I bet you didn’t know that there is a simple version of Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia. While we certainly are familiar with the more technical side of Wikipedia, if you replace the “en” in the Wikipedia URL of any entry with “simple”, you will get the “simple” version of that entry. It’s explained to you as if you are a five year old. [Read more…]
12 Websites Blocked by the People’s Republic of China
This week I am Beijing, China doing a keynote address about SEO and domain names. There is free internet access here at the China World Hotel in Beijing, but is it really free? Maybe I should say that it is “restricted”. [Read more…]
Sales Spam on Google Plus
By now, I’m pretty used to getting spam on LinkedIn, as I get it at least several times each week. But now, it seems as though the sales spammers are now targeting Google Plus, and somehow sending unsolicited sales spam that show up as notifications on Google Plus. Here’s the latest one, that I received just today. I have scratched out the name of the person and their company and URL, but you get the idea. [Read more…]
Facial Recognition: Microsoft Website Tells You How Old You Are
A website by Microsoft is using facial recognition to tell you how old you are. And if you ask me, it’s actually pretty accurate. Well, in at least most cases that I tested. The website, called How Old Do I Look?, allows you to find an image by searching on Bing.com, or you can upload your own photo. Their facial recognition algorithm will analyze the photo and tell you how old the person in the photo is. Or, if there are several people in the photo, it will look at all the faces and determine how old they are. [Read more…]
BuzzFeed Said No One Would Use This Stock Image
In a hilarious post, BuzzFeed said that no one would ever use any of the stock images that they posted in their article. Well, I have to say that they’re wrong. I mean, really, I can see a perfectly good use for their first image in the post: [Read more…]
GoDaddy Released Personally Identifiable Information To Spammer Without Permission
Now this is bizarre. But apparently GoDaddy is being accused of releasing personally identifiable information (a woman’s email address) to someone who she’s accusing of being a spammer. And GoDaddy apparently released her email address to the spammer after she filled out an abuse complaint. The spammer wanted to know who had complained about their website, so GoDaddy gave them her email address. Of course, without permission. [Read more…]
Google Files for Trademark on the Word Glass
Google has filed a trademark application on the word glass. The Wall Street Journal first reported that a trademark application has been filed. [Read more…]
Microsoft Files DMCA Takedown Request, Claims Microsoft is Infringing on Copyright
Microsoft filed a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) request with Google. But, this one was one that might just deserve a Darwin Award. Who was the copyright infringer in this case? Yep, you guessed it. Microsoft. [Read more…]
Before Writing Code or Launching Your Website, Do This
I found a series of articles that I wrote more than 10 years ago. But, amazingly enough, all of this information is still valid and true. It’s a great primer on what you should, and should not do before launching any website, especially an e-commerce website. [Read more…]
Web Hosts Hijacking 404 Error Pages on Live Web Sites
Some web hosting companies have now taken it to a new low: they are monetizing (making money) from your web site without your knowledge. Web hosts are now hijacking their customers’ 404 error pages and putting up a slew of paid ads: advertisements, when clicked, make the company money. And most web site owners don’t even know that this is happening to them. It could be happening to you, on your web site, and you don’t even know it. It looks like this: [Read more…]