Back in November 2009 I wrote about hackers and the importance of having updated software. I had quoted a blogger that had taken the time to track down the guy that hacked his website to interview him. Apparently my wife did not read that post. She doesn’t have a website to protect but she could have learned the lesson that hackers do not attack individuals, they attack systems and vulnerabilities. Guess which one she fell victim to? Interestingly enough, she was the 4th person on my contact list to lose control of an email account in the last month.
Like many millions of internet users, my wife uses a cloud based email service, in her case she uses Gmail. A few weeks ago she called me in a panic because her “phone was blowing up with emails!” She went on to tell me that she was getting dozens of email bounces as well as a bunch of replies from people on her contact list asking her why she was sending out a spam link. Of course she wasn’t sending spam, but her account was. This wasn’t a typical email spoof, it was actually her account sending the email!
MarketingSherpa is a leader in online marketing research. Every year they publish the Search Marketing Benchmark Report - SEO Edition. It's over 200 pages of the latest research, resources, tools, metrics, and editorial content. The 2010 Edition included a survey of 2194 search marketers to determine which tactics and methods have been producing the best results. The top 10 results based on respondents answering that the tactic was "Very Effective" are -
For the last 12 years or so, Google has worked pretty much the same way – type your search query in to the box then click one of the 2 search buttons. September 8, 2010 marked a day of significant change to a brilliantly simple page. Meet Google Instant, did you notice?
So what changed and why?
After doing a little testing, Google determined that people read faster than they type. A simple enough premise right? Well, Google decided to see how they could use that to make a better user experience. Since we read faster, it would be possible to scan other parts of the page as we type. Using a mixture of several new technologies, Google now starts to search as you type, then magically updates your search as you continue to type your query. They also predict what search term you intend to type. In theory, we will save 2-5 seconds per search with the new format.
Rumors of Google’s demise were greatly exaggerated
Written by Brent FriarThis may be a general human obsession, but the tech world seems to be enamored with the next giant killer. Not a week goes by without a news report or blog post touting the next iPhone, Warcraft, Google, or Microsoft killer. In case you hadn’t noticed, iPhone, Warcraft, Google, and Microsoft are still alive and kicking – and might even have made a buck or two even in the middle of the worst American economy in over 70 years.
Back in May 2009 there was a giant killer story with a twist. This time it wasn’t David v. Goliath, it was more like USA v. Russia or Ali v. Foreman. Microsoft had decided to make a serious effort to cut in to Google’s dominance in online advertising. Apparently the thought of Google taking the lion’s share of the multi-billion dollar market without a serious threat was enough to make them invest in their Bing search product. Bing debuted with a lot of fanfare and TV commercials backing the launch. There was finally another big kid on the block that was going to muscle in on Google’s turf.
One of the things I love about Twitter is how you can use it to get help when you need it most. If there’s anything you need – from a good Chinese restaurant in town to an SOS when you’re stuck in your garage - Twitter can help. Most of the time it’s a matter of your friends chipping in with advice, but there are companies out there listening. For example, if you Tweet about how much you hate Comcast, a Comcast rep will contact you to resolve the problem.
On Friday I tweeted about how I was having trouble getting my car registered – I seem to have lost my Texas title. The same day, not only did I have a friend Tweet me a link to the needed Texas DMV page, but the Texas DMV itself Tweeted me some help. How cool is that?
Not only is it cool, but it gives you some perspective. If you’re not using Twitter, then the DMV is officially more tech savvy and better at customer service than you are. Scary, right?
If you’d like some help catching up with the DMV or just want to learn more about social media in general, give us a call and I’ll be glad to help.