From Tech Fortune writer Miguel Helft:

January 10, 2012: 9:30 AM ETIn a move that is certain to sharpen its rivalry with Facebook, Google (GOOG) on Tuesday is introducing a revamped version of its ubiquitous search engine that will dive deeply into the company’s fledgling social network, Google+, to find content that is relevant to a particular user. The change will expose Google+ profiles, as well as posts and photographs uploaded to the network, to hundreds of millions of search users whether or not they have Google+ accounts. In many cases, the changes will push content from other sites, including Facebook, further down on the search results pages.

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Two of the most requested features from the old version of Google Analytics that have been absent in the new interface are report email scheduling and PDF export. We are happy to announce that both email scheduling and PDF export functionality will be the new interface in a few weeks.

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The new Google algorithm uses what it calls “freshness” in an attempt to show relevant information. I believe Google matches content it scrapes and compares it to content previously stored in its database.  When that content has changed, the resulting content scores a plus when measuring relevancy to date.

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From Reuters:

Google Inc offered a detailed glimpse into its secret process of ranking Internet websites , publishing for the first time a list of recent tweaks to its closely guarded search algorithm.

While less than revelatory, the details published on Google’s official blog mark a departure for the Internet search leader, as antitrust regulators investigate claims that the company’s search process might be biased toward its own business and operations.

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Google was approved this week to drive its Street View cars within the country by the Israeli Law Information and Technology Authority (ILITA).

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From Infowars.com Techdirt reports that Senate bill 978 – a bill to amend the criminal penalty provision for criminal infringement of a copyright, and for other purposes – may be used to prosecute people for embedding YouTube videos.

According to Mark Masnick, if a website embeds a YouTube video that is determined to have infringed on copyright and more than 10 people view it on that website, the owner or others associated with the website could face up to five years in prison.

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1.   Start at the Facebook homepage. Click on “Sign Up,” which takes you to a Web form.

2.   Fill out the form which asks for your name, email address, password and your birthday.
You’ll also have to type in a series of letters and numbers for a security check as well as check a box saying that you understand and agree to the terms of use and privacy policy. Click the “Sign up now!” button when you have completed the form.

3.   Wait for your confirmation email to arrive. Facebook sends this email to confirm your registration. When you get the email, click on the link in the email to confirm your registration request for a Facebook account. You will then be logged into Facebook.

4.   Search for friends and coworkers and Request “Add as a Friend”.  When you first set up a Facebook account, you’ll have the opportunity to search your email address book for possible friends and contacts. Facebook is an excellent social media tool and gets more hits than any site in the world.

5.   Start Posting

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Finding the YouTube Video Embed and Share Buttons – in 11 Screen Shots!

YouTube recently relocated (okay,hid) the Buttons for Embedding and Sharing Videos to your Website and other Social Media Websites. Embedding, Sharing, and Linking Videos from YouTube may be crucial to your Blog, Website, or Social Media Network and #SEO Whether you embed or share your own Videos, or those of others (with full permission and credit given), you need to find the Buttons under the YouTube Video that you are wanting to share on your Blog, Social Media Network, or Website.

You will also see the URLs and Links for emailing the Video.

Where did the Buttons go? First, the Share and Embed Options may Differ depending upon whether you are (1) viewing from inside a Channel, or (2) viewing from the YouTube Main Page.

Also, individual YouTube Users may choose to Allow or perhaps Not Allow the ability to Embed their Video.

See the pictorial instructions here

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Google announces the official end of the Google Video division

For those of you who have videos on Google Video, and you want to get to them, read this and act fast:

Dear Google Video User,

Later this month, hosted video content on Google Video will no longer be available for playback. Google Video stopped taking uploads in May 2009 and now we’re removing the remaining hosted content. We’ve always maintained that the strength of Google Video is its ability to let people search videos from across the web, regardless of where those videos are hosted. And this move will enable us to focus on developing these technologies further to the benefit of searchers worldwide.

On April 29, 2011, videos that have been uploaded to Google Video will no longer be available for playback. We’ve added a Download button to the video status page, so you can download any video content you want to save. If you don’t want to download your content, you don’t need to do anything. (The Download feature will be disabled after May 13, 2011.)

We encourage you to move to your content to YouTube if you haven’t done so already. YouTube offers many video hosting options including the ability to share your videos privately or in an unlisted manner. To learn more go here.

Here’s how to download your videos:

Go to the Video Status page.
To download a video to your computer, click the Download Video link located on the right side of each of your videos in the Actions column.

If you have many videos on Google Video, you may need to use the paging controls located on the bottom right of the page to access them all.

Please note: This download option will be available through May 13, 2011.

Sincerely,

The Google Video Team

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