Google Sites led the explicit core search market in October with 65.6 percent of search queries conducted, according to comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR).
U.S. Explicit Core Search
Google Sites led the U.S. explicit core search market in October with 65.6 percent market share (up 0.3 percentage points), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 15.2 percent and Microsoft Sites with 14.8 percent (up 0.1 percentage point). Ask Network accounted for 2.9 percent of explicit core searches, followed by AOL, Inc. with 1.5 percent.
comScore Explicit Core Search Share Report* October 2011 vs. September 2011 Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations Source: comScore qSearch
Core Search Entity
Explicit Core Search Share (%)
Sep-11
Oct-11
Point Change
Total Explicit Core Search
100.0%
100.0%
N/A
Google Sites
65.3%
65.6%
0.3
Yahoo! Sites
15.5%
15.2%
-0.3
Microsoft Sites
14.7%
14.8%
0.1
Ask Network
3.0%
2.9%
-0.1
AOL, Inc.
1.5%
1.5%
0.0
*”Explicit Core Search” excludes contextually driven searches that do not reflect specific user intent to interact with the search results.
More than 18.0 billion explicit core searches were conducted in October, marking a 6-percent increase versus September. Google Sites ranked first with 11.9 billion (up 6 percent), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 2.7 billion (up 4 percent) and Microsoft Sites with 2.7 billion (up 6 percent). Ask Network delivered 518 million searches (up 2 percent), while AOL, Inc. rounded out the top five with 277 million (up 5 percent).
comScore Explicit Core Search Query Report October 2011 vs. September 2011 Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations Source: comScore qSearch
Core Search Entity
Explicit Core Search Queries (MM)
Sep-11
Oct-11
Percent Change
Total Explicit Core Search
17,103
18,077
6%
Google Sites
11,171
11,863
6%
Yahoo! Sites
2,644
2,741
4%
Microsoft Sites
2,516
2,678
6%
Ask Network
507
518
2%
AOL, Inc.
265
277
5%
U.S. Total Core Search
Google Sites accounted for 66.2 percent of total core search queries conducted (up 0.8 percentage points), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 16.3 percent and Microsoft Sites with 13.6 percent (up 0.2 percentage points). Ask Network comprised 2.6 percent of total search queries, followed by AOL, Inc. with 1.4 percent.
comScore Total Core Search Share Report* October 2011 vs. September 2011 Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations Source: comScore qSearch
Core Search Entity
Total Core Search Share (%)
Sep-11
Oct-11
Point Change
Total Core Search
100.0%
100.0%
N/A
Google Sites
65.4%
66.2%
0.8
Yahoo! Sites
17.2%
16.3%
-0.9
Microsoft Sites
13.4%
13.6%
0.2
Ask Network
2.6%
2.6%
0.0
AOL, Inc.
1.4%
1.4%
0.0
* “Total Core Search” is based on the five major search engines, including partner searches, cross-channel searches and contextual searches. Searches for mapping, local directory, and user-generated video sites that are not on the core domain of the five search engines are not included in these numbers.
Americans conducted 20.3 billion total core search queries in October, up 5 percent versus September. Google Sites ranked first with 13.4 billion searches (up 6 percent), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 3.3 billion and Microsoft Sites with 2.8 billion (up 7 percent).
comScore Total Core Search Query Report October 2011 vs. September 2011 Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations Source: comScore qSearch
Nearly 2,000 interactive marketers, IT executives, entrepreneurs, digital/new media strategists, venture capitalists and technology professionals will connect at the Raleigh Convention Center for the 2011 Internet Summit Nov. 15-16 to hear more than 120 speakers delivering over 80 presentations and panel discussions about today’s hottest business trends.
Topics include social media, mobile applications, e-commerce, SEO/paid search, Internet usability, analytics & measurement, streaming/interactive video, cloud computing/virtualization and online advertising/branding.
New York Times best-selling author, brains behind the Wine Library, Internet celebrity and social media king Gary Vaynerchuck will deliver the keynote presentation that promises to be enlightening, inspiring and engaging.
A strong business case for for social media
Gary Vaynerchuk
“I want to come at you practical, not theory or buzzwords,” says Vaynerchuck. “I guarantee, if you come in skeptical about social media, I will bring a strong B2B and B2C (business case) to the table.”
The conference and exhibits opens Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m, with a keynote panel discussion: “The Future of Digital Media & Marketing” with executives from Google,Gannet Company, Inc., FormSpring, and Discovery Communications.
Participants will choose from over 25 80-minute sessions featuring more than 75 presentations tailored to their interests and needs, as well as get a glimpse into some of the industry’s newest Internet entrepreneurial products and tools in the Demo Showcase and Startup Lounge.
To wrap up day one, award-winning video DJ Mike Relm performs at the opening reception from 6-8 p.m.
Doors open day two at 7 a.m. for a networking breakfast, followed by presentations from featured thought leaders Marc Cendella, CEO, TheLadders.com, and Marshall Brain, founder of HowStuffWorks.
Register for what is sure to be a sold out event and get the latest about the Internet Summit 2011.
Here’s what some said on Twitter about the 2010 Internet Summit:
blairgraham: Congrats to @Internet_Summit founders @EricGregg and @Scott_Hedrick of @TJ_South! I hear you are crushing it again! Well played.
Cybersig55: @Internet_Summit great job #isum10!! This has been an informative and well organized event. I look forward to attending again next year!
Huddy: Super excited to have been at the #iSum10. Great people, great sessions, great lessons… everything you want from a great conference.
invitecottage: Great 2 days @Internet_Summit #isum10. Lots of ideas for the new year!
DH_David: Not sure if there is enough coffee to get me through the day as I recover from two great days at Internet Summit 2010 in Raleigh. #isum10.
Who’s attending Internet Summit 2011? Four weeks until the event set for November 15-16 at the Raleigh, NC Convention Center, a better question is who’s not attending!
With over 120 speakers and presenters, Internet Summit 2011 is jam-packed with top level content focused on the latest digital trends, online marketing techniques and IT best practices.
We’ve been covering TechMedia’s digital conferences since the very first one, and we have to admit, this is the most impressive lineup yet. Stay tuned for interviews with participants here on the TechJournal leading up to the event.
Here’s a sampling of firms already scheduled to attend:
1st Degree Marketing
3tailer
919 Marketing Company
A10 Clinical Solutions
ABB
Accelerence
ACCSports.com
Adam-Bryce
AdKeeper
Advanced Energy
Adzerk
Agile Marketing Group
AirClean Systems
All American Corporation
Alloso Technologies
ALPHA Marketing
Alternate Access
American Society for Microbiology
Americaneagle.com
Aon
APC
Apple
Argyle Social
Arketi Group
ASPE ROI
Atlantic Webworks
Atlantis Group
Autoshop Solutions
BB&T
BBH Media
BCBSNC
BEM
Bespoke Arsenal
BGEA
Big Think
BIOPHARMA ADVISORS
Blogads
BlueGlass Interactive
Bosch Packaging Services
Brand Fuel
Brand.net
BRI
Brick Marketing
Brightleaf Consulting Group
Brocadiant IP
Bronto
Brooks Bell
Buddy Media
Bulk TV & Internet
Bulwark Exterminating
BurlapSky
Burson-Marsteller
Burt’s Bees
CAI
Cameron Carmichael
Capstrat
CareAnyware
Carolina Biological Supply Company
Carolina Meadows
Carrot-Top Industries
Cary Academy
Caterpillar
CBC New Media
Cenduit
Center for Responsible Lending
Centerline Digital
Cerium Capital
CESI Debt Solutions
ChannelAdvisor
Charlotte Regional Partnership
Chatsworth Products
Cherry Bekaert & Holland
Cisco Systems
City of Raleigh
ClearSight Creative Resources
Clearspring Technologies
Coalmarch Productions
Command Partners
Comporium
Compuware
Connections Too
Consultwebs.com
Contactology
Contender Capital
Contour Products
Craven Community College
Cree
CROSSROADS PUBLIC RELATIONS
DASH Systems
DataChambers
DataFlux
Dealer Ignition
DecisionPoint
Deere & Company
Delta Apparel
Devonhall Publishing
Dex One
Digital Element
Digital Strategies and Services
Direct Mobile
Discovery Communications
Distil
Distilled
Dominion Enterprises
Downtown Raleigh Alliance
Dreamcatcher Trading
Duke Medicine
Duke University
Easter Seals
Easyfish Marketing
EatDrinkDeals
Eaton Corporation
Eckel & Vaughan
Emerald Isle Realty
Emma
Ernst & Young
ESPN
ExactByte
Exclusively Weddings
FanBridge
FeatureTel/Telovations
FinOps Solutions
FireFold
Fireside Distributors
First Bank
Fitter Happier Consulting
FitTwin.com
Fleishman Hillard
For Rent Media Solutions
Forma
French/West/Vaughan
fsb
Full Scale Solutions
GiftOasis.com
Global Value Commerce
GlobalSpec
GoECart
Google
Governor’s Institute
Gowalla
Grant Thornton LLP
Greater Raleigh CVB
HaggleBuyers.com
HBA of Raleigh-Wake Co.
Heartbeat Marketing
Heta Corporation
HIPPO Internet Marketing Training
HireNetworks
hood river lavender farms
HowStuffWorks.com
Hughes Pittman & Gupton
Hutchison Law Group
IBM
iContact
IDBS
IDEA Fund Partners
If It Barks
Ignite Social Media
IMLeagues
INDA
Inertia
Infogroup
Integritive
Interface Technologies
Intersouth Partners
Inversion Group
Investors Mosaic
iT People Corporation
It’s Your Turn
Jaargon
JDSU
John Deere
Julie Holmes Design
Kadro
KD Web Strategies
Kerr Drug
KeyphraSEOlogy
Khush
Kramden Institute
L A Foster & Associates
Lakewinds Natural Foods
Left Click Studios
Lenovo
Lenox
Lewis Advertising
LexisNexis
LFG
Lincoln Financial
LinkMeIn
ListLikeThis
Litle & Co
Llamawerx
Lohmueller
Low Fat Designs
Lowes Foods
Loyalese
Lulu.com
Lumi Mobile
M.Y. Edge
Madison River Ventures
Manning Fulton
Marin Software
Market America
Market Vue Partners
Marketing Pilgrim
Marketing Resource Solutions
Marshall Institute
Maxpoint Interactive
Media Two Interactive
MedThink Communications
MemberHub.com
Meredith Communications
Method Savvy
Microsoft
Monster MediaWorks
Mooty
Motricity
Mountainside Digital Media
mPower Consulting
myYearbok
NBT Partners
NC National Guard
NC SBTDC
NC Sea Grant
NC State University
NCASI
NCSU
Net Friends
Net32
NetApp
Netsertive
New Kind
New Media Campaigns
Newland Communities
NSTAR Global Services
O3
OtherScreen
Paragon Application Systems
PARcycles
Parker Web
Patagonia Health
Pathos Ethos
PBS
Peak10
Pegasus Lighting
Pentaho
Peoplefluent
PGN
PHE
Phonebooth.com
Piedmont Plastics
Pivot Point Group
Pluot’s
PointClick Technologies
Pointer Advertising
Polished Geek
POLITICO
POOLCENTER.com
Poole College of Management
Poyner Spruill
PPD
Progressive
Project Right Track
Protea Digital
Prudential YSU
Prymak
PSA TechSure
QOL-Apps
Quaero
Quickrelay Networks
Railinc
Rankin McKenzie
RBC Bank
ReadWriteWeb
Red Hat
Relevantor
Religent Health
Rex Healthcare
Ripple Group
RMM
Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson
Rockett Interactive
RSA Security
RTI International
RTP Designs
S&A Cherokee
SafeNet
Sage
SAI Digital
Salix
Sally Johns Design
SAManage
SAS
SBTDC
SC GtUG
Scale Finance
Scenera
ScentTrail E-Commerce
Science Applications International
SciQuest
Scribble Studio
Semetric Media
Sensus
SEOinhouse
SharedVue
ShareFile
Siemens Energy
Signal
Signature Cuisine
Silver Pearl
Sinclair & Co.
Sirchie
Skookum Digital Works
SkyGrid
Skyline Exhibits / The Holt Group
Small Footprint
Smart Online
Smith Moore Leatherwood
Smith, Anderson
Snyder Interactive
SOBcon
Social Buzz Lab
Southern Capitol Ventures
Spain Business Advisors
Spider Digital
SplendidCRM Software
Sprung Media Makers
Square 1 Bank
State Farm Insurance
Storkie
STORMS Associates
Stripes Group
StumbleUpon
Symplegades
Syncfusion
Taddy
TagMan
TagSeats
Tangram Media
Tavve
Team Powersports
TechCFO RTP
TechCo
Tekelec
Teknicks
TenPearls
Terraine
The Andrus Group
The Bloom Agency
The Body Shop
The brpr Group
The Doug And Jon Show
The Green Kangaroo
The Signature Agency
The Word Factory
TheAvenueToTheFuture
TheeDesign Studio
TheLadders
Think Technology Advisors
Three Ships Media
Time Warner
TimelyText
Tizbi
tranquil hosting
Trone
Tropical Foods
Troutman Sanders LLP
TRUSTe
tw telecom
Twiddy & Co
Twitpic
UNC
UNC Charlotte
UNC Wilmington
Usability Sciences
Vaco
Value Drug Company
Van Tharp Institute
VaynerMedia
VCE
Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness
Verisign
Vibrant Media
Viddler
Virtual Race Bags
VisionPoint Marketing
Wake Tech
Walker Interactive
WDI
Web Analytics Demystified
WebCookingClasses.com
Wells Fargo
Whitmeyer Tuffin
Williams Mullen
WilsonMcGuire Creative
Windstream
Womble Carlyle
Work By Kevin
workplace options
WUNC
Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP
XPIENT Solutions
Yahoo!
Yardi Systems
ZDNet
Walter Isaacson, who penned the new biography of Apple’s Steve Jobs that goes on sale Monday, is slated to be interviewed on 60 Minutes Sunday Night. It’s unusual for the CBS news magazine show, 60 Minutes to delve much into the tech world, but Jobs’ influence is felt in many areas – design, innovative thinking, role model.
Isaacson’s biography, originally set for 2012 publication, was moved up to Oct. 24. The author did dozens of interviews with Jobs, including one final talk just before Jobs’ death Oct. 5. 60 Minutes revealed the Isaacson appearance in a tweet.
Apple says that more than a million people have already shared memories, messages and feelings about Jobs on a remembrance page, sent via rememberingsteve@apple.com.
Wall Street Journal says Microsoft, others putting together proposal to buy Yahoo
The Wall Street Journal reports that Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm, and one of its investors, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Microsoft Corp. are putting together a proposal to buy Yahoo.
Groupon may go for $12B IPO
Groupon is likely to file for an initial offering of public stock at a valuation of around $12 billion, according to the New York Times.
That’s down quite a bit from the $25 billion to $30 billion valuation figures bandied about previously.
Federated Media, Automatic team for WordPress ads
Federated Media, a digital ad company, and WordPress developer Automatic, are teaming up to give WordPress.com blog owners the ability to put ads on their site.
Federated Media will help its clients target their ads to specific audiences on the blogs.
WordPress.com (not the free WordPress.org content management system nor the WordPress VIP service) have limitations on what they can change, so most third-party ad solutions are not supported.
This new agreement can help WordPress.com’s mostly casual blogs bring in more money, although it is not clear how much the two companies plan to share with the bloggers.
AT&T activated more than 1 million iPhone 4S devices
AT&T today announced it activated more than 1 million iPhone 4S’ as of Tuesday, making it the most successful iPhone launch in the company’s history. AT&T was the first carrier in the world to launch iPhone in 2007 and is the only U.S. carrier to support iPhone 4S with 4G speeds.
OmniTouch, a wearable projection system developed by researchers at Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University, enables users to turn pads of paper, walls or even their own hands, arms and legs into graphical, interactive surfaces.
OmniTouch employs a depth-sensing camera, similar to the Microsoft Kinect, to track the user’s fingers on everyday surfaces. This allows users to control interactive applications by tapping or dragging their fingers, much as they would with touchscreens found on smartphones or tablet computers.
Can project onto any surface
The projector can superimpose keyboards, keypads and other controls onto any surface, automatically adjusting for the surface’s shape and orientation to minimize distortion of the projected images.
The OmniTouch device includes a short-range depth camera and laser pico-projector and is mounted on a user’s shoulder. But Harrison said the device ultimately could be the size of a deck of cards, or even a matchbox, so that it could fit in a pocket, be easily wearable, or be integrated into future handheld devices.
“With OmniTouch, we wanted to capitalize on the tremendous surface area the real world provides,” said Benko, a researcher in Microsoft Research’s Adaptive Systems and Interaction group.
An evolutionary step
This what the wearable projector looks like.
“We see this work as an evolutionary step in a larger effort at Microsoft Research to investigate the unconventional use of touch and gesture in devices to extend our vision of ubiquitous computing even further. Being able to collaborate openly with academics and researchers like Chris on such work is critical to our organization’s ability to do great research — and to advancing the state of the art of computer user interfaces in general.”
“It’s conceivable that anything you can do on today’s mobile devices, you will be able to do on your hand using OmniTouch,” said Chris Harrison, a Ph.D. student in Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute. The palm of the hand could be used as a phone keypad, or as a tablet for jotting down brief notes. Maps projected onto a wall could be panned and zoomed with the same finger motions that work with a conventional multitouch screen.
The optical sensing used in OmniTouch, by contrast, allows a wide range of interactions, similar to the capabilities of a computer mouse or touchscreen. It can track three-dimensional motion on the hand or other commonplace surfaces, and can sense whether fingers are “clicked” or hovering. What’s more, OmniTouch does not require calibration — users can simply wear the device and immediately use its features. No instrumentation of the environment is needed; only the wearable device is needed.
TechMedia’s Internet Summit 2011 at the Raleigh, NC Convention Center Nov. 15-16 is jam-packed with top level content focused on the latest digital trends, online marketing techniques and IT best practices at the largest digital event in the Southeast.
The Internet Summit features two full days of learning mixed with awesome parties, great networking and entertaining keynotes. Here’s a sampling of topics that will be addressed:
Online Video
Cloud Panel
Ecommerce Trends
Reputation Management
Security/Risk Management
Startup Strategies
Enterprise 3.0 Panel
Email Marketing
Mobile Analytics
Advanced SEO
Big Data
Measuring Social
Design
Paid Search
CIO/CTO Panel
Online Advertising
Location Marketing
Marketing Through Facebook & Twitter
Virtualization
Social Media Marketing
Internet Entrepreneurship Panel
and much more.
Hear from the founders of companies like Gowalla, TheLadders, Twitpic & HowStuffWorks! Not enough? How about a Keynote from Top rated SXSW keynote and ‘Social Media King’ Gary Vaynerchuk? That’s just a sampling of the over 120 speakers and presenters that will be on hand.
Early confirmed presenters include:
Gary Vaynerchuk, Co-Founder, VaynerMedia
Josh Williams, Co-founder & CEO, Gowalla
Mac Cendella, Founder & CEO, The Ladders
Marshall Brain, Founder, How Stuff Works
David Perry, Business Development Executive, Google
Liz Strauss, Co-founder, SOBcon & LizStrauss.com
Noah Everett, Founder, TwitPic and Heello
Jack Krawczyk, Sr Product Marketing Mgr, StumbleUpon
Steve Jobs, who led Apple Inc. from near disaster to becoming the second most valuable company in the world, has died at age 56.
U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement saying “The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”
One time rival, later investor, Microsoft’s, Bill Gates said, “For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honour,”
Apple Inc issued a statement: “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve,”
Jobs, who worked until only six weeks ago, fought a long battle with cancer, had a liver transplant, and never seemed to lose his entrepreneurial spirit even as his body showed the ravages of his battle with illness.
We worked exclusively on Macs for more than a decade. They were the tool in publishing and graphics (and in many cases, remain so for graphics intensive professions). They were cool right from the start, too. We recall getting a kick out of seeing a Mac in the corner of Seinfeld’s apartment in the TV show.
They’re still cool, you have to say that. At TechMedia events, Macbooks, iPads and iPhones are frequently in evidence as tools of choice among the tech-savvy speakers and presenters.
Those early Apple computers – the small ones with the handles – empowered many of us in many ways. You could make a living with one. In our field, by designing newsletters and publications, starting a magazine, word processing and freelance writing and editing.
But you could also do a great deal more.
We wonder how many businesses owe their existence to a Mac or two and an entrepreneur?
The user interfaces of all the technological devices we enjoy now are better for the Apple influence.
But Jobs himself was neither a designer nor a software code writer. He was, as many stories say right up in the headlines, a visionary leader. It’s hard to write a story about Jobs without adding, he’ll be missed. — Allan Maurer
Google Sites led the explicit core search market in August with 64.8 percent of search queries conducted, according to comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world. If we ever see one of these comScore search engine reports start by saying another search engine captured the lead, we’d be surprised, but Bing (used on Microsoft and Yahoo sites), Ask Network all made slight gains for the month.
U.S. Explicit Core Search
Google Sites led the U.S. explicit core search market in August with 64.8 percent market share, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 16.3 percent (up 0.2 percentage points) and Microsoft Sites with 14.7 percent (up 0.3 percentage points). Ask Network accounted for 3.0 percent of explicit core searches (up 0.1 percentage points), followed by AOL, Inc. with 1.3 percent.
comScore Explicit Core Search Share Report* August 2011 vs. July 2011 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore qSearch
Core Search Entity
Explicit Core Search Share (%)
Jul-11
Aug-11
Point Change
Total Explicit Core Search
100.0%
100.0%
N/A
Google Sites
65.1%
64.8%
-0.3
Yahoo! Sites
16.1%
16.3%
0.2
Microsoft Sites
14.4%
14.7%
0.3
Ask Network
2.9%
3.0%
0.1
AOL, Inc.
1.5%
1.3%
-0.2
*“Explicit Core Search” excludes contextually driven searches that do not reflect specific user intent to interact with the search results.
More than 17.1 billion explicit core searches were conducted in August, with Google Sites ranking first with 11.1 billion searches. Yahoo! Sites came in second with 2.8 billion (up 1 percent), followed by Microsoft Sites with 2.5 billion (up 1 percent). Ask Network delivered 510 million searches (up 3 percent), followed by AOL, Inc. with 229 million.
comScore Explicit Core Search Query Report August 2011 vs. July 2011 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore qSearch
Core Search Entity
Explicit Core Search Queries (MM)
Jul-11
Aug-11
Percent Change
Total Explicit Core Search
17,141
17,122
0%
Google Sites
11,158
11,090
-1%
Yahoo! Sites
2,764
2,782
1%
Microsoft Sites
2,473
2,510
1%
Ask Network
494
510
3%
AOL, Inc.
251
229
-9%
U.S. Total Core Search
Google Sites accounted for 64.4 percent of total core search queries conducted, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 18.5 percent (up 0.6 percentage points) and Microsoft Sites with 13.3 percent. Ask Network comprised 2.6 percent of total search queries, followed by AOL, Inc. with 1.2 percent.
comScore Total Core Search Share Report* August 2011 vs. July 2011 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore qSearch
Core Search Entity
Total Core Search Share (%)
Jul-11
Aug-11
Point Change
Total Core Search
100.0%
100.0%
N/A
Google Sites
64.8%
64.4%
-0.4
Yahoo! Sites
17.9%
18.5%
0.6
Microsoft Sites
13.4%
13.3%
-0.1
Ask Network
2.6%
2.6%
0.0
AOL, Inc.
1.3%
1.2%
-0.1
* “Total Core Search” is based on the five major search engines, including partner searches, cross-channel searches and contextual searches. Searches for mapping, local directory, and user-generated video sites that are not on the core domain of the five search engines are not included in these numbers.
Americans conducted 19.5 billion total core search queries in August (up 1 percent). Google Sites ranked first with 12.5 billion searches (up 1 percent), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 3.6 billion (up 5 percent) and Microsoft Sites with 2.6 billion (up 1 percent).
comScore Total Core Search Query Report August 2011 vs. July 2011 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore qSearch
Core Search Entity
Total Core Search Queries (MM)
Jul-11
Aug-11
Percent Change
Total Core Search
19,218
19,482
1%
Google Sites
12,456
12,541
1%
Yahoo! Sites
3,444
3,610
5%
Microsoft Sites
2,573
2,592
1%
Ask Network
494
510
3%
AOL, Inc.
251
229
-9%
“Powered By” Reporting
As a part of comScore’s commitment to accurately represent the continued evolution of the search landscape, comScore is providing insight into the share of organic Core Explicit searches that are powered by Google and Bing.
In August, 66.8 percent of searches carried organic search results from Google (vs. 67.2 percent in July) while 27.1 percent of searches were powered by Bing (vs. 26.8 percent in July).
HP will make more TouchPad's available at fire sale prices
Evan Carmichael at The Entrepreneur Blog, has selected what he calls “The top 50 Social Media blogs.”
“Social media is not just about setting up a page for your company on Facebook, or creating a personal profile on LinkedIn. Social media is reshaping business as usual, and determining new ways of reaching out to consumers that were never possible before,” he writes.
While we agree with most of his choices, which include the obvious choices (Mashable, ReadWriteWeb) as well as many less well known, our only real quibble is that the TechJournal should be on the list. Perhaps next year as we continue to evolve our editorial mix.
Still, we recommend taking a look at Carmichael’s picks. You may find a new source of information and insight.
HP will offer more TouchPads
HP was surprised by the demand for its marked down Touchpad tablet computer, which sold out its stock at $99. The company says it will run another batch off the assembly line and may even continue supporting the product. Here’s a report from Governement tech site GCN: gcn.com/articles/2011/09/01/hp-touchpad-frenzy-lessons-for-apple.aspx?s=gcndaily_020911
Microsoft sued for Phone 7 info collecting
A woman sued Microsoft this week in a district court in Seattle for allegedly tracking location info on Windows Phone 7 users without their consent or knowledge as part of its efforts to develop ad sales around the information, according to the complaint.
Microsoft’s director of Bing search, Stefan Weitz says the company’s search engine, Bing, which is now two years old, thinks it is ok for Bing to be second to Google for now. He points out there has been a “huge jump” in awareness of Bing and says “You should expect more from search.”
He opines on that and the future of web and mobile search in this video:
RALEIGH, NC – You can still get the Early Bird rate of only $195 to attend the Internet Summit 2011 in Raleigh, NC, Nov. 15-16, but only until August 31.
The Summit promises to be the biggest and best yet. It features:
Keynote by Gary Vaynerchuk, “Social Media King” & NY Times bestselling author
While the cloud offers great opportunities for efficiency, savings and increased return on investment, many companies are struggling to improve the performance of their cloud-based applications and services.
This is costing money and time, diminishing their return on investment.
The Art of Service Founder and CEO Ivanka Menken is leading an industry charge to improve cloud performance by training IT professionals.
“The recent survey report ‘Performance in the Cloud’ alerted the IT industry to a trend of poor performance in cloud-based applications and services,” Menken said. “This performance, along with a company’s ROI, can be reversed through further training and education of IT professionals.”
Menken said that according to the report, North American companies that responded to the survey are losing an average of $1 million per year due to poor cloud performance. The result is that 58 percent of companies responding are delaying or halting their adoption of cloud-based technology due to an inability to efficiently manage the applications.
Used properly, cloud computing can assist IT professionals and companies with important areas including risk management, storage, standards, infrastructure, platforms, applications and clients, resulting in an increased return on investment.
The Art of Service has a dog in this hunt. It provides the type of training Menken said is needed. But the need to train IT pros in cloud management should be obvious from the number of cloud outages even at major player cloud operations (Amazon, Microsoft).
“This is at the core of Art of Service’s cloud computing educational pathways,” Menken said. “Our courses will benefit IT professionals who wish to excel at managing cloud-based applications and services while also furthering their careers.”
The U.S. Federal Communications System says it won’t permit LIghtSquared’s proposed middle broadband service to interfere with GPS signals.
The FCC is considering whether or not to let LightSquared’s service proceed.
Some tests showed that GPS receivers pickup interference from spectrum beyond that used by the devices.
In a backgrounding event for reporters, FCC officials said that it won’t allow the LightSquared proposal to use spectrum from 1526 to 1536 MHz and a satellite service in part of the 1600 band if it interferes with nearby GPS spectrum at 1559 to 1610 MHz.
New Microsoft update fixes 22 security flaws
On 8/10, Microsoft issued 13 security updates that patch 22 security flaws in IE, Windows, Office, and other software. Three are rated critical.
The updates fix, among other things, critical vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 9. Security experts say the IE9 updates should be deployed first. They prevent drive-by downloads of malware when visiting infected web sites.
Market volatility scotches some tech IPO plans
The Wall Street Journal reports (requires a subscription to read entire article) that two of four tech firms planning initial public offerings of stock this week have “hit the pause button.” Both Pandora and LinkedIn shares fell substantially in August and the S&P downgrade, political instability and economic uncertainty are shuttering what once looked like a wide-open IPO window for Internet companies and other tech firms.
VC-backed 3D motion sensor maker InvenSense and Portuguese mobile payment company TIM and Wageworks have all gone into drop back ten and punt mode. Boston-based online backup company Carbonite, still plans to price Thursday night (after slashing its offering range from $15-$17 to $11 to $12.
Amazon releases Kindle Cloud Reader
Amazon For over two years, Amazon has been offering a wide selection of free Kindle reading apps that enable customers to “Buy Once, Read Everywhere.” Customers can already read Kindle books on the largest number of the most popular devices and platforms, including Kindles, iPads, iPhones, iPod touches, PCs, Macs, Android phones and tablets, and BlackBerrys.
Today, Amazon.com has released the Kindle Cloud Reader, its latest Kindle reading application that leverages HTML5 and enables customers to read Kindle books instantly using only their web browser – online or offline – with no downloading or installation required. As with all Kindle apps, Kindle Cloud Reader automatically synchronizes your Kindle library, as well as your last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights for all of your Kindle books, no matter how you choose to read them. Kindle Cloud Reader with its integrated touch optimized Kindle Store is available starting today for Safari on iPad, Safari on desktop and Chrome at www.amazon.com/cloudreader.
Features of Kindle Cloud Reader include:
An immersive view of your entire Kindle library, with instant access to all of your books
Start reading over 950,000 Kindle books instantly within your browser
An embedded Kindle Store optimized for your web browser makes it seamless to discover new books and start reading them instantly
New Kindle Store for iPad is built from the ground up for iPad’s touch interface
Your current book is automatically made available for offline use, and you can choose to save a book for reading offline at any time
Receive automatic software updates without the need to download new software
Select any book to start reading, customize the page layout to your desired font size, text color, background color, and more
View all of the notes, highlights, and bookmarks that you’ve made on other Kindle apps or on Kindle
Sync your last page read across your Kindle and free Kindle apps so you can always pick up where you left off
Kindle Cloud Reader is available for Safari on iPad, Safari on desktop and Chrome starting today. Kindle Cloud Reader on the iPad is optimized for the size and unique touch interface of iPad. Without even leaving the app, customers can start shopping in the Kindle Store and will find a unique and immersive shopping experience built specifically for iPad’s Safari browser.
Kindle Cloud Reader will be available on additional web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, the BlackBerry PlayBook browser, and other mobile browsers, in the coming months.
Amazon.com customers can start reading their Kindle books immediately using Kindle Cloud Reader at www.amazon.com/cloudreader.
Finding IT talent remains a “serious challenge,” Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Borders.
He told the subcommittee that as of May, Microsoft had 4,551 job openings that included 2,629 computer science positions and on average requires up to 65 days to find qualified staff.
Smith attributed the problem to an American educational system that is turning out too few grads with the high tech skills needed to fill jobs and not enough foreign talent available due to immigration regulations. The unemployment problem in the U.S. is partly a skills problem, Smith said.
About 60 percent of Ph.D computer science grads from U.S. institutions last were foreign nationals, he said.
Smith told the subcommittee it needs to relax immigration policies to help fill the gap. Microsoft wants the federal cap on employment-related green cards raised (currently about 140,000 a year).
AT&T says that starting Oct. 1, heavy data users may see downstream connections slow if they end up in the top 5 percent in use during any billing cycle.
The change will only affect unlimited data plan users. Data use on Wi-Fi won’t count toward the total.
The company says it is also investing in continually upgrading its network and attempting to acquire more network capacity. But AT&T says throttling heavy data users and its other efforts will not meet the data crunch challenge.
“Nothing short of completing the T-Mobile merger will provide additional spectrum capacity to address these near-term challenges,” the company said in a statement, speaking of the $39 billion merger announced in March. The deal faces some opposition from Washington legislators and competitors.
Symantec names Steve Bennet chair
Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) says its board intends to elect independent board member Steve Bennett to the position of chairman. Bennett will succeed John W. Thompson, former Symantec CEO and chairman. Thompson will continue to serve the remainder of his term, but has chosen not to stand for reelection in order to pursue other business and personal interests. Bennett will assume the Chairman position effective October 25, 2011, at the conclusion of Thompson’s term and immediately following Symantec’s 2011 annual meeting of stockholders.
Facebook offers bug bounty
Facebook says it will pay hackers to uncover pr0blems on its website as long as they report it to Facebook’s security team first.
The company’s Web Bounty program, similar to efforts from Google and Mozilla, will pay a base rate of $500 to discover security problems such as cross site scripting flaws and will pay even more to uncover even more serious security problems.
Austin-Texas-based Kimbia lands $4M for online fundraising tech
Kimbia Inc.it raised more than $4 million in a Series 2 round of funding led by S3 Ventures to expand industry adoption of its Web-based fundraising and event management software. Kimbia’s innovative platform is designed to power the next generation of online fundraisers, event organizers and social advocates. Kimbia donation and registration forms are fully customizable through a Web-based control panel and are deployable anywhere on the Web via fully-secure form widgets — effectively allowing any Web page, blog or mobile device to accept credit card donations and/or registration fees.
Nashville-based EDO Interactive grabs $20M funding
EDO Interactive, which sells a digital deals and incentives platform, has reaise $20 million in a B round led by Baird Venture Partners and VantagePoint Capital Partners.
Hearsay Social raises $18Mto connect local branches and reps
Hearsay Social, a San Francisco-based firm selling social media SaaS solutions for local branches and representatives of brands, raise $18 million from New Enterprise Associates with participation by existing investor Sequoia Capital.
BigCommerce nabs $12.6M for ecommerce software
BigCommerce, based in Austin, Texas, which sells ecommerce software for SME’s, has raised $12.6 million in a B round led by Madrone Capital. Sigma Partners participated in the round.
Xoom, Motorola’s tablet entry, hit the market at $800 but didn’t move the retail dial much. The company slashed the price to $500 – which makes it more competitive with the iPad – earlier this month. Now, however, the company warns that the price cut may also slash its Q3 profits.
CEO Sanjay Jha admitted he had misjudged price points for tablets, but says the company will introduce five new devices, including two new high speed tablets capable of using high speed LTE technology. And, he says, “We now recognize where the price points are.”
We tested a Xoom and found it less than an ideal tool for the types of things we need from a mobile device, such as taking photos (too heavy for comfortable use as a camera and it was tough to see the screen outdoors), or typing. We don’t care much for virtual keypads. It, like Apple’s iPad, weighs about 1.6 pounds, and it does have features the iPad does not.
It plays Flash video, which is nearly ubiquitous on the web, and it did perform tasks quickly, connected to Wi-Fi easily and shows color books to good advantage.
We suspect, however, that much of the iPad’s success is due to the Apple prestige factor and dedicated Apple fans, so we’re not sure cutting the price on the Xoom will help it much. It will be interesting to see how the company’s next batch of tablets and devices perform in the marketplace.
HTC hits record profits
One device we tested that we did like was the Windows Phone 7 Arrive from HTC with a handy slide-out keypad to supplement the virtual one on screen, easy to use, intuitive photo controls, quick and easy connections, and the operating system we like best so far on smartphones (we haven’t tested an iPhone, but used several Android devices).
We’re not the only ones who like HTC products. The company reported record Q2 profits,selling 12.1 million units and racking up a 123.7 percent year-over-year growth rate.
A lot of that growth came from China, the top market for the Taiwan-based firm.
The company faces trouble over its patent dispute with rival Apple, though. An International Trade Commission recently ruled in Apple’s favor in its request to have the ITC impose an import (to the U.S.) ban on HTC products. That could throw some legal static into HTC’s continuing success going forward.
Verizon edges out T-Mobile for best customer service, AT&T last
Verizon scored well for the way it handles calls, while T-Mobile stood out for its online options.
Neither Sprint nor AT&T managed to score the industry average of 762 in their “Power Circle” ranks. Sprint only hit 752, leading last place AT&T by only a point.
Apple has more cash than the U.S. Treasury
The Washington Post’s Matt Hartley says Apple Inc., which reported it has $76.156 billion in cash on hand in its latest earnings report, has more money than the U.S. Treasury (which has an operating balance of $73.768 million).
Other reports say many American Corporations are flush with cash, yet most remains skittish about hiring. Seems to us that no one is going to keep making money if not enough working people are making money.
The International Trade Commission has ruled that smartphone maker Taiwan-based HTC Corp. violated two Apple Inc. patents. HTC has said it thinks it has a strong case for appeal, but has not yet completed its analysis of the ITC finding. Ten patents were in dispute in a case that dates back to March 2010.
HTC makes the HTC Incredible, and HTC Arrive Windows Phone 7. It’s so-called “Facebook” phone, with social networking features, goes on sale today from AT&T. HTC has received generally excellent reviews for its hardware. We recently tested an Arrive Windows Phone 7 and found it one of the easiest to use of the half dozen smartphones we’ve tried. It’s intuitive interface makes signing up to you Internet accounts, using the camera, or playing games a frustration-free experience.
HTC, which has a research and development lab at the Durham, NC, American Tobacco Campus, has sold 9.7 million smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system in the first quarter.
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” iPad App
-For the first time, an interactive book App outsold all other categories of Apps — games, utilities and entertainment. Moonbot Studios, a multi-platform storytelling company, today announced “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” App, an animated short film and book for iPad, was the #1 top paid iPad App and #2 top grossing iPad App on the App Store during the week of July 11.
The animated short film continues to be accepted at national and international film festivals. “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” App is available for $4.99 from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore. A stand-alone version of the short film is available for $2.99 on iTunes or at www.itunes.com.
Captain Kirk kicked off Google+?
William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain Kirk in Star Trek, if anyone reading this blog could possibly not know that, tweeted that he received a notice from Google+ that his Google+ account had been flagged for “violating standards,” according to a tweet he posted Monday, July 18.
His tweet: “My Google+ account was flagged for violating standards. Saying hello to everyone apparently is against the rules maybe I should say goodbye?”
We can just hear the dialog: “Uhura, establish Google+ Communications.”
“Sorry Captain, something seems to be wrong. Perhaps the Klingons are interfering with our communications channels.”
Tech Crunch speculates that it is more likely just a beta glitch and Shatner’s account will probably be reinstated.
Shatner, of course, is also known for touting Priceline in an endless series of TV commercials.
Ryan Allis of iContact, the email marketing firm based in the Research Triangle, NC, landed at number 6 on PeekYou’s PeekScore list of under 30 “Internet Hotshots.” Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook tops the list, followed by Pete Cashmore (Mashable founder), Matt Mullenweg (WordPress), Andrew Mason (founder, CEO, Groupon), and David Karp (Tumblr, Senduit), Allis, Gurbaksh Chahal (gWallet.com), Naveen Selvadurai (co-founder, Foursquare), Justin Kan (justin.tv), and Matt Mickiewicz (flippa.com, 99designs.com).
As is obvious, most are founder/CEOs of the most used social networks.
PeekYou also did a list of tech and Internet luminaries 31 and older. Steve Balmer of Microsoft heads that one, followed by Larry Page, Steve Jobs, Evan Williams, Carol Bartz, Larry Ellison, Michael Arrington, Jeff Bezos, Paul Otellini, and John Donahoe.
Dropbox raising $200 to $300 million round at $5B valuation
TechCrunch reports that the cloud storage and sharing service Dropbox is raising a new round of $200 to $300 million in funding valued at $5 billion.
The service, which had a security glitch that exposed user passwords to all and sundry for several hours last month, currently has 25 million registered members (including us). Dropbox lets users place files in the cloud and access them from any device with Dropbox installed. Users can also create password protected shared folders, which make collaboration easy. It’s really handy for making documents available on different computers.
Based in San Francisco, the company was founded in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi. It has raised $7.1 million in venture backing from & Combinator, Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital and others.
Angry Birds ‘always looking foir funding”
GameBeat reports an exchange with Wibe Wagemans at the GameBeat 2011 conference in San Francisco that suggests that Rovio, maker of the popular Angry Birds game, may be seeking additional funding. Wageman, Rovio’s head of global brand advertising said on stage that the company “was always looking for new funding.”
The company closed a $42 million funding round in March. Based in Finland, the company has expanded rapidly on the success of Angry Birds.
Evernote jots down $50M in new funding
Evernote, maker of another program we use daily for note-taking online and in general, has raised $50 million in new venture backing in a round led by Sequoia Capital with Morgenthaler Ventures participating. The valuation, according to TechCrunch, is at least $1 billion. The company previously raised about $40 million from those two investors and DOCOMO Capital and Troika Dialog.
Like Dropbox, Evernote can be installed on multiple digital devices, making your notes available and searchable from wherever you work, if its installed. It is available in both a free and a premium edition with advance features. So far we haven’t needed to upgrade to premium, but we use it so often, we can see a time when we might.
Other fundings:
It looks like a red-letter day for the funding of Internet centric companies. San Francisco-based MoPub, a mobile ad startup, has raised $6.5 million in first round funding from Accel Partners. Badgeville, a Menlo Park, CA-based provider of a social loyalty platform raised $12 million in a B round from Norwest Venture Partners and El Dorado Ventures.
Microsoft, dammit, you had it right there in front of you. Your much-anticipated “for-real-this-time” entry into the mobile OS game that was going to make everyone forget about the Kin and go head-to-head with Droids and iPhones is now officially in the mainstream with Verizon’s entry, the HTC Trophy, and you never even once considered what could have been an enormous branding coup.
The MicroPhone.
You’re welcome.
Instead, we get Windows Phone 7. And this speaks directly to my problem with the Windows Mobile Strategy since they first figured out it’d be super sweet if the iPaq could make phone calls.
1) All they’re doing is playing catch-up.
2) They’re not sprinting.
Microsoft, I still love you. As a proud former Cassiopeia owner who still has a Windows laptop in a Mac shop even though it happens to have an untouched Vista partition because that was your advice to me when I couldn’t retrowrite it with XP – anyway, I had high hopes for the MicroPhone, and I’m desperately trying to avoid jumping on the bashwagon, but I’m not seeing the mobile strategy equivalent of Halo.
Xbox Live Integration!
In 2011, Microsoft has two things going strongly for it. One, Macs are still expensive. Two, the Xbox.
Everything about the Xbox is exponentially cooler than its competition. The Kinect is a terrible exercise in setup frustration that is rewarded with too few games, but it’s cool. I still can’t watch ESPN3 on my Time Warner Cable connected Xbox, but every time I see the logo on my dashboard, I can’t help but imagine how cool that’s going to be.
Work it out, jerks.
So it stands to reason that Xbox Live integration into the MicroPhone should be heralded as the coolest thing to happen to a phone since someone else’s voice came out of it.
But hold on. It’s Xbox Live.
When I do use Xbox Live on my console to play the occasional online game, it’s because I want to play a shooter or a sports game against someone other than the computer. I want to immerse myself in intricate playability, the unspeakably awesome graphics on my big-ass living room television, and the enhanced 6.1 Surround Sound cranking out of my speakers.
Online! Banking!
HTC Trophy smartphone
The mobile gaming experience is the polar opposite. If I want to play a game on my phone, it’s because I’m waiting in line at the bank. I don’t care about the graphics or the sound or even the depth of gameplay, as long as I can start and stop quickly and do it with one hand.
Which is pretty much the drill for everything you do with your mobile.
Microsoft brought the ages-old PC practice of cheap downloadable non-blockbuster games to the console, and in this they’ve had some hits. So instead of building around the Xbox Live brand to make the mobile gaming experience something unique, they just shoved Xbox Live games into the phone.
But in the mobile universe, WinMo7 is starting out already woefully behind iOS and Android in the app and gaming department, and the Xbox Live brand is just not enough to make Microsoft a mobile gaming contender out of the box.
I’m looking at my game selection right now, and I’m being steered towards Plants vs. Zombies and Angry at the Birds.
No, I typed that last one correctly.
It’s So Much More Than Games!
Every other aspect of the Xbox Live experience is pretty much the equivalent of what you’d expect from an iPhone or an Android phone. Or for that matter the MicroPhone itself. Xbox Live has Netflix. WinMo has a native Netflix app. Xbox Live has Facebook. WinMo has a native Facebook app.
Both have Zune, so there you go.
There’s the Xbox Live community, sure, but I’ll go ahead and admit that I have no friends. Wait. I have Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and Google + and actual friends, but since those friends and I are rarely waiting in line at the bank at the same time, we’re probably not going to be mobile gaming together.
In fact, if we were in line at the bank at the same time, we’d probably just put our phones away and strike up a conversation.
Preemptive Comment Strike: I’m sure hardcore gamers can probably get a lot of use out of Xbox Live for MicroPhone, but are you guys really leaving your house that much? Aren’t you there right now?
MS Office in the Palm of Your Hand!
Well…
1) Google Docs: I’m barely running Office on my laptop anymore. In fact, if it weren’t for all the time I spend in bars and movie theaters during work hours and the fact that I’m too cheap to spring for mobile wireless, I wouldn’t use Office at all.
2) Tablets: It’s the size, not the software. A mobile phone is simply not an effective business device replacement. A tablet is.
3) RIM: The convergence of the business mobile device and the personal mobile device has happened. When? A quick glance at RIMM’s stock chart shows it was 2/18/11.
Business functionality requires a small subset of features compared to personal. RIM aced the former and blew the latter. Again, Office isn’t enough of a brand to force a change from iOS or Android for business reasons and give up all the apps.
When I showed my kids Angry at the Birds, they looked at me like I gave them a Paydaycandy bar. Like… thanks?
Even Without Xbox Live and Office, It’s a Perfectly Adequate Phone!
And that leaves all the things that a mobile device is supposed to do. Camera? Check. GPS? You betcha. Email? Of course.
The MicroPhone does all of these. The presentation is beautiful, the navigation is a little shaky in terms of relearning menus (“pivots” scroll across the top). It rings when people call you.
The HTC handset is phenomenal, by the way, once more boosting my admiration of HTC products. (Editor’s note: we recently tested an HTC Windows 7 phone as well and also found the HTC handset an excellent piece of equipment and the Windows 7 operating system the easiest and most intuitive to use of all those we’ve tried.)
Like I said, I had high hopes for MicroPhone™. I’ve gone so far as to ask around hoping my own ignorance had kept me from discovering that new new thing that way.
It may be there, but if it is, it’s down the road. Maybe with the Mango update later this year.
Joe Procopio heads up product engineering for sports media startup StatSheet . He also owns consulting firm Intrepid Company and creative network Intrepid Media and runs the startup social ExitEvent. Joe can be reached via Twitter @jproco and read joeprocopio.com.
Probably all of us have had days when the idea of getting in the car yet again to face the interminable morning rush hour is just too much to bear. Not to mention we’ll only be arriving at an office full of distractions that make completing that time-sensitive project all the more challenging. If only we could work from home!
Well, for some of us, that’s an option. According to a recent survey commissioned by Microsoft that assessed opinions and attitudes of more than 4,500 information workers in 15 major U.S. cities toward telework, nearly three in five information workers in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area say their company has a formal policy allowing employees to work remotely.
While it’s not the most remote working-friendly city (Washington, D.C. ranked 7th among the 15 cities surveyed), survey results indicate that Washington, D.C. businesses are beginning to acknowledge that in order to succeed, they must embrace the new mobile world of work. For this acceptance to continue increasing, business decision makers should consider two key survey trends that validate the growing importance of telework:
Telework is no longer an employee perk; it’s a business imperative – In the past, employers might just have granted the privilege to work from home on the occasional snow day or when employees faced personal emergencies. Now, though, businesses that can’t effectively mobilize employees risk falling far behind competitors that can operate with more agility. Advances in mobile technology make it possible to conduct business anytime, anywhere – a reality that customers are well aware of and come to expect from the businesses they patronize. Even the federal government acknowledges this change and signed the Telework Act of 2010 that included a requirement for heads of agencies to establish telework policies.
Telework offers real benefits to employers and employees alike – It’s not just employees who benefit from remote working, with the option to avoid long commutes and establish a better work-life balance, work with fewer distractions, etc. Survey results indicate that employers come out ahead, too, with the ability to attract a wider talent pool and save money by reducing office space requirements. Additionally, employers that make remote working easy and achievable for all employees will preserve business continuity when disaster or other unexpected interruptions arise.
A remote working program is only as good as the technology that supports it, so it’s also vital for business decision makers to implement collaboration software that makes it easy for employees to communicate and access information. Office 365, for example, takes productivity applications employees likely are already familiar with and makes them available on any device – PC, laptop or mobile phone. Technologies like Lync integrate all the many ways employees communicate – phone, e-mail, video chat, etc. – into one platform for more streamlined collaboration.
Businesses also need to ensure they can provide technical support to remote employees. Fortunately, trends in technical support from software providers like Microsoft make it easier than ever before for users to self-resolve many common issues. Proactive support features also mean users will experience higher product quality and the resolution of technical issues even before they make themselves evident.
Google Sites led the explicit core search market in October with 65.6 percent of search queries conducted, according to comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR).
Nearly 2,000 interactive marketers, IT executives, entrepreneurs, digital/new media strategists, venture capitalists and technology professionals will connect at the Raleigh Convention Center for the 
Walter Isaacson, who penned the new biography of Apple’s Steve Jobs that goes on sale Monday, is slated to be interviewed on 60 Minutes Sunday Night. It’s unusual for the CBS news magazine show, 60 Minutes to delve much into the tech world, but Jobs’ influence is felt in many areas – design, innovative thinking, role model.
OmniTouch, a wearable projection system developed by researchers at Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University, enables users to turn pads of paper, walls or even their own hands, arms and legs into graphical, interactive surfaces.
TechMedia’s 
Steve Jobs, who led Apple Inc. from near disaster to becoming the second most valuable company in the world, has died at age 56.
Google Sites led the explicit core search market in August with 64.8 percent of search queries conducted, according to comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world. If we ever see one of these comScore search engine reports start by saying another search engine captured the lead, we’d be surprised, but Bing (used on Microsoft and Yahoo sites), Ask Network all made slight gains for the month.
Microsoft’s director of Bing search, Stefan Weitz says the company’s search engine, Bing, which is now two years old, thinks it is ok for Bing to be second to Google for now. He points out there has been a “huge jump” in awareness of Bing and says “You should expect more from search.”
RALEIGH, NC – You can still get the Early Bird rate of only $195 to attend the Internet Summit 2011 in Raleigh, NC, Nov. 15-16, but only until August 31.
While the cloud offers great opportunities for efficiency, savings and increased return on investment, many companies are struggling to improve the performance of their cloud-based applications and services.
The U.S. Federal Communications System says it won’t permit LIghtSquared’s proposed middle broadband service to interfere with GPS signals.
Finding IT talent remains a “serious challenge,” Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Borders.
AT&T says that starting Oct. 1, heavy data users may see downstream connections slow if they end up in the top 5 percent in use during any billing cycle.
Facebook says it will pay hackers to uncover pr0blems on its website as long as they report it to Facebook’s security team first.
William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain Kirk in Star Trek, if anyone reading this blog could possibly not know that, tweeted that he received a notice from Google+ that his 
Ryan Allis of iContact, the email marketing firm based in the Research Triangle, NC, landed at number 6 on PeekYou’s
GameBeat reports
