TGIF! I'm hoping you all had an interesting week. I personally can say I have because ever since my BFF wrote about my boss not being my friend (for the record, mine is my friend!), I've been getting bombarded with Facebook friend requests. It seems that everyone has joined since Lisa blew the horn. It's kind of ... refreshing. (Hi Chris Boggs!)
Do You Sphinn It?
And so, beyond the realm of Facebook is Sphinn, a social network just for you and me! In its first week, there has been a great amount of involvement, and Sphinn even hit their 1,000th member already. (Awesome!) We are covering the discussion from Sphinn on Search Engine Roundtable as well, and my first post to that effect was on SEOing your site in less than 60 minutes, a post that was originally posted by my great friend Matt McGee. Read what he says, people. His headline draws your attention, does it not?
Google Image Ads Coming Soon
Looks like Google Universal Search has made it easier for the search engine giant to take advertising further with image advertisements in the search results. And Google is also running a contest. Can you find Bourne? Nathan Weinberg is trying to.
Google Webmaster Central Improved
Google Webmaster Central keeps getting better and better. You can now get more detailed information about your sitemap, as the Webmaster Central console will provide error reports related to problems within a submitted sitemap. Better yet, they also added a message center so that webmasters can find out about any penalties on their websites. Now that is cool.
Google: Not as Rich as You Thought
First, Google bounced some AdSense check. Their Q2 earnings were released and they seemed to have $3.87 billion to spend. Apparently, analysts are unhappy about their earnings, with one saying that "The guys have been spending like drunken sailors."
Google Print Ad Setup Walkthrough
Who cares about those analysts? Google still has solid growth and cool tools. Here's another one: Google print ads. Barry takes us on a screenshot tour of how to set up print ads. This is pretty cool stuff, advertisers.
Gmail Shirt Designer Can Win an iPhone!
Are you a designer? There's a contest for a talented artist to design a shirt for Gmail. The winner gets $2k and an iPhone, among other cool toys. If the winner comes from this blog, let us know! :)
Yahoo Sounds Like Tyroo
That's if I'm pronouncing it correctly. (We're still debating how to pronounce Sphinn.) Earlier this week, Yahoo announced that it has acquired stake in Indian advertising firm Tyroo. This strategic move allows Yahoo to capture Indian's audience through its already existent advertising channels.
Microsoft Office Live Sells Ask.com Sponsored Links
If you're an advertiser signed up on Microsoft Office Live adManager Beta, you can now display ads on both MSN and Ask.com. This gives the advertisements increased exposure, so it is great for advertisers and for the advertising networks.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
