Do Search Engines (Google) “Harm Minority Owned Businesses”?

Yesterday WatchdogWatch.org, which monitors NGOs (”watchdogs”) found and blogged about a filing with the FCC in the larger context of its proceedings on net neutrality. The filing is by an organization representing minority owned media and business. The issue raised is whether the concept of “net neutrality” should be expanded to include search engines and [...]

….

Google’s Eric Schmidt Chronicles Newspapers’ Decline As He Offers To Help

Newspaper reader Eric Schmidt, who happens to be Google’s CEO, has spoken frequently about his reverence for news journalism and the important role it plays in society. He and his organization have worked with and reached out to publishers to find ways to promote and expose their content online. Yet despite these overtures many newspaper [...]

….

Why SEO Training Should Be An Organizational Imperative

Today I will make a case that nearly every organization should offer seo training to anyone who even remotely touches the company’s web site, and why every senior manager should also be encouraged to attend. Failure to train people can lead to serious problems, with a frightful waste of time, blown schedules, wasted expenditure [...]

….

Why Your SEO Is Underperforming – And You Are Underpaid

Winning the natural search game starts with winning resources. Learn how to get your organization to properly value natural search using cutting edge metrics that lead to much more powerful business conversations – and the growth your CEO is looking for. Who knows, you might also get a raise.

….

SPONSOR MESSAGE: Unica NetInsight Helps Foxwoods Reduce Web Analytics Costs

By 2006, Foxwoods had already been utilizing web analytics for years. However, Foxwoods’ IS organization was dissatisfied with both the cost and flexibility of its existing tools.
Using NetInsight, Foxwoods empowers its marketers to make smarter decisions while slashing the costs of licensing, hardware, and maintenance.

….

Organizing Your PPC Account For Maximum Success

Account organization is the first and most important step in the optimization process – it’s the foundation for success.

….

Switzerland’s Concerned Google’s Street View Invades Privacy of Tax Evaders Citizens

While Google’s Street View is mostly well received, there are still plenty of groups and countries that claim it’s an invasion of privacy.

You can add Switzerland to that list.

Poor Switzerland. It’s bad enough that it can no longer promise US tax evaders customers complete anonymity, now there’s a chance the faces of those customers–and Swiss citizens–could wind-up plastered on Google’s maps.

Less than one week after the launch of Street View, Hans-Peter Thur, Switzerland’s federal data protection and information commissioner (FDPIC) has called for the immediate removal of the feature.

As always, Google is “surprised” at the move…

“We have been engaged in constructive dialogue with the organization ahead of [last] week’s launch to demonstrate how we protect people’s privacy on Street View. And we’re ready to do so again or to answer any additional questions.”

Then, for good measure, Google tries to undermine the FDPIC’s demands with this little factoid:

“Since launching last week we have seen an 80% increase in maps usage, proving how popular this tool is with Swiss people.”

Or, proving that the Swiss are checking to make sure they weren’t caught picking their nose on camera!

(via)

YouTube Videos Getting Off-Site Overlay Links

Although the latest planned feature for YouTube looks like an ad, for once YouTube’s rolling out something somewhat noteworthy that’s not part of its continue search for revenues. The feature? Overlays, like InVideo ads, that feature off-site links.

As TechCrunch reports, “you probably thought it was already out there.” But to-date, YouTube hasn’t allowed any links embedded in its videos other than a.) ads or b.) links to other YouTube videos. If you needed to link to your website, blog, Twitter profile, etc., you had to do it in the right-hand sidebar, where it would be largely ignored.

YouTube ran a similar promotion in March for charity:water. This video from the organization features the overlay:

The move is unique in that this is the first non-advertising off-site links YouTube has allowed. However, the program will only be open to YouTube’s advertisers participating in the CPC Promoted Videos program. TechCrunch says the program is launching today.

What do you think? Will this result in more people leaving YouTube—or more people signing up as Promoted Video advertisers?