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The New Face of Google

Google hosted a press conference yesterday in San Francisco to reveal any progress with their search engine. The spotlight was on Google Image Search’s future and how to better harness the site’s 1 billion daily pageviews.

The site’s image search began with 250 million images indexed back in 2001. Now, the site has 10 billion images to choose from. So, Google faced the obstacle of giving a mini makeover to a well established image search engine. They announced plans to refresh the look of Google Image Search and launch a new search ad option.

The new layout of Google image search shows search results side by side, without any text. When you hover your mouse over the image or click the image, then you will see the dimensions, a description, source data and a link. Under all the citing information, there is a “Similar” link. Click this and Google will bring up tons of similar image search results. The page scroll has also changed slightly, close to an infinite scroll but one where you do reach the bottom eventually. I can’t help but notice that the setup looks very similar to Bing’s image search.

This led Google to incorporating a new ad campaign on the image search results’ page. Just like ads on the normal Web search results’ page, the sponsored ads will be along the top of the screen in a yellow-shaded box with related search results.

After nine years, Google is significantly changing its look and feel. Sure the layout may be more like Bing, but the ads will increase Google’s revenue. The changes are already launched, so go check them out here.

Posted by Angela | 0 Comments

Jobs Says: “This is Not Antenna-Gate”

Steve Jobs just got done slapping the wrists of a room half-full of tech news reporters. In the first forty minutes or so, Steve talked about all the alleged problems with the iPhone 4 and gave out some data to prove his point that the problems with the iPhone 4 are not all that awful. The remainder of the conference was made up of a question and answer session.

Jobs was clear that the problems with the iPhone 4 had been blown way out of proportion. He backed up his argument with many different statistics. First he looked at the percentage of all iPhone 4 users who have called AppleCare to complain about antenna/reception issues. That number was less than a half percent. Sounds convincing, except that I wouldn’t call AppleCare with my reception issues with the iPhone 4, I would probably call AT&T. Also, AppleCare deals with complaints and issues with all Apple products. The iPhone 4 takes up a tiny sliver compared to all the other products Apple has on the market.

Jobs went on to say that AT&T’s return rate for iPhone 4s was 1.7%, which is much less than the iPhone 3GS. And he concluded his numbers part of the session with the statement, “The iPhone drops less than 1 additional call per 100,” as compared to the iPhone 3GS.

Steve Jobs, and Apple, decided to solve the reception problem by giving free cases to any iPhone 4 user who wants one. They must apply online to have them delivered and it must be done before September 30. Also, Apple and AT&T will be giving full refunds to anyone who returns their undamaged iPhone within 30 days of purchase.

After hearing Jobs’ opinion, it appears the media is what’s making this issue seem so severe. He kept saying over and over, “We’re not perfect.” Poor Steve loves his customers more than they know. We love you too, Steve!

Posted by Angela | 0 Comments

A New Facebook Scam

There have been many obvious scams going around Facebook lately. These scams usually come in wall posts and are from a friend that you never talk to or talk about some product you’ve never heard of, stuff like that. However, there is a new one taking over that is not so obviously scam-like.

The new scam starts with someone writing on your wall something like, “I am part of the 98.0% of people that are NEVER gonna drink Coca Cola again after this HORRIFIC video,” followed by a link to some obscure website like TruthAboutCoke.us.

The you think, “Wow. I drink five Cokes a day. I should probably watch this video,” so you click on the link (That’s mistake #1). Then you find yourself on a page where it is asking you to forward the video to all your friends (a common occurrence on Facebook), so you click the little link in the corner that says “Skip This Ad,” (Mistake #2). The you are taken to a page with a poll. But this poll asks for all your personal information like login name and password. Giving the “poll” your login information is mistake #3.

I understand that many Facebook add-ons ask for your login information to connect back to your Facebook page. However, you need to make sure that the URL begins with “https://” instead of just “http://.” That extra “s” tells you the page is secure and no one will steal your information.

When they ask you to forward the video to your friends is when you should question if the link is a scam. A link to a video should take you straight to YouTube or some other video viewing site. Then when they ask for your login information, there needs to be giant red flags popping up in your head! That’s when you need to check the URL, see if it is a secure site, and when it’s not, exit immediately.

If you have already become victim to this scam try following these steps provided by the Facebook Security Team,

“If your account has been taken over and used to send spam, you should follow these steps immediately:

Reset your Facebook password. You can do this by clicking the “Forgot your password?” link on the login page or by going to the Account Settings page once logged in

If you can’t reset your password because the email address you use to log in has changed, or if your account has been disabled, contact us.

Make sure you have up-to-date security software on your computer, run a scan, and remove any malicious files. If you don’t do this, and your computer is infected, your account may be taken over again. If you don’t yet have protection for your computer, you can download a complimentary six-month subscription of McAfee security software. Learn more on the Protect Your PC tab.”

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The Secret to a Perfect Social Media Campaign

I hope that anyone who is reading this is familiar with the huge Old Spice social media campaign that ended today. The campaign started when Old Spice aired a new, comical Super Bowl commercial featuring actor Isaiah Mustafa. The ad got tons of attention so Old Spice continued to make comedic commercials and post them on YouTube. All of a sudden, the “Old Spice Guy” started posting personal responses to Tweets and comments from fans two days ago. He answered questions that were Tweeted at him, he extended his gratitude to people who said he was handsome in YouTube comments, he answered completely random Yahoo Answers’ questions, and he even proposed for one of his followers on Twitter.

This little publicity stunt has a specific name, a social media campaign. Pepsi has one as well in the Pepsi Refresh Project, which is giving away $1 million in grants to projects that you submit and vote for. The Old Spice man definitely took the social media campaign to a new level. Using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and various other websites, Old Spice managed to attract over 61 million people to their YouTube ads. Isaiah Mustafa responded quickly to different followers on YouTube without ever shoving Old Spice products in the audience’s face. Each response was hilarious, the perfect  combination of Chuck-Norris-seriousness and off the wall answers that will make anyone laugh. One of the last responses was to the actor’s daughter, Hayley Mustafa.

A social media campaign combines all ports of social media to get attention and tons of hits. Successful social media campaigns get as many people involved on the internet as possible, either by posting direct YouTube videos or by hosting a contest conducted completely online. The point is for as many strangers to see your website (or product) as possible. Humor is a great way to get attention; it obviously worked for the Old Spice guy.

The tricky part is getting one started. You need a solid base of following if you want a significant response. Be active on sites that are relevant to your business or product and make connections within your line of work. Then try to monitor all likely forums where your line of business is relevant. While paying close attention to these websites or forums, comment (appropriately) to get some attention back to your website. At your website, there needs to be something that will really grab the attention of all the traffic coming its way. The Old Spice campaign had new videos popping up (some within minutes of the previous one). Pepsi has the promise of $1 million worth of grants.

It’s a long road to pulling off something as big as the Old Spice social media campaign, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. This campaign definitely makes me view Old Spice differently, and if I weren’t a girl, it would make me want to buy their products. Here is another informative article to help you pull off a social media campaign.

Thanks for the pictures, Social Media Bandwagon.

Posted by Angela | 0 Comments

Facebook Gains Users After “Quit Facebook Da...

TechCrunch came out with an interesting blog article today about new Facebook numbers. The interesting part is not that Facebook has risen past 140 million unique U.S. users in the month of June, but it is the fact that Facebook continues to gain users even after that big movement to quit Facebook on May 31, 2010. Remember that? Well, we do.

All that whining about Facebook security convinced 34,000 Facebook users to cut all ties to the social network. Don’t get me wrong, I realize that Facebook’s security had some major holes. And now I also realize that those hole would have never been patched without the whining of these few Facebook users’ rights advocates. It seems that about 50 million other Facebook users also think the security flaws are cured. TechCrunch reported that an online audience measurement provider, comScore, found that the number of unique U.S. Facebook users increased by 10 million in the month of June.

Wait a second. Didn’t we just say there was a quit Facebook campaign and yet now we’re hearing that Facebook actually increased its numbers in the U.S.?

Apparently the new privacy controls worked for Facebook’s American audience and convinced more of them to join the social media giant. The 10 million users increase was reported for the month of June, while “Quit Facebook Day” was scheduled for May 31st. I certainly hope that those 34,000 users who went through with deleting their Facebook accounts didn’t give into Facebook’s security updates in just a month.

USA Today reports that the spike in Facebook interest is probably due to its increasing number of mobile users. 150 million people in the U.S. now call themselves Facebook users. Worldwide, the number of Facebook users is a whopping 500 million.

I have to conclude that, while there was so much chatter about Facebook lacking significant security, people still love Facebook. They love connecting with old high school buddies, relatives, former teachers, and even some complete strangers. I also have a feeling that users are going to remain loyal to Facebook for a long time. Unless someone can show us a better way to connect with our teen-age buddies and grandparents in the same place, and manage to convince the 500 million Facebook users to ditch that “old” system of connecting, it’s not going to be replaced until teleporting becomes available in every household.

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Data Backups for your Information in the Cloud

Businesses are continually growing more and more involved in social media and online marketing. Many businesses now have a WordPress blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook account, Gmail, Google Docs, etc, and all without any access to old information shared on these different portals.  Backupify has achieved a way to backup all your online information in every corner of the web.

Backupify provides data protection for most of the big name social media sites and Google Apps. With this service, you can recall an old Twitter direct message or an old blog article on Blogger that you accidentally deleted. Backed up data can either be downloaded to your PC by an IT Administrators or you can access stored data on the web. If you operate your business with Google Apps, Backupify says you can use its software to backup all your business’s information in “Gmail, Google Docs, Contacts, Calendar, and Sites for your entire domain.”

For an example of social media backups, the software will store the last thirty days worth of your Facebook status updates, comments, activity, et cetera. Not only on Facebook, Backupify allows you to choose from a huge pool of social media sites to be backed up. Once you have selected what social media sites you want to backup, you have to give Backupify all your account information (username, password, etc.) for backing up to begin. Once you have configured your accounts, Backupify will provide you with access to past data in PDF form.

Backupify for Google Apps users is priced at three levels. The most basic level being only $10 per month and the premium being $60 per month. The differences between plans are storage space provided and number of accounts Backupify will support. They will also allow you to try a 30 day free trial without any promise to purchase later.

For social medial and personal accounts Backupify has three different plans. The basic version of Backupify is always free but only grants support for one account and only provides 2GB of storage. The next level up, the Plus plan, will support 5 accounts with 10GB of storage for $40 per year. The top level, premium level, will support unlimited number of accounts and provides 25GB of storage for $60 per year. For all kinds of legal cases or disaster recovery, Backupify is the perfect precaution that can be taken.