Gmail Ditches a Feature
Posted by Karen May on August, 4th 2009Gmail became widely popular for its growing feature set, browser-based application, and ease of use. It stands out from other webmail services because of its search-oriented interface and “conversation view” that resembles internet forums. It has a web design built to make users feel as if they are always on one page rather than navigating to other pages.
Gmail has incurred massive users, but some of these users have other email accounts. This is exactly why Google offers Gmail users the ability to access other emails without logging out from their Gmail account. However, emails sent through this feature notifies recipients that the mails have been sent “on behalf of”, showing the Gmail address.
Some users find the feature quite annoying due to privacy issues. Google finally looked into the problem and decided to get rid of the “on behalf of” Gmail address link.
Google made a smart move considering [...]
Microsoft Launches Internet TV Service
Posted by Karen May on August, 4th 2009Microsoft plans to give online video a try by launching MSN Video. The firm has already struck a deal with the corporate arm of BBC to stream some of its TV shows. Another deal was signed with All3Media which has top rating shows in Channel 4.
The service will be ad-funded, both pre-roll and regular advert breaks based on the length of the video. Broadband users across the UK can get the service for free. Initially, the MSN Video Player will stream using the Flash protocol. On its official release, the player will use Microsoft’s Silverlight technology.
With the planned format, iPhone and iTouch users won’t be able to use the player. A YouTube-like app seems highly unlikely, considering the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft.
Microsoft’s jump into the TV streaming bandwagon came following reports of Hulu invading the UK. Hulu has done an amazing job in the US, being the most popular [...]
Yahoo Improves Local Search Performance
Posted by Karen May on August, 2nd 2009Yahoo has made changes in its local search engine, where Yahoo Shortcuts are displayed in search results.
Yahoo Shortcuts are special features designed to help users quickly find answers. It provides vertical search content and deep links into sites with relevant content. Basic info such as telephone numbers and business hours of operation are shown in the results. At times, images, web reviews, and overviews are displayed.
It seems Yahoo and Microsoft are teaming up to move Google from the top spot. Yahoo Search has taken the backseat for so long that most SEO experts and even advertisers have very little regard to its search results. Google has been taking the lead, and Yahoo seems to have been able to do very little about it for quite some time.
Changes such as this make Yahoo Search more appealing and the search competition more interesting. When we talk about web search, Google [...]
Google to Redesign YouTube, Again
Posted by Karen May on August, 2nd 2009Rumours have been flying around about Google’s plan to redesign video sharing website YouTube.
YouTube’s current web design is relatively poor in comparison with that of Hulu. The problem with the site is its apparent lack of revenue. Though YouTube remains the most popular online video site across the globe, it still fails to turn traffic into huge cash. It needs premium content to gross more revenue per viewer.
The planned redesign involves transforming YouTube into a video search engine. The change has not been made official yet, but whatever it is, it looks more like YouTube is geared towards having search as a center of its viewer’s experience.
A few months back, YouTube made a Hulu-like approach to steal the limelight from its closest competitor to date. The tweak was well received, but it still falls short in being a consistent profit-generator.
With another redesign on the horizon, YouTube is [...]
Google Builds New Checkout Store Gadget
Posted by Karen May on August, 1st 2009Google has made another addition to its growing list of services. The company has built an amazing Google Checkout gadget that can be used for ecommerce websites. The tool can be inserted anywhere, including blogs and websites. It comes in three different sizes – large, small, and tiny.
Google Checkout is an online payment processing tool designed to streamline web purchasing processes. With the gadget now in place, Google Checkout can be easily made available on websites selling products and even services. Once users sign up for the service, they can have a full list of products in a spreadsheet and be able to administer their stocks in Google Docs.
Beyond worrying about web design and SEO techniques, online store owners need to ensure their businesses are profitable. Google’s new gadget makes life easier for business owners to keep tabs on profit and cashflow.
The gadget has been [...]
New MySpace Mail Competes With Leading Webmail Services
Posted by Karen May on July, 31st 2009MySpace is now offering its 130 millions users with a webmail service. The social networking site hopes to rival with popular webmail services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail.
Existing MySpace users can a create a MySpace Mail account with their current user name, using a myspace.com domain name. They can now upload photos from their profile to email, and send audio and video attachments. Unlike other webmails, MySpace Mail offers unlimited storage.
MySpace has been battling to stay afloat in a very competitive market, and launching a webmail may just do the trick. The site has recently made key web design changes to best compete with leading networking site Facebook. It has retrenched nearly 30 percent of its domestic workforce and a significant number of its global staff was also axed. The job cuts were part of MySpace’s move to keep a stable financial stature amidst recession.
MySpace topped the [...]
Hulu Traffic Trumps That of Networks
Posted by Karen May on July, 31st 2009For the first time in its history, Hulu has surpassed NBC, Fox, and ABC website’s traffic. the data was reported by Compete’s Seth Madison.
Hulu is a video streaming website of TV shows and movies from popular networks NBC, Fox, ABC, among others. The site has gained prominence shortly after it was launched. Although it has not achieved YouTube’s success as of yet, the site is slowly climbing the race and has shown strong growth over the past few months.
Hulu’s video views have significantly increased, and its market share and its market share is gradually showing good numbers. Its skyrocketing traffic is a product of effective SEO techniques and relevant web content. It still got a long way before reaching YouTube’s spot in the industry, but is apparently racking up a huge edge with good branding design and ad strategy.
[...]Facebook Gets Twitter Updates
Posted by Karen May on July, 30th 2009Twitter users were baffled when their tweets were automatically posted in popular social networking site Facebook. The change was too abrupt causing negative reactions from users who felt their privacy was violated.
Twitter has not explained why tweets are suddenly popping up on Facebook profiles. Although Facebook has an application that links Twitter to the site, it still doesn’t spell out why users who are not using the application gets automatic Facebook updates.
Twitter has made several tweaks on its web design but redirecting posts to Facebook isn’t one of them. Apparently, Twitter sees Facebook as competition. On the other hand, Facebook is looking for ways to ditch Twitter threats. Both companies have been thinking of competitive strategies to rise above the other.
On that note, it seems remotely possible that Twitter has even thought of Facebook integration. Although Twitter does not disclose how it plans to compete with existing [...]
Google Takes the Fall for Malware Spread
Posted by Karen May on July, 29th 2009Google pays a high price for popularity, with cybercrooks seeing it as a perfect tool to spread malicious messages and links over the web. Google Hot Trends, for example, is being employed by criminals in creating links affiliated with trending search terms on different websites, which redirects to their malicious sites.
Google’s PageRank algorithm considers links as additional points for search results ranking. Although website owners hire SEO specialists to boost their rank on Google, some are just too hasty to climb notches higher by using malicious links. These links allow huge traffic because of the popularity of the search terms.
Google has been having problems with link spam and PageRank exploit for quite some time. It has superseded rival engines Yahoo and MSN, now known as Bing, in terms of market share. However, it has become a magnet to spammers and scammers over the years. Indeed, popularity has many snares, [...]
MySpace Boosts Events Platform, Overtaking Evite
Posted by Karen May on July, 28th 2009MySpace has been widely criticized for its stonewalled growth and lack of stability. During its heyday back in 2006, the social networking site had its 100 millionth account in no time. About a year after, its web design was overhauled, where several features were improved to compete with rival Facebook.
Among the most notable changes made were the recreation of MySpace Music and Myspace profile. While these two were deemed the site’s best features, an unrequited Events Platform was slowly taking the spotlight.
The platform has overtaken Evite, a social-planning website for creating, sending, and managing online invitations. Evite claims it is the top event planning site on the web, with about 600,000 invitations sent per day.
However, sources say MySpace has towered Evite’s numbers, with 700,000 invitations sent per day. With a recently launched application and booming Events Platform, MySpace would undoubtedly bounce back from the pit, at least [...]