The Week in Review
Android Tablets Later this Year for $100?
According to a Taiwanese processor supplier, Android tablets will start shipping later this year – and they’ll start at $100. About “five different models, ranging in price from $100 to $150, will be available.” (WebProNews)
Yahoo! Buys Koprol
Foursquare has another big target on its back. Yahoo! just acquired Koprol, a mobile location-based social networking service from Indonesia. It’s a cross between Foursquare and Yelp. Those interested can try it out now. (ReadWriteWeb)
E-Mail Designs are Boomer-Unfriendly
Despite the fact that 45 percent of the U.S. population will be 50 and older in 2010 – and in spite of the fact that this group of Baby Boomers will hold 80 percent of personal financial assets and more than half of all discretionary spending – marketers continue to disregard this important segment with unfriendly e-mail designs. Font sizes, low-contrast text and use of all caps are some of the issues marketers should pay more attention to. (MediaPost)
Google Unveiling Encrypted Searches
In the midst of so many negative stories about privacy issues, here’s some good news for Web users who want a thicker veil of anonymity as they search online. Google is slowly rolling out an encryption option for queries via “https://www.google.com,” which will scramble connections so the words and phrases searched on, along with the results served, will be protected from interception. This could be pleasant news for users in China and other stifling countries. (CNET)
Answers to 25 Google-Related Questions
Here are 25 questions and 25 answers from a handful of Google experts. There’s a wealth of information here and topics include page-loading speeds, XML/HTML sitemaps and how ads affect search rankings. (Digital Inspiration)
Facebook Ad Tips, From Facebook
Facebook launched its “Guide to Facebook Ads” yesterday, which includes a bevy of tips for those looking to launch ads on the social networking giant. (VentureBeat)
TechCrunch Disrupt Startups
Here’s a quick-hit list of the 20 startups that will be introducing themselves at TechCrunch Disrupt. Among them are an application marketplace for Facebook pages, a platform for any business to run its own social flash sales and a company that enables companies to customer-source video testimonials. (TechCrunch)
Facebook, Zuckerberg Will Respond
Robert Scoble received an e-mail from Mark Zuckerberg saying that the company will “be ready to start talking about some of the new things we’ve built this week. I want to make sure we get this stuff right this time.” (Business Insider)
6 Biggest Legal Mistakes for Startups
IP ownership, choice of entity and vesting restrictions are among the six biggest legal mistakes startups make. (VentureBeat)
Cross-SERPs Analysis Tools
StomperTools Ranker (for Firefox) and WhoICompete (Web-based) are two tools you can use to view cross-SERPs analysis. (Search Engine Journal)
Google Continues to Make Travel Moves
Ruba, a young travel site, has joined forces with Google. This comes on the heels of a rumored acquisition of another big travel-related company. It seems things are afoot at the Googleplex. (WebProNews)
AdSense Revenue Share
Google officially announced that it pays 68 percent of its revenue from AdSense to publishers. While this doesn’t surprise some, the company made this public “in the spirit of greater transparency with AdSense publishers.” (Inside AdSense)
Facebook as a Search Engine?
The social networking giant’s social filter certainly presents an interesting wrinkle in its potential to be a dominating search engine, and despite its infancy in search, Facebook stands a good shot at becoming a more prominent player in the search arena. This analysis looks at words per search and the social search filter. (Search Engine Watch)
Facebook, MySpace Sent Personal Data to Advertising Companies
The Wall Street Journal broke news of Facebook and MySpace’s practice of sending sensitive data to advertising companies. The data included the names of users who clicked on ads on the pages of these social networking sites. Facebook moved quickly to alter the offending computer code. (WSJ.com)
Facebook is the Top Brand on Facebook
Facebook leads the list of the top 10 brands on its site, followed by Starbucks, Coca-Cola, YouTube, Disney, Victoria’s Secret, Converse, McDonald’s, H&M and MTV. (TechCrunch)
Nature vs. Nurture: Entrepreneurs (Video)
Are entrepreneurs born or made? If you have 65 minutes, watch this video from this panel discussion at Stanford’s Technology Venture Program. (VentureBeat)
Designing Web Apps for Google TV
Google TV opens up another door for app developers to step through. Among the tips on how to design Web apps for Google TV are making apps navigable with one hand, picking the right fonts and using bitmaps. (ReadWriteWeb)
SEO Best Practices for Twitter
Here are five tips on how to optimize your SEO efforts on Twitter. One of them focuses on how to make your tweets spread virally by using words like “free,” “Google” and “OMG!” (SEOptimise)
15 Must-Read Books for Entrepreneurs
Here’s another list of books that all entrepreneurs must read. Included are “The Future Arrived Yesterday,” “Crossing the Chasm” and “Lucky or Smart? Secrets to an Entrepreneurial Life.” (Business Insider)
Foursquare: 15,000 Users Added Per Day
Foursquare continues to check in to higher and higher ground, revealing yesterday that it’s adding 15,000 users per day. The company’s CEO also discussed the idea of being acquired. (Mashable)
Facebook’s New Headaches
As if having its privacy issues plastered on the cover of TIME wasn’t enough, Pakistani judges ruled to ban Facebook in the country in response to a Facebook Page promoting “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.” In addition, Mark Zuckerberg is now mired in accusation of securities fraud related to a settlement with former schoolmates at Harvard. (Inside Facebook, VentureBeat)
Top 10 VC Recipients
Here’s a quick look at the top 10 venture capital recipients of 2010, so far. At the top of the list is Better Place, a provider of electric vehicle services, which raised $350 million in Series B funding at a $1.25 billion post-money evaluation. (peHUB)
Google Introduces Google TV, Froyo
At its Google I/O developer conference, Google unveiled Google TV and Froyo, the nickname for the new Android 2.2 mobile OS. Many see these introductions as a direct slap to the face of Apple, and Google TV’s implications for search are interesting to consider. (ClickZ, ReadWriteWeb)
Google I/O Rundown
Here’s a pretty thorough recap of Google I/O. The keyword? “Launch.” (VentureBeat)
VCs Fight Tax Increase
A new bill introduced by the House of Representatives yesterday would push up the capital gains tax rate on carried interest (or “carry”) to 20 percent from its current 15 percent level. While many are fighting against it, Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures supports the move. “That is a fee you are being paid and it should be taxed as ordinary income.” (NYTimes.com)
Social Networking for Kids
“The Internet” and “kids” aren’t usually a mix that parents would be comfortable with. Togetherville is aiming to change that. It’s a social networking site for kids between 6-10 years old, along with their parents, who can build a social circle on the site for their children based on their own circle of Facebook friends. (NYTimes.com)
How to Get a Job via LinkedIn
Some of these tips are pretty obvious (make sure your profile is 100 percent complete, add all of your work experiences), while others are a bit more subtle (create a group, join niche groups, answer questions). (Mashable)
Google Wave Now Open
While it may not receive much fanfare, the relative bust that is Google Wave is now open for signups from the general public. The bigger news, however, is the release of a new Data API that will enable developers to create lightweight Wave clients. (ReadWriteWeb)
5 Google Analytics Tips
After attending a seminar, this writer has five tips for using Google Analytics, some (or all) of which might surprise you. Date ranges, comparison reports, regular expressions, showing more rows and scheduling reports to be e-mailed are all covered here, along with some bonus tips. (SEOmoz)
Crazyegg vs. Clicktale
Here’s a comparison chart of two heatmapping tools, Crazyegg and Clicktale. While both are worth trying, Clicktale offers you a bit more. (The Search Agents)
Google Chrome has 70 Million Users
Google Chrome has 6.73 percent of the browser market, which gives them 70 million users. Back in June 2009, Chrome has 30 million users. (VentureBeat)
Online Advertising in for an Up Year
According to the IDC, Internet advertising spending should “almost completely recover” from the recession this year. While search advertising revenue was $13.8 billion in 2009, this figure is expected to balloon to $27.3 billion by 2014. (MarketWatch)