‘Search engines not responsible for content published on third-party sites.’

Google is not liable for any purported defamation in its search results, the high court in London has just ruled, according to a news report by leading UK publication The Guardian. The Internet giant has won a landmark high court libel that makes crucial observations regarding forum comment in search results.

It is not liable for any comments appearing in news articles, forums and blogs displayed in its search results, a high court judge concluded in a significant ruling for UK defamation law. London’s Metropolitan International Schools (MIS) had brought the case against Google's UK and US operations. It launched legal action over comments, which appeared in Google search results through a website forum.

The company claimed Google as a publisher was liable. The latter responded it had no responsibility for of defamatory comments. Mr Justice Eady ruled in the high court that Google was not a 'publisher' of the content, but merely a 'facilitator'.

"When a snippet is thrown up on one's screen in response to a search, it points one in the direction of an entry on the web that corresponds - to a greater or lesser extent - to the search terms one has typed in," the judge said. "It's for him or (her) to access or not, as he (or she) chooses. And [Google] has merely, played the role of a facilitator, by the provision of its search service."

However, the judge did state that it has a responsibility of blocking or taking down content if it’s notified with a legitimate complaint about any libelous material. A lawyer at Pinsent Masons, Struan Robertson, remarked that this was probably the first judicial analysis of a search engine's liability for defamation under UK law. "It is a brilliant result for Google as well as other search engines," Robertson added.

"We're pleased with this result. It reinforces the principle that search engines are not responsible for content published on third-party websites," stated a spokesperson for Google.

An online business directory with ‘how to’ videos

Yell.com, the leading online business directory, has just inked a deal with Videojug. The arrangement is for providing tens of thousands of 'how to' guide videos. It is in the process of setting up a vast network of over 100 blogs with an idea of turning the ubiquitous Yellow Pages service into a multimedia content venture.

The leading directory site's deal with the creator of close to 50,000 'Ask the Experts' and 'how to' video clips is an important development. This will now provide online films, which suitably match the various business services for which users are searching online.

Yell.com was re-launched in April and is undergoing what the firm terms the major 'root & branch' overhaul of its strong Web presence. It has already announced its decision to stop competing for advertising with Google and had opted to sign up as an 'authorized re-seller' for its AdWords.

Yell.com is now seeking to build a blogging network to offer information and advice on crucial business areas. The service launch along with blogs will include popular topics comprising home security, plumbing and heating, hair and beauty, motoring and car maintenance. A special team will build and manage the first wave of new Yell.com blogs.

The aim is to ultimately form a network of over 100 bloggers who will ‘inform as well as inspire consumers’ with effective ideas and advice covering not less than 1,400 business classifications that Yell.com currently offers. It claims to have 217,000 advertisers on its online directory.

Yell.com's head of content, Nick Haworth, said, "The PC has become a TV. Video has a key place in our future through the huge opportunities it has for us to enhance users' experiences on the website."

Record Web traffic surge after reporting the King of Pop's death

Breaking the news of star singer Michael Jackson's sudden death resulted in a huge surge in traffic to TMZ.com. The number of people visiting the celebrity gossip site went up by almost a quarter.

TMZ.com was the first site that broke the heartbreaking news. Late last month it was the first to report that the King of Pop has suffered heart attack and reported his death. The BREAKING NEWS saw a 24 percent increase to 11.7 million unique users.

The figures, released by comScore Media Metrix, mark a record for the popular Hollywood gossip site. It also witnessed an impressive 10% month-on-month rise in page views to 279m.

The news report read: "We have just learned that Michael Jackson has died. He suffered a cardiac arrest at his Holmby Hills home earlier this afternoon. Paramedics were unable to revive him. We are told Jackson had no pulse when paramedics arrived and they never got a pulse back.

"A source informs us that he was dead when they arrived. The hospital staff tried to resuscitate him. But he was completely unresponsive. A hospital source told us there was ‘absolute chaos.' 'You've got to save him! You've got to save him!" people with the singer were screaming."

TMZ.com is a joint venture between Telepictures Productions and AOL. The website has been founded by the managing, editor Harvey Levin. TMZ regularly comes up with exclusive stories in the world of entertainment like DUI arrest of celebrity Mel Gibson and the subsequent encounter he had with law enforcement.

Its mobile site as well as iPhone application also registered new record traffic numbers with well over 11m page views by users on the day of Michael Jackson's death, as his shocked fans frantically searched for updates on unfolding events.

What does the future hold for digital marketing campaigns?

Though Internet will garner larger chunk of the advertising budgets in the coming years, the scenario remains challenging. The fact remains that some high-flying Internet business ventures such as MySpace, which is owned by News Corp., have been affected to a great extent by the global recession.

With overall advertising spend in decline, and showing no signs of early revival, the leading social networking service has recently announced a 30 percent staff cut. Many other top Web 2.0 businesses, like the Google owned, YouTube, are also trying to work out how to 'monetize' the huge traffic that they generate.

Digital marketing campaigns tend be far more labor-intensive to develop (if not to visualize) than ads placed in traditional media, experts suggest. What this means is obviously higher fees.

Innovative advertisers or at least those who can still manage to spend - have also seen some benefits in the confluence of the current cyclical economic downturn. They have tackled it with a subtle structural shift toward free advertising avenues on the Internet.

New technology will only bolster the advertising abilities of traditional media such as TV, backers say. However, none of these things are expected to exist in isolation in the future. Advertising executives have indeed been referring to ‘integration’ of their campaigns for last few years, albeit with mixed results. Now the challenging economic conditions are forcing them to do so.

The Publicis Worldwide’s chief operating officer, Richard Pinder, said in an in interview. "We are going back to the original meaning of the term advertising. It’s spreading brand awareness and making people interested to know more about it."

Advertising gradually gravitates to Web 2.0

Newspaper ads and television commercials, as it has been established, are now a shrinking and less prominent area of the overall marketing strategy. What takes place elsewhere, to be specific mostly on the Web, is what matters more to advertisers.

It is not that advertisers have suddenly woken up to the potential of the Internet. They have been gradually shifting increasing portions of their tight budgets online for last few years. The growing popularity of social networking and other innovative Web 2.0 phenomena has only hastened the process of transition.

Their increasing dominance is actually helping the advertisers use the reach and power of tech-savvy users to spread the word. Smart customers are inadvertently doing the job for them, and at a much lower cost. This is allowing them to bring down the attention and thrust on paid advertising.

While more movie studios publishers and music companies, among others, are clearly trying to figure out the various ways to get potential consumers to pay for their content hosted online, advertising is apparently shifting in the other direction. It is not surprising at all that forecasts from PriceWaterhouse- Coopers are not exactly encouraging for newspapers and television media.

The research firm expects that both the print and TV media will suffer from ad spending declines in the range of 11 percent to 16 percent this year. Though even Internet advertising is expected to fall a bit, by about 2 percent, the fall is not so pronounced. Also, it continues to be seen as the future of advertising, the report points out.

Tips for minimizing network and data security threats

Small businesses these days must contend with the same potent Internet security threats as most other larger firms do. The threats have become more pronounced in recent years. On the other hand, they have become even more discreet.

If you are running a smaller business and budget is tight, you can develop your own security policy, but that can expose your business to some risks. Of course, as your business starts growing in size, you are better off leaving security of network and data in the hands of experts.

It involves considerable effort and discipline when it comes to changing passwords on a regular basis, performing periodic backups, and checking for software updates. The inputs and intervention of independent security organizations can help minimize the risk.

There are how-to guides on offer that can provide you with clues. For instance, the Internet Security Alliance has its ‘Guide to Cyber Security’ specifically aimed at small businesses. It is available to registered users as a free download. You can check some of its material in the SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute's ‘Network Security & the SMB’ essay.

The checklists with instructions probably worth repeating are as follows:

• Protect user accounts with peculiar and uncommon passwords
• Change the passwords on a regular basis.
• Scrutinize carefully all e-mail attachments and other links.
• Install and update antivirus antispyware software on a regular basis.
• Keep all your operating system as well as applications, current and patched.
• Set up and make use of a firewall.

URL shrinking services extremely handy for social networking

Social networking is resulting in the number of services, which help users convert long URLs into small Web links. URL shrinking services are useful on sites like Twitter, limiting tweets to 140 characters.

There are several URL shortening services that are available today. However, few online communities have made it easier for people to tell where the shortened links will take them. Also, the lack of a standardized or built-in approach to URL shortening services - within individual social networking websites - only adds to the complexity.

For instance, many Twitter users opt to shorten long Web links with bit.ly, but some Twitter users are also likely to see Tweets with links shortened by the services at tr.im and ow.ly. While bit.ly offers a Firefox add-on, which lets users of that browser view a portion of the longer URL at least, there is no other easy way of viewing the long version of links at either tr.im or ow.ly.

Many URL shortening services allow their own users to preview shortened links, whereas a few others don't offer that option. There are several websites you can use to view a long URL just by cutting and pasting a shortened link like longurl.org.
TinyURL is among the longest-running services for URL shortening.

It lets users preview all shortened URLs. For those browsing the Web with Firefox, an add-on called Long URL Please is recommended. It also works in other browsers like Internet Explorer. Expandmyurl.com is another approach, which works well across browsers.

What does hold key to website traffic generation?

User base created and sustained through a search engine thrust is the core of your site traffic. Studies have shown that popular search engines like Yahoo and Google provide as good as most other techniques of web advertising and cost effective as well…

You can attract sizable traffic through SEO. There are several ways in which your website can be made search engine friendly and enhance its capacity to generate traffic by means of the free advertising a top listing in leading search engines can provide you with. You need to get your web pages optimized.

High position for your domain specific keywords on the search engines greatly helps. There was a time when website owners were advised to stick to keyword density (kd) between 1% and 3%. What it means is that the keyword your web page is structured around should feature at least one to three times prominently in every hundred words. It may not sound a lot.

However, if you have a Web page with roughly thousand words, it would have about 30 incidences of the keyword. This is not a wise idea as Google might even penalize your site by giving it a very poor listing. You can now replace keywords with terms, which make the topic clear by employing statistical analysis of the content on your Web page.

Last but not the least, establish a blog. It is one of the top traffic generation methods.

A new computational knowledge search engine comes with unconventional capabilities

At its simplest, the new Wolfram Alpha function like a calculator, albeit one that understands things such as quantum mechanics.

Do you wish to know what size shoe to purchase in Japan, to exactly match your British size 11s? Google will help you find conversion tables but Wolfram Alpha will do the job for you. It is probably most handy as a 'homework engine' focused on science, mathematics and engineering, rather than the arts and humanities topics.

The shoe size conversion is just one of the dozens of example queries, which it provides. It is excellent at comparing different stock prices. It can also convert some currencies. Studying such examples will save you considerable time in the long run, because the more accurate your question, the more likely you’re to get a relevant answer.

Wolfram Alpha looks to occupy a space somewhere between Wikipedia and Google. The site's slogan states it's a ‘computational knowledge engine’. The search box carries an 'equals' sign at the end. Its concept originates from Mathematica software by Stephen Wolfram that has been around for over two decades. It's a computational tool, which enables you to manipulate, analyze and visualize data: its wide capabilities range from creating real-time 3D graphics to solving equations.

Wolfram Research has added data from fields like geography, sociology, finance, music, medicine, education and sport. Currently, it's short of material in several areas. This is largely because it doesn't search. It only employs data tested and uploaded by its own engineers.

Wolfram states that when computing began, 50 years ago, people felt they ‘would be able to ask a machine any factual question, and let it compute the answer. It didn't really work out that way’. It's now becoming possible, he asserts, thanks to the loads of data on the web, and Wolfram Research's Mathematica plus NKS (A New Kind of Science).

Web 2.0 traffic generation and other modes of building a user base

One proven way of ensuring web traffic generation is article marketing. It will bring targeted traffic to your website. Consult experts who will implement the proper plan for sustained and focused traffic generation.

Another assured method is search engine optimization (SEO). Quality, affordable services play an important role in securing the site traffic. In order to make your online business venture successful, you need expert help to attain the specific type of audience base.

Web 2.0 traffic generation takes optimum advantage of popular social networking sites. This helps spread the word subtly about your products or services. The strategy needs expert inputs understandably because resources available in house do have their limitations. Obviously they can take up a considerable amount of money, time and obviously to build an effective strategy.

Social media is very much in spotlight and there are contrasting opinions on its effectiveness. To check how useful an AdSense placement is you can open your AdSense journal, analyze the statistics and know exactly how much they have benefitted you. The point is that effectiveness of social media just cannot be judged in this fashion.

Though their impact in terms of online visibility is pronounced, it can be tedious as well as demanding to spend hours on popular social networks such as Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, etc in an effort to build a credible and sustained presence in order to attract people to your website. So you need outside help since it is not an easy task to do in house.

Evaluating the various components of new digital marketing programs

In a recent survey almost three fourth of respondents said they have included at least one new media/ social media resource in their marketing program. However, they also seemed a bit apprehensive about the ability of these campaigns to deliver.

For example, when asked specifically which component of their current digital marketing programs is not giving the tangible performance and delivering desired results, a large majority of them named social networking, which was followed by mobile advertising.

So what are perceived to be the most effective components of a digital marketing program? Asked to judge the various ingredients of their new media plan, 11 percent named social networking as the best performing component, with around 33 percent referring to search. On the other hand, 23 percent indicated email. Just about 14 percent responded digital advertising.

Just like new media/ social media platforms, the mobile phone is gradually emerging as a powerful and integral component of campaigns. Today’s tech-savvy marketers are relying on it to spread the word around. That being said, when asked regarding a digital channel they can best track in real-time, not many of them answered mobile.

It can be inferred that mobile as a component of the digital marketing programs is still not delivering the desired results, but it’s just a matter of time. Social media and mobile does present a huge opportunity to budding businesses but they need to employ it with thought and a great deal of planning.

Use sophisticated software to secure your website and customer data

Today probably more than ever, enhanced network security has become vital to your business online irrespective of is size and domain. Previously, you had a hacker or virus that would crash your computers to worry about. Now you may not even come to know that your network has been invaded until real damage has already been done. For example, your ‘virtual’ pool of data may get lost or seized.

You, and/or your customers online can be victims of identity theft; or your systems may be used for distributing spam or malware. Smart cybercriminals are equipped nowadays with sophisticated software, which easily ‘automates’ the job of tracing vulnerabilities and weak spots in your e-commerce structure. This poses threat not only to large enterprises but also small-scale business entities whose websites can prove to be a soft target.

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs fail to initiate good security steps. They think it is an expensive and complicated task. However, security measures these days are not as difficult to implement as they used to be previously. Cutting-edge technologies are widely available to protect precious data.

For example, a sophisticated security router can guard it from prying eyes. It can ward off malware, manage spam. It can empower your employees to function remotely and securely.

All these advanced features are now packed in routers at costs most organizations should easily be able to afford. Consumer routers provide some of these necessary protections, you need not spend a lot of money even for business-class alternatives. These routers offer more-robust defenses.

A new avenue for talented artists and artisans to showcase work

It is something Beyond the Ordinary, Beyond Borders and simply Beyond your Expectations. Literally, that’s the case at the buzzing Beyond Show & Sale. It is a juried show beyond the expected.

Beyond the Ordinary leads to a dazzling discovery of Handmade Art and Crafts, whereas Beyond Borders is a pure celebration of diversity. On the other hand, Beyond your Expectations offers an ultimate experience between the Artisan and Shopper.

It is a vibrant venue for you the artist or artisan to market your work to the world. Patti and Carol has conceptualized and set up this amazing Artisan Marketplace. Their idea is to bring a new, inclusive, juried collection to the Calgary art and crafts enthusiast. It offers an exciting venue for talented artists and artisans to showcase their wonderful work.

Ensuring an enhanced experience and interaction between the artisan and the eclectic shopper is their top priority. With this in mind, they are keen on providing the best exhibition facilities that can be enjoyed over a relaxed open market ambience with an open and airy layout. This fully integrated collective is committed to harness the natural talents of artists and artisans and bring it directly to the discerning buyer and enthusiast.

Beyond An Artisan Marketplace is a new, inclusive concept that showcases Canadian talent and goes beyond our borders to support artists and artisans from around the world. In other words, the priority is to showcase captivating Canadian talent, apart from offering wholehearted support to artists and artisans from across the globe.

The schedule of the Beyond Show & Sale at The Blackfoot Inn 5940 Blackfoot Trail S.E., Calgary, Alberta, are as follows: Friday, November 6 (4pm - 9pm); Saturday, November 7 (10am - 6pm); Sunday, November 8 (10am - 5pm). Situated in a convenient location in the city, BEYOND An Artisan Marketplace provides free parking as well. The venue is carpeted; there is an ATM on site and a restaurant.

The hallmark of BEYOND is high quality handmade work. Go BEYOND your creative limits. Thoroughly enjoy an artsy, light-hearted, fun-filled, contemporary and sheer sophisticated shopping experience as the discriminating Calgary shopper. If you represent global artisans, you need to verify that the work is handmade, that the artisans are offered good working conditions and fair wages.

Non-for-profit organizations (NGOs) with quality handmade work are also welcome. There will be more shows in the future, tentatively three every year. An extensive advertising citywide campaign will ensure that the show is widely publicized.

Confirm your booking by September 1st and you can make attractive savings so apply today!

Innovative Google Suggest features help users make searches faster

Google Suggest saves precious time by giving valid suggestions as a user is typing out search items. And faster is better, believes the search engine giant. It has recently introduced features to help users make searches faster.

One of the changes is suggestions appearing on the results page. Previously, Google Suggest only displayed those based on original search input. Now, when one does a search from a ubiquitous results page, suggestions relating to the current results page are provided.

For example, if the previous search happened to be roller coasters, once you launch a new query the early few suggestions will still be related to roller coasters. This will help a user refine his or her search queries to find what one wants quickly.
Another noteworthy aspect is personalized suggestions.

According to Google Suggest estimates, nearly 25 percent of all signed-in searches happen to be repeats from the previous month. If one is signed in with one’s Google account and with Web History enabled, it may display some of the relevant recent searches as one keys in.

The personalized suggestions feature makes it faster and easier to repeat searches worked before. If a user needs to abort a search task abruptly, personalized suggestions help him or her continue with search tasks later.

Navigational suggestions make the task simpler. If your first few keystrokes indicate you may be looking to directly navigate to a specific website, Google Suggest will list it to take you straight there if you just click on it.

Sometimes the most relevant completion for something a user is typing is actually an ad. When it is shown, it is marked it with the clear text sign ‘Sponsored Link’ as well as a colored background, just as on the results page.

Building brand loyalty and customer commitment through social media

The definition of social media is rather a vague thing. At its narrowest, it depicts one way in which marketers and publishers can effectively put their messages across to encourage strong customer connections and firm loyalty. At its broadest, it signifies a form of publishing and the exchange of ideas within a community.

Someone who successfully employs social media doesn’t merely create content. The person or the institution manages to create conversations. And these two-way conversations lead to close-knit communities.

Even bloggers who write a post, want their readers to take part in the debate by leaving some comments at the end of the post. Their participation can take the discussion in an entirely new direction and add a new perspective to the debate. This sums up the ‘social’ aspect of social media.

What it essentially means is that publishing is more about participation. Just create a group on a website such as Facebook and you won’t be required to produce all of the content – textual or visual. Other group members will upload their photographs and tell stories.

That’s indeed the real beauty and power of social media! While it may well or may not be the ultimate goal, the result of social media action can inevitably be strong connections between the users or readers who choose to participate. Once these connections are firmly established around your domain-specific business, the end result can be the sort of solid brand loyalty and customer commitment sales professionals have always been dreaming about since the advent of direct marketing.

Understanding the factors that drive social media

Social media can mean all sorts of different platforms. The prime aspect that distinguishes it from other online avenues is interactivity.

The best description of social media in this context is content created solely by its audience. For example, Facebook is not a hardcore publishing company. It does not produce any content on its own. It neither creates articles or posts in house nor uploads videos or images for visitors to view and enjoy.

What it does is let its users do all of these things on its behalf. It’s like a production house telling the whole world that all creative minds are welcome to shoot their own programs and allow them to broadcast them on its networks without charging anything.

If that were to actually happen, you would still have to inform people what channel they could watch your program. You would still need to produce content other people might like to enjoy. Inevitably, those who adopted the most professional approach towards what they were doing would be the most successful. This is because they would be able to connect with their target audiences.

This also is the key feature of social media – the ability to connect with your audiences. But there is one basic difference. Active user intervention in the process of content creation instead of passive participation forms a vital element of social media.

Keeping this interactive aspect in mind, the outlay for social media advertising can be conceptualized in various innovative ways.

The Webidiotz Portland Oregon Grand Opening

Nestled in the heart of the beautiful Pearl District of Portland Oregon, Webidiotz has opened its doors and is ready for business! Businesses all over Oregon are waking up to the fact that a website is no longer a “nice-to-have”, but a “need-to-have” for their business. A comprehensive, online marketing campaign that includes web site design, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), domain hosting, site hosting and all the bells and whistles that come along with it is simply a necessity in this business environment.

This year, thousands of Oregon businesses will ask themselves “What is the lowest cost way to improve my sales?” Most will turn to their marketing campaigns, and some might look at print, radio and television spots to generate revenue. Some will look at last year’s campaigns to try to determine how much they impacted their bottom line. But wouldn’t it be nice to know? That’s the beauty of Internet marketing done right – you can track your campaigns’ performance, and know what your ROI is at a very granular level.

Let’s be frank for a moment. Comprehensive Internet marketing campaigns are not being done well or even at all for many businesses. Some businesses understand the need, but don’t understand the process. Some businesses understand that %80 of people who are looking for a product or service start their search with a web search engine like Google. That’s where SEO comes in. One of the critical factors in an Internet marketing campaign is making sure you’re beautiful new website gets found by people looking for your services.

Another critical factor is making sure your site has a professional look and feel, suited to your brand and your business. The content needs to be well thought out, well organized, and contain everything a customer is looking for. Users only spend seconds on a homepage making a decision about your company.

The final critical factor is your measuring success. How does your site perform? How does it hold up against competitors? Is it easy, cost-effective to maintain and update? Is the hosting solution for the domain and site hosting good enough? At Webidiotz we provide businesses the tools needed to measure these things for themselves. Having your internet marketing company tell you that your campaign is successful without providing the tools to check for yourself is like having an investment advisor tell you you’re making money without providing income statements. At Webidiotz, we would never accept that, and neither should you. Take the tools, measure your success, and engage us to improve it.

The big hold up with many businesses getting online has been price. At Webidiotz we’ve tailored the process to give our clients award winning sites with superb marketing strategies and tools at an affordable price. Don’t believe me? Call today for a free consultation at 1-888-211-8133 and if you think our prices and work is ahead of the competition, I will come and take you out for a beer personally (assuming you’re over the legal age!)

Teg Ryan
CTO, Webidiotz

Check Out Our Work

http://www.betterbodiesnutrition.com
http://www.think-design.ca
http://www.propertynewstoday.com
http://www.crazygolfshot.com
http://www.adeco.com
http://www.kamberonline.com
http://www.mickeysmotors.ca
http://www.amandamydesigns.com

Experts try to devise innovative ways for enhancing people's interaction with the Web

There's no shortage of uses for the loads of data available online. Advertisers always look to mine the photos and status updates that you post on networking sites to better sell their wares. The problem is figuring out really how to organize and put the data in an informative way, instead of forcing users to sift through unending heaps of mind-numbing spreadsheets. When are pie charts and bar graphs enough to break down a set of numbers? Which is the best way to display cellphone call logs or something like senators' voting records?

These were some of the questions debated by researchers, corporate financial analysts and computer science professors at the annual symposium workshops of the Human-Computer Interaction La, University of Maryland. A research manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mave Houston, stated: "We are trying to understand data and then make sense of it visually. But there is no way of evaluating how effective these visuals really are."

Linking information, devising user-friendly technology devices and coming up with various innovative ways for improving people's interaction with the Web has been part of the Lab's mission since it was founded in 1983 by Ben Shneiderman. Since then, it has been credited with generating hyperlinks - highlighted words in a document, which direct surfers to another site - even down to their peculiar light blue color.

Shneiderman also developed a tool 'treemaps' that display information as blocks of color to indicate hierarchal relationships. "It's satisfying to notice what was once considered esoteric research becoming mainstream computer science, which has revolutionized industries," Shneiderman stated. "Just think, YouTube works simply because designers made it easier to search for videos effectively. Now we’ve high schoolchildren creating videos that register 5 million views."

Evolution of the Web from a mere publishing medium to a great programming platform

An insightful essay in the prestigious publication ‘The Observer’ tracks the evolution of Web technology. The tech expert John Naughton starts off, noting, “Once upon a time, web pages were mere text, written in something called HTML (Hypertext Mark-Up Language). This is a code, which uses angle brackets, quotation marks and forward slashes. When your computer sought a web page from a site, it sent back the text file; your web browser program rendered it for displaying on your screen.”

Such was the state of the technology just about 15 years ago. In 1994, a programmer working for Netscape, the first browser firm, thought of the new idea of embedding mini-programs (termed scripts) in a web page that a browser could run even as it was rendering the page. This idea by Brendan Eich would let the creator of the page incorporate all kinds of useful functionality. His scripting language was first known as Mocha and later LiveScript, but wound up being termed JavaScript.

The ability to run JavaScript was implemented in Version 2 of the Netscape browser for the first time in December 1995. It was an innovation, which transformed the Web. Virtually every web page is now loaded with JavaScript. If you are keen on checking how far this has actually gone, download and install a clever plug-in program termed NoScript for the Firefox browser.

NoScript monitors every page and then alerts you to all those scripts embedded into it. You can opt to allow or forbid your browser to run them. What this indicates is the extent to which the Web has evolved from a mere publishing medium to a great programming platform.

‘Twitter Power’ helps develop a holistic social networking strategy

Over the last couple of years, many forward-thinking global companies such as Apple, Whole Foods and JetBlue have discovered the immense monetary and goodwill gains of leveraging the emerging social media phenomenon. It has helped them directly reach prospective and existing consumers, build a strong brand identity, and boost sales. Of course, this is just the beginning!

Twitter is right at top of the highly vibrant social media movement, letting members connect with each other in real time via 'tweets' (short text messages). These messages can be received either by e-mail or via the Twitter site, cell phone, or instant messenger.

Many companies worldwide have begun building specialized teams within their organizational set-up, dedicated solely for the purpose of immediately responding to tweets from aware consumers about their services, products and brand experience.

'Twitter Power - How to Dominate Your Market - One Tweet at a Time' (Hardcover, 272 pages, Publishers: Wiley List Price: $24.95), an engaging book by Joel Comm along with Anthony Robbins (foreword by) and Ken Burge, tries to project itself as a complete guide for personal as well as professional Twitter usage. The book presents a glimpse of companies that are leading the Twitter movement.

This new documentation analyzes the whole phenomenon and shows how to successfully integrate Twitter into conventional marketing strategies. The aim of the exercise is to help establish a solid base on the Twitter platform. It provides tips on increasing awareness for your services or products, and even handling negative publicity from angry consumers.

Can Bing be a game-changer in search advertising?

Since Bing’s release, the debate over the quality of its search results vis-à-vis Google goes on. There are reports that the new and improved search product from Microsoft has taken over the number two spot from Yahoo Search, albeit temporarily.

Another set of data from user experience research company User Centric concludes that Bing's cosmetic changes could well bring major gains for search advertisers. The company invited a group of searchers, providing them with four specific queries so that same results on both Google and Bing could be obtained.

It was found that Bing searchers were much more likely to view the search ads placed on the right side of the page. On average, 42% of them viewed those sponsored links, whereas only 25% did on Google. The difference did not extend to ads, which showed up above the organic results. It also did not reflect in clicks, as ad click-through rates on both engines were about the same.

The sample size was rather small. User Centric study covered just about two dozen searchers. Managing director Gavin Lew stated the smaller size ensured a better qualitative analysis that backed up the findings. It needs to be noted that a novelty factor might have contributed to the users' willingness to view at the Bing ads.

Lew commented it could also be suggestive of a more ad-friendly design.
However, the inconclusive eye-tracking data and design theories cannot make up for the fact that Bing results aren't as comprehensive as Google's currently.

If Microsoft can ensure faster indexing of sites as well as greater relevance, Bing could prove to be a game-changer in terms of online search advertising. User Centric will carry the study again a few months later to establish the trend.

A more personal and social computing experience with Opera Unite

It's something anyone can use! With Opera Unite, even non-technical users can choose to serve and share content and services from their own computers in the form of intuitive applications.

Opera Unite promises to enable a whole new gamut of social software on the Web - applications that benefit from presence of several users online at the same time. With Opera Unite, they can directly connect bypassing third-party server control.

A product analyst for Opera Unite, Lawrence Eng, mentions in a blog post on the site that the technology is a radical first step towards addressing what he calls the 'Internet's unfulfilled promise'. Sharing his thoughts and vision, he elaborates that it’s about our ability to connect with each other and also participate meaningfully online -without losing control of our data, on our own terms.

"It will redefine what's possible with Web applications, and we invite users to join us in moving beyond stale ideas and (self-imposed) limitations. With Opera Unite, we can start moving in a different direction leading to a more personal and social computing experience, which actually begins to deliver on the promise of the Internet bringing together people in meaningful ways," the technical expert adds.

Opera Unite offers the platform for you to come up with the applications driven by
your imagination. It offers an opportunity to creative developers and entrepreneurs to envision new ways for people to interact online, so that computing gets truly interpersonal.

Opera Unite is currently in its technical preview phase.

Could a fall in their fortune mean obscurity for MySpace and Bebo?

Have MySpace and Bebo started to fall behind in the competitive world of social networking. This is the question posed by Jemima Kiss and Charles Arthur of The Guardian. The tech experts try to examine the apparent decline of 'once industry darlings' and the simultaneous rise of their rivals.

Going back into the past, the article notes Rupert Murdoch's buyout of Intermix Media and its MySpace site was arguably the moment the whole world started taking social networking seriously. This was in July 2005.The acquisition in spite of the astonishment of his old media rivals at the $580m price tag was vindicated by a deal with Google in October 2006 that guaranteed News Corp a whopping $900m in ad revenue over the next three and a half years, providing set traffic targets were met.

The Google deal will be over at the end of June 2010, and with it about half of MySpace's revenue! The search engine giant has already informed it isn't really benefiting from the deal, though Owen van Natta, MySpace's new chief executive, tried to play down the importance of the agreement, stating enhancing user experience was the priority.

The latest data from web metrics firms is not too encouraging. They all suggest that MySpace is in decline - whether it's in terms of number of page views, or time spent on the site per user. The same holds true for the British-devised Bebo, purchased by AOL in March 2008 for nearly $850m.Its numbers are also getting worse.

"For both, such a reverse could well herald a decline towards obscurity – similar to that suffered by another British social networking website, Friends Reunited bought by ITV for £120m in December 2005, recently valued at only £20m," the tech writers caution.