Yahoo is highlighting some new features for its profile pages.The layout of the tabs at the top has changed, and a new one has been added that allows the user to access their account info. In addition, users can mouse over any of the tabs and easily see the options within each one. In other words, you don’t have to leave your profile to find your settings. If you want to use "profile settings," it is still there, but it’s been moved down beside the profile photo.
Apple May Have Some Explaining to Do Over Google Voice
There was a lot of hoopla made regarding Apple’s banning of Google Voice from its App Store. Fingers were pointed, names were (probably) called. Today Google announced that the FCC has made its letter (pdf) available to the public. The letter reveals what Google claims to be the explanation it got from Apple about why it would not accept its Google Voice app (as well as Google Latitude).
Google Gives Webmasters Another Duplicate Content Eliminator
Google has added a new way for webmasters to tell it which parameters in URLS, they wish to be ignored. They have added a new feature to Google Webmaster Tools called simply, "Parameter Handling." Google provides the following explanation with the feature:
Does Google Penalize Paid Links in Javascript?
You may recall back at SMX Seattle earlier this year, Google’s Matt Cutts talked at length about paid links. He touched upon the topic of Google being able to read javascript after giving out advice for so long to use javascript as a way to keep Google from reading paid links.
Internet Payday Lender Fined $1 Million By FTC
Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have announced a settlement has been reached against an international Internet payday lending operation that failed to disclose key loan terms and used illegal debt collection tactics against consumers.
The operation will pay $1 million to settle the State of Nevada and FTC charges for its misleading tactics.
Conversions 11% Higher When Customers See Security
McAfee released results from a study of 163 million online shoppers, and found that the majority of them are "digital window shoppers." In other words, they start shopping on a site, leave for a period of time, then return later to complete the sale.
According to McAfee’s findings, conversions were 11% higher for digital window shoppers who were shown a security cue, and the longer it took a customer to complete a sale, the more responsive they were to security cues.
MySpace Users Can Sync Updates with Twitter
MySpace has announced that it is rolling out a feature that allows users to sync their status updates with their Twitter feed. The feature is available in beta to all US users.
A spokesperson for MySpace tells Murdok that 55% of US Internet users ages 18-24 are on MySpace, compared to just 14% for Twitter (comScore) and that 31% of survey respondents who visit MySpace said they read other people’s updates on Twitter (source: Forrester, 8/09).
Omniture and comScore Join Forces For Online Metrics
It seems that getting itself acquired by Adobe isn’t enough to keep the web analytics giant Omniture busy.
Google Busts the Duplicate Content Myth
While Google’s Matt Cutts has certainly provided a wealth of helpful tips via the company’s Webmaster Central YouTube channel, he is not the only one to do so.
Site Hacking Facebook Accounts for $100 a Pop
Security company Panda Labs has discovered an online service that promises to hack into Facebook accounts for $100. They claim they will provide "clients" with login and password information to access any account on the social network. Do you feel like your information is secure on Facebook? Comment here.