Google announced recently that site loading time now plays a part in their search ranking algorithm.  It has also been openly said that over 200 elements are taken into consideration when determining a sites search engine ranking.   In addition Google notes that site load time is going to be a very small portion of this algorithm.  With all that said I simply don’t understand why people are freaking out.  This should not be the first time you are considering improving your site load time

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So Now You Care About Your Website Load Times

Google Maps is a pretty useful tool for conducting local search on business establishments, directions and yes route maps.  It’s been getting wide usage and yet Google seem to have not capitalize on its monetization potential especially from local search advertising. But this perhaps might change soon, as Google has started testing out a new Maps feature that shows hotel prices for selected local hotel listings.

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Google Tests Hotel Price Listings on Google Maps

Encouraging Tweets of the current page has become one of the most powerful ways to attract extra traffic and help viral effect. Tweetmeme button is probably the most popular way to do that, however more and more often I come across blogs that use a similar one provided by Topsy

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Topsy Button versus Tweetmeme Button

YouTube has announced a new program at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, TX, designed for aspiring musicians.  Called “Musicians Wanted,” the program is intended to lure more up-and-coming bands and musicians to YouTube for their video distribution needs by offering some of the same monetization options and other features extended to YouTube’s partners. Up until

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YouTube’s New Musicians Wanted Opens Partner Program To Unsigned Artists

Internet Explorer 6 is finally going to die, I hope. Lots of official bodies are stating that users should move off of the browser and onto either a newer version or a different browser altogether. Google first announced the Docs, their browser-based productivity service, will drop support for version 6 of Microsoft’s browser in a couple weeks

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Google/YouTube Drop Support for IE6 – Good Riddance!

Remember when I told you the future of TV was international? Now we’re seeing even more evidence of that trend because the popular Web series Break a Leg just sold the licensing rights to its show to Fox Italy, marking a big step for Web producers looking to graduate to the TV set

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New Opportunities for Web TV Shows – New Media Minute

YouTube seems to be constantly on the move, an ever-changing landscape of new services and features for video fans.  Even as their fifth anniversary passes, they seem to be continually striving for enhancements and improvements.

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YouTube’s New Music Video Discovery Service, Disco, Is Cool

It’s a few hours before the Super Bowl XLIV kicks-off but  aside from the game later, fans are also looking forward to the commercials that will be aired during the extravaganza. After all, it takes a lot of money just to get a 30 second slot from the prestigious event. And major brands have competed just to air their commercials and  brand product endorsements with some even employing celebrities to do the work for them.

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Google to Air Search Stories Ad During Super Bowl

Google has just added a useful button to its  mobile homepage – tagged “near me now”, this feature lets you search by using your location as the query.  Currently available for iPhone and Android phone users in the U.S., “Near me now” utilizes GPS for determining your whereabouts and then searches for results near your location. The new Google mobile homepage feature lets you easily search for popular categories of nearby places

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Google Adds “Near Me Now” to its Mobile Homepage

Quick Scroll is a new little tool from Google for Google Chrome.

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Quick Scroll: Google Chrome’s Web Document Navigation Tool