November 5, 2009
Google Launches Closure Tools: A Javascript Candy Store
The Google Code blog announced the launch of a compiler, library, inspector and templates for sites to use to improve their javascript usage. The tools were "all started as 20% projects and hundreds of Googlers have contributed thousands of patches."
This central open source of all things javascript should prove very handy to web site owners and developers, as many of them are already being used by Google apps and widgets.
"Today, each Closure Tool has grown to be a key part of the JavaScript infrastructure behind web apps at Google. That's why we're particularly excited (and humbled) to open source them to encourage and support web development outside Google."
If the tools become widely adopted it could also help create a uniformity in code use that would help the search engine - but also the wbe community in general.
Posted by Frank Watson on November 5, 2009, 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Twitter Rolls Out Retweet Test [Screenshots]
Back in August, Twitter said it was developing a system of officially bringing the Retweet to the social network. Now, they're unrolling the test to a limited group of users.
Retweeting is quite simple. When you see a Tweet you want to retweet, simply mouseover the lower right corner of the Tweet. Then, click the "retweet" link.
When the Retweeting is done, a simple notification appears underneath the Tweet. You stay right where you are on the page and can continue checking your feed.
Here's what your Retweet looks like. And this is key for the feature we'll discuss just after the image.
But there's a feature of this new Retweeting integration that I don't like. When one of your followers Retweets something, the original Tweet appears in your stream.
In the screenshot below, I don't follow @wyattla. Nothing against him, I just have no idea who he is. One of the people I do followed Retweeted @wyattla's Retweet. But @wyattla's avatar and original Tweet appear in my stream.
Should the test prove successful, I suppose we'll all get used to those little grey Retweet indicators. But call me old-school, I still prefer the "traditional" method of Retweeting, where the Retweeter's Retweet appears in the stream.
What do you think of Twitter's Retweet experiment? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 5, 2009, 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Funny or Die Becomes YouTube Partner
Comedy video site Funny or Die is now a YouTube partner. This means you'll be able to access select Funny or Die videos on the largest online video site in the world.
Funny or Die was created by actor and comedian Will Ferrell and screenwriter/director Adam McKay.
Ferrell and McKay have managed to employ the talent of several Hollywood stars in promoting Funny or Die through simply having them appear in a funny video on the site. Natalie Portman, Lindsay Lohan, Zach Galifianakis, Paris Hilton, and Denis Leary have all appeared in Funny or Die videos.
Embedding is disabled on most of the YouTube version of the videos, so you'll still need to grab embed codes from FunnyorDie.com. Only a handful of videos are on the YouTube channel, which seems, thus far, primarily set up to advertise Will Ferrell's HBO special on DVD.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 5, 2009, 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Google AdSense Launches New Interface Into Beta
Google AdSense has launched a new interface that is currently in beta testing. But they're giving a glimpse of it over on the Inside AdSense blog.
Here's what to expect:
- More detailed performance reports
- View daily stats as graphs
- New metrics including amount you've earned from various ad, targeting and bid types
- Enhanced Ad Review Center
- Streamlining common tasks. For example, changing several ad units simultaneously
Here's a screenshot, per the AdSense blog:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 5, 2009, 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Music Search Wars: Yahoo! Goes for Music Video Search Supremacy
It's no secret that music searches comprise a large number of searches on the web today. That's why the music search wars have heated up in recent weeks with rumors and announcements surrounding efforts by Google, Facebook, and MySpace.
Yahoo! has been a player in music search for a long time, but now they're amping up their game with music video search. They're including a special section on the left sidebar to help you filter results.
This seems to only happen with artists and bands of a certain popularity. You can see the left sidebar filter for U2, Foo Fighters and Coldplay, but not for Paramore, Jet or The Swell Season. You get the left rail for Frank Sinatra but not Dean Martin.
The left rail contains albums and songs. Click on one to see videos related to your selection.
What do you think of Yahoo! Music Video search? Let us know in the comment section below.
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 5, 2009, 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Google Dashboard Aims to Alleviate Privacy Fears by Showing Data Collection
Google has released a new product called Google Dashboard. This allows users to see what data has been collected on an account associated with a number of Google products. So, if you use GMail, YouTube, and Reader on the same account, you'll see the data collected for each service.
You can check the data collected for your Google account at Google.com/dashboard. You'll have to sign in, even if you're already signed into your Google account. Also, it can take several seconds to load all of the data - and while 20 products are available to view in Google Dashboard, not all of Google's services are included just yet.
To learn more, check out this video:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 5, 2009, 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Google Launches Commerce Search for Online Stores
Google has announced the availability of Commerce Search. It's a search engine that e-commerce sites can place on their sites, effectively leveraging Google Search for their product offerings.
Commerce Search is cloud-based, meaning that Google hosts it. This removes the burden of hosting commerce search by e-commerce companies, which can be useful to avoid problems associated with spikes of traffic - such as the holidays.
Commerce Search is not free. You must contact a sales rep to get started.
There are three upcoming webinars to learn more about Commerce Search. They are:
November 12, 2009 (12 PM PST) Sign Up
November 17, 2009 (8 AM PST) Sign Up
December 3, 2009 (10 AM PST) Sign Up
In the meantime, check out this video about Commerce Search that Google put together:
Posted by Nathania Johnson on November 5, 2009, 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
