Microsoft’s Live Search has been the object of some criticism lately since rumors have been swirling about a possible rebranding. That will likely continue in part due to the "instant answers" the Live Search team is touting today.
Market Smarter, Not Harder
When economic times are rough, the temptation is to panic beneath the impression businesses everywhere are failing; true enough, it’s hard not to when even Google is said to be preparing layoffs. But smart companies come through these things by trimming fat, making sure their columns add up, paying attention to market forces and trends, and playing their strengths.
YouTube Gets Some Company on the iPhone
Blip.tv has announced that its hosted video clips can now be viewed on the iPhone through its Safari browser. Previously, YouTube was the only player that let users watch videos on both desktop browsers and the iPhone’s browser. The technology team at blip.tv created this “magic” iPhone embed because Adobe’s Flash player is currently not available on the iPhone. Blip.tv explains that this technology allows show creators to use the same embedded player code to target desktop browers and the iPhone browser.
Cyber Monday Deals Attract Online Shoppers
More than 8 out of 10 shoppers will be looking for discounts on Cyber Monday and 69 percent will be searching for free online shipping according to a survey by Shopzilla.
Microsoft Live Search to Be Rebranded?
Rumors have been flying around about a possible rebranding of Microsoft’s search engine from Live Search to a few other names that Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet reported on. Names being tossed around include: Bing, Hook, and Kumo (which means "cloud" or "spider" in Japanese). Foley went after the public opinion on which one would be best and the results so far are as follows:
Google Improving International Search
Google is doing a lot of things to improve the way they rank sites across all of the different languages of the world. Some examples of where improvements are being made include taking into consideration things like:
SEC: Facebook Can Keep Hiring, Stay Private
Deals involving Google and Microsoft may get the government feeling nervous, but so far, Facebook’s growth isn’t causing much anxiety. The SEC has given the social networking company special permission to keep hiring and handing employees equity without publicly sharing its financial data.
Google Docs Offers Form Templates
If you use Google Docs, you might be pleased to know that Google is now offering templates for forms. And to start off they’ve got 13 different ones to choose from. If you are not familiar with templates in Google Docs, to utilize them, you go to New and select from template from the pull-down menu.
Tips For Online Retailers Preparing For Cyber Monday
With the official holiday shopping season beginning next week, U.S. retailers expect "Black Friday" (November 28 this year) sales will grow 1.2 percent.For "Cyber Monday" the first Monday after Thanksgiving, retailers expect to see growth of 2.4 percent, according to a study from BDO Seidman.Online sales are projected to grow 8 percent and gift card sales are expected to grow 5.1 percent.
Controversial Goodmail Raises Another $20 Million
Goodmail is a company that offers a service called CertifiedEmail whose goal is to eliminate security risks in email, and it is one that many organizations turn to when they have important emails to send. Goodmail’s customers include a number of big name retailers from Walmart to Old Navy, not to mention ISPs like AOL, AT&T and Comcast, and government agencies like the FBI and the FDA.