Firefox pass 50 million mark May 2, 2005

 

Windows Longhorn 5048 screenshots May 2, 2005

 

Microsoft have been going to great lengths to remove the latest Longhorn build screenshots, so grab a look while you still can!

Windows Longhorn 5048 Screenshots.

 

Comparing Google and Yahoo! Search results May 2, 2005

 

Nice tool for comparing results from the two engines:

Comparing Google and Yahoo! Search results 1 - 100 for "software marketing strategy".

 

CNET ban AdWare May 2, 2005

 

In case you missed the news. CNET have announced that all "bundled adware" is now banned from their Download.com site.

Bad idea.

Two main issues spring to mind.

Firstly, the 100% ban assumes that all AdWare is evil. An apparently innocent application that surreptitiously monitors my activities and web behaviour, is not the same as Opera's free version of their web browser or Eudora's Sponsored mode of their email client.

While the goals may be similar, the difference is that Opera and Eudora are completely up front about how their model works. The user knows exactly what they are paying for their free software.

Secondly, how are they going to define and identify AdWare? Without a doubt, some of the anti-spyware applications they recommend generate false positives. We know for a fact that this mislabelling has caused problems for some innocent companies in the past.

This policy would appear to be risky both for CNET and the software developers alike.

For years now, I've been concerned that Spyware and AdWare have become synonymous. Worse still is that they have become the modern day witches of the web, with many innocent parties being tarred by brushes held by frenzied mobs with little understanding of the terminology or the facts.

Sadly, it appears that Download.com have responded to the crowds screaming "burn them" by conceding to their demands, instead of calming and educating them.

CNET's old policy allowed adware that disclosed advertising partnerships during installation. The new policy has taken away the choice from the consumer.

 

Software Marketing Newsletter May 3, 2005

 

The May Issue of Software Marketing News is out, covering a free Favicon service, URL trends, topic search engines and much more.

If you haven't yet subscribed to the newsletter I recommend that you do so.

Software Marketing Newsletter.

 

Need for Speed May 3, 2005

 

The BBC News website are running an article on web user's growing need for speed.

Like many, my web experiences began life with 14,400 modem. From there I went to 28,800, 36,600, ISDN, a 256 Kbps, and now 512 Kbps.

Anyone who's made the transition from dialup to broadband will appreciate how much of an impact the higher speed makes. And it's not just about a mindless need for speed. The faster your connection, the more you use it. For searching, news, online purchasing, software/music downloads and more.

Software developers are, of course, by no means isolated from the effects of the growth of high-speed access. As more people have access to the faster speeds, not only do they use the web more, but they look for solutions to their problems and needs. And their ability to download large files grows proportionately too. Software marketing via a high speed connection is a whole new ball game!

But don't overlook the fact that not everyone has blazing fast connections. Some of your potential customers out there are still using a 33.6 modem, and if the only way of purchasing your product is with a 60 MB download, then they don't stand a chance of doing so.

With established and reliable services like SwiftCD out there, there's no need to exclude anyone. Reach the world.

The growing need for online speed.

 

PayPal - no pal of mine May 3, 2005

 

I've had a PayPal account for a number of years now, but only really used it for occasional small purchases.

Despite the abundance of horror stories that are out there, it's actually reasonably simple to set up, and offers a fairly easy and convenient means of purchasing online. Or so I thought.

I recently received an email from PayPal that I almost mistook for spam. Apparently I had reached the spending limit for my account. Note that this wasn't a monthly spending limit, it was a total spending limit. My combined number of transactions had exceeded the sum of I think $500.

In order to proceed, I had to verify my bank account.

The problem was that I'd never setup a bank account with them, choosing a credit card to make my purchases, for obvious reasons.

But there was nothing I could do. In order to proceed, I had to setup a bank account in my PayPal account.

Overcoming my paranoia, I decided to use an almost empty current account that I have. After ploughing my way through their dreadful admin panel, I finally sent an email to their support team. I wanted to make sure that I would be able to continue to use the credit card for my PayPal purchases, and not the bank account.

The email I eventually received was one of those long-winded, mouse-wheel-rolling replies, where you assume the answer to the question is in there, but really don't have the energy to find it.

You know the type of email. You ask a simple question, and some tech support person copies and pastes pages 117 - 131 of their manual.

However, I assumed that all would be well, and entered my bank details into their system. A few days later, PayPal deposited two small amounts into my account, and these amounts had to be entered into my account to verify that I have access to the account.

No problem there.

Unfortunately, by this time, one of the services that I pay for with PayPal had closed my account. Not to worry. The owner kindly agreed to resume the service once I signed up again, and offered me a free month for the inconvenience.

Do you see what's happening here? He (the vendor) is forced to apologise because of the service he uses.

When I went to sign up, I found that I could no longer make payments via my credit card. It wasn't an option.

So what else could I do? I closed my account.

At this point our company is signed up for three services that require a monthly payment through PayPal. None of them offer any other means of payment. Unfortunately I have no choice but to cancel all three services, and find alternative solutions who offer more flexible payment options.

If you're selling goods or services through PayPal, the inflexibility of their system may be costing you customers and sales. Ask yourself how many customers you may be losing without even knowing about it.

And don't be put off by the thought of switching to another provider.

Services such as SWREG, eSellerate and ShareIt make quick and easy work of setting up an account. And you'll be taking payments in no time at all, without losing customers who simply aren't prepared to jump through PayPal's hoops.

 

Google plan to improve online news searches May 4, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that Google have filed a patent in the US for allowing stories to be ranked according to quality.

"The patent would create a system to compare the track record and credibility of different news sources, New Scientist magazine has reported."

Implementation of good ideas is what Google do best, but I'm more than a little intrigued by the fact that they are somehow going to mathematically define quality. Fascinating.

Google eyes better news searches.

 

MSNSearch - could do better May 4, 2005

 

The latest entry on the msnsearch's blog draws attention to the fact that their "nifty, innovative advanced search features" are a little tricky to find. According to their customers.

The question is whether MSNSearch will listen to their customers and fix the problem, or continue to simply show them how to work their way around the obstacles.

Search Builder Revealed.

 

Urchin price drop May 4, 2005

 

The Search Engine Roundtable are reporting that Google is dropping the price of Urchin on Demand - from $495 per month to $199 per month.

Smart, smart move.

Urchin Price Drop & Google API Integration.

 

Windows XP Amnesty May 5, 2005

 

From BetaNews:

"Expanding its Windows Genuine Advantage program, Microsoft will now compensate customers in the United States that unknowingly purchased counterfeit versions of Windows XP with complimentary genuine Windows copies. There is one catch, however: customers must first file a report on the unscrupulous reseller."

Non-Legit Windows Users Get Amnesty.

 

Advertisers unhappy with Google? May 5, 2005

 

MarketingVOX News are reporting on a CNN piece on Google's customer issues. Not the search engine users, but the advertising clients.

"The combination of the "ATM" style of service - coupled with a staff that hold marketing and sales pretty far down the list of high status functions - led to a widespread industry perception that Google tolerates its customers to the extent it can take their money. CNN's canvas of industry buyers painted a rather dismal portrait of an overly automated firm trying to poach its customers' clients, adding insult to the injury with its haughtiness."

Advertisers Gripe about Google.

 

Google Speed Up the Web May 5, 2005

 

Google Web Accelerator is an application that uses the power of Google's global computer network to make web pages load faster. Google Web Accelerator is easy to use; all you have to do is download and install it, and from then on many web pages will automatically load faster than before.

Google Speed Up the Web.

 

UK Pirates to Walk the Plank May 6, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that the two men being tried for their involvement with the Drink Or Die software piracy group are to be sentenced today.

Internet piracy pair facing jail.

 

50 million downloads of Firefox May 6, 2005

 

From InternetNews.com:

""It seems that people are switching from Microsoft's Internet Explorer to Mozilla's new Firefox browser," Niels Brinkman, co-founder of analytics firm One Stat.com, said in February. "The total usage share of Microsoft declined 5 percent, and the total usage share of Mozilla increased 5 percent.""

Firefox Reaches Download Milestone.

 

Longhorn buzz through blogging? May 6, 2005

 

RevolutionMagazine.com are reporting that Microsoft are recruiting a team of bloggers to help generate buzz for their new operating system.

Generating buzz via the web - an interesting idea.

Microsoft to publicise new Windows operating system through bloggers.

 

2005 Conferences May 6, 2005

 

Mark the dates on your calendar:

Shareware Industry Conference: July 14th - 15th, Denver, Colorado (think South Park).

European Shareware Conference: November 5th - 6th, Brussels, Belgium.

ISDEF: October 13th - 16th, Moscow, Russia.

We'll be at all three events, so please be sure to say hello!

 

Microsoft's fight that lies ahead May 9, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that the next two years will be critical for Microsoft, and may see them either falter or dominate.

"Forrester boss George Colony predicts that there will be "a crisis at Microsoft, where they decide their model is broken".

But remember Netscape, which dominated the internet - only for Microsoft to catch up.

Bill Gates has a clear strategy. His company has very deep pockets.

And his fight back starts now."

The assault on software giant Microsoft.

 

Google down for 15 minutes - the world reels! May 9, 2005

 

Google went down for 15 minutes on Saturday, due to an alleged DNS issue.

In that brief time, the web went more or less berserk with speculation and rumours.

 

The web model is dead; replaced by search May 9, 2005

 

An interesting article on the Search Engine Roundtable looks at the idea that people no longer get to sites with links. They get there with search.

"If people are now less likely to navigate the Web via hyperlinks and are more likely to navigate via search engines, we have the potential to lose one of the core factors in ranking criteria, linkage data."

User Navigation Behavior to Effect Link Popularity.

 

Google's Web Accelerator already raising privacy issues May 9, 2005

 

It's starting to look as though every time Google do something new, people will raise concerns over privacy.

From ZDNet UK:

"A software tool launched by Google on Wednesday that speeds up the process of downloading Web sites has caused some users to worry about their privacy."

It appears that "some" users are concerned that the service can cache more data from their computers than they feel comfortable with.

In the interests of keeping it simple, I would suggest a simple solution. If you're unhappy with how the software works, don't use it?

Google Web Accelerator sparks privacy fears.

 

UK women wanted to develop games! May 10, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that a UK university is trying to get women to apply for their computer games programming degree.

There's an abundance of evidence to suggest that women are far from a minority in the traditionally male-dominated market. The question is whether men are capable of supplying what they are looking for?

"Acting programme leader, lecturer John Sear, said: "Girls do want to play games but no-one is making games for them."

He said there had been some attempts to make, as it were, "pink" games specifically for girls, but with limited success."

A growing market with few suppliers. Opportunities abound.

Women wanted as games programmers

 

ScrappyGoo May 10, 2005

 

ScrappyGoo lets you search Google News and generate a unique RSS feed of your results.

This persistent news search delivery is offered as a free service. By default, each feed has 16 entries. It uses standard boolean operators.

ScrappyGoo

 

Google Gives AdSense Users a Hint About Where to Place Ads May 10, 2005

 

A fascinating article on Sharon Housley's Software Marketing Resource examines the importance of AdSense ad locations.

Google give's AdSense publishers tips on where to place ads to ensure success

 

Firefox flaws found May 11, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that two "very critical" security flaws are in the process of being patched by the Mozilla Foundation.

We'll see how much longer "experts" advise IE users to switch browsers for security.

Here in the UK, I can ask the Police to send a Crime Prevention Officer to advise me on securing my house or business against theft. I'd be upset if he suggested that I move house.

Critical flaws found in Firefox

 

How Microsoft plans to beat their rivals, part II May 11, 2005

 

The BBC News website have released the second part of their interview with Bill Gates.

Topics covered include security, Longhorn, getting into the living room, Xbox, Mobile 5.0, Office, Open Source and more.

Well worth a read.

How Microsoft plans to beat its rivals

 

Further AntiVirus - AntiSpyware convergence May 11, 2005

 

Virus Bulletin are reporting that Trend Micro have announced their intention to acquire InterMute Inc., a privately held anti-spyware firm.

Trend Micro buys anti-spyware firm

 

Firefox growth slips further May 11, 2005

 

As though reading this very blog, Silicon.com are wondering whether security concerns are now starting to keep Firefox users away:

"The slackening of Firefox's growth could mean that the browser has converted a substantial proportion of its natural constituency, thought to be early adopters and the technically savvy. It could also show that the browser's widely publicised security flaws have begun to undermine the foundation's argument that people should switch from IE to be safer."

Firefox growth rate slips again

 

Windows Mobile 5.0 May 11, 2005

 

From HardwareZone:

"In a packed hall of developers and industry partners at Microsoft Mobile & Embedded DevCon 2005, Microsoft Corp.'s annual mobile and embedded developers conference, Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Mobile 5.0."

Microsoft Releases Windows Mobile 5.0

 

PRWeb RSS feeds - from 220 to over 15,000 May 11, 2005

 

The Search Engine Roundtable are reporting that PRWeb have increased to over 15,000 pre-defined RSS feeds.

I don't wish to say I told you so, but I did predict that 2005 would be the year of RSS!

PRWeb Increases Available RSS Feeds from 220 to over 15,000

 

Wikipedia opportunities May 11, 2005

 

ClickZ Stats are reporting that the open source Wikipedia has become the second most visited reference web site on the web.

A massively popular website that allows you to add links to your website right now.

What are you waiting for?

Wikipedia's Popularity and Traffic Soar

 

TuCows new look May 12, 2005

 

Sharon Housley's Software Marketing Resource is reporting on the new site design at TuCows.

Tucows New Look to Match New Attitude

 

Google put on the brakes May 12, 2005

 

The UK based ISPReview is reporting that Google have suspended downloads of their new "Web Accelerator" software.

Moral of the story? Early innovators are consumers. The businesses that sell to them should stand back and watch.

Google Halts Web Accelerator

 

OneCare due today May 13, 2005

 

Microsoft Watch are reporting that Microsoft's anti-virus/anti-spyware is scheduled for release today.

Microsoft 'A1' Security Bundle Makes Its Debut

 

The Business of Blogging May 13, 2005

 

From eMarketer:

"When it comes to business, are blogs the wave of the future? Should your company invest time and resources in blogs or concentrate on the thousand-and-one other Internet initiatives that are on your plate?"

The "article" is a sales pitch for eMarketer's new report, but nevertheless still contains some interesting information.

Worth a quick glance.

The Business of Blogging

 

GoLexa May 13, 2005

 

Described as "the search tool with complete page analysis for each result", GoLexa displays a staggering amount of information with the results of each search.

An interesting idea that is probably worth spending a few minutes with...

GoLexa

 

Search Engine Relevancy Challenge May 13, 2005

 

Search Engine Roundtable have written up the results of the Search Engine Relevancy Challenge.

"This link graph groups search engines by rating. The reason we plotted it on a graph like this is to show you that there is this U shaped curve that is consistent between all search engines when rated. In our opinion, it means that most people either feel the results are relevant or not relevant. Very few people feel that a search engine can be "somewhat" relevant."

RustySearch Hits 5,000 Rated Searches

 

RSS advertising experiences May 13, 2005

 

ClickZ Experts are running an article that examines the reality of advertising in RSS.

"One general theme from Feedburner's testing will be of special interest to publishers: click-through rates from RSS feeds back to sites are decreasing. The company says this is happening across all the feeds it manages."

Lessons from the Cutting Edge: RSS Advertising

 

100 percent conversion rates May 13, 2005

 

From ClickZ Experts:

"There are four types of visitors:

* Those who land on the wrong site.

* Those who know exactly what they want to purchase.

* Those who know approximately what they want to purchase.

* Those who aren't overtly in buying mode but might buy if they came across the right thing.

Are conversion goals identical for all four types of traffic? Of course not!"

A Site With a 100 Percent Conversion Rate

 

MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search launched May 16, 2005

 

Does the world need yet another desktop search tool?

With the likes of Filehand, Copernic Desktop Search, Google Desktop and others, is there room for yet another one?

MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search

 

PageRank, Wrappers, Ranking News and More May 16, 2005

 

SearchEngineWatch have a great round up of some of the papers from the WWW 2005 conference.

PageRank, Wrappers, Ranking News and More: Papers from the WWW 2005 Conference

 

MSN sandbox? May 16, 2005

 

A discussion on the Digital Point forum is questioning whether MSN might have a sandbox.

I'm questioning whether they're talking about the ageing delay or the sandbox?

MSN might have a sandbox!

 

Is search ruining the Web? May 16, 2005

 

An interesting article on CNET considers whether search engines and/or SEO might be ruining the web.

The views are well thought out and clearly expressed, but in my opinion miss the point.

Search has not shaped the web, it has grown and developed with the web. And responsible SEO is not about tricking the engines to stay one step ahead, it's about ensuring that content is found by the setup of the current system.

The gaps between responsible and irresponsible SEO are growing wider with each passing week. But a good SEO firm will simply ensure that a website's content is found by people who are searching for it.

What could possible be wrong with that?

Is search ruining the Web?

 

Google's synonyms May 16, 2005

 

The High Rankings Advisor newsletter brought a very useful tip to the attention of their readers:

"To see what Google considers synonyms, use a tilde (~) before a search term, and see what terms appear in boldface on the results page. For example, searching for "~mp3" (no quotes) shows that Google considers "cd," "music," and "audio" to be closely related to "mp3.""

If you haven't already done so, the High Rankings Advisor newsletter is well worth subscribing to. Details here.

High Rankings Advisor Issue 139

 

Email worm sends right-wing spam May 17, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that the Sober-P worm has been opening a backdoor for a spam engine, which has been downloading hate messages to infected machines.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse.

Worms, spam and far-right propaganda.

E-mail worm throws up hate spam

 

Internet Explorer 7.0 tabs May 17, 2005

 

Microsoft are reporting that the forthcoming IE 7 will (finally) have tabs.

From the IEBlog:

"Some people have asked why we didn't put tabs in IE sooner. Initially, we had some concerns around complexity and consistency... will it confuse users more than it benefits them? Is it confusing if IE has tabs, but other core parts of the Windows experience, like Windows Media Player or the shell, don't have tabs?

I think we made the wrong decision here initially, and we're making the right one now."

IE7 Has Tabs

 

Predict Models for Idiots/Dummies May 17, 2005

 

ClickZ Experts are running their first article in a series on using predictive models.

"If you're a marketer, especially in the telecommunications, financial, insurance, credit, banking, or retail industries, and you don't extensively use sophisticated predictive models to increase marketing return on investment (ROI), you need to read this column and implement predictive modeling."

Using Predictive Models, Part 1

 

Office 12 - guided by collaboration May 17, 2005

 

ZDNet Australia are trying to get a sneak peek at what may be in next year's Office 12, but coming up empty handed.

Usage of XML will be significantly expanded (gasp), and there are hints that Excel may be given the focus and attention it deserves.

I'd bet a reasonable sum that RSS will be pretty prominent too.

Microsoft Office to ease lines of communication

 

Google advertise on local radio and print May 17, 2005

 

The Search Engine Roundtable are reporting that Google are advertising their Google Local search program on local radio waves and in local press.

New media publicising through the old? It's a beautiful digital world!

Google Advertises, Google Local on Radio & Print

 

Blogs falling influence? May 17, 2005

 

MarketingVOX News are reporting that a recent study "failed to find inordinate agenda influence" by bloggers in the 2004 Presidential Campaign.

Pew: Blogs Weren't as Influential as Some Supposed

And the BBC News website are reporting that blogs might have little to say, other than a stream of self indulgence.

Anything to say?

I don't understand how they still don't get it.

Saying that "blogs have little to say" is like saying that the web is full of garbage sites and therefore of no real use.

Email is 90% spam and therefore worthless.

There are so many bad books out there, it's just not worth reading any more.

You get the idea.

 

Launching a software application May 17, 2005

 

Sharon Housley has written a fascinating account of her company's launch of a new product.

She outlines exactly what they did, how they did it, and what worked.

And the results speak for themselves.

Launching a software application

 

Battle of the handhelds May 18, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that the new handheld gaming devices are set to commence the battle for the palm of your hand.

What's interesting is that the lines between handheld games units, PDAs, phones and cameras are shrinking with each passing month.

Let the battle commence.

New handheld consoles fight it out

 

Microsoft beta test security toolkit for shared-computer users May 18, 2005

 

Microsoft Watch are reporting on Microsoft beta-testing a collection of tools designed to lock down shared PCs.

Security is turning into the buzzword of these PC orientated times.

Viruses, worms, hacking, phishing, trojans, spyware and other such delights have gone from being a minor nuisance/inconvenience to a serious menace that threatens all of us.

My prediction: watch the big and small companies alike jump to offer solutions to this ever-growing menace. But only a few will get it right and succeed.

New Microsoft Security Toolkit to Take Aim at Shared-Computer Users

 

Google Friends - back from the dead May 18, 2005

 

"GOOGLE FRIENDS NEWSLETTER - May 2005

We didn't plan on having such a long hiatus from this newsletter, and for that we apologize. Aside from other projects we've worked on lately, we've revamped this newsletter. Each month from now on you'll see an insider's roundup of Google tips, insights into our
products, plus stuff that inspires us.

And you might have noticed a new email address for Google Friends, because we've moved the list to a newly updated and much-improved (if we do say so ourselves) Google Groups."

Google Friends

 

AdSense for RSS feeds May 18, 2005

 

It had to happen.

Google AdSense for Feeds

 

Bill Gates Webcasts May 19, 2005

 

On May 19th at 8:30 am (PT), Bill Gates will address the Ninth Annual Microsoft CEO Summit.

The live webcast will be available from this page, as are other "on demand" webcasts. If you have some time and are looking for a little inspiration, there are some gems here.

Bill Gates Webcasts

 

The price of email failure May 19, 2005

 

An article on ITSecurity.com estimates that email failure is costing UK businesses more than £1bn per year.

"Business insight specialist Stephen Martin of Market Clarity said marketers were right to be concerned about the impact of e-failure. "There is clearly a major financial impact for British business from email failure but there will also be a potentially greater, long term impact on a company's reputation.""

Email failure costing UK business more than £1bn per year

 

More IE 7.0 details May 19, 2005

 

From vnunet.com:

"The next version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser - IE 7.0 - will be issued earlier than originally expected, and a beta release is now scheduled for the summer."

Of note is that version 7.0 will only run on Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed.

Explorer flogs latest Windows

 

Inside AdWords May 19, 2005

 

The AdWords team are blogging!

"Here's what you'll find when you visit adwords.blogspot.com:

- Updates on enhancements we've made to the system

- Thoughts on things that advertisers have been asking about

- Tips on getting the most from AdWords

- Details on tools we think you'll find useful

- Links to articles you might find interesting"

This is one that you'll want to bookmark.

Inside AdWords

 

Time to get serious about RSS May 20, 2005

 

From ClickZ Experts:

"All signs point to the fact RSS is on the brink of mainstream adoption.

Google, MSN, and Yahoo! are developing strategies to encourage subscribers to feed at their feeds and to monetize those feeds with ads.

Major agencies, such as Carat Interactive, have launched practices around blogs and feeds. Venture capitalist funds are flowing to firms such as NewsGator and FeedBurner. Acquisitions and rollups have begun in earnest: AskJeeves bought Bloglines; NewsGator snapped up FeedDemon this week."

RSS Sparks Feeding Frenzy

 

AdWords account size limitation? May 20, 2005

 

The Search Engine Roundtable have heard that Google may be limiting the number of keywords within campaigns.

AdWords Adds Account Size Limitation

 

PPC Search Landing Pages May 20, 2005

 

Another interesting article from ClickZ Experts, this time looking at the importance of landing pages for PPC ads.

"If you didn't set aside a separate budget or additional internal resources to take your site beyond what's necessary for organic SEO, look closer and imagine the characteristics of the perfect landing page for each power keyword in your campaign. If those landing pages don't exist, create them."

Create New Pages for PPC Search Landing Pages

 

New Netscape hybrid browser May 20, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that Netscape have released a new version of their browser, with their focus firmly fixed on security. How novel.

"Netscape 8.0 is described as a "hybrid" browser, allowing users to click between both Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) and rival open source web browser Firefox."

Netscape offers 'hybrid' browser

I like the idea, but unfortunately this idea has already been put into place.

Paessler Site Inspector 4 combines the two most frequently used browser engines (Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Gecko) into one program.

With Paessler Site Inspector's Analyzing Browser, users can switch between the two browser engines with one mouse click, for example to compare the rendering of a page in both browsers.

Anyone interested in making sure that their website works with these two browsers should take a look at this software.

 

Inside MSN May 23, 2005

 

Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows has a lengthy (but interesting) article on the inside story of MSN.

If you have the time to read the whole thing, it's quite an interesting story of a product steered by it's users. Worth a read.

MSN: The Inside Story

 

Acknowledging the podcasting revolution May 23, 2005

 

Don't be put off by the pictures of Bill Thompson in his BBC column. He has interesting views and ideas, and considering his age, experience and writing skills, I find his viewpoint fascinating.

In his latest article he looks at podcasting as a revolution:

"It is easy to claim the revolution is just around the corner, but there might just be something in podcasting."

While we're on the subject of not judging an article by the pictures that appear within it, don't be misled by the main photo within the article.

Podcasting isn't just for the pierced-unshaven-ethnic-headwear generation. It's well on its way to becoming mainstream.

Podcasting could be a revolution

 

Google launch Portal (but won't call it that) May 23, 2005

 

MarketingVOX News are reporting that Google have unveiled a personalised homepage, complete with features such as stock quotes, news and email.

"The new customized homepage feature is being launched in beta and is available at the Google Labs site.

Also, users who already have a Google account - such as Gmail, mailing lists and news alerts - can immediately personalize the Google search page with drag-and-drop icons for news, weather, driving directions, movies, stocks and Gmail."

Google Opens Portal to Confront Yahoo, MSN

 

Google sandbox and ageing delay May 23, 2005

 

There's a lot of confusion with these two terms, not helped by the fact that even the SEO experts can't always agree on the terminology.

The Search Engine Roundtable define it as follows:

"A site is sandboxed when it is new and does not rank for keyword phrases that are not incredibly competitive (such as a unique company name) in Google after making the page "search engine friendly" and after being indexed."

Google Sandbox Defined

Whereas Jill Whalen (HighRankings.com) sees sandboxing as being connected with incoming links to a website.

"New resource sites with a few good relevant links are taking just as long to climb Google's ranks as the instant link pop sites. I think a lot of people are confusing the sandbox with an "aging filter" that appeared earlier this year."

Effectiveness of SEO - Google's Aging Delay

Personally I go with Jill's definitions.

If you're planning on attending the Shareware Industry Conference this summer, try and attend the session on "Search Engine Strategies" - Thursday July 14th at 1.00. I'll do my best to set the record straight, from my perspective anyway!

 

Web Analysis Software Variations May 24, 2005

 

The Search Engine Roundtable are wondering why when you install web analytics software, does each application report different numbers.

I've often wondered the same thing.

I have six different log analysis applications on my system that I use. If I run the same logs through each, none of them will agree with each other. And sometimes the differences between them are surprising.

Web Analytics Needs Standards

 

Victims of Click Fraud Unite May 24, 2005

 

LostClicks.com is the website for a national class action in Miller County, Arkansas, against some of the search engines charging for PPC services.

Just what the world needs. More lawsuits.

LostClicks.com

 

Growing Cookiephobic threat May 24, 2005

 

MarketingVOX News are reporting that users have not only been rejecting cookies, they've been deleting them.

And the number of website visitors rejecting them has tripled.

Note that the news item appears to have been overwhelmed by all the figures in their title.

Study: Quadruple the Number of Visitors Rejecting Third-Party Cookies

 

The tortured conscience of a marketer part II May 24, 2005

 

Seth Godin has written another interesting insight into the rights and wrongs of marketing.

Not for the first time, I disagree with what he's saying, but his writing style is little short of magnificent.

"That's what marketers do. We have the "placebo affect." (* The knack for creating placebos.) Of course, we need to persuade ourselves that it's morally and ethically and financially okay to participate in something as unmeasurable as the placebo effect."

My conscience is fine. I don't need to persuade myself of anything.

The Placebo Affect

 

Google books to be judged by their cover? May 25, 2005

 

A BBC News article is reporting that Google has been accused of breaching copyright rules by the American Publishers of Academic Journals and Scholarly Books.

Google's books online under fire

 

Do businesses need blogs? May 25, 2005

 

Lee Oden's Online Marketing Blog is asking whether your business really needs a blog.

The question is whether you need one.

There is no single answer for everyone, but I can tell you that our own blog, the very text that you're reading now, is certainly worthwhile for our company.

Maybe it's time you considered the possibility.

Does your business really need a blog?

 

Google Backlink Update May 25, 2005

 

Search Engine Roundtable are reporting another Google Backlink update.

There are also reports that the Google Directory has updated its PageRank values.

Google Backlink Update May 05

 

Only 1 in 8 Fortune 100 websites well optimised May 25, 2005

 

MarketingVOX News are reporting on a recent study, suggesting that only one in eight of the Fortune 100 sites are adequately optimised for the search engines.

Only One in Eight Fortune 100 Sites Well Optimized

Unfortunately, if you're selling software online, then the same can probably not be said for your competition.

When we started working with software marketing, search engine optimisation (or search engine optimization if you prefer) was an interesting but relatively unexplored area.

Back then, the keywords meta tag mattered, and we paid a lot more attention to AltaVista, HotBot and Lycos. When we made changes to a page, we could often see the effect this had within days, instead of weeks or months.

Things have changed a lot since then. Nowadays there are very few small companies selling their goods online who haven't at least dabbled in optimising their website for the search engines.

Today it's more important than ever to ensure that your website ranks well for the correct phrases, that you know what your potential customers are searching for, and that you always remain one step ahead of your competition.

If you haven't yet optimised your website, or haven't done so for some time, then you could be losing potential sales every single day of the week.

If you're interested in doing the job yourself, take a look at some of the Search Engine Optimisation Articles on our DaveTalks website.

If you're interested in our handling the job for you, take a look at our Search Engine Optimisation Services, and see how we can help you gain targeted traffic today.

 

A new search engine in town? May 26, 2005

 

While the supersized giants are slowly battling it out for first place, a brand new contender is quietly entering the search engine arena.

Yes, I know, you've heard it all before. Fancy interface, cool visual representations, thumbnails, you've see them come and go. But Exalead has a few completely unique features, and has now passed the one billion page mark.

Examples include spelling suggestions, visual tools, the ability to sort by relevance, source or date, the ability to select "preferably contain" for search terms and more.

It's still in beta, but this one may just prove to be interesting.

Exalead

 

The right day to send email May 26, 2005

 

MarketingVOX News is reporting that an eRIO study of emails sent, read and clicked on shows that the market has finally evened out.

The conclusion? I'm really not sure.

Optimal Day of Week for Emailing Now Tough to Choose

 

SEO facts of life May 26, 2005

 

A ClickZ Experts article by P.J.Fusco reports on the law of unintended consequence:

"Where search engine referrals are concerned, the law of unintended consequence is merciless. Consult with a SEO expert before making critical decisions that could put your business out of business."

Tell it like it is P.J!

The Law of Unintended Consequence

 

Critical Design Elements May 27, 2005

 

Bryan Eisenberg has written an interesting article on ClickZ Experts, on the often overlooked elements of web page design.

"Designing landing pages and other buying process pages is a more objective process than many people think.

It's not about the prettiest design, or the one that "feels right." Design is a tool that helps the visitor achieve their goals, and you achieve yours."

Five Critical (and Overlooked) Design Elements

 

Search marketing: test or die May 27, 2005

 

Another interesting ClickZ Experts article, this time from Kevin Lee, on the subject of testing PPC ads.

"The best way to test campaigns with new keywords or new search engines is to make a best guess as to copy, landing page and offer to get a baseline. You can do so quickly by starting at the top of search results (paying more for the fast data), or you can take a more moderate approach.

Just because a keyword doesn't hit your ROI target the first time doesn't mean you should bid low, or trash it entirely."

Test or Die

 

Evolution is the key to survival May 27, 2005

 

EEProductCenter.com have an interesting write-up of a fascinating item. A mobile phone with a built-in camera that rotates at the touch of a button. Or is it a camera that rotates, that comes with a built-in mobile phone?

Samsung camera rotator takes landscape or portrait photos on mobile phone

This sort of feature is fascinating, not least of all because it's completely pointless. The feature is designed to save the user from having to "manually rotate the camera". Considering the size of the average mobile phone, how arduous a task can this really be?

What's really fascinating, from a marketing point of view, are the possibilities that arise from this convergence of features.

Samsung, like many, have gone the well-trodden "conventional phone" to "camera-phone" route. Yet the additional feature is now moving towards becoming the dominant item.

What appeals to me is the fact that a few years ago, phones looked like phones, and cameras looked liked cameras. A phone today is starting to look more like a camera, and cameras are getting the pocket-sized, coloured plastic look that we nowadays associate with mobile phones.

I'm guessing that within 12 months we'll see mobile phones with motorised, extending lenses.

From there, it won't be much longer before we can email photos directly from our cameras. And when we can, how long do you think it will take before we can send SMS messages and make calls from them too?

Will your mobile phone of tomorrow be a Nikon?

From a software marketing point of view, a little divergence in the form of additional features can be a good way to dip your toes into a slightly different market.

You obviously don't want to bolt-on an image editor to your SQL query tool, but if the hop to the new feature or idea is a short one, then this can sometimes be a good way of testing an idea without full commitment.

Sometimes stretching into uncharted waters can be interesting. But if you're not sure what may be swimming around there, it's best to dip your toes in before diving straight in.

 

Every new market has a silver haired lining May 30, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting on the phenomenon of the so-called "Silver Surfers" (over 55s online).

"A separate survey of nearly 1,500 people for Telewest Broadband found that technology, especially the net, is helping older people find new interests."

With time, a willingness to learn and some disposable income on their hands, this may yet prove to be an interesting new market. Watch this space.

Silver surfers say net is 'vital'

 

PR is dead, long live PR? May 30, 2005

 

The forums are buzzing, the experts are speculating, and those who don't know it's a global event are ripping their hair out.

Google's toolbar is no longer showing any PageRank representation, and the "experts" are confidently predicting another PR update, a new toolbar, the Google PR server being down, the death of PR, problems with the cache system, Google coming apart at the seams and so on.

Nobody knows, but ultimately, unless your business involves selling high PR links, you have nothing to worry about.

Ignore it, move on, and get back to improving your products and sales.

The online world is far too obsessed with PageRank.

 

Google Magical Mystery Tour - reading between the lines May 30, 2005

 

ClickZ Experts have an article by Pamela Parker on last week's Google Factory Tour.

"Possibly the most reassuring thing I heard at Google's Factory Tour last week was the company ranks advertising, along with search, as its two top priorities."

No matter how many time I read this sentence, it still appears to be stating the blindingly obvious.

The author goes on to explain that she's reassured because it's sometimes hard to tell what Google is thinking.

Hmmm. I should never have started reading this on a Monday morning.

The Google Factory: Where Do Marketers Fit In?

 

Microsoft vs. EU May 31, 2005

 

The BBC News website are reporting that Microsoft may be about to face a $5m daily fine from the European Union.

Microsoft approaches EU deadline

 

PageRank - not dead, just sleeping May 31, 2005

 

The Search Engine Roundtable are reporting that the PageRank reported demise was little more than a technical glitch.

PageRank Is Back

 

Link Harvester May 31, 2005

 

There are many text link analysis programs on the market. They do a good job at analyzing what data they can get at, but they are limited by only seeing the first 1,000 search results.

This tool:

- allows you to see deeper than other link analysis tools.

- operates quicker than any other link analysis tool on the market

- uses the Yahoo! API, so you shouldn't have to worry about violating the search engine terms of services and it getting blocked.

Link Harvester

 

Predict Models for Idiots/Dummies part II May 31, 2005

 

Brian Teasley continues his ClickZ Experts series on using predictive models:

"If you're a marketer who's not using predictive models to increase your response rates, you need to read this series.

In this second part of a three-part series on predictive modeling, we'll discuss how models are used, and touch upon some of the algorithms marketers and modelers use to develop models."

Using Predictive Models, Part 2

 

Can You Really Trust Your Spyware Protection? May 31, 2005

 

An article on PCWorld.com considers the somewhat chilling fact that next time you scan your PC with your anti-spyware application, it might miss some programs.

"Experts recommend that you employ two--or even three--anti-spyware tools. The more you use, the likelier they are to counter the individual biases of each anti-spyware company."

If consumers knew this, they'd be less than happy.

If my car insurance company told me that their policy was full of holes, and that I should try and get at least two or three different policies to cover myself, I'd be surprised.

If I needed three different locks on my front door to keep people out I'd be upset.

It appears that most of the anti-spyware companies are using a "we'll try to protect you" approach.

How reassuring.

Can You Trust Your Spyware Protection?