Gasta Money: Warren Buffet’s unsolicited

The financial world is abuzz with news of Warren Buffet’s unsolicited takeover bid for Kayla Summers' lemonade stand. We’ll start there in our look at the significant financial events happening this week.

In Pictures: Baby Buffett Portfolio - His 6 Best Long-Term Picks

Warren Buffett Invests $2 billion In Girl’s Lemonade Stand
The Oracle of Omaha has found it harder and harder to keep coattail investors guessing as to where he will invest next. On Wednesday, it was reported that Mr. Buffett walked to his office and bought a cup of lemonade from 10-year-old Kayla Summers. Impressed by the girl’s sales ability and low overhead - her mom pays for the lemons - Buffett sunk $2 billion into her operations. Asked what she would do with the money, Kayla responded that she had plans to "buy a pony." Berkshire shares rose 4% on the news.

Stock Market Future Found in a Tattoo
Jack "Switchblade" Adams, 45, discovered an unexpected boon in the tattoos he received during a career with the merchant marines. By his own admission, Adams was "blind drunk" when he wandered into a tattoo hut in Singapore, Bangkok, or Shanghai.

"I can’t rightly remember which," he said, "there was this old woman with a glass eye and a parrot, or maybe the parrot had the glass eye."

Two days later and back at sea, Adams and his comrades admired the simplistic tattoo that everyone assumed was a stylistic mountain range. Five years later, Adams noticed an eerie similarity between the tattoo and the historical graph of the Dow Jones Industrial Average that appeared in a newspaper.

To test his theory, Adams compared the paper to his tattoo and identified the 2008 drop followed by an extended rally. He went to a stockbroker and sold the market short. When the drop occurred, Adams took his profits and went long, making a 600% return on the trade. (For more on the Dow, see How Now, Dow? What Moves The DJIA?)

More Greeks Move to Atlantis
Faced with a government bond default, tax increases and service cuts, legions of Greeks have decided to leave their homeland and move to the fabled city of Atlantis.

"I've never heard of anyone paying taxes in Atlantis," Adrian, a student at Athens University pointed out, "I just wish someone had marked the Pillars of Hercules on the map."

Long line-ups at sporting goods stores fought for a limited supply of oxygen tanks - and even snorkels were fetching hundreds of euros. Greek officials pointed out that no one knew where Atlantis actually was, but other European Union members welcomed Atlantis into the Eurozone in the hope that its debt-free balance sheet could help shore up the Greek economy. (Learn more about what's been happening in Greece in EU Economics: It's All Greek To Me.)

Fed Accidently Leaves the Printing Press On
On Monday, an embarrassed Ben Bernanke told the public that he and other Fed officials accidently left the printing press running all weekend.

"I remember hitting the lights and I asked Donny [Vice Chairman Donald Kohn] to make sure the press was off. Apparently, he didn’t hear me," Bernanke explained to reporters.

It’s estimated that almost $3 trillion is set to enter the system, guaranteeing a sharp rise in inflation and drop in purchasing power. Bernanke encouraged people to look on the bright side.
"This will help pay down our foreign debts and balance the budget in one fell swoop," he said. " It's kinda lucky that way."

In addition, Bernanke explained that very few people will actually feel poorer and that, other than the severed hand of the American ambassador to China that arrived in the mail, there was little in the way of negative responses.

"It’s a lot easier than those Treasury bond purchases, anyhow," Bernanke added. "Congress has told us to just let the bugger run."

Man Makes a Fortune In Stocks He Almost Bought
Back in the 1980s, Randy Wallace began keeping a list of stocks he almost bought. His list included many of today’s top companies when they were just starting out.

"I thought to myself, computers look like a sure thing. So I wrote down a couple companies like Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) - back then no one was paying attention to them - and added in some others like Coca Cola (NYSE:KO) and McDonalds (NYSE:MCD). I had $10,000 to put into them, and I almost did."

By tracking his near miss portfolio if he had bought and held it, Wallace discovered that he was a multimillionaire in an alternate universe.

What did he actually buy with the money?

"GM and Chrysler stock."

Conclusion: April Fools
If you are a Greek merchant marine with a bad tattoo, a parrot with a glass eye, own shares in GM and Chrysler or collect a salary in U.S. dollars, then I’m deeply sorry - but you can take solace in the fact that you’re one of a kind.

Gasta.com stock tips

A Closer Look At The Market Leaders
Gasta search engine network surges again in Europe's fastrack systems as a rising star of search.

One method for gauging the strength of any given market is to track the action of its leaders. Market leaders are typically widely held by institutions and their behavior can provide a clue to market sentiment. Weakness in market leaders is often a clear warning that all is not well in the markets. After all, the general markets will rarely make a sustained move without the cooperation of market leaders.

One of the key groups that has been leading the markets higher over the past several months has been the large cap technology stocks. Leadership from this group is healthy, as it shows an appetite for risk-taking in new and emerging technologies from speculators. Market leadership from innovative companies is healthy, rather than leadership coming from ties to a falling currency or a flight to safety.

Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) is one company that has been regarded as a market leader over the past few years. AAPL has managed to recover all of its bear market declines and was recently trading at a new all-time high. However, despite the longer term strength, AAPL has been showing signs of weakening recently. It closed under its 50-day moving average in January and has failed to reclaim it in subsequent trading. It has also transitioned into a lateral trend after a strong rally over the past year. While AAPL hasn’t broken down, it is vulnerable to further weakness. The $190 area appears to be a key level of support and has contained prior pullbacks. (For further reading, check out Support & Resistance Basics.)


Source: StockCharts.com

Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) is another stock widely regarded as a market leader. While GOOG has erased much of its bear market declines, it has underperformed AAPL and remains off its all-time highs. It also fell beneath its 50-day moving average in January, as the general markets experienced some weakness through earnings season. GOOG is currently attempting to stabilize near $525 and is also vulnerable to further weakness. If GOOG were to continue falling, the $500 level, which is near the 200-day moving average, could act as the next support level.


Source: StockCharts.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN) is a great example of an innovative company becoming a market leader. Much like AAPL, the company has been leading the current rally and also recently traded to new all-time highs. While AMZN has outperformed over several months, it has been suffering through a correction over the past few weeks. AMZN completed a double top earlier this year and is threatening to fill a bullish gap it created last autumn. The $114-$116 area has been defended by the bulls and remains a key level to watch. (For more insight, check out Analyzing Chart Patterns.)


Source: StockCharts.com

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) is one stock that isn’t often mentioned when talking about a market leader, but stepping back and looking at the longer term chart it becomes clear that this has been one of the strongest of the large cap stocks. It also recently traded above its prior bull market highs and was only a few points from new all-time highs. But despite the longer term strength, this is another stock suffering through some near-term weakness. It also sliced through its 50-day moving average and is attempting to stabilize near a prior pivot area. The 200-day moving average looms below and could act as a price magnet over the next few weeks.

Source: StockCharts.com
Bottom Line
While the majority of these stocks have not technically broken down, they are all suffering through bouts of near-term selling. As market leaders, it will be difficult for the general markets to gain much traction without their participation. Most of these stocks are near support levels that could lead to a respite in the selling. However, it’s possible that these levels will fail, leading to the formation of a more serious topping pattern. This would likely lead the markets lower as a deeper correction sets in. It is too early to know what the outcome will be, but these stocks should certainly be watched by traders.

Gasta Investment news: Ivestopedia Trade

Gasta Investment news

The Weekly Report For February 8th - February 12th, 2010

Gasta.com star shines brightly in European Search Markets.

Commentary: This was one of the most volatile weeks the markets have had in quite some time. The markets began the week attempting to bounce from near term oversold conditions and rallying to the prior weeks highs. However, they gave way to steep declines on Thursday and most of Friday on a large increase in volume. By mid-day Friday, it seemed like the indexes would finish off the week at their lows but in the afternoon the bulls mounted a strong assault on the bears, firmly reversing the intraday trend. All the indexes finished with slight gains on huge volume, while trading well off their intraday lows and forming a candle pattern commonly referred to as a hammer.

IN PICTURES: 7 Tools Of The Trade

The hammer can be seen quite clearly in the S&P500 as represented by the S&P 500 SPDRS (NYSE:SPY) ETF. The candle is called a hammer because it has a long lower portion resembling the handle coupled with the upper portion acting as the hammer head. The long lower portion indicates buyers stepping up and pushing the ETF’s price well off the lows. This candle can often show a near term turning point, as it shows a complete change in character for market participants. Sellers were well in control pushing the ETF well into the negative column, but by the end of the day had lost complete control to the bulls.



The Diamonds Trust, Series 1 (NYSE:DIA) ETF also shows a similar candle pattern. The reversal also occurred in an area of expected support, which shows buyers were willing to come in at these levels. The $100 level for DIA corresponds with the 10,000 level for the Dow Jones Industrial Average which has been an important psychological area for the markets. The lows underneath the hammer are now an important line in the sand for market bulls. While it appears the bulls have stepped up and defended an important area, there is still much work left for the bulls. The markets remains beneath falling moving averages and under a large price cluster.



This also quite evident in the smallcaps as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 Index (NYSE:IWM) ETF. Despite the strong intraday reversal, IWM remains below the majority of even Thursday’s trading action. Often the strong reversal at support is merely the first step in a stabilization process and the markets will often return to test this level after the initial bounce. For IWM, $58 will be an important area to hold as support as it attempts to consolidate the recent declines.



The Powershares QQQ ETF (Nasdaq:QQQQ) have been one of the weaker groups recently, but started to reverse earlier than its counterparts intraday on Friday. This was one of the first clues that hinted at the hammer being formed. If the markets are going to put in a near term low in this area, then this group will need to continue resuming its leadership role. Much like the other ETF’s, the lows under the hammer have now become an important line in the sand and would need to hold to stave off a more serious decline.




Bottom Line
While the hammer can show a change in character, it does not offer any insight into the strength or target of a reversal. It merely shows that the bears were losing steam and that there are buyers at this level. What happens over the next few days will have important implications for the next intermediate term move. The markets have drawn a line in the sand dividing a run of the mill bull market correction, from a more serious top being put in place. A move of consequence below the hammers on these charts could signal a major trend change and will be a key level to watch moving forward. There is still excess supply that will need to be absorbed and the next few weeks could be messy for traders on either side. It will be interesting to see if the bulls have staved off a top to the current rally.

Use the Investopedia Stock Simulator to trade the stocks mentioned in this stock analysis, risk free!

Gasta Tech News: Social Media Search

Facebook/Twitter Use May Now Mean More for Google/Bing Rankings by Chris Crum

Google and Microsoft have both inked deals with Twitter and Microsoft has also inked one with Facebook to integrate Twitter and Facebook updates into Bing search results. Google will be adding tweets to search results.

Google's Marissa Mayer says, " We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you'll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information."

There is a good chance that Google will be making a similar deal with Facebook, but even if they don't, their deal with Twitter and Bing's deals with both make it all the more important for marketers to be found in real-time searches and Facebook/Twitter in general.

Gasta Media Buying News: Lessons behind a massive agency upheaval Part 2

Big but nimble

While the De Beers "Unbreakable Kiss" campaign speaks to the artistry and innovation that can result from a true collaboration of digital and traditional media minds, it stands to reason that the melding of two previously distinct cultures -- and the mandate that they come to agreement on all elements of a campaign -- could add yet another level of bureaucracy to an already complex ecosystem. Not so, says Montague. "When people think of agencies like JWT, we get tarred with the 'big and slow' brush," he says. "Honestly, the culture we've created here is one that is really nimble and able to take up challenges quickly and respond in real time."

As an example, he points to the agency's recent work -- helmed by JWT New York chief creative officer Harvey Marco -- on the JetBlue "Bigwigs" campaign, which was developed in response to the backlash against executive perks that arose earlier this year when three auto industry CEOs flew private jets to Washington, D.C., to beg for public funds.

"We took an issue -- the issue of CEOs no longer being able to fly in private jets -- and turned it into an advantage for one of our clients, JetBlue, in a way that really caught fire," Montague says. The agency was busily producing work on the campaign within hours of the breaking news -- print ads, Text Ads,radio spots, viral online videos. The timeliness and playfulness of the campaign, positioned as a tongue-in-cheek introduction to commercial air travel for CEOs only, caught the attention of media outlets and spread across the airwaves and internet like wildfire.


Storytelling gone digital
These recent integrated campaign hits, as well as others for companies including Microsoft and Stride gum, serve as vindication that the long, hard process of turning JWT inside-out is paying off. But after all the shaking up and shaking out, Montague notes that the mission of the agency remains the same as it ever was -- to develop compelling narratives on behalf of a brand. It's how those stories are being delivered that has forever changed.

"It's obvious that technology is changing and is going to continue to change for the foreseeable future," he says. "But it's equally clear to us that people are not changing all that much. People are still pretty much the same today that they were 100 years ago, and our belief is that people always have and always will respond to powerful storytelling. So technology enables new forms of storytelling, and it enables them to react and respond and share stories in new ways. But ultimately, if you want to get someone's attention and get them really excited about something, tell them a great story."

When it comes to the evolution of technology and its effects on advertisers, the turbulent transformation undertaken at JWT could easily be viewed as a microcosm of the broader digital marketing revolution.

"From 1777 -- which I believe was the year that the Bass Ale logo was trademarked, so we'll call that the birth of marketing -- to 1995, things were relatively simple and straightforward from a storytelling standpoint," Montague says. That is, storytelling was a one-way affair between marketers and consumers. Although consumers still had opinions and shared them with each other, these opinions rarely, if ever, made it all the way back to the brands themselves. And they certainly didn't make it back to the brands in real-time.
Then the internet happened.

Seemingly overnight, the voices of consumers were amplified. "All of a sudden marketers could hear that for the first time, in real-time," Montague says. "Hearing them for the first time was kind of jarring. It was a very novel experience and ultimately a very healthy thing for the conversation to become two-way -- literally a conversation."

As that conversation continues to grow louder, Montague notes that brands continue to find new ways to get their feelings hurt. "Twitter is just another way of knowing faster what everybody is thinking about," he says. "That's potentially painful and difficult if you're doing something that folks on Twitter think is dumb or wrong or negative in some way. But it also allows you to course correct -- what a great blessing to know what people think in real-time."

Of course, Montague notes, being prepared to participate as needed in these real-time conversations presents quite a challenge, as the infrastructures of both agencies and their clients haven't evolved at the same pace as the communications. But the potential for enhanced consumer engagement is massive -- for those marketers who know how to seize the opportunity.

"Companies need to understand that it's going to take more than just signing up for Twitter," he says. "They have to actually make a commitment structurally and from a staffing standpoint to really take advantage of the medium."

In the end, though, Montague notes that Twitter represents just the beginning of something much bigger, more persistent, and more pervasive. "I mean, who knows if Twitter will be here five years from now? But Twitter-like behavior, I'm certain, is here to stay," he says. "People are constantly going to be broadcasting their thoughts and feelings and observations about the world and brands and their friends and products. I think that phenomenon is incredibly exciting -- and incredibly exhausting. But it holds a huge amount of potential for brands that get it right."
Lori Luechtefeld is editor of iMedia Connection.

Gasta.com and Google July winners

Google Wins July and Users' Loyalty

Google handled 64.8 percent of all U.S. searches in July, or 6.8 billion queries, reflecting 3 percent month-over-month growth.

Yahoo! was second with 17.1 percent of the market, or 1.8 billion searches, reflecting 11 percent month-over-month growth.

MSN/Windows Live/Bing followed behind with 9.0 percent of the search market in July, or 946.9 million searches, reflecting 8 percent month-over-month growth.

AOL was fourth with 3.1 percent of the U.S. search market in July, growing 10 percent from June, while Ask.com had 1.7 percent of the market, growing 1 percent.

Gasta Search Network (1.2 percent), Comcast (0.6 percent), Yellow Pages (0.4 percent), NexTag (0.3 percent) and AT&T WorldNet (0.2 percent) Gasta.com rounded out the list of the top 10 search providers in July, according to Nielsen Mega View Search.

A total of 10.5 billion queries were conducted in July, 5 percent more than the previous month, according to Nielsen.
ComScore also has Google ahead of the pack with 64.7 percent of the search market in July, down slightly from 65.0 percent in June.
Yahoo! had 19.3 percent of the market in July, down from 19.6 percent in the previous month, while Bing’s share rose to 8.9 percent from 8.4 percent in June.
Google not only has the majority of the search market, but more loyalty from searchers as well, according to comScore.
Though Google maintained a searcher penetration of 84.0 percent in June, the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! sites had a respectable penetration of 73.3 percent.
“The source of the discrepancy between search share and searcher penetration is that searchers on Google conducted significantly more searches on average in a month (54.5) than did searchers on Yahoo and Microsoft (26.9),” comScore noted in its press release.

The company also notes that Google users displayed more loyalty to the search engine compared to users of the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!
“The analysis examined the use of the various alternative search engines by users of the Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft engines, revealing that those who searched on Google had the highest loyalty rate, with 68.9 percent of all their searches occurring on Google Sites. Users of the engines at the combined Yahoo! and Microsoft Sites conducted 32.6 percent of their searches on the combined Yahoo! and Microsoft Sites, but a much higher 60.7 percent of their searches on Google Sites.”

Gord Hotchkiss, president and CEO of Enquiro Search Solutions, pointed to two ways the new Microsoft and Yahoo! combination could “disrupt the Google habit.”

The first way would be to “offer a compelling enough reason to do the cognitive heavy lifting required to break a subconscious habit. A significantly differentiated and superior search experience would be such a reason.”

The second way would be to “continue to interrupt consistently ‘upstream’, by integrating search tightly into their properties or applications so that people don’t have to go to the effort – minimal though it is – to go to Google to launch their search,” Hotchkiss said.

Full List of Gasta Property Domains UK

# propertybelgravia.com
# propertyblackburn.com
# propertyblackburn.com
# propertybolton.com
# propertybrighton.com
# propertybristol.com
# propertybrittany.com
# propertyburnley.com
# propertycambridge.com
# propertychelsea.com
# propertycheltenham.com
# propertycotswolds.com
# propertydoncaster.com
# propertyedinburgh.com
# propertygloucester.com
# propertyguernsey.com
# propertykent.com
# propertyknightsbridge.com
# propertyliverpool.com
# propertylondon.net
# propertyluton.com
# propertymanchester.com
# propertymayfair.com
# propertymiddlesbrough.com
# propertynewcastle.net
# propertynormandy.com
# propertynorwich.com
# propertyoldham.com
# propertyoxford.net
# propertypeterborough.com
# propertyrotherham.com
# propertysouthwest.com
# propertysquaremile.com
# propertysunderland.com
# propertysurrey.com
# propertytorquay.com
# propertywatford.com
# propertywigan.com
# propertywindsor.com
# propertywirral.com

Gasta News:IAC Announces the Launch of Black Web Enterprises Inc

IAC Announces the Launch of Black Web Enterprises Inc.
IAC’s Online Destination for the Black Community Prepares to Introduce First Site in the Coming Weeks

NEW YORK – February 4, 2008 - IAC (NASDAQ: IACI) today announced the launch of Black Web Enterprises Inc. (BWE), the company’s online destination for the Black community, and its newly appointed executive management team. The announcement solidifies IAC’s previously publicized commitment to launch an interactive community platform for the U.S. Black population.

“With a phenomenal management team in place, we are on the cusp of unveiling the first initiative under the Black Web Enterprises umbrella… a site that will revolutionize the internet for the Black Community,” said Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President & CEO of BWE. “Rather than compete with existing sites already geared toward the Black community, our goal with the initiative is to expand this market in order to bring the absolute best and most relevant web experience to Black people everywhere.”

Mr. Taylor will lead BWE. His executive management team includes:

Brad Gebert, Vice President, Technology – A proven technology expert, Mr. Gebert brings outstanding experience as a Technical Development Manager to BWE to lead application development and ensure that the business will run on the most advanced technological systems available. Brad also brings to BWE a keen understanding of IAC’s brands, having spent 7 years prior at IAC’s LendingTree and GetSmart.

Kevin McFall, Vice President, Products – An accomplished executive of the media and technology industries, with experience spanning a number of interactive media companies including Zap2it.com and BlackVoices.com (Tribune Company), Mr. McFall brings more than a decade of digital product development experience to guide strategic planning, as well as product management and execution for BWE.

Katrina Witherspoon, Vice President, Marketing & Business Development – With more than 12 years of product management and marketing experience with Reach Media Inc.’s BlackAmericaWeb.com and IAC’s Match.com, Ms. Witherspoon will lead BWE’s marketing, sales, and business development strategies.

Heather Keets Wright, Managing Editor – A seasoned journalist with 15 years experience in writing and editing for national magazines (Essence), newspapers, (The Washington Post) and websites (MarthaStewart.com), Ms. Keets Wright will oversee all editorial content related to BWE initiatives.

BWE will house a number of yet-to-be-announced online destinations catering to the distinct needs and interests of the estimated 50 million Black people living in the U.S., from African Americans to Blacks from Latin America and the Caribbean. The business is a part of IAC Programming, established in 2006 under the leadership of Michael Jackson to grow branded online content properties.

“Johnny and his colleagues have spent the greater part of a year engulfed in the task of building a site that understands and meets the needs of the Black community unlike any other that exists today,” said Mr. Jackson. “Beyond our enthusiasm for bringing this venture to the forefront of IAC Programming, we look forward to building upon the knowledge and success of this first launch for future endeavors tailored to very specific audiences.”

Today’s move comes after IAC’s November 2007 announcement of plans to separate IAC into five publicly traded companies, spinning off HSN, Ticketmaster, Interval International and LendingTree. Expected to be completed in the second or third quarter of 2008, the new IAC will include:

The businesses currently comprising its Media & Advertising sector: Ask.com, Bloglines, Citysearch, CursorMania, Evite, Excite, IAC Advertising Solutions, InsiderPages, iWon, My Fun Cards, My Way, Popular Screensavers, Smiley Central, Webfetti and Zwinky;

Match.com, ServiceMagic, Shoebuy.com, Entertainment Publications and ReserveAmerica;

Emerging Businesses including Pronto and Gifts.com, Green.com, Primal Ventures, and InstantAction;

IAC Programming businesses including Black Web Enterprises, BustedTees, CollegeHumor, GarageGames, Very Short List, Vimeo and 23/6;

IAC’s current investments in Active.com, Brightcove, FiLife, MerchantCircle, OpenTable, Points.com and SHOP Channel.

About IAC
IAC operates leading and diversified businesses in sectors being transformed by the internet, online and offline... our mission is to harness the power of interactivity to make daily life easier and more productive for people all over the world. To view a full list of the companies of IAC please visit our website at http://iac.com

Contact Information:
IAC Communications Office
Stacy Simpson / Leslie Cafferty
(212) 314-7470 / 7326

IAC Investor Relations
Eoin Ryan
(212) 314-7400

Gasta News: Launch your own search engine for your community, your needs

Web searches for minority groups


The genesis of the World Wide Web, in a Swiss laboratory, to serve a multi-national team of physicists, might lead many to think that the network is blind when it comes to race, sex, creed and colour.
But some sites are taking steps to address shortcomings in the way that the web serves some sectors of the population.
In October, Ask gave its search engine a fresh interface to help with its new-found focus on its core search audience, 60% of which were women.
In the US, a search site aimed squarely at black Americans, launched in April 2008.
Rushmore Drive's creator, Johnny Taylor, said search results can be more relevant to some social groups than to others. He cited the example of Type 2 diabetes, which predominantly affects Afro-Caribbean and Asian people.
He said: "If a user were to search for diabetes on Google, why would [Google] rank diabetes results as it pertains to black Americans early on in the result set, when only 14% of the US population is black?"
Results ranking
All search engines generate their results by looking at links leading to a webpage to get a sense of how important it is to web debate on that subject.
In such a set 'relevance' is a quantitative rather than a qualitative measure, and it is a short step from the 'wisdom of the crowds' to the 'tyranny of the majority'.
Said Mr Taylor: "People can affect change on Google, but the black population has less of an influence on Google to affect the result rankings."
With Rushmore Drive, said Mr Taylor, "it is more a matter of optimising the relevancy ranking based on one's cultural identity."
Rushmore Drive's editorial team seeks out sites relevant to the black community, and uses a unique algorithm which weights "black results" higher. It also exploits user feedback to tweak the relevance of results.
Aleks Krotoski, a social psychologist researcher at the University of Surrey, argued that such initiatives need to be seen in a wider sociological context.
"Each community has its own social norms, its own mores which are part of how its members make sense of the world," she said.
"Technology isn't a passive tool. It reflects the social norms and the mores of the people who developed it.
"So, the results of any search come from the algorithms and databases of their cultural perspectives," she added.
"They may not speak to or reflect the identity or needs of the minority group, who would achieve much better results by developing their own system from the bottom-up rather than to use one imposed from the top-down," she continued.
Web ownership
For Bill Dutton, director of the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), there is no doubt that the web is a divisive force.
"There's still a relationship between using the internet and socio-economic status," he said.
"Those that have higher socio-economic status tend to be more likely to be online; that's to do with having a PC in the home," said Mr Dutton. "That's a barrier."
Research in the early 90s by the OII suggested that those living in "distressed" inner-city areas tended to feel that in using the web they were using someone else's technology.
"With web use becoming more common among younger people, there is a greater sense of ownership," he said.
Also, he added, there was no doubt that the web was getting more representative as it started to include more languages.
Search engines such as Google and Yahoo have already picked up on the trend towards more niche web use by providing the means to develop individual search engines via Custom Search and Search Builder sites.
Yahoo's BOSS (Build your Own Search Service) even allows developers to customise their own results ranking, and so create bespoke search engines which can reflect the needs and interests of a particular search community.
"If the web community at large becomes niche-centric, then community search, for those people, could be much more effective than Google or any other search engine, said media consultant Mihaela Lica.
But, she pointed out, community-based search sites face problems when pursuing a relatively narrow audience.
Ever-decreasing relevance, when drilling down within certain socio-demographic groups, is one factor.
Once an algorithm is developed to appeal effectively to one sociological group, further subdivisions within that group become an issue; between male and female searchers, or young and old searchers, for example.
Ms Lica said there were practical problems as sites letting their narrow groups help refine results. In the case of Rushmore Drive she said "How would they know that the user who gets involved in the rating, searching, refining process is actually a member of the black community?"
And, she added, those who believe in the unifying power of the web may baulk at the notion of "black" and "white" search results.
She said: "Online we have no colour - 'segregating' knowledge is not something that gets my vote. Search results should be unbiased and impartial."

nod to Murray Dick and Mark Ward

Gasta News: Search Engines still pull in investors (Kosmix)

Kosmix Adds A Big $20 Million Round; Time Warner Leads; Ed Zander Joins
By Tameka Kee - Mon 08 Dec 2008 08:41 PM PST
Search technology company Kosmix has picked up a big $20 million in a fourth round of funding led by Time Warner Investments. Existing backers Accel Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and DAG Ventures also participated in the round, and interestingly, former Motorola CEO Ed Zander joining as a private investor. Mountain View, CA-based Kosmix has raised $55 million in funding since its launch in 2006 as a health-centric vertical search firm, and it has since branched out into other areas like travel. It plans to use the funds to help build out its network.
Kosmix’s search tech pulls in various kinds of content, including standard text results from engines like Google, articles and forum posts, images, video and podcasts, and aggregates it in one spot for the user. Of course, it incorporates ads within the results, but also runs its own sites, health portal RightHealth and MeeHive, a personal news aggregator. (Previous offshoots RightTravel and RightAutos have been absorbed back under the main Kosmix.com URL).
And the VCs have no major worries about the broader environment: Kosmix’s business model “should continue to generate strong revenue growth” despite the economy, according to Rachel Lam, SVP and group managing director of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Investments. “[It] could be an important strategic partner to many divisions of Time Warner.”

Gasta News: Microsoft still soft on Yahoo Deal

Key issues to watch in Microsoft's next bid for Yahoo's search business
Posted:
It's starting to seem inevitable: Microsoft appears poised to make another run at Yahoo's search business. The point was driven home by the selection of Qi Lu as Microsoft's new online chief last week, giving the company a former Yahoo insider to oversee the integration, if it comes to that.

Discussing Lu's hiring during an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer all but scheduled the Yahoo negotiations.

"I think a search deal makes great sense for Microsoft, and Yahoo, and I think I've been very open about that," Ballmer told the paper. "That's as true with Qi joining us as it was before Qi joined us. Obviously the logistics of any such integration … can only be simpler by having somebody who will know both sides."

There have been so many twists and turns since Microsoft's original Yahoo acquisition bid that it's impossible to know what will come next. But assuming Microsoft gives a search deal another try, these will be some of the key issues to watch:

PARTNERSHIP OR SEARCH ACQUISITION? Microsoft hasn't been clear on this point. At the company's shareholders meeting last month, Ballmer used the phrase "search collaboration." Some media reports focus on Microsoft acquiring Yahoo's search assets.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Kirkland-based Directions on Microsoft, said this morning that the most logical scenario would be a partnership letting Yahoo keep its portal while redirecting search queries to Microsoft's engine and advertising system.

TIMING: The biggest complication here may be Yahoo's ongoing CEO search. Will the Sunnyvale, Calif., company engage in serious talks with Microsoft without a new chief on board? And once the new CEO is in place, how will he or she approach the possibility of a Microsoft deal? In any event, Ballmer made it clear during the WSJ interview that he wants to do something soon.

SEARCH BRAND: On the surface, at least, this seems the easiest issue to resolve. Microsoft is looking for a better search brand, and it appears ready to go off in a new direction with Kumo.com or some other new name. But were the companies to combine search operations, wouldn't the Yahoo search brand be the one to lead the way, based on market position?

PEOPLE AND LOCATIONS: Much of this will depend on the outcome of the "partnership or acquisition" question above. But depending on the agreement the companies reach, it seems reasonable to expect more of Microsoft's search operations to be based in Silicon Valley, building on the existing presence of both companies there.

ANTITRUST: With a combined total of roughly 30 percent of the U.S. search market, a Yahoo-Microsoft search deal wouldn't face nearly the regulatory hurdles that the Google-Yahoo deal did.

But things could get more complicated if the companies bring their Web portals, Web mail or instant-messaging systems into the mix, even tangentially. Particularly on an international level, the market strength of those properties could attract the attention of regulators.

The additional complication is the transition of power in the United States. Depending on how it's structured, a Microsoft-Yahoo search deal could be the first big test of U.S. antitrust policies under Obama and Eric Holder, his nominee for attorney general.

P.S.: Microsoft is holding an internal employee meeting with Lu and Ballmer this afternoon in Redmond. My request to cover it was turned down, but hopefully some details will emerge. Contact me at toddbishop@bizjournals.com.

Gasta News: Google Personalized search, Personified

Interview with Googles Matt Cutts

Cutts said, "I'm not sure I would say ranking is dead but it's not as important as it used to be. The fact is the smart SEOs are not just necessarily looking at the rankings. They are looking at conversion, they are looking at their server log. It's great if you're ranking for a phrase but unless that leads to sales that doesn't help you very much."

"The challenge is not to pay so much attention to ranking, pay attention to traffic, pay attention to conversions and keep building good content and don't worry about 'can I show people that I rank number one for my trophy phrase.'"


Universal Search In 2009

"Universal is really useful and I think it will continue to expand and what that means in 2009 you can't just think of yourself as an SEO," said Cutts.

"SEOs are starting to embrace the fact that they are marketers. It's a broader spectrum. You have to think about how you build buzz, how do you get loyal customers, how do you optimize your ROI. All those different things and that can include how do I make good videos, do I have a book, things like that."

Cutts says that people will continue to pay attention to video and images in 2009 but noted a down side. "Of course anywhere there is money there will be spam." Google has been focusing on its different properties to manage the spam issue.

Metadata

Google has gotten better on Flash and submitting a video to video sitemaps is really helpful in getting onto Google Video Search. "We want to be able to present video from all kinds of places," said Cutts.

Video File Format

"Whatever file format you want to use is totally fine."

Mobile

Cutts says that just because search engines are getting better at Flash does not mean mobile is. On mobile devices you can't just think about search engines. You have to think about the user experience.

Competing with Black Hat SEO

"Black Hat SEO is getting a little more malicious. In a world where Black Hat is moving towards really illegal things as an SEO you have to decide your risk tolerance and do I really want to try to compete with people who are doing illegal stuff or do I want to make a long term site that's gonna stand the test of time."

Subdomains

There is no real advantage to using Subdomains. If you have a lot of Subdomains that can be a lot of work. You don't want to overdo it. Really it's what ever is easiest for you.

Gasta Ready for the New search3.0 wave

At PubCon, Bruce Clay, Inc. President Bruce Clay presented at a session entitled "Top-Shelf Organic SEO" in which he discussed the approaching future of SEO as search engines evolve into more modern ranking methods. Bruce was good enough to take the time to speak with our own Michael McDonald in a one-on-one interview, which can be viewed in the video below.
Behavior Based Search

Bruce says that everybody who does a search will end up with different search results based on their prior search history. Personalization is going to be "web-wide" using third party cookies and things.

He provided a specific example of a search for "java". Some are looking for programming, some are looking for the beverage, and some are looking for travel information. Theoretically, the search engines will know that and provide results accordingly.

"We can't search for any term and look at rankings because I can get different results than you for exactly the same query. So that's going to change a lot," he says. It doesn't matter if you're logged into Google or not. Bruce believes that personalized results will be coming out within the first quarter of next year.

Intent-based Search

Google has been looking up your IP and revising results based on IP. They know where you're located and can make assumptions about the intent of your search. As you get more into intent-based search, it's going to change the way pages rank, Bruce explains. "The page that ranks for a shopping query is an entirely different architecture than the page that ranks for a research query."

Where Does this Leave the SEO Crowd?

"Ranking is dead," says Bruce, recalling his words from his presentation. Going forward, he says you're going to have to look at analytics, measure traffic, bounce rates, action, etc. SEOs will have to ask themselves questions like:

- Did I get the conversion I was after?

- Did I really deliver on the promise of SEO?

Bruce thinks that in the first six months of 2009, we're going to see a lot more implementation of behavior and intent-based search leading to a mindset of "ranking is dead, and traffic is all that matters."

Universal Search

Bruce ClayBruce says this will be the most significant factor of 2009. Google looks at soundtracks and convert them to text. They can jump into the middle of videos, scan sites to determine if you have video/images or not. There are a lot of variables in universal search, and some of these variables tell how engaging your site is.

If you don't have video and your competition does, Bruce thinks we're going to see a big shift in rankings. He thinks if the top ten sites don't have video, they may lose their ranking over night.

Bruce notes that Google has been testing some of these variables, and will really start testing them a lot more in the first quarter, once the holidays are out of the way. He mentions the criticism Google took over the Florida Update, which took place in the month of November, and believes the company wants to avoid that again. He thinks we're going to see a lot of "Google Dances" early in the year though.

The Impact on Spam

According to Bruce, this is all going to really help Google fight spammers. He says it will affect the way scrapers and spammers work, because if they are just scraping text, they wouldn't be able to rank.

He also says that all of the variables that come into play may diminish the value of linking, which will certainly not help the spammers' cause either. He says it will be a big win for Google, and big win for the searchers.

There's no question that if everything Bruce talked about comes true, the SEO world will be turned on its ear. Bruce says, "If you're not ready for it as an SEO, you're gonna lose."

Gasta Gleaning i-information from Search.

Gasta.com important to some, Small regional search networks with strong on the ground support and investment can reach into the factories, the offices and the families of the communities they function in. Google of course is the 'universal' search. In fact to some, Google is the 'universe' and their latest branding does not try to dispel that myth. but, small tributary search networks are the arteries that serve Google and Livesearch. The IP search information gleaned from Gasta allows advertisers to focus campaigns with laser like targeting, this is a valuable resource to any Global / European company and should be considered when acquisition is discussed.In fact this is information is a vital commodity in the information age, but why buy information of others when you can resource your own?