Google has announced the winners of its 2010 Online Marketing Challenge, and if you're interested in the details on how the winners were chosen (proprietary algorithm, blah blah blah), you can read all about that on the Google site.
Additionally, go read the site for the names of the Universities and individual students that worked so hard to win these awards. As for what they did, check out the actual winning sites for inspiration on how to boost your site or blog:
GLOBAL 2010 Winner
Charlie and Moon
Regional Winner
BustaGrooveDanceStudio
AMERICAS Winner
ThreadsforThought
EMEA Winner
Taniec (Polish Dance Studio)
7/26/10
7/23/10
Profiting from Copyright Infringement - New Vegas Company Sues Bloggers After Buying Media Copyrights
Beware. A new company based in Las Vegas thinks it's found the mother lode in media copyrights and the protections provided by federal law under the Copyright Act.
And after testing out their business model in Las Vegas, suing bloggers and website owners for unauthorized cut and pasting of work found in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, they're aiming for bigger game. National game.
Righthaven, which has only been in existence since March 2010, is busy every day apparently, surfing the web to find blogs and web sites where their news media clients' writing has been published, without permission.
According to Free Republic, they're busy suing without any advance notice (the proverbial "cease and desist" notice) and they're suing nonprofits like Ecological Internet.
Fair use?
Remember my earlier post -- I've already opined that the traditional media is really, really, really trying to limit (and by limit, I mean destroy) the fair use doctrine because of the crushing financial blow print media has felt from online publication.
And, even if fair use is a valid defense to the allegation of copyright infringement in a courtroom, these actions will force bloggers and web site owners to hire attorneys and undertake the legal expense of proving their innocence in a court of law.
Which maybe they can and cannot do -- it may be cheaper to settle than to fight for right. Another common defense tactic, force the plaintiff to spend itself into submission, but this time a basic right -- fair use -- is at stake.
Scary stuff, folks.
And after testing out their business model in Las Vegas, suing bloggers and website owners for unauthorized cut and pasting of work found in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, they're aiming for bigger game. National game.
Righthaven, which has only been in existence since March 2010, is busy every day apparently, surfing the web to find blogs and web sites where their news media clients' writing has been published, without permission.
According to Free Republic, they're busy suing without any advance notice (the proverbial "cease and desist" notice) and they're suing nonprofits like Ecological Internet.
Fair use?
Remember my earlier post -- I've already opined that the traditional media is really, really, really trying to limit (and by limit, I mean destroy) the fair use doctrine because of the crushing financial blow print media has felt from online publication.
And, even if fair use is a valid defense to the allegation of copyright infringement in a courtroom, these actions will force bloggers and web site owners to hire attorneys and undertake the legal expense of proving their innocence in a court of law.
Which maybe they can and cannot do -- it may be cheaper to settle than to fight for right. Another common defense tactic, force the plaintiff to spend itself into submission, but this time a basic right -- fair use -- is at stake.
Scary stuff, folks.
7/22/10
How to Back Up Your Blog - Don't Assume It's Being Backed Up Already
Backing up your blog is important - and it has to be done as a specific task. You risk losing all those blog posts, comments, and images if you aren't routinely backing up your blog (or blawg).
Blogging Services Do Not Automatically Back Up Your Blog
I've had clients assume that their Blogger blogs were automatically backed up by Blogger. No, they're not. Blogger does NOT back up blogs. Neither does WordPress.
Website (and Blog) Hosting Services May Not Back Up Your Blog, Either
Whether or not your blog is being backed up routinely depends upon the service you're using. LexBlog, for example, does back up. Nice, and important to do, for a paid blogging platform.
However, I know of at least one web design company that promotes blogs as part of law firm website design but those blogs are not backed up. I learned of this situation because, sure enough, a series of law firm blog posts disappeared and there was no backup to fix the problem.
Easy Solution: HTTrack to Back Up Your Blog
There's a free service, HTTrack, that has proven to be safe and fast for me in backing up blogs. It has received good reviews from both CNET editors and users. (CNET provides a safe HTTrack download along with its review.)
You can also use HTTrack to back up your website - or really, grab a copy of any existing website or blog on the web - to save offline on your hard drive. This might prove handy for your website, your client's website, or perhaps a website that you might want to use in litigation ....
Daily Measure: Have Your Post Sent to Your E-Mail Inbox
Your blogging platform should allow you to automatically send each post as it is published to an email address (several addresses, actually). Make sure you take advantage of this safety measure, as well as periodically backing up your blog in its entirety.
Blogging Services Do Not Automatically Back Up Your Blog
I've had clients assume that their Blogger blogs were automatically backed up by Blogger. No, they're not. Blogger does NOT back up blogs. Neither does WordPress.
Website (and Blog) Hosting Services May Not Back Up Your Blog, Either
Whether or not your blog is being backed up routinely depends upon the service you're using. LexBlog, for example, does back up. Nice, and important to do, for a paid blogging platform.
However, I know of at least one web design company that promotes blogs as part of law firm website design but those blogs are not backed up. I learned of this situation because, sure enough, a series of law firm blog posts disappeared and there was no backup to fix the problem.
Easy Solution: HTTrack to Back Up Your Blog
There's a free service, HTTrack, that has proven to be safe and fast for me in backing up blogs. It has received good reviews from both CNET editors and users. (CNET provides a safe HTTrack download along with its review.)
You can also use HTTrack to back up your website - or really, grab a copy of any existing website or blog on the web - to save offline on your hard drive. This might prove handy for your website, your client's website, or perhaps a website that you might want to use in litigation ....
Daily Measure: Have Your Post Sent to Your E-Mail Inbox
Your blogging platform should allow you to automatically send each post as it is published to an email address (several addresses, actually). Make sure you take advantage of this safety measure, as well as periodically backing up your blog in its entirety.
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