Week 13 - Course Evaluation

It's all over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I just finished the exam and this is my final blog which means goodbye to 1501ART!
I think I did ok in the exam - I think I passed so anything else is a bonus! I think one of the advantages of this course - in relation to the exam - is that it rewards people who put in the effort to turn up to lectures and tutorials. There was sooooooo many people in the exam today that i have NEVER seen in any lectures or tutes - it was actually really suprising when i walked in and the theatre was packed! Some of the specific questions about the screenings means that if you actually were there and saw the film you should have some idea - as opposed to people who don't come and may just look up the films on wikipedia!

I also found it good the way the questions werev structured. when it came time to start studying i was VERY overwhelmed at how many key people, key dates and key theories there were. The structure of the questions were good because if you had some idea about the subject of the question you could generally come up with a logical answer.

this course has actually been quite enjoyable! at first i wasn't a fan of the idea of having to keep a blog - but it's actually been quite helpful because it has forced me to keep thinking about the lectures and the themes of the course throughout the week - and not just in lectures.

i also found the content quite enjoyable - there were several lectures that interested me that i never thought would - the net art guest lecture was really interesting (and i actually exchanged emails with the speaker about a few interesting points he raised), and the video games lecture. two things that i previously wouldn't have given the time of day i have found myself taking an interest in and researching further and googling! also enjoyed the creative commons lecture

this course has opened my eyes (and thoughts) up to new things and i've found myself taking notice of newspaper articles related to blogging or new technologies and watching new programs about technologies (eg - i randomly stumbled across a four corners epidsode about second life and took an interest and ended up doing my assignment on the topic, and since then have actually stumbled across resaerch that i have since presented to the directors at my work)

well thats all i can think of for now

it's been fun but it's time for me to say goodbye to this course - and uni altogether as a matter of fact - after 16 years of schooling i'm about to enter the real world........and earn some REAL money!!!!

Bye Bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Essay

Marketing in Second Life: Get in or get out of the way!

“It’s what we always imagined the internet to be. We always imagined it to be full of other people. We called it Cyberspace, and we said that there were all these other people there, but when you’re actually on a website, there’s nobody else there. But in Second Life, there’s always somebody there.”

Phillip Rosedale, CEO Linden Labs (ABC Four Corners 19/03/2007)

Second Life is a virtual world created by Philip Rosedale and his company Linden Lab, that is built and owned entirely by its residents” (Harkin 2006). With around 20,000 people logged on at any one time, and resident dealings running to US$15 million a month, companies are beginning to realise the interactive marketing possibilities associated with this new communication technology (You Only Live Twice 2007). However, is it better for marketers to gain the benefits of associating with this movement white it’s still in its early stages? Or is it smarter to wait until its full potential is realised (Murphy 2007)? By exploring how Second Life differs from many other virtual worlds, its marketing potential, and focusing on the issues of law and terrorism, this essay will argue, it’s more advantageous for marketers to establish an early presence in Second Life, rather than waiting until its full potential becomes clear.

Second Life has four key features that differentiate it from many other virtual worlds and add to its appeal to residents. Firstly, Rosedale created a platform where residents develop the content, which means it’s expanding at an exponential pace, and truly engaging participants (You Only Live Twice 2007). Secondly, residents “retain full intellectual property for the digital content they create” (Second Life 2007a). Second Life has also committed to looking at ways to make licensing content under creative commons licenses simpler for creators (Linden Labs 2003). This means peoples work will be free from copyright, but their rights as the creator will still be legally protected (Muir 2007). Thirdly, Second Life has its own ‘in-world’ currency, Linden Dollars, which can be exchanged for real dollars (You Only Live Twice 2007). This means residents can sell their ‘in-world’ creations and make real profits. Lastly, Linden Labs has made the viewer source code open, enabling developers to make modifications to the end user software (Second Life 2007b). This also means users can customise the software for their own purpose (Muir 2007). By Linden Labs engaging with residents and allowing them to create content, retail full intellectual property for their creations, make real money and modify the source code, they’ve developed an interactive environment where marketers can reach and target audiences like never before.

Part of the appeal of Second Life for marketers “is that the virtual world more closely mimics human interaction than websites do”, so companies can target their customers in innovative ways (Cohan 2007). For example, Adidas and Reebok give customers the opportunity to customise and order shoes in Second Life which are then delivered to them in the real world (Murphy 2007). IBM recreated the Australian Tennis Open, shot for shot using their ball tracking technology, and ran it live in-world and allowed residents to see the game through the players eyes (You only Live Twice 2007). Dell allows customers to customise their own PC and have it shipped to them in the real-world (Hobson 2006); and retailers like American Apparel have created virtual stores allowing residents to test jeans before they’re released (Musante 2007).

Despite all the hype, however, a research firm found 72% of 200 respondents “were disappointed with real world company activities in Second Life” (Wagner 2007). Although this isn’t because of a lack of desire, because respondents also stated “they would like to be able to interact more with the brands represented” (Wagner 2007). A Second Life marketing campaign can reach over 1.7 million people (residents that had logged in to Second Life in the last 60 days on 26 May 2007: Second Life 2007c), and those who experience it spend one to five hours engaging with it; which is impressive considering online advertisers measure engagement in seconds (Musante 2007).

Second Life converges social interactions into a digital format on the internet allowing marketers greater opportunities for engagement, so there’s no point replicating 2D experiences in a 3D world. Don’t just “create yet another brand island and assume people will come” (Marketing Week 2007). Second Life is about escapism and realising your fantasies, so when establishing an ‘in-world’ presence, stay true to Second Life values. The key is to invest time experimenting and researching the Second Life community and possible applications before investing money (Zimmer 2006). Because, “if marketers don’t tread carefully, fully understand what they are getting into, converse with and understand clearly the mindset of the people who live in the world they are entering, a disastrous backlash will occur and all parties will lose” (Hall 2006a).

An example of the backlash taking place because of the recent influx of big brands into Second Life is the rising occurrence of ‘in-world’ terrorism. The Second Life Liberation Army (SLLA) claims it’s campaigning for democracy and greater rights for users, and is targeting corporation’s in-world because they feel they are taking over and Second Life is being oversold (Dvorsky 2007). Virtual ‘bombs ‘were recently used to target ‘in-world’ stores owned by Reebok and American Apparel (Stuff.co.nz 2007), and during the course of writing this essay ABC Island was also attacked (Ninemsn staff 2007), and this is something big businesses open themselves up to by entering Second Life.

Another issue beyond marketers control in Second Life is law in virtual worlds; a “victim of the techno-legal time-gap” (Hirst & Harrison 2007; pg 283). The argument is where you draw the line between two sets of regulation: the Terms of Service agreement (TOS), which sets ‘in-world’ rules; or the real law and how it extends into virtual worlds (Four Corners Backgrounder 2007b). Things like tax, copyright, property ownership, civil laws and jurisdiction all have to be explored. For example, if two parties dispute about an item sold and take the issue to a court, how is the court going to apply the law ‘in-world’ (You Only Live Twice 2007)? A case is currently before US courts (Bragg v Linden Labs) disputing a sale of virtual land; and a US congressional committee is currently investigating how to regulate in virtual worlds and how virtual assets and income should be taxed (Reuters 2006). It may therefore be more beneficial for marketers to get in early and establish a presence ‘in-world’ before the currently blurred area law becomes clear and possibly drives residents away.

Second Life, like all new communication technologies, has benefits and risks. It’s a 3D virtual world where residents create most of the content, own the rights to their creations, can make real-world profits and modify the source code, which engages audiences and provides companies with new marketing potential. Though one of the risks brands expose themselves to is overselling themselves and being the target of ‘in-world’ terrorism. Yet if marketers are cautious about imposing a commercial presence by investing time before money, stay true to the Second Life values of escapism and realising fantasies and offer customers an authentic and interactive 3D experience they have the potential to reach an audience of over 1.7 million people (Second Life 2007c). However when the techno-legal time-gap catches up, and residents find themselves paying taxes on their virtual profits and having real-world courts governing their avatars, virtual worlds may suffer; which is why it’s beneficial for marketers to establish an early presence and gain the benefits of associating with a new medium while the audiences remain. Therefore, despite the risks, it is more advantageous for marketers to get in early and establish an engaging and interactive presence in Second Life to experiment and take advantage of being an early adopter of this emerging medium, before official positions on law, and real life issues such as terrorism take over and potentially drive audiences away.

1,150 words

Bibliography

· Brandon, John 2007, ‘Top 8 corporate sites in Second Life: Real-world business is booming in the 3-D digital landscape’, Computer World, text, http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9018238&pageNumber=1 (accessed 25/05/2007).
· Cohan, Jillian 2007, ‘Living a Second Life: For some the virtual community is pure entertainment. For others, it’s the web’s second coming’, Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, 4 March, 1.
· Dvorsky, George 2007, ‘Second Life’s in-world terrorism and the struggle for digital rights’, text, http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/03/02/202254.php (accessed 24/05/2007).
· Four Corners Backgrounder 2007a, ‘A hitchhiker’s guide to the virtual world’, ABC Television, text, http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s1876121.html (accessed 24/05/2007).
· Four Corners Backgrounder 2007b, ‘Virtual rules – real life lawyers and Second Life avatars’, ABC Television, text, http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s1876068.htm (accessed 24/05/2007).
· Hall, Steve 2006 (a), ‘New marketing company launches in Second Life, some not happy’, text, http://www.adrants.com/2006/10/new-marketing-company-launches-in-second-life.php (accessed 28/04/2007).
· Hall, Steve 2006 (b), ‘Marketers will not destroy Second Life’, text, http://www.adrants.com/2006/10/marketers-will-not-destroy-second-life.php (accessed 24/05/2007).
· Harkin, James 2006, ‘Get a (second) life’, Financial Times Arts & Weekend Magazine, 17 November, text, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cf9b81c2-753a-11db-aea1-0000779e2340.html (accessed 29/03/2007).
· Hirst, Martin & Harrison, John 2007, ‘Communication and new media: From broadcast to narrowcast’, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
· Hobson, Neville 2006, ‘Dell means business in Second Life’, http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2006/11/15/dell-means-business-in-second-life (accessed 28/04/2007).
· Human Rights Watch 1992, ‘New communications technologies and traditional civil liberties’, text, http://www.totse.com/en/privacy/electrif.html (accessed 28/04/2007).
· Lewis, Joe 2007, ‘Second Life: Marketing fool’s gold?’, text, http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/04/03/second-life-marketing-fool-s-gold (accessed 28/04/2007).
· Linden Labs 2003, ‘Second Life residents to own digital creations’, press release, http://lindenlab.com/press/releases/03_11_14 (accessed 27/05/2007).
· Marketing Week, ‘Coca-Cola to launch on virtual world Second Life’, Marketing Week London, 19 April, 6.
· Mauriac, Dedric 2007, ‘Virtual World 2007 Conference: Learnings’, text, http://freshtakes.typepad.com/sl_communicators/intellectual_property/index.html (accessed 24/05/2007).
· Muir, Adam 2007, ‘Creative commons/free & open source software’, week 12 1501ART New Communication Technologies lecture, Faculty of Arts, Griffith University, 25 May.
· Murphy, Claire 2007, ‘Another World of Opportunity’, Marketing, 14 March, 18.
· Musante, Kenneth 2007, ‘Second-guessing Second Life: Is this virtual playground worth your marketing dollars?’, text, http://www.adotas.com/2007/03/second-guessing-second-life-is-this-virtual-playground-worth-your-marketing-dollars/ (accessed 24/05/2007).
· Ninemsn staff 2007, ‘ABC Island destroyed in Second Life attack’, text, http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=268775 (accessed 24/05/2007).
· Reuters, Adam 2006, ‘US Congress launches probe into virtual economies’, text, http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2006/10/15/us-congress-launchs-probe-into-virtual-economies/ (accessed 24/05/2007)
· Second Life 2007(a), ‘IP rights’, text, http://secondlife.com/whatis/ip_rights.php (accessed 27/05/2007).
· Second Life 2007(b), ‘Open source’, text, http://secondlife.com/developers/opensource/faq (accessed 27/05/2007).
· Second Life 2007(c), ‘Second Life home page’, text, http://secondlife.com/ (accessed 26/05/2007).
· Silver Smith, Chris 2006, ‘Brave new future of SEO & SEMP marketing thru Second life’, text, http://www.naturalsearchblog.com/archives/2006/10/24/brave-new-future-of-seo-sem-marketing-thru-second-life/ (accessed 28/04/2007)
· Stockwell, Stephen 2007(a), ‘Virtual reality, virtual philosophy and the screen age’, week 5 1501ART New Communications Technologies lecture, Faculty of Arts, Griffith University, 30 April.
· Stockwell, Stephen 2007(b), ‘A history of the internet’, week 4 1501ART New Communications Technologies lecture, Faculty of Arts, Griffith University, 23 March.
· Stockwell, Steven 2007(c), ‘Cyberpolitics’, week 11 1501ART New Communication Technologies lecture, Faculty of Arts, Griffith University, 18 May.
· Stuff.co.nz 2007, ‘Vandals ‘bomb’ Second Life island’, text, http://www.stuff.co.nz/4069942a11275.html (accessed 24/05/2007).
· Terdiman, Daniel 2006, ‘IRS taxation of online game virtual assets inevitable’, text, http://news.com.com/IRS+taxation+of+online+game+virtual+assets+inevitable/2100-1043_3-6140298.html (accessed 24/05/2007)
· Wagner, James Au 2007, “Marketing in Second Life doesn’t work…here’s why!’, text, http://gigaom.com/2007/04/04/3-reasons-why-marketing-in-second-life-doesnt-work/ (accessed 28/04/2007)
· You Only Live Twice 2007, Four Corners, television production, ABC Television, Reporter Ticky Fullerton.
· Zimmer, Linda 2006, ‘Second Life: tips for business’, text, http://freshtakes.typepad.com/sl_communicators/intellectual_property/index.html (accessed 24/05/2007).

Week 11 Tutorial Task - Microsoft Excel

Well I just completed this tutorial task and i must say that i was expecting it to be just like the Microsoft Word tutorial task....easy and boring.........but it wasn't!

I DISCOVERED A PROBLEM!!! yay for me!!! In exercise 2: formulas, it says to enter the formula "=IF(F2>0,$Gain$, $Loss$)". however i found that by entering this code an error message came up. but through my investigating i found that the formula should actually be "=IF(F2>0,"Gain', "Loss")". and by doing this i got the correct result!

I also found the Macros exercise hard - i was going fine until when i had to 'assign macro' and got completely lost?!?!?

This exercise was useful though as it made me realise the potential that Excel has - and perhaps I still have a lot more to learn about it!

I use this software quite frequently at work when I have to keep track of money coming in from sponsorships/charities etc!

Week 10 Tutorial Task - Using Microsoft Word

This weeks tutorial task required us to complete a heap of exercises in Microsoft Word. These Exercises included typing, changing words to bold and italic, mail merging, tracking changes, spacing and headers and footers.

I didn't encounter any problems throughout this exercise and actually found this task WAY TOO SIMPLE!!!

I think I found it easy because I have to use this software on a day-to-day basis at my job and use tools such as mail merge daily to save time. Also, being at uni for over three years now, I have learnt how to track changes and use headers and footers for assignments.

I can see that this software will continue to be useful for me in my work life as simple things, such as the one's used during this exercise, often save massive amounts of time (ie mail merge and track changes) and help letters and documents look better and more professional (ie headers and footers, bold, italic).

I'm not sure what else to write about this task really - apart from that it was quite easy......

Week 8 Tutorial Task - 3D Worlds

For this weeks tutorial task we had to log into a 3D world and play around and compare them to your typical MSN and other instant messenger programs (I generally use MSN as a comparison as that's just what I'm use to!)

The first place that I logged into was Habbo Hotel. Firstly, I found the whole logging in process very easy, I thought it would be harder and more complex than it was. I basically put in my email and password then I was onto the fun stuff of choosing my cute outfit and diving straight into different public places. I went to the welcome lounge, cinema, comedy cafe and the park. Apart from the obvious differences, I kind of found that the experience was kind of tedious - like the clicking to where you want to go - and one of the things that frustrated me was when you were chatting to someone you could only really type one line of text - whereas with MSN you can write a good couple of paragraphs. Also, I found there was a slight delay with the messaging - maybe this is getting too technical but you know how with MSN once you hit enter the text is up - in Habbo I found there was a tiny delay which got a little frustrating. Also, with MSN you can see when the other person is typing - in Habbo you can't - so there were times when I was standing there unsure of whether the person I was talking to was typing something back at all. Another thing was that you could see what everyone else was typing and it kind of got a bit distracting. I know that I went to public places but there were different conversations happening all over the place and if you missed what the other person you were talking to typed then it disappears pretty quickly and (unlike MSN, again) you can't scroll back and see what they said. When I was in the park there were two people having a domestic because 'Ashlee17' had cheated on 'Roger5' and he was running around the park telling everyone!!! lol

In terms of the different socialising that took place - I actually found it very similar to old school seedy chatrooms. Every person I spoke to, the first thing they wanted to know was 'asl' or 'what do u look like' - which in itself is kind of funny because people generally come into these virtual worlds to escape/hide that kind of stuff. Again, I know that I was in public rooms but I still found it kind of creepy and seedy - like there were A LOT of like 14-16 year old girls on there and again, just made me think of old school seedy chat rooms!

To me the 3D aspect didn't make that much of a difference! I like the simplicity and ease of MSN - as i stated before, I like that it is actually instant, you can see when someone else is typing, and you can block people etc. I like MSN because I can have it up and chat to my friends while doing other things - with Habbo you basically have to constantly sit there in case you miss anything. And MSN can still be interactive - like emoicons and things like that - although they may appear to be 'lame', to me Habbo just had more 'fluff' and lacked the basics that I know I like about MSN.

I also attempted to log into Active Worlds - but after 4 attempts it wouldn't work and kept automatically closing on me. I am also looking at Second Life for my assignment - so this tutorial task was interesting as a personal comparison in regards to what I already know about Second Life!

Week 5 Tutorial Task - Photoshop Part 1

Friends

(Photo taken by a friend with my Olympus IR-300 camera)

This picture was taken at the start of this year. Me and my girlfriends from high school went to Odyssey at Dreamworld for new years eve. To me this picture illustrates 'friends' because we left high school four years ago and even though we don't see each other as much as we used to, we still love each other and love hanging out after all this time - which is what friendship is about really!


High-Tech

(A ScanEagle UAV sits on the launcher prior to a flight supporting Marine Expeditionary Force personnel in Iraq. Photo by Boeing)

This is a picture of a Scan Eagle. The Scan Eagle is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle which provides real time imagery that allows tactical commanders to develop a clearer picture of the battlefield. To me this photo represents high-tech because I work for Boeing and see the technology and brains etc that goes behind this vehicle and also know what amazing potential it has.

News

(Photo of Rupert Murdoch from Americanprogress.org)

This my be very cynical but when I think of news, I think of the man who often controls the news we see...Mr Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News Limited/News Corp. He publishes hundreds of newspapers worldwide, owns the Fox network, 20th Century Fox, TV networks, cable channels and much much more.

Summer

(Photo of Fiji from travelblog.com)

This photo of Fiji makes me think of summer because that's where I want to be this summer. As a graduation/21st present to myself I'm saving up to go to Fiji for 10 days with a group of friends.

Unconventional

(Photo taken by a friend with my Olympus IR-300 camera)

I found this one a bit hard...unconventional?!?! I was looking through my pictures on my computer and found this one of me and two of my girlfriends surfing on a fake wave at Dreamworld on new years eve and thought it was unconventional.....I mean how often do YOU see three girls all dolled up surfing with stilettos on and hand bags and drinks in hand?!?!?

Uni life

(Photo from Griffith University Graduation home page)

This picture to me illustrates what uni is all about.......GRADUATING. All though I've had a lot of fun at uni and made lots of new friends, this is my last semester and with only 5 weeks (hey whose counting?!) of classes left this is all that I have on my mind at the moment!

Week 4 Tutorial Task - Search Engines

Library Search Engines

The Topic I have chosen for my essay is virtual worlds/communities. Below are three articles I found through database searches on factiva and proquest, and details of what I found interesting/important in these articles and how they have helped me formulate my essay topic (please note that I wrote each of these summaries straight after each article so my notes are also written as I'm formulating my ideas as I go along):

1. 2 worlds forge new reality: Cyberspace is no longer just a flat screen now that 3-D realms are popping up for companies and consumers to plant their flags -- from virtual training to virtual communities to virtual personalities. This article has several interesting points about virtual worlds such as Second Life, which is where my interest in this topic began! It talks about how companies are starting to realise the marketing potentials of these virtual worlds - which is something I would like to further research and explore as a possible topic for my essay. The American Cancer Society created an 'in world' online relay to raise funds. Also, there are now 'virtual' classrooms where you don't have to physically attend uni anymore, but rather can get an education 'in world'. Something that I also found particularly interesting is there are even car dealerships that are getting in on the action and have created online dealerships and test tracks. One of the most interesting things I got out of this article is that the first of its kind Virtual Worlds Conference was held just over a month ago in New York - which I will look into further as well.
2. Another world of Opportunity. This article is about the enormous marketing potential Second Life has - and whether this is a good or bad thing (at this early stage) for marketers). It has quite a few great examples from Vodafone, Penguin books, Adidas and Reebok who are all getting in early and establishing a presence in Second Life. This article helped me to narrow down my essay topic slightly - initially I was looking at exploring the marketing potential in virtual worlds/communities, but now (after realising how much information is out there and what a MASSIVE task it would be) I am going to focus solely on Second Life - as I think that in itself is a very big task. The conclusion of this article really struck a chord with me and i think it's what I'm going to explore as a more specific topic for my essay: Considering Second Life's possibilities , is it more advantageous for marketers (and brands) to be an early adopter or to wait until its full potential becomes clearer?
3. Second Life: Marketing Fool's Gold?. This article was helpful in that it helped get down to some of the nitty-gritty points and arguments that I further explore. It begins to look at the thought process associated with marketers and brands embracing new advertising platforms such as Second Life. Two of the key points raised in this article were that Second Life is further threatened by corporate It backlash - a recent survey found that 62% of IT professionals find it essential to block users from accessing the model from their corporate PCs for reasons such as IT security risks, burden to company bandwidth and wasting valuable business time - which raises the issue: it's difficult to market to Second Lifers when their access is being blocked. And secondly, the article posed the argument that brands are not staying true to the Second Life values of escapism and realising your fantasies by simply mimicking their real life experiences. 70% of residents are disappointed by the branded experience - so when 70% of your audience is disappointed, your strategy isn't working.

Scavenger Hunt

1 - Weight of the world's biggest pumpkin is 1,502 pounds (Source: http://www.pumpkinnook.com/giants/record.htm)
2 - The easiest, quickest way to contact Grant Hackett is to contact his management, International Quarterback, Ph: 07 3252 2311 (Source: http://www.iqsport.com.au/default.aspx?s=clientprofile&cid=10)
3 - The length of a giraffe's tongue can measure 18 inches (Source: http://www.kcmo.org/kc150.nsf/web/tamandua?opendocument)
4 - Ontology is the study of being or existence (Source: http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/ontology)
5 - David Cronenberg's first feature film was Shivers (Source: http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/2234/david_cronenbergs_history_of_violence) 6 - The original 'Hacker's Manifesto' was written January 8 1986 (Source: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~soules/media112/hacker.htm)
7 - All phone numbers in Hollywood start with '555' because when phone numbers were used in movies they didn't have an area code so people all across America with this number and different variations on the area code were getting thousands of phone calls a day from die hard film fans. The telephone company then set aside phone numbers beginning with '555' - that were actually dead phone numbers - to be used in movies to prevent this ordeal happening(Source: http://www.eonline.com/print/index.jsp?uuid=15c80ea6-9c1f-4c67-8f5f-6af2efaf7145&contentType=answerBitch)
8 - The cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes is by boat/ferry
(Source: http://www.greecetravel.com/rhodes/travel.htm)
9 - I'll Never Find Another You by The Seekers was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965 (Source: http://www.menziesera.com/number_1_hits/1965.shtml)
10 - Steven Stockwell does keyboard and vocals for The Black Assassins (Source: http://blackassassins.net/)

Search Engines

What is a search engine?
To me a search engine is an online tool that allows you to look for something specific on the Internet.
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the Internet?
They generally rank stuff in relation to relevance.
Who/what determines what search result goes before another?
MONEY (of course)! People and companies can pay a premium to Google, for example, that will rank their page the highest when someone types in the words ‘Melbourne’ and ‘shopping’, or ‘rugby league’ and ‘equipment’; this is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
What are some of your favourite search engines and why?
My favourite search engine, or the one I use the most, is probably Google. I just find it quick and simple. I also don’t mind yahoo and altavista – but still think Google is much simpler.
Can you find some current news stories about search engines?

• WebGuild.org today announced the launch of its Search Engine Awards to recognize industry leadership, outstanding achievement, and innovation in the search engine industry (http://www.sys-con.com/read/367042.htm)
• Global Property Search Engine (GyPSE(TM)), the first global search engine focused solely on property and the property services industry, announced its membership to the Yellow Pages Association (YPA). (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,94976.shtml)
• Small businesses make up a significant percentage of all the businesses in Southern California and the state has more entrepreneurs per capita than any other. And like other businesses, new customer acquisition is what keeps that bottom line looking healthy. The Internet has leveled the playing field and allows SMBs to compete in ways they never could before. Search engines have changed the way people look for information about products and services - according to a Nielsen/NetRatings study 5.3 billion Internet searches were performed in February 2006, up from 3.8 billion in February 2005. Search is rapidly closing in on email as the primary daily activity online, making search engine marketing a vital skill for every business. (http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=18808)