All I wish is that over-the-counter store gift cards can be spent online.

Quick boot up

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UPDATED: 12/05/2010
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Google Squared, an experimental service, automatically compiles details from several Web pages and organizes them into a table on a single page, with multiple columns like a spread sheet. A search for “small dogs,” for instance, returns a list of breeds, an accompanying image and a brief description, plus the average height and weight of each breed.

I have to admit I’m slightly worried with the fact that these changes and added layers of search just won’t catch on with ordinary Joes (six pack?) out there in the world. It might prove a hit with those researchers but would the person off the high street want these filters, columns and such for finding a cheap TV. I’m not so sure. And I’m not so sure that Squared would be a regularly used feature either. I’ll be seeing what Wolfram Alpha does and looking very closely at its ability to deal with spam in particular.

This month sees the launch of Wolfram Alpha, the much talked about search engine created by Stephen Wolfram. Forget the fact that naming the engine after one self may constitute as a glorious vanity project. No, this baby looks serious with a hefty engine under the bonnet. Other search engines have tried and failed to dismount the oversized mammoth that is Google (Cuil anyone?) but WA has a chance to take a slice of the search pie from Yahoo! at least. Here’s why: its much hyped computional engine. WA essentially runs on big server technology sucking up all the data it can get its hands on via your website. Algorithms sift and filter this mass of info but not just a few. The blog states that tens of thousands of algorithms could be at work to get the information you need. A much detailed explanation can be found here.

However, the crux of the matter would be not necessaryily the relevancy of searches generated. Google’s initial popularity was helped by its simplicity over its rival, Yahoo!. Usability and to some degree how it spread by word-of-mouth would be  defining factors on the success of Wolfram Alpha. I don’t think your Paris Hilton’s of the world would be much interested in ‘mathematica’ or its ‘world class algorithm’ if it works like a dog and doesn’t offer the simplicity of Google.

I’ll be watching this one closely and hopefully it wouldn’t fall over on launch.

Meanwhile, the contraversy of privacy will always wage on. Only today, Google had to pull some pictures of people in a less than respectable manner off the service. Full details here on the BBC. Earlier in the year, Mr and Mrs Boring ,an American family, tried to sue Google for invading their privacy for using images of the front of their house. They then subsequently shot themselves in the foot by publishing their full address in the legal notes. The case collapsed. Roll on the mighty Google machine!

I want to claim Twitter back from Stephen Fry! Who nominated him as the poster boy for all things Twitter? He was in Blackadder as well you know!

Lots of info about Twitter filtering through. Here’s the first part of an interview with co founder Jack Doresy

What do I think of it? I don’t like it. I feel its trying to desperately wave its arms in the air trying to attract attention. It seems a little weird for weird sake. In this day in age when advertising spend is likely to decrease would these type of ads survive the current downturn.

The original and best ad. We don’t need no eyebrows:

This was an interesting one touted as ‘My Secret Weapon’ on the conference agenda. The main focus was buying sites and domains to give your own efforts a boost in the rankings. First up was Richard Kershaw of qualitynonsense.com. He presented his case in a list:

Why does he do it?

• To Gain Links
• Be on topic
• Deals with competition
• Grow your links faster

The good news is that all the tools to by sites are in the public domain and expensive ones are only optional. He noted that quality sites rarely change hands but warned that it is best to buy undervalued sites rather than the cheap sites. Owners will tend to overvalue their property when dealing with them so be prepared to haggle.

How to find the right sites?

There are plenty of ways to find sites on the market. Look at bankruptcy notices. Locate sites in DMOZ and find those hub sites. Look at your competitor’s back links and use paid tools like Syntryx.

The approach will not be easy…

Like with link building in general, most of it involve relationship building. Use the phone to make a call directly to the owner otherwise the primary method of communications would have to be done via email. Try not to mention about money straight away but be tenacious. The objective at the start of a conversation would be gain trust with the owner. Make sure you get to see traffic data. When the time comes make the deal make a firm offer and make it easy to do business.

Don’t get scammed

Move quickly once the deal is in its closing stages. You should make sure that a trusted doamin registrar is involved. Be careful not to get influenced by the more colourful characters – you can use escrow.com as an intermediate. It is best not to trust anybody untill the domain is in your hands.

How important is a domain?

You can raise the sales by 30% just by buying an old domain. Think about the legacy of a domain if you are buying. URLs could have been banned or be associated with negativity (ex-porn URLs)

Dave Naylor

Naylor seems to disagree with Kershaw in that emails are not the suitable for contacting. Contacting should be done through telephone. He states that traffic and on theme topicality are much more important than PageRank.

Be aware of the following:-

• Age of Site

• Quailty of site

• Traffic

• Rankings

• Price

Beaware that Google algorithms will look out for the passing of WHOis information. It will reset you very quickly if you leave tracks.