Perhaps blogging isn't such a graceful word. For me, personally, it sounds like a worded drudgery the way cereals can be soggy, skies can be foggy, and the way minds can be groggy. But for now, it's too late to rename this shortened word for web-logging. Widespread blogging is nevertheless one of the most engaging Internet developments of the past few years. As a medium it gives rise to many new and worthy voices and plays a new and vital force in shaping opinions, political realities, trends, and even our language.
I believe that a blog is simply a tool to use for someone who's got something to say. Let me be clear in saying that a blog is a poor choice for someone who needs a megaphone to scream out to cyberspace in order to elicit a meaningful response from Internet users. If you want attention and want it now and expect blogging to bring it to you, then this will surely be a disappointment. However, if you like to write and engage others on subjects of which you have some command or experience, then it's a wonderful application with which you can interact with people who share similar interests as you. The hype is well founded.
With all the security woes and annoying user-unfriendly problems associated with Microsoft's Internet Explorer, more and more people are looking for alternatives. Internet surfers seeking out new web browser options have a few good choices to consider, and luckily, all the browsers in this category boast positive attributes and cool features that can make anyone's browsing experience a good one. In the end, it's up to you to pick one that fits your specific needs, as everyone looks for something different in a browser. But one thing's for sure, you'll never go back to IE.
Google finally released Google Notebook. Google Notebook is a resource provided that allows you to take notes on web sites that you visit. You can mark your notes as private or share them with the rest of the world.
You can compare this to delicio.us, furl, stumbleupon, etc. as a recent way in the past to help increase your web site rankings that would provide links to your web site.
However, because of new developments there is another stronger reason to consider these options. With the Google BigDaddy update, resources point to the development of enhancing searches by what people 'bookmark' and take 'notes' to be a stronger ranking factor than in the past!
The effect of co-citation is often overlooked by search engine optimizers. The other web sites to which your link partners link to can influence your search engine rankings.
Here's an example: web sites 1, 2, 3 and 4 all link to the web sites A, B, C and D. Although A, B, C and D don't link to each other, search engines think that A, B, C and D are related to each other because the same web sites link to them:
I pity the poor new entry in the search engine space. How do you possibly stake out new territory in the hottest online space there is? How do you avoid being swept away in the tidal wave of momentum that is going to the industry leaders, Google, Yahoo and MSN? How do you attract enough users to gain a critical mass? Well, you have to offer something different.
A new desktop search tool, Quintura, is betting that a new user interface based on the concept of semantic mapping is just the ticket they need to win the search lottery. And if semantic mapping sounds familiar, it should. I've been talking about semantic mapping for almost 2 years now. It's a powerful concept in understanding how people search and something we identified in our previous research. But when it comes to building a new user interface around it, I'm not sure Quintura's implementation will be taken up by the search masses.
Interactive media is emerging as a prominent feature of websites these days. From AJAX to Flash to streaming movies, they all provide a rich user experience that having text and images alone cannot match. When applied correctly, these types of media can be invaluable in terms of engaging users; however, media files do to take up valuable page real-estate and aren't exactly at the top of any search marketing company's recommendations list.
A new search engine to be released in June will offer faster and better quality internet searches as well as providing unique protection against expensive 'click through fraud' for companies who advertise in its sponsored advertisements section.
Megaglobe.com, which will operate from over 300 individual country-specific URL's and is to be translated into hundreds of languages, is set to challenge its rivals by employing a unique and sophisticated algorithm to improve the quality of Internet searching.
The patented algorithm works by allocating each search result a ranking - known as a Megarank - based on analysis of the quantity and quality of pages which link to the search result. The algorithm then creates a structure of importance to the sites based on their relevancy.
By far the most effective and cost-effective way of advertising, especially for a new business is ezine advertising. It has 4 distinct advantages.
It's easy to reach targeted prospects
It gives results fast. Typically, you should see results within 72 hours after your ad is published.
It's easy to test your ad effectiveness
It's easy to calculate your Return on Investment (ROI)
Most direct mail companies charge several hundred dollars per thousand mailing, whereas ezine advertising costs anywhere from five ten dollars to fifty dollars per thousand. This is definitely much more cost-effective compare to advertising in magazines.
Yahoo! has just launched a new search technology on its AlltheWeb property that rivals Google's instant suggest feature in the beta release of Google Toolbar 4.0. The AlltheWeb Livesearch tool displays search results instantaneously for suggested keywords as you type your query into the search box; almost as if it is reading your semantic map before you even hit enter. And they have a catchy tag line too: Search Smarter. Find Faster.
A Google Sitemap is a very simple XML document that lists all the pages in your website, but the Google Sitemaps program is actually much more important than that. In fact, the Sitemaps program provides a little peek inside Google's mind - and it can tell you a lot about what Google thinks of your website.