TechWinter

Today I didn’t feel like writing anything original and I have not written often lately so I thought why not include everyone in some of the great articles I have read recently.  Would love to hear your thoughts on them too.  Enjoy!

Link 1: Social Media Issues
A great article by John Mariottti over at Small Business Trends, entitled “Ten Reasons I won’t use social media sites“.

Now I respect most of my audience may be covering their mouths in shock at the title but it is a really great article, that was well written and well thought out.  Definitely worth a read for those of us who tend to be overly positive about Social Media and particularly social networks such as Facebook in these early days.

I truly relate to John because I have for a while strongly considered deleting my account on Facebook because every time I read they have added a new privacy destroying feature it is left unchecked in my profile so unless you login and ‘actively’ turn it off they have been quite happy to miss use my reputation for their own ends.  Not happy about that at all.  If I can find another way of organically staying in touch with old friends I will definitely leave Facebook.

Link 2: BlackHat SEO

An article by XMCP over at Slightly Shady SEO, entitled “YouTube is Cloaking, So why can’t I?”

This is a really detailed but well written (without geek terminology) article covering how Google has broken its only explicit rules for YouTube by allowing ‘Cloaking’, which apparently some rather large sites are also doing such as the Times

…the Times web site detects that the user agent is a browser, and serves up a shorter abstract page with a login form to access the premium content.
Isn’t this cloaking—serving different pages to a search engine and an individual web browser? Yes, it is.

Although both Google and Yahoo warn against cloaking, Marshall says both companies are aware of what the Times is doing, and apparently condone the practice.

— Quoted originally from: Search Engine Watch / 2006

Definitely worth a read, plus he defines at the start what Cloaking is which is nice.

Link 3: Silverlight goes on to Mobiles

You may have read about this bit of news if you follow the mobile industry closely but maybe not. Silverlight a Microsoft technology/platform is going to be released on all Smartphones from Nokia by the end of 2008 and also some of Nokia’s ’semi-smartphones’.

The article goes in the details and discusses some of the competitive aspects of the deal and how it will impact the industry.  

Microsoft is working their tails off trying to get as many people as they can to download and install Silverlight on their computer, they’ll push it via Windows Update and the upcoming Olypmic games in China, and now they’re fighting to get on every handset.

Quote from Intomobile

This is not a blockbuster affair but it could lead to significant developments for consumers by as early as Spring 2009.

THE END!

Have a good day!