Search Engine Wars Heats Up

The three major Search Engines, Google Yahoo and Bing, have up the ante for the top spot in the Internet search market. While Google is still in first place and rolling forward like a juggernaut, Bing has been rising in popularity and is on a steady pace. Yahoo has recently launched a $100 million global marketing campaign, in which they hope to compete with Google more aggressively.

I was very surprised of Bing's progression, when they launched I thought it was going to be just another Msn search with a new name and face. But Microsoft has been obsessively working on Bing, adding new features and options, that if they continue at this pace will give Google a run for it's money. Microsoft has recently proposed to Yahoo that they use Bing as their primary search engine. If the 2 companies come together Google will have to watch it's back, this could lead to a lot of changes on the Internet. The merger between Yahoo and Bing will of course have to pass Antitrust laws.

Yahoo right now is holding on to second place in the top search engine spot, they haven't added any new features or incentives. I think they are going to waste the $100 million on marketing, Yahoo is already an established brand and is a veteran in the search engine field. They would do much better to be more creative and innovative, they should work on making their search engine better. Providing new features and something new that will draw the attention of online users, as this is what Bing is currently doing.

In my opinion Bing and Yahoo indivdually will never knock out Google from first place, unless they merge together and take on Google.

Review of the iPod Touch

I owned one of the older iPod models, which still works and is in good condition. I had wanted to upgrade to the iPod touch for a while now, but wasn't sure if the was worth the price. I decided to hold out, thinking maybe the price will drop. The features on the Touch were very appealing, taking you beyond just a portable mp3 player, with wifi, youtube, maps, weather, email, stocks, touch screen and much more. I eventually managed to get a free iPod touch from SwagBucks.com.

After using it for a week or so, I was hooked, it was very useful in many ways. I use it as a person organizer also, it has a notepad, calendar and there are many other applications you can get for free or purchase. The iPod Touch is also very sleek and thin, fitting in your pocket like a wallet. It is just like the iPhone except it does not have the phone feature. It is definitely worth the price it is being sold for.

Make Money with Google AdSense

Google Adsense is a program that allows you to place Ads on your website that are relevant to the content of your site. When a visitor to your site clicks on the Ad you earn money. Depending on what the ad is or what it's sponsoring, will determine the value of the clicks. You can also make money with AdSense by page impressions and a custom google search bar.

Adsense is free to join and open to anyone in any part of the world. Once you have a website or blog, you can sign up very easy and start making money. Google is known as the savior of the Internet, and the reason for this is Adsense. After the dot com bust, no one was making any money online, and no one knew how they were going to generate revenue with their websites. Then Google introduced Adsense, which opened a new door and set a standard for monetizing websites.

The great thing about Adsense is, all the hard work is done for you. Google's super computers generate ads that are relevant to your website content. So if your website or blog is about Dogs, Adsense will automatically display ads that relate to Dogs. You can customize the Ads by color, size, text or images, and the filtering of Ads being displayed. All you have to do is copy the adsense code into your website or blog and you're ready to start making money.

Joel Comm, known as the Adsense guru, is one of the first users of Google Adsense who made thousands of dollars. Joel has written a best selling book on how to make money with Google Adsense. He published his secrets and tips on how to tweak Adsense to generate money online. He shows how he went from making a few dollars a day to making hundreds of dollars a day, generating monthly earnings of near $30,000. Adsense has completely changed business models of many website owners and businesses.

The quickest way to start making money with AdSense is making a blog with Blogger, and then sign up with Adsense. As blogger is owned by Google, Adsense is already integrated into blogger.

Cash For Clunkers

Cash for Clunkers has been doing well, it has given hope and a boost to the morale of consumers and the US economy. However, there have been much criticism towards the bill and President Obama's support of it. The Cash for clunkers bill seems to be the only thing working well in trying to move pass the recession. I think the bill is a great idea and it has shown already that it is successful.

With lending and financing on a hold by the banks, cash for clunkers is a great way to get money flowing into the economy. And car buyers are taking advantage of this, so much that the cash for clunkers ran out of money and congress had to inject another two billion dollars into the program. I think cash for clunkers should be an on going program, and not a one time thing. Of course the rules and restrictions must be enforced to avoid abuse after the economy gets back to normal.

Those who criticize the bill are really not looking at the big picture. I find it hard to see how some politicians can criticize something that is workign and has show good results. I support the cash for Clunkers bill 100%.

What are Your Thoughts.. Leave a comment....

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Get Paid to Take Surveys

Looking for a way to make extra money? You can try doing free surveys online for additional income. If you're not able to get a part time job and need another means of getting money, online surveys is a great option. I have been doing surveys online for a little under a year now, the extra cash comes in handy at the end of the month. I use the money to pay my bills, expenses, and also to spend. In my spare time I do free surveys online and at the end of the month I receive a check in the mail.

Some of my checks have been over $1,000 a month. of course you won't make $1,000 in your first month, but as you put some effort and work into it, you can increase your earnings. Most survey sites also have referral programs where you make money for referring others. A great survey site is CashCrate.com, they are very popular and have over one million members. CashCrate is Free to join and pays you for doing free surveys and free offers. The company also has a proven pay record, they pay every month and are always on time.

Here is a picture of one of my checks from CashCrate:

CashCrate is one of the easiest ways to make extra money. Give CashCrate a try, its Free to Join.

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Google and Apple Seperate

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple's board of directors. This as google enters more of Apple's core businesses. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that "Schmidt's effectiveness as an Apple board member will be significantly diminished because he'll have to recuse himself from a larger portion of meetings due to potential conflicts of interest". Clearly the two companies are headed down increasingly similar competitive paths, from web browsing, to smart phone OS, to application software for computing.

Eric Schmidt is widely credited as one of the smartest individuals in the valley and was an asset to Apple's board. I was disappointed upon hearing the news of Schimidt's departure, as I was hoping that the two most innovative and growing companies would continue into a more closer relationship. I believe the outcome of a healthy partnership between Google and Apple would have produced some of the most innovative, creative, and profitable products and ideas. Both companies are growing and have set standards for their area of business. They also share a common enemy, Microsoft, the monopoly of silicon valley, my dislike for Microsoft has grown over the years of disappointment in the companies products and business ideals.

My dream was that Google and Apple would partner up and take down the mighty Microsoft. But now it seems Google wants to continue as the lone juggernaut of innovation. And who can blame them, they are a Billion dollar company who grew up by themselves, setting new standards and trends. Google is in a category all by itself.

But there is always hope, that somewhere a long the road, google and Apple will partner up again. Both companies stocks are doing well at the moment.

What are Your Thoughts.. Leave a comment....

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