Google has added millions of dollars in additional revenue to its already deep and sagging pockets. They have reintroduced gambling to Adwords! The search giant has revealed that it has now decided to allow licensed gaming operators to buy paid search ads.
Google used to allow gaming operators to place paid ads previously, but banned them as of 2007; if it can actually be called a ban. There is a reason for saying this. If someone typed “online gambling” it yielded no results because of the ban; however, a small typo, such as “gmabling” instead of gambling, and it is surprising to see the huge number of ads show up royally in the paid Google ads section.
Any small misspelling saw the gambling ads being displayed all through the ban period and as expected almost all the gaming operators took advantage of this open secret. If you look at the sponsored links section of Google, you will find more than 25 pages of such ads, which shows that wily marketers who are always on the prowl to find ways to get in, have managed to find this loophole long back – perhaps just as soon as the ban was implemented. These smart operators may not use the word “gambling” or related words in their ads; but they certainly leave nothing to the imagination. They make sure the message gets across in one way or the other. Example: “Take Advantage Of 100% Bonus On Your First Deposit.” Continue Reading →
Category Archives: General
Facebook Unleashes Massive Legal Fury!
25 September 2008one responseHasan
Facebook seems to land itself into trouble again and again, with lawsuits being filed against it from all corners.
The fight with 02138 ended in a fiasco with the ruling going against Facebook. Let us go back and see what happened. It all began with an article in 02318, an independent magazine geared towards Harvard alumni.
Mark Zuckerberg, as you would know, is the CEO of Facebook, which he founded in 2004. The controversy began when 02138 magazine published an article named “Poking Facebook,” giving a detailed profile of Facebook’s early days, which was the pet project of Mark Zuckerberg, who was then an undergraduate. The author, Luke O’Brien, who was also a Harvard alumnus, dug up old court documents, letters and web site content that painted a cold picture of Zuckerberg as arrogant and an individual with no qualms and willing to do anything to achieve his goals. The documents that were revealed to the public included a huge amount of personal information about Zuckerberg along with his parents’ address, his girlfriend’s address and his Social Security Number.
Even Zuckerberg’s personal journal was not spared. An excerpt from the journal that showed him in bad light was, “I almost want to put some of these faces next to pictures of farm animals and have people vote on which is more attractive,” wrote Zuckerberg, talking about some of the students’ pictures from Harvard. These comments showed him as harsh. Continue Reading →
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Fond Memories Of Tax-Free Internet Shopping!
19 July 2008one responseHasan
People love buying online and one reason is the freedom from sales tax. Looks like things are about to change and soon we will be telling our children and grandchildren of the “good old days” when there were no taxes online.
Tax-hungry politicians are attempting to force Amazon.com to collect sales taxes from people that reside out of the state. If this really happens, Amazon.com is only the beginning and all other online retailers will have to follow suit. People then will only be left with fond memories of days when it was easy to order items over the internet without having to pay any sales taxes.
Currently, if someone residing in California orders an item from Amazon.com, which is based in Seattle, there is no sales tax charged at the time of the purchase. The reason is because Amazon has no offices in California. There is a long-standing rule that says a retailer must have a physical presence to be able to collect taxes.
However, politicians who are pro sales taxes are trying to find ways to circumvent this rule and New York State has recently succeeded in getting an approval by legislators that says Amazon and other online retailers that have no physical presence in the state, should collect sales tax on purchases made by New Yorkers.
Amazon is not willing to take this lying down and is all set for a legal battle, and as a first step has sued the State of New York. It challenged the new statute by filing a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, that the new law was vague, unconstitutional, and too broad. Continue Reading →
Tax-hungry politicians are attempting to force Amazon.com to collect sales taxes from people that reside out of the state. If this really happens, Amazon.com is only the beginning and all other online retailers will have to follow suit. People then will only be left with fond memories of days when it was easy to order items over the internet without having to pay any sales taxes.
Currently, if someone residing in California orders an item from Amazon.com, which is based in Seattle, there is no sales tax charged at the time of the purchase. The reason is because Amazon has no offices in California. There is a long-standing rule that says a retailer must have a physical presence to be able to collect taxes.
However, politicians who are pro sales taxes are trying to find ways to circumvent this rule and New York State has recently succeeded in getting an approval by legislators that says Amazon and other online retailers that have no physical presence in the state, should collect sales tax on purchases made by New Yorkers.
Amazon is not willing to take this lying down and is all set for a legal battle, and as a first step has sued the State of New York. It challenged the new statute by filing a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, that the new law was vague, unconstitutional, and too broad. Continue Reading →
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Online Community Mentors!
27 May 2008no responsesHasan
“A mentor is someone whose hindsight can become your foresight.”
Every person needs mentoring at some point in life. It helps as a motivating factor to do better and excel at work as well as in personal life. Sometimes, these mentoring relationships become invaluable when there is a need to generate solutions to critical challenges that people experience at home or work.
Many online communities that offer mentoring services have mushroomed all over the web and some of them are very professional and include several mentors, each specializing in a field. This ensures the users get expert advice on every problem.
These communities provide users an area to discuss on a wide variety of topics, from how to set up a business to how to deal with a suspicious spouse. People are encouraged to discuss every aspect of their life. If someone is going through a bad phase, it helps to talk to someone who has been in their shoes before and has faced a similar situation.
This need to share is prevalent in most human beings, but often the fear that the other person may not understand, makes them bottle it all up and this is not good for health. Bottling up things may have an adverse affect on the emotional and the physical health of a person.
These community sites are specifically aimed at providing clean and good service that is of benefit to the users, where meaningful interchanges are possible. Continue Reading →
Every person needs mentoring at some point in life. It helps as a motivating factor to do better and excel at work as well as in personal life. Sometimes, these mentoring relationships become invaluable when there is a need to generate solutions to critical challenges that people experience at home or work.
Many online communities that offer mentoring services have mushroomed all over the web and some of them are very professional and include several mentors, each specializing in a field. This ensures the users get expert advice on every problem.
These communities provide users an area to discuss on a wide variety of topics, from how to set up a business to how to deal with a suspicious spouse. People are encouraged to discuss every aspect of their life. If someone is going through a bad phase, it helps to talk to someone who has been in their shoes before and has faced a similar situation.
This need to share is prevalent in most human beings, but often the fear that the other person may not understand, makes them bottle it all up and this is not good for health. Bottling up things may have an adverse affect on the emotional and the physical health of a person.
These community sites are specifically aimed at providing clean and good service that is of benefit to the users, where meaningful interchanges are possible. Continue Reading →
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MySpace Plays A Different Tune
11 April 2008no responsesHasan
Free and paid music downloads is a big thing online and there are many companies competing with each other to make a mark in this area.
MySpace, the top social networking website is all set to make its foray into the world of music. After capturing the social networking arena, millions of eyes watch this move to see how MySpace fares in the music business.
News Corporation, which owns MySpace, is expected to be joined by giants of music, such as Sony BMG Music, Warner Music, Universal Music Group and EMI, as minority equity holders. MySpace is noted to have had an issue with Universal Music Group earlier, with Universal filing a lawsuit against MySpace in 2006, charging it of encouraging illegal sharing of music and music videos, which seems to be a thing of the past now and forgotten. According to Reuters, MySpace has already signed up with the other three, except for EMI, with which talks are currently on.
As is evident, MySpace is looking all set to compete with the current music giant, Apple iTunes, which is one of the largest retailers for music in the US. According to Chris DeWolfe, co-founder of MySpace, this initiative will be a direct challenge to Apple’s iTunes, which holds around 75% of the entire music download market.
The intention of MySpace is also to ease the restrictions on digital rights, which allow the playing of any downloaded track only on one device. Many iTune users complain about this aspect of music downloads and MySpace promises that their downloads will play on any device, including the iPod. Continue Reading →
MySpace, the top social networking website is all set to make its foray into the world of music. After capturing the social networking arena, millions of eyes watch this move to see how MySpace fares in the music business.
News Corporation, which owns MySpace, is expected to be joined by giants of music, such as Sony BMG Music, Warner Music, Universal Music Group and EMI, as minority equity holders. MySpace is noted to have had an issue with Universal Music Group earlier, with Universal filing a lawsuit against MySpace in 2006, charging it of encouraging illegal sharing of music and music videos, which seems to be a thing of the past now and forgotten. According to Reuters, MySpace has already signed up with the other three, except for EMI, with which talks are currently on.
As is evident, MySpace is looking all set to compete with the current music giant, Apple iTunes, which is one of the largest retailers for music in the US. According to Chris DeWolfe, co-founder of MySpace, this initiative will be a direct challenge to Apple’s iTunes, which holds around 75% of the entire music download market.
The intention of MySpace is also to ease the restrictions on digital rights, which allow the playing of any downloaded track only on one device. Many iTune users complain about this aspect of music downloads and MySpace promises that their downloads will play on any device, including the iPod. Continue Reading →
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Can You Build a Real Business Online?
23 March 2008no responsesHasan
Most people think that creating a business online is a fantasy. They feel that one would eventually be overtaken by competition and go out of business. This is not true. It is certainly possible to build a successful business online and the numerous successful businesses online is proof.
A “real” business is a business that earns you plenty of money and can be run by one person without having to work 40 hours a week, and even provides the luxury of taking off for long periods of time, but all the while bringing in the money.
If you are one of those that want to earn a living on the internet, it is understandable that you would be LOST in the beginning. You sit there with your computer screen staring at you and the first thing that comes to mind is, “Where do I start?”
Begin with YOU. To build a profitable business online, you need to understand yourself first. Why do you really want a business of your own? What do you consider a successful business? Are you looking at passive income so that you can do other activities in life?
Having a vision is extremely important and lays the foundation for a good business. Identify the route you wish to go. Do you want to build software, flip websites or write E-books? What are you good at? What is your passion? The crucial fact that most people do not bother about is - understanding their passions and interests. Going the path of another successful marketer will only lead to downfall. Each person’s success depends on their own capabilities and not on someone else’s success.
A “real” business is a business that earns you plenty of money and can be run by one person without having to work 40 hours a week, and even provides the luxury of taking off for long periods of time, but all the while bringing in the money.
If you are one of those that want to earn a living on the internet, it is understandable that you would be LOST in the beginning. You sit there with your computer screen staring at you and the first thing that comes to mind is, “Where do I start?”
Begin with YOU. To build a profitable business online, you need to understand yourself first. Why do you really want a business of your own? What do you consider a successful business? Are you looking at passive income so that you can do other activities in life?
Having a vision is extremely important and lays the foundation for a good business. Identify the route you wish to go. Do you want to build software, flip websites or write E-books? What are you good at? What is your passion? The crucial fact that most people do not bother about is - understanding their passions and interests. Going the path of another successful marketer will only lead to downfall. Each person’s success depends on their own capabilities and not on someone else’s success.
You need to create a business that you love and enjoy working on. Your enjoyment in your work will reflect on your customers. Imagine me creating a website on “Guitar,” when I have no clue how to play the guitar or even how many strings the guitar has. It will not be long before people see through the facade and leave without a whisper. It is essential at all times, to provide valuable information that people are always looking for. Look at your customer as someone deserving only the best and you have it made. See, what I mean by passion? Continue Reading →
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The Rise of Facebook
06 February 2008no responsesHasan
As websites go, Facebook, or Facebook.com is certainly a success story. A young college student, Mark Zuckerberg, developed the website, facebook.com, for his peers to use at Harvard. In a matter of four years, Zuckerberg’s website expanded from a few hundred Harvard students to more than 62 million active users from around the globe. The site has gone from a few Ivy League students looking to locate friends to a major marketing and social networking tool for junior high, high school and college students as well as young professionals, businessmen, and industry powerhouses.
Like many websites phenomenon, Facebook began as a simple operation and virtually exploded overnight. One day Zuckerberg was designing a social site for a few friends, the next day he was working on his own concept (although the originality is currently being debated in court), and now, a few years later, he is likely to be one of the youngest billionaires around.
The New MySpace
Social websites are nothing new. As the internet community grows closer and more conversational, community and social sites will continue to appear and grow. Facebook follows in the path of MySpace, but has an image and success story of its own unaffected by the social giant. MySpace might have made the social concepts exciting and new for mainstream society, but Facebook has taken that enthusiasm and run with it. Continue Reading →
Like many websites phenomenon, Facebook began as a simple operation and virtually exploded overnight. One day Zuckerberg was designing a social site for a few friends, the next day he was working on his own concept (although the originality is currently being debated in court), and now, a few years later, he is likely to be one of the youngest billionaires around.
The New MySpace
Social websites are nothing new. As the internet community grows closer and more conversational, community and social sites will continue to appear and grow. Facebook follows in the path of MySpace, but has an image and success story of its own unaffected by the social giant. MySpace might have made the social concepts exciting and new for mainstream society, but Facebook has taken that enthusiasm and run with it. Continue Reading →
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Link Juice from Copied Content
20 January 2008no responsesHasan
Not much gets under skin of content providers more than those who rip off content. A common online scenario plays out as follows: You write (or commission) some terrific content. You post it on your website only to find various blogs have “borrowed” or flat-out stolen the content for their website. Nine times out of ten, there is no link back to your site and you get no credit for the content at all. Then, to add insult to injury, thanks to your content, these sites rank higher in the search engines than you do.
Content Issues
The stolen content problem is tremendous in the online world. Articles, sales pages and the like are quickly becoming the power behind the internet and success with websites, but to have your hard work stolen is more than frustrating – it’s infuriating.
When your content is stolen, you have limited options. You can have your lawyer send a cease and desist letter. This only works inside the United States however, which may not be enough for the many sites which copy content who happen to be located overseas. You can contact the search engines and submit a complaint or letter letting the company know of the problem, but you may not see any results. You can also contact the company directly letting them know the terms of use for your content. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind them using it if they included a link to your site or your byline.
Get Link Juice
Which brings us nicely stolen content’s possible silver lining. If two blogs are running the same articles, but one is ranked above you, the search engines must feel their blog is more substantial and worthy of higher ranks. Now, in 2008, websites will be able to “steal” link juice from theft sites by posting links back to your own website in the comments and summaries of each article. Continue Reading →
Content Issues
The stolen content problem is tremendous in the online world. Articles, sales pages and the like are quickly becoming the power behind the internet and success with websites, but to have your hard work stolen is more than frustrating – it’s infuriating.
When your content is stolen, you have limited options. You can have your lawyer send a cease and desist letter. This only works inside the United States however, which may not be enough for the many sites which copy content who happen to be located overseas. You can contact the search engines and submit a complaint or letter letting the company know of the problem, but you may not see any results. You can also contact the company directly letting them know the terms of use for your content. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind them using it if they included a link to your site or your byline.
Get Link Juice
Which brings us nicely stolen content’s possible silver lining. If two blogs are running the same articles, but one is ranked above you, the search engines must feel their blog is more substantial and worthy of higher ranks. Now, in 2008, websites will be able to “steal” link juice from theft sites by posting links back to your own website in the comments and summaries of each article. Continue Reading →
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