Get Your Hitwise Search Data

Hitwise recently launched a search marketers haven of data; their website says, “We are leading statistics for an online industry.” If you need statistics for your next presentation about online search, then look no further than Hitwise. What questions are you asking yourself?

Are curious what the top 20 most visited websites are last week or the top industry search terms? How about the Top 20 Websites & Search Engines by volume? Or maybe you want to know what the top 10 most visited search engines were last week? What are the most visited retail sites on the web for last week? What are people searching for and what terms are rising up?Get break downs the top visited banking, real estate, social networking and travel websites at Hitwise. Did you know that believe it or not, Facebook is #1 with MySpace at a close second?

One special highlight of the website is that Hitwise puts a spotlight on the top searched keywords from a featured industry. This week the key term is “Cruises” and you can see the breakdown of the top cruiselines searched along with the top 10 cruise websites.

Hitwise is owned by Experian, so hats off to you for sharing the info. http://www.hitwise.com/resources/data-center.php

MySpace Jobs

Recently I got an email from MySpace that they’ve added new features to their website. The trend recently is that MySpace has been on the downturn because other social networking platforms like Facebook are gaining popularity. Thus, I wasn’t surprised when I heard that MySpace was trying to stay relevant. So why not add a job board to your website when the economy is down?

The MySpace job portal in my analysis seems to be nothing more than one big refined Google search. The page layout and the actual results for same key terms are similar in Google and MySpace Jobs. The site does however feature a few videos that are strong in helping you land a new job. It also has a tab if you are looking to go back to school, you can search for a higher degree.

MySpace has added a new “Job” feature to their website, but it’s really just repositioning technology from Google. The bottom-line is that as long it’s a benefit for the users, it’s a benefit to the site.

http://jobs.myspace.com/

Commentary: Stop Over-sized Ghosted TV Promos?

Since I am a social network addict, I don’t watch that much TV anymore, but when I do, I have started to track a trend. Have you noticed the size of the ghosted TV logos? These promos are either getting larger or they are animating out of control. In the past they used to just be a small little logo of the station in the bottom right corner of the screen, now they have become something else.

If you look above, here is an example from TBS of Bill Engvall walking out over the show I am currently watching to promote his show. It always happens right after you return from a commercial break. I am sometimes unsure if this ghosted actor on my screen is part of the scene I am watching or a promo until they magically fade away. Some other examples of these TV promos besides walk-outs are countdowns to the premiere of a big event happening in less than 24 hours.

Are these interruptions getting out of control? Are these other shows that are being promoted much more important then the one I am watching? Can we pay extra to get these logos removed from our TV shows?

Milo Sees If Items Are Stocked

Do you need to see if an item is in stock at the store down the street? Instead of calling your local store, asking the clerk if a item is on the shelf and then waiting five minutes to hear it’s available, use Milo.

Milo is a new web service that connects you with local retailers to give up to the minute inventory on the products you need. The term “brick and mortar” is often used to describe ordering your purchase online and then picking it up at a local store. Milo fills this void by connecting many popular genres of products such as electronics, clothing, and cooking and bringing them together in once place so you can see if its in stock. In the insurance world, Insurance.com brings together many of the top auto insurance companies so you can choose and purchase the best policy for you. Milo does the same when it comes to consumer goods.

After reviewing the website, everything that I looked at in my area didn’t seem to be in stock. However after looking at other states, I did see items were in stock. Thus, this indicates that Milo’s network is still growing and the accuracy depends on the location.

http://milo.com/

Thanks again to Mike Kimmel for find.

Where’s Your Twicsy At?

Have you used Twitpic yet? If not, now you have the opportunity to search through the thousands of images users are uploading to their Twitter accounts by using Twicsy. The best part of the website is the fact that you can now see all the images uploaded in the last hour. Above is an example of just the bizarre cornucopia of images that end up on Twitter via Twitpic. Now Twicsy gathers all those images in once place.

http://twicsy.com/


Thanks to Mike Kimmel for the find.

Donate Your Time To CAP

August is recycle your computer month, however Dan Hanson’s Computers Assisting People (CAP) is on a continual mission to enable those who are need of technology. CAP strives to provide a complete solution (not just recycling) so that recipients will really be empowered by the technology and be able to improve the quality of lives.

http://www.capinc.org

Monitor Your Sites Up Time

Last year Leading Hands introduced you to a web application where you can manually verify if your site is down; Down For Everyone Or Is It Just Me identifies if the connection is just bad on your end or bad for the rest of the world. Now a service called “Hows The” takes this concept to the next level by monitoring your site and sending you automated emails or text messages when it’s down.

I’ve tried “How’s The” out for a over a week now and the service has alerted me a few times across the multiple websites that I personally manage. This free is a perfect tool for small to large business owners who are curious how often their website is really down. Think about that moment your customer is ready to make a big purchase and your domain is down; you just lost a sale and you didn’t even know it. Why stay in the dark and think everything is just Jim Dandy?

Use “How’s The” and regularly monitor your website’s up time.
http://howsthe.com

Trazzler, Tell Us Where To Go?

The other day Leading Hands gave you Hunch, a website that recommends books, movies, etc… based upon filling out a few questions. Now another service called Trazzler, recommends trips based on your location and travel personality; it seems that recommendation featured websites are all of a sudden becoming popular even though Amazon has been doing it for over ten years.

Your travel personality is created as you save trips in your wishlist and places you’ve been. Then Trazzler learns about the kind of trips you like and creates more trip choices. If you have a Facebook account, Trazzler will connect to your account, share wishlists, recommendations, and soon will suggest new friends based on travel compatibility. As you continue to use it, more travel suggestions will occur.

Note: All your travel descriptions and choices are public information.
http://www.trazzler.com/

Must Text & Drive? Try This.

We here at Leading Hands do not condone texting while driving, however if you must text, try this combination. First purchase a Bluetooth headset and second get Dial2do.

A low end model Bluetooth headset can cost you as little as $40 and high end model can cost as much as $150. Dial2Do is a free service that will translate your voice to text. The program does a rather accurate job translating your voice; it also does a great job reading back your email too.

Before you get pulled over because you’ve got your head down texting, try the alternative and keep your head up and your voice forward by using this combination. This suggestion will keep you hands-free for your steering wheel and looking straight. I think the question we need to answer is, “What constitutes failure to control your vehicle?” Will this headset plus voice translation service still cause an accident while driving? Is anything other than driving your car a distraction?

Learn more about Dial2Do

Full Length Movies on YouTube

Did you know that YouTube is now playing completely unedited full length movies? If you didn’t make it over the hump into digital TV switchover and you’re looking for entertainment, then never fear, YouTube is here! Now you can watch your favorite movies from the comfort of your home for free.

In the quest to remain as the top video website, YouTube (owned by Google) has decided to add full length movies to their bailiwick. If you are a typical YouTube user, you are only allowed as a maximum length to upload videos ten minutes in length. But as owners of the site, they’ve decided to give you more to watch. How about over two hours at a time? There are a variety of movies from comedy to horror to see. You can choose from Night of the Living Dead, Super Size Me, La Bamba, American Virgin and Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie. Yes, there are commercials through out the movie, but they are at a minimum.

Parents: If you are concerned that your child can now be exposed to rated “R” or “PG-13″ movies, YouTube requires registration to view these movies. Thus an email address will be required for viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/movies