Delicious was starting to have speed issues under its old architecture and Yahoo has stated that this new back end is far more scalable and the site is running much faster. The new search engine now offers several different ways to search for things. These include the traditional search, tag searching, personal bookmark searching, searching a friend or individual user’s bookmarks, and searching through bookmarks in the user’s social network. Yahoo plans to add even more new features in the future.

If you haven’t tried out delicious, I encourage you to give it a test drive!

Many sources are reporting that Google was ready to purchase Digg for an estimated $200 million dollars, but walked away and buried the deal during the final stage of purchase. I believe that TechCrunch was the first to report on it.

While some speculate that it was a “personality issue”, it is very possible that Google did not like what they saw when they got into the technology behind Digg. There is some speculation that Google will be adding some “Digg-Like” features to their search engine. Perhaps Google decided that their technology was better and has opted to bury Digg like they did their deal.

Only time will tell. Just remember to bow to your Google Overlords and then watch the video of how Google will take over social media.

I didn’t, but Entrecard did. Entrecard is exactly how SezWho is going to take off and it is working! Entrecard is offering its publishers credits for every comment they make on a SezWho enabled blog. Not only are they offering A credit, but they are offering a NUMBER of credits based on the rating of your post. Genius really, 100% marketing genius. On top of that, in order to further promote the partnership, Entrecard now has a “Must be Sezwho enabled?” checkbox when looking for blogs so that only SezWho enabled blogs will be displayed.

So SezWho Says What?

Most people think that SezWho gets the “Long end of the stick” here. I really think that without this partnership and/or others like it that it would be vapor after a few months to a year. Not only will this partnership prevent it from becomign vapor, but it is really going to propel it forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if 50% or more blogs end up using SezWho.

But…Does Entercard Get The Short End?

No way! It may seem like it at first, but you really have to think long term. This partnership gives Entrecard more survivability and viability. It propels SezWho forward, but SezWho’s steam is going to rely on Entrecard. This increases the value of the Entrecard service and further promotes the brand name. Not only that, but it has the “look and feel” of “giving something back to the community”.

So Nobody Wins?

Correction – Everybody Wins. Entrecard wins, SezWho wins, and most importantly – The Bloggers win. This will promote commenting on Blogs in a very big way. More comments means more engaged readers, which translates into more traffic and more revenue. If you haven’t done so yet, I suggest you sign up for both!

But What’s The Catch?

We don’t know yet. It doesn’t appear as though SezWho is making any money yet. They are just getting off the ground. From their FAQ:

The basic SezWho rating, reputation and profile services are provided for free on the currently supported platforms. SezWho will be offering upgrades to premium products and services in the future, but basic SezWho integration for standard social media platforms will always be available as a free service.

I’m curious what options they are going to offer that will cost. Whatever it is, I think that they are going to rake it in. I am certain they already have the majority of active Entrecard bloggers signed up. Whatever these new features are, I most certainly wish them luck!

• Post Revisions: Wiki-like tracking of edits
• Press This!: Post from wherever you are on the web
• Shift Gears: Turbo-speed your blogging
• Theme Previews: See it before your audience does
• Word count! Never guess how many words are in your post anymore.
• Image captions, so you can add sweet captions like Political Ticker does under your images.
• Bulk management of plugins.
• A completely revamped image control to allow for easier inserting, floating, and resizing. It’s now fully integrated with the WYSIWYG.
• Drag-and-drop reordering of Galleries.
• Plugin update notification bubble.
• Customizable default avatars.
• You can now upload media when in full-screen mode.
• Remote publishing via XML-RPC and APP is now secure (off) by default, but you can turn it on easily through the options screen.
• Full SSL support in the core, and the ability to force SSL for security.
• You can now have many thousands of pages or categories with no interface issues.
• Ability to move your wp-config file and wp-content directories to a custom location, for “clean” SVN checkouts.
• Select a range of checkboxes with “shift-click.”
• You can toggle between the Flash uploader and the classic one.
• A number of proactive security enhancements, including cookies and database interactions.
• Stronger better faster versions of TinyMCE, jQuery, and jQuery UI.
• Version 2.6 fixes approximately 194 bugs.

For more information here is a handy video:

For even more information visit:
http://wordpress.org/development/2008/07/wordpress-26-tyner/

2007

• Jaiku: Micro-blogging site similar to Twitter.
  Related Service – Google Mobile
• Zingku: Social networking.
  Related Service – Google Mobile
• Postini: Communications/E-mail security.
  Related Service – Gmail
• Image America: Aerial photography.
  Related Service – Google Maps
• GrandCentral: VOIP.
  Related Service – Google Mobile
• Zenter: Presentation software.
  Related Service – Google Documents
• PeakStream: Parallel processing
  Related Service – Google Servers
• FeedBurner: RSS Feed Aggregator.
  Related Service – Google Reader
• Panoramio: Photo sharing.
  Related Service – Google Maps
• GreenBorder: Computer security.
  Related Service – Google
• DoubleClick: Online advertising.
  Related Service – Google AdSense
• Marratech: Videoconferencing.
  Related Service – Google Talk
• Tonic Systems: Presentation software.
  Related Service – Google Documents
• Trendalyzer: Statistical software.
  Related Service – Google Analytics
• Adscape: In-game advertising.
  Related Service – Google AdSense?
• Xunlei: Google purchased a stake in this company and not the company itself. It is a popular Chinese download manager / file sharing program.
  Related Service – ?

2006

• Endoxon: Mapping.
  Related Service – Google Maps
• JotSpot: Web design application.
  Related Service – Google Sites
• YouTube: Video sharing.
  Related Service – Google Video, YouTube
• Neven Vision: Computer imaging.
  Related Service – Google Maps, Picasa
• 2Web Technologies: Online spreadsheet software.
  Related Service – Google Spreadsheet
• Orion: Search Engine.
  Related Service – Google
• @Last Software: 3D modeling software.
  Related Service – Google Sketchup
• Upstartle: Word processing software.
  Related Service – Google Documents
• Measure Map: Analytics.
  Related Service – Google Analytics
• dMarc Broadcasting: Advertising.
  Related Service – Google AdSense

2005

• bruNET GmbH: Mobile software.
  Related Service – Google Mobile
• allPAY GmbH: Mobile software.
  Related Service – Google Mobile
• Phatbits: Widgets.
  Related Service – Google Desktop
• AOL: No, not the whole thing, just a large share.
  Related Service – ?
• Akwan Information Technologies: Search Engine.
  Related Service – Google
• Skia: Graphics software.
  Related Service – Android
• Android: Mobile software platform.
  Related Service – Android
• Current Communications Group: Broadband ISP.
  Related Service – ?
• Reqwireless: Mobile browser.
  Related Service – Google Mobile
• Dodgeball: Social networking.
  Related Service – Google Mobile, Google SMS
• Urchin Software Corporation: Statistical software.
  Related Service – Google Analytics

2004

• Keyhole: Map analysis.
  Related Service – Google Maps, Google Earth
• Where2: Map analysis.
  Related Service – Google Maps
• ZipDash: Road traffic analysis.
  Related Service – Google Ride Finder
• Picasa: Image/Photo organizer.
  Related Service – Picasa, Blogger
• Baidu: Google purchased a stake in this company and not the company itself. Baidu is a Chinese language search engine.
  Related Service – ?
• Ignite Logic: HTML editing software.
  Related Service – Google Page Creator

2003

• Genius Labs: Blogging software.
  Related Service – Blogger
• Sprinks: Online advertising.
  Related Service – Google AdSense, Google AdWords
• Kaltix: Search Engine.
  Related Service – iGoogle
• Applied Semantics: Online advertising.
  Related Service – Google AdSense, Google AdWords
• Neotonic Software: CRM.
  Related Service – Google Groups, Gmail
• Pyra Labs: Blogging software.
  Related Service – Blogger

2001

• Outride: Search Engine.
  Related Service – Google Personalized Search
• Deja: Usenet services.
  Related Service – Google Groups

Note: Referrals is being retired during the last week of August 2008, so we recommend that you do not implement referral ad code on your site at this time.

This actually came as a major shock to me, their referral system is a great form of CPA advertising and it is unfortunate to lose it. However, I then checked my e-mail and found this in my Inbox:

Hello,

Thank you for participating in the AdSense Referrals program.
We’re writing to let you know that we will be retiring the AdSense
Referrals program during the last week of August. We appreciate
your patience during this transition and here are some alternative
options to consider:

* Google Affiliate Network: As part of the integration of
DoubleClick, the DoubleClick Performics Affiliate Network will now
operate as the Google Affiliate Network for advertisers targeting
users located in the United States. Similar to the AdSense
Referrals program, the Google Affiliate Network enables publishers
to apply for advertiser programs and get paid based on
advertiser-defined actions instead of clicks or impressions. For
further details, please visit:
www.google.com/ads/affiliatenetwork.
* AdSense for content ads: If you have less than three AdSense
for content ad units on a page, you may wish to replace the
referral ad units with standard AFC ad units.

If you currently use referral ads, either to promote Google
products or offerings from AdWords advertisers, AdSense Referrals
code will no longer display ads beginning the last week of August.
We encourage you to take the following steps before the product is
retired:

* Remove the referral code from your site(s): Please take a
moment to remove all referral code from your sites before the last
week of August, so you can continue to effectively monetize your
ad space.
* Run and save all referrals reports on your desktop: Create
and save all reports related to the referrals program on your
desktop, so you continue to have access to your valuable campaign
information

Why is this happening?
We’re constantly looking for ways to improve AdSense by developing
and supporting features which drive the best monetization results
for our publishers. Sometimes, this requires retiring existing
features so we can focus our efforts on the ones that will be most
effective in the long term. For this reason, we will be retiring
the AdSense Referrals program. If you have any additional
questions, please visit our Help Center:

http://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/topic.py?topic=14882

Sincerely.

The Google AdSense Team

Looks like they are moving everybody over to Doubleclick for CPA. No surprising really and in the end it is probably for the best.

On June 24th, 2008 at 1pm, Liquid Web will hold a ground breaking ceremony to announce the details for our new $80 million dollar data center facility.

The new facility will be 90,000 square feet, have the capacity for 25,000 new servers, and will have room for 600 new employees. I have discussed Liquid Web in the past as they are the host of the server this site runs on and a GREAT host at that. If you are looking for a new web server, make sure to drop by Liquid Web and check out their great packages!

Yahoo Ends Talks With Microsoft, Embraces Google Instead

Yahoo! partners with Google

When Google met Yahoo! – the deal explained

• Flip video camera
• $200 Market Leverage Amex Rewards card
• USB drive that is also a pen
• iPod Nano.

Some nice goods in there! I’d like to win the free Flip myself and while I have 2 IPods, one only works half the time and the other is starting to show wear and tear as well. Wouldn’t mind a Nano floating around.

You can enter by commenting on the post here:
http://www.johnchow.com/win-a-market-leverage-bag-of-stuff/
or gain even more entries by blogging about the post!

Release Note Highlights

• Export statistics to CSV
• Spell check
• Drag and drop

Full Release Notes

Account statistics

• Export statistics to CSV: You can now export a CSV file that includes performance statistics. First download the statistics, then go to the File menu > Export to CSV.
• Update minimum CPC bids: To refresh the minimum CPC bids for your keywords, click ‘Get Recent Changes > Include Min. CPC Bids.’ Note that this option takes more time than the basic ‘Get Recent Changes’ option.
• Improved stats download: When you select an interval with ‘Choose Stats Interval,’ AdWords Editor downloads fresh statistics and displays a progress bar during download.

Editing tools

• Spell check: Check the spelling of text fields (such as keywords and ad text) by right-clicking the field and selecting ‘Spell check this field’ in the right-click menu. Available for English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Dutch.
• Append text: Add text before or after existing text in a specific column, for all selected rows. Select the rows you want to edit, then click the ‘Append text’ link at the bottom of the edit pane. For example, add the word ‘New’ at the beginning of the headlines in your selected text ads. Learn more about this tool.
• Drag and drop: Now you can drag and drop ad groups within the tree view. To move an ad group, select it in the tree view and drag it to another campaign. To copy an ad group, select it and drag it while holding the Control key.
• Use formula words in the Replace Text tool: Review these instructions before using this advanced feature.

AdWords feature support

• CPC placement targeting: Create a new CPC placement-targeted campaign or edit your CPC bids for placements. Placement CPC campaigns are labeled [Placement CPC] in the tree view.
• Conversion Optimizer campaigns: You can download Conversion Optimizer campaigns and edit their contents (keywords, bids, ads, and ad groups). However, it isn’t possible to enable or disable the Conversion Optimizer in AdWords Editor. Learn more about support for bidding options in AdWords Editor.
• Ad group negative sites: Add and update negative sites at the ad group level.

Duplicate keywords

• Select duplicate keywords: After running Find Duplicate Keywords, you can now quickly select all the duplicates that meet certain criteria. Click ‘Select duplicates by’ in the tab tool bar and choose one of the menu options. For example, select all the duplicates with the lowest CTR, then edit or delete them as needed.
• Sorting duplicate keywords: Now when you sort duplicate keywords, the groupings are preserved. AdWords Editor sorts within each group, and also sorts the groups themselves.

AdWords Editor settings

• Diagnostic logs: Diagnostic logging is a troubleshooting mode. When enabled, it creates reports that can help our engineers better understand technical issues you may encounter. Go to the Tools menu > Settings.
• Show posting progress: When this option is enabled, AdWords Editor displays a progress bar when you post changes. You can also disable this option to help decrease the time it takes to post your changes. Go to the Tools menu > Settings.

Other updates

• Advanced search: Add and remove restrictions for your advanced search. In the dialog, click ‘Add’ next to the Settings or Performance Statistics fields. Once you’ve added one or more restrictions, click ‘Remove’ to remove them.
• Tab structure: The four tabs for ads (text, image, local business, and mobile) are now grouped under a single ‘Ads’ tab. This update was also included in version 5.0.1.
• Backup archives: AdWords Editor automatically creates a backup, including unposted changes and comments, when you re-download an account with ‘Get Full Account.’ You will also be prompted to back up accounts before upgrading from version 6.0 to a subsequent release.
• Updated keyboard shortcuts:
• Replace text in selected items with Ctrl+H (formerly Ctrl+F).
• Append text to selected items with Ctrl+Shift+H.
• Move to basic search box with Ctrl+F.
• Open advanced search with Ctrl+Shift+F (formerly Ctrl+Shift+S).