Keeping within the Holiday spirit, Google is doing something a little more significant than helping track the path of Santa Claus. They’re offering a number of iGoogle themes for causes in an effort to spread awareness and raise donations. They’re clearly taking it seriously because there is a link to them right from the front page of the search engine, and usually there is not a whole lot of change going on there aside from the occasional doodle.
Congress Tells Martin He Officially Sucks
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin won’t be leaving his post with his legacy in tact or without a kick to the backside from Congress.
SEO Tools To Get Things Done
In the session "SEO Tools" the panel discussed a variety of tools that can be used for site optimization.(Coverage of SES Chicago continues at Murdok Videos. Keep an eye on Murdok for more notes and videos from the event this week.)Bob Briski, Software Marketing Consultant, Raybeam, recommended the following tools:Yahoo! PipesGoogle AnalyticsYahoo Site Explorer
AOL Trying To Monetize Bebo
I know I have been tough on AOL in the recent past. Unfortunately, they make themselves such an easy target that you almost feel dirty taking shots.
Bebo Opens Up With Social Inbox
The AOL owned social networking site Bebo, has launched a "Social Inbox" that allows users to aggregate all of their social media into their profiles.The Social Inbox aggregates feeds and updates from Twitter, Flickr, Delicious, YouTube, and AIM. Users will also be able to access Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and AOL Mail in one-click. The new mail feature allows users to see previews of new email messages.Users of AOL and AIM will now be able to log directly into Bebo using their existing screen names.
People Don’t Trust Your Blog
Forrester Research has released a report (you must fill out a form to get it) that details how much people trust different information sources. At the top of the list is email from people they know. At the bottom are company blogs. This is precisely why company blogs should be treated more like emails to friends.
Browsers Judged On Privacy, Personalization
Personalization can be nice; looked at one way, it’s what leads the bartender at a favorite pub to get your Guinness the moment you arrive. It can be kind of a drag, too, though – do you want your friendly neighborhood pharmacist to remember your every problem? – and so personalization was weighed against privacy in an SES Chicago session called "Battle of the Browsers."
Bopaboo’s Interesting MP3 ‘Pawning’ Service
A Look Inside A Very Controversial Startup
Google’s Global Zeitgeist – 2008 Edition
Last week Google revealed the fastest growing search terms for the United States, which we looked at here. Now Google has released their year-end Zeitgeist, looking at a number of categories in (for the first time) over 30 different countries.
Tracking Santa’s Web Analytics
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, otherwise known as NORAD is tracking Santa Claus’s rounds this year, keeping up a tradition that has been going on for 53 years. Mike Sachoff explains: