By: Ben Yoskovitz’s | Source: instigatorblog.com

Every blogger is faced with situations that don’t allow them to publish as frequently as normal. Could be a slump. Maybe they’re too busy. Or…wait for it…they could be taking a vacation!

When there’s some planned time away from the computer lots of bloggers will set the publish date on stories in advance, so the stories go live automatically - but that’s not always the case.

Thinking about the blog saddle a bit more, here are 6 steps to help:

1. Read More. Now is a great time to catch up on some reading - be it your feeds, or, dare I say it, an actual book. I spent a few days reading some magazines and the newspaper, letting new ideas and thoughts percolate in the back of my head.

Read the rest of this entry »

By: Christopher Simmons | Source: advertisingindustrynewswire.com

While the subject of contextual branding against other company’s trademarks will not be a new issue to some people, and I had been aware of the problem from the past couple of years of litigation between major companies and search portals like Google and Yahoo!, nevertheless I was a bit surprised when my brand was targeted by an upstart competitor.

Pay per click (PPC), and pay for position (PFP), advertising was pioneered by the folks at Goto.com (which became Overture, now part of Yahoo!), then picked up as a good idea in different flavors by companies like Findwhat.com (disclosure: I was on the FW launch team), Google, and MSN. It’s a great concept, type in a search for tennis shoes and you might find an ad for my favorite online shoe store Eastbay.com, or type in computer parts and you might find a popular PC parts vendor Newegg.com.

That’s great for advertisers, and great for online shops and sellers. It is called “contextual advertising,” where ads which are related (in context) to what somebody is viewing, are shown. Makes total sense. If you’re doing a search about guitars, why shouldn’t you see advertisements about guitar shops and online music stores?

Spread the word: bookmark it/ readit

By: Kevin Tom | Source: googledesktop.blogspot.com

Google released today a visually appealing Google Desktop 5 beta application featuring a new sidebar and gadgets.

The new desktop search enables users to preview search results right inside the browser, so you don’t need to wait for an entire application.

Also new security feature was added to alert users of sites that might be trying to steal personal information or install malicious software on the computer.

The sidebar has a completely new look and feel. It samples the color of your wallpaper and fades in the sampled color so that it fits seamlessly onto your desktop. Some of our gadgets have been redesigned so that they are easy to tell apart, easy to read, and easy on the eyes. More differentiated gadgets allow for faster scanning of information through the sidebar. And we’ve created a new dialog for adding gadgets so it’s easier and faster than ever to find the right gadgets for you.

Read the rest of this entry »