Lead Writer
RDY Writing
The Ballymascanlon Hotel in Ireland was suing Google for an autocomplete suggestion that implied the hotel was in financial trouble. That case has now been withdrawn, although no details of any settlement have been released.
In response to complaints from the European Union, Google now allows any router to be instantly opted out of the location-based tracking of access point. The router can pretty easily be opted out by changing the SSID to end in "_nomap."
What does Facebook know about you? Facebook tracks and compiles data differently, depending on whether you're a logged in member, logged out member, or a non-member. Facebook does keep a running log of sites users visit in the past 90 days.
Google acquisition of Motorola Mobility is stepping further toward finalization with the shareholder vote on the topic. Shareholders who voted supported the Google merger almost unanimously, with 99 percent approving the deal.
The federal government has cracked down on mortgage scams that claimed they could lower payments through government-backed programs. As 85 such companies are shut down, Google is coming under scrutiny for allowing them to post AdWords ads.
Google's social network is quietly adding more advanced search options, including the ability to filter results by poster and browse through trending topics. These features allow users to hunt down popular topics and get involved in conversations.
Google will combine its payment-oriented services. Google Checkout users will be prompted to migrate to Wallet on their next login, while webmasters will be guided through a transition in 2012. Wallet has also added features, partners, and options.
Google has added a tool that explicitly searches for exactly and only your search term. Verbatim search removes personalized, corrected, suggested, related, and non-inclusive results and will replace the retired "+" functionality in search queries.
Yahoo is adding some new search options just in time for the holidays. Users can now do advanced searches for recipes, use Yahoo for quick comparison shopping, and get richer updates for entertainment queries. Here's a look at what's new.
Details on Microsoft Socl, previously known as Tulalip, are surfacing. The site will be a content discovery platform with strong social elements and partial integration with Facebook. It is in private testing but is nearing an invite-only beta.
Google's "These Go to 11" press conference marked the official launch of the Google Music program for U.S. users, opened the door to Google's long-awaited MP3 store, and unveiled several new music features for both consumers and artists.
Bing has launched a new search feature that provides searchers a curated page that lists sites picked by Bing editors about the searched-for topic. The company is starting with 140 topics, ranging from "free E-books" to "Photo Editing."
Trapit, a content discovery engine that learns your preferences and behaviors, has entered its open beta stage. While it doesn't strictly fall into the realm of search, a Trapit co-founder indicates that Google and Trapit are on a collision course.
ShopCity – a site with SEO issues – has joined the list of companies who claim Google is unfairly demoting their content in favor of its own. In response to these alleged anti-competitive practices, ShopCity has filed a complaint with the FTC.
In response to the U.S. FTC's antitrust probe into Google, the search marketing organization SEMPO issues a statement to the FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, calling for zero regulation. This article discusses both sides of the heated debate.
Google tries to become more open about their search algorithm changes. Beyond the much-discussed "fresh" update, Google discussed nine other recent changes, including SERP titles and descriptions, date-specified searches, and image search signals.
YouTube is testing a new design that would clean up the site, make subscriptions more important, and integrate Google+ functionalities. The test is in early trials with a small number of users and changes the look and feel of several key elements.
Google has called a Los Angeles press conference for November 16th. It's been speculated that the conference will announce the launch of the Google Music Store. Early screenshots of what is allegedly the Music Store app have also been leaked.
A recent report on Google's "secret lab," known as Google X, shows how far beyond their core business Google will explore: space elevators, web-connected appliance, and robotic avatars are among the 100 far-out ideas being researched.
Facebook has reached a settlement with the FTC that may be ratified in the next few weeks. The settlement comes in response to concerns over Facebook’s privacy controls, and would mandate both new practices and 20 years of regular privacy audits.
