AdSense : Now serving multiple ad networks

I received this e-mail (mentioned below) from Google AdSense Team last week, announcing new feature of AdSense. Now AdSense will be serving third party ad networks along with it's own Adwords.


Hi,

We have launched a new capability in AdSense allowing Google-certified ad networks compete directly within AdSense, which means that advertisers from these third-party networks will be able to compete with AdWords advertisers to show on the Google Content Network.

These new capabilities will automatically be enabled for your account, and you'll see a new section in your Ad Review Center where you can allow or block specific ad networks or all networks except AdWords. Please note that we'll gradually be adding new ad networks to AdSense accounts over the next few months, so you won't see any immediate impact on your ads or your earnings.

To ensure the quality of the ads that appear on AdSense publisher websites, Google will certify all participating ad networks for adherence to our standards for user privacy, ad quality, and speed. Some participating ad networks use targeting methods similar to Google's interest-based advertising to show more relevant ads to users on the sites they visit. These ad networks won't be permitted to collect data from your site for the purpose of subsequent interest-based advertising, but we'll allow networks that comply with user privacy guidelines to show ads using these tools. Publishers can opt out of user interest targeting from these ad networks, and Google has changed our requirements for third-party ad serving to reflect this.

We are currently only accepting ads from Google-certified ad networks in North America and Europe, but we will make this feature available to ad networks in additional parts of the world in the future.

Sincerely,
The Google AdSense Team
Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

This feature didn't impress me at all but has raised some questions in my mind.
Why AdSense is going to serve third party network?
Is Google AdSense running out of advertisements and advertisers?
Does Google want to prove that It's ad network is the best by providing a common platform for every other network?

I think this new feature will be a killer for many ad networks. As stated in this e-mail, Google still approves the Ad networks for quality, privacy, speed etc. So, there is a chance that some high profitable ad networks may not clear Google Test. Well, I hope that from this new feature, publishers will have access to higher paying ad networks which will increase their ad revenues.

Your views and comments are welcome.

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Social Media Analysis

Standing by the side of Mahalaxmi Garbage transfer station , I felt happy that how even garbage contributes to a better tomorrow. Being an internet freak my mind dashed straight to the big pile of data collected daily by Social media websites. What we will get if we crawl and analyze the microbloging tools such as Twitter, Wikis, Social networking websites and millions of blog available on internet?
Social media analysis tends to separate out content analysis and structure analysis. In the age of web2.0, we have loads of data and information available on internet generated by millions of internet users. Here, arises another basic but very important question “Why”. Why academic institutions and companies are spending lots of money on analysis of this data? Why do we need to analyze this data.

Why?
From Industrial point of view, followings are the most probable reasons:

• Relationship between consumers and the product
• Identify Industrial Influence
• Identify competitors in the market.
• Identify competitor’s visibility
• Product review
• Identify presence of client
• Identify Client demand

Aspects which may gain Industrial usage in very near future are as follows

• Sentiment analysis
• Keyword analysis
• Social network analysis

Sources: The Next question is what data can we analyze? What sources we can include in it?

1. Blog posts / Comments: It doesn’t includes only blog posts but it includes comments also. By analyzing comment we get the sentiments of the reader and review of the author.
2. Microblog: Twitter is still growing rapidly and generating huge amounts of data every day which makes microblog a very important source for social media analysis.
3. Discussion Forums
4. Product Reviews on e-commerce websites viz, e-bay, amazon
5. Social networks like Facebook, orkut and myspace etc.
6. Photo / video sharing websites: flickr/youtube
7. Social news: Digg, ReadIt, stumble

It's very interesting to know how the day to day blabbers and spattering of a common man is about to gain an industrial value. You writing on facebook about how you feel today or you commenting on a particular product on e-bay can become a basis for an upcoming product launched by a multimillion firm. So whenever you tweet or whenever you comment on FB/Orkut and whenever you share a picture on flickr just remember you are making a contribution to a better tomorrow, which will be gifted to future mankind.

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How to Choose a Good Domain Name?

In Ranjeet's 100 Blog Tips I Learnt in 2008, Part 1 his number 3 and 4 are buying your own domain name and also getting a domain name that will be the main subject of discussion. Ranjeet asked me over at Web Hosting Search to discuss why domain names are important and why you as a potential new blog creator or an experienced pro should care.
You blog, you Twitter, you Friendfeed, you Facebook, you do all those social media things to bring awareness to your blog. Have you thought about your blog name itself? Is it a good name? Is it a catchy name that people will remember?

There are some Do's and Dont's of having a domain name. For some of you still on the lookout for an available domain name for a new blog, this is THE post for you. Honestly, forget the social media aspect at this moment, if you have a bad domain name, you will have a hard life ahead in the virtual world.

DOs:
Get a name that means something. If your blog is about you and your experiences, get it in your name. If your blog is about a particular subject, get a matching name, like Geek on Net.
Get an easy to understand name. If a name is long and hard to remember or spell, chances are, people will have a hard time typing in your blog URL and telling others. Word of mouth in the real world is still invaluable; get something that will easily stick in a person's mind.
Have a domain name that is difficult to remember? That's okay, buy a more user-friendly name and redirect that to your current blog. I don't recommend to do this all the time but if you notice people have trouble with your site name, then considering getting another one.

DON'Ts:
Do not host your blog on subdomain like .WordPress.com (that's .com), .typepad.com, or anything else where you do not have a domain name of your own. This is especially true if you are brand. Serious websites deserve serious names. Go with ilovechocolate.wordpress.com as a chocolate seller, chances are people will not take you seriously. Neither will Google for that matter. Subdomained sites like this take more time to build up credibility in the search engines.
Do not spell your name in an incomprehensible way. Geekonnet.com already taken? Buy Geeekonnet.com. That extra “E” can cause you a lot trouble as geeek is not a real word. Unconventional spelling will require more elbow grease on your side to get the name out.
Do not pick a domain that is a play on an already known brand. Ilovelouisvuitton.com is not a valid domain name because you are infringing on copyright laws. If you are a blogger that writes about a celebrity or famous brand (like LV), choose your domain name wisely; you could end up with a lawsuit otherwise.

Take a step back and look at your domain name. You may be the most awesome Twitterer, but at the end of the day, a good domain is as important. As bloggers, we all want people to remember us and stop by our site. Make your site name tasty and easy and even more people will visit.

Author: Eva Vesper
Website: http://webhostingsearch.com

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Micro-blogging

Sometimes blogging applications like wordpress, blogger, typead etc. are too much for a post. Just imagine if we start updating our status or sharing a link to a friend on wordpress or blogger then what would happen. There will be thousands of posts on a single page without any comments or there even won’t be any followers. Its horrible to imagine such a thing.

Micro-blogging is the solution to all this. Micro-blogging refers to publishing very short status messages or updates generally would be of two or three sentences. There are several emerging startups in this area, most famous being twitter. Also a few big social networking players like Facebook and bebo have converted themselves into this area.

Lets start with definition of Micro-blogging from Wikipedia. Micro-blogging is a form of multimedia-blogging that allows users to send brief text updates or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, digital audio or the web.

Let’s see some famous Micro-Blogging tools and the features and services they are offering to users.

Twitter: this famous Micro-blogging tool was launched publicly in August of 2006. The idea behind twitter was very simple; the co-founder (Jack Dorsey) was interested in the simple idea of being able to know what his friends were doing. Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter's success. Twitter asks one question, "What are you doing?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. Twitter accepts messages from sms, web, mobile web, instant message, or from third party, API projects like Tweetie, twitterfeed, DestroyTwitter etc. and makes it easy for folks to stay connected. You can also make money through twitter. Follow me on Twitter.

Mood Mill: While surfing different Micro-Blogging websites, Mood Mill impressed me the most. Mood Mill is a social mood management website. It's a personal mood management, a log, a quick 'n easy website for managing and sharing your short logs with your contacts.

Tumblr: The things here attracted me after signing in were it’s simplicity and elegance. Tumblr lets you share anything. Post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos, from your browser, phone, desktop, email, or wherever you happen to be. You can customize everything, from colors, to your theme's HTML. Even use your own domain name. We can say that Tumblr is a combination of blogspot and twitter but in simpler form.

I Rate My Day: This site tries to understand one of the greatest mysteries of human being: feelings. IRateMyDay allows you to share your feelings with the rest of the World in total simplicity! Each time you rate your day, you bring your salt grain to a global vision of the human feeling.

There are many more micro-blogging websites like Emotionr, Hictu (video microblogging), Pacmee, Twingr, Socialtext, Blellow, Plinky … etc. This list will never end. That’s all for now. Very soon I will come with the comparisons and services provided by different Micro-Blogging websites as I have done in past.

Follow me on twitter.

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100 Blog Tips, I Learnt in 2008 Part-II

You have already seen 50 blog tips which I mentioned in 100 blog tips part-I. Here are the rest of 50 tips. Believe me making a list of 100 tips was not easy at all. But still I managed to complete it.

• 51. use meta tags wisely


• 52. learn the basics of SEO


• 53. use pictures whenever possible


• 54. create value for your readers


• 55. place ads wisely


• 56. be patient


• 57. consider getting a co-blogger


• 58. submit your articles to directories


• 59. share what has worked for you


• 60. share what has not worked for you


• 61. read world’s top blogs.


• 62. experiment with Google Adsense


• 63. make it easy for visitors to contact you


• 64. use titles effectively, search engine optimized


• 65. offer email subscriptions


• 66. always answer to questions


• 67. always answer to comments


• 68. use Technorati


• 69. write with a personal touch


• 70. become an expert in your niche


• 71. always give your own opinion


• 72. participate in blogging competition


• 73. get to know other bloggers personally


• 74. organize your categories


• 75. talk directly to your readers


• 76. put functional links on your footer


• 77. put social bookmarks at the start of post


• 78. Use EntreCard


• 79. Use shoutbox


• 80. Do blog hopping


• 81. Use ReddIt


• 82. Learn basic of CSS


• 83. Teach others about blogging


• 84. Twitter


• 85. Learn about backlinks


• 86. Write article for others article directory


• 87. Bold your keywords


• 88. DO keywords research


• 89. Keep watching total no. of backlinks


• 90. Don’t be a jerk


• 91. Respect your audience


• 92. Be real


• 93. Write for the readers not for the search engines


• 94. Interlink the blogs within the contents.


• 95. our blog should be easy to subscribe


• 96. Speed in downloading


• 97. Never attempt Black Hat SEO techniques


• 98. Learn and make improvements from previous mistakes


• 99. ................


• 100. create a “100 list” like this

Dear reader if still I am missing any tips, you can write as comments to this post.
PS: Thanks for voting :)

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Vote For GeekOnNet

It’s time to vote for the "Best Mumbai Blog" .  Vote for my weblog (GeekOnNet.com). Voting will take only few seconds. 

For Voting:

1. Step1 :  Go to http://www.mumbaibloggers.net/wp-login.php?action=register . Write your username and email ID. You will get a password in your mail inbox.
2. Step2: using that password, Login here (http://www.mumbaibloggers.net/wp-login.php )
3. Step3: go to http://www.mumbaibloggers.net/vote-for-the-best-blog and vote for me (geekonnet.com).

For those who already voted for my weblog "thanks a lot". :)

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