Google finally launches payment service July 3, 2006

 

More about ads and banners July 3, 2006

 

Following on from last week's discussion, I thought I'd link to a post on Aaron Wall's blog. He talks about what ad formats have the best conversion rates, and he's opened up the comments for a discussion on the subject.

Strictly speaking, he's talking about affiliate ads, but it should apply to all online adverts. Could be interesting.

Affiliate Conversion Rate by Ad Format

 

More Microsoft delays July 3, 2006

 

Nowadays, it seems easier to just not keep track of Microsoft's planned release dates, and just greet each product that actually makes it into the world with genuine surprise. I mean, it's not as if they're actually sticking to any of their deadlines. whether it's the first, second or third one.

Anyway, for those of you who are keeping an eye on these things, Microsoft announced last week that the Office 2007 suite will be available at the end of the year, not October as they previously claimed. The end of the year - I'm sure I'm not the only one who can see that slipping into the beginning of the next one.

As for Vista, well, that's anyone's guess really. Interesting times!

Office 2007 delayed again

 

Don't lose your laptop July 5, 2006

 

It's summer, and like me, many of you are likely to be going off on conferences and/or holidays. Like me, you probably won't go anywhere without your laptop. Even when I'm not working, I use it to store the thousands of photos I tend to take whenever I'm away, and it's fun to be able to have a look at them on a proper screen at the end of each day.

Naturally, the one thing I really don't want to happen is to have someone steal it. Yet the figures speak for themselves. Last year alone, around 750,000 laptops were stolen (whether this is in the US alone or the entire world, I'm not sure), and only 3% of stolen PCs are ever recovered. Shudder.

The thefts aren't always sneaky, opportunistic snatch-from-the-back-of a-car crimes either - last year, a finance manager in San Francisco was stabbed in the chest for his Apple Computer PowerBook while sitting at a coffee shop.

Kevlar vests aside, what can you do to prevent laptop theft? And if it happens anyway, what can you do to protect your data and ensure that the missing information doesn't come back to haunt you in the form of identity theft, or worse?

CNET News have put together a nice article which covers some of things you can do to stay safe with your laptop this summer. I'd recommend you read it.

Getting over laptop loss

 

Very cool Firefox tool July 5, 2006

 

Aaron Wall has just announced the release of a new Firefox extension, and it looks set to become one of my absolute favourites. SEO For Firefox is not something you'll want to use every day (unless you're me, of course) - in fact, you'll probably have it turned off most of the time. But when you're researching a market or checking how competitive a particular keyword phrase is, it's invaluable.

This extension tells you everything you want to know, at a quick glance, all there in the Google search results. What is the PageRank of the listed websites. It tells you. How many incoming links to they have. It shows you. Is it listed on Dmoz or Del.icio.us? You'll see it right in front of you. And a lot of other information, too.

Incredibly cool (it doesn't work for international Google sites, though, so if you mostly use Google.de or Google.co.uk, you might want to give it a miss).

SEO for Firefox

 

Tucows contest coming up July 7, 2006

 

Keep an eye on Tucows on Monday. They're about to announce a contest, and I happen to know that the prizes are fairly cool!

What's it all about? Well, I can't reveal too much, but it's to do with creating videos.

So if there's a little documentary filmmaker hiding inside you, it's time to bring him out and dust him off.

Tucows

 

Cutts cuts again July 7, 2006

 

Matt Cutts is back from his long, long holiday - and he's not wasting any time in starting to rip spammy websites to pieces.

Those of you who enjoy laughing at the stupidity of others might want to take a look at this one, which features the charming little snippet "Copyright 2004 madonna star sex porno Company. All Rights Reserved." at the bottom of each page. And then they have the nerve to write to Google and complain that they're not listed.

Classy.

Reminder: Check your sites

 

No Google Checkout on eBay July 7, 2006

 

Even before the launch of Google Checkout, there was a lot of speculation about how it would be the death of PayPal. As it turns out, that won't be the case. Google Checkout isn't really a consumer-to-consumer service, as it is primarily intended for small businesses.

Nevertheless, eBay (who own PayPal) seem a bit on edge about the whole thing. Why else would they decide to ban the use of Google Checkout? After all, it does appear to meet all kinds of criteria and concerns regarding privacy and antifraud protection.

Perhaps eBay simply don't like Google because of their "identity, background and other business interests", which appears on their list of criteria as a reason why payment services might not be accepted.

Interesting. Or could it simply be that they want people to keep using PayPal, which brings them money, rather than opting for the cheaper Google Checkout?

Surely not.

eBay says no to Google Checkout

 

Gone away for the week July 9, 2006

 

Due to my attending the 2006 Shareware Industry Conference, there will be no blog entries this week. If you're going to be there, please be sure to say hi!

Postings will resume as normal on Monday the 17th.

 

Net neutrality - the decision makers July 17, 2006

 

As you may be aware, the Internet has been buzzing with hilarity at the comments of a certain senator Ted Stevens. Together with other senators, he's been busy debating the issue of net neutrality and decided to vote against it.

Unfortunately, he doesn't seem overly qualified to do so, to put it mildly. His grasp of what the Internet is, and is not, shines through in the following two quotes:

"I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday."

"The internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes."

The eloquence. The depth of knowledge. Astounding.

And just a little bit terrifying, if you ask me.

A Senator describes the Internet

 

Cerf on net neutrality July 17, 2006

 

Lately, there's been an awful lot of talk about net neutrality and the future of the Internet. If you want to know more about this issue and what lies at the heart of it, reading John Battelle's interview with Vint Cerf is a good place to start.

Vint Cerf is Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, and is also seen as one of the founding fathers of the Internet itself.

Of course, it's also worth keeping in mind that he works for Google, so if you want a truly neutral opinion on net neutrality, you probably want to consider the other side of the story, too.

It's a great interview, though.

Cerf, Part 1: Excuse me, but we don't get a free ride at all

 

No more Dmoz descriptions July 17, 2006

 

Here's the news so many of you have been waiting for. You'll no longer have to put up with seeing your outdated Dmoz description in the Google search results for your website. Google have followed in MSN's footsteps, and are now supporting the NOODP meta tag.

About time.

Google supports META NOODP tag

 

Create an online business July 19, 2006

 

If you're reading this, you're probably already running some kind of business online. Nevertheless, learning more is always a good idea - and this series of articles is a good place to do exactly that.

Written by Matt Inglot, these articles contain tips on everything from business automation and online payments to content writing and testing.

A good one to bookmark and keep going back to.

Thanks to Dirk Paessler from Paessler AG for the link.

The secrets of creating and growing an online business

 

How to attract attention July 19, 2006

 

Everyone's trying to work out how to benefit from the social bookmarking sites that suddenly are everywhere. We keep reading about sites that are "dugg", and receive tens of thousands of visitors overnight, but how can we tap in to this?

Well, there probably isn't a magic formula as such, but this article contains some good pointers that you might want to try using.

I know, at a glance it looks like an article about HD photography, but it isn't. It's actually about how you, too, can attract the kind of attention that you're dreaming of. And you get to enjoy the cool photos while you're reading - perfect for a hot July day!

The Memoirs were viewed 170000 times yesterday

 

Making a fortune with spyware July 19, 2006

 

Ever heard of Direct Revenue? They're a highly successful software company with annual revenues of $2 billion, yet they regularly receive death threats from consumers.

Direct Revenue makes spyware; programs that tracks your movements online and subject you to annoying pop-up adverts for everything from porn to mobile phones.

Despicable, perhaps, but the article charts their rise to success and the strategies they used, and makes for interesting reading.

Thanks to Marcus Tettmar from MJT Net Ltd for recommending it!

Spyware developers net huge profits, outrage

 

More Google AdWords Changes - Quality Score Revisited July 19, 2006

 

Our Google AdWords News blog (and feed) have details of the latest Google AdWords changes:

"In case you hadn't already heard, Google recently made some sweeping changes to the backbone of their "Quality Score" system.

A lot of people logged into their Google accounts last week to find that a whole load of their lower bids were now inactive. Hmmm."

More Changes - Quality Score revisited

 

The Twelve Principles of Windows July 21, 2006

 

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced that they will be following 12 main principles when developing the Windows desktop platform. Based around three main areas, these principles all focus on choice, opportunities and interoperability. Mainly, this appears to be about things that Microsoft learned in their well-known antitrust battle with the government. Microsoft now claim that they have "learned the importance of humility". Hmmm.

So, what exactly are these principles? Well, here's an example:

"No. 5 is business terms: Microsoft will not retaliate against any computer manufacturer that supports non-Microsoft software, [senior Vice President Brad] Smith said. To provide transparency on this point, Microsoft will post a standard volume-based price list to a Web site that is accessible to computer manufacturers, as it has under the U.S. antitrust ruling, he said."

Other principles mention APIs, Internet services and open Internet access.

It all sounds very good. Of course, it would be even more impressive if they hadn't been forced into most of them. It also remains to be seen whether or not this will satisfy the European Union, who have been a tough critic of Microsoft when it comes to competition regulations.

Microsoft Establishes 12 Principles for Windows Development

 

SIC photos July 21, 2006

 

As you may know, I was in Denver last week, attending the Shareware Industry Conference. As usual, it was a useful, enjoyable and exhausting event, and I had the pleasure of meeting many old friends and new acquaintances.

If you're interested in seeing what it was like, here are the photos:

Our own photos

Sharon Housley's photos

Greg Weir's photos

Next month's Competitive Edge Newsletter will contain a write-up of the conference, detailing useful and actionable information that you will have missed if you weren't attending!

 

MySpace horrors July 24, 2006

 

We don't often mention MySpace on this blog, but as you all know, it's fast becoming one of the most popular destination on the web. It doesn't hold much interest for me personally, but I still think it's worth being aware of the risks - and I'm not just talking about the predators preying on children and teenagers.

No, what seems to be getting more common is malware and other security problems. The latest high-profile case is a banner advert that infects your computer with a Trojan (unless you've been very vigilant with your Windows security updates, in which case you're safe). Experts estimate that more than a million users have already been infected, partly because they feel a false sense of security within MySpace and click on links that they might otherwise avoid.

Worth keeping mind, methinks. And tell your kids!

MySpace faces security problems

 

Prepare for Zune July 24, 2006

 

Microsoft have now confirmed what most people have been expecting to hear: they are indeed developing their own portable music device, and it will be out by the end of the year (That reminds me of several other Microsoft products, can't think why.)

Called Zune, the device is rumoured to play music, videos and games, although the focus will lie on music. This is probably why some people have dubbed it the iPod killer, in spite of the fact that several industry analysts predict that Microsoft is going to find it very difficult to compete with Apple in this particular arena.

Eventually, Zune is going to be much more than a music player, as the plan is to launch "a family of hardware and software products" under the umbrella brand of zune.

The launch, when it happens, should be interesting. Supposedly, it will be heavily "artist- centric" with several live performances across the US.

Zune gets in the ring

 

Perspective and your competition July 24, 2006

 

Thanks to Dirk Paessler from Paessler AG for this thought-provoking article:

"I'm so tired of seeing so many products with the same features that nobody wants. It's bad enough to let feature requests from users get out of control, but when we start adding features just because our competitors have them, we're all screwed."

Well worth a read.

Ignore the competition

 

Yahoo and Symantec join forces July 26, 2006

 

Somewhat surprisingly, the search engine and the antivirus giant have joined forces for a new marketing venture. Ars Technica writes:

"Symantec will offer its existing product, the Norton Internet Security Suite, as a 30-day trial download from Yahoo. The product will be branded "Norton Internet Security provided by Yahoo!" and will be available through the Yahoo web site as well as through the Yahoo Toolbar for Internet Explorer."

So what's in it for the two of them? Well, Yahoo gets to look like they're staying on top of increasing online security concerns, and Symantec gain increased exposure.

Whether or not people will be happy with Norton remains to be seen.

Yahoo and Symantec join forces to launch Internet security service

 

Google your way out of traffic July 26, 2006

 

The latest from Google: real-time traffic information for your mobile phone. Essentially, it's a new function of Google Maps for Mobile, which lets you find a destination on your phone and then choose the "show traffic" option. The map is then highlighted red if there's a traffic jam, yellow if there is some congestion, and green if the roads are clear.

Cool, although only available in the US at the moment, with full coverage for more than 30 metro areas.

Saving the galaxy, one traffic jam at a time

 

Learning from BlogHer July 31, 2006

 

As some of you may know, the BlogHer conference took place last week. On the surface, this is a get-together of women bloggers of all kinds, covering all topics. This year, it appears that there were quite a few men in attendance, too, and one of them more well-known was Robert Scoble (previously of Microsoft fame).

Over at the Scobleizer, he discusses what he learned from BlogHer, and it's well worth a read. His main message to vendors and service providers appears to be: when you're at a conference, listen to what your audience wants. Just listen. Don't try to push things, don't just try to pitch your product, but take advantage of the opportunity and try to learn something. Apparently, Windows Live Spaces didn't do so well at this.

Very interesting post.

What I learned from BlogHer

 

The seven versions of Vista July 31, 2006

 

So, not only have Microsoft returned to being somewhat cagey about Vista release dates (the latest statement says it will ship "when it is available"), they've also added to the confusion by releasing a matrix that explains how to upgrade, and to which version.

Trying to talk you through it is not going to help, so you'd better have a look at the matrix. Suffice it to say that Vista will actually be available in seven different versions.

Microsoft unveils Vista upgrade matrix

 

Snakes on a plane July 31, 2006

 

If you've spent any time online in the last year, you'll undoubtedly have come across the phrase "snakes on a plane". If you're still unsure as to what the big deal is, head over to the Seomoz blog and read a detailed posting that talks you through the whole phenomenon.

Here's the short version: Snakes on a Plane is just a film, which hasn't even been released yet. Not surprisingly, it is about setting poisonous snakes free on an airplane in an attempt to kill a witness to a murder. For some unfathomable reason, this caught the attention of the online community, and countless blogs soon featured information, hype, and fake posters.

Taking note of all this publicity, the film producers went back and made some changes to the film, making it more violent and with more "cool" content than was originally intended.

Why am I telling you all this? Because it serves as a great reminder of how incredibly powerful the online community can be. If you can find a way to tap into it, you've truly found the Golden Ticket.

The Internet = The Ultimate Focus Group