4Nov

Beyond Barrel Roll: 10 Hidden Google Tricks

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Oh, those whimsical Google nerds. The Mountain View-based search giant may not have Apple’s design chops, but it certainly knows how to code a good joke.

We got a taste of that fact on Thursday with the highly popular “Do a Barrel Roll” search trick, which went viral on Twitter and brightened a million work days. But that’s only the latest in a long line of quirky features Google has embedded in its products. We’re not talking about useful stuff like the in-search calculator, or Google’s much-documented April Fool’s jokes. These are all fun built-in tricks you can amuse yourself with right now.

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3Nov

Beware: Socialbots Successfully Infiltrate Facebook

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Beware Socialbots Successfully Infiltrate Facebook

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Beware: The socialbots are coming. These fake profiles mimic real people on Facebook but are actually computer programs that try to harvest private data from users, and expose them to other security risks.

University of British Columbia researchers created a social network of a single botmaster and 102 socialbots, and then let it loose on Facebook for eight weeks. The results were a little scary.

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2Nov

Kill Switch

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The so-called PROTECT IP act, sequel to the much-criticized COICA, is under fire again as it enters the process of becoming law. We’ve talked about it on this blog before and no doubt the discussion will continue after it passes or is rejected, but it’s important at this critical moment that everyone concerned weigh in and make an unambiguous statement regarding the quality of this bill. So then: PROTECT IP is a lunatic proposal, penned by a dinosauric industry concerned solely with the preservation of its own profits. It will do nothing to curb piracy while at the same time eroding fundamental freedoms of the internet.

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19Sep

8 Current Technologies That Will Shape Our Future

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Rick Chin is the director of product innovation at SolidWorks, where he develops new products and researches how technology will make us smarter, simplify daily tasks and seamlessly fit into our everyday lives.

In 20 years our technology will reach a level of personalization that will enhance every moment of our lives. We’ll be more physically comfortable with the furniture we sit on and the products we hold; only the most relevant and personalized information from friends and family will reach us; and our movement in the digital world will be near telepathic.

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16Sep

YouTube Introduces Video Editing Feature

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Some YouTube users may be noticing that they can now edit their videos onsite thanks to a new feature that’s rolling out globally Wednesday.

Using the feature will enable you to edit uploaded YouTube videos while also maintaining the same video IDs, making it possible to hold onto view counts and comments. Existing links to the video will also continue to work. All you have to do is click “Edit Video” on your video’s page or on the My Videos page.

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12Sep

4 Successful and Creative Facebook Contests

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Years ago, if a marketer wanted to run a contest, he’d have to run print ads and hope that people would take the time to fill out an entry form and then mail it in. The Internet made things easier, but you still assumed that consumers would somehow find their way to your website.

Facebook adds another layer of ease to the process: Consumers are already there doing something else. If the promotion looks interesting enough, filling out an online form isn’t that big a deal. Rodney Mason, the chief marketing officer of promotions agency Moosylvania, says Facebook-only promotions have a lot of advantages. “One would be the ease of use,” he says. “You can also connect with people who’ve already opted in for past promotions, and everybody’s on there all the time.”

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5Sep

Infographic: The Social Web: How Different Age Groups Interact Online

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Social media: it’s not just for kids.

In fact, social media as a whole is dominated almost entirely by people old enough to have kids – the average user of a social network is 37 years old. Millennials – people born between 1978 and 1994 (current ages 16-32) – were the first generation to be “raised” on the internet, and represent a significant portion of all online users.

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22Aug

5 Security Tips Facebook Wants You To Know

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Just as students start returning school, the experts at Facebook have released a new guide to security, aimed at helping teachers, parents and young adults keep their online accounts safe.

The guide was penned by authorities in the field; noted former Symantec Internet safety expert Linda McCarthy, Purdue University security researcher Keith Watson, plus teacher and editor Denise Weldon-Siviy.

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4Aug

Where Do Google Doodles Come From?

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Where Do Google Doodles Come From

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Back when Google‘s logo still had an exclamation point, its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin encountered a practical problem. On one hand, they had plans to attend the Burning Man Festival. On the other, they weren’t entirely confident that the site would not crash in their absence. And if it did, there wasn’t anyone at the office to answer the phone while the pair camped out in the desert.

The first Google Doodle — which showed Burning Man’s iconic stick figure popping out of the Google logo — was, in essence, an “out of office” message.

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3Aug

Google Chrome becomes UK’s second most popular web browser

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Google’s Chrome is Britain’s second most popular browser, a sign of the internet giant’s increasing grip on the UK search market. Three years after launch, Chrome last month captured 22% of UK users and marginally overtook Mozilla’s Firefox browser, according to the web metrics firm Statcounter. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is losing market share to Chrome but remains the most popular browser for UK users with 45% – although it has a head start by being pre-installed on almost all computers sold in Britain. Apple’s Safari is UK number four, with a 9% share.

Google’s rise in the browser market is in part down to nationwide advertising – Chrome is the first Google product advertised on British TV – but is largely attributed to its speed.

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