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Search Rank Easy to Manipulate

An interview with a Search Engine Optimzer company - that itself doesn't rank 1st ... but guarantees others ?!! Rankings change every time Google tweaks ... but it seems companies still think it's good money to invest!

Wired News: Search Rank Easy to Manipulate

"'The search engines created the monster,' he said. 'It only exists because Google's algorithm places a lot of emphasis on link popularity.'

PageRank, the software at the heart of Google's technology, may also be its Achilles' heel. For every search, it 'performs an objective measurement of the importance of web pages by solving an equation of more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms.' In reality, Google relies mostly on two criteria: The number of sites that link to yours and, to a lesser degree, the content of your page as it relates to the keywords selected. (For example, the number of times the words appear on that page).

As the company explains: 'PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves 'important' weigh more heavily and help to make other pages 'important.''

That means that links have value. They are a type of currency, and the more links to your site you can attract, the better your chances of cracking the top 10 of results. This is especially important because about 90 percent of searchers looking to shop rarely venture past the first page."

Poynter Online - The Next Big Thing in Online Type

High time the fonts on the Windows systems get updated for clearer view ...

Poynter Online - The Next Big Thing in Online Type

"The Next Big Thing in Online Type

By Anne Van Wagener (more by author)
Design Editor / Adjunct Faculty

Bill Gates wants computer users, well, Microsoft users, to have a more enjoyable on-screen reading experience -- so much so that he made improving reading on the screen one of his top five priorities.

Beginning in 2006, Microsoft says it will ship with its operating system and other software products six brand new typefaces created especially for extended on-screen reading. ..."

Google starts a centralized place for code and APIs ...

Google Code

"Welcome to Google Code, Google's place for Open Source software."

Armstrong 'little bit behind' training for Tour

Every year they write stories about Lance and then he wins ... this year it'll be no different.

SI.com - More Sports - Armstrong 'little bit behind' training for Tour - Tuesday March 15, 2005 3:28PM

"PARIS (AP) -- Lance Armstrong acknowledged Tuesday he is behind schedule in his preparation for a seventh straight Tour de France title and he may have made a mistake by competing in the recent weather-affected Paris-Nice cycle race.

Armstrong, in Paris to collect a Sports Academy Trophy at the foreign ministry in recognition of his sixth straight Tour win last summer, said he hopes to recover his form in time for July's Tour.

'I'm going to try and get in shape. I have to admit I'm a little bit behind, more than I would normally be,' Armstrong said. 'I picked Paris-Nice for a lot of reasons that were decided before. Perhaps I shouldn't have started with a race like Paris-Nice."

"It was a very hard, fast, intense race with bad weather."

Some stages at the Paris-Nice were shortened severely due to heavy snowfall, meaning Armstrong -- who eventually pulled out with a sore throat -- had little chance to accumulate distance on his bike, a crucial part of his preparation.

"The body quickly wore down and got worse. Then I got sick. Next thing you know I go home," Armstrong said. "When you consider race conditions, the thing you can't emulate in training is the speed. When you shorten the stages by two-thirds the speed goes up and the time goes down. I was not ready for that."

However, nothing will stop him from trying to win his seventh Tour "other than injury or illness or some other external problem."

"I don't know that I'll win but I'll be on the start line," he said.

Upon receiving the Trophee de L'Academie des Sports, awarded to the athlete with the best achievement the previous year, Armstrong said he was humbled.

"I have to say it is an honor to be here," Armstrong said. "I don't normally get too choked up about things like this normally but this is special. Winning six Tours is something beyond my comprehension."

The American, wearing a sharp Ralph Lauren suit and accompanied by rock star girlfriend Sheryl Crow, also commented on the 2012 Olympic bid, reaffirming his love for New York -- and also his fondness for Paris.

"As an American my heart has to be with New York City, and I have to support the bid for New York City," he said. "But you also have to be fair and say Paris has a good bid. Are they deserving cities for the Olympic Games? Absolutely. They're great cities, legendary cities, historical cities.

"Perhaps I wasn't strong enough when I said my vote was for New York City. Since it wasn't strong enough they said 'He's a traitor. He's a weasel."'

Armstrong said he was upset by the media outcry and took a swipe at some of the publications that rose against him.

"It's the first time I've ever been called un-American. So, I tried to resolve it. I spoke to the city (New York), to the (New York 2012) organizing committee," Armstrong said. "I sent messages to the mayor. It was amazing how a one-minute interview became worldwide news.

"Some of the tabloid papers, they let it rip. They took the gloves off. But c'est la vie, as they say."

Centarsia :: A mosaic of photos

:: Centarsia :: A mosaic of photos

"Centarsia is a program that makes photo-mosaics out of your pictures. It was designed primarily for the home digital camera user, but it can also create high-resolution images suitable for professional applications. "

Microsoft Preparing Challenge to Google and Yahoo for Ads

As more and more in-line text-based ads become common, the click-thru rate is going to fall - just like it did for the banner ads - and the companies will be forced to find something different and more intrusive - like Salon ultra-mercial ads - mandatory viewing before content is shown.

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Microsoft Preparing Challenge to Google and Yahoo for Ads
By JOHN MARKOFF

Microsoft is expected to offer a first look today at some features of a new advertising system on the MSN search engine, part of the company's effort to match the success of Google in the paid Internet search business.

The service, called MSN adCenter, is yet to be tested, but executives say it could allow Microsoft to catch up to the top two Web search engines, Google and Yahoo, in search-based advertising by creating a system with broader scope.

The executives said the MSN adCenter software would appeal to advertisers by giving them the ability to fine-tune their purchases based on audience demographics. For example, on a search results page, men might be shown ads different from those shown to women.

Microsoft now relies on the Overture service owned by Yahoo to place text advertisements on the results pages of the MSN search service.

The company says it generates about $1.5 billion annually from Internet advertising, though it does not publicly disclose how much of that revenue comes from paid searches on MSN ...

Thought for the day: sure-fire formula

I can't give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time. - Herbert Bayard Swope

Yahoo! 360° - Home

Better late than never ... Yahoo will enter blogging soon ...

Yahoo! 360° - Home

"Yahoo! 360° is coming soon."
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Blog
Create your own blog or online journal. Share thoughts, ideas, experiences, pictures.
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Mobile
Send text and photos from your mobile phone to your blog.
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Photos
Let your friends view your Yahoo! Photos albums.
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Lists
Recommend books, music, movies, TV shows, and more.
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Blast
Share a quick communication your friends can reply to -- an idea, attitude, question, or web link.
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LAUNCHcast Station
Let your friends listen to your Yahoo! Music station.
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Reviews
Rate and review local restaurants and businesses.

Armstrong wins prestigious French award

Six times consecutive Tour de France champion deserves the honor ....

Armstrong wins prestigious French award

"Armstrong wins prestigious French award

Six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong was awarded France's Sports Academy Trophy on Tuesday in a ceremony at the foreign ministry in Paris.

Armstrong was presented with the Trophee de L'Academie des Sports for his sporting exploits in 2004, when he won a record sixth straight Tour, one more than five-time winners Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Jacques Anquetil.

Armstrong joins other sporting greats like Formula One champion Michael Schumacher and Brazilian national team hero Ronaldo, who previously won the award given to the male or female athlete with the best individual achievement over the previous year ...."

The New York Times > Business > World Business > Digital Domain: How the iPod Ran Circles Around the Walkman

Sony's music division and hardware division fought and lost the war to iPod ... it'll be nearly impossible for Sony to catch up with Apple. When was the last time you heard someone excited about NW-E50x or the NW-40x? (these are Sony's answer to the iPod shuffle).

The New York Times > Business > World Business > Digital Domain: How the iPod Ran Circles Around the Walkman: "How the iPod Ran Circles Around the Walkman
By RANDALL STROSS

Published: March 13, 2005

SYNERGY AND OTHER LIES' would be a good first reading assignment for Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's new chief executive, to be followed by 'The Synergy Myth.' Then Sir Howard should recognize that the Sony he inherits is constitutionally incapable of making one (electronics) plus one (entertainment) equal three.

Both books were written by Harold Geneen, the number cruncher who directed International Telephone and Telegraph during its heyday in the 1960's. He engineered 350 mergers and acquisitions, which brought such names as Hartford, Avis, Sheraton and Madison Square Garden under one roof. Mr. Geneen, however, harbored no illusions that ITT's individual components could be coordinated in mutually beneficial ways. Each had to make its numbers wholly on its own."