Strange square on Gmail - Google Blogoscoped Forum
Been wondering about this. And now we know. Hide your frameborders Gmail! :-) I've Greasemonnkey'ed it to make it go away for now. It's like a scratch on my glasses that I cannot ignore.
Deryck Hodge
Jul 03, 2008 at 08:39 AM
Google's Cutts: Good directions drive traffic to your website - USATODAY.com
Nice USA Today article with Google's Matt Cutts on some simple guidelines for improving your visibility in search results. Everyone expects SEO magic bullets, but it really is amazing how much the simple things can get you better placement. I think, too, that many people have unrealistic expectations. Just do a good site, write yourself about the site, and get people interested in what you are doing, and the rest will follow.
Deryck Hodge
Jun 24, 2008 at 09:19 AM
doctype - Google Code
Google Doctype is, in Mark Pilgrim's own words, "an encyclopedia for web developers by web developers." Looks very cool. There are several parts to this. The first is using the wiki component of Google code hosting to document the Web (document from the developer's perspective). It's like Wikipedia just for web development. The second part is a library of JavaScript, CSS, and HTML reference code, largely a set of tests. It does include "goog" which looks to be a JavaScript library akin to YUI or mootools. Also, I was struck by Mark Pilgrim calling himself a "technical writer" in the Doctype video I just watched. There's a lot to use and understand here, and I'm only just beginning to read through all this. (Via Simon Willison.)
Deryck Hodge
May 15, 2008 at 08:11 AM
Google Friend Connect
I only looked at this briefly, but it looks to me like a lightweight way to implement open social on a site without having to be a full social gadget container. Or maybe better said it's one simple way into being a social gadget container site. I could very easily be misunderstanding this, since I only looked quickly at the pages. Will return to it later.... and comment more here when I do.
Deryck Hodge
May 13, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Social Graph API - Google Code
I have just gotten around to playing with this social query service from Google. It's pretty nice, I have to say. Basically, you query for a list of relationships against a certain URL, or group of URLs, and you get back the data in JSON. You can either parse the data directly in a callback function in JavaScript, or parse the structure in some server-side program. I'm quite sure I'll end up making use of this very soon.
Deryck Hodge
May 13, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Google App Engine - Google Code
Now that I've had a day or two to digest this, I think this plays a part in Google's Open Social efforts. One of the coolest features of App Engine is the Google account integration, which gets lost a little as people outline all the Big Table and other such features around scalability. So how do I see this playing in the larger Open Social picture? One of the hardest things about Facebook apps is trying to scale them, and Google has effectively taken this off the table. Of course, you could deploy a Facebook app from App Engine, but the integration points -- i.e. Google account integration -- fit better for Google-based social apps. And I do love that it does WSGI and smells a little like Django.
Deryck Hodge
Apr 09, 2008 at 07:30 AM
Google I/O
Saving this for later... I may try to attend. Looks interesting, and of course, Google-driven web development is something I have a bit of interest in. ;-)
Deryck Hodge
Mar 12, 2008 at 10:11 AM
Google Code Blog: YouTube APIs for developers and for... iguana enthusiasts
YouTube APIs get an update with lots of new features including video upload and customization options for the YouTube player. I've only glanced at the announcement, but the functionality is something my group at WPNI will certainly make use of in the next few weeks.
Deryck Hodge
Mar 12, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Gmail: AIM Integration
Gmail now allows logins to AIM via GTalk. I don't use the web version of GTalk much, but it's nice to know if I'm on the road somewhere I can get this all in one experience.
Deryck Hodge
Dec 05, 2007 at 07:28 AM
Slashdot | Google Pages to be Replaced by JotSpot
I always thought Google Pages was one of the weaker offerings from Google. It really serves no purpose, IMHO, since most non-tech people use a blog engine for simple publishing. This talk of what might be possible with Jot Spot -- intranets, etc. -- sounds more interesting and useful. Be interesting to see what comes of it.
Deryck Hodge
Dec 03, 2007 at 07:41 AM
Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: The anatomy of a search result
So how does Google determine what goes in the preview snippet from a site? Well, now you know! Matt Cutts does an 8 minute video explaining Google's snippets for search results.
Deryck Hodge
Nov 29, 2007 at 06:45 AM
Google Plans Service to Store Users' Data - WSJ.com
Having been involved with a couple early testing groups at Google and at Facebook (and knowing some of the history thereof), when I see something like this, I always assume someone leaked info and the article is likely not entirely accurate. :-) I'm sure there's some truth to it, but whether storage will be a new service or just part of existing services remains to be seen. Nice article, though, on where Google might fit within existing storage offerings.
Deryck Hodge
Nov 27, 2007 at 07:40 AM
YouTube - Campfire One: Introducing OpenSocial
Rob Curley and I were supposed to be at this, representing the Washington Post, but it just didn't work out. Oddly enough, we were working hard on a Facebook app that was just about the be released. Nice to see I can catch up on some of what I missed by not being there. Gotta love YouTube!
Deryck Hodge
Nov 08, 2007 at 08:49 AM
GmailGreasemonkey10API - gmail-greasemonkey - Google Code
Gmail now has a Greasemonkey api for accessing elements of the page. There is also a system to fire callback functions on certain Gmail specific events -- when the current view changes, like selecting an email from the Inbox. Looks promising. I most certainly will play with this and see if I can include something on it in my book. Been working on the Gmail chapter this week even. Nice timing!
Deryck Hodge
Nov 07, 2007 at 10:02 AM
Newsweek - Google Goes Globe Trotting
To train a new generation of leaders, the search giant sends young brainiacs on a worldwide mission.
Deryck Hodge
Nov 05, 2007 at 06:49 AM