Microsoft, Google and Apple Being Sued Over Icon Navigation

Microsoft, Google and Apple Being Sued Over Icon Navigation

A lawsuit was filed in Arizona Federal court against Microsoft, Google and Apple by Cygnus Systems, Inc. over use of their just granted patent for “System and method for iconic software environment management.”

As Ars Technica points out:

“Its abstract describes “a method and system for storing, navigating, and accessing files within an operating system through the use of a graphical thumbnail representing the video display of the active document within the active application.” In other words, Cygnus’ patent describes features similar to those of Windows Explorer and Apple’s Finder—these applications use scaled-down previews to represent the actual documents being browsed by users. The patent could also include things like file icons that dynamically update to reflect changes to the contents of their respective documents, as well as Opera’s “Speed Dial” feature, which offers a visual dashboard of easy-access websites. Cygnus’ complaint even cites the iPhone’s “accompanying iconic file preview and access functionality” and the Safari browser’s tab thumbnails.”

As Ars Tecnica details the suit has some flaws - Google as yet does not have an operating system, and prior art - a major factor in patent law - “constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent’s claims of originality. If an invention has been described in prior art, a patent on that invention is not valid,” according to Wikipedia.

Add this lawsuit to the rest that impact the industry and have yet to be ruled on…. should be an interesting year in the legal realm.

Yahoo! to Anonymize Data After 90 Days

Yahoo! to Anonymize Data After 90 Days

Yahoo! will begin anonymizing the data it collects after just 90 days, according to a statement released by the company. The data includes search logs, page views, page clicks, ad views and ad clicks.

“In our world of customized online services, responsible use of data is critical to establishing and maintaining user trust,” said Anne Toth, Yahoo!’s Vice President of Policy and Head of Privacy. “We know that our users expect relevant and compelling content and advertising when they visit Yahoo!, but they also want assurances that we are focused on protecting their privacy.”

Personally, I wish the search engines would do a better job of informing the public about how their data collection really isn’t the privacy issue that so many make it out to be. I don’t think anyone at Yahoo! or Google is sitting around looking at what *I’m* doing on the internet. They have millions of people using their services. They don’t have the time to sit around and watch what each individual is doing. Search engines were built on a system of automation, partially for this reason. From their perspective, I’m just a number that contributes (or doesn’t) to trends and behavior.

But that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave a comment and let us know.

Related Reading:
We May Not Need Standards But FTC, FCC Want To Gives Us Regulations
Yahoo! Unveils Social Inbox and Open Features for Key Products
Yahoo Adds Search Assist to Image Search

Google Reader Gets Layout Updates

Google Reader Gets Layout Updates
Google Reader habitués today logged into the platform to find a renovated, much cleaner and faster interface from which to manage their RSS feeds. Updates also include collapsible navigation, shared items and enhanced feed bundles.

Underreported Stories from Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008

Underreported Stories from Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008

All week long, I’ve been reporting on the top 10 stories from each day of Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008. Generally, they were generated by news coverage of the three keynotes and two Orion Panels, or interviews with speakers at the 63 conference sessions. Hey, that’s just fishing where the fish are.

But there were a couple of other places where I found underreported stories from SES Chicago 2008: SES Magazine, the Expo Hall, the free mini clinics, and the search training workshops.

If you didn’t attend Search Engine Strategies Chicago this year, find someone who did. And “borrow” his or her copy of SES Magazine. There is a lot of content in there – beyond the conference information.

For example, there’s an article by Kate Kaye, senior editor of ClickZ News, entitled “Politics 2.0: Political Change Comes to Search, Too.” It looks at the search marketing tactics that Chicago’s own Barack Obama and his rivals used during the 2008 presidential electiion. My favorite underreported story is how the campaigns employed search to take advantage of hot topics right away.

If you can’t find someone with a copy of SES Magazine, then check out the interview below with Kate, which appeared back in June.

Obama Ads Online: Search Advertising Analysis by Kate Kaye

Meanwhile, over at booth #315 in the Expo Hall, ideaLaunch was giving demos of WordVision, its new SEO software tool that uses a complex algorithm to recommend hot keywords to SEO writers. Yes, that got my attention. And once this content is uploaded to a website, it tracks the contents’ impact on search engine listings so that SEO managers can understand the overall ROI of content assets. Yes, that got my attention, too.

But wait! There’s More!

Over at booth #204, there were a series of free mini clinics. Tim Ash, the President of SiteTuners, ran one called, “Your Baby Is Ugly - Landing Page Mini-Critiques.” David Szetela, the CEO of Clix Marketing, ran another called, “Power PPC Advertising Clinic.” Jonathan Mendez, Founder and CEO of RAMP Digital, ran a third called, “ CPA Optimization Station.” And Brad Geddes, Founder of bgTheory.com, ran a fourth called, “Ad Copy to Landing Page Review.”

In fact, check out what Kurt Scholle, Head Coach of WebAsylum.com, wrote about them at Website-ROI-Guy:
— I Met a Rockstar at Search Engine Strategies/Chicago
— Your Baby Is Ugly - Landing Page Mini-Critiques (SES Chicago)

Okay, so maybe the mini clinics weren’t as underreported as SES Magazine and the Expo Hall stories. But it doesn’t hurt to overreport them, does it?

Finally, there are the six search training workshops, which will be held on Friday, Dec. 12 at the Chicago Hilton. These include:

Search & Analytics Workshop: Using Analytics to Increase Search Effectiveness — Analytics are a gold mine of information, just waiting to be uncovered. The results of campaigns, effectiveness of the website, and the efficiency of your rankings can all be measured with a good analytics program. Unfortunately, many site managers do not make changes to the website without prior measurement, nor do they measure after the changes. As a result, there are many changes to sites that are not based on facts, merely assumptions. Similarly, if changes are not analyzed, then there can be no clear understanding of whether or not improvements made a difference on the site or to the bottom line.

Viral Marketing & Link Baiting — Attendees will gain a better understanding of the concepts, ideas and implementations that are required to launch a viral marketing or link baiting campaign. They will learn why the Internet has created a unique environment that allows for rapid, inexpensive word of mouth marketing and how they can harness that environment to promote their own products and services. The workshop will give real life examples of both good and bad viral marketing campaigns and will share insight on how your business can capitalize on your competitor’s viral disasters. This workshop will also focus on how you can make use of consumer generated media environments like social media outlets, blog marketing, discussion forums and more to both monitor and expand your company’s online persona. Consumer generated media (the very core of viral marketing) is the fastest growing form of media online today. It’s only a matter of time until someone online talks about your business. This course will not only help prepare you in the ways to respond to the conversation, it will help you learn how to shape that conversation to your advantage.

Link Building Tactics, Tools & Techniques — Need links? In order to rank well and successfully promote your online business, you need an effective link building program as part of your overall SEO strategy. This link building workshop will help you to better understand and manage your link building campaigns by providing you with the knowledge to create proven, practical and creative link marketing campaigns. You’ll walk away understanding why you need certain links, how to find them, and how to effectively use links to promote your brand and your search engines rankings.

Advanced AdWords – This session is broken down into two sections. The first section examines how to effectively use keywords, ad copy, landing pages, and the search and content networks to effectively reach your target audience based upon where consumers are in the buying cycle. The second section will examine different bidding strategies you can employ to maximize your campaign’s goals.

Search Engine Optimization Workshop — A search-engine friendly Web site is a user-friendly, search-friendly, and persuasive site that converts visitors into buyers. In order for a site to be search-engine friendly, it must meet the terms and conditions set forth by the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN Search, Ask, etc). Additionally, the site must satisfy the needs of site visitors. Ultimately, the site must be profitable for the Web site owner. Can a single site satisfy all of these groups? This workshop will demonstrate that these skills are essential for building a user-friendly, search-friendly, and persuasive site that converts visitors into buyers.

Optimizing for Universal Search — Universal search changes everything! The advent of Google’s Universal Search has been called “the most radical change to its search results ever.” So, how do you take advantage of Google’s new approach that blends listings from news, maps, video, and image search among those it gathers from web search? This training session will help you get found in all the right places.

The full-day training session is $1,345 and half-day is $745. Register for SES SEM Training at http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/chicago/training.html.

Now, I realize that the search training workshops haven’t even been held yet. So, it may be premature to call them underreported. But trust me on this. Most of the journalists and bloggers who covered SES Chicago 2008 this week have already headed home. So, I’m pretty confident predicting that this, too, will be one of the underreported stories from the conference and expo.

Hey, I could be wrong. As Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Skin Your iGoogle Page for a Good Cause

Skin Your iGoogle Page for a Good Cause

If you’re looking for an iGoogle theme with a little more meaning, then look no further than iGoogle Themes for Causes. These new themes feature charitable partners representing a variety of causes to be passionate about.

One of the participating charities (and a favorite of yours truly) is Doctors Without Borders, one of the only charities assisting in the current crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and helping Somalian refugees who arrived in Yemen this week. Here’s what their theme looks like:

That “I’m Feeling Lucky” button sure does take on a whole new meaning when you are reminded of what millions of less fortunate people face every single day of their lives. These people would love to have the “problem” of cutting back on Christmas.

It’s far too easy to forget the needs of people around the world and here at home. But these iGoogle Themes for Causes can help you keep charity constant in your life.

Other charities include:
The One Campaign
Charity:Water
Heifer International
American Red Cross
Save the Children

Related Reading:
Blogger Releases Two Updates Regarding iGoogle and Commenting
iGoogle: O Pop, Where Art Thou? Jeff Koons, Wiggles, La Cicciolina
Google’s iGoogle Announcement

Google Webmaster Tools Launches Message Center API

Google Webmaster Tools Launches Message Center API

Google Webmaster Tools has launched a new Message Center API that is part of the Webmaster Tools GData API. Google uses the Message Center to relay important messages about a site to its webmaster.

Here’s what Google says you can expect from the Message Center API:

• Retrieve messages: The messages feed contains all the messages sent to your account. These messages have important information about your verified sites. Examples of messages include infinite spaces warnings and crawl rate change notifications.
• Mark messages as read or unread: In order to keep track of new communications from Google, you can mark your messages as read or unread, the same way that you would manage your inbox. If you retrieve a single message, this message will be automatically marked as read.
• Delete mesages: It’s possible to delete messages using the GData API. However, be careful because if you delete a message through the API it will also be deleted in your Webmaster Tools account, as both interfaces share the same data.

You can download code samples in Java to assist you in your API development.

Related Reading:
Google Creates One Page for Webmaster Tools Settings
Google Webmaster Tools Adds Hack Alert For CMS Programs
Google Webmaster Central Updates Include API Settings and Crawl Error Sources

Google Creates One Page for Webmaster Tools Settings

Google Creates One Page for Webmaster Tools Settings

Google has placed the Webmaster Tools settings on one page for your convenience. The settings that can be adjusted are:

1. Geographic Target
2. Preferred domain control
3. Opting in to enhanced image search
4. Crawl rate control

Some settings are time-bound, such as the crawl rate, which automatically sets back to default after 90 days. So, be sure to make note of those settings and revisit as warranted.

You’ll also be prompted every time you make a change to Save or Cancel.

Have you checked out the new settings page? What are your thoughts?

Related Reading:
Google Webmaster Tools Adds Hack Alert For CMS Programs
Google Webmaster Central Updates Include API Settings and Crawl Error Sources
Google Extends Webmaster Tools Access Program to Qualifying Hosting Providers

CitySquares.com to Begin National Expansion

CitySquares.com to Begin National Expansion

CitySquares.com began as an online neighborhood community site for 7 neighborhoods in Boston. Over the summer, they expanded to include New England and recently added 1.7 million businesses to their New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania communities. They are one of the fastest growing local search sites on the web.

Now, CitySquares has their sights set on a national expansion, but they are proceeding with caution. They stress that they don’t want to be just another directory, but to truly offer online communities for local cities and neighborhoods across the United States.

Writing on the CitySquares blog, co-founders Bob Leland and Ben Saren said,

Whether a county in Montana, a borough in NY, a village in Vermont, or a neighborhood in Seattle, we want to get all the information about that community, that locale, online. Get the geopolitical information online, municipal information, local government, post office, libraries, public schools, trash and recycling collection schedules, historical facts, playgrounds, parking lots, public transportation, local school lunch menus, athletic program information, July 4th fireworks locations, and so much more. CitySquares’ vision is, and has always been, to be “Your Neighborhood, Online.” Not easy, but necessary. And it will happen.

Google Website Optimizer Integrated with Magento Open Source Ecommerce Platform

Google Website Optimizer Integrated with Magento Open Source Ecommerce Platform

Open source e-commerce platform Magento has released a new version of its software, and with it is a Google Website Optimizer integration.

All you have to do is cut and paste a URL into Magento’s GWO tool and bam - you’re ready to optimize that landing page.

Seriously, if you’re not convinced you need to be testing - then stop everything and read these links:

Landing Page Optimization: Guessing vs. Testing
Coherency in Landing Page Testing
Landing Pages: Test Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
Testing Applies to Widgets and Accessories, Not Just Landing Pages
Testing Landing Pages Includes Testing Best Practices
Assembling Your Landing Page Optimization Dream Team, Part 2

LinkedIn’s New Search Platform Goes Live

LinkedIn’s New Search Platform Goes Live

A month ago, LinkedIn unveiled its new search platform. Now they’re rolling it out to their 31 million users.

Here’s what you can look forward to in the new search platform:

Suggestive Search - When you type into the search box, a list of suggested names from your contacts pops up. You can select one of the names without having to type in the whole thing. I think this might come in handy when you’re having a hard time remembering a name. Maybe you remember the first letter or the first name, but the rest of it just isn’t coming to you - this can help.

Streamlined Search Results - LinkedIn changed the design to make it easier to scan the results. They also added photos. Results can be sorted by relevance, which includes the social graph, or by relationship, relationship + recommendations, and keyword.

Customizable Views Users can determine what info they want returned in their search results. Just click the “Views” drop down menu (next to the “Sort” drop down menu at the top of the results). You can decide whether you want to view headlines, photos, locations and more of the people returned in a search.

Take Action Straight from the Search Results When you mouse over a result, you’ll notice links that let you take action. You can send InMail, get introduced (through a common contact), or add that person to your network.

Modify Your Search On the right hand side of the results, you’ll notice a form where you can type in additional information to narrow your search down and pinpoint it to more exact specifications. You can search by name, job title, company location, and school.

Save Your Search If you want to return to the results, you can save your search. This is a good idea if you’ve modified your search or customized your view.

Check out this video to get a good visual for all of the above:

Of course, you’ll need to be signed in to LinkedIn to take advantage of all the features in the new platform. Not LinkedIn yet? Our own Carrie Hill explained why you need to be in her article, Small Business Owners Need Twitter and LinkedIn.

Head over to LinkedIn and give the new search a test drive. Then come back and let us know what you think in the comments.

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