Monday, September 29, 2008
Android and Apple
By offering Android to cell phone manufacturers as an open source OS, Google has the opportunity to get in front of a huge audience. Unlike Apple’s exclusive contract with AT&T, Google is not locked in to any one carrier or piece of hardware. This gives them an advantage, but it can present a challenge as well.
One of the key selling points of Android is the Android Market, Google’s answer to the iTunes App Store. Anyone can develop applications for Android and make them available in the Market. However, some developers are concerned about having to code and support software for a variety of phone hardware configurations.
Apple has tried (with minimal success) to quality control the applications made available for the iPhone with a vague approval process. They have taken quite a bit of criticism recently for rejecting apps (MailWrangler, Pull My Finger) and rather than reevaluating their policies, Apple’s solution has been to silence the rejected developers. Since there’s no approval process, innovative developers will have a much easier time making their products available to the Android audience. The drawback is that the lack of an approval process could lead to a glut of useless apps that must be sorted through to find the good ones. Even worse would be buggy or malicious software. Google will have to overcome these concerns.
Ultimately the biggest factor in deciding the success of Android will be usability. The iPhone, for all its shortcomings (lack of voice-dialing, no copy and paste, no real-time GPS navigation, among many others,) is easy to use, provides the best mobile web browsing experience available, and serves as an excellent all-in-one media and communication device. That’s a tall order for the G1 and subsequent Android devices to match or exceed. But the effort will officially push mobile technology into its next generation.
Cell phones aren’t just cell phones anymore. They are rapidly transforming into mobile computers. As prices on these devices drop, and new software makes them easier and more flexible to use, mainstream acceptance will increase. I’m locked into my iPhone until 2010, but as a tech junkie I’m excited to see what develops before I get my next phone.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Search and PR – Perfect Partners
PR people and search marketers are poised to be able to work together in a way that offers far more value for our joint clients than if we remain as separate entities. Search marketers understand the social media environment, search engine reputation management and online content distribution – all areas that PR professionals need to move into as public relations transitions more and more into the Web 2.0 space. It makes sense to work together to ensure that clients are getting optimal results for both their PR and search marketing initiatives.
Because search marketers are already implementing social media and reputation management programs for our clients, we have the metrics to support their value – something I heard many PR practitioners looking for at the conference.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Search Engine Recap for August 2008
Search Monkey is a set of open-source tools that allow users and publishers to annotate and enhance search results associated with specific web sites.
Deepamalar Manimaran - LinkedIn
View Deepamalar Manimaran's professional profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Deepamalar ... |
The same search in Yahoo gives the following result:
1. Deepamalar Manimaran - Group Manager, SEM Technical Services at Digital...
Location: | Greater |
Current: | Group Manager, SEM Technical Services, Digital Brand Expressions |
2. www.linkedin.com/pub/4/0A4/A9B
MSN Webmaster Tools introduced a number of new features that provide webmasters with more information on their websites’ crawl issues and indexing details, plus new tools like the robots.txt validator. One feature I found particularly interesting is the enhanced backlink data.
The enhanced features include:
- Frequency Capping enables advertisers to limit the number of times a user sees an ad.
- Frequency Reporting lets advertisers view the frequency data, including how many people have seen an ad and how many times a user saw the ad.
- Google says the enhancements will also provide "Improved Ads Quality” and better conversion tracking with "View-Through Conversions".