Does Google Website Optimizer Work On Large Sites?

You bet it does! With a resounding yes, we're proud to give a shout out to our sibling product, Google Website Optimizer, which was used successfully to run a huge, and we mean huuuuuuge, multivariate test on the YouTube homepage. Take a look at what happened on the YouTube blog. Over 1000 different recipes were tested on all US homepage visits, with great results - the new page performed 15% better than the original page.

The YouTube blog post is fascinating reading, showing screenshots of the different variables on the homepage that were tested. And for those of you working on high traffic, enterprise-level sites, you know that making small, proven improvements - thereby moving the needle by small percentages - can mean huge wins for your bottom line. It's a must-read showing the practicality of multivariate testing.

Strangers gather on Web to make collective art

One of the Web's basic tenets is that small contributions from lots of people can amount to something powerful in the aggregate.
Now, a growing group of writers, musicians, visual artists and videographers is turning this Wikipedia-era philosophy into online collaborative art.

Twitter users are banding together to write an opera for London's Royal Opera House. Bands like My Morning Jacket and Sour, out of Japan, are turning to fans to help film their music videos. Programmers are pulling quotes from online social networks to make automated poems.

More than 50,000 animators are divvying up work on an upcoming animated film called "Live Music," and amateur videographers are re-filming "Star Wars" in 15-second bites.

This crowd-sourced creativity online is putting a new twist on traditional ideas of artistic ownership, online communication and art production.

"What's exciting is that it's being tested out by a lot of people who have access to [the technology]," said Mary Jane Jacob, executive director of exhibitions at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. "I think that we're in a great communal workshop."

In recent months, the collaborative projects have been showing the professionalism it takes to get noticed amid the clutter of content on the Internet, said Ze Frank, an online personality who orchestrated several early online art projects. Sign up for a CNN art project

Frank said people have been making collaborative online art "since the beginning of the Web." But much of it wasn't worth looking at.

Some collaborative books proved to be too much work for even herds of people to tackle. Efforts to create massive drawings with thousands of contributors sometimes ended up looking like random scribbles, for example.

Terror Attack in Sri Lankan Cricketers

Five Sri Lankan players have been injured in a terrorist attack near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana are those being treated in hospital for minor injuries.

The Sri Lankans were on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium when their bus was attacked by five armed terrorists near Liberty market. Habibur Rehman, chief commissioner of police, said 12 masked terrorists fired at the Sri Lankan team bus. The gunmen shot at the wheels of the bus and also injured the driver. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed. The incident puts the ongoing second Test and the tour in doubt.

"The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus," Mahela Jayawardene told Cricinfo. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff], but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris." FOr more .. Click http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7920272.stm

Google Sync Beta Uses Microsoft ActiveSync

By Stuart J. Johnston
February 10, 2009

Google announced Monday it has begun beta testing its new Google Sync cloud-based synchronization services meant to link users' iPhone and Windows Mobile calendars and contacts with their Google accounts and automatically keep them in sync.

Also on Monday, Microsoft announced that Google Sync relies on its own Exchange ActiveSync technology, which it has licensed to Google.

"Earlier today Google announced Google Sync, which is made possible by a patent license they obtained from Microsoft covering Google’s implementation of the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol on Google servers," read a statement posted on Microsoft's PressPass site.

"For iPhone and WinMo [Windows Mobile], Google Sync does indeed utilize the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol," a Google spokesperson confirmed in an e-mail to InternetNews.com.

The two statements may reflect the continuing tension between the two technology giants. Microsoft's statement said that the license is an outgrowth of its Interoperability Principles, which it announced a year ago. The software giant also said it has already licensed the patent to "Apple, Nokia, Palm, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson."

Google, of course, was touting how useful its services will be in the face Microsoft's developing onslaught against the search titan. Google Sync will support syncing in both directions via push technology, freeing users from having to remember to do it manually.

"For iPhone and Windows Mobile devices, Google Sync allows you to get your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar events to your phone. Once you set up Sync on your phone, it will automatically begin synchronizing your address book and calendar in the background, over-the-air, so you can attend to other tasks," according a posting on the Google Mobile Blog on Monday.

Google declined to say when Google Sync will exit beta testing. "Following our credo to launch early and iterate, we're introducing Google Sync in beta," the spokesperson said. "We don't have any timing to announce with regard to when Google Sync will come out of beta.

Such a pairing shouldn't come too much as a surprise, as the two giants do have potential common ground, said one analyst. "Frankly, these companies can have one place where they are at each others throats, like online advertising," Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told InternetNews.com.

"At the same time, Google is pushing into the cloud, and dealing with Microsoft applications is required if you want to deal with 90 percent of the world running those apps," King added.

Article courtesy of InternetNews.com.

How To Keep Morale High When Business Is Down

As venerable financial institutions collapse, tens of thousands are laid off and bonuses are slashed, managers on Wall Street face yet another challenge: how to inspire the shell-shocked workers still on the job. “What really motivates employees is not money or position,”,“What motivates employees is how they feel about the work itself.”
Wall Street may be home to the alpha male, but the biggest mistake many financial firms make, he argues, is to base their entire system on bonuses and promotions. When crisis hits, money is short and new opportunities scarce, managers simply can’t motivate their employees. “You’ll find that the finest firms in the industry, the 'Goldman Sachses’ of the world, go beyond that.” Katzenbach says.

“I am grinding my teeth so badly that I’m developing cracks,” said one banker. The study found that employees’ loyalty, engagement and trust have plummeted in the past year. More than three in five participants said that they were considering quitting their jobs, and one in four were actively looking for another one. To keep staff--and to keep them committed--in times of great stress, “you need to start with something as simple as more effective communication,” says Barry. Hold town hall meetings with senior managers. Organize team briefings to inform everybody of the latest news. That way you keep everyone together and prevent employees from finding out about their future through the media. Massive layoffs make those who kept their jobs feel insecure. A manager can deal with this is by stressing that more work means more job security--companies rely more on their remaining employees, says a member of the Employee Relations Special Expertise Panel at the Society for Human Resource Management.

Managers should also show that they are there to stay, says Perez. “Most of the times, when a company has a problem in a downturn, people are afraid that the person they report to or the leader in their area is going to leave them. It’s just human nature.” During this financial meltdown, workers have had less sleep, more anxiety and shown a wide range of physical and psychological problems: ulcers, memory loss, high blood pressure, fertility complications and depression. Mangers have to counter this sentiment expressed by one study participant: “It seems pointless to overcommit to work since the company does not seem to commit to its employees.” One option is to exercise flexibility. Take the team out to lunch, a drink after work or a workout in the park. That helps strengthen bonds inside the office and motivate employees. Be “more considerate about people wanting to take time out to go to the gym,” adds Barry.

“Working out is a great way of relieving the stress.” This is especially true since many employees in the financial sector have reported turning to caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol, food, painkillers and sleeping pills to cope with the stress. Some managers also suggest organizing “Fast Fridays” (employees rotate to take half the day off) or offer mini-sabbaticals of less than six months. It is difficult for them to focus on anything else and motivation is jeopardized, he says. For this reason, how you treat employees who are leaving the company and how you help them find alternative employment are crucial.

Keep in touch with those who leave though an alumni organization or a talent bank with work opportunities. For those losing their jobs, chances to rebound or find another one may shrink. For survivors, crisis is opportunity. Senior ranks are trimmed during reductions. That may open opportunities for employees to climb the ladder. Managers can also help workers learn from the turmoil and be better prepared to face new challenges. “In the 20 years I‘ve been in different businesses, when people make it through the crises they’re stronger and they’re better,” says Perez. “And they end up doing something that they’re much happier at.”

SEO professionals more unprofessional

Why are SEO professionals more unprofessional?

Why this extreme reaction and the need to put out in a social web site? In the recent past I have had the opportunity to meet a spate of SEO professionals because of couple of positions that got created at MakeMyTrip and also some new assignments cropped up.

- People who have joined even two months back are willing for their resumes to be floating in the job market
- They promise to join and then back off on the date of joining
- They quit jobs at a moments notice
- One person went to the extent of pretending to be his current employer and gave rave reviews about himself. And he thought he would not be caught! BTW he works for one of the biggest brand in the search landscape
- The average stint at a company will be six months I am shocked when I see resumes of someone who has been at a company for more than 1 year!!!


SEO companies like Olive etc should take lead to set up some informal and formal forums that allows interaction between marketers and specialists. This would also place them in thought leadership position especially when SEO consulting companies are sprouting without 'real' expertise to speak of.

Buffett Dethrones Gates on Richest Americans List

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett has elbowed Bill Gates off the top of the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans, reports Bloomberg. Gates has owned that list for the past 15 years.

The magazine revised its calculations of the September markets in the list to be published Sept. 17. It found that between between Aug. 29 and Oct. 1, Buffett added $8 billion to his porfolio, bringing it to $58 billion. Meanwhile, Gates’ net worth declined $1.5 billion to $55.5 billion.

He wasn’t the biggest loser, though. Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO Sheldon Adelson’s net worth dropped $4 billion during that 33-day period. Among others:

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s wealth dropped $1.6 billion to $25.4 billion.
Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page each lost $1.5 billion.
Michael Dell’s fortune dwindled $1.4 billion to $15.9 billion.
Investor Carl Icahn’s holdings fell $1.6 billion to $12 billion.
And Amazon.com founder Jeffrey Bezos’ holdings dropped by $1.1 billion to $7.6 billion.