Categories: Blog, Facebook Tags: facebook, Facebook Hashtag, seogon technologies, social media

The hashtag has finally made its way to Facebook. Facebook unveiled the hashtag Wednesday morning in order to help better user conversations.

According to Facebook, they want to make it easier for users to find content that is already available. Adding the functional hashtags was the first step in that process. As many people have seen, a number users already post hashtags anyway, so why not make them purposeful. The new hashtags will be both clickable and searchable on Facebook – almost identical to how Twitter uses their hashtags.

The hashtags from other services like Instagram will be clickable as well. Facebook users will also be able to compose posts from a hashtag feed and search results. This will make it easier to add real-time content to specific streams.

So what do you think about Facebook picking up the #hashtag? If you are interested in reading more about this, click here.

If you are interested in social media marketing, be sure to contact us today.

Categories: Blog, Google, Technology Tags: google, motorola, password pills, password tattoos, passwords

Ever imagine of passwords that you could wear and swallow? Google does. If you may have thought that the new Google Glass was taking “wearable tech” a little too far just wait until you hear what Google envisions for your passwords as part of the future.

From passwords that are tattooed onto your skin to an ingestible password pill that you can swallow, Google has ideas that can soon make two-step authentication a thing of the past.

According to Regina Dugan, who is a special projects leader for Google-owned Motorola, told the audience at this year’s D11 Conference that she is very excited about the future of Google and wearable computers.

Right now, Motorola is developing an electronic tattoo that can be used for user authentication. These tattoos that are made by tech start up MC10 were originally designed for use as medical devices, but Dugan’s team is repurposing them as wearable passwords.

These password tattoos are made up of stretchable electronic circuits that can communicate directly with an external server. The “BioStamp” as MC10 calls these tattoos, can be worn for two weeks time and can hold up to a wide variety of stretching, bending and flexing.

In the event that the password tattoo idea does not pan out, Motorola is also working on another alternative to the the current authentication systems – indgestible password pills.

The “vitamin authentication” system involves ingesting a pill that once in the stomach can be battery-powered with stomach acide to product an 18-bit internal signal. Within just a few moments of swallowing the pill, the user physically becomes their own walking password.

But don’t worry – this technnology is far from becoming part of every day use in the near future. CEO of Motorola, Dennis Woodside states ” This isn’t stuff that is going to ship anytime soon, but it is a sign of the new boldness inside Motorola.”

Both Woodside and Dugan stressed that these new technological advancements for password authentication when implemented will be completely optional for Google users.

Source:
http://www.technewsdaily.com/18233-google-authentication-wearable-weird.html

Categories: Blog, Yahoo! Tags: Marissa Mayer, seogon technologies, yahoo, Yahoo Redesign

On Wednesday, Yahoo revealed a new look for its search page. This is the first major update to Yahoo search since Marissa Mayer took over as CEO.

According to both Mashable and Yahoo, the redesign of the search page is described as more “modern”. The new search page introduces a cleaner look. It also has a new navigation bar at the top of the page that is similar to Google’s search page. Yahoo released a GIF of a before and after redesigned page. They released the GIF on their newly acquired social network Tumblr.

Yahoo also mentioned that they had made some changes to speed up the page load time. That being said, most of the changes to the page are cosmetic and on the surface. It is in Yahoo plans to roll out more changes to the search experience in upcoming months. So do you think this new redesign will help?

If you are interested in SEO for your business, be sure to contact us today.

Categories: Blog, Social Media Tags: blogging, facebook, google+, linkedin, Pintrest, Twitter

Social Media – this is a term that a majority of people are very aware of. However what about businesses and business owners? Social media is a great outlet for businesses. There are a number of websites and tools out there that can help promote businesses in a positive and effective way.

1. Twitter: Twitter is one of the dominant platform in the social media world. Basically Twitter is used to share thoughts and information in the form of a “tweet”. It can also be used to create amazing results for marketing and SEO. Twitter allows for businesses to engage their customers, and grow their audience. It also allows for great promotion as well.

2. Facebook: Facebook has nabbed that number one spot in the social media world. Facebook has grown and adapted with the marketing trend and now offers a number of excellent tools for businesses. Some of these tools are  Facebook marketing page, Facebook advertising page, Facebook business page, Facebook studio and Facebook studio edge. Facebook allows businesses to share posts, links, images and videos to promote and engage the audience.

3. Pintrest: Pintrest is the new kid on the block. Pintrest is only 3 years old, but has blown up and made its name on the social media stream. They are currently on of the fastest growing social network. Even though Pinterest is a newer name in social media world, it has shown a lot of growth in the past couple years. Pinterest provides businesses with many different options to promote their content. Businesses can allow for a more “visual” approach to social networking.

4. LinkedIn: LinkedIn has adapted more to the business side already. LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals. It isn’t only for professionals though. Businesses can greatly benefit from it. It provides businesses with a lo exposure in essentially a professional atmosphere. The site allows you to share posts and create groups and pages much like on many other social media sites.

5. Blogging: A blog is a great way for businesses to “interact” with their audience. A blog is great for businesses to write about new topics and ideas, products, promotions, etc. A blog allows for businesses to engage their customers – possibly differentiate businesses from their competitor. It gives businesses the ability to share videos, pictures, and so much more.

6. YouTube: YouTube is the most popular video website that is currently out there. YouTube allows businesses to create an account and profile to share videos for free. Whether they be promotional, or for advertising. If businesses have a videos on their website, they can be uploaded to YouTube. This will allow the video to be visible to millions of users.

7. Google+: Again this is one of the newer social media outlets, but could potentially be one of the stronger ones for businesses because it was made by Google, the #1 search engine in the world. The biggest perk for businesses is that Google+ profiles do have some perks in getting ranked and indexed by Google.

In the end social media can greatly benefit businesses no matter what! If you are interested in reading more about it, you can read about it here.

If you are interested in social media marketing from Seogon Technologies, be sure to contact us today.

Categories: Blog, Google, Search Engine News, Technology Tags: google maps

As shown in the Google I/O conference earlier this week, Google Maps is about to get a big personalized update.

As of right now, the new Maps is only in beta. If you are interested in testing it, you can sign up for an invitation at http://www.google.com/maps/preview.

Here are some of the new features of the update that will soon hit Google Maps:

Customized Maps
Each click in maps will alter the map appearance so that it displays more personalized information and highlights things that may be relevant specifically to the individual searching and what they are looking for. For example if you are looking for a restaurant you may find a box showing reviews about that specific location from Zagat was well as your friends on Google. Related restaurants will show up nearby and pop up on the map.

Using your search history, reviews, network of friends and more, Google will make more recommendations of places it thinks that you will enjoy. The more you use the map, the more data will be collected and used for these types of recommendations.

Smarter Navigation
Even though navigation is already one of Google Map’s strong points, a collection of navigation improvements that focus on finding you the best route to a destination in real time will be improved. For example if you are not sure if you should take a bike, a train or just drive, Google Maps will have a new schedule viewer that will let you line up all of your transportation options to help you decide. It will also no longer be necessary to do a search for a start or ending address, you can now simply click on the map and instantly see the driving routes.

Car accidents will also appear on the map in real time as well as road conditions. Google will also be adding in dynamic rerouting to help you automatically find an alternate route that avoids traffic slowing incidents.

Graphic Redesign
The new Google Maps features a sleeker looking maps and a large library of photos, text is no longer a major focus. Images from Google Street View, user-submitted photos and additional Google projects such as the underwater view and interior 3-D tours will all be highlighted while the map itself will fill the page.

On a side note, one of the newest features that some may find interesting yet not very practical, is that you will have the ability to zoom all the way out on Google Maps and you will see the Earth in space against a backdrop of stars, all of which will be shown in real time, all the way down to the cloud cover you see over the Earth.

These updates will be available to the over 1 million products that use Google Maps over the next few months.

^{Article Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/15/tech/web/google-maps-overhaul/index.html} 

Categories: Bing, Blog, Google Tags: bing, Bing It On, Bing vs. Google, google, seogon technologies

Bing, the web search engine from Microsoft is trying to kick Google out of the number one search engine spot. Bing created the “Bing It On” challenge. This campaign was launched last September, but has taken a new twist. The twist is a new online campaign. What it does is it offers users a side-by-side comparison of  search results by both Bing and Google, and people will click the layout that they like better.

So with this Bing It On challenge Bing asks users to perform five different searches on BingItOn.com. From there they have to choose the unbranded search result list they prefer after each search. After theses five different searches, the users are then told whether they prefer Bing or Google based on the search results that they selected.

A study that was done last year by Bing revealed that people preferred the Bing search results were chosen 2:1 over Google search results in a blind test. Bing has said that nearly 25 million people have taken the Bing It On Challenge since its launch. What they have found with it is that most people prefer Bing search results then they do Google’s. What Bing wants to do with this challenge is to break people of the “Google Habit”, by showing people the quality of the Bing search results, and the sites unique features that Google doesn’t offer.

To add the icing on the cake, Bing announced that they are launching a new national television and online ad campaign to focus on the results of the Bing It On challenge that was hosted in Topeka, Kansas. Here is the kicker, Topeka, Kansas temporarily renamed itself “Google, Kansas” to win a bid from Google fiber. You can see the new video they released here.

With the studies that Bing has done, it seems to show that people prefer Bing over Google. Do you think they have the potential to take over the search engine market? Take the Bing It On challenge, and see if you choose Bing or Google!

Categories: Blog, Google Tags: google, Google Glass, seogon technolgies

Google has released a video on explaining how to get started with Glass. In the video they target the touch pad, and how to use it. Most people know about the voice recognition aspect of Google Glass, but not the other functions.

In the video you can see all the different things the touch pad that is worn on the right side from the temple to the ear can do. The touch pad allows you to change settings, see new features, and so on. It also shows you how easy it is to turn Glass on and off. A simple tap on the touch pad has Glass ready to go, while a simple swipe down on the touch pad puts it back in the stand by mode.

In the video they also discussed the Glass timeline. When Glass wakes up, you are taken to the main screen which shows the time. On the left of the main screen are different cards with current or future events going on. Tap on one of the cards, and it will give you more detail about the event. For example directions or times. To the right of the main screen are cards from the past, such as messages, videos or photos.

So do you think Glass will be as user friendly as it looks in this video? Be sure to watch the video here: Glass How-to: Getting Started, and let us know what you think!

Categories: Apple, Blog, Google, Technology Tags: android, google, google now, iPhone, ipod, siri

As of today, Google’s predictive search technology “Google Now”  is rolling out for iPhone and iPad users as an update to the existing Google Search app. Google Now (which has been available for Android users since last summer) uses the wealth of information that Google has about an individual person to provide information needed it thinks that the individual will find useful at the moment that it is most needed.

For example, on a typical weekday morning, Google Now might automatically show you the local weather and traffic as well as the score from last night’s game for your favorite sports team. If you have a trip planned it can display your flight status along with when you need to leave for the airport, directions to your hotel and nearby landmarks or points of interest to visit at your destination.

Each nugget of information that is displayed with Google Now is called a card. The types of cards that are displayed are dependant on what Google services an individual chooses to tie into the app. Your search history tells Google Now what you are interested in such as sports teams that you follow, music that you listen to, stocks you own and types of news that you are most likely to follow. You can also train Google Now to keep up to date with your preferences by swiping away any cards that you do not want to be displayed.

Google’s director of product development, Tamar Yehoshua stated: “We’re providing answers before you’ve even asked the question”.

One of the highlights of Google Now is the tie-in to Gmail. Confirmation emails for important purchases or events can easily be lost in an inbox. Google Now identifies these types of emails and turns them into cards so you can track a package that you are waiting for, or you use your phone as a boarding pass at the airport.

Google is in a unique position to know what information people are most interested in seeing and when they want to see it based upon their giant volume of web search data that is processed by Google daily. According to Yehoshua, only 16% of the searches entered into Google in a given day are searches that it has never seen before.

Google Now may not currently be the computer of the future that predicts your every want and need, but as people get more comfortable with their personal data being used to analyze them, predictive apps such as Google now can expand their scope to collect even more data from other tools such as wearable pedometers and other sensors. The more information that can be gathered about a person, the closer applications and smartphones can get to becoming actual personal assistants.

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/tech/mobile/google-now-iphone/index.html

Categories: Bing, Blog, Google, Search Engine News, Security, Technology Tags: bing, google, malware, search engine malware

With malware infections becoming an increasingly larger threat every year online, when it comes to safe searching in search engines, Bing may not always be the best choice over Google.

Microsoft’s search engine Bing is reported to be nearly five times more likely as Google to have malware show up in its search results according to a study conducted by independent research firm AV-TEST.

AV-TEST which is based in Germany, stated that the study took 18 months to analyze search results from not just Google and Bing, but also from Russian’s search engine Yandex, Chinese search engine Baidu and others such as Teoma which is owned by Ask.com.

AV-TEST’s Markus Selinger wrote in the report: “Although search engine operators such as Google and Bing make a lot of effort to avoid doing so, they somtimes deliver websites infected with Trojans and similar malware among their top search results. Other search engiens do an even worse job.”

AV-TEST evaluated nearly 40 million websites that were returned by the various search engines are part of their study. The firm examined nearly an equal amount of results from Google and Bing and concluded that although Bing returned five times as many dangerous links as Google, Bing is still the second safest search engine that was included in their study.

Out of 10.9 million links that were generated by Google searches during the study, 272 lead to malware that was defined by from 36 different anti-virus products and external malware databases.

Bing returned a tiny bit more results than Google for the same terms, less than half a percentage point more. But out of all of the search results generated from Bing, 1,285 links contained malware which was a nearly fivefold increase over Google’s results.

In perspective, Google deals with up to 3 billion search requests each day and returns up to 70,000 malware links. Russian’s search engine Yandex returned 3,330 malicious links out of 13.7 million results which turns out to be more than twice Bing’s rate and about 10 times more than Google’s rate.

Malicious web links include pages that are created specifically to distrubte malware, as well as those that are hacked without their owner’s knowledge.

Users of any search engine should be relatively safe as long as they are using an up-to-date browser and anti-virus combination that scans browser links and alerts users to potentially risky websites.

Wehther a link is in an email or on a search engine results page, it pays to remain cautious of suspicious links.

Source:
http://www.technewsdaily.com/17754-search-engine-malware.html

Categories: Blog, Social Media Tags: facebook, seogon technologies, social media, Twitter, vine

At the beginning of this year, Twitter released a free iOS app called Vine. So what is Vine might you ask? Well Vine is a mobile app that enables its users to create and post short video clips. The video clips created with the app have maximum length of 6 seconds, and can be shared on a number of social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.

So how might Vine benefit our clients? Well there are a number of ways, and here are some of them:

• Pictures are good, but videos are better – Videos give a more personalized feel to your clients and audience.
• Display your work for a client – Instead of just pictures, or a portfolio on your website, how about create a short video for them instead.
• Give your followers a behind the scene look – This gives you the opportunity to “humanize” yourself. Let your followers see your day to day actions in the office. Show them that you have employees who are excited to work for you!
• Educate your audience – This gives you the ability to educate your followers a little more about your business.
• Promote a deal, special, or contest – use a Vine video to promote a deal that they can’t miss out on, or a contest that they have to partake in. Be sure to let your followers know what they could win if they participate.
• For our real estate clients, do a fast house walk through showing off the main areas of the house.
• Share your new website design
• Demo a really simple how-to demonstration – engage your followers on a simple DIY project.

The options are endless to be honest with you. There are so many ways that you can use this new app, and get it out on all your social media outlets. Vine has become a very popular among businesses, and it is a great outlet to have whether you are a small business or a huge corporation. Like I said there are many ways that you can use this to benefit your business. So be creative, and think outside the box, and allow a free app to help your business out. If interested, read more about it here.

If you are interested in social media services, be sure to contact us today.