SEO Outsourcing

Google profile users get a say in people search results

Wednesday April 22nd 2009, 1:33 pm
Filed under: General

By Stephen Shankland

Typing your name into a search engine is a great way to find out what the internet thinks of you — at least until the first page of results shines a spotlight on that embarrassing episode from your misspent youth. Google is now offering people who share their profile information with the search giant more control over how they appear in its results.

Google has a complicated algorithm for determining which websites show at the top of its search results, presenting the top 10 picks on its results page. But in what amounts to an admission that this doesn’t fully satisfy all the needs of people searching for a specific name, Google now will show a separate 11th result — a special “onebox” that presents links to people with a particular name and links to their Google profiles.

Google “is giving people more of an opportunity to have greater presence and to surface the most relevant content about themselves in a way they have some say about,” said Joe Kraus, director of product management in Google’s apps group.

To illustrate the utility of the feature, Kraus brings up the example of Brian Jones. If you happen to share the name of the Rolling Stone’s deceased founding guitarist, you don’t have much opportunity to show up high on Google’s search results for that name. That changes with the new people-search feature, he said, though it doesn’t affect the regular search results above.

There’s a quid pro quo, however. To appear in Google’s special people-search results you must set up a Google profile. The more information you include on your profile, the better your odds that your profile will appear among the four names that can appear in the special result, Kraus said.

At least for now, Google profiles are a collection of information you are willing to share publicly — photos, interests, websites about yourself. Through integration with your Gmail contacts, which lets you identify people you trust and share contact information with them, Google’s profiles are gradually becoming a deeper reflection of ties called the social graph.

Kraus wouldn’t comment on how the profile page fits into Google’s social strategy, but he did say that Google’s strategy in general focuses “not on how you make any one site more social, but how you make the entire web more social”.

One thing is sure, though: spotlighting profiles this directly in search results, and given Google’s immense search clout and people’s concern about their self-image, it extends much greater power to the profiles site.

To lend even more prominence, Google is beginning a “Google Me” promotion in which people who search for “me” will get an opportunity to see their profile or sign up for one.

Google profile users get a say in people search results

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Google’s search for savings boosts 1Q profit 9 pct

Friday April 17th 2009, 3:04 pm
Filed under: General

Source:Associated Press

The recession is prodding Google Inc. to grow up faster than a lot of people anticipated.

With its revenue growth rapidly decelerating, Google has been clamping down on its expenses with a ferocity that seemed unthinkable a year ago when the Internet search leader was still known for its spendthrift ways. Besides pampering its rapidly expanding work force, Google rarely hesitate to invest in new products without worrying whether they would make money.

A more disciplined approach paid off in the first quarter as Google’s profit climbed 9 percent to surpass analyst expectations.

But the pleasant surprise, announced late Thursday, didn’t seem to excite investors. Google shares dipped 50 cents in extended trading after finishing the regular session at $388.74, up $9.24.

“People might not be willing to pay as much for a company that’s increasing its earnings with cost cutting instead of revenue growth,” said Signal Hill Group analyst Todd Greenwald.

Google executives say they believe there will be still be plenty of room for more growth once the economy emerges from its deepest downturn in nearly 30 years.

“Ninety-five percent of all our internal discussions are still about growth,” Patrick Pichette, Google’s chief financial officer, said in a Thursday interview. “But it would be irresponsible not to watch our expenses in a tough economy like this.”

When the recession first began in December 2007, Google seemed largely unfazed. But those carefree days are clearly gone.

“No company is recession-proof,” Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt told analysts in a Thursday conference call. “Google is absolutely feeling the impact.”

Google’s search for savings boosts 1Q profit 9 pct

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Pharma Companies Hit With Warnings for Search Marketing

Thursday April 09th 2009, 1:57 pm
Filed under: General

Source: George Koroneos, Online Content & News Editor

FDA drew a line in the digital sand last Friday when it sent warning letters to 14 pharmaceutical and biotech firms citing them for negligent online advertising tactics. While the letters varied in terms of product specification, the main point was that pharma has been negligent in the way it presents search engine ads delivered by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.

“The sponsored links cited in this letter are misleading because they make representations and/or suggestions about the efficacy of Aromasin, Caduet, Chantix, Detrol LA, Lyrica, and Celebrex, but fail to communicate any risk information associated with the use of these drugs,” stated one of the letters—this one sent to Pfizer.

The main point of contention is that when you search for a term—for example, “cholesterol”—a conventional search engine text ad would have a headline that reads “Learn More About X Brand” followed by a subhead that says “Click here to see how X Brand can help with your cholesterol,” followed by a URL.

FDA stated its opinion that using a condition in conjunction with a brand name in a search ad triggers the “fair balance” provisions that apply to print and television ads. According to insiders, FDA has been vague as to whether those rules apply to search ads, and most ad agencies have been operating under the assumption that there was a “one-click rule”: that if the fair balance warnings are within one click of the search ad, then that satisfies the fair balance requirements FDA could impose.

Pharma can no longer display a condition and a brand together in the body copy of the ad. Here are two examples of what is now expected:

A) Branded: “Try Pharma X: Click here to see how Pharma X can help you.”
www.pharma-x.com

B) Unbranded: “Want to learn more about cholesterol? Click here to learn more about it.”
www.cholesterolinfo4U.com

Google told Pharma Exec that since they were directed to pharma companies, Google couldn’t comment on the specific letters.

“We provide an advertising platform to our customers, and we will help them advertise in a way that complies with all regulations,” said Mary Ann Belliveau, healthcare advertising director at Google. “Obviously, these warning letters will change the format of the sponsored links people see next to organic search results. We expect that our pharma clients will continue to find creative ways to inform consumers and advertise in a compliant way.”

New Advertising for New Media
While the pharma companies in question were quiet about what they will do in response to the letters, many experts in the marketing and online industry were shocked by FDA’s reaction to the new media.

“It’s seems like a regulatory overreaction by FDA,” said John Kamp, executive director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication. “Warning letters are serious to pharma companies, and the fact that there are 14 companies in the zone here suggests that a whole lot of people in the industry were confused about what the rules were.”

For years, pharma marketers have argued that there are no guidelines for marketing on the Internet, and this lack of information has left drug companies in the lurch when it comes to social media practices. There is fear that this type of “knee-jerk reaction” might cause pharma companies to avoid search engine marketing altogether.

Arnold Friede, a lawyer at McDermott Will & Emery, said that there must be an understanding that a search engine ad is not necessarily an advertisement, but a link to the actual ad (where risk/benefit information resides).

The whole purpose of a sponsored link is to persuade the information seeker to click on the link. The landing page is part and parcel of the entire “advertisement,” Friede said. “Indeed, if sponsored links go away because of FDA’s position here, then the information seeker will be relegated to wading through a list of Web sites, most of which are not even regulated by FDA and which contain all manner of information the validity of which is largely unknown.”

Attention to Detail
However, there are some experts that think any attention from FDA to Internet advertising is good attention. Ignite Health head Fabio Gratton told Pharm Exec that these letters send a message that FDA is keenly aware of the importance of the online channel, that they are concerned about the public’s safety, and that—despite the agency not having issued specific guidelines for this channel—the old rules still apply.

“This doesn’t mean that there won’t be an increased demand for more explicit guidance. And perhaps the FDA will even respond,” Gratton said. “Until then, I believe these letters demonstrate that there is a keen awareness that the Internet is a critical and influential medium for health consumers—and that is a great step in the right direction.”

In response to criticism of the warning letters, FDA wrote: “We are concerned from a public health perspective whenever promotion undermines the safe use of a drug by minimizing the risks associated with the product or by failing to appropriately communicate its approved uses.”

Pharma Companies Hit With Warnings for Search Marketing

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Google Android and the threat to Apple’s iPhone

Tuesday April 07th 2009, 12:36 pm
Filed under: General

The recent CTIA 2009 focused a lot on new App Stores and application development. This latest wireless event reminded us that the future of phones is all about applications and how the brands want to cash in on this area of business.

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store success gave the other brands a kick in the backside to play catch up, then at CTIA we heard about new app stores coming to life.

From BlackBerry App World to Samsung adding connected apps to TouchWiz, and Palm Pre developers invited to create applications to Verizon Wireless opening an App Store. Everyone wants to get into the mobile app business.

Apple showed everyone how it should be done, but how does it compare to the BlackBerry (RIMM) Mobile App World? The Apple iPhone is really just one phone that has made a lot of money out of applications with some help from iPod Touch users.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android is a threat to Apple’s iPhone, but how much of a threat is debatable, thanks to Apple having its foot well in the door with mobile apps. Although the Android operating system will be found on many phones and many brands.

This gives users more choice if they prefer a wide range of phones and great applications. Every month we hear about another brand and their involvement with Android OS phones, just today we hear about Samsung’s new Google Android-based phones.

Who will win the biggest market share of the mobile application business? This is where the real battle is.

Google Android and the threat to Apple’s iPhone

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Google ‘poised to buy Twitter’

Friday April 03rd 2009, 4:15 pm
Filed under: General

Google is in “late stage” talks to acquire microblogging service Twitter, according to a report Thursday on TechCrunch citing two unnamed sources.

Twitter lets people post short 140-character messages; people often subscribe to follow the stream of these tweets from acquaintances and, increasingly, companies and celebrities. After an unpleasant rocky period when the company’s servers frequently were crushed under the strain of the service, the Twitter has experienced tremendous growth.

Google’s origins, core technology, and profits come from search, but Twitter would fit in neatly with the company’s somewhat lacklustre attempt to become more of a social hub, too. Facebook, which attempted to acquire Twitter in 2008, is the exemplar of just how rich a medium the internet can become for social interactions. Social sites, though, have had a hard time showing they can mean revenue and profits as well.

Twitter isn’t just about sharing with friends, though. It’s increasingly about search as well. Twitter has been working to elevate the prominence of search, which can give a near-real-time window into what’s on the mind of innumerable users.

And Google knows well how to treat new sources of information as signals that weigh into search results. The company has been gradually blending into its search results data sources such as blogs and news stories that reflect new information arriving on the web.

Plenty of people search for relatively timeless information, but plane crashes, earthquakes, election results, and other events are popular search subjects, too, and Google constantly strives to better match its results with what people are actually seeking.

Google ‘poised to buy Twitter’

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Wikipedia founder abandons Google search challenge

Thursday April 02nd 2009, 3:52 pm
Filed under: General

Source: AFP

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has abandoned the floundering Wikia Search project, launched in January 2008 in an attempt to break the world’s addiction to Google’s Internet search service.

The Wikia Search service was shut down Wednesday.

“In a different economy, we would continue to fund Wikia Search indefinitely,” Wales wrote in a message posted to his blog Web page.

“It’s something I care about deeply. I will return to again and again in my career to search, either as an investor, a contributor, a donor, or a cheerleader.”

Google remains the undisputed ruler of the US online search market, followed by Internet pioneer Yahoo! and software colossus Microsoft in third place.

Wikia Search showcased short articles written by people on topics, as opposed to traditional Internet search engines that use formulas to track down online information by matching key words or subjects.

Wikia Search was backed by a Wikia Inc. firm launched by Wales and British Internet entrepreneur Angela Beesley in 2004.

Wales said resources will be shifted to Wikia gaming and entertainment networks, as well as a WikiAnswers website at which “answers to all the world’s questions” are shared in a questions-and-answers format.

“While I personally believe in the opportunity for free software to make serious inroads into the search space, our project, Wikia Search, has not been enjoying the kind of success that we had hoped,” Wales said.

Wikipedia founder abandons Google search challenge

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Conficker virus could be deadly threat – or April Fool’s joke

Wednesday April 01st 2009, 1:24 pm
Filed under: General

Source: The Guardian

Virus that has infected 10m computers leaves experts baffled

It could be the biggest April Fool’s joke ever played on the internet, or it could be one of the worst days ever for computers connected to the network. Security experts can’t work out whether the Conficker virus – which has infected more than 10m Windows PCs worldwide – will wreak havoc on Wednesday , or just let the day pass quietly.

Experts have worked out that from midnight on 1 April, the Conficker program will start scanning thousands of websites for a new set of instructions telling it what to do next. The infected machines thus comprise one of the biggest “botnets” – a network of “robot” computers – in internet history. And if they were all given a target, such as simultaneously sending search queries to Google or trying to connect to a gambling site, they could knock it offline through the sheer volume of connections – a “denial of service”. Victims usually discover that they have been locked out of their computers or have very slow-running internet connections.

Botnets have been used in the past to generate millions of pieces of spam email and to blackmail gambling sites that need to stay online during sports events with the threat that they will be deluged by a “denial of service” attacks.

Careful study of infected machines has revealed that from midnight on Wednesday they will seek new instructions from a randomly generated list of thousands of websites that changes every day. Just one needs to be under the virus writers’ control to turn Conficker into a newly configured botnet – making the task of catching the exact site a search for a needle in a computing haystack.

Experts admit that they have little idea of where Conficker might be headed next. “It’s a brave man who puts his neck out like that,” said Graham Cluley, an analyst with internet security company Sophos. “For what it’s worth, we have never seen earlier versions of the Conficker worm downloading a malicious payload.”

He added that the April Fool’s Day deadline could be an attempt to misdirect the attention of security professionals and computer users – or that the activation date could even indicate a prank.

“There is no reason to believe that there will be any instructions for Conficker to receive on 1 April,” he said. “They could just as easily be delivered on 2 April, 4 April, 25 May or never.”

Others agree that Conficker may not activate immediately, preferring to lie in wait before receiving further orders to avoid scrutiny. “At its core, the main purpose of Conficker is to provide the authors with a secure binary updating service that effectively allows them instant control of millions of PCs worldwide,” noted Philip Porras of SRI International. Vincent Weafer, vice-president of Symantec, an internet security company, said: “Most malware these days is designed to be used for some type of criminal monetary gain, and conducting such criminal acts typically requires stealth measures to be successful.

“This makes the odds that a major event will take place on 1 April even less likely, since there is so much attention being paid to that day.”

Conficker – also known among security experts as “Downadup” – was first discovered in November last year, being sold as part of a “kit” by a Chinese hacker. Since then, two variants have been spotted as the virus has gone on to infect more than 10m PCs.

Despite being tracked for several months, however, the truth about Conficker’s motivations and origins remain clouded. Last weekend, one team of researchers suggested that they may have discovered a “fingerprint” inside the worm which should make it possible to scan computers for the infection, making removal easier.

The identity of its creator remains unknown, despite Microsoft offering a bounty of $250,000 (£176,000) for the information. Usual methods of unpacking the virus code to examine its workings have been thwarted because the authors have encrypted it, using algorithms that render it almost uncrackable.

In the meantime, Conficker has gone on to become one of the most widespread internet worms in recent years.

Last week a leaked memo revealed that the House of Commons computer system had become infected, leading to concerns that confidential or highly sensitive material could be stolen when the virus next updates.

In the document, Joan Miller, the director of parliamentary computer services, said that her team were “continuing to work with our third party partners to manage its removal and we need to act swiftly to clean computers that are infected”.

Ordinary PC users are being advised to keep their anti-virus software up to date and watch for news about the worm. Cluley suggested that the widespread coverage could help lessen the potential impact. “Most businesses appear to have Conficker under control,” he said. “They’ve applied patches and updated their anti-virus software to stem the spread of the worm. Some firms struggled to clean it up quickly – but most have now used some of the free Conficker removal tools available for download from security vendors.”

Conficker virus could be deadly threat – or April Fool’s joke

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