It’s uncommon to see sales increase by double digits. HP had a new laptop called  Dragon. Sales were flat after trying traditional marketing. So they decided to try another way – engaging bloggers. A quick way to do that is to send bloggers an ultralight $5,000 laptop to give away to one of their readers.

Nine months after launch, the 15 pound laptop with a 20.1-inch screen and 500-gigabyte hard drive wasn’t selling that well. HP hired social media marketing firm Buzz Corps Inc. and they brainstormed with bloggers and HP to come up with the campaign.

Scott Ballantyne, vice president and general manager of the personal systems group at HP, said:

There’s always something bittersweet about the last linky goodness of the month, don’t you think?

• The launch of the G1 Gphone generated instant interest—almost enough to match that of the iPhone (at the time). In searches, anyway, as Hitwise reports.
• I’m sure you’re all experts at Google Webmaster Tools, but just in case you’re not, the Google Webmaster Central blog today gives some tips for getting Advanced Website Diagnostics with GWT.
• Maybe I’ve got corporate blogging on the brain; who knows? But I was excited to see the Top 5 corporate blogging mistakes and how to avoid them from David Meerman Scott.
• The privacy saga that is Street View continues. One German town has announced its intention to require, then deny a permit to take the Street View pictures. That’s one way to do it—but can they enforce it?

Do the Linky Goodness Dance! It’s a bit like the Safety Dance, but longer: L-l-l-l I-i-i-i N-n-n-n K-k—you get the picture.

• Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the best online mapping service of them all? Google Maps, of course, who’s spent the last year innovating while their rivals “stagnate.”
• And Danny Sullivan explains exactly how that innovation works in The Google Hive Mind. Freaky.
• Last week’s reports of Yahoo Answers’ death have been greatly exaggerated, because Yahoo is NOT selling Yahoo Answers.
• Facebook may have been the most recent media darling (although it’s becoming the social network the media loves to hate), but MySpace still has over 65% marketshare. Odd, I don’t hear anyone wringing their hands over that monopoly.