OECD Essentially Says It Doesn't Have a Clue What to Do

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says that world economic growth has slowed and will remain that way for some time. That isn't so much a problem. The bigger problem is that OECD doesn't seem to be able to explain why this recovery is unlike most others, and what can be done to get a more normal-looking return to growth, which would, at this point, be largely about employment growth.

Like so many other think tanks and experts, it seems satisfied to throw up its hands and say that there is no reasonable way for growth to be restored, says Doug McIntyre.

We ought to be skeptical about "experts" who cannot explain what is happening and for this reason cannot offer helpful policy advice. Arguing that some approaches be taken because that is what has been done in the past does not necessarily help if the economy is behaving in a different way.
Perhaps because this recession is unlike others? If that is so, we are going to face unusual dangers. Our experts might not know what to recommend. Worse, they might give flawed advice.
The agency says that “Growth in the Group of Seven countries is expected to be around1.5 percent on an annualized basis in the second half of 2010. U.S. GDP is expected to be in the 1.2 percent range in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The analysis concludes that the recovery from the recession is no recovery at all. What the OECD does not do is suggest what might be done to reverse the problem. Maybe they have no clue.
Read more: OECD Say Global Expansiton Will Slow - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2010/09/09/oecd-say-global-expansiton-will-slow/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FRyNm+%2824%2F7+Wall+St.%29#ixzz0z1pXaUEI

OECD Say Global Expansiton Will Slow

Google, Verizon Began Their Net Neutrality Talks 2 Years Ago

Very few people know that the highly controversial efforts by Google and Verizon to hammer out their own proposal for a broadband policy framework started nearly two years ago.

By 2008, Verizon had been slowly coming around to the ideas of openness that Google espoused -- at least relative to some of its fellow telecom giants, like AT&T.

Google, Verizon and the FCC: Inside the War Over the Internet's Future - DailyFinance

'Google Instant' On Smartphones: 4G Implications

 The beauty of "Google Instant" is that it could save users a lot of typing on a mobile keyboard, which is a hassle, especially if your phone has no physical keyboard. But there is another angle of importance to mobile service providers with fast 3G connections or 4G.

The use case might be that a user starts with voice search, which then displays results as the user is speaking.

As you say the words the search engine is not only trying to guess the next word in the phrase, but is also displaying search results for the search terms it’s guessing. But that is going to be a better experience with a faster mobile connection.

It isn't "the" killer app for 4G, but it will help differentiate the experience from the same app running on a 3G network, at least potentially.

'Google Instant' On Smartphones

Twitter Has Become a News Platform

Twitter has become a form of media, whether that is helpful to traditional media, or not; whether people like it or not.

Twitter is a publishing tool, and shows again how IP-based technologies, the Internet and the Web are transforming any number of legacy businesses, from retailing to telecommunications to video and music to education.

Like It or Not, Twitter Has Become a News Platform

Google Instant Will Save 350 Million Hours Of User Time Per Year

Productivity is hard to measure, but Google engineer Ben Gomes points out that Google serves up billions of queries every day, and that the average query length is 20 characters and the average time for a user to pick a result takes 15 seconds.

Google’s latest feature launch is all about speeding up this process.

“Google Instant will save 350 million hours of user time, over a year,” says Google VP Marissa Mayer. basing her estimate on a figure of each instant search saving two to five seconds of user time, in places where Google Instant is rolled out.

Google Instant Will Save 350 Million Hours Of User Time Per Year

Is Google Instant A Revolution in Search?

Google Instant will become the core search experience on Google.com for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE 8. It also will be offered to users in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the U.K. who are signed in and have Instant-capable browsers. Over the coming weeks and months, Google Instant will berolled to all geographies and platforms.

Google Search Impressions Will Change Because of "Google Instant"

As Google Instant rolls out widely, the raw number of ads displayed per query will inevitably increase as Google displays a sequence of best guesses about its users' desired queries and shows results for the top guess.

For example, a search for 'a' displays results and ads for Amazon.com; an 'e' search does the same for eBay.com. That is going to require some tweaking of what an "impression" is.

To qualify as an impression, an ad exposure must last for at least three seconds, Google now says.

Even with that calculation in place, the effective click-through rate experienced by many Google advertisers may change.

Google Instant Will Impact Search Ads and SEO

Google Unveils Instant Mobile Search

Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as users type. Google's key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page.

The most obvious change is that users should get to the right content much faster than before because they don’t have to finish typing a full search term, or even press “search.” Another shift is that seeing results as one types helps people formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. Users can adapt their searches on the fly until the results match exactly what they want. 

Google Instant can save 2 seconds to 5 seconds per search, Google estimates. The new algorithms also will make smarter predications about what any user might be looking for. 

link

Using Google Instant

Google Instant is largely about accurately predicting what a user is looking for, allowing you to stop typing before completing the thought. Google says this can save two to five seconds per search, but if you're a fast typist and smart searcher, it's probably less.

Still, having your thoughts completed by a machine and the results automatically delivered is different.

Using Google Instant: 5 Quick Takeaways

Google Instant Makes SEO Irrelevant

Google's new "Google Instant" search refinement might have direct implications for search engine optimization, in fact eliminating much of the value of bothering with SEO.

With Google Instant, no two people will see the same web. Until now, a single search would return the same results for a particular search query, to anybody who typed the same query. That's what made search engine optimization work.

If people start tweaking their searches in real-time, behavior will change, lessening the odds that multiple users will type exactly the same search terms.

Google Instant means no one will see the same web anymore, making optimizing it virtually impossible. Real-time feedback will change and personalize people's search behaviors, says Steve Rubel.

Google Instant Makes SEO Irrelevant

Google Unveils Instant Mobile Search

Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as users type. Google's key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page.

The most obvious change is that users should get to the right content much faster than before because they don’t have to finish typing a full search term, or even press “search.” Another shift is that seeing results as one types helps people formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. Users can adapt their searches on the fly until the results match exactly what they want. 

Google Instant can save 2 seconds to 5 seconds per search, Google estimates. The new algorithms also will make smarter predications about what any user might be looking for. 

link

QuickPay Unveils Mobile Credit Card Swiper

In partnership with ROAM Data, QuickPay Merchant Services nows offer the ROAMpay credit card swiper for smart phones.

The ROAMpay device allows merchants who use smart phones to process credit cards wirelessly safely. This swiper is compatible with the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid and also be used with the new Apple iPad. Merchants will have all the same functions as using a traditional credit card terminal but just will have the ability to accept payments in remote locations.

QuickPay Next to Market With Mobile Credit Card Swiper ROAMpay

How Much Did Apple 4 Antenna Issue Affect Potential Buying Interest?

Apple's iPhone 4 antenna issues might have cost Apple some sales. At least by one analysis, conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, as much as 20 percent of potential sales might have been affected.

All of that noted, Apple still seems to be selling iPhone 4 models as fast as it can get them built. Some 80 percent of respondents said the antenna issue had no effect on their thinking.

link to article

Gwallet launches mobile ad network

http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/08/gwallet-brings-offers-to-mobile-apps-partners-with-ad-exchange-mobclix/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

Bank of America seeks to evaluate mobile payments user experience

Technology isn't the issue; user experience is.

http://blogs.forrester.com/emmett_higdon/10-09-02-bank_america_seeks_evaluate_user_experience_not_technology_mobile_payments_pilot?cm_mmc=RSS-_-MS-_-1709-_-blog_1879

Something New from Google?

http://www.jatinmahindra.com/2010/09/08/is-google-about-to-give-results-while-you-type-your-query/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JatinMahindraDotCom+%28jatiN+mahindrA+doT+coM%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

iTunes app total downloads to overtake songs this year « asymco

http://www.asymco.com/2010/09/08/itunes-app-total-downloads-to-overtake-songs-this-year/

Google Logo Bounces

I have no idea why Google did this for a day, but I admit to mousing around and causing the balls to fly around the screen.

Why Apple And iPhone Have Already Won The Mobile Payment War

In a survey of 982 iPhone users, 756 users spent between $6 and $25 a month on apps, while 89 users spent over $26 a month on apps – which is the equivalent to buying one $0.99 app a day.

Close to 77 percent of all participants purchased content.

Why Apple And iPhone Have Already Won The Mobile Payment War

High-Definition Voice Initiative Launched in United Kingdom

XConnect, Polycom, BroadSoft and Dialogic are working together to promote the adoption of high-definition voice by service providers in the United Kingdom.

The initiative was launched in response to U.K. service providers’ interest in HD voice services. The HD initiative is designed to raise awareness and educate service providers about the benefits of HD voice and help them resolve implementation challenges.

As part of the initiative, XConnect announced that the XConnect Global HD Voice Federation is now open to HD voice-enabled service providers globally, following its successful launch in the United States.

First to join from the U.K. are service providers Simwood, SureVoIP and thevoicefactory.

The federation enables the exchange of HD voice calls among all participants, all interconnecting through XConnect’s carrier hub and routing through phone-number lookups via its carrier ENUM registry.