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Why Gmail’s 13 New Options Suck and 6 We Desperately Need

posted on June 6, 2008

Some of you may have noticed that yesterday’s 6pm PDT launch of Gmail Labs came and went. The Gmail team promises that “We are currently in the process of rolling Labs out to English users” but I’ve yet to see it in my Gmail account.

Still, we can get a sneak peak of what to expect, thanks to TechCrunch’s screenshots:

I looked through the list of the 13 new options we’re getting and, you know what, they all suck! I mean seriously, about the only thing of use is the option (finally) to place your signature file ahead of the quoted text and not at the bottom each time. We had to wait for that to be added as an experimental feature?!?

Here are the features Gmail desperately needs:

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Google AdSense Not Quite Live on Feedburner; Go Check For Yourself

posted on June 6, 2008

We thought that we might have seen Google AdSense for Feedburner at the beginning of this week, but better late than never.

Checking my Feedburner account today, I noticed that the option to display AdSense ads in my RSS feed, is now live!

FALSE START: I just noticed that the AdSense option is below the “On Your Website” heading, not the “In Your Feed” heading. Oh well, we know it’s coming, so hold tight.

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Twitter Toys Galore

posted on June 5, 2008

Even if you don’t know who Michael D. Jensen is, chances are if you use Twitter you know of one of his apps.

For the last months Jensen has become one of the premier Twitter App developers, creating applications that utilize the Twitter API in fresh and creative ways.

According to Jensen it began with a Tweet from Lee Odden:

@mdjensen some of these tools remind me of what you made for MyBlogLog. Any chance you’ll get into the Twitter tools game?

And from there he has had the Twitter application development fever.

TweetBeep – Launched May 6, 2008

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Why Sculpting PageRank Is Not For Everyone

posted on June 5, 2008

PageRank (PR) sculpting has popped onto the radar of most online marketers over the last few months and it has become a controversial topic. Like with so many new techniques in the online marketing world, some talented internet marketers are touting the value and success that they are having by using the nofollow tag to sculpt their PageRank, by directing as much link value to their most important pages as possible.

Adam Audette has written a well conceived article outlining why online marketers need to step back and think carefully about whether or not trying this new technique is the right thing to do. I think the majority of the points Adam makes are extremely valid, especially the point that if a marketer feels the need to use this technique excessively then there are probably much larger underlying problems, especially with the sites architecture.

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Google Adding New “Labs” Options to Gmail

posted on June 5, 2008

Earlier today, Google announced 13 new features in a new "labs" option for Gmail. Details are still trickling out, but, according to CNET, you’ll be able to use them as of 6pm PDT tonight.

Among the new features that are possible:

• A quick-link tool that lets people bookmark specific Gmail messages.

• Superstars, which lets people select custom stars to label mail.

• The "e-mail addict" tool that lets people lock themselves out of their e-mail account for 15 minutes.

• A fixed-width font option to view a message with in a font whose characters are the same width–handy for some formatting challenges.

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Linky Goodness, June 5

posted on June 5, 2008

With a fair sprinkling of Google stories, today’s linky goodness almost qualifies as Googly goodness, but not quite.

  • I’ve never been to Disneyland; my husband has never been to Disney World (it’s one of those bicoastal things). But now he (and you) can experience a little of what it’s like with Google’s new Explore Walt Disney World Resort in 3D. Seriously.
  • I know that competitive spirit in you hasn’t been satiated by the SEM Scholarship Contest—so go sign up for the The WAA Championship. It’s “your chance to shine as an analyst” (web analytics, of course).
  • Someone’s getting serious about that Facebook platform: Slide to Open NYC Office
  • Now Google Analytics can even analyze your TV ad campaigns. Yeah. Seriously.

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Yahoo Responds to Icahn: No You Cahn’t

posted on June 5, 2008

As if things aren’t already nasty enough for Yahoo these days, this week, lawsuits and allegations abound that Yahoo’s spurning of Microsoft’s offer earlier this year was motivated by personal biases. Yahoo has responded to the most vocal (and likely most powerful) of their detractors, Carl Icahn, in a letter by Chairman Roy Bostock.

Icahn, a large shareholder of Yahoo, has already already attempted to file a proxy slate to replace the whole board, although his efforts have been rebuffed thus far.

Yahoo continues to resist Icahn’s hostile advances this week. Bostock begins the letter by stating that the board takes issue with Icahn’s June 4 letter and accusations: “Your letter seriously misrepresents and manipulates the facts regarding the recent events pertaining to Microsoft and Yahoo!” (It’s nice to have a company name with an exclamation point; it makes your points more emphatic without the tackiness of all caps ;) .)