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News |
Google
Frees SketchUp For Individuals
The professional version of the 3D modeling program still carries a price tag,
but a new version released by Google can be had for free.
Microsoft's
Flashy Failure
In 2004, Microsoft lost an important lawsuit to Eolas Technologies. The suit,
which was filed by Eolas against Microsoft, covered a patent Eolas filed for...
SES
Toronto 2006
Attending a Search Engine Strategies Conference has been likened to having an
encyclopedia downloaded into your mind in two or three intense days of concentrated
information sessions.
VoIP
Arrives From AT&T And Yahoo
Users of AT&T Yahoo's high-speed Internet service can make and receive voice
calls as part of a new set of VoIP services that became available from the companies.
Google
Adds Warnings To Sitemaps
After hearing unanimous agreement to the suggestion that Google (finally) contact
site publishers when their sites run afoul of Google's webmaster guidelines, Matt
Cutts noted that Google has begun to do just that.
Google
Searchers A Bunch of Pot Heads?
Google's Weekly Zeitgeist report that a number was most on the minds of Google
searchers last week: 420. What's the big deal about 420? Well, in its explanation
Google neglected to mention that particular number represents the amount of THC
in marijuana.
eBayer
Sent Up The River For Email Threats
First, a general rule of thumb: If you get angry at eBay, it's best not send threatening
messages to its executives. This rule, ignored by former eBay apostle Florin Horicianu
after feeling he was ripped off by the company, will keep you out of prison and
not banned from eBay.
Gmail
Blocked By Verizon Spam Filters
Several people reported having email sent from the Gmail accounts to Verizon customers
bounce back to them by overly aggressive spam filters over the weekend. Google
says the problem has been fixed, but Verizon has been very silent on the matter.
Alyssa
Milano Chimes In On Net Neutrality
The stars are aligning in favor of protection of Network Neutrality, dubbed by
many as "the Internet's First Amendment." The latest to lend her star
power to the cause is TV and film actress Alyssa Milano, who posted a passionate
plea on her weblog urging supporters of the movement to contact the U.S. legislature.
Meedio
Ready To Go On Yahoo
Digital video recording comes to the PC via Yahoo's Go service, only a week after
Yahoo publicly announced they had acquired Meedio.
BBC
Online To Play Like MySpace
The venerable British Broadcasting Company plans to dramatically update its online
presence, and the social networking site MySpace has inspired the new design.
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WPW Discussion Posts |
Title and Meta Tags - Unexpected
Results!
We recently cleaned up our Title and Meta Tags on our home page, in an attempt to target better converting keywords and to reduce their "spammy" look.
So from "free widgets, widgets, download free widgets" we went to "buy widgets from widget producers at some of the lowest prices on the web"
Result? A 300% drop in daily traffic!
Is Google that Clever
About 10 months ago I set up an Adwords campaign for a client's new website. After
about 4 months the client's credit card, which funded the campaign, expired. For
reasons best known to he client they decided not to pay the outstanding balance
on the Adwords account amounting to a few hundred dollars...
Keywords Per Page?
Is there a specific number of keywords used per page and per site that get the
most bang? Is there an industry standard or Search Engine specific? I'm a freelance
copywriter who's attempting to not only gain a greater ranking in natural searches,
but also want to be able to give strategic advice to my customers when working
on their Web sites...
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Thursday Apr 27, 2006 |
Telecommunications giants scored a victory over Net Neutrality advocates in the
U.S. legislature yesterday as the proposed "Markey Amendment," a provision
to prevent Internet providers from creating access chokepoints was voted down
in the House of Representatives.
Editor's Note: Did the House Energy and Commerce Committee
sell out the Internet? Or do you think Net Neutrality supporters are overreacting?
Share your thoughts on this very important issue in WebProWorld.
 The
amendment's defeat has caused a firestorm of accusations against the telecom industry
and the legislators siding with them in the debate. A diverse and growing opposition
believes that Congress members like Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Rep. Bobby Rush
(D-ILL), who pushed for the amendment's defeat, are acting not in favor of their
constituency but in favor of the big-money telecom industry.
Telecoms, like AT&T and Verizon, want to create a two-tiered Internet where customers and content providers can be charged for premium content delivery at higher speeds and quality than other content. The harshest critics believe that ability will give ISPs the ability to block, slow, or degrade content unfavorable to them, including access to websites and email.
The Markey Amendment, proposed for addition to the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act (COPE), was created to protect what proponents call "Network Neutrality," a philosophy that the Internet should remain free and open to encourage innovation, startup business, and free speech. Called the "Internet's First Amendment," this concept is supported by Internet and technology giants like Google and Microsoft.
The amendment expressly warned the telecom industry " not to block, impair, degrade, discriminate against, or interfere with the ability of any person to use a broadband connection to access, use, send, receive, or offer lawful content, applications, or services over the Internet." It was voted down by a vote of 34-22 in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The COPE Act will now move to the full House for a vote, and then to the Senate if passed. The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to propose its own Net Neutrality legislation in the coming weeks.
“The House vote today ignores a groundswell of popular support for Internet freedom,” said Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press. “We hope that the full House will resist the big telecom companies and reject the bill. But we look to the Senate to restore meaningful protections for net neutrality and ensure that the Internet remains open to unlimited economic innovation, civic involvement and free speech.”
Free Press recently spearheaded a campaign through the website SaveTheInternet.com, a nonpartisan initiative that attracted over 250,000 petition signatures and over 500 weblog authors in just a few days. While the initiative is not apolitical, it is diverse along party lines with membership ranging from libertarian Gun Owners of America, to the Consumers Union, to MoveOn.org.
SaveTheInternet.com doesn't view it as a total loss, however. The attention the coalition has generated seems to have made a large impact on the voting. Before the initiative launched, Net Neutrality provisions were shot down 23-8 in the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
"The telcos have spent hundreds of millions of dollars and many years lobbying for their position; we launched four days ago, and have closed a lot of ground," reads the website.
“The Commerce Committee is headed in the opposite direction of where the American public wants to go,” said Columbia Law Professor Timothy Wu, a pro-market advocate and one of the intellectual architects of the Net Neutrality principle. “Most people favor an open and neutral Internet and don’t want Internet gatekeepers taxing and tollboothing innovation.”
Barton and Rush Under Scrutiny
Congressmen Barton and Rush have been put under the microscope by opponents lately for their financial relationships with the telecommunications industry. Both vocal opponents of Net Neutrality provisions in the Commerce Committee, Barton and Rush led the charge in defeating the Markey Amendment.
Many find it no small coincidence that out of Barton's top three campaign contributors, the second and third largest ones are SBC Communications (now AT&T) and Comcast Corporation. Tied for 12th among contributions is the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.
The Chicago Sun-Times points out that Bobby Rush, the only Democrat to sponsor the bill, recently "received a $1 million grant from the charitable arm of SBC/AT&T" for a community organization Rush is associated with called the Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corporation.
To see which committee members voted against the Markey Amendment click here.
About
the Author:
Jason is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. |
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Syndicate: The Premier Event for Content
Syndication Trends - Register
Today! |
A new member of the Weblogs Inc network owned by AOL launched formally launched
today; BloggingStocks.com will focus extensively on eight major companies, including
its parent firm, Time Warner.
Ed's Note: Can AOL find a formula for new blogs that will
match the lucrative success of Engadget? How much do blogs figure in your interest
when following financial information about a company? Tell us more at SyndicationPro.
Along with Time Warner, BloggingStocks will obsess over Apple, eBay, GE, Google, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and Yahoo. Today the bloggers plan to live-blog the Microsoft earnings announcement during its webcast after markets close.
Last October, AOL reportedly paid $25 million for Weblogs Inc. The deal brought co-founder and CEO Jason Calacanis into the AOL family. He wrote about BloggingStocks on his personal blog today:
We've wanted to do a (finance)-related blog since the day we started Weblogs, Inc.
The AOL Money & Finance team has been dying to get into blogs.
So, we decided to launch the BloggingStocks Network together. Today we launch the top eight most widely held stocks by AOL members (i.e. what they have in their portfolios), and we plan on (launching) a couple more in the coming months.
The financial sector does a lot of online advertising, and it looks like BloggingStocks wants to attract that market as it has technology firms for Engadget and auto makers for Autoblog.
Bloggers for the site have taken a more informal tone than most financial sites do; being a blog, that goes with the territory. One post noted that eBay CEO Meg Whitman may be "really feeling the pinch" from her $20 million pay drop to $10 million for 2005.
We're betting Whitman is doing just fine, but we'll look forward to seeing what BloggingStocks has to say about her in the future too.
About
the Author:
Jason is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. |
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Another Way To Introduce Quality Content
As many of you who follow SEO/SEM know, when the search engine representatives
speak about improving rankings, one of the first areas they turn to is quality
content. The thinking is, if your site has quality content and considered an authority,
the amount of quality links (and conversely improved rankings) pointing to your
site should increase. However, what constitutes quality content? Well, take a
look at today's WPW spotlight post and you will find another strong possibility
that could easily fit this bill. In short, let folks know your backstory.
|| Chris||
What's
Your Backstory?
Check out the backstory development
for the rock band Alida. Although the article is about game design, the backstory
idea applies to any business or web site. In contrast, many sites are contextless
bits. Web site elements often make no reference to any other piece.
The logo, stock photography, copywriting and layout all look
good - they may look good together
- they just don't connect to each other. A color theme is not a web site purpose
or strategy. The result is like an episode of TV's lost: lots of content, interesting
characters, but no plot.
A vacuum cleaner can have a backstory a flash drive can have a backstory.
What's your example of a backstory? |
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WebPro Question: |
Where can we get help with a sitemap? We have been able to get help with one for
our forums and store, but I cannot seem to get one working right just for our
main site
- Bluevoodu
Comment
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Meet the Members: |
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send2paul
Rating: Member
Joined: 03.27.05
Location:
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