Gmail and Google Apps went down. How many are left stranded?

It started just after 2:00pm PST on August 11, 2008. I was on the phone with a friend/client and planned to follow-up with information via email. Oh, “Temporary Error” - hmmm… turns out it was not that temporary.

What does one do when stranded by Gmail and Google Apps?

Here was my trouble-shooting and decision-making process: (more…)

Who will be next in search?
Is it possible to create a larger index than Google?
Can you change the landscape of search overnight?

The follow Big 3 (plus 1) are the leaders in search.

• Google
  
• Yahoo! Search
  
• Microsoft Live
• Ask

These guys are the reason we fret over Search Engine Optimization to ensure our websites get indexed. (Well, most of us just fret over Google.)

There is one guarantee about search - Changes are constant! Enter… a newcomer who announces they are the next search beast to be reckoned with.

Cuil

Cuil is a new search engine that claims it can index web pages significantly faster than Google. The interface for search results is similar to a 3-column magazine, sometimes showing thumbnail pictures inset into each article.

I wanted to learn more about Cuil, so I went to Google! Go, figure! I especially liked this snippet:

Cuil Stumbles out of the Gate - Jul 28, 2008

Stumble it did. It has the audience laughing!

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Social Media is now an alternative news source! Social Media offers ways for people to get their message out, to acquire and share information. We are the reporters and news aggregators! We’re helping others. I’m going to quickly cover how Twitter has become one alternative news source.

Broadcasting Twitter News

Twitter is a microblogging platform where people, world-wide, are communicating and broadcasting news. News is sent out as “tweets,” messages sent to Twitter. Each tweet is like a bird chirping, short and hopefully sweet – 140-characters or less. The conversation on Twitter may be as simple as updating what you are doing, posting links about informative or fun website articles, to providing information about fire and evacuations.

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