WebProWorld
Google has launched several new features for Google Blog Search today. These are: RSS AND Atom feeds, an iGoogle gadget, a "hot queries" features, and a "latest posts" feature.
RSS and Atom Feeds
Google says the addition of the feeds has been its most requested feature for Blog Search. Users can subscribe to specific topics or stories. There is a "subscribe" heading in the left-hand column on the site, and underneath that are links for Atom and RSS.
If you’re tired of hearing about Michael Jackson already, I’m sorry, but he’s still dominating the news and the web. He’s still responsible for two of the trending topics on Twitter at this time (Michael Jackson and MJ).
You’ve probably read about the effect Michael’s death has had on the web. It also had a huge impact on people downloading and buying his music. It had a big impact on searches as well. Hitwise has released some data about the top Michael Jackson songs, albums and lyrics that were searched for after his death.
Twitter is attempting to gain some kind of control of the use of "Twitter" and "Tweet" in a way that reminds me of Google’s attempt back in 2006.
An important element (read: selling point) of Internet marketing is the ability to know more about consumers and their behaviors. Everything can be tracked on the Internet, for the most part, and there is obvious value to marketers and their efforts. The flip side of this ability to track people is the privacy issue and lately the US government has been raising it’s regulatory eyebrows at the online world.
Today a group of key trade groups released comprehensive privacy principles for use and collection of behavioral data in online advertising. These are self-regulatory principles to protect consumer privacy in ad-supported interactive media that will require advertisers and Web sites to clearly inform consumers about data collection practices and enable them to exercise control over that information.
This weekend is the celebration of the American Independence Day on July 4th and if you have ever lived or travelled to America on this date, you know that the day is typically celebrated with BBQs and fireworks. Across the nation, people get ready for traditions that have remained largely unchanged. As the big day dawns, though, there are several ways that social media and particularly social media tools on mobile devices could transform the day for the digitally connected – and offer a great promotional idea for the right brand in the process.
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has vetoed a bill that would have required online retailers such as Amazon.com and Overstock.com to collect and pay sales tax on their affiliate programs within the state.
Earlier this week both Amazon and Overstock had notified affiliates in the state that they would be ending their programs there due to the new tax requirements.
Real-time search may (together with semantic and/or mobile search) be the next big thing; with some individuals putting out scores of public messages per day, we need a way to organize them. And now, Microsoft’s taken a step in the right direction by "bringing a bit of Twitter to Bing."
YouTube has doubled the size of what users are now able to upload at a time. Until now, users were only able to upload 1GB, and now they can upload 2GB. This means longer videos with higher resolutions.
YouTube product manager Ryan Junee also points out that users can upload large HD files directly from their cameras. Essentially this means, we will start seeing a lot more quality (at least picture-wise) videos on YouTube.
The photos that rotate through Bing’s homepage are, at least from an aesthetic standpoint (we mean no disrespect to the search engineers), one of the best things about the site; it’s always a pleasure to stop by and see some interesting scene. And now artistic types are getting a chance to contribute thanks to the new Bing Photo Contest.
