WebSearch Maven

Duplicate content- some solutions

2011-06-02T03:57:00.000-07:00

Duplicate content

This is every web masters nightmare for a number of reasons. We are told that google abhors duplicate content and punishes for its existence. Often there are more than one home page.

An example would be

Example.com and www .example. com

If they have the same content that is bad news for the site because the back links will direct to both urls and link juice will be lost. The best way is to kill one of the pages, sometimes this is impossible so there might be another way.

A rel=canonical direct will tell google what your preferred page is when you put this in the header from the page you want the search engines will be less confused. Google will not blindly follow the rel=canonical command but wihtng reason it will be a simple method to improve your ranking on the Serps.

The I-phone Android craze.

2011-06-01T02:18:00.000-07:00

It has gotten out of control. Close to one sixth of the human race uses a cell phone. That’s almost all the adult population of the world. In fact it’s hard to imagine a world without cell phones!
They do almost everything imaginable except keep us healthy.
The World health organization thinks these phones could be killing us. Should be no surprise to anyone. A product that sends and receives radio waves that someone keeps next to his brain for long periods does not sound like a good thing.
Someone should create an app on the i-phone or android that measures exactly how much radiation is emitted from your cell and all other electronic devices. People should know how much radiation they are exposed to at any given minute. There should be a safe level of radiation that we should all know about. Something like how safe is direct radiation exposure and how safe is daily weekly or monthly exposure.

Probably a great business idea.

Cross media

2011-05-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

It’s makes everybody a little crazy. You want to keep your customers but you don’t want to be a spammer. You want to cultivate new customers but you don’t want to be a criminal.
A technology that disseminates information about you’re services and company and gives you a free hand to market your self without being a spammer. It’s called Cross Media.
This is the way it works.

The present database of customers are used as a launching pad for a Cross media campaign. These willing and loyal customers are given a unique web page that is personalized. It is personalized in the sense that only relevant items that are geared for this person will appear on this page. On this unique mini-page a refer a friend will appear that will thru incentives push customers to suggest new users. They in turn will become part of the data base of the company. All know media outlets will be used to help these efforts including SMS and even snail mail.

It’s a great system!

2010-12-13T03:28:00.001-08:00

Thoughts on Google/places

It’s all about the first seven spots. If you are there you are king if not you are knowhere

Simple steps to get there
1. Claim your page. Google provides a default page but only when claimed can this page be utilized
2. Fill in all the info that the page asks for
3. Backlink to local sites
4. Offer coupon
5. Use local phone number ( or get a local number on voip )
Just do those things and it might be enough
Or just contact david@websearchmaven.com

Google local, Going places

2010-12-07T04:37:00.000-08:00

Google local, Going places

If you are a local business that needs local clients you want search engine results that will bring you in new business.

Google, which seems to be always one step ahead, has launched a local search product called Google places. It is elegant as it is simple but very powerful at the same time.

This is the way it works.

1. Google independently scrapes businesses that have websites addresses and have reviews and creates a
2. Most of these businesses are on Google maps but go unclaimed and have little info displayed
3. A claimed page will surge in local search for a particular business when claimed and fully utilized

This amazingly simple concept is redefining Googles search engines effect on local businesses.

Google, just do it.

Some thoughts about Google instant

2010-11-01T05:26:00.000-07:00

Many have not noticed but Google instant is a dramatic change in the way Google provides search results. Now you need not wait to press enter for results as google gives them to you as you type. This is like a souped up Google suggest. It’s quite amazing if you think about it actually, the speed of the results is just amazing.
How does this affect Search tactics for internet marketers?
This will diminish the long tail search as people will find there result before getting to the end of their search query but there are other basic things the instant search may do.
1. Will weaken already weaken SEO efforts for the little guys who depend on the longtail of search for results
2. That means bigger companies with bigger budgets will get even bigger results
3. There may be less searches overall as now less wrong searches will be doe again. Google instant will give results before the search term is spelled wrong.

Some more Questions and answers

2010-10-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

4. Improving the NJ.com,

a. What would you do in your first 60 days if you were given the mandate to improve the Search Engine Optimization of the site for news optimization?
As far as local news the site is doing very well as its #1 for New Jersey News, NJ News, New Jersey Local news , NJ local news. They are the first 4 keywords. See attached Excel Spread sheet for all words + New Jersey Sports news and Jersey Local news . The words that would give nj.com a more international flavour are “ Local news “ “sports news “ “breaking news “ “online news “ . They are close to the first page of Google in some ways. If there was not a page designated for “ Local news “ “sports news “ “breaking news “ “online news “ Pages would be created . “local news “has its own page and there is a sports page as well but the others do not. After creating these pages I would optimize them in such a way as to make sure those terms are # 1 for those pages. For example on sports news I would make sure as many articles on sports topics are written that link back to the present sports page. The Keyword would obviously be “sports news”. Each page that existed or needed to be created would start including the keyword in its content as much as possible within the limits of proper keyword density strategy. I would launch a link campaign in the site itself linking through keywords pages. A link in the site that leads to a page is as good as a link outside the site (in some experts opinion)
b. List 2 fixes/changes you feel must be applied NJ.com and why?

1. Title on home page is to long and mentions things that should a title elsewhere, proper titles are very very important

2. There is page/s where there is a broken link that should be fixed ASAP. Google hates broken links and punishes sites that have them. There are usability and browser issues on a number of pages that need to be addressed. Apparently the IE8 does not recognize some links and some links are unclear in terms of where they go. This may confuse the user somewhat. There are other issues.

These types of issues weaken a website though the site looks and feels very powerful it could be even stronger if the issues I mentioned and others were resolved.

5. Why might you want to use nofollow on an internal link?

I would want to use nofollow to navigate inside a website with links that will compromise my SEO efforts. For example if I want to attract people to the home page of NJ.com with the keywords “ headline news “ I will work very hard with varied tools to point people and convince the search engines that “ headline news “ should point to my site. I will want the least competition for my efforts. For that reason if the word “ home “ points to my home page I would prefer that link be hidden or nofollow.

BTW According to Google advice the usage of nofollow is counterproductive but it may be used to link a bad site .

Q + A for SEO JOB

2010-10-21T04:59:00.000-07:00

I recently was sent some questions before an interview for a internet marketing position. I will share in the next few articles those questions and more importantly some cool answers

SEO/SMO Manager – Candidate Questionnaire
Candidates for the SEO Manager position are requested to respond to the following questions. Completed questionnaires will be reviewed by our team and candidates for the next round of interviews will be contacted the following week.
Regarding this questionnaire, Please provide as complete a response as you feel is necessary for each question, don’t just copy and paste from external resources but provide your own explanation using your own words.
1. How do you stay on top of trends in the industry?

Read, Read and Read some more. I read and subscribed to a number of high profile websites that include webpronews.com, searchengineland.com, googleblog.blogspot.com, .seomoz.org/blog and mattcutts.com/blog. There are often articles on new developments in different news sources that I read and digest. I am in constant contact with fellow internet marketing people and we often discuss new developments and how they will affect us and the industry. I also can see how new developments have an impact on marketing methods. I sometimes write on my blog some reflections and insights I have.

2. What tools, resources would you need to perform your role as a SEO/SMO Manager?
a. PEOPLE

The most important resources are the people you are working with and their drive to see an internet project succeed. These people need to have enough experience and internet savvy to understand new methods and strategy going forward.

b. SEO
Advanced Keyword research tools that would make a keyword list that much more accurate. Advance backlink tools to check competitor sites and utilize for link strategies. Logfile analytic tools to analyze with precision all traffic and action on website. This info will inform where improvement is needed and give a clear picture of everything that is happening on the site. Heat map software to determine where people click on site and which parts of site could be improved.
c. SMO

Utilize tools that could disseminate quickly and efficiently updates and important messages on the major social networks. Connecting and cooperating with powerful players in the field of Social Media. This type of cooperation would get messages out to massive amounts of targeted people in a timely manner. The company or the client or both should have powerful social media sites available where updates can be made. These would include Facebook profiles and groups; Linkedin groups that discuss the particular product or service that is being serviced ; a twitter account that is ready to send to followers and “real time” search information ad updates on product development etc.

d. Putting it all together. Strategy of assigning individuals with responsibility for SEO/SEM work. Clear goals that need to be met by the SEO team and SMO team. For example
The SEO team would need to place 100 links on similar sites within 60 days of launch of project. Twenty different articles with back links will need to be placed on article sites such as ezinearticles.com, articlealley.com . The SMO team would need to place updates on 50 groups within a certain time frame and/or create a set amount of new groups forums related to the marketing plan. These are just examples of how goal oriented targets are to be met. Clearly every campaign will have different targets and goals but all should accountable to a team.

3. What are five of the most important on-page SEO factors affecting ranking pages? Explain why.

No one really knows this for sure but these five are very important indeed:

1. Title of page- If you have chosen a optimum keyword use it in your title. This simple step will tell the bots the most important part about your page, namely your title. If you do other important steps this will help Google point people to your site for that keyword
2. New and relevant content: Have relevant content with key word that was in title and other keywords in article. This is also called keyword density. Make sure article is 500 words or more. Make sure it is completely original. Google claims that positive user experience is what it strives for. If you give a user info about a product or service or anything else for that matter, that’s the key. If you later backlink to that page with powerful links you will strengthen that trend and move up on the SERPS for that keyword/s
3. Using webmaster tools make sure there are no mistakes/ broken links emanating from the site on any pages. Make sure pages will be cached and noticed by Google as fast as possible.
4. Internal and external sitemaps. These sitemaps make it easier for Google to crawl the whole site at once. The Google Robot loves sitemaps
5. Meta tag description. Many say that the importance of Meta tags for Keyword and description has waned but there is still importance in the meta tag structure. The description is still important in case the site is seen in the serps. A good description will draw targeted people into the site which is what you want anyway.

There are others factors to consider that can be used rather easily like H1 tags, speed of navigation, and avoidance of flash for navigation.

Sales, the future of the Web

2010-09-15T00:51:00.000-07:00

Many people think that virtual is the main theme of the internet. Many think that social interaction thru chat is the focus of the web. Gamblers have found a safe haven to gamble their money away on the web. Some say the most unsettling media content is the main focus of the internet. People in the Electronic business don’t think so. They see the web as the place to sell, sell and sell some more.
In fact online sales in the electronic category have grown to almost 17% last year and revenue generated is in the area of $13.6 billion. There is much room for growth as only 14% of total sales of consumer electronics, come from the web. That means that there is much room for growth. An example of a product that is not likely to be bought at your local hardware store is the Tangent Wave Panel .This device is a low cost control panel used for Color Correction. Someone in the color correction business will not saunter down to local electronic store to buy himself this apparatus ,it won’t happen. The preferable way is going to internet comparison sites and getting the best deal possible.
The web is for sales and as big as it is now consumer sales through the web are in their infancy. There is only one way up.
The internet is certainly the information highway but the goal is selling something and making money. The sky is the limit on this.

Debt Settlement companies, tough times ahead

2010-08-30T04:05:00.000-07:00

The FTC has come out with new very restricting rules with regard to debt settlement companies and their ability to do business. As of October 27 upfront fees cannot be taken from consumers who have accrued debt they cannot pay in full. These new rules have come out in reaction to unscrupulous tactics of many a debt settlement company that may take a upfront fee and not finalize a deal. The consumer is left in the lurch with yet another waste of money he does not have. So this is great news, right? The answer is not so simple as the consumer may suffer after all in an environment of less debt settlement companies and less competition. Upfront fees make disappear but overall fees may rise as only the bigger companies will survive.
The debt settlement business has developed a very bad reputation as there are some companies have given the business a very bad name. The truth is that they can provide a service that many need and shutting down smaller with draconian like rules may hurt the consumer more than it helps him. A law firm typically does take prepayment before commencing services for a client and there should not be a rule prohibiting this practice for debt settlement companies. If there are unscrupulous companies who are committing fraud they should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.
A very interesting part of all this is that these rules do not apply to direct deals done thru the web. Which means that the FTC suspects telemarketing improprieties that aggressively push deals that people may not want. The legality of the FTC.s ruling remains to be seen.
This again shows the power of the web as these prepayments are possible thru the internet even under the constrictions of the FTC.

Is the Sky the limit for Google?

2010-07-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

How far can Google grow?

The mammoth search internet company biggest problem is its continuing dominance of the internet.
Everybody thinks it will continue to expand indefinitely. That of course is clearly impossible as the saturation point of some of it businesses is at hand. Revenues were up more than 100 million dollars from estimates and still the stock lost 5% at the close of the market. It gets very expensive to continue to dominate the internet and high operating costs have taken its toll on Google. This coupled with the fact that Bing is gaining in the search realm slowly but surely is making staying on top all the more difficult. It is a very expensive stock to buy at $460 a share but it wasn’t that long ago the shares were in the 700 range. If people sense a Republican comeback in the fall that will push even Google up. If that doesn’t occur look for debt negotiation services to do well. It won’t be pretty.

Is SEO dead?

2010-06-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

Rumors are flying around the internet world that conventional SEO methods are becoming less relevant all the time. Meta tags, keywords, description all mostly meaningless. Whats happening?
No one is completely sure but something seems to be amiss. Whatever the problem it is clear that the old model still has relevance as there would be no other real way to rank sites if not for their back links and content. Nonetheless something has changed and many are trying to put their finger on it. Alas the emphasis has moved or evolved towards the link campaign that a site has or how powerful its link juice. If in the past it was 50/50 on site SEO and backlinks it has definitely gone in a different direction. That almost everybody says. A good site with good content with healthy good links will get the job done. It may take time but it will get the job done.

2010-06-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

Fannie Mae is trying fight those who are defaulting on the their mortgages. Underwater mortgages where the house that a mortgage was taken out on is higher that the worth of a home is the real problem. If someone reneges on their loan Fannie Mae will not provide a loan for a full seven years . This has led many to seek negotiation with debt settlement companies to get out of debt. Companies like Fannie Mae prefer to get something back as opposed to completely losing the money lent out. There are other lenders out there at the end of the day. Bank reposition’s has set another record though they seem to be slowing down a bit. Everyone needs to remember that Fannie Mae still belongs to United States government as it was bailed out in a massive fashion about a year ago. If they make money and are capable of repaying Uncle Sam it will go a long way to shoring up the American economy. It would also stabilize the housing sector of the economy.

Financial Woes

2010-06-14T00:50:00.000-07:00

What’s the best business to be in? With the financial crisis around the world and in the United States it has to be bankruptcy advice or debt settlement advice or both. Millions of people have been effected by the credit crunch and their inability to pay back exorbitant loans that they received. It’s the classic old story of taking a loan using collateral that was priced very high before the crunch and later did not equal the worth of the loan. This coupled with much irresponsible spending practices especially on the different credit cards people use. If the individual also has lost his job or is making less money then the entire fragile deck of cards comes down. Of course there are the vultures who seize an opportunity to advise where best to place assets before bankruptcy or how to negotiate with creditors to avoid bankruptcy. This has become a very varied business as many middle men are selling customer leads to law firms and bankruptcy experts. Banks are trying to recover what they can from previous dead loans as they seem to have made a comeback of sorts with the American economy bouncing back of late. Places like Greece and Portugal may bring everyone down though. It may be so bad that even the opportunists will not fare well.

The Iphone4 is out

2010-06-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

The Iphone4 is out and the way it looks now the “ facetime feature “ may be the most intriguing of the new version of the Iphone. It’s called Facetime video and Steve Jobs says it will change everything. To be honest it looks like a very cool feature and will probably make the Iphone even more popular than it is now. From Jobs perspective it’s a great gimmick gadget ,making couples buy multiple phones to use the new service. This will double the amount of people buying the phone of course. What’s a little unclear about all this is the real “ new news “about video calls on a cell phone. This has been around for a while and can certainly not be called a revolutionary idea. It didn’t work well for some Cell companies notably Nokiah and was discontinued in later versions. Another rather bizarre aspect of all this is that it will only work on WIFI where available and not on the cellphone provider of the individual phone. That is a little nuts as one will make a call on the network of the Cell company and then connect the video thru WIFI, that should take some advanced technology!!
It wasn’t clear what happens when you leave a wifi area if you will be left with an audio call or they will switch back and forth. I guess you need to buy the phone and find out. It’s clear that bizarre sites like chatroulette will utilize this new system for bizarre video conferencing things. Not to mention even less scrupulous sites.
As jobs says millions will buy these phones until the next version comes out.

Digg is being buried

2010-06-03T05:40:00.000-07:00

Is Digg dead ?
If not it looks like its getting there. It all started with the change in link policy. Making back links not go to the site but rather to a different page on digg. This coupled with all the spam tactics of some unscrupulous digg users has made digg passe for many. Digg is dying from social fatigue people, have grown tired of digg and it sure is showing. Facebook and Twitter are booming big time.LinkedIn is getting stronger and Digg is in a deadly, unrecoverable tail spin.
Old social sites don’t die they just fade away

Chrome, just better

2010-06-01T01:58:00.000-07:00

Chrome, get used to it

Many of us have become so accustomed to firefox and all its plugins and addons it is extremely hard to move away to something better. This is why its better. It takes less computer resources to run chrome. A lot less than Firefox. This will let your computer run faster that it is running right now. It is especially faster with Google products such as G-mail and search on Google. It runs faster in terms of showing new web pages and switching from one page to another.

Most of us will eventually move to chrome, get used to it.

CRM

2010-05-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Customer Relationship management- everybody is doing it

Very many businesses are getting serious about getting organized. The method is CRM.
Microsoft has a program called dynamics while a company like salesforce has specialized in the field. The problem with these famous solutions and some others is the cost, plain and simple. There are some free options usually to initiate the service but when that is over the costs just go up. The model of these companies is to charge per user per month. Which means if a company decides to take on new employees then it will need to pay for every new user which sometimes means prohibitive costs. Many new companies have sprung up that are attempting to fill the need of the small to middle size company that needs solutions that will match exactly what they need without costs rising exponentially. These companies build a custom made to order product that is more cost effective and useful than other solutions. This organizational need encompasses very much business and will be the difference between profitability and revenue loss.

Televison Computer, What’s the difference?

2010-05-20T01:54:00.000-07:00

The difference between Television and the web is going to get even more blurred very soon. Google is to partner with Sony and Intel about powering the television directly thru the internet. It will use the Android operating system and the Chrome platform as a browser. For a long time Television has been available on the internet in a variety of ways so what’s the big deal?
A very big deal at that.

Now someone will directly turn his Sony TV on and use it the way he would use a regular TV. The user may not even know that the entire system would be working on an internet based platform. The ramifications of all this are varied and immense. There will no fixed position for the service as someone can program the system to access any area and its local TV stations. Advertisers will be able to compete for advertiser space in the commercial slots. There are endless possibilities for generating new revenue. An entire new industry will pop up as this becomes more accessible to all.
These may include systems that will mimic present TV accessibility without the user ever knowing he is using the internet . There will be companies vying for customers in this regard.

The possibilities are endless. Google, simply amazing.

Google developer event

2010-05-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

For anybody in San-Francisco on May 19, 20 …

Google is sponsoring the largest development event of the year. At least that’s what google says it is. It will be a place where developers will get together to discuss new applications for the different Google products. Google Android Chrome Google web toolkit Google waveand more. Seems likely that th e Android will get much attention at this event as the fight between the i-phone and google has heated up of late. Many developers will be looking for partners to help with their new applications and probably investors will be snooping around looking for lucrative apps that will take off. The present and future of applications has been for quite some time a function of developers pushing their products forward. Developers at this event will be looking for help while at the same time seeing the competition from other developers. As mentioned the Andriod and its applications will take center stage at this event. A specific area of interest for application on the android is GPS technology. By definition a mobile phone going where the user goes should be attached to a GPS system. There has been a frenzy of application development for the i-phone and Android and that trend will continue at the development event.

Great place to hang out.

Skypes group Video chat

2010-05-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Well it’s about time

Skype is rolling out a group video chat, finally. In the beginning like most things in skype it will be free but unbelievably enough in a few months there will be a charge for the video service. How much no one knows yet but we will find out soon enough. Skype needs to compete with all the other IM providers and keep one step ahead. G-talk has video talk but no group chat. Knowing Google they will offer this free as well in lieu of advertising revenue that they will receive form the video pages.
It all should be happening in a few days. It should be fun.

Carol Bartz the sassy CEO of Yahoo

2010-05-03T04:43:00.000-07:00

For a while Yahoo had become a joke of sorts as Google complety over took the internet search arena and left everyone else behind. Yahoo was just losing money lots of money as their stock plummeted.
Well that is in the past as Yahoo stock has been steadily rising of late and more importantly Carol Bartz has been taking potshots at Google. She claims Google is a one dimensional business, search.
Clearly this is not true as Google draws revenue from a variety of Sources that include Gmail and android and Google apps. The free services that Google provides just serves to keep people interested in the money making parts of the service. What’s wrong with that’?

As Google revenues have also surged of late and they are hiring new people all the time it is hard to say that Google is in trouble. They are not. But you must admire the spunk of Carol Bartz

The iphone

2010-04-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

Android i-phone and smut.

Steven Jobs said the other day that if someone wanted access to smut they should buy the android. A rather incredible moral statement from one of the most powerful and influential men in the high tech world. We have been used to fact that revenue governed policy and not morality. In fact morality in these types of areas were very relative in many peoples eyes. Jobs was trying to tell the world that the i-phone was clean and family friendly.
Hello.
This was the smartest thing he could have done from every perspective. He gave the i-phone incredible press and all for free. He at the same time gave android his biggest competitor very bad press. All this for nothing absolutely nothing. It doesn’t really matter that smut related material is accessible on the i-phone, who cares about the details. Forever and ever the i-phone will be pure as the Android will not.

Great marketing gimmick

Skype Directory

2010-04-09T00:14:00.000-07:00

A neat marketing trick

We seem to have exhausted every marketing trick none to the internet. Here is one that seemingly few use and might bring that added push your company needs.
Skype directory is a very cool tool that allows anybody and everybody to recommend a business and get their friends to do the same. It’s really very easy. All you do is click on the directive button and recommend a business. You use keywords to direct people to your site or company like any other SERP page. Not very many companies are using this service for some reason.

Just do it

Digg, is it realy worth it?

2010-03-15T01:55:00.000-07:00

For a while the social media site digg was the most popular site on the web. Everyone and anyone used it for almost everthing. It provided links, it caused a page to be immediately cached. If you could convince enough people to digg your article then many millions would see the article and you would gain branding strength. There was even a rumor that Google wanted to buy the site for 200 million dollars.
All of a sudden rumor backed by fact confirmed that digg was not providing back links the way it used to. Many people stopped using Digg altogether. I personally forgot about it.
I guess digg heard the complaints and decided to do something about it. They are calling this the new Digg and according to Digg CEO Jay Adelson this upgrade of Digg will be cardinally different then the old Digg. I hope he is right.
The main problems with digg were the many false diggs that a user could manipulate to help him get his articles many more diggs. There were even companies who provided large of amount of Diggs for clients. The other problem was that people needed a long tedious sign up process to use the site.
Digg claims to have solved these issues in the very highly publicized release.
Do you Digg?

Cisco on the move

2010-03-09T05:45:00.000-08:00

In a rather dramatic way Cisco announced that it would announce something that would change the face of the internet forever. There has been much speculation and anticipation leading up to this announcement but Cisco has kept everybody guessing.
Well here is my guess as well.
The announcement will focus the speed of the internet, that’s it. Doesn’t seem so dramatic? Think again, it will change the internet like the original high speed changed it. Right now the servers and modems cannot handle higher speed connections even when they are provided . The hardware is often the bottleneck . Cisco the king of hardware is going to change all that providing hardware that will be able to handle incredible amounts of info making the web something that it was not. Enormous amounts of data will be easily stored in data websites freeing one own computer to work faster and better. This will be connected to cloud computing that people have been talking about for so long but little has been actually done. People will buy storage domains just to put hese data and get it out of the way. They will be able to send enormous amounts of data to clients and associates as easily as they send a e-mail. It’s going to be great.

Internet at its worst

2010-02-23T05:08:00.000-08:00

A new Sickness

If anybody still had any doubt about how sick the internet can be should go to chatroulette.com to remind himself. The idea is very simple and very original. You go the site and chat and video with complete strangers that the site picks at random. The problem with trying to meet some interesting people from crazy places is that the majority of the people on the site seem to be interested in pornography in some form.
The owners of the site are trying to make money through advertising but will never hit it big as real advertisers will not risk their reputation by advertising on such a site.

Nonetheless the idea is novel and could be used if there was a control on the filth that shows up.

Need to think a bit on how this idea could add to the social media craze of late.

Mobile Conference

2010-02-16T02:07:00.001-08:00

The competition gets friendly
Nokia and Intel will cooperate with each other in combining their software for smart phones. Samsung on the other hand will be launching its own operating system. Many analysts comment that companies are trying to make their smart phones smarter . The I phone is the gold standard and all are trying to get there. Smart phone sales will dramatically rise in the next few years and with that all the apps that companies and individuals produce will generate revenue. In fact the Smart phones will have more capability to use more complicated and interesting apps. The mobile conference sounds like a fun place to be.

Google Voice, the good the bad and the ugly

2010-02-07T01:17:00.000-08:00

It’s maybe the best development of Google in the last six months, google voice. It is a completely free app from Google and is quite amazing. A person need not use multiple phone numbers anymore as one number fits all. At least according to Google. This is the way it is supposed to work.

A Google voice user receives a free number in the US somewhere. That number can ring on any phone you choose. Office phone, home phone or cell phone. It can ring on all or none. You choose. Numbers that are clearly business oriented you will want to ring on your office phone and from your girlfriend or wife on your cell phone. Numbers from pests can go directly to your voice mail. Its great! Well maybe not so great. A person will need to spend time in his settings diverting the appropriate numbers to the appropriate places. A number that is a cold call will ring on all phones simultaneously. You can block calls that leave no Id and record numbers of new cold callers. You can also leave different messages for different phone devices. There have been reports that the last feature I mentioned does not work very well. It might be embarrassing to leave a message for your girlfriend and have that go to your wife or to some business contact.

The worst part of all this is that this service is not available outside the US for now. Which seems a little crazy. If anything it should be limited to only American lines which many people have outside the US anyway.

The only real way to understand the service is to use it extensively. This as I said cannot be done by many.

Paypal and Google

2010-01-14T00:03:00.000-08:00

Many wonder why earnings from Google adsense can’t be paid out directly to Paypal. When Google was asked about this in different official places it tersely said that this was an impossibility. Why?
Well ladies and gentleman the answer is clear as the G in Google gmail. Google clearly does not want to compete with itself. How so one may ask? Google is going to launch a system called Gpay. It will be Paypals biggest competition.
Why will this system challenge Paypal?
For beginners it will be a Google product and seamlessly let people pay and be paid in all the Google systems. It will be designed to pay for things on the fly thru a mobile application. Paypal did introduce something similar a while back though nobody seems to know about it. We can all guess that Google will lower fees for their new system or who knows maybe make it free like most Google apps.

Cell therapy and the Bio-tech world.

2010-01-13T03:52:00.000-08:00

The high tech world has seen the proliferation of Bio tech companies as Cell therapy and stem cell companies. There has been heated debate on the ethics of cell therapy in general and stem cell therapy in particular. This was even a point of contention in the last presidential election when then presidential hopeful Barack Obama promised to support stem cell research. This was something that his predecessor George W. Bush was against. Some of the amazing advances in research that have been witnessed into conditions such as ALS ( Lou Gehrig’s disease )and other incurable conditions have made investors understand the incredible potential in these type of companies. Many of these startups happen to be in Israel developing treatments for different ailments stemming ( no pun intended )from wound care to severe neurological disorders. The reputation of successful Israeli enterprises in these areas is very good. Many investment firms have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into these companies expecting very healthy returns down the line. Marketing these companies has produced a complete new internet marketing person. The Bio-Tech internet marketing expert. This expert needs to know about the medical internet world. The relevant sites and journals that sites like these need to appear and how best to spread the word about a Bio-Tech site. Bio-Tech, its where the money is.

PAYPAL- some things you may not know

2010-01-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

Paypal may be the most popular way to transfer money over the internet. It’s great once you have passed all the requirements for identification. Getting there can be a nightmare.

Things you should know.
1. Do not use an American address if you bank is not in the US
2. Withdrawing money to a credit card costs money about $6 each withdrawal
3. Withdrawing to a bank is free if the sum is a certain amount, this will
vary outside the United States.
4. Paypal claims that sending a gift is completely free. It is not. For sending a
gift to a Paypal account outside the US there is a 1% fee

Networking, affliate summit east

2009-08-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Networking

How important is networking? Ask the 3,073 attendees at the latest affliate summit conference in New York city in the second week of August. Many today mistakenly think that face to face meeting has become passe in the era of the internet . Are they ever wrong! Nothing will ever be invented that can take the place of a personnel meeting. After that meeting takes place then the ability to continue that connection through the web has increased tremendously .
Some people a while back thought that e-books or even e-newspapers would replace hard copy newspapers which obviously did not happen. Networking and meeting real live people is still the best way to start cutting deals and building business relationships.
Some tid bits from the summit that I picked that stuck in my mind.
Viral videos- make sure they are funny and interesting, aboring monologue of a video will get nowhere fast
Social media- don’t just push information at friends in all the groups that you start, let them communicate back with you .
Social media- be a nice guy. Try to help out others and that will eventually make your name and brand that much better.
And most importantly, Network network and network some more.

The Affliate Summit East

2009-08-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Affliate Summit- the Place to be

Everyone will be there as the Affliate Summit East kicks off at the Hilton New York on the 9th 10th and 11th of August. Affiliate Marketing many talk about but do not do or understand how important and lucrative an affiliate marketing campaign can be. But this summit is just not about affiliate marketing, its about internet marketing. That includes SEO and adwords advice and Social media. The truth is that the networking may be the most important part of this summit with so many people getting together to try to cut deals.

Some of the big names at this event include Chris Brogan of new Marketing Labs, Jay Berkowitz Ceo of Ten Golden rules. Many varied topics will be discussed at this conference. I will be both writing sand tweeting interesting new things that I see and hear.

Google's newest challenge

2009-07-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

They did it, Bing is Yahoo or Yahoo is Bing or whatever.

In the latest attempt to challenge Google the two other biggest names in search have merged. Is Google worried, probably not. Bing claims its engine is better than Google but hat may be irrelevant. What is relevant is how many people will use the Google search engine as opposed to how many will use the new combo for search. It’s all a question on how much money advertisers will spend to advertise their products on Google or Bing. It is ultimately who will provide a better experience for the user and attract more people who will in turn see more ads.

If Bing/ Yahoo has better results than Google and search market share shifts somewhat then advertisers will reassess their relationship to Google. No one really believes this can happen in the short run and is unlikely even in the long run. If Bing/ Yahoo ( bahoo ) can tackle click fraud better than Google then there is a possibility that some advertisers will attempt to try something new. This is also highly unlikely unless some kind of price war ensues. This may be in the works. If Bing/ Yahoo can convince advertisers that they will pay less per click or impressions and publishers that they will make more on serving ads then this new challenge may make some inroads.

Google all along has been preparing for all eventualities by those that want to challenge its supremacy in search. It has developed many tools that do not make direct money for Google but give a Google user many advantages. G-mail and Google maps are just some of the apps that will keep Google number 1.

It’s just not about search its more about the internet experience. Google is second to none in this area and all the Bing in the world will not change that fact.

Google page rank

2009-07-05T12:26:00.002-07:00

Well Google has done it again. It has surprised very many people with its page rank update. Some are happy many are not. Google's page rank for a very long time has been an indication for many on the strength and relevance of a site. The higher the rank the better and more relevant a site is, or that’s at least what most people think. Google lately has been updating more frequently its page rank and nobody is completely sure why. Many suspect that Google is trying to punish sites with paid links. Google has been saying for years that it will catch up with paid link schemes. The truth is that very many sites have high page rank because of paid links. In fact the very sites that sell paid links are still being given high page rank by Google itself. Some have surmised that Google will now update everything faster as Twitters immediate update system has taken the internet by storm. Some overly obsess on the page rank of their site thinking that is the most important gauge of success for a site. A site can have very high traffic and still have a low page rank. A site can be very informative and still have a low page rank. Lastly many sites who have none of these but manage to buy well placed links end up tricking Google to reward them with high page rank.

So go figure.

Google Voice.

2009-06-28T03:25:00.000-07:00

The time has come

Google seems to always surprise so it should not really be a surprise anyone that Google is entering the phone business. The real question is why? This doesn’t seem to be even marginally connected with Googles core business model. Why is Google going into the Phone business?

The overall reason that Google seems to go into new businesses that don’t seem to make it more money has to do with customer satisfaction. Google wants people to stay on its site knowing full well that the programs that do make it money will be used. But beyond its macro strategy there is some direct money making tools that Google Voice will activate.

Management in one word is what Google voice is all about. No one needs to juggle many phone numbers anymore. One number on every business card and website. The user decides which of his phones will ring when Google voice is accessed. The user decides that a number from a business associate will ring on his business phone and the call from his mother will ring on his home phone. He can decide that cold calls hear a prerecorded message so spam calls will never bother him again. He can direct people he does not want to talk to a voice mail that he can choose not to ever return. All these conversations will be recorded on a g-mail like page that any messages ( or even spoken conversations) can be accessed at a later point . These pages Google will leverage with its core product Google adsense that brings Google in billions. Google will be preparing millions of new pages where ads can appear based on page content.

Google is very likely going to integrate all this very seamlessly into its g-mail system and mobile capabilities.

This is a brilliant stroke by Google once again.

New Linkedin Feature

2009-06-24T02:37:00.000-07:00

Linkedin subgroups

Those who use linkedin may also use the very valuable tool of groups on the site. Creating your own group or even joining a preexisting group gives enormous marketing power to the users of the group. You can belong to up 50 groups at a time with the ability to start discussions and get the word out to focused groups. It is a very powerful tool for those that know how to use it properly. The problem with this tool of linkedin is its popularity. This means that a very good group will have hundreds if not thousands of members making more focused discussions difficult. Linkedin has addressed this problem with creating a subgroup option that will focus discussions much better. Let me try to make this more clear by using an example. I have a SMO professionals group that has 80 members but I would like to start a subgroup that focuses just on news on internet developments. I can choose ( or they can choose depending on your setting) which members of my group would most benefit from my subgroup. This will focus marketing needs to members who will need them the most. Only the manager of the group can start a subgroup making his power over the group stronger than ever. Many up till now saw not a great difference between the manager and members (there are major differences) but this feature will encourage new groups to be formed to utilize the subgroup feature.
It’s a feature that will help the Groups section in linkedin provide much better marketing capabilities to its users.

Search in Real Time

2009-06-23T03:38:00.000-07:00

Collecta.com is a new search engine that already is making serious waves. This is all for a good reason. The concept of searches that list breaking results will be at the forefront of all web search activity in the future. This is all the vision that Twitter is based on, immediate relevant information. That’s what people want and are looking for. Collecta takes all the real time comments and remarks from everywhere and provides results. Anything put up on facebook or twitter or any other social network will be automatically cached and given priority on Collecta. Its almost as if Twitter launched this for Collecta as this is an identical idea. How will the big boys integrate real time search into there mammoth search engines, no one knows that yet.

If you really want to test this new service go to Collecta and look for this article. It should be at the top of the list

Twitter, its changing the world

2009-06-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

Twitter, Larger than life

What hasn’t been said about Twitter. Incredible innovative revolutionary . Twitter has even had effect on the latest world crisis, the Iranian election. Microbloging has figuratively and literally taken the world by storm. The ability to gather immediate information in real time has made Twitter not only the talk of the high tech world but even the talk of the entire world. The mostly totalitarian regime of Iran is very worried about the proliferation of internet news sources. They have tried to stop these sites but can’t seem to stop reports from Twitter. Now they are just threatening those who use these sites. Twitter can be accessed in so many different ways that blocking it has become impossible. A probable scenario is being played out by those who are the most against Twitter. The Iranian government has its own twitter account and is following those twitter accounts that they think are coming from local users. They are doing this to track these users for prosecution or worse later on. At the same they are making stronger the sites they seek to stop. Crazy isn’t it? In addition the very fact that they target these sites makes them popular in other twitter user’s eyes and they also start following them. This all means that fighting these sites makes them stronger. That would make any totalitarian regime completely crazy. This fire that the Iranian government is trying to put out is just getting bigger.

When Twitter came out many thought it was a joke.

Achmadenijad certainly doesn’t think so

Bing is getting bonged

2009-06-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

Bing, getting bad press

Well by the looks of what people are writing on different blogs Bing is not doing that well.

Here seem to be some of the main problems.

1. The site is under construction. This sounds innocent enough but some users in different parts of the world get a different home page than others. Sound incredulous? Well it’s true. The majority of users receive on their home page the “Tour Bing “ option while others have no such link on their page. That’s not under construction that’s just bad planning.
2. If you did manage to get to the “ Tour Bing “ page you see that Bing seems to be zeroing in on 4 main categories . Travel, Shopping, health and local with a bizarre even more option. This unintuitive page seems a bit bizarre.
3. There is no integration with e-mail or calendar services that are available with Google and Yahoo
4. In General it is not a very exciting Search engine.

Not sure what Microsoft was thinking.

Google has nothing to worry about.

Bing, not better than Google.

2009-06-07T04:13:00.000-07:00

The main problem with Google or other search engines is a very simple one. They do not think. This means that they give results based on many factors but have not yet been able to incorporate results based on the overall meaning of a search query. Bing claims that in fact it has incorporated this thinking concept and that is essentially the real change in Bing.

It is very hard to see this change.

I have searched for the following term “cheap watches in Boston “ as my watch has stopped and am looking for places in Boston to buy a watch. Neither Google or Bing ( I don’t even bother with yahoo any more ) do not give relevant results for this query. Once again it’s just a list of sites that seem to have been optimized for cheap and watches and I receive no info on where in Boston I should buy a watch,

For another term “ scuba equipment in Bel-Air “ Bing does seem to have better results for this term but overall results are not spectacular enough to chase people away from Google. Bing should have incorporated a search company like "Mahalo" or others like it that actually seem to understand the entire search query and give appropriate results.

With all of Googles services even if results aren’t great few will leave the engine giant for Bing.

Bing is good but not good enough.

Google wave

2009-06-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

Google wave, Google's newest splash

The next generation of communication? A Twitter expansion of sorts? A collaboration communication tool? All of the above?

Communication on the web has not really changed ostensibly since the inception of e-mail. Instant message use did change the communication medium by mimicking phone calls or even allowing phone calls thru the VOIP breakthrough. The conceptual problem with all this is that e-mail was created to mimic snail mail and IM to mimic phone conversation. Nobody really thought what the best way would be to communicate thru the web. A system where there would be a smooth integration between e-mail users and chat options while allowing for real time documentation in a virtual meeting setting was not really thought off. Well not just yet that is. Until Wave came along..

Google is trying to make us think a little bit differently. Many people were confused when g-mail started using threads to organize e-mails. To many it was cumbersome and difficult to understand but those who have become accustomed to g-mail know now that it’s the only way to go. Wave is also in that category. It may take a while for us to get accustomed to the advantages but when we do it will be something we won’t be able to live without.

It is of course open source which may push the new concept into directions not thought about by others. It will also allow easy maneuvering between all known web communication options and their combined usage if needed. The ability to drag and drop pictures easily makes this tool all that more exciting.

Great name as well.

Search options with Twitter

2009-05-27T03:01:00.000-07:00

As I have written in previous articles Twitter has added a real new element to the search world. Real time search. Its something that the big boys are clearly worried about. But twitter still has a way to go with all this. Twitter still needs to improve the “relevance “of its real time searches. Googles searches are based on Relevance. The allegedly have over 200 different indicators that try to judge relevance and rate sites accordingly. Twitter seems to look at the latest tweets when giving results while mostly paying no attention to older tweets or tweets that are related in some other way. Twitter is correctly emphasizing the quick real time search connecting buyer to seller and client to company but may need to shore up a little its search options. A possible merger or buyout from Google would make some sense here but Twitter doesn’t seem close to selling to Google or anyone else. In fact they are not telling anyone how they will produce revenue.

Twitter has 3 basic searches on its page

1. search people
2. search box in middle of page
3. search option at bottom of page

All of these searches give different results for exact same search request. There is even an advanced search option. #3 does give more content related searches than the other 2.
Twitter is reasoning correctly that the current Search engines may be overwhelming some with to many results on to much content. These results show up often together in a search list that is to long and not useful.

The best way to use Twitter will vary from person to person but if you are looking for new people to follow and general info on a topic then #1 is best. The real difference between search option #2 and #3 is not completely clear yet. I will write about that soon.

Happy Tweeting.

Twitter better than Google?

2009-05-20T03:55:00.000-07:00

I have written on my previous blog article that Google should start worrying about twitters ability to do “ real time search “.
Well… Larry Page seems also worried about exactly what I discussed. He mentioned at a Google Zeitgeist conference near London that real time search is the way to go and hinted that the relevance of real time search will surpass what Google has now.
A number of things may happen now. Google may just try to buy Twitter. Twitter may not want to be sold just yet. Google may try to introduce a twitter like search option in Google Labs and attempt to copy Twitters model. This attempt may not work as the focus of most of Google users is the old style search results. Diluting that with a Twitter copy cat model seems iffy at best. It just won’t cut mustard.As I mentioned earlier this may be the only real challenge to Google supremacy in the search realm. I think Google is worried and rightfully so.
Google is worried that the first thing someone will do when looking for something is to go to twitter and not Google.
That is starting to happen already.

Googles challenge from Twitter

2009-05-11T03:58:00.000-07:00

Twitter

In what is becoming the only real challenge to Google Search, the Twitter phenomena.

No one has been able to challenge the Google giant, it just hasn’t worked. The truth is that live search of MSN or even yahoo does not lag behind Google search. Why then is Google still #1 with no real competition in sight ( no pun intended ). Its all very simple my Dear Watson Google has branded itself as the supreme search product and no product equal or even better will change that. The only thing that can really challenge Google is a completely different concept that really make search look different.
This difference should not be need to explained is should be self explanatory. Many just don’t understand how twitter is changing search. That is because its all being done one tweet at a time. Very slowly one Tweet at a time.

So then what is this new angle that twitter offers?

Up till now a Google search would lead you to a website. That’s it. An entire massive business has revolved on getting sites high in SERPS (search engine result page). Today in the internet world if you are #1 on Google for high volume keywords you are a king and maybe very rich. That is the model in very basic terms.

Twitter changes that model in a very basic way. Twitter can connect product and vender in real time something that Google can’t do. Let me explain.

If someone searches in twitter for a product and at the same time someone seeing that product is tweeting then the searcher can contact the vender of that product instantaneously. It can work in the opposite direction as the vender can at any given moment contact potential buyers thru searching results on twitter. Some may have to read these lines a few times to get it but after it is understood it will come down like a ton of bricks. In simple words Google offers website results whereas Twitter offers immediate connection between vender and client and vice-versa.

This is a fundamental change in the way Search results lead to sales. It simple cuts to the chase.

Google would do well to buy Twitter. Twitter at this point may not want to be bought.

In fact I am going to tweet this.

Twitter

2009-05-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

Twitter Twitter and more Twitter

It has become an obsession for some and very many just don’t get it at all. Twitter has become the most talked about internet site in the world in the last few months. Few really understand how to best utilize this tool. Most understand the possibilities of marketing your product to other twitters thru retweeting something that could exponentially bring many more people to your site.
But there is so much more. The search possibilities of Twitter have yet to be discovered by most of the users. It is very simple really. If you want to come up in search on twitter you need to fill your tweet with keywords. This is very similar to Google and other search engines. For example if you want the twitter world to know about a new medical device or startup you should tweet many times with keywords related to that subject. When people search for that subject your Tweet will appear and if the tweet is written well the twitter world will get immediate knowledge of your product.For a search blogger this is great info.

Try it.
It works.

Search and Google

2009-04-27T04:23:00.000-07:00

Search and Google sound the same. If someone wants to find something he “ Googles “ it.

That’s terrific. But the main problem according to most experts is the lack of understanding of intent of the search giant. The search is key word based. If someone searches for something that gets meaning because of the words that are together then the user is out of luck. To be more specific I will give an example. If someone is looking for “ watches in Boston under $50 “ he will likely find results in Google for watches or Boston or some other variation. A list of stores that will supply watches under $50 will not appear in Google. Many startups have been attempting to solve this problem with mixed success. Google itself has been trying to solve this problem and invested much time and money to that end. The company says it's deploying a new technology that better understands associations and concepts related to searches. Now if you look for watches under $50 you may find what you are looking for. It is a step in the right direction in any case. What seems to be certain is that a search query like “ geometry “ will bring results of mathematical concepts associated with Geometry if not directly related to the term.

If this is true then this would be a giant leap in search technology. Companies such as Mahalo.com have attempted to go even further by having direct user input into search results. In any case people will start noticing that phrases in Google do not just have keyword results but rather have results that reflect the meaning of an entire phrase.|

Skype looking for new revenue

2009-04-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

Have you ever looked at a ad somewhere on the web and wanted immediately to contact the site directly? Chances are you have. If you did not want to send an e-mail and wanted to directly contact the site then you needed to go thru a long tedious procedure to get the number and actually make the call. Wouldn’t it be easier just to be able to click on the ad and immediately reach the site or person by telephone? Seems like a very simple concept though nobody is really offering such a service.

Well that’s all about to change as Skype is about to introduce a service where ads can be clickable and become automatic numbers. Then you ask, who will pay for the calls? Well then it will depend on a number of factors. The most obvious choice will be the site or service that is advertising itself. They will pay for the platform that will include the phone call and that platform will pay skype for the phone call. Different platforms could compete for ads by offering phone service thru their ads. In either scenario Skype would be adding revenue to its company. This would be before they go public with a IPO in the offing. This may complicate the paid ad search just a little bit. Advertisers will need to choose if they want to spend more money on ads with phone service or not. This will create an entire different competitive scale for ranking of sites

This concept opens up an entire new circle of possibilities. Google adwords could incorporate automatic dialing for its ads in lieu of its cost to the advertiser, they may use their own VOIP system Google chat. Whatever happens this will be a real new development in the internet advertising world.

Who said skype would never make money?

E-bay to dump Skype

2009-04-16T04:48:00.000-07:00

Nobody understood why at the time but most figured the big boys knew what they were doing. The truth is that Skype actually started a trend. You did not need to make any real money, you could give away all your services free. If you were good enough someone would buy you out and you would be rich. That’s exactly what happened to skype as E-bay paid hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the popular VOIP Company. No one really understood completely how Skype would help e-bay but most trusted e-bays choice and forgot about the whole thing.

Now e-bay apparently has changed its mind and would like to somehow divest itself from Skype. The official word is that Skype will go public with an IPO in the near future and that would be best done without e-bay in the picture. Many will be raising eyebrows at that explanation and simply understanding that e-bay made a colossal mistake in purchasing skype. The information leaked that skype expects to make $1,000,000 in the next year may be an attempt to recoup some money from the expected IPO. No one really believes that skype makes that much money. These are some of the reasons.

!. almost everything is free on skype
2. Skype in and skype out do not seem to generate great revenue, certainly not a billion dollars
3. Other companies seem to be offering the same or better services than skype for less money or free. Google chat makes available free messages that skype charges for.
4. Voip companies have done very badly in the last few years. The vonage company for one had a terrible IPO and some other big VOIP companies just went out of business.

This announcement by e-bay may change the business model of many startups to the detriment of the users. Many are waiting to see how twitter turns a profit to see if the give everything away free model really works.

There really is no free lunch even on the internet.

Google + twitter = bigger revenue for Google( maybe)

2009-04-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

Google is thinking of buying Twitter

Why does Google need Twitter for? No one is sure but I have some guesses.
Its fairly safe to say that google will try to leverage its ability to make money thru adsense using Twitter. The big question is how.

Here is how.

Google could offer to the highest bidder on certain keywords a high rank on paid ads as always and combine that with tweets thru twitter itself. This would show this ad in a less intrusive way to hundreds of thousands if not millions of potential customers. Another way would be to have twitters if they desire place their Tweets on adsense as well as twitter. This would happen based on bidding. The model could work in a number of ways. One simple way could be that the top 20 bidders would have their tweets spread across the web on content pages or even on serps as paid ads. There are other ways of course.
It is not happening now as Google is saving some of its cash. On the other hand as twitter grows it will cost more money
Twitter and Google do not seem to be in any rush to close any deal. Google because it is being cautious, Twitter is looking to stay a independent company. It may sell information on other twiiters habits and info on retweeting.

Hey I will probably tweet this

How will Twitter make money?

2009-03-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

How will twitter make money?

That's anyone's guess.

No one is completely clear how twitter is going to turn a profit. Here are some ideas.
Jason Calacanis of “ Mahalo “ thinks he has it figured out. Let me explain.

Twitter is the fastest growing Social media site on the web. It has gotten a bit out of hand as some people have hundreds of thousands of followers. Things have gotten so crazy that even athletes during halftime at basketball games have been using twitter. Shaqile O’Neal can tell you a bit about that.

When you sign up to Twitter you are shown the highest ranking followers to start you off.
Jason Calacanis thinks it is worth money a lot of money to be on that list. He is willing to pay $250,000 for the privilege of being in the first 20 slots of suggested followers.

Now that should make Twitter get up and notice. Twitter could essentially auction off to the highest bidder places on this coveted list or even have a permanent list on every Twitter page. The places could be sold much like ads and as Twitter becomes more popular the ads will become more expensive.

There is another way of course. A company like facebook or even Google might think that twitter fits in with their business model and just buy the company.

Those seem to be the only real lucrative way fro twitter to realize revenue from the hottest thing to hit the web since Google.

Hey I will tweet this article itself

Twitter, it just works

2009-03-15T02:49:00.000-07:00

Twitter everybody is doing it

It is the newest craze of the internet everybody who is anybody is doing it, its twitter.

What has made a bizarre website that literally wasted peoples time into the hottest thing on the web? It just plain works in driving traffic.

Here is a simple method is getting traffic to your site thru twitter.

1. you need as many followers as possible but even with 200 or so you can rock and roll ( 200 is not difficult to get . Some info later how to do this

2. Write an article or two on accompanying blog or website

3. make sure your keywords are being used in these sites and they are pointing back to web page you are promoting

4. go to twitter and tweet your article or articles to all your followers

This very simple method that works. It just plain works There are of course other things that can be done but this is the basics.

Good luck

Has classic e-mail passed its prime?

2009-03-12T04:10:00.000-07:00

How many of us receive hundreds of e-mails a week or day and only look at a fraction of them? All of us it seems.It is quite exasperating to look at ones in box sometimes.

On the other hand messages that we receive from Social media sites we almost always read. This is especially true of site like linkedin or even facebook or twitter. The reason this is happening is the constant unwanted e-mail we all receive. This isn’t even Spam. I call it irritating quasi spam that we choose to receive for different reasons. There may have been some services that we once signed up with that were conditional on receiving info. There may have been information sites we wanted to know about but our priorities had changed. In short but we do not want to read these e-mails now and feel that they are like spam.

In fact Social networking and blogging are now more popular online activities than using email, according to a new report by the Nielsen Company. That is not to say that outside sources other than e-mail are the prime communication sources for Internet users, that is probably still not he case. But more and more people communicate for non work related issues thru Facebook than thru traditional e-mail. Even business related e-mails have started to wane in the classic e-mail models as many will look at their inbox fro e-mails that have come from bonafide sources like linkedin.

In addition the amount of just regular Spam that does not get filtered is still considerable. The end result is that instead of opening most of the new e-mails received most are left unopened. The major online e-mail providers offer almost limitless e-mail space making just leaving unopened e-mails lying around a very usual occurrence.

Classic e-mail may have passed its prime. The success of Social media sites have started filling in the gap. They are especially useful when more than one person needs to be told about something. I am going top use this social media sites to spread this article. I hope someone doesn’t use it for Spam purposes.

SEO Google and everything in between

2009-03-04T03:05:00.000-08:00

Google doesn’t like SEO professionals

Now that’s not really news.

Everyone has known for along time that Google does not like artificial manipulation of its search results. Many SEO Professionals use unscrupulous methods to advance websites that otherwise would remain obscure. There are many methods to do this and Google is constantly trying to minimize the effect of these “black hat “SEO spammers. Google has said on a number of occasions that it encourages ethical SEO practices and that those practices actually help create the “ user experience “that Google is constantly pushing. The reality is that the overwhelming majority of SEO professional are not professional at all as they will do almost anything to advance the ranking of their client’s websites. This includes buying links on sites to make these links look natural when the truth is the web masters themselves only placed those links because of money. There are hundreds other methods and I will mention the more famous ones. Sabotaging the websites of competitors by different devious methods, when they fall in ranking other sites take there place. Some of these methods include a mass linking campaign of these sites to make them look like they have been manipulated. If Google thinks this has happened the site will be punished.

Many using Google may have noticed that it is now possible to push sites up and down with arrows that Google provides. Google claims now that these changes by the user will be tracked and used to give the individual user more personnel results. Should SEO professionals be worried? The answer is no. It is just one more factor that is part of the hundreds of factors that go into deciding where an article gets placed. Google tries to scare off SEO spammers with different new technologies. This happens from time to time.

The other reason that Google is going somewhat into the personnel search field is that many companies are trying to cut into Googles world search volume by supplying more personnel results. More personnel results are likely to become the next real change in the search world.

Twitter its all the rage

2009-03-02T00:50:00.000-08:00

If you can’t beat them join them.

Google has opened an official account on Twitter. The giant of search and everything else has used many media tools to get its message out. These tools were successful as Google is successful. In addition bloggers the world over would pick up on the littlest update on Google and blog blog blog.

Nonetheless it’s a little incredible that Google has not twittered up until now. The genius of twitter is its simplicity and brevity. You cannot use more than 140 characters. Twitter lets you leave a short concise message. This is perfect for updates that do not require much info just a link to an article. To be honest it looks like Twitter is entering a new phase and taking its place as one of the giants in social media. Many up till now when asked about Social media would mention Digg, Linkedin and facebook. Digg is still very popular but has limitations that a program like Twitter magnifies. People want simple fast updates as to what is new in the internet world. It started out as a bizarre service of telling people constantly what you were doing and where you were going, it seemed meaningless. As the service seemed to gain momentum many seemed to conceptualize the opportunity to give info to many thousands of followers instantly. So very quietly ( or so it seems ) powerful bloggers gathered many followers and started following many people. Enormous traffic was pushed to these bloggers sites as twitters would tweet other tweets and a good message would virally reach enormous amounts of people.

President Obama used it in his campaign and anybody who is anybody is using twitter. Of course I use it as well. My ID is dwald33.

Tweet away

Networking in Tel-Aviv

2009-02-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

Breakfast with Jeff Pulver and friends in Tel-Aviv

High Tech is alive and kicking in Tel-Aviv by the sea. This morning about 200 people attended and were smoozing about everything under the sun. There was ample sun and great conversation. Jeff himself talked about the importance of Social media and how he uses twitter and facebook extensively. There were people there from startup companies and established firms looking for new people and new ideas. The backdrop of the surf hitting a break wall near the breakfast added a great backdrop to the event .

Israel is one of the high tech hubs of the world. These type of events really help to bring businesses together.

Thanks Jeff.

G-mail is down

2009-02-24T03:43:00.001-08:00

The YOYO called G-mail.

IF you all haven’t noticed G-mail has been down for about an hour. Its all a bit bizarre as there have been a few attempts to bring it back up again only to find out that it is still down, Google still describes its g-mail system as beta now we know why.

This is the second time in a month that this has happened, no real official explanation from Google.

The Google MObile

2009-02-24T02:29:00.000-08:00

Many ask why is it that Google continues to lead the world in the high tech realm.

Of course the technology has a big part. Google search, G-mail, Google maps Orkut just to name a few. But there is something else about Google something special. For Google it seems its not all about spending money, its about making a difference. Great example of this is the Google mobile that is traveling through rural India.

This Google mobile is truly an amazing project that seeks to give access to the internet to people who otherwise would never see the internet. When a School children in Vellore rural India get dressed up in their finest clothes to greet this Google bus then you know that Google is really trying to make a difference. Some would say that google is trying to cultivate future customers, I suppose that is possible. But immediate or even far of revenue is not a part of this latest project.

They will be stopping in 20 different rural areas in the next 3 weeks mostly in schools to show students the educational advantages of the web. It has traveled so far over 1500 kilometers and will certainly make a difference in many children’s lives. So many negative things have been said about children and the web. Obscene web sites are flourishing on the web and children are being exposed to emotionally debilitating materiel at a very early age. Google wants to put the webs best first foot forward to these children. Google would do well to develop its own system that would really eliminate obscenity from a persons surfing ability. Right now all the different systems don’t seem to work properly. They could test this system possibly on there Google mobile odysseys.
Who knows maybe that’s the next thing in line for Google. This system would of course be optional but such a system is vital to really accessing the internet to the masses. The trick would be keeping the level of search high but eliminating extreme obscenity. The next frontier on Google Chrome?

Maybe?

We will see

Mobile Phone conference

2009-02-16T02:47:00.000-08:00

Whats new in the mobile phone world?

If you really want to know you should be in Barcelona

Apple isn’t there, why should they be?

The Apple I-phone is the last word on design and feel of a mobile device. It is sleek and has incredible finger touch abilities. There is a limit on how thin and sleek a phone can become. Hardware is limited software seems to have no limits. Apples Iphone has no place in a conference that is pushing applications. That’s a nice word for software.

If you are reading this, I will tell you a secret.

This will be the focus of the conference, Location based application technology.

You ask, what the hell is Location based application technology?

Great question.

That’s what all the companies are trying to figure out.

I will get to that later.

The new technology that has allowed the introduction of new applications of this kind is the increased broadband ability the phones have an access to. This opens up a pandoras box of almost anything that the phone will be able to do

A few examples of location based application technology

ad network based on GPS coordinates
A phone that will be ostensibly be a small computer with super fast surfing ability

What will Android say or do at such a conference?

Probably not much.

Palm is hoping its big competitor Samsung does not use android in its latest software update. When mobile phone makers start using Android things will probably change. As always it will probably change in Googles favor

G-mail , better than Yahoo mail

2009-02-11T03:07:00.000-08:00

Yahoo mail not worried about Gmail- now that’s funny.

Yahoo mails VP John Kremer says he is not worried that Gmail is making gains in new E-mail sign ups.

Anyone who has used both e-mail services knows that there is really no comparison between the two e-mail systems. Gmail is far superior to Yahoo Mail. Let me tell you some of the reasons.

!. fast up load
Yahoo mail has a dynamic upload that’s just takes to much time to load. The newer e-mails load when the page opens while older e-mails take much longer. Gmail uses AJAX technology that helps new e-mails download and pages download at very high speeds

2. labels- Gmail allows labels and colors to divert e-mails for better organization. Those options are very weak in Yahoo Mail

3. IM

G-mail seems to have a better IM services that seamlessly blend in with its gmail system , it even lets you send free SMS inside the US.

The list goes on and on.

Those who know both systems do not have to be convinced.

Mr. Cremer should start worrying

Googles Android- Elegant and easy

2009-02-08T05:10:00.000-08:00

The Android mobile phone operating system, Googles next frontier.

To see it in action is not to believe. It is truly incredible. It is inherently different from other mobile phones as it literally mimics your computer while functioning as a cell phone. Other famous mobile systems never gave a user the feeling he was on his computer and was able to access all his g-mail applications easily. On Blackberry someone could certainly access his e-mails but there was never a feeling of web presence. In short you were accessing the web partially. With the Android operating system it’s a totally different feeling. What it essentially is a mini computer that gives a person complete access to the web. He can send and receive Gmails as if he were at his PC. He can IM on the go and use all the amazing apps that Google gives away free. These features are much better used if the computer/ mobile phone are not stationary. Finding a place to eat or hotel to sleep in while on the go with your Android system is truly easy, even an android could do it.

What seems to be happening is what many have been talking about for a long time. The usage of the internet is moving away from stored information on a users PC. Everything will be cloud based; the bare minimum will be available for download. That is why the Android that will provide all the basic Gmail Apps and provide fast reliable access to the web will take the place of lap tops that people lug around the world. Soon there will not be any need for such things. If nonetheless there are files on PC then a file or files can be easily accessed thru programs that allow one computer to access another.

In the Internet world smaller is definitely better.

Super Sunday and the web

2009-02-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

This is a search blog but this is Super Sunday and I have to write something about Football. Well, okay I will mix some internet stuff into this.

The nfl.com site is in the top 500 hundred websites in the world, this is a little surprising as I would expect the site to be much higher. The super bowl will drive a huge amount of traffic to the site. Its abundantly clear that huge profits are made on advertisements as well as sign ups to watch the games live. Many sites have noticed a opportunity to drive traffic to their site by offering free access to live games and making profits on ads.. there is nothing that the nfl can do about this. The truth is that the quality often isn’t s good as the paid for nfl broadcasts none the less these sites are extremely popular.

The trend today on the web is to provide free service and produce revenue thru various forms of advertising. Have I talked about people who watch the game just to see the commercials?

They are the most expensive slots of advertising in the world costing up to 2 million dollars for 30 second segments. These commercials immediately become hits on you tube and other video site and get thousands of views.

The game itself is noted for the amount of alcohol that is sold and the increase of domestic violence. The 2 teams seem to sometime take a back seat to all the hoopla surrounding the game. The half time show is often the most watched part of the game and it often defines who is the very best in entertainment.

Hey, sometimes the game is fun as well. This year the worst team to have ever made it to a super bowl may win the game. The Arizona Cardinals with Kurt Warner at quarterback are certainly the Cinderella team of this year’s championship game as they have never won a super bowl while their opponents the Pittsburgh Steelers have won many super bowls in different decades.

One thing is for sure web traffic will be down for all non-related football sites while the game is on.

Enjoy Super Sunday

G-mail It’s the Best

2009-01-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

Many of us including myself were introduced to e-mail by using various Microsoft e-mail systems. Most notably Microsoft outlook and outlook express. The real old fogies (those over 35) among us remember (fondly!) Eudora and other archaic e-mail systems. Then Microsoft AOL and Yahoo introduced online e-mail; seemingly a true revolution in Internet use. That was until G-mail came along.

There were different theories as to why Google invested time and money (many billions of dollars) into a product that is free and doesn’t bring any apparent revenue to the company. Most experts say that Google had a few main objectives in mind. First and foremost was the need to compete aggressively with Yahoo in the online e-mail arena. They were very successful, as Gmail is slowly creeping up to Yahoo. For anyone who has both G-mail and Yahoo mail the differences are so clear, its almost shocking that anyone still uses Yahoo. G-mail is far superior in almost every way imaginable but one thing seemed to be lacking in G-mail as well as in other online e-mail systems.

When a user is offline, his email is completely inaccessible. As everything was online and nothing was downloaded to a computer, being off line spelled disaster for the user. That’s why so many people continued to use off line e-mail systems that ensured accessibility wherever they were. Simply if one was off line he could still read his e-mails and send e-mails. These e-mails would sit in an outbox until live e-mail access was available. Many business people used this feature while traveling; catching up their email while enroute.

Live e-mail including G-mail could do none of this. Until now.

Google has just introduced Google Gears. Google Gears offers the accessibility of off line systems with the sheer power of online e-mail like G-mail. Now the best e-mail and calendar system on G-mail is available off line too. So what are you waiting for – go back to your G-mail.

For Google page rank, content is king

2009-01-22T02:01:00.000-08:00

We have been told that Google bases its page rank on some specific factors. A page that is linked to by many pages with a high PageRank receives a high page rank itself. If there are no links to a web page there is no support for that page and no page rank. In other words incoming links determine page rank.

We need to seriously reassess these theories

Please look at the following website that has almost no backlinks and no traffic.
The URL of this site is outmanage.co.il has neither backlinks or any traffic to speak of nevertheless is has a 2 page rank from Google

Not only that but all the inner pages of this site that have virtually no traffic at all and 0 back links still receive a one page rank for their site. Like the one you see here
which has a 1 page rank

All other inner pages also have a one page rank though few have even seen their pages.

All this has come to show that completely original content not stolen content that has been changed by 20% (we were told up till now that this was like new content) is what Google wants and rewards. There can be no other explanation for all this.

What is also probably true is that a real site that consistently gives real information,which also has powerful back links, will climb the Google ranking ladder even faster.

So start writing and blogging.

Googles immoral search

2009-01-18T01:16:00.000-08:00

Google supports Gay marriage

That title is not Googlelike at all.

Google arguably the most successful company in the world has gone into areas that it has no expertise.

Big mistake.

Google says in its official blog that it supports the challenge to proposition 8 (that proposition struck down the legality of same sex marriages in California).

You have to wonder when the founders and owners of Google had the time to enter such emotionally charged issues as these. They mention fundamental rights, that whatever ones sexuality is a individual should have a right to marry the person they love. Though they claim that they don’t really have an opinion on the subject they do not want basic rights of their workers damaged in any way. The truth is that they have made clear their opinion on the very moral issue of the definition of marriage. The main point of contention is how the concept of “ marriage “ defined. There are those who would use the words “ civil union “ to define and mutually accepted relationship. California and the overwhelming majority of the states have defined marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

The very fact that Google is taking a stand against Proposition 8 is not just a ambiguous stance. Google is essentially going against the sensibilities of the overwhelming majority of states and everyone else in their definition of the word marriage. Let things be very clear. This is not a issue of discrimination. No one cares with whom someone lives and who is sharing their lives. At issue here is how society defines or redefines what a Marriage is.

Google in a completely unprofessional manner has strayed from its business model into the murky waters of perceived moral injustice.

Google would do well next time not to foray into liberally politically correct arenas. Contrary to what Google says all this is not good for business.

Business is good for business. Trying to be a moral Robinhood and defending a minorities obtuse understanding of morality while damaging the majorities understanding is very bad for business.

Google, What was it thinking?

Smaller is Clearly Better

2009-01-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

No major surprises at at the annual CES convention in Las-Vegas, with the mini- computers all rage. True, the 4 day extravaganza had some bizarre products including a e –cigarette device that allegedly helped wean people from cigarettes using completely fake smoke at the end of an electronic cigarette. I might take up smoking now.

But getting back to my subject: the mini computer or netbook.

Remember the days of backaches, shoulder aches, neck aches and mostly headaches, lugging the 12 pound laptop while racing to catch the plane at the other end of London, Heathrow. And the laptop itself was nothing compared to the power pack, the wifi card, the extra battery…you were competing with the best of the weight-lifters, pound for pound, kilo for kilo.

The evolution of less usage of disc space and more “cloud computing” set the stage for lighter sleeker computers. There seem to be four main players in the netbook world: Dell Mini 9, Asus Eee PC, Apple netbook and the Sony viao.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 ranges in price from about $350 to $450 and weighs in at an impressive 2.28 lbs. If the customer service of Dell was not so bad this would a good choice. But the truth is that the customer service is just plain bad, unless you happen to know some choice words in Hindi. If you think you will never need any customer service this might be a good choice.

The Asus Eee PC is also an interesting option. The problem with Eee is that its default operating system is Linux. The company claims that they are introducing Windows XP and many expected to see that launch at CES, but it didn’t, which probably cost them some popularity. As soon as XP is standard on this netbook this will be a good option. It is about 2 pounds and seems to have longer battery life than other similar models, eight hours.

The Apple netbooks are a bit more expensive than the first two, but have added bells and whistles such as the multi-touch screen and other gimmicks for those men who need more from their toys. They seem to be a bit heavier weighing in at about 3.6 pounds depending on the model. And believe me, (I have little kids I know) every pound is significant.

The cream of this year’s crop is decidedly the Sony model Viao netbook. Sony planned the launch impeccably (as always) at the CES in Las-Vegas. Its better, lighter (1.4 pounds) and clearly is in a class of its own, as is its price tag around the $900 mark.

The next generation of theses devices may be some hybrid of SmartPhones and mini-laptop combined. But let’s not jump to CES 2010.

CES Vegas and the netbook

2009-01-08T03:33:00.000-08:00

CES Vegas and the netbook

The old saying goes “ the show must go on “. Nowhere is this adage more relevant than at the annual CES Convention In Las-Vegas. Though toned down a bit from last year it still nonetheless is the event of the year as far as the consumer electronic world is concerned.

One of the underlying themes at this show is the famous cloud computing concept. This concept which is continually gaining popularity will help in the sale of the netbook. The netbook is the laptop of the future. It is s a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable device that will sell even in an environment of recession and economic gloom. It is completely based on the cloud computing model that is moving all applications from the hard drive to the internet.

That’s right. No more backaches these 3 lb. device that will sell for less than 400 dollars are the absolute future of PCs. This trend should shy away investors and startups from investing time and money in software that may improve the experience of a user but will make him use a larger hard drive and heavier computer. Getting people to download software was hard enough, with the net book it might be impossible. This trend is sprouting companies that store information. They are also featuring their wares at the conference. What is likely to happen as well is the development of websites that will be virtual warehouses for software companies. These sites will need to provide easy access of a company’s product to a user. This is what cloud computing is all about.

The future of access to the web will be accessing very big computers from very little ones. If these software ideas can be accessed thru the web and be used in the “clouds “ so to speak then they will be successful.

Hp and dell are making steady strides to get a big chunk of this clear developing market as they will unveil their version of the “ netbook “. Sony will reportedly throw in its hat as well.

The CES convention, the place to be.

diggs problems

2009-01-06T06:05:00.000-08:00

Digg.com had a great idea at its inception. Let regular people control how popular a article or site is on the web. The ultimate social media tool that would let better written and more interesting content gain access to more people. The simple model of writing an article and letting the world see it and Digg it was genius in its simplicity. This process was supposed to encourage excellence and drive people to show the best that they had.

The problem is that the system doesn’t really work at the end of the day. Let me tell you why. Spammers. That’s why.

Spammers have understood how important it is to be on the first page of Digg and how much potential traffic one can get by being on the first page. They have set up networks that will Digg articles en masse regardless of the level of value of the article. They are spamming Digg. This practice completely destroys the Digg concept and gives users bad content. It also discourages anyone from writing high quality articles as they will be drowned out by articles that are artificially Dugg.

Digg was once considered by many the primary social media site of the web. In fact Google was thinking of buying the site for 200 million dollars. There were reports that Digg wanted to hold out for more money or was not interested in being sold.

Well then was then and now is now.

Google is no longer interested in the company.

Google does not dig Digg.

Hey, can you Digg this article anyway!

War and the Web.

2009-01-04T02:45:00.000-08:00

Modern war has stayed the same in the most basic way. Men train to kill one another. High tech nonetheless has changed the psychological angle of the the way war is fought.

In the latest round of the almost endless Arab Israeli conflict, Israel has gone to war with the Hamas governed Gaza Strip. The Israeli Government has apparently opened a channel on youtube and lets everyone see where its fighter Jets have been hitting Hamas targets. This is really the first time that one of the propagators of a conflict have actively used the internet as a medium to shape world opinion.

The Youtubes themselves are quite fascinating, showing direct air strikes on launch pads that are situated in very dense populated areas. By showing these videos Israel is trying to mitigate its difficult position in the world that it is harming non combatants while trying to target terrorists. These terrorists are launching rockets into Israel and use civilians to protect themselves in the form of human shields.

This high tech strategy is having some positive effect at swaying undecided parties as to the moral imperative of striking enemy missile launchers wherever they might be. The European Union has apparently toned down its traditional pro- Arab bias when it calls Israel's incursion into Gaza as purely defensive. There may some anti-Islam related undertones that are also changing Europe's stance on the Middle East but easy accessible Youtube videos are not hurting Israel's Cause.

The war on public opinion is sometimes as important or more than the fighting itself. Those involved in conflict will soon learn the power of the web.

The web is mightier than the sword.

Conflict in the Gaza Strip

2008-12-30T04:48:00.000-08:00

Israel The Gaza Strip and everything in between

Its finally happened. The Israeli army has struck back after Israeli border towns and beyond have been receiving a relentless pounding. So far the military action has gone well for Israel as a lighting surprise attack on Saturday caught the Hamas completely unprepared. The gruesome pictures of mangled Hamas policeman have become an iconic picture of the devastation unleashed by Israel. For Israel this has been the easy part of this new mini-war in the Middle East. There have been no Israeli military casualties so far as the fighter Jets have not met with any resistance. Now the agonizing decision to introduce ground troops falls on the shoulders of Israel’s defense minister Ehud Barack . It is likely to happen in the next few days as Israeli armor could be seen heading towards troop buildups near the Gaza strip.

Even if the Israeli military action is deemed a huge success it seems no one on the Israeli side knows what to do next. As Israel pulled out of the strip a few years ago its political brass do not want to retake responsibility on the Arab inhabitants of the strip. On the other hand leaving the strip will most likely cause the same scenario that made the Israeli army enter the strip to begin with.. This is a bleak scenario but one that is agreed upon by most experts. The most than can be hoped for is that the Hamas will not shoot rockets once the Israeli army leaves Gaza. If this happens then Israel’s “ deterrent “ strategy will have worked. This however seems very unlikely as Hamas Ideological Roots seem very strong. Those roots seek the destruction of Israel, nothing looks to change this,

This my friends is the unending cycle of violence that does not have any real end in sight. If the Israelis do decide to stay in the strip for a few years to hunt down Hamas Leaders there may be a longer respite for Rocket attacks on Israel.

No one in Israel is really happy about the current situation. No one really understands where it is all heading

How greed and fraud are closely related

2008-12-22T03:03:00.000-08:00

Madoff Made off with billions.

When you come to think about it, it should not come as a big surprise. Very rich people wanting to become even richer, whatever it takes. Aside from the all the worthy charities that have closed many already very wealthy people have lost extraordinary amounts of money. Many can’t seem to escape the feeling of satisfaction that those incredibly rich victims were getting what they deserved. These greedy out of touch individuals may should have been more careful. Their pursuit of even more millions or billions in a reckless fashion is what pushed Mr. Madoff to commit his crimes.

Doubtless even the staunchest of capitalists are thinking that what comes around goes around in this craziest of frauds schemes ever perpetrated. Those who were “lucky enough “ to invest there money with Mr. Madoff felt themselves special and chosen. You had to be part of the special club, part of an aristocracy. It smacked of old country clubs where blacks and Jews were denied entry. Now it was the very rich and well connected who had an advantage that no one else could attain. Being Jewish didn’t hurt either. In fact the overwhelming majority of the private investors were Jewish as they felt they could trust one of there own. They were wrong.

Greed my friends pushed so many to trivialize apparently clear messages that Mr. Madoff was a fraud. Money blinded otherwise rational individuals and brought some to complete ruin.

It remains to be seen how many other hedge funds or brokerage firms are breaking the law or are walking a tight rope in their investing practices. The suspicion from investors has now reached a new low. The Madoff scandal combined with other Financial collapses will already weaken whatever investor confidence there was left.

Bernie Madoff is a fraud and a cheat. He has lived a pampered life few even dream about while swindling billions in the process. He has scarred the financial world and destroyed confidence in investors worldwide. Though his criminal actions have harmed many Jews this has not prevented anti-semitic rhetoric to be used again in many circles.

He never deserves to see the light of day.

Google, the iphone and the future

2008-12-14T04:30:00.000-08:00

Google , Sounding better all the time

Are you tired of typing things into Google all the time? Are you suffering from typing on your computer to much? Do you need information on the fly? Well Google may be the answer to your problems. You can now ask Google in your own voice whatever you want and get results fast and easy. All you need to do is purchase a iphone and access the app store on the portable phone. You then will go to "Google Mobile App.". When this is installed all you need to do is say what you want and you will get results. There have been some complaints that the voice recognition system only likes American accents. This make some sense as the service only works in the US for the time being.

What will be Googles next step with all this?

In time even on ones own PC searches will be able to happen without ever clicking on a key board. All you will need to do is say “ google search “ this will open up a google page and then say the search term you are looking for. Google will immediately give you search results.

Just like that.

All the problems associated with Voice recognition Software will likely disappear on a PC in someone’s home. The Software will not be hampered by outside noise and will quickly “ learn “ the sounds of the main user and make searching for something as easy as saying “ good morning “.

That just may be the beginning.

Individual voice commands may be able to unlock a PC or Laptop and do almost everything a key board does. It may revolutionize the computer n the same way the mouse did.

Sounds interesting

2008-12-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Google they never quit

Ladies and Gentleman Google has just introduced a brand new feature, Google SMS. It’s incredible in its simplicity. The Idea is essentially designed to contact people who are not online when Google Chat is enabled. The service enables the receiving of messages from their Google contacts on their Cell phones as Sms Messages. This means that if someone is in a rush and cannot wait for a message on Google chat he can still get his message on the go through this system.

Up till now skype has offered SMS services for a fee as well as voice mail.One would wonder if Google is trying to bury Skype with all these new free additions. Yahoo allegedly offers some of these same services but no one seems to know anything about them. Skype may slowly lose its reason for existence as Yahoo mail seems to be doing right now.

As more and more people are using Gmail and its almost bottomless capacity for E-mails they are finding just easier to stay on G-mail for chats as well. Even Die hard users of Skype seem to be using G-mail more and more and using Skype less and less. All this is for good reason as the G-mail and chat and almost everything else is all on one page. It is a one stop solution for Web communication.

Even the way the interface of this product is genius in it simplicity. When regular chat is impossible the SMS option appears in the exact same place and format with a warning that the recipient may need to pay for the incoming SMS and a quick option to go back to free chat.

Google says that this service is only applicable in the US for the time being. In many places where incoming SMS messages are completely free this service would provide another free communication channel. In fact it would be very easy to send SMS messages from many free Wifi spots to any Cell phone in the world. All this free. This actually has been the trend to make everything free while earning money on advertising.

Google is the best

Internal links

2008-11-23T23:22:00.000-08:00

All anybody seems to talk about are inbound links. All the experts will tell you get powerful inbound links and your site will skyrocket on the search engines. Its all true. But few discuss what you can do on internal links on your site to improve your search engine status. Internal links - links that point from one page of your website to another - should also be considered a part of your overall link strategy. On pages that point to your home page never make the link that gets you to the home page a follow link. If the anchor text is the word home for instance then Google will think that the word home should point for your website, which is completely counter productive. Instead mark these internal links as no-follow so navigation on your site is user friendly but won't harm your search engine rankings. IF possible use follow links that navigate from page to page that utilize anchor texts of key words that are relevant to the site.
Another important thing to keep in mind when using internal links is to make sure they are html based links and not dynamic links. Blinking text or drop down menus are often used as features of navigation bars and are extremely counter productive for SEO purposes.

Of course it almost goes without saying how important it is that relevant new content be put on the site. There are no real long term shortcuts.

Doing the things I mentioned will go a long way to improving your Search engine rankings.

Google vs. The World

2008-08-20T02:05:00.001-07:00

Like some Orwellian Big Brother, Google has taken over the world as we know it. Governments are feeling pushed around by Google’s almost omnipotent power. Two high profile law suits currently being pursued in India are an interesting indication of the power this new addition to the world order wields. A company so powerful that countries feel ...

read more | digg story

Googles so called challengers

2008-07-29T03:15:00.001-07:00

New search startups are being launched all the time. You would think Google is in trouble, right? Well, lose no sleep over Google’s future!

read more | digg story

Gmail the best there is

2008-07-08T03:46:00.000-07:00

Gmail the only way to go.

If you are you like me then you sign in to Gmail everywhere you go. Do you sometimes leave work and forget to turn off your Gmail. Does it drive you crazy that you can't remember where you went on line? Are you scared your boss will look at your Gmail when you have left your office? Are you afraid your coworkers will snoop around your private e-mail

Well now Gmail will help you deal with your manic depressive obsessional urges.
How?

Soon there will be a small note at the bottom of the Gmail page telling the current user if any other Gmail accounts are open. The User will even be able to close them if he chooses

A user will see this at the bottom of their Gmail telling them where his gmail is still open. It will also tell the user which IP the other Gmail is. In this way a user can know if someone has managed to invade his e-mail and sending messages without his knowledge. It’s a very neat feature a sort of clean up your tracks from Gmail use anywhere on the web. There is a down side to this feature as anyone else who happens to stumble upon an open Gmail account will be able to shutdown all other account at least temporarily. I guess Gmail is not worried about this to much. In addition if you are really addicted to gmail you will see ( if you click on details ) which devices you accessed gmail on. It may be mobile or regular browser or POP3. It is interesting to note that you will probably not see this feature for a while ( I don't see it myself yet) but Gmail promises this feature very soon.

G-mail has great search tools to easily look for almost anything imaginable.

Its not a big secret that Gmail far surpasses any other online e-mail program out there. The only reason there are more Yahoo mail users is that Yahoo is older and many people are already locked in to Yahoo, most of them would probably want to switch to gmail if they could.

Gmail is the best

2008-07-03T01:06:00.000-07:00

As I sit here in my office in Israel I write these words.

Terrorism returns to Jerusalem streets

As Jews in Israel and around the world contemplate war with Iran in the next few month's events in Jerusalem have highlighted the present day to day danger of being Jewish in Israel. An Israeli Arab has killed 3 people and wounded many more in a scene reminiscent of a James bond movie. This was no movie. This is a reality for Jews in Jerusalem. Only a few months ago A Yeshiva or Rabbinical Talmudic institution was attacked by terrorists who killed 8 young students. There was some talk about destroying that terrorists house and deporting his family, it never happened. It is not by chance that these outrages are happening in Jerusalem. Jerusalem and its future is very much the talk of the day in political circles. The Israel prime minister willingness to withdraw from all of Judea and Samaria and divide Jerusalem is having its effect on terrorist activities. It’s a simple equation. The more difficult it becomes to live in Israel because of terrorism the more likely the leadership will be open to compromise to cede territory to Israelis enemies. It worked in Lebanon, it worked in southern Israel and it is working now. The more casualties and death caused by these terrorists the less resolve many Israelis may have to continue to live in constant fear. The terrorists are building on this erosion of resolve and hope that each new terrorist attack brings them closer to destroying Israel completely. The most horrific tragedy of a 6 month old baby who has lost its mother seems to numb anyone who has heard the story. Efrat the infant child of Bat Sheva Unterman will never see or meet her mother. They were both in the car that was destroyed by a the bulldozer. The infant survived the mother did not. This most despicable act joins a long list of heinous acts perpetrated against Jerusalem residents.

This real tangible day to day fear coupled with the almost daily threats of the president of Iran will almost certainly push the Jewish state into a corner. Then it will happen. Israel's army will strike at Iran and at its local enemies and the mini-WWIII that people have been talking about may start. The erosion in resolve is a constant factor. Those who still have resolve will lash out very violently. Nobody knows exactly when. But it will happen

California driving laws

2008-06-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

Well, if you drive and talk in California you will be fined. Someone decided that talking and driving is illegal if you are talking into a cell phone. It is a bit astounding that up till now there was no law that prohibited talking on the cell and driving at the same time. Most European countries have have prohibited this practice for a long time. One would think that a place like California would have laws of this kind on their books already.

A lot of people think that search tools that are used in the car like GPS are no less intrusive to the concentration of the driver and pose no legal problems. Often the GPS is held by the driver. It's all a bit much as most people have speakers on their phones. This makes it rather easy to speak and still not break the law

Bill Gates says goodbye

2008-06-29T02:12:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end, even the business career of Bill Gates at Microsoft. Arguably the most successful business man ever to walk the face of the earth he certainly does not leave Microsoft at its apex. Truth said he seems to be leaving not a sinking ship but certainly a damaged one. Google has become the king of the hill at Microsofts expense. It certainly was not the way Mr. Gates would have wanted it that is to say the least. Even the new operating system Vista that should of been hugely successful was only marginally so. So Bill certainly did make it big but left a company that is trying to redefine itself. Mr. Gates will not participate in that process as some of his decisions in later years clearly lacked the brilliance and uniqueness that were his MO earlier in his career.

The writer works for the search agent Gogimon

2008-06-26T03:32:00.000-07:00

High tech slowdown may be affecting the Israeli-high tech industry

Many High tech Moguls in Israel have been quoted as saying that they are worried about the global slowdown and how it will affect the Israeli High Tech industry.
Israel leads the world in High Tech export in percentages of its overall exports, 42%.
Almost all of the money that goes into development is dollars which has devalued greatly against the Shekel. This means less real money flowing in to cover company expenses. When the product eventually does get developed it will be sold in American markets in Shekel devalued dollars. This simple equation will discourage investors from any new investment in Israeli companies as their ROI is continually being eroded. They will be receiving less chunks of future profits of a company making it even more risky to be in the high tech investment realm A recent statistical report by the Israeli Central Bureau of statistics showed favorable results in terms of sales of high tech companies but those statistics may be misleading. " The sales may be up but the profits are definitely down " seems to be the mood and feeling of many CEOs wherever you go.

Israeli companies still have advantages on their American counterparts as the salaries in Israel are still lower than American salaries for roughly the same development positions. This coupled with the very large pool of highly qualified High Tech personnel make high tech business prospects very attractive. These advantages are starting to erode and it is unclear how this will all pay out. There have not been any massive layoffs or other negative signs in Israeli high tech, yet. Some analysts are sure that the beginning of 2009 will bring with it collapse of many high tech companies in Israel. A few search engine startup companies may be particularity affected

Many have marveled at the resilience of the Israeli economy in general and high tech sector in particular even during difficult economic and political times. This resiliency is being put to the test once again.

search wars

2008-06-16T03:50:00.000-07:00

What will Microsoft do now?

Many may think that Microsoft will panic and lessen its investment in the search realm. That’s not what Microsoft is doing at all. It has failed miserably in trying to woo Yahoo into partnership but it has far from given up in challenging Google. Brad Goldberg the Search Maven of MSN live is very optimistic on lives prospects. There seem to be 4 main reasons for any search.
1. entertainment
2. purchase of product
3. information
4. navigation from site to site

No matter how powerful Google is if live can provide greater relevance it will slowly start gaining on Google. Even Googles powerhouse search engine results statistically leave much to be desired. Over 40% of queries go unanswered while fully half of searches need to be redefined to present the user with proper results. This results in user experience frustration and the possibility of eroding Googles popularity.

No one is really naïve about the possibility of conquering Google, Google will continue to be the leader in search dog for a very long time. Live believes it can claim enough share of the market to make its search engine a real alternative to Google search. To that end they have introduced a "cash back" program that will rebate customers who have used live to access their products. This is really a new angle in the ad wars between Google and Live search and it remains to be seen if this pay per action model will have real relevance in the long run. Live is also debating using real people to help computers understand queries. All this shows that there is a lot of room for startups and search applications in the search market.

Beware of Google analytics.

2008-06-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Beware of Google analytics. The statistics shown on the very well known application have been known for years to show huge discrepancies to real statistics taken from logfiles. There have many theories for these often huge discrepancies. Seems reasonable to assume Googles money chase is th eprime reason for all this. They want to show much less traffic than really enters the site to encourage PPC ADWORDS use. That has to be the core reason.

Beware.

Israeli high tech companies

2008-06-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

Internet usage is expanding with in the world with more than 20% of the worlds population using the internet actively. Of these over 40% are under 30 years old. The internet is used almost exclusively by students at universities for almost everything imaginable. This includes actually listening to live or recorded lectures doing research on materiel studied and even taking exams. There doesn't seem to be any new interesting tools that have been designed specifically for those students. Multi Billion dollar websites have been designed for the social needs of students like " facebook " and others but no one seems to have designed something that can help students study and do research more efficiently. Till now .
A startup company called Gogimon in Israel is busy developing an application that will revolutionize study and research habits everywhere. In the past a student would read notes from a lecture or study material from a book and mark in Yellow crucial sections needed for exams. With the onset of the Internet this became simply marking the relevant sections in yellow and printing out the text for more intensive study. Now a student will be able to automatically mark sections that he needs and they will automatically be pasted into a file for future reference. In addition a student or lecturer will be able to receive updated information on a research topic automatically. For example the student or lecturer involved in the ongoing study and research on a subject such as "breast cancer" would be informed about new developments in "Breast Cancer" research. This will also involve an option to IM with other students on that specific study topic thru the use of this search tool. This will create a social network based on study and research topics. Another startup company that students will find useful has created the first video commerce platform that maximizes the commerce potential of online video through a unique networking service that matches e-Tailer videos with web publishing channels. This passes online video ads by placing online stores in widget form across the web.
Yet another company Israeli startup may be changing the job search for students just coming out of University with original unique technology to bring job seeker and company together in a very natural way. They seem to be leaps and bounds ahead of other Job websites. I may be speaking about them at length in my next article.

2008-06-04T02:19:00.001-07:00

I have seen a neat site that talks about all the new search engines that seem to be popping up like mushrooms after the rain. One particular article seemed quite interesting as it spoke of an application that calls itself a search machine.You can read this article below

http://altsearchengines.com/2008/06/03/
gogimon-compares-big-search-boys-go-get-it

next generation of search

2008-06-03T03:56:00.000-07:00

Many are asking where we go from here with regard to the next generation of search. Google Yahoo and MSN are running in the same horse race with Google far in front Yahoo a distant second and live barely out of the gate. Some say things are fine now, there is no need for change as we have become accustomed to a Google world. This Google world that still bases its rankings on link strength and key words. There are perhaps more than one hundred other parameters that are used for final rankings but the main ingredients are still links and keywords. What this means simply is that if a site can appear on many powerful sites Google Yahoo and MSN will think that the site itself is a powerful one. The internet geeks among us call this link juice, the more link Juice the better it is for the site. Google will then give the site a high page rank and also rank the site high for selected keywords. Sounds great doesn’t it? It would work if manipulators would not try to artificially change results. That’s where the trouble starts as links are bought and sold by almost everyone. The most successful internet marketing companies are the best at fooling Google into thinking bought links are real natural links. Google will of course deny all this and will say that bought links are not counted and that they have developed tools to spot such unethical practices. They of course know the truth . That would be if a linking campaign is done carefully enough it will work. Even googles most sophisticated algorithm's will not be able to figure out that the links are not real. That is why new search options are being introduced to try to give the user real results based on real factors and not artificial ones. Some of these sites offer aggregate search, personnel content search and even predicted search based on statistical data. Some leading Israeli sites have entered this realm and gaining recognition as revolutionaries The manipulators will have much more difficulty with these new systems as they are less link based and more client friendly. All these new search options will need to address the need for search on social sites. The technology needed to keep up with all the new social sites is extensive and and the new search capabilities don't seem to be catching up.

2008-05-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

I for one am getting tired of all the same models of paid search on Google and yahoo.

Lets face it paid search has its drawbacks. It is Googles real money maker as most
" free "services at Google are designed to create pages that will bring people to look at sites where ads appear. Its great for Google as the search giant makes billions of dollars on adwords, adsense. The problem is the consumer or advertiser. The consumer has to suffer the slings and arrows of intrusive advertising wherever and whenever he surfs the net. Even on private e-mail correspondence on googles e-mail content related ads can be found. That blatant invasion of privacy has long been talked about. The advertiser can never be really sure if the clicks he pays for are legitimate people who are interested in his product. The inherent problem of false clicks has plagued all the PAY PER CLICK models. Goggle claims it is able to notice a sudden surge in clicks that would indicate cheaters but its clear that subtle sophisticated manipulation can and does go on.

A much better system is a PAY PER ACTION model that would guarantee that only actions that the advertiser is interested in will be paid for. This is such a great idea that google has introduced a beta to test and use the service. Or so it seems. Google has written on its adwords blog that a PPA beta was launched. But that was a while ago and now eerie silence. No one seems to know what went wrong and no one is talking about it. What is clear is that this service is not available on the adwords system.

These might be some of the reasons. The real money that is generated in adwords comes from search and not from content. PPA is designed to be only on content. What this means is that there needs to be advertisers who will be willing to have these type of ads on their site. Apparently now those advertisers are few and far between. They would rather have regular PPC ads on their site where every click is guaranteed money and not have space taken up on their site for a maybe action at the end of the process

The Gogimon concept says that PPA is a viable model that is needed and necessary. If the missing piece was the hesitancy of the advertiser then the Gogimon search machine will provide the space for PPA advertising. Its has exciting ramifications.

2008-05-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

check out this great video

search machine

2008-05-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

There has been some talk about the search machines and how they differ from search engines. These are my thoughts on the subject

A Search Machine will seek to bring real innovation to a tired confused user. It will act as the catalyst of the search of the future. The search engines until now have provided results where the search machine will provide a platform for all search needs. A lofty goal that Gogimon is achieving by understanding what the present search engines don't provide. An airplane has engines that provide thrust for airplane aeronautics but the cockpit and crew give the user the real flying experience.

The user should be the focal point of the Search experience not the crutch used to reap billions. A search machine at its apex should provide search results without ads. It should not provide millions of results and not manipulate results depending on the geographical location of the user. It should provide tools the user needs without regard to what profits thru ads can be reaped from that page or tool. It should provide easy access and storage to preferred user sites while maintaining high standards for search results. It should help the user access stored material on their PCs in a user friendly turn key method.

The Gogimon Search Machine will do all the things mentioned and more. Its intuitive features will be a breath of fresh air to many burnt out surfers.

Its time has come.

2008-05-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Search Machine

The World Wide Web is in a state of constant change. This change which is driven by market economic rules has created the most profitable company in the world. Google.
Google as everyone knows is a search engine. One can allegedly find almost anything that the human mind has thought of in Google results. In fact Google has data centers around the world to store information and to make their search results better. Many wonder if there has not been overkill in trying to perfect the search odyssey for the user. After all Google is a profit driven company that has reaped Billions from its adwords advertising program. The fact that most of the well known Google products like Google search or G-mail are free may be misleading. They are free to the user but do come at a price. Every free search request has with adword ads that fill up the page and compromise the experience of the user. Even private e-mail pages are inundated with advertising. Beyond the ethical issue of using content on a private page for content related advertising there is the feeling that user is less important as profit ranks supreme.

A Search Machine will seek to rectify this situation and bring the user back where he belongs. He should be the focal point of the Search experience not the crutch used to reap billions. A search machine at its apex should provide search results without ads. It should not provide millions of results and not manipulate results depending on the geographical location of the user. It should provide tools the user needs without regard to what profits thru ads can be reaped from that page or tool. It should provide easy access and storage to preferred user sites while maintaining high standards for search results. It should help the user access stored material on their PCs in a user friendly turn key method.

A Search Machine will seek to bring real innovation to a tired confused user. It will act as the catalyst of the search of the future. The search engines until now have provided results where the search machine will provide a platform for all search needs. A lofty goal that Gogimon is achieving by understanding what the present search engines don't provide. An airplane has engines that provide thrust for airplane aeronautics but the cockpit and crew give the user the real flying experience.

The user should be the focal point of the Search experience not the crutch used to reap billions. A search machine at its apex should provide search results without ads. It should not provide millions of results and not manipulate results depending on the geographical location of the user. It should provide tools the user needs without regard to what profits thru ads can be reaped from that page or tool. It should provide easy access and storage to preferred user sites while maintaining high standards for search results. It should help the user access stored material on their PCs in a user friendly turn key method.

The Gogimon Search Machine will do all the things mentioned and more. Its intuitive features will be a breath of fresh air to many burnt out surfers.

Its time has come.

The Gogimon Search Machine will do all the things mentioned and more. Its intuitive features will be a breath of fresh air to many burnt out surfers.

Its time has come.

Search Machine

2008-05-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Yahoo is down google is up, so what else is new? Microsoft has spent billions trying to overtake Google was even willing to buy Yahoo. Nothing seems to be stopping Google, nothing. What are so great about Google results? The answer is the results are not so great. Contrary to what google says links can be bought and results can be manipulated.They will never admit it but that is the reality. The sophistication of tricking google has become a science while billions of dollars are spent on linking campaigns that cause results to be less than accurate. A new way is needed to give the user a more meaningful search experience. A new startup search machine called Gogimon has launched a website that claims to bring the search back to the user. They are in Beta but its a breath of fresh air

2008-05-05T05:52:00.000-07:00

I have been told about a great new search app that is being called a search machine by some.Its really cool as it allows features of all kinds that other search applications do not have. For example it has a focused search that researches sites that were already chosen by the user and searches for something more specific. I think they call it focused search. They have another neat feature that lets you put all the sites you want on tabs at once. Its fun.

Google yahoo and live search

2008-04-28T04:05:00.000-07:00

While the advent of the modern day search engine was certainly necessary, the way this key component of the internet has evolved leaves a lot to be desired. You typically enter a keyword or series of keywords and wait for the search engine servers to spit out a list of (hopefully) relevant links to match the query. Then you have to begin picking your way through an often dizzying maze of links, dozens of pages deep, in the hope of finding the information you want.

Another downside to this process is the often arbitrary way the result is presented. Nobody really understands the mysterious and ever-changing ranking systems that are employed by the search engine powers that be. The result can leave you frustrated and wasting valuable time hunting for the proverbial 'needle in the haystack'. There must be another way