Global swoop nets huge haul of fake drugs: Interpol

 

Police and customs officers from 81 countries have seized 2.4 million doses of counterfeit medicine sold over the Internet during a one-week operation, international police body Interpol said Thursday. Fifty-five people were arrested during the September 20-27 operation, codenamed Pangea 4, and more than 13,000 websites closed down, Interpol said. More than 100,000 illegal doses were seized in France, over half of which were for supposed to be for treating male erection problems, France's medical security agency that took part in the operation, AFSSAPS, said. The operation was carried out for the fourth successive year in an effort to inform the public about the risks of buying medicines online. "Interpol's member countries and partners have shown through the success of Operation Pangea IV the Internet is not an anonymous safe haven for criminals trafficking illicit medicines," said Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble. The agency said it had targeted Internet service providers, online payment companies and delivery companies during the operation, in order that the whole supply chain of fake drugs be broken down. "We cannot halt the illicit online supply of medicines without a consistent, constant and collective international effort involving all sectors," said Aline Plancon, head of Interpol's fake drugs department. "The operation itself was only made possible thanks to a combined effort involving the 165 different participating agencies sharing and exchanging live information via Interpol's headquarters in Lyon," she said. Interpol has also posted messages on Internet video sharing sites warning punters "Don't Be Your Own Killer" by buying unlicensed pharmaceuticals.

Motorway speed limit to be raised

 

The speed limit on Britain’s motorways is set to rise to 80mph but with a big expansion in the number 20mph zones in cities and towns, The Independent has learnt. As part of a deal negotiated with the Liberal Democrats the Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond is expected to announce the Government’s intention to bring in the new speed limit at the Conservative conference. Ministers will then consult on the proposal later in the year along with plans to significantly expand the number of areas in Britain covered by 20mph zones.

Tech Savvy Street Gangs Take On Social Media

 

The fight against Indiana’s gangs isn’t always waged on the street. School officials, social workers and probation officers said the newest battle ground in gang warfare is social media. According to Indianapolis anti-crime advocates who attended a gang awareness seminar on Friday, Indy gang members are younger, more mobile, and they’re using social media networks to recruit and plan. An Indianapolis Metro Police Department gang unit detective said he carries out most of his investigations online and undercover, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported. "I have a Facebook account. My alter-ego has over 210 gang member friends. I have a completely fictitious account,” the IMPD detective said. IMPD have identified more than 300 street gangs in Indianapolis, all of them engaging in various levels of assaults, thefts, robberies and even murder. Lt. Marshall DePew said that because of the gangs’ expansive territory, police have expanded their base of operation, too. "We've expanded our detectives in the unit, and we’ve expanded the number of deputy prosecutors. We have a great liaison with the U.S. attorney’s office. I think more so than ever before, I think we're doing a better job of connecting the dots," DePew said. Police said that every school district in every Indiana county has a gang presence. In Hagerstown in Wayne County, school officials have banned bandannas, sagging pants and cellphone use in school. Officials said they're also contemplating a uniform dress code for students. Dave Land, assistant principal at Hagerstown High School, said he warns parents about the dangers of social media. "I tell parents that if you allow your kids to be on Facebook or do the texting, you're probably going to get into a bullying situation with your son or daughter,” Land said. Police and gang experts agreed that the best deterrent in gang involvement begins at home.

Smartphone owners running Google's OS need more than just a top ten list to stock their devices with the best programs

 

When Google's mobile operating system, Android, first debuted, cheers erupted from those who defend open-source software and reject the cult of Apple. They finally had alternative options for touch-screen smartphones that could rival the iPhone. As the Android Market (and other sites where you can download Android programs) expanded, it became clear that Android would have some unique apps, in part due to Android's deregulated (compared to Apple's strict oversight of iTunes and the app store) and open-source nature. And so it makes sense that the best apps for Android users and their devices, whether it's a Motorola Droid Bionic or an HTC Sensation, are an eclectic batch. For example, one app every smartphone user needs is a strong Web browser—but the fastest, most reliable, and efficient one on Android isn't the same as what's best on other mobile operating systems. Additionally, some of the very best apps for Android are exclusive to the operating system. For some people, app selection is what drives their decision-making about which phone to purchase in the first place. If you're thinking about becoming an Android user, this list of the best 25 apps should definitely tip you off to the kinds of utilities, entertainment programs, social networking services, and other apps you can expect to find in the Android Market and other places where you can buy apps or download them for free. The 25 apps that made the cut for this list are the ones that have shown outstanding performance, have been almost universally liked by users young and old, or have had a solid history of being among the first apps we'd recommend new users download. Most of them are free, a few cost a buck or two, although the priciest one on this list will set you back a cool $25. Left out are any apps specifically designed for people who have "rooted" their phones, or given themselves more permission than is intended for consumers, which can void the phone's warranty. If you're a long-time Android user, some of these apps will look familiar, although in a few cases, we noticed that the best apps in a certain class aren't necessarily the ones that have been most popular for a stretch of time. Newcomers are supplanting some tried-and-true favorites. Finally, if you have more recommendations, post your suggestions in the comments—they may make it into a future

 

UK Home Office considering gender-neutral passports

 

The Home Office has said it is considering the possibility of not displaying gender on passports. The proposals follow changes to Australian passport rules, which mean that intersex people who identify as neither gender can be listed as ‘X’, rather than having to choose between male or female. A Home Office spokesman said: “We are exploring with international partners and relevant stakeholders the security implications of gender not being displayed on the passport.” Currently, transgender people can obtain passports in their new gender. But intersex people – those born with chromosomal or genital ambiguity – must pick whether they are male or female. Supporters of gender-neutral passports say there is little need for passports to list gender and argue that other forms of ID do not state the information. Intersex rights campaigner Jennie Kermode told PinkNews.co.uk last week that the change would be easy to implement. She said: “The passport offices in the UK will not issue passports with the ‘X’ option now, although they could do so without, as I understand it, any necessary change in UK laws.” Another campaigner, Jane Fae, said: “The issue of documenting gender goes much wider than the ‘feelings of trans and intersect people’. In fact many in the trans community would oppose the removal of gender as its inclusion on passports is vital to ensure safety when travelling abroad. “Many non-trans individuals would be happier not declaring gender for all sorts of reasons. It should be optional for all.”

Google+: David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg to sign up for profiles

 

POLITICAL leaders from the three main parties have signed up to Google+, the latest social networking site . PM David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg will all have their own profiles on the website, which they hope will make them more accessible to voters. One report on the 2010 general election found that 57% of adults surveyed online read or received information about the election on the internet during the course of the campaign. Advertisement >> Tory leader Cameron said: ”Anything that makes politics more open and accessible is to be welcomed, and I am proud that Britain politicians are leading the way when it comes to embracing new methods of engaging people online, from e-petitions to the latest developments in social media.’’ Labour chief Ed Miliband added: “Labour is determined to be a party that looks outwards, not inwards.  “That means talking to people, but also listening and responding to them too. That’s what I’ve been using social media for, and that’s what I’ll keep doing.” And Nick Clegg said: ”The Liberal Democrats are always open to new and innovative ways of communicating with voters, so creating a Google+ account was an easy and logical step.” Google+, which now has more than 25 million members, was launched in a trial in June with the aim to make sharing on the web more like sharing in the real world. One of the features it offers is Circles, an easy way to share content with specific groups of people. That means the party leaders will be able to communicate with different groups like local constituents, MPs or the general public. Matt Brittin, MD for Google UK says: “It’s great to see David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband embracing new innovations. “Britain’s political parties and the UK Government are leading the world with new innovations in citizen engagement, from Google+ to online petitions and open data.” The service also has the ability for live video ‘hangouts’, so political leaders can take part in group video chats with members, colleagues or constituents.

Millions of Hotmail users cut off by Microsoft 'cloud' failure

 

As well as Hotmail, the outage affected Office 365 and the Skydrive online storage service. Microsoft said the cause appeared to be related to the Domain Name System, the computer network that ensures that web addresses are connected to websites. “Preliminary root cause suggests a DNS issue,” the firm said on its office 365 Twitter feed. The problems lasted for at least two-and-a-half hours, beginning at around 4AM British Summer Time. On a company blog, Microsoft said it had fixed the problem at 5.45AM, but the repairs took some time to “propagate” through the DNS network.  "We are working on propagating the DNS configuration changes and so it will take some time to restore service to everyone. Again we appreciate your patience," the firm said. For Office 365, Microsoft’s subscription-only competitor to Google Apps, which went live earlier this year, it was the second major technical failure in less than a month. Such incidents are likely to give pause to organisations considering migration to online “cloud” services, whereby software is delivered from vast data centres, over the internet.

Starting today, companies and celebrities will have a 50-day "sunrise" period allowing them to officially register under the .xxx domain and put down bids to set up shop in the Internet's red-light district.

 (Lance Whitney/CNET)

(CBS News)  

Starting today, companies and celebrities will have a 50-day "sunrise" period allowing them to officially register under the .xxx domain and put down bids to set up shop in the Internet's red-light district.

 

The new .xxx top-level domain is open not just to porn sites but to nonporn sites that want to block the use of their names on the .xxx domain. Florida-based ICM Registry, which is administering the launch, will work with 50 individual registrars around the world to handle the actual registrations. After the expiration of the sunrise period, a 17 day "land rush" period will open, allowing adult sites to register for whatever .xxxx addresses are still available. After that, applications will be reviewed individually on a first come basis.

Google will rock you: 'Doodle' celebrates Queen's late frontman

 

Google users around the world were rocking out to Queen on Monday -- except for in the U.S., where search engines will remain quiet until Tuesday. Monday would have been the 65th birthday of Queen singer Freddie Mercury, the flamboyant, four-octave frontman who penned such enduring hits as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions." To commemorate the day, Google added an animated doodle to its search page -- an appropriately over-the-top video clip set to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" that shows Mercury morphing into a space traveler, a bicyclist and a king on a throne flanked by lions and mustachioed bears. As a nod to Queen's '70s-and-early-'80s-heyday, parts of the video have a retro, arcade-game style. The doodle was showcased on Google's homepages around the world -- except for in the U.S., where, out of respect to the Labor Day holiday, the page remained unadorned. Google planned to display the doodle in the U.S. Tuesday. "Freddie was fully focused, never allowing anything or anyone to get in the way of his vision for the future," writes Queen guitarist Brian May in a guest Google blog post accompanying the doodle. "He was truly a free spirit. There are not many of these in the world. To achieve this, you have to be, like Freddie, fearless -- unafraid of upsetting anyone's apple cart." Mercury was born September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar, which is now part of Tanzania, and moved to Britain as a teen-ager before joining Queen in 1971. He led the band through its 15-year run of radio smashes ("We Will Rock You," "Another One Bites the Dust") and operatic live shows. He died in 1991 at age 45 of an AIDS-related illness. Earlier this year readers of Rolling Stone voted Mercury their second-favorite lead singer of all time, behind Robert Plant. Google has been increasingly brightening its plain-wrapper homepage in recent years with colorful doodles, including animated clips honoring the birthday of silent-screen star Charlie Chaplin and a playable game to mark the 30th anniversary of the Pac-Man arcade classic.

Google, Mozilla and Microsoft have banned the DigiNotar Certificate Authority in their browsers.

 

With the DigiNotar saga continuing, it’s time to summarize some of the current events surrounding it.

According to multiple blog posts, Google, Mozilla and Microsoft have already banned the DigiNotar Certificate Authority in their browsers. This preemptive move comes as a direct response to the mess that DigiNotar created by issuing over 200 rogue certificates for legitimate web sites and services — see a complete list of the affected sites and services.

Earlier this week, Google reported of attempted man-in-the-middle attacks executed against Google users, and most recently, TrendMicro offered insights into a large scale spying operation launched against Iranian web users.

According to TrendMicro:

From analysis of Smart Protection Network data, we see that a significant part of Internet users who loaded the SSL certificate verification URL of Diginotar were from Iran on August 28, 2011. On August 30, 2011 most traffic from Iran disappeared and on September 2, 2011 about all of the Iranian traffic was gone and Diginotar received mostly Dutch Internet users, as expected.

These aggregated statistics from Trend Micro Smart Protection Network clearly indicates that Iranian Internet users were exposed to a large scale man-in-the-middle attack, where SSL encrypted traffic can be decrypted by a third party. For example: a third party probably was able to read all e-mail communication an Iranian Internet user has sent with his Gmail account.

Meanwhile, the Dutch government issued a statement saying that it “cannot guarantee the security of its own websites” and is “taking over the company’s (DigiNotar) operations.”

“the user of government sites no longer has the guarantee … that he is on the site where he wanted to be,” Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner said at a pre-dawn press conference.

Moreover, Illinois-based VASCO, which owns the Dutch-based DigiNotar issued the following statement:

DigiNotar detected an intrusion into its Certificate Authority (CA) infrastructure, which resulted in the fraudulent issuance of public key certificate requests for a number of domains, including Google.com. Once it detected the intrusion, DigiNotar has acted in accordance with all relevant rules and procedures. At that time, an external security audit concluded that all fraudulently issued certificates were revoked. Recently, it was discovered that at least one fraudulent certificate had not been revoked at the time.  After being notified by Dutch government organization Govcert, DigiNotar took immediate action and revoked the fraudulent certificate.

Who’s behind the attacks? According to the Tor Project, clues were found in one of the certificates, including messages in Farsi:

Google closes 10 services in 'spring clean'

 

The services being closed by Google include Aardvark, a social network-powered question-and-answer search tool, Fast Flip, an experiment in displaying news content online, and Notebook, a note-taking and URL-clipping service. In a post on Google’s blog, Alan Eustace, senior vice president, said: “Over the next few months we’ll be shutting down a number of products and merging others into existing products as features. [...] This will make things much simpler for our users, improving the overall Google experience. It will also mean we can devote more resources to high impact products—the ones that improve the lives of billions of people.” He added: “We’ll continue to take risks on interesting new technologies with a lot of potential. But by targeting our resources more effectively, we can focus on building world-changing products with a truly beautiful user experience.” Other services being discontinued by Google include Desktop, which the company says has been superseded by cloud computing, Google Pack, the company’s bundle of downloadable software, and Sidewiki, a collaborative approach to annotating websites. Google Maps API for Flash, Google Web Security, Image Labeler and Subscribed Links are the other services to be closed. Aardvark founders Max Ventilla and Damon Horowitz said that Google+ had taken on some of the role performed by their service. In a blogpost, they wrote: “We’ve been excited to share these lessons within Google over the past year, especially as part of the effort behind Google+. “It has been gratifying to see how well this project is doing — even in these early stages, Google+ has already become a great place to share knowledge online, eclipsing the original vark.com! — and there is much more to come very soon.”

majority of British adults are now using online social networks such as Facebook and Twitter

For the first time, the websites have been accessed by more than half of over-16s, the Office of National Statistics said.
Overall, 57 per cent of adults have used social networks this year, compared to 43 per cent in 2010.
The finding came as part of the ONS’ annual survey of British internet habits, which also showed that women are somewhat more enthusiastic about online friendships than men. Some 60 per cent of women said they use social networks, compared to 54 per cent of men.
That situation was however reversed when it came to professional social networks such as LinkedIn, which allows users to make work contacts and look for job offers. Men were almost twice as likely to have used such services, with 16 per cent saying they had, versus nine per cent of women.
Almost all youngsters now use social networks. In the 16 to 24 age group, 91 per cent have accessed Facebook or Twitter this year. Older people are becoming more familiar with the technology too though, with 18 per cent of over-65s having used the websites, up from the 8 per cent that a roughly comparable survey question found last year..
The ONS survey also captured the ongoing boom in internet access via smartphones. Some 45 per cent of adults have used a mobile to go online this year, up from 31 per cent last year.
Separate data collected as part of the official Labour Force Survey shows that millions of people risk being left behind, however. As many as 8.73 million people said they had never used the internet, a five per cent improvement on last year.
The government’s “digital champion” Martha Lane Fox said last year she aimed to get every adult of working age online by 2015.

 

Ofcom has published plans to allow organisations to set up new unlicensed data services in unused parts of the radio spectrum.

White space, which exists in bands reserved for TV broadcasts, could be used for rural broadband and Wi-Fi with twice the range of existing technology, the UK wireless regulator said in a statement on Thursday. Lower speed, long-range machine-to-machine (M2M) communications should also be possible, said Ofcom.

"At an early stage Ofcom identified the potential of white spaces, which are currently lying vacant all around us," Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said in the statement.

Unlicensed white-space data services will share spectrum with licensed operators. The amount of new bandwidth could be as much as current 3G services provide, and significantly more in some locations, Ofcom said.

"Within Europe, we have been leading the way to try to harness this capacity without causing harmful interference to existing users of the spectrum," said Richards. "The solution we have devised creates the opportunity to maximise the efficient use of spectrum and open the door to the development of a new and exciting range of consumer and business applications."

The system proposed by Ofcom would require white-space devices to work out their location and then consult a central database before becoming active. This database would tell the devices what frequencies were available and what power could be used, and would co-ordinate use countrywide to avoid interference with TV, wireless microphones and other existing users. It could also be used to shut down or modify services if interference was detected.

The first commercial use of white-space technology could happen in the UK by 2013, Ofcom said, noting that trials were already under way in Bute and Cambridge. This puts the country ahead of the rest of the world in planned deployment, and would give the UK a head start in helping to define international standards for more widespread use, the regulator said.

Google Explores Re-Ranking Search Results Using +1 Button Data

Google is making plans to turn its +1 button into a crowdsourcing tool that helps it re-order search results and fight web spam.

While not surprising, the move would bring Google’s search engine into the social networking era, while simultaneously creating a new avenue for blackhats to manipulate search results and potentially incurring the wrath of trust-busting authorities.

Google confirmed its plans in an e-mail to Wired.com.

“Google will study the clicks on +1 buttons as a signal that influences the ranking and appearance of websites in search results,” a spokesman wrote. “The purpose of any ranking signal is to improve overall search quality. For +1’s and other social ranking signals, as with any new ranking signal, we’ll be starting carefully and learning how those signals are related to quality.”

But these plans are a touchy subject for the search giant, especially given the scrutiny that Google is under from regulators in Washington and Europe over complaints that the company’s results favor its own products over those of other companies.

As if to underscore that point, Google prefaced its admission of the +1 search integration project to Wired.com with a statement downplaying its potential significance: “There are more than 200 signals that we use to determine the rank of a website, and last year we made more than 500 improvements to the algorithm.”

Introduced in March, the +1 sharing button debuted with little incentive for web surfers to click on it. If you +1-ed a story on a website that embedded the button, your profile picture would display next to the URL when a friend of yours ran a search with results that included that URL.

But last week, the button entered adolescence, and can now be used to post stories to friends and followers on Google+, much as the Like button functions for Facebook.

So the next step of using what people are liking, sharing and buzzing about online to rearrange search results is obvious enough.

Google dipped its toe into these waters with Twitter by licensing its stream of Tweets, but that agreement ended before Google got so far as to figure out how to do more with the fire hose of real-time information than just decorate pre-computed search results with Tweeters’ profile pictures.

And as for Facebook? Google would love to get at its data — the way that Bing is already — but the two companies go together like toothpaste and orange juice. Facebook will likely never let Google anywhere near its data stream, which meant that Google had to build in its own social network.

But therein lies the rub. If Google’s search results become heavily dependent on social signals from Google+, then there’s going to be heavy pressure on the net’s websites to embed the Google+ button.

And depending on where you work — say, Facebook or the Justice Department — that could look like Google is unfairly using its search engine might to boost its Facebook alternative.

That might explain why Forbes killed a story by Kashmir Hill entitled “Stick Google Plus Buttons On Your Pages, Or Your Search Traffic Suffers” which was seemingly based on information from a meeting with Google ad representatives. On August 18, Hill wrote, “the message in this meeting was clear: “Put a Plus One button on your pages or your search traffic will suffer.”

Hill followed up with Google’s press team. which gave Hill the same carefully couched answer it gave Wired.

But the story quickly disappeared from Forbes’ website and from the Google cache, though it was noticed and saved by the Raven Tools SEO blog.

One guesses the tone of the post — and its headline — rankled someone somewhere.

Forbes, Hill and Google all declined to talk on the record about the post that disappeared into the memory hole.

That silence says as much as you need to know about the touchiness involved in integrating a Google +1 button with Google’s search box.

But Google’s biggest weakness is the possibility that someone will figure out how to build a better search engine — and there’s many who bet the way to do that is to make search involve more of a human touch and less of a machine’s.

indeed, Google’s interest in incorporating +1s into its search ranking algorithm might also explain Google’s hard line position in the so-called Nym wars. Google is being adamant that users of its new social networking tool use their real names. In its zeal to root out fakers and people using pseudonyms, Google has deleted legitimate profiles and raised the ire of those who defend the need for pseudonyms on the internet’s identity platforms.

But if Google’s going to start using those +1 votes, the company is virtually inviting the world’s spammers and blackhat SEO magicians to flood its social networking system with fake profiles and fake votes — potentially ruining it and possibly making the problem of search spam even worse.

 

What to look forward to in WordPress 3.3

As has come to be expected from the WordPress development team, the proposed specifications for version 3.3 were drafted just days after the release of 3.2. With distraction-free writing (a “zen mode”, if you will) and a new default theme among the many features of version 3.2, what could be next on the horizon?
At this year’s annual WordCamp San Franscico (which many attendees refer to as the WordPress family reunion), various core members of the WordPress team, including Matt Mullenweg, co-founding developer of WordPress, had much to say about the evolution and current development of WordPress, as well as the future to come and, in particular, version 3.3. While there is surely much to come in version 3.3, one feature that many are anticipating, that was mentioned on several ocassions, is a responsive WordPress admin.
With the recent move to HTML5, CSS3 and responsive CSS media queries, it seems the next logical move is for WordPress to create a responsive admin area that looks appropriate across mobile, tablet, desktop and larger computer monitors. One question I have is, how will this affect the use of the native WordPress mobile applications that have been rolled out across iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia and Windows Phone?
Another much-discussed and highly anticipated feature is the revamping of the WordPress’ media management system. While this has been on the cards and in the WordPress Development blog for some time now, it’s great to see it getting the revamp it so willingly deserves. I’m certain the significant delays to this were with good reason and that the end result will be one well worth waiting for.
These are just two of the many features, upgrades and optimisations that are sure to be bundled with WordPress 3.3, we’ll need to wait and see if the rest of the proposed scope is met for this version’s release.
As with all flourishing communities and projects, the WordPress world is never quiet. Along with the proposed specifications for WordPress 3.3′s development, the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is rounding to a close. The WordPress file uploader was one of the projects involved in the GSoC. Along with this are WordPress Move and Local Storage Drafts backup (storing drafts using HTML5′s local storage feature, I believe).
For an insight into the current state of WordPress and the WordPress community worldwide, I’d recommend watching Matt Mullenweg’s “State of the Word” 2011 address at the above-mentioned WordPress Family Reunion.

 

4 Biggest Lies About Social Media

You cannot have social media goals. It’s like having copy machine goals. The copy machine is a business tool, and if you need it, it’s there to help you meet one of your business goals. Treat social media the same way.

The best way to understand which tools will help meet which goals is to cut through the crap that the buzz is built on. Figure out who is really using social media to meet their goals, and how they are doing it.

Lie #1: LinkedIn is for networking.

Networking should be at the forefront of every entrepreneur’s mind. Research from the Darden School of Business shows that startups are most likely to succeed when the founder is great at networking. But LinkedIn isn’t going to help you on that front.

LinkedIn is for displaying your network, not building it. For example, you can go on LinkedIn and find out that I’m really well connected. But most of you already know I’m well connected — I’m a print journalist, blogger, and startup founder, which are all very network-intensive jobs. Which means I didn’t build my network via LinkedIn networking tools. I built it offline.

Networks are built on relationships, which grow from conversation. LinkedIn is not for conversations. So you need to go somewhere else to build your network, and then when it’s big, display it on LinkedIn so you’ll look great.

Lie #2: Twitter is for conversation.

Twitter is an index of people with whom you might want to talk. It’s a great index — you can search by topic to find out who is interested in what, and then talk to them about mutually interesting topics. It used to be that you’d have to suffer through endlessly boring events at conferences striking up conversation to find the people to talk to later. Twitter makes that conference drudgery superfluous; you can talk to anyone you want, by topic or specialty, super fast.

The problem with using Twitter for conversation is that you’re going to need way more than 140 characters to make a genuine connection. So Twitter is great for finding people who have similar ideas, and for keeping track of them in a high-level way.

But you still need to go elsewhere — offline or online — to solidify the relationship to the point where you would actually care about each other in the way a solid network connection does, but Twitter is a good start.

Lie #3: Blogs are personal journals.

A personal blog is a record of what you’re thinking, and that record will represent you online, as a high-ranking search result when someone googles you or your company. So stop using your blog as a diary.

Use a blog as an intellectual exercise to force you into thinking in a disciplined way about things that interest you (or your company). The blogosphere is a cocktail party for the intelligentsia. Make sure you are a part of that so that you can help shape ideas as they grow. There’s no better tool for PR than wielding influence as a blogger.

CEOs from companies like Zappos and Fog Creek Software are well known for leveraging their personal blogs to create the core messages of the company brand.

Lie #4: With social media you can get people to do [fill in the blank]

Social media is about being nice. The people who are best at meeting their goals through social media are the most generous as well. When you use social media, give way more than you get. And remember that giving something that requires someone to do something for you (Download my book! Test out my free software!) is not giving. Ask people how you can help them. Read enough about someone to understand what they need and then surprise them. Be interesting without expecting anything in return. You could think of social media as its own economy: Interestingness is the currency; kindness is the way that currency is transported.

 

Google's Blogger refresh

It's easy to forget that more than a decade ago, when 'blog' was still a nascent buzzword, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams launched a service that would help propel blogging into the mainstream.

That service, Blogger, was acquired by Google in 2003, and a year later, Williams left to pursue new opportunities.

Under Google's watch, Blogger has gone from one of the most popular self-publishing services on the internet to a has-been in a market that is now dominated by platforms and services like WordPress and Tumblr.

In fact, according to the figures compiled by Web Technology Surveys, WordPress controls nearly 55% of the blogging market. Blogger? Less than 3% of blogs are now hosted on the once-prominent service.

While Blogger certainly isn't crucial to Google's core business, the company must have some disappointment over Blogger's decline. After all, blogging is an important market, and many blogs are monetized by Google AdSense.

But unlike some of Google's other acquisitions which went into decline after the search giant took the reigns, Google hasn't shuttered Blogger. In fact, it's still investing in its development.

Yesterday, Google announced a significant makeover to Blogger. The goal: make it a more competitive tool. To that end, Google has "streamlined [the] blogging experience", making it easier to add or edit posts from any screen, providing a more spacious editor, and overhauling the Blogger dashboard.