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</head> <body> Blog: News from the Pop Culture Fast Lane <br>Friday, 12 January 2007 <br>Golden Globe Predictions <p>The Golden Globe Awards are coming up this Monday, with nominees representing the best in film and television this year.  The poor celebrities are being denied their extravagant gift bags this year - doesn't your heart ache for them? My predictions are: <p> Film <p>Best Picture (Drama) - The Departed <p>Best Picture (Comedy) - Dreamgirls - <p>Best Actor (Drama) - Leonardo DiCaprio <p>Best Actress (Comedy) - Helen Mirren <p>Best Actress (Drama) - Meryl Streep <p>Best Actor (Comedy) - Sascha Baron Cohen <br>  <br>  <p>Television <p>Best Drama Series - 24 <p>Best Drama Actor - Hugh Laurie <p>Best Drama Actress - Kyra Sedgwick <p>Best Comedy Series - The Office <p>Best Comedy Actor - Steve Carell <p>Best Comedy Actress - America Ferrera <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 2:24 PM EST <br>Updated: Monday, 15 January 2007 2:50 PM EST <br>Post Comment | Permalink <br>Thursday, 4 January 2007 <br>We Love 24. <p>January sort of a depressing time of year; the holidays are over and long months of winter loom ahead.  However, there is one incredibly exciting thing about the month of January. <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>JACK IS BACK! <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 4:01 PM EST <br>Post Comment | Permalink <br>Monday, 18 December 2006 <br>2006 Year End Lists <p>WEB USERS HAVE SPOKEN: <p>POKER IS THE MOST-SEARCHED TERM OF 2006…LYCOS Announces the Most Popular Internet Search Terms of 2006 and the <p>Ones to Watch in 2007 <p>IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM, Most-Searched News Event; <p>                  PEREZ HILTON, Most-Searched Blog Site <br>  <p>CLAY AIKEN, Web’s Most Wanted Man; <p>PAMELA ANDERSON, Most-Searched Woman <p>"AMERICAN IDOL," Top TV Show; "HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL," Top Movie; <p>GREEN DAY, Top Band <br>  <br>  <p>WALTHAM, Mass.– December 13, 2006 – LYCOS, Inc. (www.lycos.com), a leading community destination for high-quality broadband entertainment content, today announced The LYCOS 50’s annual list of top 50 search terms for the year 2006. The LYCOS 50™ is a weekly list of the most popular people, places and things LYCOS users search for every day. The LYCOS 50 2006 year-end list is based on LYCOS user searches from Jan. 1, 2006 through Nov. 25, 2006. For a complete list of The LYCOS 50 top 50 search terms of 2006, and for in-depth commentary of The LYCOS 50 2006 Report, go to http://50.lycos.com. <p> Poker generated more online interest than any other search term with LYCOS users in 2006. Search activity for poker has been steadily climbing since it made its first appearance on the 2004 year-end list at number 10. Last year, it was the fourth most popular search term of 2005. Search activity for poker jumped 434 percent over the past year, trumping both Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton, to claim the top spot in 2006. MySpace saw the biggest jump in search interest in 2006, up 568 percent since this time in 2005. Another newcomer to this year’s top search list is Spyware, edging out long-time web darlings like Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Dragonball, which all dropped significantly in 2006. <p>While Hurricane Katrina was the most-searched news event of 2005, the news story resonating most with web users in 2006 is the Iran Conflict. This also marks the second year in a row that the War in Iraq failed to generate enough search interest to make it the number one news event with web users. Search activity for the Iraq War dropped 30 percent over the past year, with searches for President George W. Bush continuing to decrease, dropping 17 percent since this same time in 2005. Based on search activity, web users appeared much more interested in the World Cup than in the Iraq War, as the World Cup generated 40 percent more searches than the Iraq War in 2006. <p>Clay Aiken takes over as the most-searched man of 2006, pushing the top man of 2005 Eminem to number three on this year’s list. Aiken generated consistent search interest throughout the year, due in part to the release of a new album, and questions surrounding his sexuality, as well as his recent on-air run-in with Kelly Ripa while co-hosting "Regis and Kelly" last month. Making his debut on the 2006 list of top men is Disney’s "High School Musical" star Zac Efron, who was 182 percent more popular than Howard Stern in 2006, based on web search activity. <p>Several new faces appear on this year’s top men list, including rapper Daddy Yankee, who was predicted to be "one to watch" in 2006 in last year’s Lycos 50 Year-End report. The untimely death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin sent web users scouring the internet in search of video depicting the stingray attack which subsequently killed him, pushing Irwin onto this year’s most-searched men list. Dropping off the list of most-searched men for the first time in 6 years is Tupac Shakur, while new faces like Chris Brown and Jesse McCartney emerge on this year’s list of most-searched men. Chris Brown saw a huge increase in 2006, up 66 percent. Notably absent from this year’s list of top men is rapper 50 Cent, whose search interest also dipped in 2006, down 98 percent. <p>Topping the list of this year’s most-searched women is Pamela Anderson who continues to find ways of staying top of mind with web users. Helping propel Anderson in 2006 were her over-hyped marriage(s) to Kid Rock and then subsequent divorce, as well as her many news-driven PETA appearances. Making her first-ever appearance on this year’s list of most-searched women is Jessica Simpson, while this marks the first year since 2000 that Brooke Burke did not make the list of top women. This also marks the 7th consecutive year that Britney Spears has appeared on the list of most-searched women, from 1999 through 2006. <br>"American Idol" retakes the top spot as the most-searched TV show of 2006, as "The Simpsons" drops 59 percent since this time last year. Search interest in American Idol jumped 300 percent in 2006, while former American Idol contestant Elliot Yamin sees the biggest jump in search interest over the past year, making the list of most-searched men of 2006. Reality shows and primetime cartoons continue to dominate the list of most-searched TV shows in 2006. Meanwhile, Green Day is the most-searched band of 2006, for the second consecutive year. <br>  <br>  <p>And from the blogosphere, Perez Hilton is the most-searched blog site of 2006, generating 91 percent more search interest than the second most popular blog site with web searchers, Huffington Post. While Huffington Post provides news and opinions, three of the top five most-searched blog sites this year cater to celebrity gossip news, including Perez Hilton, a.k.a. Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., TMZ, a.k.a. "Thirty Mile Zone" around Hollywood, and Pink is the New Blog. The fifth most popular blog site in 2006 is PostSecret, an ongoing community art project where people anonymously email their secrets on postcards. <br>  <br>  <p>Top 10 Women of 2006: <p>1) Pamela Anderson          6) Jessica Simpson <p>2) Paris Hilton                    7) Hilary Duff <p>3) Britney Spears                  8) Anna Kournikova <p>4) Lindsay Lohan                 9) Carmen Electra <p>5) Jennifer Lopez                  10) Angelina Jolie <br>  <br>  <p>Top 10 Men of 2006: <p>1) Clay Aiken                  6) Howard Stern <p>2) Zac Efron                      7) Daddy Yankee <p>3) Eminem                        8) Jesse McCartney <p>4) Nelly                           9) Elliot Yamin <p>5) Chris Brown            10) Steve Irwin <br>  <br>  <p>Top 10 Bands of 2006: <p>1) Green Day                   6) Nickelback <p>2) Pussycat Dolls             7) Evanescence <p>3) Fall Out Boy                 8) Black Eyes Peas <p>4) Guns N Roses            9) All American Rejects <p>5) Rolling Stones         10) The Fray <br>  <br>  <p>Top 10 Films of 2006: <p>1) High School Musical                     6) Scary Movie 4 <p>2) The Da Vinci Code                        7) Snakes on a Plane <p>3) Pirates of the Caribbean 3        8) Talladega Nights <p>4) X-Men 3                                          9) Saw 3 <p>5) V for Vendetta                          10) Nacho Libre <br>  <br>  <p>Top News Stories of 2006: <p>1) Iran Conflict                                                      6) Global Warming <p>2) World Cup                                                          7) Winter Olympics <p>3) War in Iraq                                                       8) Debra LaFave Scandal <p>4) Heather Mills/Paul McCartney Divorce     9) Gas Prices <p>5) Israel/Palestine Conflict                             10) Stem Cell Research <br>  <br>  <p>Top Fads of 2006: <p>1) Poker                 6) Yoga <p>2) MySpace           7) Final Fantasy <p>3) RuneScape         8) Yu-Gi-Oh <p>4) iPod                   9) Atkins Diet <p>5) YouTube               10) Pilates <br>  <br>  <p>Top Television Shows of 2006: <p>1) American Idol          6) CSI <p>2) Lost                           7) The Simpsons <p>3) South Park              8) Scrubs <p>4) Smallville                9) Survivor <p>5) Family Guy                10) Dancing with the Stars <br>  <br>  <p>Top 10 Sports Stars of 2006: <p>1) Anna Kournikova          6) Michelle Wie <p>2) Maria Sharapova           7) Barry Bonds <p>3) Christiano Rinaldo         8) Lucas Neill <p>4) Tiger Woods                     9) Lance Armstrong <p>5) Danica Patrick             10) Kirby Puckett <br>  <br>  <p>Top 5 Blog Sites of 2006: <p>1) Perez Hilton <p>2) Huffington Post <p>3) TMZ <p>4) Pink is the New Blog <p>5) PostSecret <br>  <p>The Ones to Watch in 2007: <p>The following terms had strong showings in 2006. Based on growing search queries, The Lycos 50 predicts these are the ones to watch in 2007: from the political stage, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and the topics of illegal immigration, global warming, bird flu and stem cell research…singer/actress Beyonce…rappers Nas and Jim Jones, and hip-hop artist Akon …the 2007 movies already generating buzz online are all sequels and one based on a famous primetime animated series including, "Spider Man 3," "Shrek the Third," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Land’s End," "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "Saw 4," and "The Simpsons <br>Movie"…the TV shows "Heroes" and "Ugly Betty,"…from the literary world, the eagerly anticipated release of Harry Potter 7…and from the technology side, geotagging, Wii and GPS Tracking on cell phones. <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 2:12 PM EST <br>Updated: Monday, 18 December 2006 2:50 PM EST <br>Post Comment | View Comments (2) | Permalink <br>Tuesday, 24 October 2006 <br>Sprouts at Disneyland? <p>Watching the "Today Show" as I am getting ready for work in the morning is often disgusting and/or terrifying.  First of all, every morning seems to feature some sort of segment about germs. According to Matt Lauer, there are an exponential amount of germs that we encounter in our day-to-day lives about which we don't know.  Today, I discovered that there are germs EVERYWHERE at the gym, which gives me yet another reason (in addition to "lazy" and "would rather watch TV") not to go to the gym. <p>There are also a large number of stories about obesity in America, and how ridiculously unhealthy we all are.  Disney, which appears at #8 on this week's Lycos 50, has adopted a healthy food initiative for its theme parks.  They plan to offer "appropriate kid-sized portions" at parks, with no more than 30% fat in main and side dishes, and 35% for snacks. In addition, saturated fat will be limited to 10% in all foods, and added sugar will be limited to 10% in main dishes and 25% in snacks. <p>I have mixed feelings about this intiative.  A day at Disneyland is really a celebration of being a kid.  As an adult, when I go to Disneyland, I always drop the diet and treat myself to one of those amazing chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches.  Must we worry about our weight everywhere?  However, it is true that the unhealthiness of American kids is getting out of control.  Kids need to learn proper nutrition, and it is responsible of Disneyland to provide healthy (if, I'm sure, still ridiculously overpriced) options.  The sad thing is that it seems that enough kids are not adopting healthy habits at a young age.  They simply gorge themselves on fast food and sweets, rather than treating themselves to a few cookies after a balanced meal containing vegetables.  Perhaps preventing the intake of junk food at Disneyland is actually necessary, although I still don't really see why America seems to have lost the concept of "moderation." <p>On a related note, Britney Spears lost 26 pounds in a month! <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 9:28 AM EDT <br>Updated: Tuesday, 24 October 2006 10:41 AM EDT <br>Post Comment | View Comments (4) | Permalink <br>Friday, 20 October 2006 <br>I love gossip. <p>I love gossip.  Particularly about people I actually know, but celebrity gossip is pretty delicious, too.  Remember this summer, when Mel Gibson was arrested?  And, like, it was the same week that the CEO of Morgan Creek sent Lindsay Lohan a letter about how her partying was disrupting filming?  That was such an awesome week. It was like a six month early Christmas for gossip fiends. For your edification, here are some of my favorite gossipy websites to help procrastinate your work day away: <p>Defamer - http://www.defamer.com/ <p>Perez Hilton - http://www.perezhilton.com <p>Pink is the New Blog - http://trent.blogspot.com/ <p>Go Fug Yourself - http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/ <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 3:45 PM EDT <br>Post Comment | View Comments (4) | Permalink <br>Friday, 6 October 2006 <br>A long time ago, we used to be friends. <p>Veronica Mars appeared on our Movers & Shakers with a 150% increase from last week.  The season premiere aired Wednesday night on the new CW network.  Any doubts that Veronica would experience growing pains with her transition to college, as Buffy did before her, were laid to rest.  The first scene of the episode featured our heroine in a Criminology class where we could see that she's lost none of her edge.  Three minutes into the show, Veronica had already solved a case and made an enemy (As Keith pointed out, "It is a day ending in Y."). <p>The new characters struck the right notes.  Wallace's roommate, Piz, although maybe a bit dim to leave his car door unlocked, is laid-back and funny.  Its refreshing to see Wallace with a guy friend.  Though I expected to hate Mac's roommate, I found her eager-to-please and open personality likable, and the reveal of her rape at the end of the episode was certainly jarring. <p>The case-of-the-week, while maybe not the most riveting the show has produced, served as a excellent introduction into what college life will be like for the Neptune gang.  I admit, I was relieved to find out that Logan and Veronica had not split over the summer.  Whether playing lovers or antagonists, Jason Dohring and Kristen Bell have a fantastic chemistry, and Logan's obvious adoration of Veronica is one of this character's most endearing traits.  Logan, who had always seemed so broken, appeared to have stabilized somewhat, probably due to Veronica's influence.  It is Dick who ricocheted out of control after the death of his brother, and the end of the episode saw him collapsing into Logan's arms. (Clearly, Dick will be suspected as the rapist.) <p>The episode was not without its weaknesses.  The Keith storyline seemed too confusing, and, really, Keith outsmarted by Vinnie Vanlowe? No.  I suspect that Kendall is not dead, but hey, we never saw a body when Lynn Echolls jumped off of the bridge, either.  My biggest issue was with the remix of "We Used to Be Friends." Why? <p>I am hopeful that the new format that has the show featuring three mystery arcs over the course of the season instead of just one will allow this season to be more streamlined than season two.  The "Who killed Lilly Kane?" mystery arc was one of the most brilliant and emotionally resonant I've ever seen on television, and "Who caused the bus crash?" just didn't measure up. <p>Regardless of some weaknesses here and there, Veronica Mars is one of the best shows on TV.  If you don't already, tune in on Wednesdays at 9 on the CW. <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 11:02 AM EDT <br>Updated: Friday, 6 October 2006 11:04 AM EDT <br>Post Comment | View Comments (1) | Permalink <br>Thursday, 28 September 2006 <br>Britney and Christina - Friends at Last! <p>Britney Spears, number two on the Lycos Music List, has reportedly ended her feud with Christina Aguilera.  I was not even aware that they were feuding, to be honest.  I thought Britney's only feuds these days were with, say, the paparazzi, footwear, and proper nutrition. But she and Christina apparently harbored a great deal of animosity for one another until Christina sent Britney's son, Sutton Pierce, a gift basket. I find that expensive presents go a long way in making me hate people less. <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 5:15 PM EDT <br>Updated: Thursday, 28 September 2006 5:18 PM EDT <br>Post Comment | View Comments (1) | Permalink <br>Tuesday, 26 September 2006 <br>Team Aniston or Team Jolie? <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Despite the fact that its been almost two years since Brad and Jen split, the Jen/Bran/Angelina/Vince quadrangle is still making news.  I admit to having a shameful stack of trashy magazines on my coffee table, including Us Weekly, In Touch, and Star. (What can I say? I love celebrity gossip.  And looking at the outfits.)  In one given week, two of the magazines will simultaneously proclaim statements like, "VINCE AND JEN: ALTAR-BOUND!" and "VINCE AND JEN: RELATIONSHIP-ENDING FIGHT AT WHOLE FOODS!" <p>With both Angelina and Jen as Lycos 50 favorites, it made me realize that I truly believe that everyone has chosen a side.  Sure, you can claim that you only read Proust and watch foreign films and that your TV is black and white and tucked away in a closet and you only plug it in once a year to watch election results, but still.  You are on Team Aniston or Team Jolie.  Admit it.  Everyone has a favorite, much like as in the Matt/Ben debates of yesteryear. <p> As for me?  Team Aniston.  I have no problem with Angelina; she has an adorable family and does excellent humanitarian work.  But Jen has always seemed completely relatable to me, like she would be a fun companion with whom to watch "Dawson's Creek" reruns and drink beer.  She's had an endearing, lasting friendship with Courteney Cox, and seems to face the same self-esteem issues we all do.  Also, she has a great head of hair, and her dad was on "Days of Our Lives."  I just like her.  I always have. She is my Imaginary Celebrity Friend. <p>So, despite the fact that I have a great deal of respect for Angelina, its Jen with whom I would eat an entire carton of cookie dough in post-breakup comfort. <p>How about you? <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 5:06 PM EDT <br>Updated: Tuesday, 26 September 2006 5:14 PM EDT <br>Post Comment | Permalink <br>Trick or Treat. <p>This week sees Halloween making its return to the Lycos 50.  Perhaps popularity on the Lycos 50 will give us early indication of what costumes will be big this year.  I suspect that we will be inundated with Supermans and Jack Sparrows, but will we see little girls trick-or-treating as Paris Hilton or Pam Anderson?  Will guys at your Halloween party be decked out in Clay Aiken garb? <p>What are you going to be this year? <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by lycos50 at 4:39 PM EDT <br>Post Comment | View Comments (1) | Permalink <br>Monday, 28 August 2006 <br>MEDIA FRENZY FOR JONBENET RAMSEY CONTINUES ONLINE, WITH SEARCH ACTIVITY JUMPING 2,000 % OVER PAST 72 HOURS <p>MySpace trumps Pam Anderson to take over top spot with web users <br>  <br>  <p>The Lycos 50 for Week Ending Aug. 19, 2006 <br>  <br>  <p>Notes of Interest: <p>JonBenet Ramsey (#30) returns to the Lycos 50 this week, following around-the-clock coverage of an apparent break in the 10-year-old murder investigation and the confession of John Mark Karr. News of Karr’s admission to JonBenet’s killing and his subsequent arrest sent web users scouring the internet for more information on Karr and rekindled interest in the Ramsey killing. Search activity began to heat up on Aug. 18 and 19, pushing searches for Ramsey far ahead of web celebs like Angelina Jolie and Lindsay Lohan. Although search interest has not pushed Ramsey ahead of web darlings Pam Anderson and Paris Hilton, search activity has increased 2,000 percent over the past 72 hours, generating more search queries for JonBenet Ramsey than Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff combined. In fact, searches spiked over the weekend on Aug. 19 and 20, when ironically, most search activity slows down. Searches for JonBenet outnumber searches for her alleged killer nearly 20 to one. 90% of search queries also spelled Ramsey’s name correctly, with only 10 % misspelling Jon Bennet vs. JonBenet, indicating once again how media saturation and attention continues to draw U.S. audiences to this story. The most popular JonBenet Ramsey search related queries include: JonBenet Pictures; JonBenet Autopsy Photos; JonBenet Ramsey official site; Ramsey killing; Ramsey Ransom note; and Ramsey death photos. The most popular John Mark Karr related searches include: John Karr ex-wife; John Mark Karr pictures; and John Mark Karr Thailand. <p>Other Notes of Interest: <p>In a huge move to the top spot on the Lycos 50, the social networking site MySpace captured the crown from Pamela Anderson (#2), who had held at number one for nine consecutive weeks. If web search activity is any indication, MySpace users are most curious about free MySpace layouts, which dominate all MySpace-related search queries. Meanwhile, Anderson’s online popularity continues as she pushes to make web users aware of her new site, PamelaPoker.com. <p>Not Your Daddy's AM Radio: Podcasts up 500% <p>Podcasts barely missed making the top 50 this week, but saw a noteworthy jump of 500% in search popularity since they were introduced on iTunes last year. Podcasting, a method of multi-media distribution for playback on personal computers and mobile devices like iPods, has become increasingly popular in all fields of interest. Users can download everything from a curator-narrated tour of the Tate Britain Museum, to an informational discourse about alpacas. The increase of searches for Podcasts can be attributed to the popularity of more general or comedic Podcasts, like "Keith and the Girl", a humorous commentary and #1 on the Podcast Alley Directory. <p>Drop Offs <p>World Team Tennis 2006 finished in July, and with it, tennis champ Anna Kournikova leaves our list this week, after enjoying 39 weeks on the 50. The file sharing site KaZaA also fell from our list, while similar sites like LimeWire and eMule saw increased popularity. <br>  <p>Amazon.com Bookstore's Amazon Blog (What is a Blog?) <br>Newest < Newer   |   Older > Oldest <br>  <p>Tuesday, January 16, 2007 <br>Sasha's Story, Maria's Story <br>5:12 PM, January 16, 2007, updated at 5:13 PM, January 16, 2007 <br>Less than two months after the Cold War-style death by radiation poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, there's a scramble to tell his story. New York Times London bureau chief has signed with Doubleday to write Sasha's Story: The Life and Death of a Russian Spy (due out this fall), and Random House will be publishing Wall Street Journal reporter Steve Levine's as-yet-untitled take on the story as well. And the last deal announced will be the first to publish: Death of a Dissident: Alexander Litvinenko and the Death of Russian Democracy by Litvinenko's wife Maria--who showed signs of radiation exposure herself--which is due out from Free Press in May (and is the only one of the three currently available for pre-order on our site). <br>  <br>  <p>Meanwhile, Hollywood is scrambling too. Just in the last week, Johnny Depp bought the rights to Sasha's Story (with, one assumes, the possibility of starring in the story himself) and Michael Mann has "begun development" on a film of his own based on Maria Litvinenko's book. And, no doubt, every thriller writer on the planet has added one more possible plot twist to their arsenal. --Tom, Amazon Bookstore <br>Comment | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 5 of 9 voters liked this post. 4 of 9 voters liked this post. <br>  <p>Old Media Monday: This week's newsmaking books <br>12:42 AM, January 16, 2007, updated at 9:34 AM, January 16, 2007 <br>The latest news, reviews, and appearances: <p>The New York Times: <p>Sunday's Book Review cover: After following Kakutani's Pynchon pan with a Sunday rave, Liesl Schillinger reverses field, following up Kakutani's Martin Amis rave with, well, not quite a pan of her own: "In House of Meetings, he creates the memoir that his protagonist, 'a vile-tempered and foul-mouthed old man,' has in him. Let's just say he's no Frank McCourt." <br>Find Me by Carol O'Connell: "a terrific find: a tightly wrapped, expert combination of suspense, mystery and show-stopping character. One starkly visual sequence manages to turn a highway rest area into the scene of a coolly terrifying duel of wits, one small part of the book's overarching cat-and-mouse game." <br>About Alice by Calvin Trillin: "Sometimes we come across a piece of first-person writing that shocks us back into a restorative innocence vis-à-vis the human heart. The secret of Calvin Trillin's slim but walloping book, 'About Alice,' is that its structure follows the contours of an old-fashioned piece of reportage, using a scrim of detachment to build tension and, when that is pulled aside, revealing an underlying core of enchantment." <br>Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy by Barbara Ehrenreich: "This pop anthropology lacks fizz. There's a yearning, wistful gap between Ehrenreich's celebration of inebriated dance and her term-paper prose." <br>A profile of forgotten Paris Review cofounder Harold "Doc" Humes, whose two long-out-of-print novels, The Underground City and Men Die, are listed but currently have no copies for sale on our site. Anybody got one in the attic to sell? <br>The Daily Show: <p>Mon., Jan. 15: Digging for the Truth: One Man's Epic Adventure Exploring the World's Greatest Archaeological Mysteries by Josh Bernstein <br>Tue., Jan. 16: Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present by Michael Oren <br>Wed., Jan. 17: Go Long!: My Journey Beyond the Game and the Fame by Jerry Rice <br>Oprah®: <p>Mon., Jan. 15: The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene (and whaddya know, it's #1 on our site today) <br>Thu., Jan. 18: Gary Zukav, author of The Dancing Wu Li Masters <br>Fresh Air: <p>Mon., Jan. 15: Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign by Michael Honey <br>Tue., Jan. 9: Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear by Frank Luntz <br>All Things Considered: <p>Sun., Jan. 14: Love Is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield <br>Thu., Jan. 11: Palestine by Jimmy Carter <br>Tue., Jan. 9: Judy Brown, author of Comedy Thesaurus, Joke Soup, and more, sued by comedians <br>The New Yorker: <p>Jan. 22 issue: The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism by Tristram Stuart: "Stuart is of the opinion that vegetarians have long had the best of the intellectual arguments. If so, that just shows how little intellectual arguments matter to populations' eating decisions." <br>--Tom, Amazon Bookstore <br>Comment | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 15 of 22 voters liked this post. 14 of 22 voters liked this post. <br>  <br>  <p>Monday, January 15, 2007 <br>Get Into the Ring with Martin Amis <br>2:32 PM, January 15, 2007, updated at 4:03 PM, January 15, 2007 <br>The Independent's "You Ask the Questions" feature with Martin Amis today feels like one of those contests in the back room of the bar where locals line up to see if they can last a round in the ring with the touring tough guy. The questioners (starting off with novelist Alasdair Gray) know Amis's punching power, so they just start in swinging: <br>"Are you an Islamophobe?" <br>"The phrase 'horrorism,' which you invented to describe 9/11, is unintentionally hilarious. Have you got any more?" <br>"Do you ever worry that you have inherited some of your father's misogyny?" <br>"Why are you such a snob?" <br>And Amis, fresh off of some early good U.S. reviews for House of Meetings, doesn't disappoint (see the answer to the second question for starters), and, to my mind, stays in the ring to the end (although "horrorism" really is a dud). Here's his two cheers for snobbery, of his own variety: <br>On the other hand, I think snobbery ought to make a comeback. Not the old "class" s--- but mental and verbal snobbery. Sometimes snobbery is forced upon you. So let's have a period of exaggerated respect for rationality; and let's look down on people who use the words everybody else uses. Funnily enough, Princess Diana was also the princess of second-hand speech, of mouldering novelties, of what might be called herd-words. Seen it, done it, got the T-shirt. <br>--Tom, Amazon Bookstore <br>Comment | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 19 of 33 voters liked this post. 18 of 33 voters liked this post. <br>  <p>Tony Takes a Bite Out of Seattle <br>1:52 PM, January 15, 2007, updated at 9:47 AM, January 16, 2007 <br>The third season of the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations is off to a cracking start with a kick-off epiosde on Ireland and an amazing hour on Ghana. Bourdain stays in-country for tonight's episode on the Pacific Northwest, and the preview teases us with shots of Bourdain chatting with Fight Club author (and Portland resident) Chuck Palahniuk and describing legendary local fixture and temple of all-things meat, Salumi, as a place he'd "cheerfully crawl naked across broken glass" to enjoy a meal. <br>  <p>There were Bourdain sightings all over Seattle last June when he was in town filming. Aside from the Salumi stop, word on the street was he visited an "underground dinner," went on a geoduck adventure, and got a lesson on pot stickers with Seattle P-I food writer Hsiao-Ching Chou. Bourdain also stopped by Amazon HQ during that trip to talk about The Nasty Bits, and sat down with me for for an interview before he spoke to a jam-packed lunch-hour crowd of Amazon foodies. Here are some highlights: <br>  <p>Amazon.com: We heard some recent reports of Seattle sightings of you with camera crew in tow. Were you filming a Seattle segment for No Reservations? <p>Bourdain: Yeah. We did a show. Half in Portland. Half in Seattle, and surrounding areas. Focusing on the kind of obsessive, really exciting cooking scene in both cities and the Pacific Northwest in general. Something I noticed very early and often here is the incredible number of heavily inked, pierced, slacker-looking young chefs and cooks and how shockingly serious and focused the are--on not just cooking well, but cooking really, really well. Often on very specific areas of gastronomy. It was very impressive and I wanted to do a show focusing on that. <p>Amazon.com: What's the best thing of all this globe-trotting you do? <p>Bourdain: I get to see the world. I'm living a childhood dream of traveling to faraway, exotic places where people treat me well. Who lives like me? To do what I get to do? I choose anyplace on earth where I want to go and I go, and I don't even have to behave. <p>Amazon.com: Because of your famously adventurous appetite, are you constantly bombarded by people pushing over-the-top, you-have-to-try this, so-bad-it's-good foodstuffs? <p>Bourdain: I'm the guest of honor frequently in Asian countries and the show is very popular there, they're familiar with my adventurous eating, and amused by it. I think often, particularly in Chinese culture, it's entertaining to them to see a gawky American guy eating and enjoying some of their more extreme food that even a lot of them don't like. There seems to be an instinct among a lot of food journalists and enthusiastic foodies who host me around the world to say, Well, we know you like Chinese food, but have you had this? Often it's something wriggly. <p>Amazon.com: Have you ever said, Sorry, I can't... <p>Bourdain: I've never said no. <p>Amazon.com: When you're exploring is there a fine art to discerning a genuine, off-the-beaten path dive versus an avoid-at-all-costs hole-in-the-wall? <p>Bourdain: Is the place crowded with locals? Is it free of your own countrymen? That tells you pretty much what you need to know. If it's a dirty little place on a back street selling only one thing--lets say noodle soup--low plastic stools, hygiene's not the best, but there's a line of locals out the door. They're not popular and in business year after year because they're poisoning people, they're busy probably because they're good. They're good at noodle soup. <p>Amazon.com: Onto the much-discussed subject of celebrity chefs... Do you think the Food Network and celebrity chefs have ultimately been good for the culinary world? <p>Bourdain: Yeah, I think on balance, even Jamie Oliver's good for the world. Anything that raises expectations, anything that empowers chefs. For the first time in history, chefs are deciding what you're going to eat next year. <p>Amazon.com: Does anything in particular drive you nuts about those shows? <p>Bourdain: Well, watching a talentless bobblehead with a couple of catchphrases massacre food is always painful. It particularly pains me to see them slowly weed out the trained chefs--deliberately. They don't want them; they've said so. They got rid of Sara Moulton for god's sake--she helped build that network. Mario doesn't have a stand-up cooking show anymore. That's shameful. They're growing their own talent--like industry bands--out of Petri dishes, and teach them to cook, I think, then build brands around them. I understand the economics behind it, it works for them, but you look at some of the food--like Sandra Lee, how to feed your family on Cheez Whiz, Triscuits, and a jar of olives--that's not food. The Food Network's about food the way MTV is about music, which is to say, not at all anymore. <p>Amazon.com: Is that why you've softened up a little bit on Emeril Lagasse? <p>Bourdain: Man, he looks like Escoffier these days compared to some of the acts they've got on there now. <br>  <p>Listen to our complete interview to hear Bourdain talk about food porn, his favorite cookbooks, eating local, and more. --Brad, Amazon Bookstore <br>Comment | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 38 of 55 voters liked this post. 37 of 55 voters liked this post. <br>  <br>  <p>Friday, January 12, 2007 <br>Robert Anton Wilson, 1932-2007 <br>4:10 PM, January 12, 2007, updated at 2:00 PM, January 15, 2007 <br>As reported on many, many blogs (but nowhere that I can find in the mainstream media: still waiting for that obit, New York Times...), self-described "guerrilla ontologist" Robert Anton Wilson died yesterday after a long illness. His "About Me" description on his blog, which he launched just a few weeks before his death: "Paralyzed, bed-ridden, high in oath." I missed that 16- to 25-yr-old window when most readers appear to find his Illuminatus! and Schrodinger's Cat trilogies, so I'll let the initiates speak to his legacy: <br>BoingBoing: "His writing has had a profound influence on the way I view life, more so than any other writer. If I had not read his books, there would definitely be no Boing Boing." [from a post this fall that helped raise over $70,000 to allow Wilson live his last days in peace] <br>The Stranger: "the road from Illuminatus! is the road to Pynchon, and back to Sterne and Gaddis and forward to Gass and Vollman. It's the Gateway Big Book." <br>Wonkette: "He was and is a principal proponent of a kind of techno-hippie-mystic-2nd Amendment libertarianism that is worlds away from the Cato stereotype yet incredibly influential in Silicon Valley and electronic media. And unlike the 'political thinkers' who clog Washington's green rooms on Sunday mornings, Wilson was hilarious … on purpose." <br>Brian Doherty, author of the upcoming Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement, in Reason: "The ideas, modes, thinkers, that he exposed me to explain my intellectual and professional life more than does any other single influence--and from the comments on various blogs today, I think that is true of hundreds of his readers, maybe thousands. He was my gateway to Welles and Chandler, to Leary and Fuller, to Pound and Reich, to conspiracy theory and libertarianism, and to all the ideas and experiences, intellectual, aesthetic, and actual, that rolled from those varied and fascinating entryways into art, ideas, and living." <br>RU Sirius (remember Mondo 2000?!?) on 10ZenMonkeys: "For this cosmic cub scout, Bob Wilson was the motherload. Books like The Illuminatus! Trilogy, Cosmic Trigger, and Coincidance killed most of what little dogmatism I had left in me, and opened me up to a world of possibilities as large as space travel and as small as quantum physics." <br>And for a full dose of the man known as RAW, check out the 2003 documentary on DVD, Robert Anton Wilson - Maybe Logic. --Tom, Amazon Bookstore <p>UPDATE: The Times caught up on Saturday. <br>Comment | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 40 of 81 voters liked this post. 39 of 81 voters liked this post. <br>  <br>  <p>Thursday, January 11, 2007 <br>John Hodgman (Real NameTM) Reviews Neal Pollack <br>12:23 PM, January 11, 2007 <br>Hodgman fans take note: An eagle-eyed reader reports to me that the first customer review for Neal Pollack's new Alternadad is from sudden cultural icon John Hodgman. Unlike his excellent treasury of spurious knowledge, this review (which puts his current Amazon reviewer rank at #129136) appears to be both factual and sincere. Like that treasury, it is funny. (And we are happy to hear that Pollack has been "deblustered.") <br>  <p>That is all. --Tom, Amazon Bookstore <br>Comments (1) | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 23 of 68 voters liked this post. 22 of 68 voters liked this post. <br>  <p>A Long Post About a Long Book: The Sacred Games Roundup <br>11:53 AM, January 11, 2007 <p>The novel of the moment is the third book by the Indian writer (and Berkeley professor) Vikram Chandra, whose previous two books, Love and Longing in Bombay and Red Earth and Pouring Rain were well received but did not make him a household name. But attached to this new book, Sacred Games, are two attention-getting numbers, one exact and one hazy but large: 928 (the number of pages) and "seven figures" (the size of the author's advance from HarperCollins). And so the profiles and reviews are pouring in this month, most of which, like this post, are compelled to start the discussion with those big numbers. (Or, as with many of the profiles, with the "unlikelihood" of this mild- and well-mannered man writing the book he has: an irrepressibly detailed, often violent, epic of gangsters and police in that teeming, modern "maximum city," Mumbai.) Unsurprisingly, a book of this size and messy ambition (and well-funded promotion) is attracting strong and divergent responses. Here's an early roundup: <br>The New Yorker (as I quoted earlier this week): "'Sacred Games' leads us to expect more than self-sufficient virtuosity from a writer who possesses the rare, prodigious power to make literature." <br>The New York Times: "By paying homage to both Ian Fleming and James Joyce, Chandra risks alienating the constituencies of each--of writing a thriller that's too serious and a serious novel that's too much in thrall to an absurd story.... [But] you may find 'Sacred Games' as hard to put down as it is to pick up." (And see their profile of Chandra.) <br>USA Today: "Sacred Games is like one of John Irving's novels: Either you adore the oversized characters and abundance of material, or you find the whole shebang overwrought and verbose." <br>Newsday: "'Sacred Games' is one of those books you immerse yourself in, a passport to an alien world and, like life, you imagine it could go on forever. It envisions a world--an underworld, actually--that is complete, persuasive and startlingly original." <br>LA Times: "Chandra's genius is in the way he trusts his readers. Still, there are a few too many balls in the air. Reading 'Sacred Games' is a bit like watching an extremely talented jazz musician improvise. He's having fun and that's contagious, but too often the audience can feel on the wrong side of an in-joke." <br>Jerome Weeks on BookDaddy: "a landmark work, a novel so ambitious and fully achieved it makes most American crime novelists--the Lehanes, the Pelecanos, even the Ellroys--seem naive and timid by comparison." <br>San Antonio Express-News: "It is a terrific, brilliant, earthmover of a book, 'Crime and Punishment' crossed with 'The Godfather,' with some 'Sopranos'-inspired irony thrown in to boot." <br>San Diego Union-Tribune: a "gritty and grounded epic, reminiscent of voluminous and character-rich 19th-century serial literature as much as modern day hard-boiled crime capers." <br>And then there's Jonathan Yardley in the Washington Post, clearly resenting the "full work week" lost to this "massive deadweight of a novel." <p>Two more links of interest: Chandra's lengthy and spirited defense in 2000 of cosmopolitan writing and identity against the "cult of authenticity," and Mission Kashmir, the Bollywood movie he cowrote and which, apparently, Shaquille O'Neal once plugged as his favorite movie on MTV Cribs. <br>  <p>The mixed bag of reviews aside, what's impressed me most is the word-of-mouth from readers who didn't have to spend a work week reading and reviewing the book, but just read it for pleasure. When some of us in the local trade got to meet Chandra this fall, one fellow bookseller confessed she had read the book twice already (that's 1856 pages, to save you the math). And in response to that Yardley pan, the excellent independent bookstore in DC, Politics & Prose, has taken the trouble to post a note on their website headlined "We Beg to Differ": "We strongly disagree with Jonathan Yardley's review of Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra last Sunday. Four of us--Carla, Mark, Kat, and Brian--have devoured the book, which, though gigantic, is a vastly entertaining book." <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Meanwhile, I just wanted to note one lovely aspect of HarperCollins's massive promotion for their big investment. Some of the reviewers, Yardley included, mention their fat, gold-boxed advance copies. But others of us were lucky enough to get the book in a different form: six slim paperbacks, gorgeously packaged like an old-time serial (pictured above). And I wonder: what if they had released the book this way, perhaps one volume a month, Nora Roberts-style? The little paperbacks are far more appealing and approachable to me than the giant hardcover edition that has just arrived. Which would you rather read? --Tom, Amazon Bookstore <br>  <p>Comments (2) | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 35 of 63 voters liked this post. 34 of 63 voters liked this post. <br>  <br>  <p>Wednesday, January 10, 2007 <br>Amazon Wire: New Interviews, including Daniel Levitin on Music and the Brain <br>10:58 PM, January 10, 2007, updated at 10:14 AM, January 11, 2007 <br>One of our surprise hits of last year was Daniel Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music, an accessible and wonderfully enlightening guide from a rocker-turned-neuroscientist on what actually happens inside your head when music hits your ears. He explains the science of sounds just fine on the page, but our Amazon Wire podcast gave us an opportunity to talk to him in his natural audio element. We started with the opening bars of "Superstition" and before too long we were on the songs of the European Starling. Listen to the results in our latest episode of Wire, which also features interviews with Shins frontman James Mercer and Sherrybaby star Maggie Gyllenhaal. <br>  <p>We also asked him to choose some of his favorite music books and CDs, and boy did he, contributing a book list for our Grownup School feature that ranges from hip-hop to the songs of the Neanderthals (really) and his 10 favorite CDs to our Music You Should Hear page. And on our Canadian site (as he's a professor at Montreal's McGill University), he's picked his favorite Canadian records. Whew! Thanks, Dan! <p>For more interviews and content, check out the Wire landing page. --Tom, Amazon Bookstore <br>Comment | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 26 of 58 voters liked this post. 25 of 58 voters liked this post. <br>  <p>An Hour of Magical TV Watching <br>12:41 PM, January 10, 2007, updated at 12:46 PM, January 10, 2007 <p> On Monday my TiVo surprised me by taping the Martha Stewart Show, her first new show of 2007. The line-up of guests included celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, a 14-year-old violinist, and Joan Didion. That's right, Joan Didion. The legendary Ms. Didion, author of the heartbreaking memoir The Year of Magical Thinking, on daytime television? Oprah perhaps, but the Martha Stewart Show seemed an unlikely destination. This pop-culture confection put me in the mind of Mike Douglas or Merv Griffin and the eclectic line-up of guests that used to crisscross on their stages in the 1970s. I'd love to see daytime talent bookers fill their timeslots with more idiosyncratic guests: Mario Batali and Umberto Eco on The Rachael Ray Show? Tyler Florence and Gay Talese on Montel? Paula Deen and Thomas Pynchon on The View? <br>  <br>  <p> "Joan Didion stops by to chat about her new books" is how the program notes billed the appearance. Such informality didn't seem fitting for a literary legend. Ms. Didion's interview came later in the program, sandwiched between segments on kitchen makeovers and the expert croissants at Petrossian. Martha's no Charlie Rose when it comes to author interviews. She kept referring to Didion's nonfiction collection, We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live, as "stories" and when she asked the audience who in the crowd had read The Year of Magical Thinking there was a painful silence seemingly saved by an unseen "Applause!" sign. The show was capped with a "Good Thing"--a custom cashmere cover for your hot water bottle. <br>  <p>(Here's a 2000 New Yorker piece by Ms. Didion on Martha Stewart). <br>  <p> --Brad, Amazon Bookstore <br>  <p>Comments (1) | Permanent link <br>               I liked this post I disliked this post 38 of 80 voters liked this post. 37 of 80 voters liked this post. <br>  <br>  <p>Tuesday, January 9, 2007 <br>DeLillo Is Back? <br>2:42 PM, January 9, 2007 <br>Critical Mass has the first word I've heard on the new Don DeLillo, Falling Man, from "book scout" Maria Campbell (what is that job? how can I get it?): <br>The book that I am most looking forward to rereading in 2007 is Don DeLillo's tour de force Falling Man. I read the manuscript in one breathless sitting with my heart in my mouth.... The astonishing power of this book derives from the way it forces the reader to construct the stories of the main characters, and in so doing, relive and rediscover the personal meaning of the [9/11] attacks for themselves. <br>It's due out in June. I disliked his last one, Cosmopolis, so much that it threatened to undermine my love for Libra and White Noise, but now I'm ready to climb back on board. Yes, it's another 9/11 novel, but based on what he made of another overfamiliar national tragedy in Libra, I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. --Tom, Amazon Bookstore <p>Featured Associate - BlueDonut.com <br>Happy New Year and we hope you had a safe and successful holiday season!  And a big thank you all for a great 2006!  After launching aStore, Omakase Links, and Product Previews last year the Associates team is again hard at work planning and developing more exciting new products for 2007.  We look forward to sharing the details of them with you, as well as providing information on improvements to tools such as aStore and Associates Central that you already know and use. <p>As we mentioned when we first launched this blog, one of our goals is to feature more Associates and the creative ways they're using our tools.  In the spirit of that goal, check out blue donut where Don, an Amazon Associate, composed a poem of Amazon product links.  That's definitely one of the most creative uses of Product Links that we've seen! <p>If you've done something unique with some of our other tools, drop us an email.  If you have questions about the program or something related to your existing Associates account, your best bet is to use our contact form as we can't provide support through our blog address. <p>We look forward to hearing from you all! <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on January 16, 2007 at 06:14 PM in Featured Associates | Permalink <p>December 20, 2006 <br>Announcing Monthly Payments for 2007! <br>As we wrap up 2006 we have some great news for 2007!  Beginning January 1, 2007, standard Amazon Associates payments will be monthly instead of quarterly, paid approximately 60 days after the end of each month. For example, referral fees earned in January will be paid at the end of March, and payment of referral fees earned in February will be paid at the end of April. As part of this change, referral fee tiers will be adjusted to reflect monthly instead of quarterly item quantities (click the thumbnail to view the chart): <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>One other reminder - if you are still on the Classic Payment Plan (4% flat referral fees) and interested in potentially earning these higher fees, you can easily change your fee structure. <p>Also, we encourage you to update your payment method to direct deposit (EFT) or Amazon.com Gift Certificates to avoid check processing fees. <p>And, of course, this is a great reason to join the Amazon Associates program if you're not already participating! <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on December 20, 2006 at 03:09 PM in Associates News | Permalink <p>December 12, 2006 <br>Amazon.com Holiday Shipping and Gift Certificates <br>We'd like to remind you all that this Friday, December 15 is the last day you and your site visitors can place orders on Amazon.com and receive Free Super Saver Shipping.  Visit our  Holiday Shipping page on Amazon.com to learn more about Amazon.com's shipping deadlines for standard shipping and Amazon Prime. <p>However, this represents another great opportunity to make your site visitors aware of Amazon Gift Certificates, on which you can earn referral fees through December 31.  For full details and where to find banner graphics read our earlier post announcing that are Associates are eligible to earn referral fees on Amazon Gift Certificates. <p>We wish you continued success throughout the remainder of the holiday season! <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on December 12, 2006 at 06:04 PM in Associate Tips | Permalink <p>December 01, 2006 <br>New Omakase Feature - Discount Stickers <br>Today we launched a new feature that displays discount stickers on product images in Omakase ads.  These stickers show the percentage that Amazon.com's price has been discounted from the regular list price for Amazon products.  Amazon.com customers appreciate this added information, and we believe your site visitors will as well.  This feature was requested by many Associates worldwide, and we thought it was a great idea. <p>This feature has been applied to all active Omakase ads on the bottom right corner of the product images where the discount is greater than 10%.  We have enabled current Omakase users to turn this feature off by going to the Build Links page for Omakase and selecting the “Remove Discount Sticker” pulldown from the Amazon Discount menu option. <p>For our readers that are not familiar with Omakase, the links uniquely combine information on each site visitor's taste, your Web site's content, and historical trends to generate relevant ads.  We have placed an Omakase ad at the bottom of this post. <p>And remember that all items referred through Omakase Links between November 14, 2006 and December 31, 2006 earn an extra 4% (up to $500 per Associate). Omakase - Leave it up to us! <br>  <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on December 01, 2006 at 05:11 PM in Associates News | Permalink <p>November 30, 2006 <br>ISBN-13 and Amazon Associates <br>We've received a lot of questions from Associates regarding ISBN-13; so, we wanted to provide you all some information on the new standard and how you're affected. <p>The International Standards Organization (ISO) recently approved a change to the length of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) from 10 digits (ISBN-10) to 13 digits (ISBN-13) effective January 1, 2007. We have created an FAQ in Associates Central (login required), but here is a condensed version of some of the information in that FAQ. <p>Amazon plans to continue using 10-digit ASINs; so, in the future a book's ASIN will be different than its ISBN, just as items in product categories like Electronics or Kitchen may have a manufacturer SKU (stock keeping unit) different than the Amazon ASIN. <p>How does this affect Associates links to books? <br>ASINs for existing books will not change.  So, any Associates links to specific books on Amazon will continue to work, and you do not need to update them. <p>If I know the 13-digit ISBN for a book, can I use that in a Associates Link to Amazon? <br>No. Associates Product Links must include the 10-digit ASIN of the item. If you know the 13-digit ISBN, you can look up the ASIN by searching for the book in Associates Central or on Amazon.com using the ISBN as your search term. Our Build Links (login required) tool in Associates Central will generate the HTML needed to build the link to Amazon.com. <p>Is there an automated way to create a Product Link if I have the 13-digit ISBN? <br>Yes. You can programmatically generate Associates links from 13-digit ISBNs using the E-Commerce Service (ECS) from Amazon Web Services. The ECS ItemLookup function allows you to look up items using an ASIN, international article number (EAN), or other identifiers.  For more information, see the ECS documentation. <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on November 30, 2006 at 03:43 PM in Associate Tips | Permalink <p>November 29, 2006 <br>VarsityWorld.com Launches VStore <br>VarsityWorld.com on Tuesday announced the launch of “VStore”, a full service online store featuring products exclusively from Amazon.com. As a new member of the Amazon Associates program and the Amazon Web Services developer community, VarsityWorld.com will be offerings its users the chance to select from millions of Amazon.com products in dozens of categories, complete their transactions on the trusted and secure Amazon.com website, and have their orders fulfilled by Amazon.com.  VarsityWorld.com built its new store using the Amazon E-Commerce Service from Amazon Web Services. <p>VarsityWorld.com, a division of Varsity Media Group, Inc., offers teenagers and young adults worldwide a safe, clean and interactive online environment where they can interact with friends, download the hottest music, play video games, create personalized pages and more. <p>We'd like to welcome them to the Associates program and wish them well with VStore! <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on November 29, 2006 at 04:05 PM in Featured Associates | Permalink <p>November 20, 2006 <br>Gift Certificates Now Eligible for Associates Referral Fees <br>The Amazon Associates team is thrilled to announce that Associates are now eligible to earn referral fees on Amazon.com Gift Certificates, and just in time for the holidays! <p>Amazon.com Gift Certificates are redeemable for millions of items on Amazon.com, making them the perfect gift.  They can be sent via email, an e-card or on paper through the mail.  When visitors to your site want to purchase a gift for someone but are unsure exactly what to get, Amazon.com Gift Certificates are ideal.  Visit Amazon.com to learn more about Amazon.com Gift Certificates. <p>Through December 31, 2006 Associates can earn 6% on all gift certificate referrals.  This promotion will last through December 31, 2006, and current Associates can learn all the details of the offer, download banners, and learn how to build links to gift certificates by visiting Associates Central (Associates login required).  Of course, if you are not a current Associate this is a great reason to join the program as it allows you to present your site visitors another gift option for the holidays. <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! (3 Diggs) • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on November 20, 2006 at 03:06 PM in Associates News | Permalink <p>November 19, 2006 <br>Amazon.com Magazines Promo <br>The Amazon.com Magazines category has just started a limited-time, unprecedented sale event in the Magazines store. <p>Here are the details you can pass on to your site visitors: <p>Over 500 magazine subscriptions on Amazon.com will come with a bonus $5 coupon code. <br>The magazines featured are many of our top-selling titles such as O: The Oprah Magazine, People, Wired, Lucky, and Mental Floss. <br>Your site visitors will receive a $5 code for each magazine title they purchase. So, the more they buy, the more $5 codes they will receive!  Each code will be redeemable on a future Amazon.com purchase. <br>This offer is only available to customers who purchase the magazines featured here from November 15, 2006 – January 15, 2007. <br>To assist you in driving traffic to the Magazines store current Associates may download banner graphics from Associates Central. <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on November 19, 2006 at 09:15 PM in Amazon Category Updates | Permalink <p>November 17, 2006 <br>Amazon Customers Vote <br>Are you looking for a great reason to refer your site visitors to Amazon.com? <p>During the next four weeks, "Amazon Customers Vote" will let customers decide which fantastic deals are offered this holiday season.  Every Thursday, a new set of four extraordinary deals will be announced on the Amazon.com homepage. Some are popular items this holiday season and others are unique products that customers can only find on Amazon.com. These deals go well above traditional holiday discounting, so customers must vote on the one deal they want Amazon.com to offer each week. For week one, customers can vote through next Tuesday (November 21), the deal with the most votes will be announced next Wednesday (November 22), and that deal can be purchased beginning at 11 a.m. PT next Thursday (November 23, Thanksgiving Day) -- the same day the next four deals will be up for voting. <p>The first week's four deals that are up for voting on the Amazon.com homepage today include: <p>1,000 Xbox 360 core systems, each for $100 (normally $299.99) <br>2,500 Mongoose dual-suspension mountain bikes, each for $30 (normally $139.99) <br>2,000 Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses interactive Genevieve dolls, each for $10 (normally $49.84) <br>2,000 Amazon Prime memberships for $40 (normally $79) and receive a free $100 Amazon.com Toys Store promotional certificate. <br>All offers are brand-new, top-quality products.  More deals customers can expect to see (with similar quantities) on the Customers Vote ballot during the next four weeks include: <p>Portable DVD player <br>Elliptical trainer <br>One-year subscription of diapers <br>1-carat-weight diamond earrings <br>14-volt cordless drill <br>Two-room eight-person family tent <br>26-inch LCD HDTV <br>Swiss Army pocket knife <br>George Foreman grill <br>Use the following format to create a link to Customers Vote with your Associate ID: <br>http://www.amazon.com/gp/holiday/cv/homepage/?tag=associate_id <p>Email this • Subscribe to this feed • Digg This! • Add to del.icio.us <p>Posted by The Amazon Associates Team on November 17, 2006 at 12:40 PM in Amazon News | Permalink <p>November 14, 2006 <br>Announcing the Launch of Three New Tools and Q4 Premiums! <br>The Amazon Associates team today announced the launch of three tools for website owners: aStore, Omakase, and Product Previews.  Plus, as a celebration of the products coming out of Beta with expanded feature sets, we are offering an extra 4% premium on items referred through aStore or Omakase through the end of the year (details below). <p>aStore - aCommerce for your site, in minutes <br>aStore gives you the power to create professional online stores for your website complete with checkout on Amazon.com.  No programming is required to build your aStores, and they can be live on your site in minutes. <p>Because aStore is a dedicated shopping area for your site, it is a great complementary addition to your other advertising and affiliate monetization options. Delight your site visitors through your unique selection of recommended products and categories and the features of Amazon.com you have chosen including Customer Reviews, Listmania, and more. <p>For those of you familiar with the Beta release of aStore, we have added functionality that allows you to now: <p>Build and maintain multiple aStores under one Associate ID <br>Create custom categories containing products from multiple Amazon categories <br>Create multiple instances of individual Amazon categories <br>Specify products to feature on Category and Subcategory pages <br>Populate products to categories using Amazon.com Listmania lists <br>Please visit Associates Central or join the Associates program today to build an aStore for each of your sites! <p>Omakase - Leave it up to us! <br>Omakase links uniquely combine information on each site visitor's taste, your Web site's content, and historical trends to generate relevant ads. With simple, yet powerful, customization options, Omakase lets you automatically display relevant Amazon.com product ads that complement your Web site design. Learn more and check out some of the new advanced options on our Omakase page in Associates Central. <p>Product Previews - Enhance. Hover. Expand. <br>Product Previews provide valuable product information through a cool window into Amazon.com that appears when your site visitors hover over an enhanced link. Product Previews keep interested visitors on your site until they're ready to purchase from Amazon.com without taking up additional valuable real estate. Check out our Product Previews page in Associates Central to learn more about this great feature and see it in action. <p>Earn Double the Base Rate using aStore and Omakase! <br>Between November 14, 2006 and December 31, 2006 you can earn up to $1,000 in additional referral fees using Omakase and aStore! During that time the Associates program will pay an additional 4% for units referred via Omakase or aStore (up to a maximum of $500 from each offering per Associate). <p>As always, we welcome your feedback on the tools and program via the Associates discussion boards. <p>In the coming weeks we'll be featuring interesting implementations of the above features on this blog and in other areas of Associates Central.  If you these tools have made an impact on your business or you have used them in an interesting way on your site, let us know by emailing us or posting it on the discussion boards. <p>You can read the full Amazon Associates press release here. <p>Google Blog Search Passes Technorati <br>Written by <br>Liz Gannes <br>- Posted Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 10:50 AM PT Blog search leader Technorati1 was beaten by Google Blog Search2 for the first time last week, according to Hitwise3. Late December statistics seem even less reliable than regular statistics, but it’s worth a mention. <p>Hitwise Research Director LeeAnn Prescott attributes most of Google Blog Search’s growth to a link to the service on the Google News homepage. After the link was added in October, Google Blog Search reportedly saw a 168 percent surge in market share of visits (Hitwise’s way of measuring relative traffic to websites) over the next two weeks. Google News now accounts for 60 percent of traffic to Google Blog Search. <br>  <p>I still find myself scratching my head when I have to remember the URL for Google Blog Search, so I’m not surprised to see direct links having such an impact. The service itself it is pretty good these days, often much fresher than Technorati. <p>4 <p>8 comments Share/Send Sphere Topic: Software 2.0 <br>Tags: Google Blog Search, Technorati <br> Comments and Trackbacks <br>Google blogsearch is somewhat faster than technorati in terms of indexing the posts. <p>So Is technorati going to try something diff to attack the competition from google ? <p>varun5 on December 28th, 2006 at 10:55 AM - Permalink the first thing technorati needs to fix is their search results which, from my experience, are of much lower quality than google blog search. <p>matthew on December 28th, 2006 at 11:47 AM - Permalink I have seen in increase in traffic on our blog via the google blog search lately. Google most likely is finding a way to better classify blogs compared to other types of websites. <p>-D <p>Dal6 on December 28th, 2006 at 12:05 PM - Permalink I’ve just drug the URL for goog blogsearch to the chrome of my browser. I agree that it’s the way to go for general and time sensitive blog search. Technorati has a lot of features that are great too though. http://technorati.com/blogs/video and search by “authority” both of which are quite useful. Also, Feedburner users can now ping google blogsearch directly through the service’s pingshot service. Very nice. <p>Marshall Kirkpatrick7 on December 28th, 2006 at 12:37 PM - Permalink I don’t know, but technorati search has been going downhill for me, last night, the search would not even work. <p>Alfred Toh8 on December 28th, 2006 at 1:59 PM - Permalink Is Google Blog Search Getting Ahead of Technorati?… <p>Just when I have started getting 1 or 2 odd visitors from Technorati I get this news from Gigaom that Google Blog Search Passes Technorati and the sad part is I get no traffic from Google Blog Search. The Google blog feeds send me blog notifi… <p>Content Blog9 on December 28th, 2006 at 2:16 PM - Permalink I find that hard to believe. That said, from almost no referral traffic in the past, the last two weeks have seen a significant number of visits to my blog via Google Blog Search (about 3-4 times that of Technorati). Maybe a late December blip? <p>Deepak10 on December 28th, 2006 at 2:38 PM - Permalink I definitely agree with you guys about relative quality, and have been using Google Blog Search on a much more regular basis lately. <p>Marshall, I’ve got GBS right up there in the chrome as well, added it to my Firefox search engine toolbar. Very handy! <p>MySpace hit #1 US destination last week, Hitwise <br>Marshall Kirkpatrick 51 comments »Hitwise is reporting that MySpace was the website most visited by US internet users last week. This is the first time that’s happened, the company reports. Yahoo and Google traditionally lead the pack, but Hitwise’s Bill Tancer points out today that MySpace attained a market share figure of 4.5% of all the US Internet visits for the week ending July 8, 2006. Though traffic stats are always hard to determine, Hitwise is establishing itself as one of the most authoritative voices on the subject. <p>Recent numbers for MySpace put the service at 75 million plus users, 15 million daily unique logins, 240,000 new users per day, and nearly 30 billion monthly page views - that’s 10,593 page views per second. <p>Perhaps what this means is that for many young people, the social web isn’t a seperate place it’s the web. Once MySpace teams with a powerful search engine, goes multilingual (if that works) and continues expanding into new verticals like the new Books section - then we’ll see if building on the basic social functions the site is famous for will make it stronger. Child safety issues, malware - so much remains to be seen. <p>Update: Yahoo! has issued a statement in response to the Hitwise data emphasizing that only Yahoo! Mail is included in these numbers. If all of the Yahoo! domains are included then the company remains in the lead. I can’t help but wonder whether the picture would change again if all the News Corporation domains beyond MySpace were included! <p>MySpace <br>Sphere It <p>This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 11th, 2006 at 11:10 am and is filed under Company & Product Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. <p>Trackbacks/Pings (Trackback URL)Comme-ci, comme ça » Blog Archive » Perspektiv i loggfilen <p>July 11th, 2006 at 11:43 am <p>Basic Thinking Blog » MySpace und Beboo: Die heavy hitters der Internets <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:16 pm <p>Community Next: Where social networks came from and where they are going… » Archive » No where but Up for MySpace <p>July 11th, 2006 at 6:07 pm <p>Precipice » Blog Archive » MySpace Tops Google <p>July 11th, 2006 at 7:40 pm <p>10,593 / s : Fresh Brewed Every Morning <p>July 11th, 2006 at 7:48 pm <p>Ventureless Capital » MySpace - Zidane - ASP.NET <p>July 11th, 2006 at 11:28 pm <p>Har’s Site » Blog Archive » Building Tomorrow’s Small Biz Site <p>July 12th, 2006 at 9:08 am <p>On Shayan’s Mind <p>July 13th, 2006 at 10:56 am <p>kid papasan chair <p>July 14th, 2006 at 2:48 am <p>innertee.com » Blog Archive » myspace is really really big <p>July 14th, 2006 at 12:10 pm <p>TechCrunch » Blog Archive » New Yahoo Home Page Goes Live Today <p>July 17th, 2006 at 1:54 am <p>Hapax Legomenon » tangled-up tubes, part II <p>July 17th, 2006 at 9:12 am <p>MHCC Weblog » Blog Archive » So how big is MySpace? <p>July 21st, 2006 at 2:39 am <p>Respectance.com » 2006 » July » 11 <p>January 16th, 2007 at 12:01 pm <p>Comments <br>RSS feed for comments on this post. <p>Aidan Henry <p>July 11th, 2006 at 11:17 am <p>Congrats to MySpace. <p>Although I’m not convinced that the ‘quality’ and value of the MySpace user is equal to that of a Yahoo/Google user. Search engines command a much better ROI on user acquisition than do social networks. <p>MySpace will always be the new GeoCities in my heart - a playground of flashing text and tiled backgrounds. <p>digifad <p>July 11th, 2006 at 11:56 am <p>Now when are they going to clean up their code. <p>Drew Olanoff <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:06 pm <p>I keep hearing this trashing of MySpace’s features and its lackluster code. Hey People, 90 million people interact with this site and its system. I like their quick and dirty approach, and for what MySpace does, it’s pretty impressive if you take a step back and look at it. <p>jonnyd <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:09 pm <p>@Drew: Yeah, it is impressive, but I really wish I could get some RSS feeds from the blogs, or even just a standard interface that, say, flock could deal with. <p>Don Wilson <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:16 pm <p>Very nice. <p>Stop trying to put Web 2.0 stuff into MySpace, jonnyd. It wont work <p>digifad <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:19 pm <p>No one is downplaying the usefulness of the site and impressive stats. But the site and its code can be improved to provide an even more user-driven and enjoyable site. <p>Paul <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:26 pm <p>How about MySpace cleans up their code, and donates the millions saved from bandwidth savings to charity? <p>pacificdave <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:38 pm <p>“Stop trying to put Web 2.0 stuff into MySpace” <p>maybe i’m missing something but why? <p>Don Wilson <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:58 pm <p>Paul, why? <p>pacificdave, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.  Because you fill your life with Web 2.0 stuff doesn’t mean 90 million myspace users do, and introducing technology like rss and others could be overwhelming. <p>Jafar <p>July 11th, 2006 at 12:59 pm <p>Lol, donate savings to charity. Do you realize who _owns_ myspace? <p>Chris <p>July 11th, 2006 at 1:11 pm <p>@Aiden Henry <p>I thought the same thing about correlating Geocities and Myspace. It is webpage creation for beginners. Its popular because they don’t have to dive head deep into HTML to create their own webpage. <p>Jason Coleman <p>July 11th, 2006 at 1:20 pm <p>I just added a MySpace profile last week. QED, I must be the cause of all the new traffic at MySpace. <p>BTW, you can get to my profile by going to http://jason.needsfriends.com/ thanks to http://urlDoctor.com. I’m in no way affiliated with that service, I just think it rocks. <p>Malcolm <p>July 11th, 2006 at 1:38 pm <p>I know there will be a day when myspace2.0 comes around. It’s inevitable, probaly more along the lines of useless junk people can do on the site like realtime friend interactions through the site rather than anything like rss. <p>Drew Olanoff <p>July 11th, 2006 at 2:12 pm <p>I am not downplaying or ignoring “web 2.0? gadgets, but come on. TechCrunch covers so many “2.0 startups”, how many actually get used by MAINSTREAM people. MySpace works, plain and simple. Moms use it, uncles use it, kids use it. Find me a tool that TechCrunch features that can say the same thing. I agree with the “if it ain’t broke dont fix it” comment. <p>A.H <p>July 11th, 2006 at 2:13 pm <p>Only shows you that those who called MySpace a “fad” will soon start calling it “business”. <p>Allen.H <p>Nick Pang | Wii Preorder <p>July 11th, 2006 at 2:20 pm <p>will this become a wall community by itself, like AOL, who is currently breaking out that mold? MySpace is a mini-WWW by itself - AMAZING! <p>Josh <p>July 11th, 2006 at 2:26 pm <p>Congrats to the folks (ok, now they are a giant corp) at MySpace. They certainly are proving the doubters wrong. I guess 90 million users can’t be (All) wrong <p>grant <p>July 11th, 2006 at 2:31 pm <p>I have tons of friends on myspace and I spent multiple session up from 30 min to 2 hours on myspace daily, it’s really addictive. It’s actually easier to meet people than any other dating site, based on my experience. <p>Motumbo <p>July 11th, 2006 at 3:42 pm <p>Alexa’s numbers seems pretty different to me (5-1)… <p>Marshall Kirkpatrick <p>July 11th, 2006 at 3:48 pm <p>Motumbo, I believe it. General consensus lately appears to be that Hitwise is far more accurate than Alexa. Search around this site or the web in general and you’ll see there are many people who believe that there are some big problems with Alexa numbers. <p>Markus <p>July 11th, 2006 at 5:24 pm <p>Actually that means myspace is doing around 30,000 pageviews a second during peak. That is just pain NUTS! <p>Mark Devlin <p>July 11th, 2006 at 5:34 pm <p>I am pretty sure that most of the page views on MySpace are from the internal mail system. Most MySpace users are using it as a mail client and address book combined. <p>Steve <p>July 11th, 2006 at 5:37 pm <p>For many people this is not just another part of the web, it is the central element of their internet experience. Myspace cannot (yet) be truly thrown in with Web 2.0 technologies (no RSS for example) but it has certainly created social networks where a couple of years ago none were anticipated. <br>It is true that overwhelming Myspace with Web 2.0 technologies could just turn people off, and there is an enormous amount of Web 2.0 technologies reported by techcrunch that seem to do very similar things. Remember however that we are at the beginning of using these technologies, and the market and philosophy (where are we going with this and why?) will mature with time. <p>Renato Shriakashi <p>July 11th, 2006 at 6:01 pm <p>Myspace is amazing. “It just works” as someone said above. And thats is the most important thing, above all technologies features. <p>Steve, I dont aggry with you when you say: “Myspace cannot (yet) be truly thrown in with Web 2.0?. Myspace is PURELY Web 2.0, and its not quite rellated with Technologies they use. New technologies help applications to become 2.0, they are not the Web 2.0 <p>There is a social phenomenon that makes MySpace what it is today. The same thing happens with Orkut in Brazil and all others good Virtual Communities over the Web. That is no coincidence. Its definitely NOT a “geocities”. Its value is in relationships, not in profiles. <p>BlogReader <p>July 11th, 2006 at 7:10 pm <p>90M users? I don’t buy it. There’s 70M people in the US between 15 and 34. Are there 20M creapy old men or MSNBC sting operators looking at the site? <p>Don Wilson <p>July 11th, 2006 at 9:29 pm <p>BlogReader, surprisingly enough, people above 30 use the internet, not just us whipper snappers. <p>DrewB <p>July 12th, 2006 at 1:55 am <p>I am not trying to downplay MySpace’s popularity (it is obviously HUGE), but don’t you think their first week of July market share is more a reflection of kids being out of school for the summer than any substantial growth in viewership? <p>Dave Verwer <p>July 12th, 2006 at 4:19 am <p>> 90M users? I don’t buy it. There’s 70M people in <br>> the US between 15 and 34. Are there 20M creapy <br>> old men or MSNBC sting operators looking at the site? <p>AFAIK while the traffic talked about here was from the US only, the number of users is worldwide, hard as it is for americans to believe but other countries do exist <p>tmonkey66 <p>July 12th, 2006 at 7:22 am <p>> 90M users? I don’t buy it. There’s 70M people in <br>> the US between 15 and 34. Are there 20M creapy <br>> old men or MSNBC sting operators looking at the site? <p>I’m 40 and avoided myspace as too crass and amateurish. I finally gave in a couple of weeks ago and am amazed how many 30+ year olds I know are on it and use it daily. Kind of scary, but as several have said it works at what it does, and with a bit of playing around with some css can be made to look kinda OK. <p>Don Wilson <p>July 12th, 2006 at 7:43 am <p>“I am not trying to downplay MySpace’s popularity (it is obviously HUGE), but don’t you think their first week of July market share is more a reflection of kids being out of school for the summer than any substantial growth in viewership?” <p>I do work in the humor industry of the internet and the summer is the worst time for our viewers, September, right after school starts, is the best time for us. <p>Marshall Kirkpatrick <p>July 12th, 2006 at 8:28 am <p>Post updated with response from Yahoo! <p>Don Wilson <p>July 12th, 2006 at 10:42 am <p>Yahoo is a network, MySpace is a limited entity. Hitwise is suggesting that Yahoo as a whole is behind MySpace, but like Yahoo said, they’re only counting a portion of their whole network (if this is true). <p>If what Yahoo suggests is true then that’s a fairly substantial “mistake” on Hitwise’s part. <p>Shandalar <p>July 12th, 2006 at 2:51 pm <p>So does Hitwise count all of Google’s pages or just part of it? Like, does it count the hits for the translator or some of the more specialized searches (e.g. Google Scholar…) or just the stuff you can look up from the homepage? <p>Because if Hitwise has all of Google’s hits and all of MySpaces, and only one part of Yahoo!, imagine how far in the lead the Yahoo! network must be. <p>Intergalactic Hussy <p>July 12th, 2006 at 3:14 pm <p>And to think, I would have had no idea about the popularity of myspace without the oh so wonderful Hitwise. <p>Jay <p>July 14th, 2006 at 5:30 pm <p>I work at Compete and we felt our data would be useful in clearing up the MySpace vs Yahoo confusion regarding which is bigger. <p>Compete’s analysis (which can be found on our blog) indicates Yahoo dominates MySpace in-terms of visitors (advanage 64M and change), but that MySpace surpassed Yahoo in January in terms of page views (advantage 15B). <p>See the blog for trended graphics. <p>blog.compete.com <p>Thanks. <p>Drama Queen <p>October 19th, 2006 at 8:02 am <p>Wow! I’m amazed everyday by technology! I got into the whole myspace thing a few months ago and I can’t get enough of it. Something really cool I found on there the other day is really worth checking out. Have you ever heard of urban storytelling? There’s this group in NYC called the Moth, and they put on storytelling events there. Right now, they’ve teamed up with the TV network TNT (we know drama) for some reason, and are doing a contest on Myspace called “What’s Your Story?”. Basically, you submit a video of yourself telling the story of the most risky thing you’ve ever done, and you can win a trip to New York and other cool stuff. It’s actually really interesting and I strongly suggest everyone check it out: www.myspace.com/mothstories . They show a few videos on the myspace page that are worth watching if you’re confused by what they do… It will be interesting to see the different video submissions of people telling their risky stories. I think it’s really cool that myspace provides such a platform to be in the know about these types of things. <p>The Web Conferencing Blog <p>December 15th, 2006 at 10:38 pm <p>Ridiculous numbers! 75M MySpace users that will help generate huge advertising revenue for News Corp. $580M for MySpace… well worth it considering Google paid 3x for YouTube. <p>Are you kidding?! <br>There's been a lot of conjecture and confusion today about Yahoo!'s commitment to being the world's best search engine-talk which anyone who's been following the evolution of Yahoo! Search would have realized is… just plain wrong. <p>While some people immediately realized this, we thought it made sense to briefly recap how focused we are in search and our passion to be the world's leading search engine: <p>(1) Less than two years ago we launched our own search engine. At the time nobody thought it could be done, but here we are. Whether it's a single blogger switching to Yahoo!, or the results of a "Coke vs. Pepsi" challenge, it's become clear that despite the "Google myth", we've caught up and every day are improving search relevance and making search easier to use and more accessible for users. <p>(2) The people working on Yahoo! Search are some of the smartest you'll find anywhere and are dedicated to the single purpose of building the world's best search engine. Many of us have worked in search for more than a decade and invented much of the technology modern search engines are based on. In addition to the thousands of engineers and hundreds of PhDs, the list includes pioneers and experts like Andrei Broder, Prabhakar Ragavan, Jan Pedersen and Ricardo Baeza-Yates. They're recognized technology leaders who live and breathe search. They all chose Yahoo! as the place where they can make their vision come true. <p>(3) We're continuously innovating and finding new ways to help people connect to information and knowledge - part of our vision to help them find, use, share and expand all human knowledge. We're working on literally hundreds of projects to improve search, and some of the most visible examples include My Web, Yahoo! Answers, and Open Shortcuts. We have also brought in some of the most innovative companies like Flickr and del.icio.us, to help bring the promise of social search and tagging to the rest of the world and advancing search beyond what it is today. <p>(4) Finally, we've turned Yahoo! Search into an open platform for innovative third-party developers -- we've built the most comprehensive set of Web Services, allowing a new generation of applications to be built such as Rollyo and Eurekster and many others. <p>This commitment to being the best should be crystal clear from our investments in talented people, research, innovation and new products. Believe it or not, we are still in the early days of search. As all of us at Yahoo! agree, we're in it for the long haul, and we're in it to win. <p>Qi Lu, VP Engineering, Search <br>Eckart Walther, VP Products, Search <br>  <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by Yahoo!Search at January 24, 2006 11:08 PM <p>Comments <br>Then what's up with the comment from Sue Decker? It just doesn't seem to jive with this post? "It's not our goal to be No. 1 in Internet search." and "we're in it to win" seem to be contradictory. <p>Posted by: Tom at January 24, 2006 11:18 PM <br>Seems to me that Sue Decker was quoted incorrectly. You know the media... The twist the tale to get focus, and unnecessary attention. In this case Yahoo is the scapegoat. No executive would make such a statement in public about the company they are part of. If she did make this statement in public she would probably be fired by now. <p>Posted by: Sputin at January 24, 2006 11:55 PM <br>It's all very well to want to be number 1, but you'll struggle to reach such a goal when your results return nothing more than a list of spammy scraper sites for a week every time you reshuffle the index in an update! <p>What's worse, is that these same sites are the ones that are built for nothing more than the display of Overture links, so it not only looks as though Yahoo has little concern for the purity of its index, and providing the best, most relevat results to users, it also indirectly profits from, and encourages the production of the kind of search engine spam that it is trying to eradicate. <p>Posted by: jeff Wayne at January 25, 2006 12:50 AM <br>A perfect example of the nondenial-denial. <br>  <p>Posted by: Randy Jordon at January 25, 2006 04:39 AM <br>We are glad you guys came out and corrected this, we were afraid that you had thrown in the towel. It's not just about having the best quality search engine anyway, it's about getting people to use it. <p>Posted by: SEN at January 25, 2006 06:57 AM <br>Look guys. Give them a break. Sue probably shoot off her mouth before thinking through it. <p>Posted by: theCreator at January 25, 2006 07:09 AM <br>I seriously hope that Sue was dealt with after her comments. And btw, there isn't a 'Google Myth'. They have the better search at the moment and have for a while. The numbers who it themselves, not only within the United States but within other countries, they are literally kicking Y!s ass. The sooner you realize this the better off you will be. <p>Updating your search engine every month with other crap results won't help anything. You need to actually get on it and start highering high profile men and women to help out. The older the younger generation gets the worse off Yahoo will get. Last time I checked, a ten year old doesn't say 'Go to Yahoo and find it' they say 'Go Google it!'. Plain and simple. <p>Still in denial about all of this? Go 'Google it' and see. <p>Posted by: Gary R. Hess at January 25, 2006 08:35 AM <br>Oh and btw, sometimes a 'one' shows up on the left side of your blog below the navigation. <p>Posted by: Gary R. Hess at January 25, 2006 08:37 AM <br>You should hire some good SEO professionals to consult with your PhD engineers. seorefugee.com is a good place to find some. <p>Posted by: SEO at January 25, 2006 08:59 AM <br>In the end, it comes down to Quality, and at this moment, Google has a cleaner more relevant service. Sue's comment, I'm sure is not an official corporate motto, but one that the team there realizes is reality. <p>Until Yahoo returns to focusing on search results and relevancy, then Gooogle will continue to be #1, and Yahoo will start slipping. Slowly but surely, they'll start slipping. <p>How can you be the best search engine when the link that you have setup to submit new sites doesn't even work 99% of the time. Get a submission page working well, then let the rest of us know how interested you are in providing real results. <p>Posted by: promarkweb at January 25, 2006 09:18 AM <br>At least give Yahoo credit, they're good at one thing: quickly delivering user search data to the government at the drop of a hat. Nice work! <p>Posted by: Gary Price at January 25, 2006 09:36 AM <br>I think Yahoo has more relevant results than Google. Search for 'dog' for instance. On Yahoo the number 1 ranked site is the American Kennel Club, a non-profit site that's filled with information about dogs. On Google you get a couple of commerical site trying to sell you something before you get the AKC. Other searches will probably show the same thing. <p>Posted by: Bjorn at January 25, 2006 10:43 AM <br>Qi Lu & Eckart Walther, <p>Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Your accomplishments and your team are very impressive. Your commitment is obvious. It takes courage to publicly state that the CFO of your your company either hasn't "been following the evolution of Yahoo! Search" or "is… just plain wrong". <p>Frankly, most of the innovations your staff is working on are out of my league. And, while a discussion on how to "expand all human knowlege is interesting", my concern with Yahoo Search is considerably more more basic. I have written to Yahoo Site Exlorer and every other address I can find. On this blog, Tim assured me that he would turn my issue over to the quality team. No results. Would it be possible for one of your "recognized technology leaders who live and breathe search" to let me know why Yahoo doesn't respect my 301s? The site is www.hill-country-visitor.com. My email is on this form. <p>Thank you and good luck on your mission. <p>Posted by: Jim Leavell at January 25, 2006 10:59 AM <br>It seems, Yahoo! does not really know what they want and how to compete. <p>obviously they are overorganized and not able to deliver any innovative products anymore especially international. in the whole blooging area there is not a real way to coop with Y!, because they do not have adsense, they do not have a site search submitt and even more worse, their whole multimedia search (audio, video) is crap. <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by: john ley at January 25, 2006 11:59 AM <br>It seems, Yahoo! does not really know what they want and how to compete. <p>obviously they are overorganized and not able to deliver any innovative products anymore especially international. in the whole blooging area there is not a real way to coop with Y!, because they do not have adsense, they do not have a site search submitt and even more worse, their whole multimedia search (audio, video) is crap. <p>Posted by: john ley at January 25, 2006 12:01 PM <br>It seems, Yahoo! does not really know what they want and how to compete. <p>obviously they are overorganized and not able to deliver any innovative products anymore especially international. in the whole blooging area there is not a real way to coop with Y!, because they do not have adsense, they do not have a site search submitt and even more worse, their whole multimedia search (audio, video) is crap. <p>Posted by: john ley at January 25, 2006 12:07 PM <br>I think the biggest challenge to Yahoo is MySpace, not Google. 50 million users...How can you compete with this phenomenon? <p>A Unified Theory of Search, Social Networking, Structured Blogging, RSS and the Active Web <br>http://billburnham.blogs.com/burnhamsbeat/2006/01/a_unified_theor.html <p>Posted by: Dimitar Vesselinov at January 25, 2006 01:07 PM <br>Yahoo and MSN are about the way Google was in early-mid 2002 - in terms of overall relevancy... <p>The only hope for Yahoo is not continuing to play ping pong with Back Link Algos, Title - Body Text etc... <p>Click popularity just does Not account for the non-level SERPs playing field and inherent inequities that exist. <p>New Intelligent Technology from the ground up has to be developed - There is only so far one can go with the current Algo variables - Engineers are just rehashing the same ideas with slight modifications - but no one - EVEN GOOGLE - is getting any relevant... <p>Yahoo and MSN and ASK have DRAMATICALLY improved in relevnce in the past year - only because Inktomi was so neglected... <p>But now - What else can be done - that has not already been tried???? <br>  <p>The essential DNA of the Search Technology has to be reevaluated.... <p>Google is just the relative best for most queries - but they too are not very relevant <p>In fact for some queries they are inferior to both Yahoo and MSN and ASK <p>Concept Searching , Latent Semantic Indexing, Extreme Advances in Processing and Retrieving technology are all posibilities as Search technology Evolves - <p>Mindset is a great idea potential - but what is being done with it... <br>  <p>AlltheWeb and Altavista are just being allowed to atrophy as inferior appendages to Yahoo.. <p>THIS IS HORRIBLY WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!! <br>THIS IS HORRIBLY WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!! <br>THIS IS HORRIBLY WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!! <p>Why not develop THEIR unique Algo individualities - to access what new strategies have the most Relevance-potential. <p>---- <p>Finally, please put the hyperlinks back into the " Name" field on this Blog - so much valuable information is being given by these posters that the very least one could expect is an optional LINK <br>http://search-engines-web.com/ <p>Posted by: http://search-engines-web.com/ at January 25, 2006 01:59 PM <br>Why not call up the same reporter and have a correction issued? <p>It is cowardly of Y! Search to post this on a blog when real living breathing warm blooded reporters are calling to get answers. <p>Posted by: Randy Jordan at January 25, 2006 02:10 PM <br>I think overall Yahoo puts out a good portfolio of products and services. Google however has search and a few other crappy products. Yahoo search can be easily manipulated but there has been improvement. What I am interested in seeing is what they are doing with this current update. I also ask how come Yahoo is not more open to people in the search community, personally I have had tons of ideas and never can reach anyone at Yahoo. When is Yahoo going to open up and bring in people to compliment their engineers. <p>Posted by: Doug at January 25, 2006 02:14 PM <br>Yahoo in its current form will not take over Google in search. I don't care if god himself comes down and tells you how to create the perfect search engine. The point is there is no perfect search engine. Somebody in a earlier post mentioned that Yahoo search is more relevant than Google because the term 'dog' returns some website instead of some other website. Who's to say your opinion of a good search result is the same as somebody elses? <p>My point is this. Yahoo needs to first implement search algorithms that work at least to the level of google (if it's not broken, why fix it right?) . Then innovate, but under a different name. Start a subsidiary or something. Hire a 20 yr old as your chief strategist for example. Do to google what google did to you. Come in fresh, bullshit about your corporate culture, come up with some idiot friendly moto about not doing evil, etc. <p>The other side of the coin is that google has invented the end of the line for search, basically the wheel. Maybe their search has reached maximum utility for the consumer profile and while other companies are running around trying to tag this or that to death, google is slaughtering everybody with trageted advertising. Maybe the revolution for search is not search at all. <p>Posted by: dd at January 25, 2006 02:19 PM <br>As a long time former Yahoo! insider, I can't believe that Yahoo! is going to roll over and die any time soon. The reality is Yahoo! faces some real challenges in creating a platform/portal that really works together as a cohesive whole rather than a bunch of sites and features that function indepently from one another. Part of the reason for this is due to the fact of how the company is structured where different business units act like fiefdoms and march to their own drummers. Web 2.0 is about collaboration between different web based services. The new Yahoo! should reflect that. <p>In order for Yahoo! to beat Google, Yahoo! has to realize that less is more and a strong unifying vision (no more marketing speak!) is necessary to rally the troops and mobilize the company. <p>My heart breaks when I've been watching Yahoo! from the outside over the last two years being systematically overtaken by Google and not seeing them able to respond. <br>  <p>Posted by: Stanley Wong at January 25, 2006 03:34 PM <br>I'm glad you posted something about this. It was really disturbing to hear you "gave up". <p>Posted by: George at January 25, 2006 06:10 PM <br>Yahoo will never be the ultimate search engine. It is is a hodge-podge of what's old in internet technology. The primary focus of Yahoo is not how to improve the search engine, but rather, how to place as many advertisements on a page as possible. <p>Yahoo Search = Inferior. <p>Posted by: Eric at January 25, 2006 06:36 PM <br>Yahoo rocks! I can't wait for the release of the new Yahoo! mail. <p>Posted by: Joe at January 25, 2006 06:49 PM <br>Yahoo is gay unless you love getting pop-ups while you search. The reason you know google is bigger and better: It's a household word. The word Google is actually used as a verb now. Once that happens you know you're big. <p>Plus the search is programmed different on Google than on Yahoo. On Yahoo you pay for your spot (making it easy to monopolize); on Google the search is based on relevance to the topic. For instance, if you search the word "photography," the web sites that have the highest rating have the most web sites linking back to them. <p>Posted by: Ryan at January 25, 2006 06:58 PM <br>Yahoo is gay unless you love getting pop-ups while you search. The reason you know google is bigger and better: It's a household word. The word Google is actually used as a verb now. Once that happens you know you're big. <p>Plus the search is programmed different on Google than on Yahoo. On Yahoo you pay for your spot (making it easy to monopolize); on Google the search is based on relevance to the topic. For instance, if you search the word "photography," the web sites that have the highest rating have the most web sites linking back to them. <p>Posted by: Ryan at January 25, 2006 07:01 PM <br>um...ok...suure you're the best search engine yahoo.... sure you are. <br>  <p>** pats yahoo on the head and tells it to go out and play ** <p>Posted by: mGee at January 25, 2006 07:10 PM <br>http://digg.com/technology/Yahoo_Responds_to_Controversy_about_Not_Being_1_-_Wrong_Wrong_Wrong <br>  <p>This Blog Thread is now on the Front Page of Digg <p>with some very interesting comments <p>Posted by: SearchEngines at January 25, 2006 07:17 PM <br>Let's not forget something else Yahoo has made a habit of doing: cancelling people's Yahoo accounts for no reason and offering no explanation or path of recourse. Two months ago, Yahoo suspended my account because of alleged "ToS violations." How did I know that? Because I spend 8 days on the phone calling Yahoo to find out why. It's not as if Yahoo actually told me, despite the fact that I've had the same Yahoo user name since 1997. <p>So, now I can't access my 800+member Yahoo group, Yahoo mail is basically gone. Had letters in there I'd saved almost a decade for personal reasons. Figured they'd be safer there where drives are backed up. I was right, Yahoo mail survived 2 hard drive crashes over the years, and then -- oops -- hey you're canceled. (Their ToS is nice and scary, go ahead and read it. They can delete all of your stuff for no good reason and there's nothing you can do about it.) <p>Finally, I was emailed a note saying I was violating Geocities policy because my Geocities webpage (I formerly hosted there when I didn't know crap about web hosting and thought Yahoo hosting was a grand idea) had a forwarding link on it. I cleaned out my Geocities page because it was inaccessible way too often (another server crash!?) and put a link on the former fromt page saying "I moved here. Click the link to visit me." And then I didn't touch ANYTHING again for 3 years. <br>  <p>Is it worth putting so much information into a company that, according to their own ToS, can cancel you, won't tell you why, bullies you hoping you'll give up, and then relents with a NASTY letter about how I'm ruining the internet because of my link away from Yahoo. I will never trust Yahoo with anything important ever again. <p>/rant <p>PS Hey there's even a nasty ToS warning at the bottom of this page. Nice touch, Yahoo. <p>Posted by: Michael Kelley at January 25, 2006 07:20 PM <br>Why would I want to use a search engine that turns their logs to the government without a fight? You have a history of betraying your users to the local goverment. I find that highly objectionable. I will never use the Yahoo search engine, no matter how good it may be. You have picked sides and you picked the wrong one. You are yahoos, and not in a good way. <p>Posted by: Alessandro Abate at January 25, 2006 07:38 PM <br>"Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly and never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your comments." <p>I wonder how come they don't think this is true for what we search for on Yahoo? <p>Posted by: Gary R. Hess at January 25, 2006 07:58 PM <br>Yahoo is clearly a winner in consistent, user-friendly service. Google is a huge scam people, but most are too brainwashed to see this. <p>Case in point: <br>As a web professional its my job to observe Googles indexing methods to see what they return for results. For a site I know should have no more than 300K pages, Google returns 3.9 MILLION. for one that has 128K or so, google returns 2.4 MILLION. Depending on the day and time, Google's index is completely fragmented clearly erroneous. <p>Why do people buy into it? Why do people buy into anything? Marketing. The "Beta" concept, the "Do No Evil", the cute (but ultimately useless) products they continue to put out. It's all part of a big show. <p>Meanwhile, Yahoo keeps up with the real deal. Everything from travel to price comparisons, a rock solid email service since day 1, unlike Googles Gmail which apparently has buggy send/receive issues. <p>Don't believe the hype. Yahoo is a clear, professional company that delivers consistent quality over the years. They'll be here a long time after Googles homepage starts sporting the "powered by MSN Search!" button. <p>Posted by: Paul at January 25, 2006 07:58 PM <br>Yahoo will pull themselves out of this hole by reinventing search and using the small statistical relevency based on small known communities (weighting relevency by only their trusted members) and introducing these weightings into the overall search equation and algorithm. They are already assembling the pieces. Flickr, Delicious, Upcoming.org, Blu-Ray. <p>Only two pieces left, Digg and TiVo. <p>Stanley Wong says he's a former Yahoo! insider and cites the inability to tie the various fiefdoms together at Yahoo!. I'm not an insider and have no real sense of how the place is run but this may in fact be accurate -- I wouldn't find it surprising. If they can get the right corporate visionary in place to tie all of these properties together and take authority over the various fiefdoms then they will once again begin to take market share back from Google. <p>Ask.com tried to position human knowledge as superior to AI but what they missed was the power of small communities. Small communities will have tremendous implications for relevancy in search. To guard against most though will be the manipulation of these small communities in what is going to be an increasingly profitable game. This will be done by using weightings and qualifications within these communities of only the known and trusted members. Trusted members will be defined by consistent activity and good behavior or known sponsorship by other trusted group members. In order to be relevent you will need to be trusted but this is going to create massive advances in search. <p>Irrespective of Sue Decker's unfortunate commments, most likely misquoted with excessive literary license taken by a writer and later the "blathering" in the blogosphere that Caterina Fake also wrote of, Yahoo! knows exactly what they are doing. <p>Posted by: Thomas Hawk at January 25, 2006 08:17 PM <br>...or more correctly WebJay... I've got to get my mind off of HD-DVD vs. Blue Ray <p>Posted by: Thomas Hawk at January 25, 2006 08:21 PM <br>sounds kind of whiny <p>Posted by: Ryan at January 25, 2006 08:29 PM <br>No matter what the truth was, this little snippet of news offered me a bit of humor. Yahoo! is led by people I find abhorrent: small-minded people who are getting wealthy by compromising their characters. <p>Posted by: Jim Etchison at January 25, 2006 08:47 PM <br>>>There's been a lot of conjecture and confusion today about Yahoo!'s commitment to being the world's best search engine-talk which anyone who's been following the evolution of Yahoo! Search would have realized is… just plain wrong. <p>>>While some people immediately realized this, we thought it made sense to briefly recap how focused we are in search and our passion to be the world's leading search engine. <p>Recap on focus ?! To who? Shouldn't this be directed to Sue Decker, rather than trying to cover it up? May be, she found the lack of focus that you say that exists and didn't get a chance to talk to the people you've, allllllll this time !!!! <p>You named this article "Are you kidding", sure enuf. <p>Posted by: Cosmo Kramer at January 25, 2006 09:32 PM <br>Last time I used Yahoo for search was when I was first discovering the Internet, back in 1996-1997. Of course, those were the days when we all thought Netscape Navigator and ICQ were the shit too. If I want directory-style search, I now go to DMOZ. If I want relevant search, I go to Google. Yahoo canceled an groups/email acct I had for a TOS Violation (no idea what) after almost a decade of service. Plus they agree with gov't requests by Republicans, and I can't stand those dudes. Only thing I use Yahoo for now is games (Literati and Graffitti). <p>Posted by: George at January 25, 2006 11:47 PM <br>True, everyone jumped the gun. I've to say, Yahoo has consolidated well in the past year. I am a Google regular but for image search, it is Yahoo. Ofcourse flickr and del.icio.us are adding big value to you. It is nice to see some good competition in the web services space with everyone playing catch up. Nobody wants an one-dimensional world. So, play on! <p>Posted by: Karthik at January 25, 2006 11:52 PM <br>Great Title "Are you kidding." <p>Its good to see that Yahoo is willing and able to compete with Google. <p>On my blog Really (search baleta) Yahoo is only 5% of Search Hits. I can't work out how Yahoo is doing its rankings. I got a feeling that the paid rankings is doing Yahoo a disservice in terms of people finding what they are looking for and in the end that is what is going to determine the majority of users. <p>Whats the story of blocking blogger users from posting urls in the comments. That doesnt seem fair. <p>Posted by: at January 26, 2006 12:45 AM <br>When internet users and others are saying you've "given up" you should just take it and use it to better what you have to offer and just get the job done instead of wasting time trying to "prove" that you've done something worth while. <br>This blog just sounded like a desperate attempt to stay in the battle. <p>Whether you've created other programs that have had the ultimate success or not, it's plain to see that Google is on top right now and will be for as long as it takes for something even better to come around. Whether this will ever happen... who knows. No search will ever be perfected. In one way or another, there will always be someone out there to complain. <p>Yahoo needs to regain their composure and just continue doing what they're doing and just suck it up. <p>I am currently a big user of Google AND Flickr. I use what programs work for me as i'm sure most of you bloggers do as well. That is how it will always work. <p>I wish all programmers the best of luck and await the technologies of tomorrow with hopes that they will make life easier, bring the world closer together and not invade our privacy in a way that will turn people against the internet or technology all together. <p>Posted by: Kyzy at January 26, 2006 06:50 AM <br>Ohhhhh, I had no idea you guys were the best search engine! Well, in that case, I will uninstall my Google toolbar and use Yahoo forever more. I'm so glad Yahoo is around to tell me how good Yahoo is. <p>Pfft. Google rules you. <p>Posted by: jammas7erj at January 26, 2006 07:27 AM <br>Whatever people think, I'm awarding you 5 gold stars for transparency / allowing comments on this Yahoo! blog. <p>Onwards is upwards. <p>c. <br>  <p>Posted by: chris lake at January 26, 2006 08:46 AM <br>How come we have not heard any replies from Yahoo. I know alot of what is being said here is the same thing, but if Yahoo had a more open communication with SEO's it would help more. Google acts like they do but I really dont trust them at all, any dude who worked for the defense department is shady to me. <p>Posted by: Dougie at January 26, 2006 08:50 AM <br>The posters comment that we are in the early days of search are spot on. Frankly all of the current search engines are crap and until they gain a semantic understanding of the users sense of the word delivering individual relevance there won’t be any meaningful changes in the search market. So who cares if Yahoo or Google is number one now because the first company that includes the users semantic space in the equation wins. And good luck in solving that one Yahoo/Google without stepping all over protected IP. <p>Posted by: 3putt at January 26, 2006 09:30 AM <br>So many people are complaining that yahoo gave up their search data to the gov. Could these hopeless souls explain how their security was compromised when <p>1) The data given was anon. <br>2) Being obvious case of stupid google fan boys they hardly use Yahoo. <p>I also wonder how can people trust Google an (evil corporate) with their search data but not the Government. Morons. <p>It seems obvious that Google is evil. Nice PR stunt pulled by them, by not giving anonymous data to the government. I am sure they will ultimately give the data. <p>Those who complain about account deactivation. Well if for 45 days you do not access your gmail account - it is gone for ever. With Yahoo it even a free account stays for 3 months. I feel my account is safer with Yahoo. <p>I used to be full time google user, but once I tried Yahoo I never turned back to google - simply because apart from yahoo search being on par with google's, Yahoo offers so much more. <p>Posted by: An at January 26, 2006 12:26 PM <br>"There's been a lot of conjecture and confusion today about Yahoo!'s commitment to being the world's best search engine-talk which anyone who's been following the evolution of Yahoo! Search would have realized is… just plain wrong." <p>...are you kidding me? You sell placement in your engine and call this commitment? <br>  <br>  <br>  <p>Posted by: Rob at January 26, 2006 03:31 PM <br>Well, with this latest google China fiasco I'd say Yahoo could make some headway. I used to use yahoo all the time, then Google became a habit. I know quiote a few people who are boycotting Google because of the China policy. The only real places to go are Yahoo and Msn. It's possible the number 1 spot may not be that elusive after all. <p>Posted by: Chris at January 26, 2006 05:15 PM <br>The reason the Google blog doesn't allow comments is because they don't want people posting the fact that each one of their new endedavors has already been done by one of their competitors. <p>Posted by: Chris at January 26, 2006 05:17 PM <br>I was thinking about this today, its quite possible that engineers are an important part in the development of a search engine, but the actual quality of the engine depends on the satisfcation the users receive from using it. The best way to provide good results may not be just through programming and usability, I feel you need to some of the box thinking. Bring in some people who can give a different creative view. I personally would love to do that, may for Yahoo or a new search engine. <p>Posted by: Doug at January 27, 2006 06:52 AM <br>I love, everything about Yahoo from entertainment to news and TV listing BUT the search engine dilemma is driving me nuts. I am working on the premise there was another update so I went to yahoo search put in my main key word for my site ...the results - mostly yahoo groups front page (that's okay) but two unrelated sites on the front page then second page on #12 - a website that isn't a site, its a page with the keyword in its title, a site without any text, without any working graphics, no content whatsoever no links to other pages because they don't exist and when I checked the archive information as directed by the Yahoo cache (yes the site was cached looking like this - honestly its not a site) <p>I digress ~ the archived information states no new pages no page requests since May 2005. How can that site or page without any text, content, graphics nothing but an aqua background be the #12 most relevant site using the keyword WAHM. I don't know. <p>Posted by: Tammy at January 27, 2006 01:28 PM <br>Well, on the bright side... <p>Your number one in my book, when it comes to Search Spam. <p>Your the best, <p>Posted by: Blog at January 27, 2006 01:55 PM <br>Please fire Sue Becker. She has betrayed all of the people who has worked their butts off for Yahoo! search. Her ill-advised comment reflects that she does not belong in a leadership position. If she stays on, she will affect the morale of your search team. <p>I hate monopolies and hope that someone will take away market shares from Google, and soon please!!! <br>  <p>Posted by: Ben at January 27, 2006 01:59 PM <br>Today. I use both yahoo and google depending on which is fastest to get to. I am yet to notice any difference in the relevancy between google and yahoo, which makes me think you could spend hundreds of millions on algorithm, and the average joe (or jack :-)) wouldn't notice a thing. why is google ahead and yahoo behind? brand. aside from being household name for search, people speak of google as if the company exists for charity or with a mission to make the world a better place. <p>now, here is what I think about the two, since we're comparing. <p>Google: <br>- they got an army of really smart engineers, they're spending like crazy. same time, very little strategy, business savy, focus. <br>- they're growing more and more arrogant everyday, businesses big and small are noticing that as they get their toes stepped on, users will soon enough start seeing that, and realize 'dont be evil' is just exactly what they're google is good at, lipservice. <p>- until today, they're unable to follow through with solid products. they have nothing but a bunch of beta products that seem to stay in beta forever. as if, they're scrambling to build products half-way and move on to the next thing <p>yahoo: <br>- balanced company, with very wide range of solid services and products <br>- mature, responsible company which is obvious in how their products are released and level of follow through on its investments <br>- if tomorrow, breakthrough alternative to today's search is introduced, google would be in deep shxx. yahoo would still be in good shape as far as user base and reach is. <br>- yahoo's problem is brand, I don't think people relate yahoo to search <br>- yahoo is probably slower than google. it seems that google is more nimble as far as organization and company structure is considered. <p>I'd hope yahoo focus on radically improving search **experience** instead of merely spending on technology that does more or less same thing. <p>as for google, continue throwing darts all over the place in quest of next big thing and see what sticks, and try to keep a leash on your arrogance otherwise you will continue stepping on more toes and surround yourself with a lot of enemies (MS anyone?), which will drive you off the cliff. more importantly, cross your fingers and hope that investors don't wake up and start dumping your stock. <br>  <p>Posted by: jack at January 27, 2006 08:26 PM <br>Competition is good... I still prefer Google but, any competition will sure improve situation :) <p>Posted by: Ivan Minic at January 28, 2006 06:20 AM <br>I have confidence that yahoo will gain some ground in 06. You guys have definitely made some smart aquisitions in the past couple of months. <p>Posted by: Online Investing at January 28, 2006 05:00 PM <br>Seems that Yahoo is saying they are in it to win. That is the American way, don't ya think. Otherwise they would stop innovating - stop expanding their borders. <p>Be in it to win. <p>Posted by: interesting at January 28, 2006 08:24 PM <br>What turns me away from Yahoo? The search results relevance. A couple people earlier touhed on it actually - that Yahoo favors, Yahoo Groups, Yahoo profiles/360, and similar yahoo services before other results. <p>Also, that stupid Yahoo commercials on TV drove me nuts. Yes - it got my attention, and no I don't want to be associated with a bunch of Yahoo's. I'm not redneck and I don't want to be thought of as such. <p>Brand is everything. Ill stick with Google, thanks. <p>p.s. ...and this blog sucks, getting 500 errors and strange replies when trying to post. Now I understand why I'm seeing the double entries in this blog. <p>Posted by: Sean at January 29, 2006 09:57 AM <br>I personally find yahoo to be great. I personally find google to be too based on PR and links, which causes bad search results in some cases. A perfect example is look up "New Jersey web design" the New York Giants came up for the top 10 for 1 month straight. Its finnally down to 35ish. <p>Keep up the good work yahoo. <p>Posted by: k shackelford at January 29, 2006 11:56 AM <br>Qi Lu & Eckart Walther, <p>You created this entry. You opened it by stating that Yahoo has caught up with Google in search relevance. My claim (see post above) is that you can't or won't remove urls that have not existed for several years from your index, even though they have valid 301 redirects. <p>So, with all due respect, I challenge your claim that you have caught up with Google. On this blog, Jeremy understandably becomes "exasperated' with Yahoo users and customers when they don't provide specifics. Can you plese provide specifics on how you've caught up with Google? Otherwise, I'll be forced to believe the posters above. Thanks. <p>Posted by: Jim Leavell at January 29, 2006 12:05 PM <br>Regarding your statement: <br>"We're working on literally hundreds of projects to improve search, and some of the most visible examples include . . . Yahoo! Answers,"" <p>It may not be the most important part of the discussion, but it's worth considering how unwise it is to point to a "function" that is so widely regarded as being frustratingly disfunctional as you did here. <p>OK, you may be in the game against Google. I'm not arguing that. But it's just asking for trouble when one uses, as examples of success, functions that are such amazingly annoying wastes of time that most experienced web us don't even attempt to use them any longer. <p>Posted by: Susan Reynolds at January 29, 2006 06:13 PM <br>Hey, The problem with Yahoo! is that it's not consistent like Google or should I say Google is more consistent in throwing up relevant results than Yahoo! But have seen marked improvement in Yahoo! in the last 2 years. <p>Posted by: Mustafa at January 29, 2006 10:50 PM <br>I am glad Yahoo has not thrown in the towel but I do wonder on their motives. Just do any search on yahoo and the pages is cluttered with ads. Google wins because its interface and results are cleaner. As recent studies have shown within 20 nanoseconds a user can decide if its a website/page they like to look at or not. <p>Right now Yahoo Search falls in the NOT category.. <p>AMF from the GMF <p>Posted by: seo guru at January 30, 2006 05:52 AM <br>Google's interface is EQUALLY cluttered if not more. They show the same number of ads that Yahoo search does. Compare <p>http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=grad+school <br>http://www.google.com/search?q=grad+school <p>Same amount of crap. <p>For almost all searches that I have executed on both, I have noticed Google clutter is as bad/good (whatever you choose) as Yahoo clutter. <p>Posted by: Jay at January 30, 2006 02:23 PM <br>Want to improve your search? Listen to and respond to feedback from Webmasters once in a while - they might be able to help. <p>I'd welcome a real Google competitor but you're not even close in terms of index quality and responsiveness to the people providing the content for you to index in the first place. <p>Posted by: Martin Dell at January 31, 2006 06:19 AM <br>The main page says it all ... Yahoo trys to do everything ... you can't do one great thing if you are attempting to do/offer everything!! <p>I can't even find the search dialog ... <p>Posted by: DaleG at January 31, 2006 08:17 AM <br>Let's just take the comments at face value and tre