State Of SEM Discussed (With Stats) - WebProNews Videos

SEMPO’s State of Search Engine Marketing Report is a very important document in the search industry, providing a good look at its growth (or lack thereof). Fortunately, as SEMPO’s outgoing president explained in an interview with Abby Johnson, the news is pretty much all positive this year...

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At SES New York, SEMPO’s Sara Holoubek summarized the state of search marketing by saying, “Things are looking good for search.” She also said, “Folks should feel confident in their spending.”

In terms of some specifics, Holoubek then stated, “The data suggested that we will have 14 percent growth, and that means that the North American search engine marketing budget will be $16.6 billion in 2010.”

Finally, here’s a rather stunning fact with regards to where most of that money is headed: “97 percent of the respondents are advertising on Google.”

It looks like the search marketing industry – along with Google’s bank account balance – is in great shape, then, regardless of the recent recession. Indeed, a record number of people (about 1,500 individuals in 16 countries) responded to SEMPO’s survey, making the results hard to dismiss.

Making Time for Marketing - WebProNews Videos

Many small and medium-sized businesses tend to struggle since they typically have a lack of resources. Most of them are understaffed but still have to make time for social media, search engine rankings, leads, following up on leads, and more...

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While at the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, Mike McDonald of WebProNews spoke with Genoo’s CEO Kim Albee about these very issues. Genoo provides tools that allow businesses to manage multiple aspects in one place. As a result, the business has more time to dedicate to leads, follow-ups, and conversions.

These areas are very important to small businesses because, as Albee points out, “…if you don’t follow up, then whatever you spent to get those leads lose their value every month that you don’t follow up.”

In addition, the company puts enterprise level information into SMB terms. Often times at industry events, the perspective is from a large brand. Genoo takes that information and makes it applicable to SMBs.

Samsung Unveils Impressive Products for 2010 - WebProNews Video

Samsung’s display at CES 2010 was one of the most talked about exhibits at the entire show. With its fascinating collection of TVs, 3D innovations, and a new category of e-readers, Samsung wowed everyone that walked by including WebProNews...

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First on the list was the full lineup of TVs consisting of LCDs, Plasmas, and LEDs. Each of these product lines has a full range of 19-65-inch TVs. Some of the models within each of these lineups will feature a new technology called AllShare. This innovation allows users to connect the television to other devices in the home such as digital cameras, computers, mobile devices, and more.

The company also introduced their own App store called Samsung Apps. Now users can download content for their TVs, just as they do for their mobile phones. The store includes a wide variety of apps such as informational apps, gaming apps, and movie-streaming apps.

High-end versions of the 3 television lineups also have 3D capabilities. As Scott Cohen told WPN, users can watch anything in 3D with Samsung. Some TVs have a processor that allows users to render any 2D content into 3D.

With Plasma specifically, Samsung’s product line has grown. The primary focus of this line is picture-quality enhancement, such as deeper blacks and better motion. Top-end Plasma models will have customizable features that allow users to adjust the picture to their preference.

The last but certainly not the least in the TV product lines is the LED. The advantages of this line are low power consumption, vibrant colors, and brightness. Also, the LEDs are all under 2-inches deep with the flagship model at only 0.3-inches, which is thinner than a pencil!

In spite of all the hype around the fascinating TVs, Samsung’s category of e-readers also created a lot of buzz. The company will be bringing 4 e-readers to the market with screen sizes ranging from 5-10-inches. In addition, Samsung revealed a partnership with Google Books for this product.

All these Samsung products will be available during the first half of 2010. To find out more, visit www.Samsung.com.

Polaroid Brings Back Instant Film - WebProNews Video

Many of you probably remember when Polaroid ended its line of Instant Film cameras back in 2008. Fortunately, the company has decided to bring back its legendary Polaroid OneStep camera but with a modern twist.

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Jon Pollock, Polaroid’s Chief Marketing Officer, spoke with WebProNews at CES 2010 and explained how so many people expressed remorse for the Instant Film products. Specifically, artists and photographers reached out to Polaroid and asked them to bring it back.

In November, the company made its official announcement that it was bringing back its classic film. Polaroid will be offering a redesigned, modernized version of its OneStep camera that Pollock proudly showed off at CES. He said this camera “really represents Polaroid.”

The PIC 1000 will be available just in time for the holidays this year. Incidentally, Polaroid’s new Creative Director, Lady Gaga, pointed out in this WPN report that she was excited to help Polaroid take its Instant Film into the digital age.

For the latest information on Polaroid’s products, visit their site.

Ghost Tweeting: Right or Wrong? - WebProNews Video

Earlier this year at SES New York, Guy Kawasaki raised quite a stir when he gave his keynote address regarding his use of Twitter and specifically, his use of ghost tweeters. Although many SEOs disagree with the practice, Li Evans of Serengeti Communications defends him on the grounds of marketing...

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Kawasaki’s use of Twitter became a problem when some people discovered that he had ghost tweeters but didn’t disclose it. Although he does disclose now, Evans says people need to understand that Kawasaki is a marketer. With marketing, the message plays one of the most critical roles.

In an interview with WebProNews at the BlogWorld Expo 2009, Kawasaki responded to the criticism of his ghost tweeters by saying: “At the end of the day, the ultimate test is not who tweeted it, as much as, is it interesting.”

According to Evans, the core issue is the expectations of the audience. Ashton Kutcher is an avid tweeter and his followers know it. On the contrary, 50 Cent has other people tweet for him; although it doesn’t make everyone happy, his followers know that he is not tweeting on his own.

In regards to business usage of Twitter, Evans recommends planning a strategy to determine the best way to meet the audience’s expectations. If the expectations involve more than the business can do on its own, make sure to disclose whoever is doing it. Otherwise, the business could lose its credibility.

With Real-Time Search, Comes Real-Time Spam - WebProNews Video

Earlier this week, Google announced that it has begun integrating real-time search into its regular search results. Incidentally, Rae Hoffman, CEO and Co-Founder of Outspoken Media, began playing with the new feature and discovered some alarming results.

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The first concern Hoffman noticed is a spam issue. Upon tweeting about Viagra, she found that her results were showing up in Google’s results. She was even able to drop links into her tweets that people could access directly from Google.

Secondly, Hoffman uncovered reputation management issues with Google’s new integration. An unhappy employee or competitor could easily damage a company’s reputation. During a session at SES Chicago, Dave Naylor even mentioned that he might have to clean up his Twitter stream over fear of losing business.

Thirdly and probably the most serious of the issues Hoffman revealed is the safety concerns for children online. Through a series of tests including the highest level of safe search, Hoffman was able to reach out to kids who searched for queries such as Sesame Street and Miley Cyrus. Unfortunately, sexual predators could easily do the same. Scary, huh?

There were actually even more discoveries Hoffman was able to uncover that she did not disclose.

Many people believe Google rushed its real-time integration to respond to the recent real-time efforts Bing has made. Hoffman predicts that Google will either have bad results for a while as they fix their problems, or admit they made a mistake and deal with a reputation management problem.

Search + Social = Better ROI - WebProNews Video

Are you utilizing search and social media together? According to Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, many people keep their search and social campaigns separate. However, if they combine their efforts, they would be more capable of reaching their goals and even expanding them.

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Typically, people use social media for branding and customer engagement. With search, people want to increase sales and leads by being more visible. But a joint effort produces better results. Take, for example, the Wal-Mart Check Out blog. It has 16,000 inbound links and is great for engagement, but it has a severe lack of SEO. The site ranks for phrases such as “checkout” but not for any of its content.

On the flip side, IKEA is actively involved with social media, but the company applies SEO to it as well. Odden says that people and companies that optimize their social content drive traffic, build relationships, and reach customers all at the same time.

In addition, many people falsely look at social media as a direct marketing tactic, although it is not at all. Odden said:

“Measuring ROI as a direct result of social media is not the right question because social media is a platform, it’s not a tactic.”

He went on to say that making that comparison is similar to asking where the ROI is in email. The use of a platform determines the results, not the platform itself. If your goal is to increase your revenue, you must look at ROI. If not, you can find value in social media through relationships, branding, and visibility.

PubCon 2009 - Las Vegas Convention Center: November 9th-13th.

PubCon Vegas - November 10 - 13, 2009 Las Vegas Convention Center

When it comes to creating marketing buzz online, webmasters pretty much invented the concept. PubCon is four days of leading edge education and networking in over 90 sessions featuring 200 expert speakers in Social Media, Affiliate Programs, Search, and SEO/SEM. In its 8th year, PubCon was founded out of the rich and diverse base of WebmasterWorld forums. These aren't people who just talk about this stuff - these are people who do this stuff.

The A-List alpha attendees to PubCon are among the most highly pursued demographic in the online marketing world. Highly educated and computer savvy, they're early adopters of the latest web technologies and trends. These are the folks that any forward thinking company wants to reach and network with.

• Where Las Vegas Convention Center in fabulous Las Vegas Nevada
• Format Seven Track Educational Conference with Exposition Hall
• Topics Search, Web 2.0, Net Marketing, SEO/SEM, Affiliates, Domainers, Video, Multimedia : aka: Webmastery.
• Levels PubCon is scaled mainly from professional to expert experience levels (heavy content). we start where other conferences finish.

One of the best ways to keep up with the latest news about PubCon and other events is to visit the PubCon LinkedIn social networking site group, the PubCon Facebook group, and the PubCon Twitter feed.

This is one of my MOST Favorite Internet Marketing Events of the year, hope to see YOU there:
Marci Rosenblum/WebSuccessTraffic.com

Using Creativity to Grow Your Email List - WebProNews Video

Although email marketing is one of the oldest forms of Internet marketing, it is still one of the most effective marketing strategies. Growing a valuable email list is a challenging process, but as Colby Cavanaugh of ExactTarget explains, marketers must be creative and integrate popular media into their email marketing campaigns to be successful...

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A lot of people’s initial impression of email marketing efforts is negative. However, Cavanaugh says that the market has evolved and become so sophisticated that many marketers are not even trying negative efforts due to the bad results they produce.

Instead, they are capitalizing on creative opportunities. One creative form of email marketing that has seen extensive growth recently is text messages. Marketers are using sporting events, billboards, magazine articles and more to start a conversation with consumers.

The marketer urges users to send a text and opt-in. In return, the marketer is able to follow up with an email and send users to a “dynamic” landing page. Additionally, marketers can enable the content to be distributed through social media platforms such as Facebook.

Cavanaugh shares how ExactTarget offers many solutions to allow companies enhance communication and embrace email marketing opportunities. Most recently the company partnered with Coremetrics to help marketers produce very relevant and very targeted communication based on consumer behavior.

Video: Fixing Broken Landing Pages - WebProNewsVideo

Does your landing page seem to be broken? Although it looks great, maybe it isn’t producing many conversions. According to Tim Ash of SiteTuners, the best way to increase those conversions is to make sure the landing page is achieving its goals...

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What if everything on the landing page appears to working properly, but it is still not bringing conversions? How do you know what’s broken? SiteTuners developed a tool called Attention Wizard to help users answer that very question.

The tool uses artificial intelligence algorithms to replicate visual human behavior. It then reveals a heatmap over the landing page to show the areas that visitors are drawn to.

Attention Wizard is currently free in private beta. Users can register to test the tool here.

10 Ways to Distribute Your Content And Extend Your Brand

10 Ways to Distribute Your Content And Extend Your Brand
Source: www.blog.brainstormbrand.com

Share everything. Make it easy.

A positive experience with your brand lingers with those who encounter it. It can become part of their life experience, and people enjoy sharing life experiences.

Therefore, it’s important to provide opportunities and simple ways for people to embrace and share your brand content.

Here are 10 ways to distribute your content and extend your brand:

1. Multi-Channel Distribution
   Use multi-channel distribution mediums like Posterous.com. Posterous allows you to assemble your content in, and send it via email. Simply send an email to Posterous with your formatted content attached. PDFs, text, images, even video are immediately forwarded to multiple social sites of your choice. Once distributed, users or fans can easily share your branded content with others.
2. Widgets
   Use widgets like Share This, Add to Any, or Add This to enable single-click sharing on other web sites and social media pages.
3. Micro-blog
   Create an account and build a following of constituents, friends, like-minded individuals, clients and prospects on a micro-blogging site such as Tumblr, or Twitter. Post short messages with information or links to your content and users can re-blog posts of interest. You can also feed your micro-blog to your web site, Facebook page or other online destinations for real-time updates.
4. iPhone apps
   Aggregate your content from multiple sources into a custom-branded iPhone app where fans and affinity groups can follow the content from your blog, web site, and social communities, all on one portable device.
5. Downloads
   Give your content away in the form of portable ebooks, white papers, digital audio and video downloads. Spread the word.
6. Flash drive
   Hand a prospect or influential person your content on a portable device like a branded flash drive. Encourage them to share its content with others. They’ll remember you and your company when they use the drive for their own storage and file transport needs.
7. Incentivize others to share
   Create a contest or sweepstakes to pull people to your content, then encourage and incentivize them to share it with others.
8. Think about the copyright
   Use Creative Commons to manage the proper usage of your shared content on sites like Flickr; it protects you, the author, and facilitates liberal sharing of your content.
9. Share the responsibility for content creation
   Extend the reach of your content to different audiences and demographics by collaborating from the outset to make your content, “our content.” When people share in the process of content creation they become invested and far more apt to share the experience and results with people they know.
10. Branded Watermarks
    Tastefully embed a logo or other watermark in the corner of your photos and encourage users to make them their own in device backgrounds or other digital applications.

A Very Special Thank You to the "Web Success Team" for getting my Facebook story out... Banned by Facebook! One Woman's Story.

Banned by Facebook! One Woman's Story.
By Eric Pangburn, Contributor, Web Success Team

While the social media marketing site Facebook may be something you are intimately familiar with and use on a daily basis, the name “Marci Rosenblum” may not exactly ring a bell. So who is Marci Rosenblum and why should you know about her? As it turns out, Marci was banned from Facebook — a situation that we may all face at some point or another — and what she learned during her experience may have significant implications on your Facebook habits, as well as your overall online marketing experience.

We Depend on Facebook, Until…
Facebook is of course almost as ubiquitous on the Internet today as Google is. It is certainly more popular than the other large social networking site (which we won’t mention by name since the MySpace team may still be feeling a slight sting at having been overtaken just last January). Facebook marketing has simply captured the imagination of the collective cyberspace public in ways that few Internet phenomena have before and probably will for a while. It is a great way to build your business online and can therefore be potentially invaluable to your web success.

Most people start out by using Facebook as a means to keep in touch with friends and family. Facebook makes it easy to post pictures, chat with acquaintances, send them personal messages, join in on group discussions and quizzes…the list is virtually endless, and if there is some way that you can reach out to someone and be reached back in return, there is probably a way to do that in Facebook.

Many enterprising individuals have since used Facebook as a means to touch base with their customers. There is no Facebook rule that disallows this, and Facebook has proven to be quite a potent tool for any business. The same benefits that Facebook affords you for personal use can be wielded to great results for your business, online or otherwise.

So far so good. But just like any other privately owned web site, there are a number of rules and regulations implemented that may not always be clear to you, and in fact may seem downright unfair. This is where Marci comes in.

Marci's Story
Marci Rosenblum is one of the many people on Facebook who has a hugely popular Facebook profile. Plenty of good content, a steady stream of regular visitors…it appeared that Marci was way ahead of the Facebook pack. Unfortunately, Marci was banned only a couple of weeks ago, for reasons that weren't quite clear to her. To the extent of Marci’s knowledge, she was in full compliance of all of Facebook’s terms regarding use. This included the clause that stated that users have the privilege of “unlimited posting.”

As someone who has relied on Facebook for many years and has spent a considerable amount of money on ad expenditures, this banning was quite distressing for Marci Rosenblum. The impact of all the lost contacts is quite significant as you may well imagine.

Lost in (Cyber)Space
For someone with that many contacts, Marci losing her Facebook account was akin to losing her cell phone, PDA, or personal directory of contact numbers. Put yourself in her position, and you can possibly understand the feeling of frustration at virtually being cut off from crucial contacts. Since so many people rely on Facebook for their web presence, losing an account is almost like losing your online identity!

Apparently, the cause of all Marci's Facebook problems was her placement of links on her “fan” page as well as her “profile” page. Through some unwritten rule in the Facebook terms of agreement, this was apparently enough to warrant a ban. No matter what you may think of Facebook's policies, the loss of all those contacts for such a seemingly minor infraction appears to be excessive. Even more alarmingly, a look at Facebook's terms of use shows that they can ban an account for any reason whatsoever, which apparently covers Marci’s case.

Things could have been easily avoided if Facebook maintains an air of approachability and openness with regard to their policies. Barring that, there certainly is no reason why they would have to be so hard to get a hold of, as Marci later found out for herself.

Like all people who have an issue with a company, Marci wrote a letter to the Facebook management asking why her account was banned and how she could be reinstated. If only it were that easy. Marci in fact had to write no less than five letters before she got a response, and even then it wasn't exactly the answer that she was hoping for. Her account was supposedly banned for “spamming”, a practice that Marci felt she wasn't guilty of. In fact, there are currently numerous other Facebook accounts that are clearly guilty of spamming, yet strangely remain allowed to carry on with their activities.

How to Avoid the Facebook Ban-Hammer
Based on Marci’s Facebook experience, we have pinpointed a few things to keep in mind that will help you avoid the fate that befell her:

* You could post as many links as you want on your “fan” pages, but posting links on your on your “profile” page is a definite no-no.
* Posting the same links on your “profile” page that you have on your “fan” page can get you banned.
* The Facebook site administrators can be extremely difficult to get a hold of. You will have to send them a lot of emails on five different email addresses, before you can expect to get a response, so persistence is key.
* Keep a backup of all your Facebook contacts. As Marci found out so harshly, even getting your Facebook account reinstated will not get your contacts back. If your contacts are essential to your business — as they probably are! — back them up!
* In spite of the apparent vagueness of the Facebook terms of use, you simply have to try and make sure that you conform to all terms regarding use. They can be very hard to reach as Marci has seen, so any thing you can do to avoid a banning would be for the best.

Making the Best of Facebook
All this isn't meant to downplay all of Facebook’s benefits…and they are considerable. Nevertheless, a clear picture of what you can expect regarding your use would go a long way in helping you get the most out of your Facebook account. Make sure that you post links only on your “fan” pages, and you can continue to use Facebook for its many networking benefits.

Build Web Success!
The Web Success Team (http://www.websuccessteam.com) specializes in building and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online tools and proven techniques to promote your products and services. Plus, we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site through the expanding “social web” and how to convert visitors into buyers at a higher rate of return.

> Find Marci Rosenblum at Web Success Traffic:
http://www.websuccesstraffic.com

And Then There Were Two - WebProNews Video

Yahoo and Microsoft have finally partnered in a search agreement. A deal has been anticipated ever since Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo for 44.6 billion in early 2008. This current proposed deal however, looks nothing like that original offer. The companies have not disclosed all financial terms of the deal, but it does not appear that Yahoo received any upfront payment...

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In summary, Microsoft will power Yahoo Search and Yahoo will become the exclusive search advertising provider for Microsoft’s search engine, Bing. Microsoft’s AdCenter will operate self-service advertising for both companies, but each company will maintain its own separate display advertising business and sales force.

In an interview with WebProNews, search industry leader Danny Sullivan summed up his thoughts by saying what the deal meant for each company. He said, “[A] big win for Microsoft, a lot of questions for Yahoo.”

The deal will likely face a close antitrust review from regulators especially regarding Steve Ballmer’s claim that the partnership would provide a stronger competitor for Google.

It is still early, but nonetheless, there are many unanswered questions associated with the deal. Could Yahoo have bargained a better deal? How will Google respond? Is the deal a good move for Yahoo? How will the partnership influence the future of online advertising? What are the impacts on the SEO industry?

Provided the deal is granted regulatory approval, Yahoo and Microsoft said they hope to have their partnership finalized by early next year.

Source: WebProNewsVideo

Checking Out What the New Firefox Has to Offer from WebProNews Video

Firefox 3.5 is here and loaded with a plethora of improvements and new features . Sometimes with all of the download upgrades and new features that we are bombarded with it is hard to keep track of what tools are really available to us. This week, our very own Mike McDonald sat down to give you a rundown of some of the top features, improvements, and a few things to look out for with Firefox 3.5...

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Some of the most buzzworthy features of 3.5 are its performance features. It leaves a smaller footprint, which means that it uses less of your computer’s memory while it is running. Firefox has also improved their graphics engine with improved Color Profile Support which, depending on the quality of your monitor, will make your images more crisp and vibrant. On top of that, page load is faster and memory management has been improved by continuously cleaning up any unused memory, but the top performance feature Firefox has added is the Super Speed feature. With Super Speed the browser is 3 times faster than Firefox 3 and 10 times faster than Firefox 2.

The new browser is also fully customizable. It has over 6,000 add-ons, which is a tremendous improvement from previous versions. In addition to being able to mold Firefox to fit your personal style, you can add different search engines, edit toolbar preferences, form the navigation buttons to your liking, and a multitude of other customization features.

The location bar, referred to as the Awesome Bar, has also been drastically improved. It now allows quicker navigation to the sites you like to visit, you can simply type in a site you’re looking for and it delivers all matching results. This feature is particularly useful for those hard to remember URLs. The Awesome Bar also offers one-click bookmarking and improved tagging.

Firefox 3.5 has a lot of handy features, but beware that compatibility has been an issue for some people, so before you upgrade be sure it is compatible with everything you need to run. Here we have just touched on several of the newest improvements but there are still many many more. To here more about these features watch the video above, and you can download Firefox 3.5 for yourself here.

How Much Are You Willing to Pay for News? - WebProNews Video

Recently the editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, made a statement that most newspaper websites will be charging for content within a year. It is no secret that the newspaper industry has been hurting lately. With so many people turning to the web for their news, newspaper sales are down and the newpaper organizations have been trying to figure out a way to earn revenue online...

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During his speech in London, Barber said that he is unsure of how newspaper organizations will be charging for content. He stated that charging on an article-by-article basis is an option, as well as charging a monthly subscription fee. Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation made a statement back in May proclaiming that his newspaper websites would likely be charging for content within a year as well, and a survey sent out recently by the New York Times asked subscribers if they would be willing to pay a monthly subscription fee of $5 for access to their news content online.

Another aspect to take into consideration is what charging for content will do to bloggers. Countless bloggers rely on the free news provided by online news organizations for their content. Can bloggers afford to pay the monthly subscription fees? But, more importantly can they really afford not to pay the fees?

A move like this will either make or break the newspaper industry. If a subscription fee is put in place news sites could charge more for online ads because the ads would be reaching a more targeted demographic of subscribers, but would the number of readers drop so significantly that it would not pay off for the newspaper organizations in the long run?

No matter which way you spin it, the newspapers have to do something to compete in the digital age, and maybe charging for content is just the ticket. We will just have to wait and see.

Google’s OS to Challenge Microsoft? - WebProNews Video

Googlers Sundar Pichai and Linus Upson announced on Wednesday that the company was embarking on a new project: the Google Chrome Operating System. After the Web browser launched last year, many people anticipated a Google OS as the company’s next move...

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Google Chrome OS is open source and will initially be intended for netbooks; however, the system is said to be equipped to power large desktop systems as well. The three main aspects of the operating system are speed, simplicity, and security. Although Google will construct its own windowing system, the new OS will run on top of the kernel from the open source Linux OS.

According to the Google blog post making the announcement, the OS will not be available to consumers until the second half of 2010.

As Google prepares to enter the operating system market, many questions come to mind. First of all, is this a direct attack against Microsoft since Bing appears to be making legitimate progress? Will Google’s OS exist as a serious contender to the alternative operating systems? How will consumers and computer manufacturers react? Will Google be hit with more antitrust investigations?

Although there are many unanswered questions associated with this news, one thing that is certain is that Google has just taken on a challenging mission.

Michael Jackson Dies: Twitter Tributes Now 30% of Tweets

The death of one of the world’s greatest pop stars is having a global impact, but social media brings into sharp focus the scale of the world’s shock and sadness. Previously, we might have learned of a pop star’s passing via TV, or a friend or coworker: now knowledge is immediate, and mourning has become more public than private: a collective expression of loss... Read more:

Michael Jackson Dies: Twitter Tributes Now 30% of Tweets

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Mobile Video is at a Tipping Point

Just this week, we’ve already seen a number of apps rush to take advantage of the device’s video capabilities, with Kyte updating its app to support video recording, editing, and upload, and Posterous creating a way to instantly distribute your mobile video across multiple social sites... Read More:

Mobile Video is at a Tipping Point

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Up Close and Personal with Bing Team - WebProNews Video

The buzz around the announcement of Microsoft’s new search brand Bing is still going strong. Users are commenting on everything from Bing’s interface to the quality of the results. WebProNews caught up with Bing team members Nathan Buggia and Ramez Naam to get some first-hand information on the engine.

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The three main areas of focus for the new search product were:

1. Best possible results
2. Organized experience
3. Key tools to help users decide

Ramez says the quality of the search results have changed and the speed of the engine is better. Bing is continuing to work to cut down on the user’s time searching by simplifying tasks. To organize the search experience, Bing has a 3-column layout and a “table of contents” in the upper left-hand corner.

With the table of contents, Bing looked at how searchers view results and refine their queries and created categories accordingly. For example, if you search for a Honda Accord, the categories could be reviews, recalls, repair, videos, and images. Bing also provides key tools to help users make decisions regarding specific tasks such as travel and product purchases.

One of Nathan’s favorite features about Bing is the Best Match capability. With this feature, if it’s positive that a query is a navigational query, Bing will hide the regular algorithm results and showcase the “best match.” For example, for a query for www.ups.com, Bing will highlight the UPS site and even include a search box directly on the results page to track packages. Bing is also doing Entity Extraction on pages to pull out user reviews and obtain a deeper knowledge of the content on the page. The purpose of this is to include more valuable content in the search result captions to better serve the users.

What about Bing’s impact on SEO? Nathan says because the content publisher’s goals and Bing’s goals are the same, it leads to more targeted traffic. The categorized results show up to 20 results per page, which means everyone isn’t fighting over the top 10 blue links and the small businesses have a better chance of being seen.

Bing is doing some pretty cool things, and it has already been given some good reviews. But as users continue to test Bing out and see all that it can do, the big question remains: “Does Bing pose a threat to Google?”

Proof That Social Media Efforts Pay Off - WebProNews Video

Arianna Huffington launched the Huffington Post as a news content and blog site in 2005. The site quickly became a strong advocator of community engagement and involvement thus turning it into a social news site. James Smith, the Chief Revenue Officer of HuffPost, credits the success of the site to that social evolution, saying:

“It’s [Huffington Post] almost a social media site with news as the topic of conversation.”

The site logs over one million comments each month.

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In the above interview, James encourages other content publishers to push for active communities as well. He explains how implementing polls, thumbnails, and popular statistics can all add extensive social value to content.

Publishers that use social media know that it requires close monitoring. Most of the time publishers closely monitor their social efforts in order to manage the negative response. But did you ever think about how you could also benefit from closely monitoring the positive response? James says publishers have the opportunity to take advantage of the positive surges by further promoting them.