google was around. The commitment we made is to build unique search technology across the board. And if you look at the Microsoft Research things that we've had breakthroughs in--natural language, document analysis, personalization, image analysis, language translation--our research agenda will allow us to take today's search from ourselves and Google, and make what we have today look like a joke. And a lot of that will be built into applications like Office or the Windows shell. I see our desktop search offering--I think every review I've seen has rated it far better than what Google is coming out with."

 

File-swappers ready new network January 7, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that the legal attacks launched on websites that helped people to swap pirated films have forced the development of a system that could be harder (if not impossible) to shut down.

"In late December movie studios launched a legal campaign against websites that helped people swap pirated movies using the BitTorrent network.

The legal campaign worked because of the way that BitTorrent is organised. That file-sharing system relies on links called "trackers" that point users to others happy to share the file they are looking for.

Shutting down sites that listed trackers crippled the BitTorrent network.

Now the man behind suprnova.org, who goes by the nickname Sloncek, is preparing to release software for a new file-swapping network dubbed Exeem.

In an interview with Novastream web radio, Sloncek said Exeem would combine ideas from the BitTorrent and Kazaa file-sharing systems.

...

There will be no centrally maintained list.

This, said Sloncek, should make the system less vulnerable to legal action aimed at stopping people swapping pirated movies and music."

 

Google AdWords Affilates Policy Announced January 7, 2005

 

The forums have been buzzing with rumours for weeks, but now it's official.

Google are limiting the number of affiliate ads that show up in search results.

The implications of this may not be clear just yet. For instance, this will mean that those willing to pay a higher rate can actually unseat an advertiser with a higher ad rank. Nothing new in that, but how will the other ads, not being displayed, be able to get a higher CTR in the first place?

With a little expertise, cunning or a short-term budget, a product's affiliates could soon become quite effective competitors.

I would strongly advise that where possible, anyone using an affiliate system add a simple clause stating that unique URLs must be used for the ads.

For now, that should do the trick. For now.

 

Portable media gadgets get moving January 10, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that pocket-sized gadgets for carrying around video and images are set to have a big year in 2005:

""This year, we are ready for an explosion of portable media," Microsoft's Mike Coleman told the BBC News website."

 

MSN Search Beta Ramp-Up January 10, 2005

 

From the MSNSearch's WebLog:

"As you know we have been testing the beta of our new search service on an opt-in basis for several months now. From time to time we also route some of the customers from our live search service at search.msn.com through the Beta web site in order to do scalability testing.

Next week we intend to begin turning up the dial and direct more of our users to the Beta. You'll continue to see us doing this on occasion for the forseeable future. As before, the service remains in beta status and we will officially launch it when it's ready."

 

Microsoft's Anti-Spyware Conflicts Of Interest January 10, 2005

 

From techdirt:

"Microsoft, of course, is a big believer in EULAs. It's the basis of much of their business that a user must abide by the EULA -- even if they have no ability to negotiate over it. However, many EULAs from spyware/adware companies claim that you can't use anti-spyware products to remove them. So, removing them with Microsoft's offering would violate the EULA.

Of course, Microsoft gets around this issue in their own EULA (where else would it be?) by basically saying that the liability rests not in them for pointing out and removing the spyware, but in you the user for pushing the button to remove the spyware, against the EULA."

 

RSS Digest January 10, 2005

 

"Place items and headlines from any RSS or Atom enabled site (such as del.icio.us or Flickr) onto your site, no programming required. It can use JavaScript, PHP, or an IFRAME as the inclusion method, so anyone can use it. Get no ugly ads, and use ANY feed!"

 

Microsoft do security January 10, 2005

 

If you haven't yet tried Microsoft's AntiSpyware, then it's well worth a look.

And the web is buzzing with news that their anti-virus application will make an appearance later this month.

The question is whether these applications will be free, or whether they will charge for them?

Free would of course result in a devastating blow to other anti-virus and anti-spyware applications.

But would charging for it lessen the damage?

After all, who better to protect your Microsoft Operating System from intrusion and attack than Microsoft?

Whatever their strategy, by the start of February 2005, Microsoft will be offering a firewall, an anti-virus application and anti-spyware solution.

With security an ever-growing concern, a built-in update system, the most trusted of all names and brand recognition, the launch of these applications could have a massive impact on the industry as a whole.

Interesting times lie ahead.

 

US software pirate jailed for 18 months January 11, 2005

 

From The Register:

"A US software pirate has been sentenced to 18 months' jail by a Virginia court for punting illicit programmes via a pay-for-access website."

 

Microsoft's Virus Removal Tool - TITAN January 11, 2005

 

From Bink.nu:

"The Microsoft Virus Removal Tool under codename TITAN is a 2 step wizard to remove know infections from your PC.

Starting from January 11th, 2005, Microsoft will provide Windows customers with Malicious Software Removal Tools. New versions of these tools will be available monthly (second Tuesday of every month on the same schedule that Microsoft already delivers other security updates) or more frequently if necessary."

 

IBM frees 500 software patents January 11, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that IBM are to release 500 of their software patents into the open development community:

"The move means developers will be able to use the technologies without paying for a licence from the company.

IBM described the step as a "new era" in how it dealt with intellectual property and promised further patents would be made freely available.

The patents include software for a range of practices, including text recognition and database management."

 

Gates interview part II January 11, 2005

 

Gates Interview Part Two: Windows Post-Longhorn and Apple's Office Suite.

 

1 bln Windows users by 2010 January 11, 2005

 

IT Facts are listing a collection of fascinating OS figures, trends and predictions:

"There are 600 million Windows PCs today, according to Microsoft. But by 2010, there will be more than 1 billion of them, company officials claim. According to Microsoft's figures, 35% of enterprises are still running Windows 9x-based versions of Windows (like Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition) and/or NT Workstation."

 

Click Fraud: Somebody Is Cheating You January 11, 2005

 

ClickZ Experts are running a fairly basic (but interesting) primer on the issue of Click Fraud:

"Click fraud is the practice of artificially inflating the number of clicks or conversions in an online campaign. This often occurs in search and affiliate marketing. The problem hasn't been discussed much outside of those environments. But click fraud potentially extends into any performance-based display advertising environments.

How prevalent is it? I've seen different figures stating up to 10 to 50 percent of click activity is suspect -- an astonishing number. In other words, your CPC (define) and cost-per-acquisition (CPA) buys are potentially half as effective as they could be because of fraud. "

 

Online Holiday Spending Surges Beyond Expectations, Driving E-Commerce to Record Annual Sales of $117 Billion January 12, 2005

 

ComScore are reporting that online consumer spending grew by 29 percent in 2004:

"Unprecedented strength in the last two full weeks of December was perhaps the most interesting aspect of the 2004 holiday shopping season. Through mid-December, holiday season growth was tracking at 23 percent. Growth accelerated dramatically during the weeks ending December 19 and December 26, with sales growing by 57 and 53 percent, respectively."

This late surge was driven by a number of factors, including local fulfilment, later shipping deadlines, gift cards, offline shortages and increased broadband access from home.

 

MSN experiment with RSS search results January 12, 2005

 

From the MSNSearch blog:

"We've been experimenting with RSS Search results on our live servers...

This is an experimental alpha feature that is still under development. Since this is an experiment, be aware that we will be changing it and making it better. We are planning to keep the feeds up during the experiment, but will not if they are abused. Use them from your RSS readers, but please don't recreate our search engine with them."

 

Downloads overtake single sales January 12, 2005

 

From the BBC news website:

"Sales of song downloads overtook those for physical singles for the first time at the end of 2004.

The last week in December saw download sales of 312,000 compared with 282,000 physical singles, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)."

 

Yahoo joins the Desktop arena January 12, 2005

 

From DMNews:

"Yahoo became the latest search engine to introduce a desktop search tool, joining rivals Google, Microsoft and Ask Jeeves yesterday.

Yahoo Desktop Search, based on technology Yahoo licensed from Pasadena, CA, desktop search company X1 Technologies, lets users find more than 200 file types on their computers. Yahoo said the tool, still a test version, would stand out from its rivals' offerings by its speed, comprehensiveness and user control."

No great surprise there, but if anything, I've been quite surprised by how slowly this particular battle appears to be taking place.

My prediction is that they're all quietly edging their features into place before launching an all-out attack. We shall see.

 

Google without ads, Google with ads alone January 12, 2005

 

Those ever-cunning research people at Google are now offering a means of searching Google without any of the ads, and also a means of only viewing the ads for any given query.

Why? No idea, but I don't expect the former to be around (or developed further) for too long.

 

The Four C's Drive the "5th P" January 12, 2005

 

An article on the Search Engine Roundtable suggests that the well-known 4 P's (product, price, place and promotion) are being replaced by the 4 C's - customer solution, customer cost, convenience and communication.

The writer not only believes that the internet is key to this change, but that under the new system, power has moved from the seller to the buyer.

Unless I'm missing something, the writer of the article is clearly missing the point. Actually two points.

1) The C's are more or less synonyms of the P's:

product = solution

price = cost

place = convenience

promotion = communication

2) If the writer genuinely believes that power is only now moving from the seller to the buyer, then he has much to learn.

We're now well into the so-called "new millennium", and this is undoubtedly the era of e-commerce. If a company doesn't yet understand that the buyer has been in the driving seat for quite some time, then their products and services are destined to go the way of their outdated beliefs and theories.

 

DoubleClick: Holiday Search ROI Leaps Over Q3 January 13, 2005

 

From DMNews:

"Despite rising click prices, marketers saw robust results from their search engine marketing campaigns last month, according to figures released yesterday by DoubleClick's Chicago-based affiliate and search marketing firm Performics."

 

T-Mobile: We were hacked January 13, 2005

 

Yet more security issues, as reported by CNET's News.com:

"The mobile phone company has admitted that a breach of its networks was successful in 2003 - but questions remain as to whether the hacker was then able to get back in."

 

Duplicate Content Penalty Timespan January 13, 2005

 

The issue of duplicate content is one of the many in Search Engine Optimisation (or Search Engine Optimization) that attracts many theories and (sometimes) educated guesses.

The Search Engine Roundtable spotted an interesting thread in the SEW forums. One of the members posted information about duplicate content penalty timeframes, that he claims came directly from Matt Cutts of Google.

 

DoubleClick: December Search Revs Rocket even Faster than Costs January 13, 2005

 

From MarketingVOX:

"DoubleClick's Performics division said it found that December brought with it an enormous rise in click traffic from paid search campaigns. Clicks increased 144 percent over the average seen in the third quarter. Conversion rates also increased, going up 124 percent."

 

Measuring Blog Marketing January 13, 2005

 

An interesting article on ClickZ Features looks at some of the issues involved in measuring the effectiveness of blog marketing:

"Marketers eager to buy into blogs don't suffer from a lack of options. The range of entry points to advertising in so-called citizen's media may flummox some experienced online media buyers. There are standard banner ads, contextual ad products, in-post sponsorships, or even unique sole-sponsorship blog opportunities. Then again, you could scrap the media buy and just launch a corporate blog. That's a totally different beast altogether.

Brands are testing all these avenues, as marketer interest grows in a medium now read by 27 percent of U.S. Web users, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. However, any medium has potential drawbacks, and blogs are certainly no exceptions. One area of confusion for marketers is in how to measure their blog spend. Digital media, and indeed, all media, have ongoing reporting problems. (Reference this year's newspaper circ scandals and rising concerns over search engine click fraud.) The task of developing metrics for a whole new category is daunting.

The good news is when it comes to measuring blog ads, experts say you don't have to reinvent the wheel. The bad news is, many contend the wheel may not be the best tool for the job."

 

The miracle of modern technology January 14, 2005

 

The content that you're reading today, now, was actually prepared yesterday.

Let's rephrase that.

Friday's content for this blog was actually prepared on Thursday morning. And yes, I know that the timestamp says the 14th, but come on, most of you are developers and the rest are geeks. You can figure it out.

The reason that I prepared it in advance is (was?) that by the time you actually read this, I'll be in Germany. And the amount of targeted traffic that we gain from the blog is too good to lose. Even for one day.

The basic idea of our blog is to provide a roundup of general and marketing news related to the software and shareware industry.

When we decided to launch the blog, back in May 2004, we decided that where possible we were going to post from Monday to Friday.

Why? Because we wanted readers of the blog to know that every day of the working week, we'd have something to show them.

Everyone (myself included) is talking about the power of the blog as a marketing tool, but many individuals and companies are missing a key point. That without regular content, a blog will never become part of my daily reading.

Deciding to post fresh content "every few days", "when the need arises" or "once a month or so" is fine if you're Bill Gates. He knows that as soon as he posts, the world will scurry to read what he's said.

But if I only post once in a while, most of you will stop coming back here every day. And our statistics show us that most of you do come back every day.

When I go back to some of my daily reading and see that for the third or fourth day on the run, they haven't posted, I'll remove them from my list. And I'll probably never go back.

As useful or enjoyable as you may find reading my own words of wisdom, the fact is that your lives will go on nicely without them, and there are other feeds and pages to take their place.

So before you decide to setup a blog as a means of pulling people in to your website, stop to think about the commitment it involves. If you can't post regularly, or keep to your stated aims, then you might want to think about how worthwhile it may be.

Make sure you have an abundance of good quality content, and make sure you have the time to post it.

And try not to just write about how you're not around to write. It'll only work once :-)

 

Microsoft to become security outfit by next month January 17, 2005

 

From The Inquirer:

"An analyst at corporate crystal ball gazers, JP Morgan, is predicting that the Mighty Microsoft will penetrate the anti-virus market by February 15th.

Adam Holt says that he sees Supreme Vole Bill Gates standing before a large group of people showing them his latest big offering."

 

Report: Consumers Still Love Google But Warm to Rivals January 17, 2005

 

An article on DMNews is reporting that while the majority of web users still rate Google as their search engine of choice, they are also becoming increasingly comfortable with Yahoo and MSN.

"Keynote Systems conducted a study of 2,000 Web users to determine their satisfaction with search engines. The San Mateo, CA-based Internet performance consultancy released excerpts that show Yahoo and MSN have closed the perceived technology gap with Google in the eyes of many searchers."

Regular readers of my ramblings will already know that I'm a great fan of Google, but it's worth remembering that the single most important reason for this is their search capabilities.

Ultimately, we all use Google for one reason, and one reason alone. It's a very good means of finding what we're looking for quickly and easily.

If something else comes along tomorrow, next week or next month, that lets me find what I'm looking for even quicker or more easily, I'll change my search engine of choice in a second.

Google have no real brand loyalty as such; we're just fans of their technology. If MSN proves to be better, the majority of us will switch without even glancing back.

And with the ever-growing difficulties associated with getting new content and websites indexed by Google, I smell an opportunity in the air.

 

Seven Longhorns to debut in May 2006? January 18, 2005

 

Silicon.com are running an article suggesting that Longhorn may be ready for manufacturing as early as May 2006, and will ship in seven different versions:

"The seven versions will include the Longhorn Home Edition, Longhorn Premium/Media Center Edition, Longhorn Professional Edition, Longhorn Small Business Edition and Longhorn Mobility/Tablet PC Edition."

Microsoft, of course, declined to comment, but the strategy does sound plausible. This is more or less what they do with their Office suite, and they have already launched a lite version of XP in several countries.

 

The offline generation January 18, 2005

 

MarketWatch.com are running an article claiming that plenty of Americans have never used the internet, and a substantial number of them are grandparents.

No great shock there, but the figures quoted suggest that 70 percent of those aged 65 and older have never gone online.

"Lack of money is one of the biggest barriers to older Americans getting online, according to the study.

Just 15 percent of seniors (age 65 and older) with annual income less than $20,000 a year have gone online compared with 65 percent of seniors with income of $50,000 a year or more."

 

How Much is the Link Structure Around Your Site Worth? January 18, 2005

 

From the Search Engine Roundtable:

"Google, Yahoo, MSN, & Teoma have compiled a huge link graph of all the sites on the Web that are accessible by their spiders. I can barely fathom the depth of such a link map. I tried to build something that really does a job of uncovering the link structure around a specific domain name, I named this free tool Google Link Popularity Analysis Tool. But it is limited, it only looks at the Google link command and then branches out from there. The limitation is annoying, it doesn't let me get the complete picture of the linkage data around a particular domain."

 

Operation Open Gates January 19, 2005

 

From the Linux Business Week:

"IBM, Intel, the Open Source Development Labs, and other industry lights are supposedly planning to announce that a consortium has been created that will rewrite the components in the Linux kernel that, it has been alleged, tread on other people's IP - or at least the 27 Microsoft patents that Linux supposedly infringes.

The aim? To rob Microsoft of the ability to scare customers off of Linux by saying that the operating system is a patent infringer, informed sources say. "Operation Open Gates" as they are calling it is reportedly going to be unveiled on January 25."

 

Blog Spam unites the engines January 19, 2005

 

Blog Spam has grown to be a major nuisance for blog writers, readers, and the search engines wishing to index their content.

Both Google and MSN Search are now reporting to be involved in identifying and ignoring it.

From the MSNSearch blog:

"Paul told me that Google is planning on announcing support for a -rel="nofollow"- tag on individual -A- links. Any link with this tag will indicate to a crawler it is not necessarily approved by this page and shouldn't be followed nor contribute weight for ranking. Our Search Champs suggested this and it has been a part of our plans since, we think it's a great idea."

I think it's a great idea too, but suspect that this may be the start of another long-term cat and mouse chase between the spammers and the search engines.

 

Picasa 2 January 19, 2005

 

Google have released version 2 of their Picasa photo software.

 

When is a phrase not worth targetting? January 19, 2005

 

The SEO Chat Forums are holding an interesting discussion on when a particular phrase is not worth targeting.

"Would you bother going after a phrase that only has 14 searches a day? If not, where do you usually draw the line? How many searches a day minimum must a phrase have for you to target it?"

 

Bloglines and RSS Copyright January 20, 2005

 

From Google Blogoscoped:

"Martin Schwimmer of The Trademark Blog asked Bloglines to remove his RSS feed from their site (see his original post and follow-up). He says "commercial use and derivative works are prohibited" and thinks Bloglines falls into that category. He also doesn't like the fact they hide his contact information from the reader."

 

Ask Jeeves Response to the Nofollow Attribute For Links January 20, 2005

 

From Search Engine Roundtable:

"This morning we covered the reaction around the forums of the nofollow attribute. In that entry, I noted that Ask Jeeves was the lone engine of the major 4 to not join in on this announcement. So I took the liberty to email Jim Lanzone, a VP over at Ask Jeeves, to ask why."

 

EBay disappoints the Street January 20, 2005

 

ElectricNews.net are reporting that Ebay failed to live up to Wall Street expectations in their fourth quarter, despite a 44 percent increase in profits:

"The firm said late on Wednesday that net income came to USD205.4 million, or USD0.30 a share, up from USD142.5 million, USD0.21 a share, in the comparable period last year. But eBay said that if amortisation of intangibles and some stock-option expenses are excluded, then it would have reported earnings of USD0.33 a share, or a penny less than the average forecast of Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call."

 

Microsoft offers subscription Outlook January 20, 2005

 

CNET's News.com have announced that Microsoft are ready to start a paid subscription version of Outlook.

This is the first time that Microsoft have made part of the Office suite available on a subscription basis.

A preview of things to come?

"Known as Microsoft Office Outlook Live, the service includes a subscription version of Outlook 2003 to connect with Hotmail or MSN e-mail accounts. For $59 a year, customers get an e-mail account with 2GB of storage and the ability to send individual messages with up to 20MB of attachments. Customers can also check multiple e-mail accounts, including corporate accounts that are managed through an Exchange server."

 

China set for ecommerce boom January 20, 2005

 

UK based The Register are reporting that China may become the world's biggest online market within two years.

"Ecommerce is already beginning to take off in China with four in ten buying something online. This year two in three people are expected to buy online, with books and computer gear proving particularly popular.

The Chinese market is "huge and willing to buy online"; and people wired up to the net are also young and affluent, finds Connecting with China - A report on the business opportunity provided by China's 100m online consumers."

 

Apple, Microsoft Lawyers Get Busy With Bloggers January 21, 2005

 

From WebProNews:

"This is shaping up as the year of suing/sending cease and desist letters to bloggers..."

Let's hope not.

 

Peer-to-peer nets 'here to stay' January 21, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that P2P networks offer opportunities for the commercial media firms:

"Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are here to stay, and are on the verge of being exploited by commercial media firms, says a panel of industry experts.

Once several high-profile legal cases against file-sharers are resolved this year, firms will be very keen to try and make money from P2P technology."

 

Bloggers' newest power: rating Super Bowl ads January 21, 2005

 

SiliconValley.com are running an article on the value of information gleaned from blogs:

"What better sign that blogging has gone mainstream than this: The popular act of online journal writing by anyone with a PC or laptop is now part of the Super Bowl ad sweepstakes.

Market research company Intelliseek will be monitoring the blogosphere for the buzz on Super Bowl ads to give their clients instant feedback on their ad extravaganzas. Intelliseek, a Cincinnati company that owns blogpulse.com, also will set up a panel of 50 to 100 bloggers to offer comments on ads during the game for its clients."

Intelliseek are apparently using data-mining software to scan millions of blogs, forums and discussion groups to see if "the keyboard-clicking masses are spreading the word about an ad or product".

The article is also the first (that I've seen) to use the phrase "mouse to word marketing".

Welcome to the revolution.

 

America Online Relaunches AOL Search January 21, 2005

 

BetaNews are reporting that America Online have overhauled their version of AOL Search for its members.

"As first evidenced by Snapshots, AOL Search will combine editorial content from its Web brands including AOL CityGuide, Sports Illustrated, Singingfish.com, Pinpoint, and BizRate with the traditional listing of aggregated search results provided by Google. This technique is commonly referred to as "skewing.""

 

Yahoo! Adds News, Stocks, Mail & Ads to Search Home Page January 21, 2005

 

The Search Engine Roundtable have posted one of their contributor's thoughts on Yahoo! Search's new home page features:

"This morning, it looks like Yahoo! updated the Yahoo! Search home page; adding news items, stock information, mail notification, and even a small text advertisement at the top. I hear that they did this in order to differentiate themselves from the competitors; i.e. Google and MSN."

Interestingly enough, the author of the comments seemed to quite like the changes, and even mentioned that they could see themselves switching to Yahoo! Search for this change alone.

 

Linux Inc. January 21, 2005

 

BusinessWeek are running an article on how Linux is posing an increasing threat to Microsoft.

"Linus Torvalds once led a ragtag band of software geeks. Not anymore. Here's an inside look at how the unusual Linux business model increasingly threatens Microsoft."

You'll forgive my cynicism if I say that I've been reading variations of this theory for many years now. I suspect it all sounds quite familiar to you too. But are you reading this through your Windows or Linux system?

The end of the Microsoft era is not nigh.

 

Bill Gates plots a Windows future January 24, 2005

 

The BBC News website are running the first part of a two-part interview with Bill Gates about the "digital lifestyle".

 

Internet Explorer Use Keeps Falling January 24, 2005

 

EWeek are reporting that Internet Explorer's slow demise appears to be continuing:

"In the past month, use of Microsoft Corp.'s dominant browser fell another 1.5 percentage points to 90.3 percent. Meanwhile, the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox browser rose 0.9 percentage points to reach 5 percent, Web analytics provider WebSideStory Inc. confirmed Thursday."

It's obviously a long way behind yet, and Microsoft could well pull out a few tricks from their sleeves in due course. But 5 percent suggests that all companies should be checking how their web site appears and functions in Firefox.

 

Opinion: Microsoft shouldn't seek to bury NT 4.0. It should simply open source it. January 24, 2005

 

Microsoft Watch are putting forward their arguments for why NT 4.0 should be open sourced.

I somehow can't see it happening, but the idea is an interesting one.

 

My Yahoo! Ticker does RSS January 24, 2005

 

A beta for Yahoo's new desktop ticker is now available.

It includes all the usual suspects plus (gasp) the ability to handle RSS feeds.

 

Google Increases Maximum Number of Query Terms January 24, 2005

 

SearchEngineWatch (and the rest of the worldwide SEO community) are reporting that Google have increased the maximum number of search terms in a query string, from 10 to 32.

 

Are Search Ads the Web's Infomercials? January 24, 2005

 

An article on ClickZ Stats compares the much-hated (yet apparently successful) infomercials to search ads.

According to a recent report, only 38% of a survey's respondents had heard of a distinction between paid and organic listings, and only one in six could discern between the two.

If you take a look at Google's AdWords, you'll see that there's only a very small, very light-coloured "Sponsored Links" at the top of the ads, and that's all there is to it.

Is it a problem? I'm not sure.

TV and print advertising both like to blur the lines between advert and editorial content, but I think this is more of an issue for them than it is for the search engines.

While the selection and display of results lies within the search engine's control, there is very little editorial content as such. Not much more, in fact, than listings in a Yellow Pages or phone directory.

On top of this, I've often wondered as to the effectiveness of the placement of Google's ads.

I've asked a number of (strictly) non-technical web users about their usage of Google, and not a single one of them knew that the AdWords ads were ads. More importantly, many of them had no idea what the ads actually were, so actually ignored them.

Try it yourself. Ask some non-technical friends and colleagues.

My conclusion, albeit from a very small number of people, is that a significant number of Google users ignore these ads completely.

Two questions spring to mind.

(1) Have Google gone too far in making the ads non intrusive? Could they actually be getting more clicks on the ads if they addressed this issue?

(2) By making the "Sponsored Links" text so discrete, are Google missing an opportunity? I often look at the ads first when searching, as I know that they are from companies who are actually willing to pay to be there. In theory at least, this may sometimes separate the wheat from the chaff. Am I the only one who thinks this way?

 

Since When Do Pirates Have Lawyers? January 25, 2005

 

An interesting article on scenario.com outlines the bizarre story of how copyright law enables web hosts to benefit from software piracy:

"SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - January 19, 2005 - It seems like just yesterday I was plugging away in my cold basement office, putting the final touches on my first Mac poker game called PowerPOKER. It was yesterday that Utah's Third District Small Claims Court refused to help stop pirates from stealing it."

 

Is Google Planning a VoIP Service? January 25, 2005

 

From PCWorld:

"Comments from a U.K. industry analyst have added to speculation that Google is planning to offer a voice over Internet Protocol telephony service."

 

My MSN Launches RSS Reader January 25, 2005

 

From the MSNSearch blog:

"The MSN Portal team had a "little" launch early last week; they added the ability to read RSS (and Atom) feeds on your My MSN page. Users can add an individual blog's feed or an rss search feed or an MSN Search Results feed."

Who would have thought it?

 

Google snaps up top Firefox programmer January 25, 2005

 

The web is positively humming with news that Google have now hired the lead programmer of the well-known Firefox browser.

From CNET's News.com:

"Ben Goodger announced Monday on his blog that he took a job with Google on Jan. 10. The move is the latest of several that are fueling speculation that Google plans its own Web browser."

"Fueling speculation" is putting it mildly.

 

Google do Video January 25, 2005

 

Google have launched a beta for their new video site.

Although in beta, it appears far more basic than other beta sites (Froogle for example) but gives an idea of things to come.

Coincidentally, Yahoo! announced in their blog that their video search will be added to the front page of their site too...

 

MSN Search: Still Not Final January 25, 2005

 

Microsoft Watch are writing that Microsoft still claim MSN Search to be a beta, "despite all appearances to the contrary", and also point to rumours that the final MSN Search may launch on February 1st.

 

Broadband: High Speed, High Spend January 25, 2005

 

ClickZ Stats are reporting that the number of US at-home broadband users increased 36 percent last year, and point to this having a "quantifiable effect on online retail purchases".

 

Survey: Searchers are Confident, Satisfied & Clueless January 25, 2005

 

SearchEngineWatch are running an interesting article:

"The vast majority of searchers say they are confident about their searching skills and are successful at finding what they're looking for far more often than not, yet most don't understand how search engines work or present results."

Confident, satisfied and clueless? The bliss of ignorance!

 

Google to provide AdWords API to Advertisers January 25, 2005

 

Silicon Valley Watcher are reporting that Google will be providing its advertisers with an API, allowing them to self-administer the delivery, timing and price of their text ads.

"The release of the API marks a transition for Google, from an online services company towards that of an IT platform for global ad delivery. The types of sophisticated management tools that will be available from Google and third parties should also help tie advertisers into its ad network."

If this is true, we can expect a welcome spate of useful applications to appear over the coming months. Watch this space.

 

Integrating Search with Other Marketing January 26, 2005

 

An article on SearchEngineWatch suggests that search marketing still exists outside the traditional marketing, and that this has to change.

"Search is certainly now the dominant component of the online marketing mix, but the majority of companies' total marketing budgets and the attention of the CMO are still offline. But search undoubtedly deserves significant and immediate attention. Why? Because the old, traditional marketing paradigms don't address search behavior - and so are inconsistent with how many consumers are researching and purchasing products and services today."

The article consists mainly of a roundup of information from one of the sessions at the Search Engine Strategies conference last December, and puts forward some interesting viewpoints and ideas.

Like many, however, the statistics are used more as propaganda than illustration:

"DoubleClick research shows that customers use search engines to research products 41% of the time, TV 9%, print ads 10%"

No great surprise really. When did you last use TV or magazines to research a product?

"Galante presented a case study for her client, GiveAnything. Using an integrated online mix of SEM, email, and affiliate marketing, the campaign drove site traffic where 88% were new visitors, and 85% of them purchased on their first visit."

Need I say more?

 

Opera, the Forgotten Browser January 26, 2005

 

I'm not a great fan of Wired magazine nowadays. I like to pretend I've grown out of it and moved on to better things.

But their article on Opera, the forgotten browser, caught my attention.

"Von Tetzchner is the CEO of Opera Software, maker of the Opera web browser. In the sort of grand comedic tragedy that echoes its name, Opera went from spending almost a decade as Internet Explorer's understudy to getting an occasional polite mention in the cavalcade of media attention currently being directed at the new superstar -- Mozilla's Firefox browser."

As the article points out, many of the more popular features in Firefox first appeared in Opera, so why did it never catch on?

Personally, I think it was all about timing.

They released a great product, but most people wouldn't even consider paying for a browser when they already had a free one built into their operating system. No matter how good the new features, or how rusty their existing, free option.

On top of that, I seem to remember them taking a stance on correct HTML implementation.

All very well in theory, but it meant that some of the sites I use were not displayed correctly.

Then they offered a free adware version, around the same time that adware became equated with spyware.

Not good timing.

The article points out that a new version of the browser, complete with a new name, is set for release next February.

A few new features sound interesting, but sadly, I predict that it's too little, too late.

It's all about timing.

If you sit on a good idea for too long, and/or ignore the market around you, you'll soon be left with nothing more than a missed opportunity.

 

Google Beta Tests New AdSense Ads January 26, 2005

 

Search Engine Roundtable have spotted Google's beta testing of new AdSense functionality.

 

MS mulls charging for anti-spyware app January 27, 2005

 

UK based The Register are reporting that Microsoft are contemplating whether or not to charge for full versions of their anti-spyware and anti-virus software.

"Speaking in London yesterday, Detlef Eckert, chief security adviser for Microsoft EMEA, revealed there will be a second beta of Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware application. However, the company remains unsure how the product will evolve from then on. "It could evolve into a consumer or enterprise product. There could be a basic and plus version," he said."

All-out free would decimate the competition, but might not be in Microsoft's interests.

A free version that would be good for enough for most basic users, and a pro version for those wanting or needing more, would be equally devastating for the competition, but Microsoft could only gain.

I genuinely feel for the small and not so small anti-virus and anti-spyware companies that are out there. And I also worry that the consumer might lose out here for many years to come.

Free can be equally devastating for the consumer in the long run.

 

Microsoft Growth May Have Slowed as Piracy Cuts Sales January 27, 2005

 

From Bloomberg.com:

"Microsoft Corp.'s second-quarter revenue growth may have slipped to as little as 4 percent as product delays hurt U.S. orders and sales in countries such as Russia and China were crimped by software piracy."

Will Microsoft view this is a threat or a minor annoyance?

 

A9.com brings Yellow Pages to life by adding 20 million images January 27, 2005

 

Amazon's A9 have introduced some interesting new technology, bringing their Yellow Pages "to life by showing a street view of millions of businesses and their surroundings".

Here's how they did it.

 

Mod ReWrite Tips for SEOs January 27, 2005

 

Search Engine Rountable have spotted some very clear and useful tips on how to work around SEO issues faced by a dynamic website.

 

Smart online marketing promotion tactics via content creation, syndication and aggregation January 27, 2005

 

Robin Good has written up a fascinating interview with Sharon Housley, praising her "truly effective, cutting-edge, value-adding and ethical online marketing strategy".

Now that's praise indeed!

Well worth a read.

 

Windows' Genuinely Disadvantaged January 28, 2005

 

One of the writers on the SOA Executive Forum is grumbling about Microsoft's anti-piracy and activation measures:

"An awful lot of people who paid their money for Windows in good faith are going to discover that somebody along the line - a distributor, a reseller, an OEM -- cheated them. They are just as much victims of the counterfeiters as Microsoft. More actually, because they were in less of a position to defend themselves. Perhaps we should call them Windows' Genuinely Disadvantaged."

Ed Foster should try selling his software for a living. Having your work stolen, cracked, hacked and "shared" on a daily basis can give you quite