I came across this post at shimonsandler.com about the tasks an SEO professional should be doing. Here is a summarized task list for the SEO Consultant. 1) Understanding Client's Business Objectives & Strategic Marketing Plan 2) Comprehensive Website Analysis 3)…

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Having the ability to capture images from your computer screen can really come in handy. If you are a blogger, it's a good way to use images for your blog posts. If you are the average Jo-computer-user and have to…

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Filed under: Internet, News, Productivity, Web services, Social Software

We mentioned Clipmarks way back in 2005 when we first discovered them, and thanks to a recent Vox update, we noticed the web clipping service just released a major new 2.0 upgrade.

On the surface, the site has received a complete redesign, featuring a sexy new layout and a live clippings monitor for public clips. The goodness, however, is far more than skin deep. There are three major new clipping features that should be a big boost to an already slick clipping service. The most significant is the ability to clip videos from YouTube and other video communities. The second major new feature is Clip-to-Blog which, as its name implies, allows you to instantly blog any of your clippings to a compatible blog service or platform. Hence the tip-off from Vox, since it’s on the list.

The final major enhancement (but probably not the last on the list) is a new control bar that acts as a dashboard for taking action with/to your clippings. This is a rocking new feature that really adds some power to how you use Clipmarks and the things you store with the site.

Altogether, the new Clipmarks is a pretty impressive 2.0 upgrade, especially for a web 2.0 site.
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Todd, in his weblog stuntdbl, writes about the things Diggers have in common with Search Engine optimizers. Perhaps, you can spot few similarities but Todd could give you ample reasons. Here is the list of significant similarities between the…

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Forget about old school SEO, it is high time to open your doors to the most-recent web Search Engine Optimization techniques that could push your website to top SEO rankings. SEO perceived as wicked is almost as drained as…

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Major search engines take extra effort to educate the users. Aside from Google, another notable online contribution is offered by Random House and HarperCollins. The latter lets customers browse books online. Random House, who had Danielle Steel and Norman…

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According to Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's top technical executive, Google was a wake-up call within the company. However, he added that Microsoft plans to do more than simply mimic Google by rolling out Web-based versions of desktop programs or following…

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If you use the wrong Search Engine Optimization techniques then Google won’t list your web site. Read this article to learn how to avoid getting caught be Google’s spam filters.

You might not have seen it by now, but it could hit your Google search at some future time. What is it? - It's the new malware warning from Google. But is it something to be thankful of? -Well,…

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Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), a non-profit global organization aimed at serving the search engine marketing industry as well as the professionals involved in online marketing, has finally announced its new set of directors for this year. The…

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Microsoft has agreed to acquire Medstory Inc., the company that has developed a clever web search technology for health information. The web giant was prompted to purchase the intuitive technology of the company to improve access to health information….

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Google, after creating an empire of online advertisements, plans to carry out other remarkable plans that would serve as milestones in the online industry. A press release states: Google is working with Dow Jones & Company, Conde Nast, Sony…

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Filed under: Internet, Web services, Social Software

In a world full of social networks, can we possibly utilize another? Why yes! Especially if it is targeted to a unique niche, as Teapotters is. The recently launched under beta Teapotters is targeted at 3D artists and already has a loyal following. Users upload 3D files, and Teapotters converts the 3D to display it on the site for all users to view. The converted 3D files can then be published on to other social networks, or into websites or blogs.

Through Teapotters, artists have the ability to share their material as long as it’s not used for commercial purposes. This is the first website I’ve come across that lets users share real time 3D elements. Teapotters is currently in private beta, users can register to (hopefully) get an invite. Check out the video tour here.
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Filed under: Internet, Features, Blogging, Open Source, Social Software

If you are hankering to become a policy wonk and find yourself glued to C-SPAN and all things political, you might be interested in OpenCongress.org, a website with all the tools to launch you into political wonkdom. The site is devoted to bringing transparency to government and features a one stop shop for information on bills, related news articles and blog coverage. It is a free, open source, non-profit, non-partisan project managed jointly by the Sunlight Foundation and the Participatory Politics Foundation.

At the site you have access to Thomas, the website of the Library of Congress, bills, members of Congress, political punditry, votes, and campaign contribution information. And like all bona fide Web 2.0 sites, you can see what issues the majority of readers are most interested in, what bills are the most viewed, what bills are the most reported in news and blogs, etc., all with digg-like ranking buttons. The idea here is to focus public scrutiny on what people care about most and keep everything out in the light.

I went to one of my Member of Congress’ site and viewed his votes, an analysis of his votes showed where the majority of his campaign contributions came from (real estate, insurance and finance) and the latest coverage on him from news and blogs. Best of all, there are live feeds to which you can subscribe and get yourself updated when your Member of Congress does anything new. There’s even a button to contact your representative so when they do something naughty or nice, you can always be sure to stay in touch.
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Filed under: Internet, Blogging, Web services, Freeware, Social Software

Tumblr is a new tumblelog service whose FAQs probably describe itself a nutshell the best: “To make a simple analogy: If blogs are journals, tumblelogs are scrapbooks.” It has the look, feel and functionality of a stream-of-consciousness blog, instead of the typical structure and theme/agenda that the traditional blogging platform has (sidenote: can we really refer to an aspect of blogging as ‘traditional’ just yet?). Everything that doesn’t fit in another online space or blogging platform is probably a sure-fire candidate for a tumblelog. I also like to think of it as a linkblog on steriods, offering easy linkage and embedding of video, pictures, conversations, quotes and more.

A carefully-chosen tool set reinforces this linkblog ideal, offering a streamlined experience that oozes the “everything you need, nothing you don’t” philosophy. The signup process is dead-easy, and after choosing a theme and a few other settings, Tumblr offers a simple though eerily intelligent bookmarklet that does all the heavy lifting when sharing that Flickr pic or embedding a YouTube video.

For those who want some control over their tumblelog, Tumblr offers some key features above and beyond the simple point and click. Customization is present in just about all the right places. The themes are 100% editable, and the official Tumblr blog says even more themes are on their way, with a “hugely robust system” for really strutting your stuff. You can also chose to redirect your Tumblr blog to your own domain, with fairly simple instructions in the FAQs.

All in all this tumbellog/linkblog is a fairly simple concept with much greater implications, and Tumblr’s executing is fantastic. I’m already hooked, and I’ve added a new bookmark and ‘marklet to my tool belt. The service is free and, like so many other web 2.0 startups, will remain free, with the possibility of a more feature-packed premium offering debuting at a later date.

[via Leo Laporte’s Twitter]
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I have used web-based website popularity services before as well as popularity functionality from other paid softwares as well, but this new product from SubmitSuite brought some new interesting stats to the table. Here's a list of what's being checked….

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There's one good reason for music and video companies to be jubilant. Reuters reports: Google Inc., racing to head off a media industry backlash over its video Web site YouTube, will soon offer anti-piracy technologies to help all copyright…

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“Click fraud,” as wikipedia defines it, is a type of internet crime that occurs in pay per click online advertising when a person, automated script, or computer program imitates a legitimate user of a web browser clicking on an…

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Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services, Social Software

Stowe Boyd spends a lot of time thinking about Web 2.0, and web business in general. He was recently asked 5 questions for an article by a reporter at a small paper. His answer to the reporter’s final question underscores how drab some recent startups have been.

When asked if “someone with nothing more than a good idea could start a Web 2.0 business”, Boyd replied, “having an innovative idea is a good start, a necessary precondition for success. But there is a lot of luck involved, too. […] The best advice I can give for would-be web app developers is to go where other companies aren’t: move into the white space where there are no competitors. The world does not need yet another social bookmarketing app, another social event site, or another screen sharing tool.”

I’ve got my own great idea for a new Web 2.0 start-up. It’s this social-screen-sharing event site with bookmarking ability added on. Oh yah, and you can vote on things too! Wait! Where are you going? It’s the next killer app, really!
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Filed under: Fun, Social Software

Listal is a social website for listing “the stuff you love”, or categorizing your DVDs, CDs, books, video games, and listing the movies you’ve seen and TV shows you watch. In the traditional social networking fashion, you can tag, rate, and review items, see everyone else who has the same stuff, and locate similar member based on your ratings. The site launched back in August of 2005, but since then it has become quite robust, with a consistent stream of updates to enhance the versatility of the website. I haven’t visited it in a few months, so I checked out some of the new features. Here’s a brief rundown of some recent highlights:

• A new completely customizable profile feature, so you can change the layout, colors, background image, and style of your personal page
• Users can now add videos to any item page, either from a video sharing website or directly from their computer
• Enhanced list views, including options for two or three column layouts for viewing your items
• New quick recommendations included in profile pages, an easy way to get recommendations for items not on your own list from the person you are viewing

Listal has proven to not only be a decent way to waste time, but it is actually quite useful for organizing your stacks of movies, CDs, and books lying around.
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