Self-Serving Research Award: Apparently, "84% of business executives feel that Web searches -- using the generally consumer-centric search engines now available --take longer than they should due to poor results", according to a survey released by FIND/SVP. The very same FIND/SVP who have just launched their own business search engine. MarketingVox got it right.
PR Update: There are new PR scores flip/flopping across the web.
Gambling addicts: Yahoo & Google experience difficulty in keeping their ad space completely "gambling-free".
Gmail UK warning: Seems that Google didn't secure all the Gmail domains. The Gmail.co.uk domain, not owned by Google, appears to be a username and password collector.
More search: Google extend their distribution network with new adsense search offerings. Some thoughts here.
Digital Rights management is a rubbish idea: Here's why.
Adsense update their terms and conditions: Useful breakdown at WMW.
Quiet: All quiet on the search marketing front. Anyone would think there's an IPO in the air. The mainstream start to get skeptical.
Firefox 0.9: I've been trialling the new FireFox browser, and damn it's good. It's very fast, clean and adaptable. Just makes you realise how truly awful Explorer really is. I'm a convert.
Holiday snaps: For those remotely interested, here's my holiday snaps from Rarotonga.
You heard it there last: Microsoft discovers spam, and stumbles across something called "the search engine marketing industry". Also, "...in one case, the Microsoft researchers claim to have found a webpage in Germany that would constantly create pages filled with pieces of text that were copied from random web pages...". Only one? Not looking too hard, then.
PubCon 6.5: Photos (thanks Shak). Overview of SES here.
Atom vs RSS: Google may reconsider stance on RSS. Dave Winer will be pleased.
The second world desktop war: Ask Jeeves wants in on the desktop too. Will we see a free, easy-to-use Linux operating system (powered by search) coming soon? Now is the time.
Finally: 50 coolest song parts. They forgot to mention the guitar solo in Baker Street, which just has to be the biggest guitar-god-wind-in-hair-standing-on-the-edge-of-the-cliffs-of-valhalla moment ever. Followed closely by this.
I've been lying on a castaway island. Drinking G&T's. Reading Chomsky. Listening to the breeze push gently through the palms. Not a damn computer in sight.
Bliss.
However, back to (cold) reality.
A little bird at SES tells me that "just about everyone" is plotting their exit strategy this year. And why not? The Google IPO will see a lot of money flooding into the sector, and many search-related companies will be in a prime position to benefit. Interesting times indeed.
More talk: SEW launches a discussion forum.
Users will switch: Article suggests that Google's market share is rather tenuous.
That competition: Has been won. And Chris at SearchGuild has won himself some big media attention.
