2006 » January » ThirdSquare.com

Google Toolbar Beta

Emil at 10:17 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Google has come out with a new beta version of their popular Google Toolbar, with some very handy improvements on the old toolbar…

1) Simple API: The term API is almost a misnomer — it literally takes seconds to make one of these. I just can’t resist the urge to make a new one every time I run into new website. A couple of simple steps and voila - a new button’s sitting on your Toolbar (check out the Getting Started Guide).

2) Flexibility: The simple inclusion of RSS & Atom feeds (and particularly allowing the update of toolbar button icons through feeds) has allowed for buttons like a weather button and a mood ring button.

3) Accessibility: Most users don’t even need to make buttons. It takes one click on our buttons gallery or on a website that offers them to install a button for your favorite sites. And the custom buttons we built to search our intranet showed us how valuable a customizable toolbar can be to organizations, so now there’s an enterprise version of Google Toolbar that can be securely deployed across a company.
Link: googleblog.blogspot.com

It’s a pretty nice upgrade, they even setup this library where you can download different buttons to your toolbar if you don’t feel like making your own, you can download it here and enjoy…

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Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
It will look like this: Google Toolbar Beta

<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/google-toolbar-beta-165">Google Toolbar Beta</a>

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You’ll be surprised what you may find in DMOZ!

Emil at 10:20 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2006

Many webmasters ask, what are the true criteria to getting listed in DMOZ?
Well we will venture into some interesting DMOZ stats to find out what they truly like.
Here is a list I found that sorts the top-DMOZ listed sites by number of listings, so let’s see…

If you look at the list closely you may find a few surprises and disappointments, like this one on page 6 rank 2624 with 70 listings…

DMOZ Listing

A pornography site with 70 listings, you may think that’s bad but if you scroll down a bit to 2984, I think you will lose all respect, if you had any, for DMOZ and its system…

DMOZ Listing

Yes, that is right DMOZ believed that a child pornography site deserved not only to be included into directory but to be listed 61 times! I guess in DMOZ’s eyes child pornography was judged 61 times to be completely legal and not at all contradictory to their number one rule, “The Open Directory has a policy against the inclusion of sites with illegal content. Examples of illegal material include child pornography; libel; material that infringes any intellectual property right; and material that specifically advocates, solicits or abets illegal activity (such as fraud or violence).”

So if you still want to get into DMOZ after this, then you know what to do, otherwise just let them dwindle away.

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Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
It will look like this: You’ll be surprised what you may find in DMOZ!

<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/you%e2%80%99ll-be-surprised-what-you-may-find-in-dmoz-164">You’ll be surprised what you may find in DMOZ!</a>

4 Comments

Motivation - Un Underestimated Asset

Jonathan at 5:29 am on Thursday, January 26, 2006

One thing that webmasters forget is that if you are at the core of a website or blog, you need to be motivated - everyday.

Yes SEO, link development, and traffic are all important and I am in no way trying to diminish the methods that webmaster’s use to get a website out there, but we often overlook how much the author’s motivation plays a role in a website.

Read on …

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<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/motivation-un-underestimated-asset-159">Motivation - Un Underestimated Asset</a>

4 Comments

Google Earth is getting sharper. Much sharper!

Mike Dammann at 4:36 am on Thursday, January 26, 2006

It’s been quite some time since I’ve last visited Google Earth. I didn’t really have a reason to since MapQuest seems to work as well for me as always. Google Earth was a great new thing for me when it first came out, but the immediate need to use and revisit it was just not there. Now I’ve been back to check it out, and I’m very impressed with how much sharper it has gotten. Just check out this image of Buckingham Palace.
Can you imagine what it will be like 2 years from now? :)

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<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/google-earth-is-getting-sharper-much-sharper-158">Google Earth is getting sharper. Much sharper!</a>

3 Comments

FireFox 2.0 Preview

Emil at 3:17 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2006

I found this on the Inside FireFox Blog where the creator of FireFox previews FireFox 2.0, which I’m guessing from the title of the blog entry, Racing Towards 2, will be an answer to the IE 7.0 Explorer, here are the highlights of the new browser coming out in mid-2006…

New Bookmarks and History
Improve the browser’s Bookmarks and History systems to improve their effectiveness as renavigation aids while at the same time improving the back end for speed and extensibility.
Tabbed Browsing Enhancements
Make tabs behave more like windows in the operating system environment, making them behave more as users would expect.
Improved Basic Content Type Handling
For things like RSS/Atom feeds, mail links etc. Improve discovery and handling user interfaces.
Web Search
Improve the discoverability and adaptability of the search UI within Firefox.
Bug Fixing
Bug fixing at all levels where risk is low and yield high, e.g. the blank tab download bug, platform stability, etc.
Some additional things we would like to look at in the Firefox 2 timeframe include:
Visual Uplift
A freshen of the visual design of Firefox while maintaining high levels of system integration.
Inline Spell Check
The rise of applications like web mail, blogging etc highlight the weaknesses of HTML’s textarea widget. We should at the very least offer people the ability to spell check their submissions.
Exit Survey
We’d like to know why people leave Firefox. A survey on uninstall would help us find ways to make the software better in future versions.
UI Consolidation and Simplification
Consolidate and simplify user interface in the browser window tying together features in meaningful ways where possible.
There are many other ideas floating around, this is just a brief snapshot of some of the high priority items on our plates. If we get this done, we’ll be satisfied!
Read article…

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It will look like this: FireFox 2.0 Preview

<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/firefox-20-preview-156">FireFox 2.0 Preview</a>

2 Comments

Spam Karma

Emil at 2:33 pm on Friday, January 20, 2006

As any blogger knows, where there are blogs there are spammers, it is almost an inevitable occurrence, bots or just idiots they are just plane aggravating. Here at ThirdSquare as the blog had grown so had the amount of spam, it got to a level that even moderating comments one by one got tiresome and more and more irritating, so I began looking for a solution that would be able to monitor and manage comments automatically, a sort of A.I. blog moderation - I actually doubted I could find anything that would remotely fit my needs, but I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon Spam Karma.

Spam Karma point system This amazingly ingenious WordPress plug-in separates spam from other comments and ping backs using a “Karma” point system, where Karma is determined by different aspects of the comment, such as the presence of a URL, IP commenting history, and much more.

Here at ThirdSquare we’ve had this plug-in for almost three weeks now and remarkably it has yet to miss, after over a hundred comments processed it is still spotless, perfectly sifting spam out.

The Spam Karma installation is very simple and it can be found and downloaded here. After you install you can access its control panel in the “Manage” tab, and I think you will be absolutely amazed by the sophistication of this seemingly automated plug-in – a must-have for any WP blog.

Spam Karma in the Manage tab

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<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/spam-karma-154">Spam Karma</a>

27 Comments

MSN Messenger Adds Search Functionality

Jonathan at 8:11 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2006

It seems as though MSN has added a search function to it’s popular messenger service.

The search box is displayed below the list of contacts and above the ad. All you need to do is simply type in your search query and click Search.

MSN search results are visible in a new window. One has the option to search the web, news or images.

It will be interesting to see if Google follows suit with its messenger, Google Talk.

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It will look like this: MSN Messenger Adds Search Functionality

<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/msn-messenger-adds-search-functionality-153">MSN Messenger Adds Search Functionality</a>

1 Comment

Joel Comm Vs Eric Giguere Vs The Rich Jerk

Chris Andrews at 1:16 am on Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Moved to here

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Exclusive interview with John Scott from v7N

Mike Dammann at 7:31 pm on Monday, January 16, 2006

John Scott from v7N John, thank you for your time to give us this interview. What have you been doing lately?

First, thank you for taking the time to interview me.

Since the latter part of 2005, I’ve gotten back into the Internet marketing thing full time. Most of my time is spent developing v7n.com into the website it should have been years ago. We are adding new value to the site - more features, more activities - on a weekly basis now.

I look forward to v7n keeping and maintaining its previous traffic levels and usefulness.

You have been absent more or less for about a year. What has motivated you to come back full force?

The Sea of Japan.

In 2003 and 2004 we grew by leaps and bounds. But with growth comes headaches, and I succumbed to burn-out somewhere in the beginning of 2005. I essentially walked away from v7n and left it in the hands of employees.

In late 2005 however, I spent some quality time on the Sea of Japan. I had time to reflect on my life, and it occurred to me that I had wasted a lot of what God had given me.

It was a rebirth of sorts for me, and I became determined to see this community - the v7n community - reach its full potential. We’d gotten to where we were by being genuinely concerned with the well being of our members, and it’s something I’m now committed to.

My opinion may be biased, but I believe that v7n adds something special to the Internet landscape. Our members are top notch people, and they care for one another.

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment so far and what do you want to accomplish in the future?

My biggest accomplishment – my children. They’re absolutely beautiful.

Professionally, I believe that V7N would have to be the one thing I’m the most proud of. I’ve put a lot of work into it. I’ve put a lot of my life into it, and when members say “Thanks, I’ve learned so much” it really means a lot to me.

Looking into 2006 and 2007, I believe that V7N is in a great position to start offering webmasters more tools to build their businesses. I believe we can offer many services for free that other sites charge fees for. I believe the key to success here is in offering more webmasters more of what they need, and not charging for it.

Who has inspired you when it comes to running your business and creating a company like yours?

My father. He was a successful businessman, but he didn’t chase the money. His advice was, “Whatever you do, do it best, and success will follow.”

What do you say to those who are critical of you? How do you feel when you’re publicizing a contest and there are some who are right away jumping on you and making a name for themselves by using yours?

v7N Seo Contest There will always be folks like that. But it’s a short term strategy which doesn’t really build a positive brand.

When we look at how Greg Boser has promoted himself, it’s always by being obnoxious. But it’s the easiest thing on the Internet to do - and Internet critics are a dime a dozen - and most folks see right through it. The simple fact is that most folks in this industry don’t give a rat’s tail about the politics.

The SEO industry is full of politics, and there are different ways of dealing with it. I called Doug Heil up a year or so ago, and we talked a bit, and I’m genuinely convinced that we could never see eye to eye. But I don’t run around ragging on Doug Heil personally. It wouldn’t be professional, and although I may not respect his professional opinions, I respect him as a person.

And let me take this opportunity to say that I don’t take any of what Greg Boser has done personally. When people contact me and express concern over this “war of the SEO’s”, I’m somewhat amused. I’ve attacked several clowns who I believe are nothing more than scam artists and borderline criminals, but you don’t see me doing background checks and asset searches on Greg. If Greg Boser wants to offend me, he’ll have to try harder.

Where do you see search engine optimization headed in the future?

I’ve long been critical of most search engine optimization. Any sort of on-page optimization which places search engine rankings over the marketing integrity / brand integrity of a website is a mistake. You don’t see strong brands using cheap SEO tactics, and that’s because cheap SEO tactics are not compatible with strong branding.

What would you think if you went to the Google home page and saw “Search Engine” on the index page in heading tags, italics, and bolded font? Your perception of the Google brand would be drastically altered, and not for the better.

In my experience, strong brands opt for pay per click advertising before they opt to trash their pages with bloated keyword density and the like. One thing many amateur SEO’s can’t seem to understand fully is that brand, not search engine rankings, is the ace in the hole. Build a brand and consumers will search less for “generic” and more for “your brand”. If you doubt me, look up and compare the search count for “soda” and compare that to the search count for “Pepsi” or “Coke”.

Traffic has never equaled sales. Branding is much closer to profitability than traffic, and having said that I’ll venture a guess that more money will go to PPC and less to organic search engine optimization.

You’re currently living in Japan. When are you coming back on American soil and will you be going to conferences again?

I currently go back to the States about once a month. I look forward to attending more Search Engine Strategies Conferences and meeting the friends I’ve made online.

After the contest … any plans?

Building V7N and doing some other things I would rather not mention just yet. Look out for lots of improvements!

Who would you like to see win?

A friend. I have so many friends competing in this that I can’t really choose one over another, but it would be great if a friend got the prize money.

Looking back at the past 3 years, what would you have done differently if you could do it again?

I think that it’s easy to mess up in your personal life when you’re doing the best professionally. It’s easy to spend too much time working, and not enough with your family, kids, wife, etc. That is one thing I regret immensely.

In the “other regrets” department, I definitely regret not being more personally involved in the management of our web directories. I was very happy when BlueFind got PR8, and I wish that we had been more careful with it. The folks we had editing it were not as strict as they probably should have been, and it’s entirely my fault for not being more involved. BlueFind got hit pretty hard by Google, and when I took the time to go look through some of the categories, it’s entirely understandable why it got whacked. Some of the crap in there should never have been allowed in, and it’s going to be a lot of work to clean it up and get it to where I want it.

You can find more info on John Scott’s v7ndotcom elursrebmem seo contest here.

If you found this page useful, consider linking to it.
Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
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<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/exclusive-interview-with-john-scott-from-v7n-149">Exclusive interview with John Scott from v7N</a>

3 Comments

My Client Center

Emil at 10:39 am on Saturday, January 14, 2006

Adsense is testing some sort of My Client Center addition to the regular member interface, I’m guessing it will be tracking people signed up to do CPM ads on your sites since there is a similarly named feature on AdWords, also what other “client” could AdSense be refereeing to.

Most likely you are not able to see this feature in your AdSense account currently since it is a very limited beta test, but look out for something similar in the near future…

You can learn more and follow the discussion in this thread…

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Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
It will look like this: My Client Center

<a href="http://www.thirdsquare.com/my-client-center-147">My Client Center</a>

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