Website design newsletter
Every month we publish interesting news articles relating to website design, search engine trends and other exciting changes happening online.
March 2008
Contents
Yahoo tries to generate more Buzz
Generation Y ditches TV for the Internet
Pentagon bans Google map-makers
Yahoo tries to generate more Buzz
27 February 2008
Yahoo will launch a service called Yahoo Buzz which will use consumers' voting to uncover the most popular content from sites across the internet and bring them to Yahoo's homepage, one of the web's most trafficked destinations.
The service, currently in trial, measures consumer votes and search patterns to identify interesting and timely stories and videos from large news sources as well as niche blogs. It said the top stories will be given primary editorial consideration for feature placement on Yahoo.com. Yahoo said it was an example of the internet company's move to open up the site to more third-party publishers and make it more social and relevant to its users.
The company said as the Buzz evolves it will form the basis for an open system of publishers, advertisers and users which will offer syndication and revenue opportunities.
Source: www.nzherald.co.nz
Generation Y ditches TV for the Internet
26 February 2008
Surfing the web is replacing television as the medium of choice for young adults, according to a new overseas survey. The survey, commissioned by social networking website MySpace and conducted by UK-based analyst The Future Laboratory, found a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds had reduced their television watching in favour of social networking on the web. A similar number (22 per cent) said they spent less time playing video games.
More time in front of the computer meant 43 per cent had increased the number of emails they sent and received, while 25 per cent increased their use of instant messaging. Internet analyst Hitwise believes the figures would be similar in Australia.
"Given the similarities between Australian and UK social networking users, the MySpace UK research findings should be reviewed by anyone interested in the impact online social networks are having in Australia," Hitwise spokeswoman said.
According to Hitwise, 8% of all visits to internet sites in Australia were to social networks and forums, compared to 7.6% in the UK. The average time spent on these websites was also similar, with Australia clocking up 18 minutes and 54 seconds, compared to 18 minutes and 57 seconds in the UK.
The two biggest social networking sites in Australia attracted even more attention. The average time spent by Australians during the month of January on MySpace was 27 minutes and 46 seconds, while Facebook was 21 minutes and 15 seconds.
"While MySpace will always be a great way to communicate with friends, the site has evolved into the centre of people's online and offline lives," MySpace Australia and New Zealand vice president said. "MySpace is now a collaborative and creative hub that allows people to keep up to date with, comment on, and define the wider cultural scene."
Source: www.nzherald.co.nz
Pentagon bans Google map-makers
7 March 2008
The US defence department has banned the giant internet search engine Google from filming inside and making detailed studies of US military bases. Close-up, ground-level imagery of US military sites posed a "potential threat" to security, it said. The move follows the discovery of images of the Fort Sam Houston army base in Texas on Google Maps.
A Google spokesman said that where the US military had expressed concerns, images had been removed. Google has now been barred from filming and conducting detailed studies of bases, following the discovery of detailed, three-dimensional panoramas online - and in particular, views of the Texan base. "Images include 360-degree views of the covered area to include access control points, barriers, headquarters, facilities and community areas," said the defence department in a statement quoted by AFP news agency. It said such detailed mapping could pose a threat.
Google spokesman Larry Yu said the decision by a Google team to enter the Texas base, which is in San Antonio, and undertake a detailed survey, had been "a mistake".
He told the BBC that it was "not our policy to request access to military installations, but in this instance the operator of the vehicle with the camera on top - which is how we go about capturing imagery for Street-View - requested permission to access a military installation, was given access, and after learning of the incident we quickly removed the imagery".
Military officials are currently looking into exactly what imagery is available - though it may not be able to order its removal if images are taken from public streets.
Among the popular mapping services offered by Google are Street View, which allows web users to "drive" along virtual US landscapes with ground-level views, and Google Earth, which offers detailed satellite and 3D images of locations around the world. In this case, it was imagery offered on Street View that caused the concern.
But both have provoked complaints - from individuals depicted in the images and from governments concerned that satellite images could compromise security.
Gary Ross, a spokesman for the US Northern Command, told AFP that although such services could be useful, "there has to be a balance".
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
