Google Plus - Unraveling The Thoughts Behind Google's Social Media Quest

Google Plus remains somewhat of a mystery. Presently not allowing anyone to join this new endeavor. The one thing that seems to be clearly evident is that this project has in its roots, a desire to learn deep, intimate details about a user's habits and personal preferences. At face value, yes, this could be viewed as being for strictly business purposes, meaning that ads delivered would be highly relevant and useful for the seller and the user (buyer). A wise person has to also contemplate the darker side of allowing any information aggregator to amass data that could be compromised or used for unintended purposes. Is Google's knowledge of your circle of friends really important for you?

With who else might persoanl data be shared? This could be the "permanaent record" we were all warned about in grade school, lol. Sharing "innocently acquired" data would be a breach of trust that would be a huge slap on the face of personal freedom. For Google, sharing this treasure trove of date would generate a LOT of cash, and/or garner a LOT of favor with the federal government (i.e., Federal Regulators, Dept of Justice, etc.)

I really admire Google for so many things, but the desire to "keep a folder on what I do" is one adventure I'll have to skip. Personally, I see this as being a LOT about Google, and only a LITTLE about the avaerage person. From the perspective of the avaerage internet user, "they're fixin' what ain't broke".

For another perspective you can view a fresh article by Barbara Ortutay at this link >> Google social net is about preserving leadership

How To Create XML Sitemap - XML Sitemap Doctype

How to Create an XML Site Map

Many people ask about the differences in an HTML and an XML sitemap. A simple explanation is that an HTML sitemap (or PHP, etc.) lists links to pages for site visitors to use much like a book's table of contents. A XML sitemap helps search engines to locate and better index pages on a website. Below is a generic example of how to create an XML sitemap.

The lastmod refers to the last date that the particular page was modified/updated. The priority tells search engines the relative importance of the content on the specified page relative to other pages. An About Us page typically would have a lower priority than a page concerning more specific information on products or services. You should not list on your site map any utility pages such as Site Map, Contact, Privacy Policy, etc. The XML sitemap should be placed on the same directory level as your site's pages. Do not link to the XML sitemap from your website pages. Ideally you should submit your XML sitemap to Google and other search engines, although search engines will find it when crawling your website's hosting service.

The use of a well constructed XML sitemap is a highly recommended, and takes only minutes to create. If you remain uncertain how to do this, contact us and we can create a XML sitemap for your business website.

A hot new post in Mashable reports that Google is set to retire the Blogger and Picasa brand names. The products will survive under new names.

A snippet from the Mashable article >>

Say goodbye to the Picasa and Blogger names: Google intends to retire several non-Google name brands and rename them as Google products, Mashable has learned.

The move is part of a larger effort to unify its brand for the public launch of Google+, the search giant’s social initiative.

Blogger and Picasa aren’t going away, of course — they’re two of Google’s most popular products. Instead, according to two sources familiar with the matter, Google intends to rename Picasa “Google Photos” and Blogger will become “Google Blogs.” Several other Google brands are likely to be affected, though our sources made it clear that YouTube would not be rebranded. The technology giant shut down Google Video, its failed web video service, in May.

Periodic Table for SEO Elements

By James Hobson
For those who may not have heard about the nifty new SEO Periodic Table graphic available at Search Engine Land we recommend taking a peak at it.

Here is a snippet of their introduction:

Search engine optimization — SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors, or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring your content generates the right type of signals. Our chart below summarizes the major factors to focus on for search engine ranking success. The Search Engine Land Guide To SEO explains factors in more depth, with tips and a tutorial on implementing them.

This cool illustration was created by Column Five, and is under copyright protection for Third Door Media.

Why Is Facebook Shutting Down Apps?

By James Hobson
Facebook, the social media juggernaut, has abruptly began shutting down apps, leaving tens of thousnads of people wondering why. There was no asvisement of the action prior to execution, just BAM,and it's done.

Supposedly, Facebook has launced an algorithm that automatically shuts down apps which are deemed to be posting "too often" to a users wall. No one seems to know what constitutes "too often", much less why it matters.

At this time we do not have a list of any particular apps affected by the algorithm induced app death, or any information on further implications. We'll post more info as it becomes available from our sources.

Google Under Federal Scrutiny - It's Feds vs Microsoft Revisited

By James Hobson
The federal government is preparing to go after Google on the grounds that Google has "abused its dominance in Web-search advertising". I don't know what that means other than they have very popular products, they promote them very well, and they are wildly successful. Only through a socialist or communist view could being successful in business be viewed as criminal.

A person could easily argue that this pending action is an adaptation of the assault on Capitalism similar to when the Clinton Administration sued Microsoft. Oddly enough, despite a seemingly cozy relationship with the current Administration, the Obama Administration seems to have no reservations in harrassing Google. When nothing else makes sense, follow the money trail.

Because I don't hear a clamor among consumers, or advertisers such as our company, it's easy to assume that this is all about a shakedown to confiscate money from Google for Federal coffers . . . . or "encourage" donations to a political party that desperately needs money to polish their image for a 2012 presidential election campaign.

For information from professional journalists we have provide below, a snippet from a Wall Street Journal article by THOMAS CATAN and AMIR EFRATI
You can also read the full article here


Federal regulators are poised to hit Google Inc. with subpoenas, launching a broad, formal investigation into whether the Internet giant has abused its dominance in Web-search advertising, people familiar with the matter said.

On today's digits: the FTC is poised to serve Google with subpoenas as the Commission looks to explore the company's dominance on the Web; Walt Mossberg gives us his review of the Google entirely cloud-based laptop, the Chromebook; and, tips for creating protective passwords (first step: stop using "QWERTY", maybe?)

The civil probe, which has the potential to reshape how companies compete on the Internet, is the most serious legal threat yet to the 12-year-old company, though it wouldn't necessarily lead to any federal allegations of wrongdoing against Google. read more

Bing Webmaster Tools Are New

By James Hobson
This is a reprint of an anouncement about changes to Bing Webmaster Tools

As of June 7th, the Bing Webmaster Tools site that you know has changed.

Bing has been investing in building its Webmaster Tools for a while now and we have recently launched a revised webmaster experience that offers expansion in tools, data coverage and content. The site redesign makes it easier for you to find content, tools and data to help meet your needs. Our new features include expanded functionality, and the data that coincides with these new features. With over 40 new self-help documents on hand, publishers now have access to a wide range of help and guidance content across various topics such as how to use our tools and search engine optimization.

Dear Bing Webmaster User,

As of June 7th, the Bing Webmaster Tools site that you know has changed.

Bing has been investing in building its Webmaster Tools for a while now and we have recently launched a revised webmaster experience that offers expansion in tools, data coverage and content. The site redesign makes it easier for you to find content, tools and data to help meet your needs. Our new features include expanded functionality, and the data that coincides with these new features. With over 40 new self-help documents on hand, publishers now have access to a wide range of help and guidance content across various topics such as how to use our tools and search engine optimization.

As part of our investment, we’ve built new functionality to help publishers find relevant data and control their accounts. Here are some of the major features and improvements Bing Webmaster account users will see:

– Crawl delay configurable by the hour
ο Control when and at what pace Bing crawls your website
– User and role management
ο Control who can access your Bing Webmaster account and what functions they can use
– Index Explorer
ο Improvements to reliability and how fast data appears in your reports
– URL Normalization
ο Manage which URLs from your site Bing holds in its index
– Deep Links Management
ο Manage which deep links are shown for your website, when your domain is selected


Beyond the updated and enhanced features, Bing Webmaster Tools has also launched detailed self-help guides and how-to documents. We’ve covered a wide range of topics, from how to accomplish tasks within Bing Webmaster tools, to what you should be focused on when performing search engine optimization. Here’s a quick peek at some of the new content topics in the 40+ new guides and how to documents launched:

• Using Bing Webmaster Tools
• Webmaster Tools Data explained
• How to perform Link Building
• Removing or blocking pages from our index
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) guidance
• Managing URL parameters
• Implementing Rich Snippets (www.schema.org)
• Managing Canonicalization (duplicate content)
• Managing redirects
• 404 page management
• Rich Media and Search


Watch for new content to appear monthly as we invest further in explaining features and highlight areas of work webmasters are focused on.

Visit Bing Webmaster Tools to see the new features in your account, and to access the new content.