Dot Tactics

Jeffrey Zeldman at A List Apart brings us a lot to think about. My fav line:

The second problem affects all who use an AJAX-powered site. If web signifiers and conventions are still in their infancy, then AJAX-related signifiers and conventions are in utero.

So ThreadWatch has a post linking to a post on Search Engine Watch about Yahoo testing Sponsored Links that show a number of topics and then display the ads on click with no refresh. It is pretty cool and you can see an example by scrolling to the Bottom of this Narnia Movie page. Also Jensense has even more details of Yahoo's interactive ad tests.

So I often use a search engine to quickly look up a website rather than typing in the location. No problem, right? Well I recently took Yahoo up on their default search challenge and started using them in my FireFox search box. Funny thing is, when I did a quick search for Adsense a few days ago and clicked on the first natural result the page didn't come up.

I thought it odd at the time but over the past few days I've tried a few more times and I can't get Yahoo to redirect to Google's Adsense page. I've asked other people on other networks and they have the same problem. I've also found the same is true for Adwords searches. The problem only appears to impact Yahoo's redirection link as Google's servers are very clearly up .

What is going on? I tried a few other searches such as Maps and Talk and haven't had any problems. I also noticed that on the Adsense search Yahoo is showing a shortcut to their new Publisher Network product. Could it be that someone at Yahoo decided they don't want to provide free traffic to Google's competing advertising services and so they broke the redirection system? The end result is it makes it look like Google's servers are down.

Incidentally Google's Yahoo Search Marketing Ads on both of the searches do work when clicked. I'm sure Google is paying a pretty penny to get the top billing for those terms.

From the CyberWyre. After looking these over I finally decided it was worth it to put together a credit information blog. It isn't much yet, but I hope to put up all the odd credit or invesment information I've been collect and hopefully generate a little interest. Check out Credit Review here.

So it sounds like these numbers are way off. Lots of good comments over on digg.

mesothelioma $84.08
mesothelioma attorneys $80.93
mesothelioma lawyers $69.04
malignant pleural mesothelioma $55.95
Asbestos Cancer $54.17
mesothelioma symptoms $53.66
peritoneal mesothelioma $52.27
trans union $51.91
lung cancer $43.12
search engine optimization $30.19
mesothelioma diagnosis $28.70
home equity loans $20.06
Baines and Ernst $18.47
consolidate loans $17.74
Lexington law $17.68
Lexington law firm $16.81
debt problems $16.28
register domain $15.74
home equity line of credit $15.61
affiliate programs $14.33
refinance $14.21
video conferencing $13.63
payday loans $13.21
credit counseling $13.02
asbestos $12.79
debt solutions $12.64
cash loans $12.13
refinancing $12.09
broadband phone $12.08
debt management $11.86
fast loans $11.81
credit card processing $11.75
credit reports $11.59
making money on the internet $11.58
merchant account $11.46
line of credit $11.42
money magazine $11.27
Adsense $11.13
credit counselors $11.02
identity theft $11.00
make money at home $10.84
free credit $10.76
cash advance $10.64
consumer credit counseling $10.63
freecreditreport $10.61
make money from home $10.35
free credit reports $10.26
make extra money $10.21
domain registration $10.19
adwords $10.08
citifinancial $10.06
my fico score $10.01
web hosting $09.88
American express credit $09.71
airlines credit card $09.52
credit report $09.52
earn money $09.51
hard drive recovery $09.49
hard money lenders $09.44
credit counseling service $09.44
consolidate $09.41
claims $09.20
debt consolidation $09.10
poor credit $09.09
low interest $08.89
web host $08.64
student credit cards $08.63
secured $08.60
merchant account application $08.59
loans $08.57
send money to India $08.43
discover credit $08.40
merchant accounts $08.39
hosting $08.35
money on the internet $08.34
credit loans $08.33
consumer credit $08.32
money making ideas $08.26
credit card applications $08.23
money lenders $08.10
discover credit card $08.09
money loans $08.08
dept help $08.01
credit card services $08.01
consolidation $07.94
ways to make money $07.84
student credit $07.73
online credit report $07.66
how to make money $07.51
accept credit $07.47
accept credit cards $07.43
student loan $07.43
internet money $07.39
credit repair $07.32
free credit check $07.28
bad credit $07.26
money making $07.21
SEO $07.18
University Degrees Online $07.16
credit card application $07.05
consolidating $07.05
people with bad credit $07.05
car loans $07.05
money fast $07.03
money now $06.88
household automotive $06.76
personal credit $06.73
money at home $06.72
bad debt $06.69
lenders $06.68
auto loans $06.63
making money online $06.61
Point of sale software $06.55
interest credit cards $06.53
credit history $06.53
lending $06.39
business credit $06.32
money to India $06.31
debt $06.17
online credit $06.15
student credit card $06.14
hard money $06.10
webhosting $06.06
credit cards $06.04
make money $05.97
credit application $05.96
online credit card $05.96
chase credit $05.90
interest credit $05.89
Equifax credit $05.89
video conference $05.88
credit card offers $05.88
American credit $05.86
credit card fraud $05.82
best credit card $05.82
no credit check $05.79
credit card $05.75
bankruptcy $05.64
best credit $05.59
money market account $05.55
mbna credit $05.54
for credit $05.48
webhost $05.48
pengar $05.47
college credit $05.44
money market accounts $05.43
best credit cards $05.40
credit reporting agency $05.39
credit card debt $05.36
credit checks $05.36
visa credit $05.36
credit check $05.29
secured credit cards $05.26
one credit card $05.25
Credit report $05.24
i need money $05.16
low interest credit $05.15
credit services $05.08
credit reporting $05.06
preapproved $05.04
online approval $05.04
credit card rates $05.02
credit score $05.00

A while back I published an article asking if google had jumped the shark. While no one is throwing them overboard quite yet, a post to threadwatch points out how much Google has been struggling to launch features that show off that old Google sparkle. From base, to Google Pack, to (more notably) the "we sell videos too" Google Video Store, has Google lost their magic amulet?

From ZDNet Google Video Review:

The Web site adheres to the Google philosophy of less-is-more but lacks any slick design elements that would signal the existence of sexy content such as, say, movies. And, rather than still images from videos to click on for a sample clip, many thumbnail images and preview boxes feature only plain screens with the name of the show--or a blank black box.

From PC Mag Is Google's Tech Heading Downhill? article:

With each one of the negative reviews, many surfacing on Tuesday, is the notion that Google Video isn't just a one-time miss. Rather, critics say, it's one of a growing number of recent failures suggesting that Google's usual Midas Touch is missing in action, and that should worry Google as well as its investors and those who rely on its products at home or work.

Naturally, not everyone agrees. Bill writes in with a well thought out response to my jump shark article explaining why I'm full of it. Here is an excerpt:

In one sentence you say Google is monopolizing and competing against everyone. Which is it? If they are monopolizing then there really isn't any competition. So what industry do they monopolize? And if they are competing then to suggest they are dead in the water is patently false as well. They are a business, a fairly young and suprisingly successful business. Their job is to expand market share and make money for their stockholders.

In the end I suspect that Google's problem is that they are a real company now and so they have to compete with what other real companies are doing and they have to figure out how to hold customers and create income. The problem is that, as Microsoft has repeatedly shown, this position doesn't facilitate innovation. Google is still one of the brightest companies around, but they're starting to loose their feeling lucky goodwill from the Internet community at large. This has resulted in a slowly growing amount of the scoffing media attention that Microsoft and News Corp have enjoyed for years. And with cool new 1998 products like a Google eBook Store on the horizon, it is about time.

innovative - being or producing something like nothing done or experienced or created before; "stylistically innovative works"; "innovative members of the artistic community"; "a mind so innovational, so original" (TheFreeDictionary)

Over the past few months I've stumbled upon a number of blogs that have stuck out to me with their originality. Their subject matter ranges pretty widely, but they all show the power of a good idea, a slightly quirky approach, and a dedicated author. I hope you can draw as much inspiration from them as I do.

1. Cooking For Engineers
   Food, geeks, tools, what else is there? Simple idea that works like the SlashDot of cooking blogs.

2. Stuff On My Cat
   More fun than a bunch of stuff on your cat. Wait, it is a bunch of stuff on your cat. A very simple idea on the surface that has been able to build a profoundly faithful following among a special breed cat lovers.

3. News Hounds
   Pretty simple. Hatred for Fox News packaged into a daily blog of all the things evil about Fox News.

4. Overheard in the Office
   Office humor blog. Users send in the odd things they overhear co-workers saying (or say themselves, or wish they'd said, or whatever). Very amusing.

5. Blog Contest Site
   Stay up to date with contests around the Internet by watching this site. Who doesn't love contests?

6. College-Startup
   Should you start a business while going to college? This sites thinks so and has the daily posts to prove it.

7. Prank A Day
   Who doesn't want to pull a new prank every day? Pranks are mostly simple and useually legal and clean, even if they may be somewhat inadvisable.

8. Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog
   So guns are used in self defense all the time, but who pays attention? This blog does, and keeps a record to.

So what do all these blogs have in common? They take a smart, subject oriented approach to their content. There are thousands of "my daily life" and "today's google rumor"blogs out there, but blogs that effectively focus on one subject area and provide lots of relevant content to their readers are exceptionally rare. These blogs show that all it takes is a good idea that resonates with the public and a little bit of effort to become that de facto source for anything from pranks to pictures of stuff on cats.