Journey of Internet web world wide

* There are over 100 million websites, 74 per cent are in the commercial or .com domain.

* Core search engines Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, and Ask.com collectively increased 15 percent in December 2007 in searches performed, compared to a year earlier, serving 9.6 billion searches in December 2006.

* More books are sold on the internet than any other product and the number is increasing, research suggests. Polling company Nielsen Online surveyed 26,312 people in 48 countries. 41% of internet users had bought books online, it said. The largest percentage of people buying books in any country was South Korea at 58%. Nielsen estimated that equated to 18m people. (BBC 21-01-2008). Twenty percent of US book sales and 17 percent of UK book sales are now made online.

* Youtube is the world’s third largest site, behind Google and Yahoo. One in five of the world’s internet users visit youtube each day. Nearly half of US internet users report visiting a video-sharing site like Youtube at least once.

* Twenty per cent of the world’s population, 1.17 to 1.33 billion people, now use the Internet. North America (72%) has the highest penetration, Africa (5%) the lowest.

* Only 30 per cent (380 million) of Internet users are english-speaking, 14 per cent (180 million) speak chinese, 9 per cent (113 million) speak spanish. 46 million Internet users speak arabic.

* Social networking is the fastest growing part of the Internet. There are 70 million active users on Facebook (the 8th most popular site in the world), more than 14 million photos are uploaded daily. The fourth most popular country for facebook id Turkey with 3.3% of users. Australia is 6th, 2.7%. Meanwhile, a Sophos poll of 600 workers found that 43 per cent were unable to access Facebook at work, while an additional seven per cent reported that use of the site was restricted.

* China’s internet population increased by a third in 2006. According to state news agency Xinhua, the total number of internet users in China has reached 132 million, of which 52 million have broadband connections. [Source: Guardian, December 2006]

* Google’s market capitalisation is around $US180 billion, nearly three times the size of News Corporation. Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon are all in the Fortune 150 list.

* Newspapers’ online audiences are rising at twice the rate of the general internet audience. Newspaper Web sites attracted more than 66.4 million unique visitors on average (40.7 percent of all Internet users) in the first quarter of 2008, a record number that represents a 12.3 percent increase over the same period a year ago, according to a custom analysis provided by Nielsen Online for the Newspaper Association of America.

* According to Zenith Optimedia, between 2007 and 2010, internet adspend will increase by 69% and raise its market share from 8.1% to 11.5%. About $US36 billion will be spent on Internet advertising globally in 2008, an increase of 24%.

* Britney Spears was the most sought after celebrity on Google in 2007 and pilates was the most popular search in the fitness category. The most popular who, what and how queries were who is god, what is love and how to kiss

* Last year, global digital music sales rose 40 percent to $US2.9 billion, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Downloaded music now makes up 15 percent of the recording industry’s sales.

* Movie downloads could grow tenfold by 2012 and reach $6.3 billion worldwide during that period, according to a 2007 report by British market research firm Informa Telecoms & Media.

* In 2006, the average corporate email user received 126 messages a day, up 55% from 2003, according to the Radicati Group, a Palo Alto market research firm. By 2009, workers are expecting to spend 41% of their time just managing emails. (WSJ, 27-11-2007)

* Total e-commerce sales (Online shopping websites) in the US for 2007 were estimated at $136.4 billion, an increase of 19.0 percent from 2006. Total retail sales in 2007 increased 4.0 percent from 2006. E-commerce sales in 2007 accounted for 3.4 percent of total sales. E-commerce sales in 2006 accounted for 2.9 percent of total sales.

* The iTunes store was launched on 28 April 2003, since then it has sold more than four billion tracks and over 125 million TV episodes worldwide. It is now rivaling Wal-mart to be the biggest music retailer in the US. 150 million iPods have been sold world-wide since the iconic device first appeared in October 2001. Nearly forty percent of Americans now own and iPod or other mp3 player.

* Wikipedia is the 7th most popular website in the world. The english version of wikipedia has more than 2.3 million articles. Over a third of online US adults consult wikipedia.

* Since the beginning of 2007, Sen. Obama has raised more than $US100 million online from Americans contributing $200 or less at a time, according to data compiled by the Campaign Finance Institute (WSJ, 3 May)

* Nielsen says more than eight out of ten internet users purchased something in the last three months. That is a 40% increase on two years ago, to about 875 million shoppers.

5 Tips for an improved User perceptive on Your Site

Any good web publisher knows that it isn’t just content that keep readers reading and visitors returning. Interface design can be just as important as quality content. A bad website design can drive your audience away or seriously erode their confidence, just as they’re coming through the door.

Without some sound design tactics you end up putting a lot of work into publishing for maybe a couple of unique visitors a day. If you are attempting to get opt-ins and generate revenue from your site and you miss some key design tips you are going to suffer and your ROI will go down the drain.

5 Design Mistakes to Avoid

1. Too much advertising
this is something that seems inherent in so many designs, but should be obvious. If you clutter your site with advertising (in particular AdSense type ads) no one is going to stay long enough to find your relevant content. Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t sites out there that litter their site with advertising and get away with it — like GoDaddy. If you can claim the amount of traffic and exposure that they get, then the best of luck. But most can’t say that.

2. Placing Your Opt-in Form on the Right
statistically, this results in lower numbers of opt-ins. Most cultures in the world read from left to right. So, naturally the first place the eye wants to rest on a site is the top, left corner. This is where your opt-in should sit. It will be the first thing most people see and they will be more apt to fill it out.

3. No SEO on Images, Flash Elements, and Other Media
If you view the source code of a site, many do not contain titles or descriptions for their various media. These are wonderful opportunities to place additional keywords without overloading your content on your site. Many sites don’t even have an “alt” on their media which when you mouse over it, shows a phrase or text.

Again, these are free opportunities for keyword placements. Spiders don’t pick up images, flash files and a lot of other media. They cannot read their content. But adding alts, titles and descriptions you are able to give spiders code side content to read in those locations, upping your search results.

4. Too Many Keywords
For some reason, when it comes to keywords, people think, “The more the better!” This is incorrect. Search Engines will actually “flag” your site as overloaded. It comes across almost like duplicate content when you have multiple phrases in your keywords containing the same word. Most marketing guru’s will recommend about 7-9 well researched keywords.

5. Too Much Javascript, Too Many iFrames
Once again, more is not necessarily better. Both javascript and iframes take considerable amounts of time to load in comparison to a 72 dpi jpeg. There are sites all over the net that are loaded with one or both of these and by the time they finish loading you have taken the dog out, made a coffee, and stopped by the bathroom.

It has been proven that the average internet user decides in a matter of seconds if they will stay on your site or not. If it takes 20-30 seconds to load, you are probably losing half of your visitors almost immediately. Check your stats for bounce rates, exit pages and other data and see.

Source:cmswire

How Companies got their name……..?

Here are some populars stuff (Not Verified ) about how those biggies got their famous name…..

Apple Computers: It was the favourite fruit of founder Steve Jobs. He was three months late in filing a name for the business, and he threatened to call his company Apple Computers if the other colleagues didn’t suggest a better name by 5 O’clock.

CISCO:It is not an acronym as popularly believed. It is short for San Francisco.

Compaq: is name was formed by using COMp, for computer, and PAQ to denote a small integral object.

Corel:The name was derived from the founder’s name Dr.Michael Cowpland. It stands for COwpland REsearch Laboratory.

Google:The name started as a joke boasting about the amount of information the search-engine would be able to search. It was originally named ‘Googol’, a word for the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros.After founders - Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their project to an angel investor, they received a cheque made out to ‘Google’

Hotmail:Founder Jack Smith got the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from a computer anywhere in the world.When Sabeer Bhatia came up with the business plan for the mail service, he tried all kinds of names ending in ‘mail’ and finally settled for hotmail as it included the letters “html” - the programming language used to write web pages. It was initially referred to as HoTMaiL with selective uppercasing.

Hewlett Packard:Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.

Intel:Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company ‘Moore Noyce’ but that was already trademarked by a hotel chain so they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics.

Lotus (Notes):Mitch Kapor got the name for his company from ‘The Lotus Position’ or ‘Padmasana’. Kapor used to be a teacher of Transcendental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Microsoft:Coined by Bill Gates to represent the company that was devoted to MICROcomputer SOFTware. Originally christened Micro-Soft, the ‘-’ was removed later on.

Motorola:Founder Paul Galvin came up with this name when his company started manufacturing radios for cars. The popular radio company at the time was called Victrola.

ORACLE:Larry Ellison and Bob Oats were working on a consulting project for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). The code name for the project was called Oracle (the CIA saw this as the system to give answers to all questions or something such). The project was designed to help use the newly written SQL code by IBM. The project eventually was terminated but Larry and Bob decided to finish what they started and bring it to the world. They kept the name Oracle and created the RDBMS engine. Later they kept the same name for the company.

Sony:It originated from the Latin word ’sonus’ meaning sound, and ’sonny’ a slang used by Americans to refer to a bright youngster.

SUN:Founded by 4 Stanford University buddies, SUN is the acronym for Stanford University Network. Andreas Bechtolsheim built a microcomputer; Vinod Khosla recruited him and Scott McNealy to manufacture computers based on it, and Bill Joy to develop a UNIX-based OS for the computer.

Yahoo!:The word was invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book ‘Gulliver’s Travels’. It represents a person who is repulsive in appearance and action and is barely human. Yahoo! Founders Jerry Yang and David Filo selected the name because they considered themselves yahoos

The darker side of Web mail

Web-based e-mail may be exposing you to privacy and security problems you didn’t expect

Web mail is a class of web applications that allow users to read and write e-mail using a web browser, or in a more general sense, an e-mail account accessed through such an application. The Giant web mail services providers such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Hotmail are providing free mail services and are supposed to be very convenient, and accessible. Millions of people use them without giving it a second thought.

But second thoughts may be in order, according to security experts, privacy advocates and some Web mail users. Few consider the fact that Web mail is inherently different than POP3 e-mail. It differs in who administers it and how, in the ways it may be vulnerable to hacking, and in the type of help you can expect when you have a problem.

You may not think these differences matter. And they don’t — unless they end up biting you in the backside. For example, the most popular Web mail services are prime targets of malicious hackers. Some Web mail users run into mysterious technical problems that are never explained or solved. And most Web mail users never really know where their data is being stored or for how long — or how well it is being safeguarded.

How private is Webmail, really?

Although Webmail is often billed as a free service, the old adage “you can’t get something for nothing” definitely applies here. While you’re not giving the Webmail provider any of your cash, you are making a trade: Your personal information in exchange for the service.

When you click that box on the licensing agreement — you know, the one you didn’t read — you’re probably giving permission to use the personal information you entered when you signed up. For example, Google Inc.’s Privacy Policy specifically states that it collects personal information such as your name and e-mail address; it also collects information collected through your browser (such as which sites you visit) and from the text of your e-mails, which the provider uses to customize ads and conduct research.

It can be shocking to realize how much about yourself you reveal on the Web, particularly when vendors combine information from your Webmail account with other Web 2.0 sites, such as online social networking platforms. “You start to leave a trail of information about yourself on the Internet,” says Stephen Northcutt, president of the SANS Technology Institute. “Do you really want to get ads on burial plots because you drink, smoke and engage in unprotected sex?”

Showing others your e-mail

It’s fairly easy (if you know how) to gain access to and read others’ Webmail without permission, either legally or not, notes Jeremiah Grossman, founder and chief technology officer at WhiteHat Security Inc., which tests Web sites for vulnerabilities. “Webmail should never be considered private, ever,” he says. “It can be read in many, many different ways,” including rogue customer service reps at the e-mail provider, law enforcement with a subpoena or a national security letter, or a curious hacker sniffing packets on the Internet.

Source:Computerworld

Boost up your System Performance; Use these Web tools and Work efficiently

Ever thought about pounding your computer with a hammer hoping it starts moving slightly faster than the current snail’s pace? Well we’d say don’t rush for the hammer just yet; try this collection of smart utility software instead. Here are tools that provide all the help you need to control, tweak and manipulate the looks and functionality of Windows.

TweakUI: URL:www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
Here is a utility from Microsoft which is termed as the ultimate user interface (UI) tweaker for XP. This utility will let you twist and manipulate, and sometime even override, the way your Windows interface should look. An indispensable tool that offers multiple UI tweaks under a single interface.

DoubleKiller: URL: www.bigbangenterprises.de/en/doublekiller
A cluttered hard disk can really slow down your PC, and what adds to the clutter the most is duplicate files that hog space for no reason. This utility, as the name implies, brings you help on this front. It locates duplicate files on your computer and kills one, leaving you with just a single file.

FreeCommander: URL: www.freecommander.com
This is an easy-to-use alternative to the standard Windows file manager. Here you can find all the necessary functions to manage your data stock. The best part is that you can put this utility on a USB key—even a floppy disk if you can find one—and take it with you to control files on any PC.

Taskbar Shuffle 2.2: URL:www.freewebs.com/nerdcave/taskbarshuffle.htm
So you think the Windows taskbar controls you? Here is one utility that will let you turn the tables. It lets you move the buttons for open applications anywhere you want on the taskbar, or group open documents together. And yes, it works with Windows versions all the way back to Windows 95.

Pitaschio: URL: pitaschio.ara3.net
This is another utility that could come in handy to mould Windows to match your style of working. This background utility minimizes windows to the tray, snaps them together as you drag, and disables specific keys (such as the numlock key) if you like. It also provides stats on how much you use your keyboard.

Defraggler: URL: www.defraggler.com
Fragmentation of the disk is another big culprit that can slow down your computer. This utility is a handy one that will help you clean up the mess. It not only defragments your hard disk but also claims to defragment individual files. If you’re not sure what needs defragging, it also provides a list of files that need it. And yes, this one is tiny enough to go on a USB drive too.

WinDirStat: URL: www.windirstat.info
If your hard disk seems bloated and you have no idea what exactly is taking up all that much space, here is something you should look at. Short for Windows Directory Statistics, this programme presents your hard drive’s directory in multiple views, some resembling Windows Explorer—files represented by 3D boxes in full colour. One look and you’d soon know what’s taking up space.

WinPatrol 2007: URL: winpatrol.com
You might not even notice but there are umpteen number of useless programs that come pre-installed with your Windows, which end up eating plenty of CPU cycles. Put Scotty, the WinPatrol mascot, to work keeping an eye on your system. Scotty will come up with warnings about new programs that plan to run at start-up and detection of other system changes, trusted or not. It will also delay the start of programs to improve boot-up speed in any version.

Absolute Uninstaller: URL: www.glarysoft.com
You might have uninstalled a particular program, but unfortunately it still leaves a lot of junk in its wake. One way to be sure that a program is all gone is the absolute uninstaller. This replaces the default Add/Remove Programs control panel in Windows, checks for extra stuff to delete after an uninstall (such as Start menu entries and useless Registry keys), and, best of all, does batch removal of multiple programmes at one time.

Eraser: URL: www.heidi.ie/eraser
With more and more sophisticated recovery tools, it can be disastrous to get rid of an old computer without making sure the hard drive is wiped clean. This doesn’t mean just reformatting it, but actually annihilating all data by overwriting disk sectors multiple times. Open-source Eraser that fits a USB drive is a great candidate for the job.

Google Desktop 5: URL: desktop.google.com
Finally if you think searching files on your computer takes an eternity, Google desktop can come to the rescue. This software does more than just search. Google Desktop indexes all of your data files—including email and instant messages—so you can find it fast. The interface includes multiple search-box configurations and an advanced search option. You can search and find your own files along with your internet search results.

Source: TOI