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Realty Company Sues Craigslist Over User-Generated Ads
Craigslist is reportedly being sued for trademark infringement. A real estate company in Texas called First Call Properties is saying that it began posting ads on Craigslist in March, and that after that, a competitor called AAA Apartment Locating began posting ads using phrases like "first call," "call first," and "call us first." According to MediaPost, First Call named Craigslist, AAA and two individuals as defendants. The case has been sent to Federal Court. ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:22:34 -0400

Google Maps Gets You Ready For The Fourth
We'll admit it from the start; this development doesn't amount to Google's execs weeping while singing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee."  Still, a sort of self-promotional Fourth of July blog post from the search giant may be of interest to you as we head into the weekend. If you haven't figured out how you're going to celebrate the Fourth, you may be able to get some ideas by using Google Maps.  Elaine Filadelfo of the Lat Long Blog Team writes, "If you'll be in DC . . . you ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:51:54 -0400

FriendFeed Offers Real-Time Search
Today FriendFeed has launched a real-time search feature. Now when you perform a search on the service, you will be presented with real-time results as they roll in. That means you don't have to continuously refresh for the latest results. If you're searching a particularly hot topic, you might find it hard to even browse results because they're coming in so quickly. Luckily FriendFeed has acknowledged this. "While we were testing this internally, we could barely keep up with the non-sto...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:14:24 -0400

GoDaddy Makes Twitter Part Of Domain Registration Process
GoDaddy is sometimes hard to take seriously; its marketing department seems to be run by the same bunch of teenage boys in charge of Axe commercials.  But GoDaddy is still the world's largest domain registrar, and it's poised to help Twitter with a new step in its registration process. GoDaddy seems to have made the assumption that anyone wanting to create a website will also want to establish a presence on Twitter.  Adam Ostrow reports that it's actually "integrated Twitter regis...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:50:10 -0400

Google Blog Search Gets New Features and a Gadget
Google has launched several new features for Google Blog Search today. These are: RSS AND Atom feeds, an iGoogle gadget, a "hot queries" features, and a "latest posts" feature. RSS and Atom Feeds Google says the addition of the feeds has been its most requested feature for Blog Search. Users can subscribe to specific topics or stories. There is a "subscribe" heading in the left-hand column on the site, and underneath that are links for Atom and RSS. iGoogle Gad...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:38:45 -0400

Google and Bing Tips for Site Architecture Issues
Google and Bing have both talked about site architecture issues lately on their blogs. Site architecture is an important part of search engine optimization, and crucial to ranking. "You can have great content and a plethora of high quality inbound links from authority sites, but if your site’s structure is flawed or broken, then it will still not achieve the optimal page rank you desire from search engines," says Rick DeJarnette of Bing Webmaster Center. If you have time, and ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:00:21 -0400

The Top MJ Song, Album & Lyric Searches
If you're tired of hearing about Michael Jackson already, I'm sorry, but he's still dominating the news and the web. He's still responsible for two of the trending topics on Twitter at this time (Michael Jackson and MJ). You've probably read about the effect Michael's death has had on the web. It also had a huge impact on people downloading and buying his music. It had a big impact on searches as well. Hitwise has released some data about the top Michael Jackson songs, albums and lyrics that w...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:08:55 -0400

Things You Need to Know About Twitter Security
There has been more than one story in the news recently about Twitter accounts being hijacked. The most recent examples of note include the accounts of Britney Spears and famed blogger/entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki. These issues have highlighted some potential dangers of using the service, or really social networks in general. Have you encountered security issues with Twitter or other social networks? Share with WebProNews readers. Amit Klein, CTO of Trusteer, a security firm, who counts the nation...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:01:28 -0400

7 Behavioral Targeting Privacy Principles
Today a group of key trade groups released comprehensive privacy principles for use and collection of behavioral data in online advertising. These are self-regulatory principles to protect consumer privacy in ad-supported interactive media that will require advertisers and Web sites to clearly inform consumers about data collection practices and enable them to exercise control over that information. Groups involved are the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the Association of...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:10:39 -0400

Hashtags Now Linking in Twitter
Twitter has started linking hashtags in tweets to Twitter searches. A few other Twitterers have started to notice as well: The move makes sense, considering that the hashtag phenomenon has reach tremendous popularity. They often appear in the trending topics. The move also illustrates a greater emphasis being placed on Twitter Search, which only this year has become a focus of the company. It wasn't that long ago that it was added to the Twitter home page, and it is already sparking big inte...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:51:36 -0400

Twitter Unveils New Following and Followers Pages
Now when you click the Following and Followers links from your Twitter account you'll notice some major changes. Twitter has upgraded some of the design of the pages and added multiple new features. What do you think of the new design and features? Tell us. When you click on Following you'll notice a new pull-down menu which includes several options which include: @ message, unfollow them or send them a direct message. Below is an example of the new Following page in the new expanded view......
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:11:02 -0400

Hawaii Governor Vetoes Amazon Tax Law
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has vetoed a bill that would have required online retailers such as Amazon.com and Overstock.com to collect and pay sales tax on their affiliate programs within the state. Earlier this week both Amazon and Overstock had notified affiliates in the state that they would be ending their programs there due to the new tax requirements. Linda Lingle "I am vetoing this bill immediately to help ensure Hawai'i is not economically hurt by legislation that was not well th...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:53:46 -0400

Microsoft Takes A Shot At Real-Time Search
Real-time search may (together with semantic and/or mobile search) be the next big thing; with some individuals putting out scores of public messages per day, we need a way to organize them.  And now, Microsoft's taken a step in the right direction by "bringing a bit of Twitter to Bing." On the Bing Community Search Blog, a post of that title announced, "[W]e're unveiling an initial foray into integrating more real time data into our search results, starting with some of the ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:36:54 -0400

YouTube About to Become Higher Quality
YouTube has doubled the size of what users are now able to upload at a time. Until now, users were only able to upload 1GB, and now they can upload 2GB. This means longer videos with higher resolutions. YouTube product manager Ryan Junee also points out that users can upload large HD files directly from their cameras. Essentially this means, we will start seeing a lot more quality (at least picture-wise) videos on YouTube. Junee shares a couple tips for linking to and embedding HD versions of...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:10:30 -0400

Google Voice: The New Coolest Thing Ever
What would you say if a company asked you if you’d like to have all of your home, work and cell phone calls, all your text messages, all your conference calls, all your voicemail -- pretty much anything you say or type into a phone -- ALL of it -- go thru their 3rd party service? You, like me, would probably say; Thanks but no thanks. More WebProNews Videos But wait. What if they were going to give you a bunch of really cool features and capabilities in the process?  For free? Oh, ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:52:43 -0400

Bing Starts Summer Travel Photo Contest
The photos that rotate through Bing's homepage are, at least from an aesthetic standpoint (we mean no disrespect to the search engineers), one of the best things about the site; it's always a pleasure to stop by and see some interesting scene.  And now artistic types are getting a chance to contribute thanks to the new Bing Photo Contest. The contest is for the most part straightforward - there's a submissions period (ending July 16th), followed by a couple rounds of voting (alternating wit...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:50:51 -0400

Facebook App for iPhone 3.0 98% Done
iPhone 3.0 users waiting for an updated Facebook app apparently won't have to wait too much longer. Its developer Joe Hewitt posted a Facebook note outlining the update's new features, and saying that it is 98% done. Here's a screenshot of the note, listing the features: As you can see from the above image, a lot of people like this. We'll see if the enthusiasm translates to actual use of the product. In other Facebook news, the company is getting ready to roll out some new privacy settings...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:37:23 -0400

Google Makes Language-Based Product Announcements
Today Google made a couple of announcements involving the expansion of offerings into more languages. They've announced that the new optimized SERP pages for iPhones, Android devices, and feature phones are now available in over 60 countries and 38 languages. In addition, the company has announced an advanced translation feature in the newest release of Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. The Mobile SERPs "Whether you have a smartphone or a feature phone, if you have mobile internet ac...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:26:53 -0400

Gmail Adds Drag and Drop Capability
Gmail is consistently rolling out new features for your emailing pleasure. Just a few months ago Gmail added some keyboard shortcuts and some new buttons to make labeling simpler. Today, Gmail is adding even more to their labeling arsenal. In regards to email, are you a label or folder fan? Tell us. New labels location With the upgrade to Gmail you'll notice that your labels have a new home. Instead of your labels having their own section, now they've been grouped with your Inbox, Drafts, C...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:43:49 -0400

Entertainment Sites Attract 55 Million Americans In May
Nearly 55 million Americans visited an entertainment news site in May 2009, representing a 7 percent increase over the previous year, according to a new report from comScore. Online video has also played an increasingly important role for content in the category, with the number of videos viewed growing 53 percent in the past year. "With more than one out of every four U.S Internet users visiting an entertainment news site each month, it's clear that following entertainment and celebrity cu...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:00:12 -0400

Facebook Takes Off In Brazil, India
Facebook's scoring some big gains in the world's second- and fifth-most populous countries.  New stats indicate that the social network's growth rate has started imitating the upright angle of a hockey stick in both India and Brazil. Justin Smith reported, "Facebook nearly doubled in Brazil during May alone.  Its growth has continued in June, and today Facebook has just crossed the 1 million active user mark in Brazil for the first time ever - up 100% in the last 45 days." As...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:35:36 -0400

The New Firefox Has Arrived
Update: Mozilla is showing the real-time downloads of the new Firefox. It should approach a million downloads (worldwide) very soon: Original Article: Mozilla has unleashed version 3.5 of Firefox, which is being described as a "major update." The new version is said to significantly boost performance while supporting a wide variety of web standards. "So much is happening on the Web right now, it's a great time for browsers. Firefox 3.5 brings together the most innovat...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:16:24 -0400

Facebook Talks new Privacy Features
WebProNews just sat in on a conference call and webcast with Facebook, where the social network's upcoming changes to privacy settings were discussed. These were designed to give users more control over what they share with whom. Are you looking forward to privacy changes with Facebook? Share your thoughts. The features were discussed a bit last week, but were elaborated much more in this discussion. The company made clear up front that the changes were not related to talk of a Facebook ...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:09:13 -0400

StumbleUpon Can Get You Big Traffic and Lots of Links
Facebook and Twitter have both been proven to be valuable sources of traffic to many sites, but another potential source that you might be overlooking is StumbleUpon. It is true that in the past, StumbleUpon has been presented as a traffic tool, but the results weren't always what webmasters and marketers had hoped for. StumbleUpon has been changing though. Last year, the company's founders bought it back from eBay and have been busy ever since. They've been listening to users and playing catc...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:53:36 -0400

Boston Globe Rolls Out Digital Newspaper
The Boston Globe announced today the launch of GlobeReader, a new digital version of the newspaper that can be read offline or online. With GlobeReader the content of the Globe is downloaded daily to a subscriber's desktop, laptop or netbook, in a format aimed at resembling the look and feel of the print version of the Boston Globe.  A preview edition is currently available to Globe subscribers. Plans for further expansion are in the works. "GlobeReader is another important step towar...
Publ.Date : Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:28:30 -0400