Google to Purchase Meebo for $100 Million?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by mikeq

Sources including AllThingsD and VentureBeat are reporting that Google could be on the cusp of purchasing Meebo, a popular social media platform, for the tidy sum of $100 million. Such a deal would represent the biggest acquisition in the tech world since Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion just over one month ago.

So far, Meebo chief Seth Strenberg has yet to comment on any acquisition rumors regarding his company, which has been at it for seven years. Google hasn’t commented either, leaving SEOs to speculate as to exactly how such a purchase could help the dominant search giant.
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Yahoo Loses Search Market Share for 8th Straight Month

Posted on May 14, 2012 by mikeq

The official comScore data regarding April 2012 search engine market share was just released a few days ago, and things are looking just as bad for Yahoo as they did last month. In fact, April marks the eight consecutive month that Yahoo has experienced a decline in search market share. Search Engine Land cites an unnamed source who believes that Yahoo’s piece of the search pie will continue to shrink in the coming months, as well.

The news of Scott Thompson’s departure from Yahoo as chief operating officer probably won’t help matters either, at least not in the immediate future.
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Google to Receive Heavy Fines for Safari Privacy Debacle

Posted on May 8, 2012 by mikeq

A few months ago, we reported that Google was covertly bypassing Safari privacy settings for the purpose of installing tracking cookies in users’ browsers. The purpose of the alleged hack was to circumvent Safari’s default settings in order to secretly place web forms in online ads. When users clicked Google’s “+1″ buttons in these online ads, their browsers allowed the installation of a tracking cookie, believing that Safari had submitted a genuine web form on the user’s behalf.

Despite Google’s claims that no personal or sensitive information was collected through this practice, the United States Federal Trade Commission has apparently decided to saddle them with a fine nonetheless. There’s little doubt that Google will think twice before engaging in these types of practices again, especially if the fine turns out to be as large as rumored.
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Google Details April Search Changes

Posted on May 7, 2012 by mikeq

April was a tumultuous month for SEO, especially in light of Google’s Penguin Update in addition to revisions for Panda. A few days ago, Google offered some assistance and clarity to SEOs everywhere by announcing a list of 52 search changes, all of which have already taken effect. Although details are just as scarce as usual, thoughtful site owners and bloggers should make themselves aware of the changes.
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Introducing the “Social Networking Online Protection Act”

Posted on May 1, 2012 by mikeq

At least somebody out there is concerned with your social media privacy rights, but you might be surprised to hear that the concerned parties actually reside in Washington. Congresspeople Jan Schakowsky (Illinois Democrat) and Eliot Engel (New York Democrat) just announced a new bill entitled the “Social Networking Online Protection Act.” The aim of the bill is to prevent employers from demanding Facebook passwords from job interviewers. Engel offered the following statement regarding the bill:

“We must draw the line somewhere and define what is private. No one would feel comfortable going to a public place and giving out their username and passwords to total strangers. They should not be required to do so at work, at school, or while trying to obtain work or an education. This is a matter of personal privacy and makes sense in our digital world.”
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