SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 8, 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 Engine Land Partners With Federated Media & The Future Of Search Series
  I’m happy to formally announce that Search Engine Land has joined John Battelle’s Federated Media advertising network. Yes, we’re still selling our own advertising directly (and our team is more than happy to help!). Yes, we’re still doing our own thing editorially and owned by our parent, Third Door Media….
• Microsoft’s Facebook Ad Deal Doesn’t Include Search
  Wondering why Microsoft’s search isn’t being promoted on Facebook? Greg Sterling has noted this odd absence a couple of times, such as in his article today on a possible Microsoft purchase of Facebook. Others have as well. The answer is simple. Last year’s big Microsoft-Facebook ad deal didn’t include search….
• Microsoft & Facebook Do Mating Dance As Microsoft Seeks Alternatives To Yahoo; Google Now Uncertain On Yahoo?
  At one point or another, most of the big online media companies have talked about buying Facebook. Yahoo is rumored to have made an early offer of almost $1 billion for the company, which was (obviously) turned down. But as the MicroHoo discussions appeared to be deteriorating, Microsoft apparently made…
• The Most Powerful SEO Tactic: Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
  The most important thing you can do when talking to an SEO client (be it your boss in your company, or a different company you consult for) is to learn how to explain SEO in the simplest terms possible. When you are dealing with a non-SEO type, use the 30…
• A Small Business Marketing Success Story: Avante Gardens
  There’s a battle going on in the floral industry, and many small, independent florists are losing. Like other small businesses, they don’t have the time or knowledge to keep up with the latest marketing trends and tactics. But there are other challenges, too: Way back in 1998, the FTC…
• Convertibles & Croatia: Google Thinks They Go Together
  Check this out, a search on jennifer convertibles in Google shows for Embassy of the Republic of Croatia to the USA sporting a Jennifer Convertibles stock quote feature. Yes, Google thinks that Convertibles & Croatia are the same thing, in a sense. Both the main Jennifer Convertibles result has a…
• Internet Archive Wins Fight Against Secret FBI Request For Records
  When in comes to search privacy, one of the biggest worries in my book has been the US government’s ability under the Patriot Act to make secret requests for information that no one can know about. Last year this was ruled unconstitutional by one judge. Today, news is out about…
• Yahoo Glue Pages Launches In India
  Yahoo has launched Glue Pages Beta in Yahoo India. Glue Pages are specialized pages that contain an enhanced visual search result page, for select search queries. The search results that trigger the special “Glue Pages” run across searches in health, sports, entertainment, travel, technology, and finance categories. The Glue…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Yahoo e-mail accounts compromised for spammers’ use, News.com
• Google Translate Becomes the Best Free Online Translator, Google Operating System
• Increase Font Size in Google Reader, Google Operating System
• Changes to Google Translate, Google Blogoscoped
• Google Apps extends protection to web surfing and remote workers, Google
• Google Web Security for Enterprise now protects roaming users, Official Google Enterprise Blog
• Google’s Office Filter Program, Google Blogoscoped
• Reader, Can I Have A Lens With That Please?, Official Google Reader Blog
• SearchMonkey Launch Party, Yahoo Search Blog

Business Issues

• Microsoft’s Brand Confusion Runs Deep, Read/Write Web
• Google denies staff ‘brain drain’, BBC NEWS
• Google faces human rights votes, BBC NEWS
• Is Flickr Worth $4-Billion?, Mark Evans
• Yahoo employees staying put for now, CNN Money

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Plastic bag conquers Google Street View, News.com
• Explore Places in Google Maps, Google Operating System
• Imagery for Myanmar (Burma), Google LatLong
• Google Maps: Earthlink Listings now gone, Mike Blumenthal
• Street View Sabotage! [Updated], Google Sightseeing

Link Building

• How Much Would You Pay For a Link?, Search Engine Journal
• Are Internal Links Weighted the Same as External Links by Google?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Giving Links Away, Search Engine Watch

Microhoo

• Yahoo board may face shareholder mutiny at annual meeting, Yahoo!Finance
• Regulating in the Past, Wall Street Journal

Paid Search & Contextual

• "My Change History" Tool Soon to Add Account Performance Charts, PPC Hero
• Google ads some colour, Sydney Morning Herald
• SEM Boot Camp - Paid Search Advertising Roadmap, Search Engine Guide
• Google Says They Fixed AdSense Reporting Bug But Publishers Not Convinced, Search Engine Roundtable
• Retailers not taking advantage of trademark bidding, E-Consultancy

Searching

• Family-friendly search engine Famhoo Home Base, Alt Search Engines
• TinEye: Search the Web with images instead of words, Webware

SEM Industry

• Measuring the Success of Non-Commerce Websites, BruceClay.com
• As Long As There Are Search Engines, SEO Will Survive, Gonzo SEO

SEO & SEM

• SEO Has No Future, Shoemoney
• Search Engines, Web Page Segmentation, and the Most Important Block, SEO By The Sea
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective SEM: Part I - Choosing the Right Search Engines, Search Marketing Standard
• How to Put Your Flickr Photos into Yahoo News, Small Business SEM
• Is onsite SEO simply a usability audit?, Brisbane SEO Blog
• Performing Keyword Research Without a Computer, Search Engine Roundtable
• Poll: Do You Report Your Competitors as Spam in Google?, Search Engine Roundtable
• See a webpage like a SEO, David Naylor
• Why Session ID’s And Search Engines Don’t Get Along (Hint: It’s a Duplicate Content Thing) - Search Engine Guide Blog, Search Engine Guide

Social Media

• How Do You Calculate The Value of a Friend on Facebook?, BruceClay.com
• So How Do You Find People on Twitter?, Search Engine Guide
• News Corp: Selling Ads For MySpace Is Hard Work! , Silicon Alley Insider
• Twitter Spam: Myth Or Reality?, Danny Sullivan’s Daggle
• Yahoo.com Sends a Ton of Talkative Traffic, Read/Write Web
• Breaking: Facebook Profile Redesign - Detailed Specs , Inside Facebook
• Breaking: Facebook To Announce Safety And Privacy Deal With 49 States, TechCrunch
• MySpace to launch "data availability" - new ways to access its data through third party sites, VentureBeat

Video, Music & Image Search

• Google will take Viacom suit to Supreme Court, News.com
• Google Ends Hello, Google Blogoscoped
• How Do You Get Your Images Out Of Google’s SafeSearch Filter?, Search Engine Roundtable

Other Items

• Google Werewolf, Googlified

Recent Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• New Reddit UI and Features are Live
• Building Link Targeted Content That Works: Creating Content & Preparation
• How to make the most of Twitter
• Million Dollar Idea! Send Brownies
• Twitter Starts Blacklisting Spammers
• Is Controversy the New King?
• Top 10 Favourite Social Media Sites
• So How Do You Find People on Twitter?
• The Benefit of Untapped Social Environments
• I’m Your (Twitter) Pusher Mom
• Twitter Spam: Myth Or Reality? - Danny Sullivan at Daggle
• The SEO Guide to Information Architecture
• Reddit Eliminates “Advanced Search” Feature
• Tomorrow’s Search
• How to Stand Out on Social Media: Avatar Trends Analyzed
• Choose Your “All In One” - The Stage Is Set
• Five Steps to Content that Doesnt Suck
• The Times: Linking To The BBC Will Boost Your Google Ranking