Web 2.0: Social Networking Sites Change Course

Social networking sites have become not only popular among internet users, but also popular within the internet technology industry. Where Murdoch purchases MySpace, the government uses YouTube to communicate messages and now, according to Cisco and other industry professionals, social networking will start to become more specialized.

Cisco Systems announced Monday it's purchase of Tribe.net, a nearly obscure internet community. Cisco sees the future of social networking sites to be online social networks:

• Specific to interests, company, industry or specialized group
• Users can control their own reality/world
• Companies will start to adopt the idea

Obama even has his own social networking website for his presidential campaign bringing in those who are rooting for his presidency can network, communicate, share ideas, similar to MySpace.

The difference between the future of social networking sites and MySpace is that instead of bringing users together, who have absolutely nothing in common, it is bringing users together who have very specific things in common. Making the online social networking system not only useful, marketable and niche related, but almost essential to any group, organization, business or company.

Read the full story here: Social Networking Next Fase Includes Cisco

Dear MySpace, Enhance Our Experience, Not Your Advertising Dollar.

MySpace continues to grow, moving to China, spanning across all genres of interests and making the most of the dollar amount its worth. Now MySpace musicians can sell their music on MySpace through their music store, wow, that's great!

Honestly, MySpace, I was thinking that your messy advertising and slow connection were just a phase. But, I'm beginning to think you really don't care about how I feel. I read recently that Murdoch is going to start profiling each MySpace user based on their interests, then he's going to try and sell them something! If you're a teenage girl who loves Fall Out Boy, they'll try and sell you Panic! at the Disco's new album. Don't believe me? Read that super news at This Forbes.com article

That's all well and good, I know you have to make money too, I wouldn't want your dear wife going without food and all...But there are some things that I would like before you start bombarding me with ads and up-sells while I'm simply trying to network with friends, enemies and frenemies.

1. Customizable MySpace page, similar to Blogger's widget templates. I don't want to go to some 3rd party, hacked MySpace layout website, give them my e-mail address and get 50 viruses on my computer. Also, what if I don't know HTML at all? I'm just asking for something small built in...Background color? Font? Image inputting into my page EASILY!?

2. Prettier, customizable blog area. Your blog area right now is pretty sad, sorry to say. Its more like posting announcements on my page than an actual, personalized blog.

3. Less SPAM groups. Is there any way you could be a little pickier when it comes to MySpace groups? I think you have about a million of them, half of which are something like, "for only $10 per month you could be a millionaire!" Really? Oh, yea why didn't I think of that earlier!?

4. Less spam users, bulletins EVERYWHERE basically. I get at least two MySpace friend requests from blatant spammers. Don't' get me wrong, its a free site and open for everyone, but why don't you use that creative advertising dollar mind of yours to come up with a way to filter this shit out?

5. Load up time decrease. Sometimes I log in quickly and easily. Other times I can't log in at all! "Oops! Myspace encountered a problem, try again later!" I get that message one out of every 7 times I try to log in. Seriously, this can't be all that difficult.

6. Have you heard of Web 2.0? You sure know how to make changes when it comes to adding new advertising pop-ups every time I log in, on the front page, within every page, all over the music I'm trying to listen to and search through. Can you do something with your crummy, hurts my eyes, icky to look at layout please?

7. Don't I deserve it? Why don't you start treating your users, the way they deserve to be treated. After all, without them, you advertising dollar would be worth an advertising six pence.

With Love,

Every MySpace User

P.S. We aren't stupid, I guess that's what you think? Adding more advertising means we'll just click on it more, right? Like monkeys we can't tell the difference? We don't need functionality, ease and aesthetically appealing sites, we don't even understand what that means!

ISECOM: Top Ten Feared Illegal Computer Activity of 2007

ISECOM: The Institute of Security and Open Methodologies

ISECOM released a list of the Top Ten Real Computer Crimes of 2007, geared towards the general public...The not-so-nerdy, not-so-technical group of individuals who also use their computer.

Humorous as it is, the funny part about this Top Ten List of Computer Crimes is that it holds a lot of water, and is probably true! I guess all humor brings light to idiotic truths about the human race in some way shape or form, that's what makes it so funny to those who know better.

Of course, I don't want to steal the whole article, the witty author does deserve credit, but no harm in pulling my favorites from the list, in case you don't have time to read them all :)

"2. You will misplace, lose, over-write, and delete documents probably accidentally but you really can't remember if you really had that document saved or not and maybe it's this one here but you don't know because when you try to open it you get a CRC error and you'll realize that nobody warned you that the ever-decreasing life of these huge hard-drives you can now buy have fallen to just under 2 years."

I really enjoyed this excerpt. I think it's so funny when one of those members "general public" tell me they have deleted either:

1. All of their Outlook E-Mail
2. A Folder in their "My Documents"
3. All their pictures
4. Passwords for their Hotmail, Yahoo, (insert other free internet E-Mail Accounts) E-Mail Account...This one is really good, they think they'll NEVER be able to check their mail again!

I always say, and they never believe,

"It's on your computer, it hasn't been deleted into oblivion forever, it's just been misplaced."

In case you were wondering, Outlook E-Mails, deleted or not, are always saved or archived in .pst files. Just browse your hard drive for the extension. But, if your Outlook is Compacting your E-Mails and you close out your computer or the Outlook program before it finishes. Sometimes the files will be damaged, lost or...yes...deleted into oblivion. Just let your E-Mails compact, it won't destroy your E-Mail world, promise.

While we're on the subject, a way to avoid having your E-Mails collapse, or rather placed into non-existent directories, or damaged, etc. is to not have 4 billion E-Mails in any one folder. Separate your Inbox into months, topics whatever. Same with sent mail if it's large. Just a tip if you've had that problem!

Alright, on to more funnies...

"4. You'll get spyware and adware and everything else just from browsing distant Korean servers for torrents, swapping files with "friends" you just met on IM, and accepting SMSes from unknown people. You may also get chlamydia or worse if you troll seedy places and accept sexual invitations with as many unknown people as you do electronically so no surprises there."

Alright, not so funny. I actually did get spyware on my computer while searching for a keygen code for bootlegged CS2. I had it coming, I know. But for all of the copyright Nazis out there, I ended up buying the program and spending 3 weeks trying to fix my computer. :(

"5. If your phone is also a computer or your TV is also a computer or your oven is also a computer and they're running some open networking protocol like Bluetooth all the time which you never read the manual on how to shut it off, expect that bad people are happy to do bad things to them just like if you leave kids running around in public places unattended then bad people may do bad things to them as well with the odds basically being the same for all of it all happening."

This is just cute, funny and true. But, really, I don't think any of the media crazed youth read manuals anymore. We just inherently know how to use everything!

Here's the Link to the original article to read the rest:

ISECOM Top Ten Real Computer Crimes for 2007 and Beyond

Google's New Customizable Search Tools

Google has introduced a new facet of web search convenience within their search engine platform: Customizable Search Tools. Introduced to the public on Oct. 23, this internet phenomena will allow web publishers, web developers and web operators to enhance their web search by providing options to choose specific websites that the search engine can analyze. Here's how it works: there is a tracking system that will monitor the websites that you visit, how long you spent on these websites, how many pages you viewed from a particular domain, and what links you clicked on within the website. After this users will tailor their history so that it consists of only the websites they found particularly helpful, so next time they use the search engine, only the sites they chose are going to be analyzed. Search customization is not a brand new idea as sites like Eurekster are using customization options within their search engines. But, with Google jumping the bandwagon, it is definitely going to have more of an effect on user experience and the way we think about website promotion, marketing and optimization.

By allowing site developers to choose websites that they know are reliable and pertinent, this Google search engine model will not bring up sites that offer less relevant information, regardless of the keyword density or popularity. The operator can use their own knowledge and research to choose the best available websites for their target audience and topic. In addition to site choice, it also allows priority filtering so that some of the chosen websites will receive higher credibility within the search results than others. The options are going to be available to all google search users, not just the web operators/developers, so that viewers can hand select websites and filter options that coincide with the information they are searching for via the web.

Google made a great leap into the idea of user customization for search results. It will certainly provide them with a competitive edge (not that Google needed it!) But, what does this mean for the future of web marketing and web promotion? Those who felt the ease and ability to get your website ranked just by coughing up some cash, and hiring specialists, might be in for a wake up call; Google's “customized search” has hit the ground, and time will tell how fast it’s running.

Web marketing has evolved in many ways, and over many years; by adjusting with the growing popularity of internet businesses, advertising on the web, and the abundance of users who frequent community websites such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com. Information on how to promote websites is widely available and used by anyone who owns real estate on the internet. This has led to the demoralization of search engines; site owners with enough money can promote using Google Adwords, and even if the information on their website is not as viable as other web sources, they might be higher up in the search results. Sites like Digg.com and Blinkit.com are also used to promote search results and click ratings. Google uses a specific formula to analyze website traffic, the amount of clicks and visits a site gets, the amount of links pointing to the site, the amount of relevant and highly regarded links on the site, keyword density and much more.
Google's pagerank formula looks something like this:

PR(A) = (1-d) + d(PR(t1)/C(t1) + ... + PR(tn)/C(tn))

An explanation of google's page rank formula

Web marketers analyze these formulas so that they can gain every inch of availability and recognition on the search engines. But, reverse engineering of the Google formula, has led to less reliable search engine results.

Marketing for search engines (SEO) is not the only way to promote a website. But, it is by the far the most effective. Even when individuals utilize E-zines, bookmark sites, or other content specific link initiatives, the purpose is mostly to attract the search engines with more outside links. They do provide some traffic due to readership and viewers, but this boost is merely a drop of rain on the ocean to the traffic that popular search engines like Google and Yahoo provide.

It is more difficult to sell your website to a person than simply to adhere to a pagerank formula . Those choosing the custom options will evaluate your site, and decide if it’s worth their search results. In the future, keyword density might not even matter! Information, relevance, raw entertainment, cold hard facts: these things will enhance your popularity among the “customized” searches. Call it what you want, disregard it as simply a new flavor of the Google smorgasbord. But, I see the evolution of web marketing, survival of the fittest, Darwin’s natural selection process evident in the world of the web.

Here are some tips to promote your site, without the help of SEO (search engine optimization.) Whether or not search customization materializes into the accepted method of searching while on the web, these tips are still very helpful.

1. Think of REAL marketing strategies. Forget what you’ve learned about web marketing, and focus on true blue people marketing techniques. Who is your target audience? Why should they find your site worth visiting? What SPECIFIC information are they looking for? Analyze the answers to these questions and adjust your website accordingly.

2. Easy and intuitive navigation. Many website developers/marketers sacrifice their user’s experience, so that “keywords” are in the right place, content is full of links, static, empty and consists of dysfunctional link navigation.



If a user cannot figure out HOW to find the info they’re looking for, and instead feel bombarded by useless content and links, they will not bother to come back to your site. Draft up some user tests, and have friends, colleagues or members of your target audience go on your website and answer the questions on usability. For ex.:

Question: Try to find information on “so-and-so.” How easy was it to attain this information? Did you get enough information regarding “so-and-so?”

You may need something more specific to your company, but here is a link to some information on conducting a usability test:

Article on one day usability test

3. Aesthetic appeal. This does not mean you need to higher a flash designer and artist to reinvent the Mona Lisa of all websites. In fact, the more simple and “clean” your site looks the better. Do some research on proper web color combinations, and make sure the text is easy to read, among other design techniques.

Here is a great resource for web color combinations:

Proper Web Color Combinations

4. Web 2.0. What is that you ask? It is becoming a new standard among web professionals, and is less a specific regime of task oriented procedures, and more a philosophy. It will attract users because it is a modern look at what good web design and usability really is, and provides insight as to promotion as well. The idea behind Web 2.0 still involves SEO, but focuses more on natural ways of achieving optimization.

Here is a link to a more specific definition:

Web 2.0-Oreilly definition

Here is a link to a more executive route to achieving Web 2.0 standards

Web 2.0 methods

Hopefully these tips are helpful, and again, only time will tell how SEO will evolve to please customizable searches.