1000 Posts and A Little Perspective

This is the 1000th post to SEO and Tech Daily.

If you had asked me if it would have run this long a few years ago, I probably would said ..."I seriously doubt it".

As some of you know, I originally started this blog with one basic premise in mind.

After some 5 years doing in-house SEO, my personal brand had almost evaporated (These days that can happen overnight ! :)  I felt, at the time, that a combination of news and perspective as well as unique 'takes' on the quantum economic shift being caused by the Internet (Search, social and mobile) would be a good way to re-emerge onto a scene that I missed (badly) .... while re-engaging with a lot of people that I missed as well.

That mission was accomplished very early on.

There are a lot of things that have been done here that I'm pretty proud of.  Maybe I'll point to a few in a future post.

I have gotten (more than) a few e-mails over the past few weeks asking "Hey ... What's Up Charlie" (referring to the fact that I haven't been blogging as often).

Those always made me feel good ... and still do.

So .. ugh ... here's what's up!

The web is a very different place now.  I still spend several hours a day reading and discovering new stuff.

I still share some of what I think you might find interesting from Google Reader to my Google Profile and Google Buzz.  I also wander around Twitter a bit and visit some 30 or so 'social' places, including start-ups, on at least a weekly basis. (Hey ... I still love this stuff :)

My Facebook Profile has now become a fascinating mix of former and current friends, colleagues, interesting tech personalities from the past and present, social media whiz kids .... and more recently, a few classmates that found me from elementary school ??!!

The web for me these days is mostly for staying current and having some fun.  I don't live, eat and breathe it like I once did ... and have actually worked very hard to disconnect on a regular basis (and find that extremely healthy).

Many of us in this biz, in recent months and weeks, have cut back from 'daily' blogging.  In fact, I've noticed more than a few high profile posts very similar to this one in recent weeks.

In all honestly, I have no idea at this stage if I'm going to take the blog back daily or not. What I do know is that I've made a lot of great friends right here .... and it's way to early to say SEO and Tech Daily is 'closing' or being sold ... or whatever.

Like one of the editors at Techmeme (Megan McCarthy), a lot of my 'online attention' has moved to the fascinating and ongoing convergence of various media and the Internet.  In fact, I think people will realize that, in retrospect,  Mediagazer is way ahead of it's time ..... as it continues to mature.

For the summer at least, posts here will be sporadic.  I intend them to be enjoyable, informative and hopefully somewhat unique.

I hope you do too.

Thanks you guys
Charlie

Google's Chrome Beta Channel Update

Earlier today, Google released their latest update to their Chrome browser (in the beta channel).

For those new to Chrome, Google's Web Browser is available in 3 versions - a 'stable' version, beta and developer.

As might be expected, the stable version is just that.  Tested extensively not to crash, etc.  The beta channel is aimed more at early adopters with features that are still being tested ... and the developer channel for those that need or want to see more and/or are writing extensions or other goodies for inclusion in the Chrome dev library.

Simplicity, even more speed and several other changes can be found in this latest update.

You can find out more about autofill, and the new changes to the 'Omnibox' here or simply download the new beta here.

Update: In other web browser news, Mozilla took the wraps off of it's latest beta of Firefox 4 (reviewed previously here) now embracing Windows 7 touch features and supporting 34 languages.  More on Firefox 4b3 can be found here.

Google Wants You To Throw a Party to Celebrate Blogger

Google's Blogger has announced 'Blogger Fiesta' ... A world-wide invitation to help celebrate Blogger's 11th anniversary by organizing a meet-up in your area on August 31st.

To help facilitate your meet-up, Google is offering a downloadable party kit but is hinting ... there may be more:

"And who knows, there may even be other treasures and surprises in store."

The new Blogger party website can be found here , as well as their Facebook page here .
(Sidenote: The party webpage is using MeetUp Technology via their API).

The website has everything you need to know to create your very own Blogger Fiesta.

The announcement, made a short time ago, can be found on Blogger's own blog 'Blogger Buzz' here.

Party hats and nametags are cool ... but imagine if they picked up the beer (or wine) tab :)

If Your PC Asks You To Reboot Today, It's Probably OK!

Microsoft is set to release a whopping 33 (mostly important) updates via Windows Update later today.

If your computer is set to automatically update, you may be multi-tasking (possibly for a while) while you work, and in some cases, asked to re-boot.

In one of the largest comprehensive set of 'Tuesday Updates' ever, Microsoft is rolling out Security (and other) Updates for Windows 7, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows XP SP3.

Note: Users running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or earlier are no longer supported and should upgrade to SP3 ASAP ... for continued support.

Other software to be addressed today includes Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007, (plus Office 2004 and 2008 for Mac), Microsoft Works 9, Silverlight 2 (and 3) and Internet Explorer.

The latest version of Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool will also be deployed.

While those with current hardware and a reasonable broadband connection probably will be able to continue working without even noticing, those with older hardware, limited memory, or a slow Internet connection may want to address this update manually as soon as it becomes available.

More information on today's updates for system administrators, IT professionals as well individual users can be found here.

Google Targets Small Business with New Blog

This morning Google launched yet another blog, this time targeting small business owners.

(For those that aren't aware of it, Google maintains a myriad of product and other blogs, many of which can be found here).

The modest launch includes an entertaining link to an early Google timeline saying "most businesses start small, including ours".  (Want some memories? Check out that link!)

This market segment is long overdue for it's own Google Channel.  While Google has addressed small businesses in many other ways, the new blog is a great way of saying "We know you're there", which may very well be enough for some people.

Google Maps - One Click to Real Estate and more

In case you haven't noticed, there's another space where numerous companies are competing. 
Mobile and web-based mapping and navigation are big .. and becoming bigger as more smartphones make their way into users pockets.

Numerous new products and acquisitions have swept this segment in the pat year alone.

Google Maps (the home and office based PC version) has been making a number of quiet strides over the past year as the technology (and broadband proliferation in rural America and elsewhere) allow.

If you haven't tried it lately, it's worth another look as Google has not only added well-know features (such as the sometimes-controversial Street View) but even more noteworthly are the features you can turn on and off with one click from the 'more' button at the top of the map after chosing as destination.

Google Earth of course is there .... now coupled with photos from Panoramio (which just about anyone with a Picasa account can upload for approval .... and there are now tens of thousands).

In Maps 'Labs', there's the aerial view.  If you've never visited the GooglePlex, try it in aerial view.  Simply cool.

One feature I didn't know about until earlier this week was Real Estate.

Simply go to Google Maps, select your destination, click 'more' and then tap Real Estate.

While this could get a bit crowded in some cities, it's apparent that Google has reached many parts of Rural America and I was surprised at the amount (and accuracy) of the listings in a small town here in Pennsylvania.

A few more clicks and there's area webcams, photos, videos and lots more.

It's a great quick take in addition to the more extensive Real Estate sites such as Trulia, Zillow and others.

You can access Google Maps directly here.

Note: The aerial view is still in labs, so you need to click the little green button at the top to turn it on.

Google Backed VigLink Acquires DrivingRevenue.com

Early this morning, Google's Blogger Buzz highlighted the Google Ventures backed company, VigLink.

Less than a couple of hours later, VigLink (which in addition to Google Ventures has also raised capital from First Round Capital) made their own acquisition.

In a brief release to the press, VigLink announced that they have acquired DrivingRevenue.com , establishing VigLink as "the definitive leader in Automated Affiliate Marketing".


Update: The Official Press Release from VigLink can now be found at Business Wire here.

Facebook Questions - The Next Logical Step

Facebook unleashed Facebook Questions to all users late yesterday. 

In testing for some time, the new feature is now appearing at the top of all if not most  news feed pages.

If you asked the question "What does the fastest growing phenomenon on the Internet do next?", this very well may have been the answer.

Have a question? ... Ask your 'friends' and a few hundred million other people.  All it'll take is one good question and the activity on the network could increase dramatically .... and so will the buzz ... again.

I've been a fan of Quora since the launch.  Started by ex-Facebook execs, the relatively new start-up is very similar to this concept and has been gaining traction  (I get a few Quora followers each day).

Facebook employees claim their implementation is different.

Regardless, after all the privacy criticism this past year, this is one of the smartest moves the company could have made ..... to increase activity in people's streams and make the network that much more 'sticky'.

Apple Addresses Safari Bug and Adds Extensions

It's kind of easy to imagine the reaction in Cupertino, just a couple of weeks after the 'iPhone bumper crisis' when numerous tech publications reported a serious security flaw in Apple's browser .... Safari.

Today, in classic Apple style, not only did they announce a fix with the release of Safari 5.0.1 .... but the company coupled it with a 'product announcement' of sorts.

Apple has added 'extensions' to Safari along with a brand new extension gallery.

Extensions have been popular with the Firefox crowd for years and a whole new crop have been developed for Google's Chrome browser.  Microsoft, on the other hand, has not embraced the idea with either Internet Explorer 8 or the upcoming IE9.

Bottom line.

Fix your Safari.

You can download the complete package for OS X or Windows here. (Be sure and read the system requirements).

You can also preview some of the all-new extensions in the Safari Extensions Gallery here.