Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
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Daily Search Forum Recap: March 10, 2010
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 10:00pm CET by rustybrick
Tags: Search Forum Recap
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Chuck Norris Turns 70 Today, No Google Doodle?
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 3:14pm CET by rustybrick
Tags: Other Google Topics
Google and Chuck Norris have a long history. If you go to Google.com and search for [find chuck norris] and hit, "I'm feeling lucky" button you will be taken to this result that reads:
Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you.
So it is surprising to see that on the 70th birthday of Chuck Norris, Google doesn't have a special Google Doodle up. Chuck Norris was born on March 10, 1940 and 70 years later, I would have thought he would deserve a special Google logo.
I am not the only one who feels he deserves a logo. There is a large Google Web Search Help thread with complaints from Chuck Norris fans. In all honesty, I find this all very humorous.
Happy 70th Chuck!
Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.
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The UK Bing Ads : Here Is a Video
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 3:02pm CET by rustybrick
Tags: Microsoft MSN Search
As many of you know, Microsoft is conducting a major ad blitz in the UK in order to capture market share for Bing, their search engine.
Bing's product manager sent me a link to one of the new commercials, which is now on YouTube. Here is a video of the new commercial:
What do you think? It looks similar to the US commercials, just with UK accents.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
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MSN's New Portal Now Live
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 2:57pm CET by rustybrick
Tags: Microsoft MSN Search
If you visit MSN.com today, you may notice a new look and feel for the site. The beta design is now the new official look for MSN. Like it or not, this is the new look for now.
Greg Sterling reports that about 50% of the Bing search queries are driven from the MSN portal. So this new design may or may not have an impact on that. 50% is major and clearly Microsoft is aware of that.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
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Google Shuts Down "Site Performance" Tool While Upgrading It
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 2:52pm CET by rustybrick
Tags: Google Optimization
An updated Google Webmaster Help thread has confirmed reports from Google's "sreeram" that Google is updating the Site Performance reports in Google Webmaster Tools.
During this update, Google has temporarily stopped updating the existing reports. The Googler said:
We are making some changes to the algorithms and pipeline behind the site performance feature and so had stopped updating it for a bit. We'll resume the updates soon, hopefully within a day or two. Do stay tuned and keep giving us feedback.
One new feature I am expecting is a trustworthy indicator to be added to the tool. I also suspect the tool to update more frequently and possibly offer better explanations of what can be improved.
Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.
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Google Directing You To Wrong Country? Report The Issue
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 2:47pm CET by rustybrick
Tags: Google Search Engine
I am finally back from my trip to Israel and one thing that kind of bothered me while I was there was that whenever I went to Google.com, it redirected me to Google.co.il. I know, that is how it should work, but imagine being in a country, like the U.S. and being directed to a localized or regional version of Google. It happens every now and then, to both Google and even Bing.
But there is something you can do about it at Google. A Google Web Search Help thread has a Googler named Rubie saying there is a specific form to fill out at Google to report the issue. Rubie said:
We have a nifty tool you can use if you think your IP address is not being detected correctly. Click on the link below to report your issue.
The link below takes you to this page that can be used for this specific issue. So if you run into this issue, you can report it to Google and hopefully they will fix it.
Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.
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Googlers Testing TV Search Android Enabled Devices With Dish Network
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 2:40pm CET by rustybrick
Tags: Other Google Topics
Android powered TV search boxes are being tested by Googlers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Google Inc. is testing a new television-programming search service with Dish Network Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, the latest development in a fast-moving race to combine Internet content with conventional TV.
The service, which runs on TV set-top boxes containing Google software, allows users to find shows on the satellite-TV service as well as video from Web sites like Google's YouTube, according to these people. It also lets users to personalize a lineup of shows, these people said.
Greg Sterling at Search Engine Land has some analysis around the news. A WebmasterWorld thread has some feedback from webmasters.
Might be fun if "on demand" but not all that fun if just a list of "what's on". Meanwhile several tv schedule sites give me the same thing.
I predict the TV will be just another web-providing device, and people will watch as much web-content as cable-content. Point in hand, the RSS agregator built in the latest TiVo. Basically, you can make your custom RSS-fed TV channel with that.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
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Google Maps Adds Bike Directions & Route Layers
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 2:35pm CET by rustybrick
Tags: Other Google Topics
A long time requested feature, bike directions, have been added to Google Maps. Both the Google Blog and Google Lat Long Blog have details about the addition.
First, here is a video demo:
- Dark green indicates a trail;
- Light green indicates a dedicated bike lane along a road;
- Dotted green indicates roads without bike lanes but are more appropriate for biking, based on factors such as terrain, traffic, and intersections.
To try it out, go to [maps.google.com] and to submit more biking routes or report issues, go here.
Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.
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Daily Search Forum Recap: March 9, 2010
Posted: March 10th, 2010, 2:29am CET by rustybrick
Tags: Search Forum Recap
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.