SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 22, 2008

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Search Biz: MSFT Layoff Rumors, Google Chrome Complicates Mozilla Relationship & More
  There are several gloom-and-doom reports in circulation today about Google, Microsoft, Web 2.0, and the entire Internet sector, for that matter — not exactly how you’d like to start out a holiday week, but so be it. Let’s get started, shall we? First up, we’ll hit the rumor mill. The Mini-Microsoft blog is getting and posting a lot of comments purportedly left by Microsoft employees who are being warned/told that job cuts are coming on January 15, 2009. Some of the comments are just things heard on the grapevine, while others are from people specifically told in meetings that they have “four weeks left.” The blog appears to be written by a MSFT employee, and most of the comments are pretty obviously from company employees. If the rumors turn out to be true, Microsoft would be following in the footsteps of Yahoo, who just did a big round of layoffs earlier this month, and Google’s cutbacks of its contractor workforce.
• Google Adds Style Options To Image Search, Search History Found In Search Suggestions, & Google Reader Blog Adds “What’s Hot”
  It has been an active weekend for Google. Google has added additional search options to Google Image Search. Google has also introduced a “What’s Hot” area to Google Reader Blog. Finally, Google is testing showing search history within Google search suggestions.
• Search Engine Land’s New Look
  Search Engine Land turned two years old this month. In that time, our content has blossomed. We run nearly 20 columns on search marketing issues, routinely post multiple brief items per day about breaking search news along with regular long, in-depth analysis or “How To” stories. Our old design didn’t serve to present this content well. So today, we present a fresh new face to Search Engine Land. Below, an introduction to the new design along with new features, including a return to allowing comments directly within our stories plus a new “Members Only” section — and a special request to our regular readers to consider becoming premium members.

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Virtual Scrollbar for Google Cache, Google Operating System

Business Issues

• YouTube’s Music Videos: Popular, Money-Losing. For Now., AllThingsD
• Baidu Opens R&D Center In Shanghai, China Tech News
• Google disguises capitalism as civil rights, The Register
• Is the honeymoon really over for Google?, Seattle Times Newspaper
• Lawsuit Over Google Ads for Mobile Services Dismissed Per 230–Goddard v. Google, Eric Goldman

Local, Maps & Mobile

• AT&T Acquires YP.com URL, Screenwerk
• Google Maps Highlights Top Contributors, Google Operating System
• New Improved Ancient Rome 3D, Google Earth Blog
• New Version of 3DVia = Easy 3D Model Publishing in Virtual Earth, Virtual Earth, An Evangelist’s Blog
• Google Search Not Working For Some On Mobile Safari (iPhone), Search Engine Roundtable
• Google stuffs staffers’ stockings with the G1, News.com
• Local Search Queries on the Rise, Small Business SEM
• Snow conditions of Alpine skiing resorts in Google Earth, Google LatLong

Link Building

• How to Build Links with Lists, Search Engine Journal

Paid Search & Contextual

• adCenter Study: SEM Potential Unrealized by Most SMBs, adCenter Blog for Advertisers
• Vulcan Golf v. Google Class Certification Denied, Eric Goldman
• AdWords Budget Settings and the Impact on Conversions, PPC Discussions
• Google AdSense Hiccup Reported on December 19, Search Engine Roundtable
• Trouble with Google Search Partners Metrics, SEO.com

Searching

• DMOZ Year In Review, DMOZ Blog
• Multi-lingual News Search Engine RedTram, AltSearchEngines
• Google Blog Search Fixes Link Issue But Asks For Additional Help, Search Engine Roundtable
• The Return of Garbitrage (Click Arbitrage SEM), SEO Book

SEM Industry

• Eric Enge interviews Eric Ward, Stone Temple
• Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: December 21, 2008, Search Engine Roundtable
• 2008 Holiday Season Logos From Google & Search Engine Roundtable, Search Engine Roundtable
• Diane Aull: Search Blogger of the Day, The SEO Scoop
• Revisiting My 2008 Search Predictions, Search Engine Watch

SEO & SEM

• The Huffington Post Slammed for Content Theft, Wired
• Are You Advertising on Your Most Profitable Search Results Yet?, SEO Book
• Can a Broken Sitemap Hurt You?, Search Engine Guide
• Christmas & Holiday 2008 Google PageRank Update?, Search Engine Roundtable
• How Navigation Peekaboo Converts SEO Traffic Better, seoroi.com
• Quick and easy tips for the holiday rush, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog
• SEO Site Structure 101, Part 1, Search Engine Watch
• The Evolution of Search Results and What It Means for Search Marketers, SEOmoz

Social Media

• A Wrench in Silicon Valley’s Wealth Machine, BusinessWeek
• Don’t Rush Into Social Media, Search Engine Guide
• MySpace v. Facebook Advertising Showdown. Which Platform Is Better?, TechCrunch
• 8 Reasons You Need Social Media Marketing in 2009, Stuntdubl
• How To Internationalize Google Gadgets, SEOish
• Korea’s Twitter gets acquired by Naver, Web 2.0 Asia

Video, Music & Image Search

• On the Net: Hulu is Web site of the year, Washington Post
• The Ups and Downs of Music Licensing for YouTube, YouTube Blog
• YouTube Unveils Unique View Counts. Now You Can Tell If Your Mom Is Your Only Fan, TechCrunch

Web Analytics

• Analytics, AdWords, and Big Spenders, Google Analytics Blog
• FeedBurner subscription show-off revisited, Yoast

Other Items

• Chief Of The Year: Amazon CTO Werner Vogels, InformationWeek
• China blocks Internet access to New York Times, Yahoo! News

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