*John Battelle's The Search (Portfolio, 2005) is more than just a review of search engine technology in general and Google in particular. Battelle analyses both the practical and philosophical implications of the technology. For example, he cites one online small direct marketer who was knocked from the top of the search list when Google adjusted its algorithms. Sales plummeted overnight. However, the vulnerability of small direct marketers to such casual, if not callous, destruction is not Battelle's main point, which seems to address such concerns as to whether Google reflects reality or creates a new reality, whether Google is a database of information or a database of intentions. A founding editor of both Wired and The Industry Standard, Battelle may well know whereof he writes. And with the increasing popularity of Froogle with consumers, something small direct marketers may find worth reading.
*Small direct marketers who feel out of their depth with e-mail authentication issues may want to check out the December 6 issue of PC Magazine. Matthew Sarrel, an information security consultant, provides a nice overview of the two major systems (DomainKeys Identified Mail, or DKIM, supported by Yahoo!, and SenderID Framework, SDIF, backed by Microsoft) for e-mail authentication and the strengths and weaknesses of each one. The technologies, by the way, don't block spam; they only authenticate domains. The matter is not just for DMA members: as the use of the rival technologies increase, unauthenticated emails will more and more be relegated to the spam folder, if not deleted altogether.
*The $6 billion dollar online education market has a new player in PrepMe, the year-old first place winner of Forbes Small Business Student Startup Competition. Unlike three of the four runners up, PrepMe doesn't want to be acquired. Its goal is be the major test-preparation provider.
