News & Analysis of Web Startups and Cloud Services

Read in-depth analysis and reviews on hot web 2.0 startups, cloud services, and more.

Google’s Acquisition of Zagat Should Scare Yelp

by Mike Mansell September 9, 2011
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From the perspective of a tech blogger I can safely tell you that there have been countless times where companies have made decisions that I have had no choice but to question.  Sometimes my crucial outlook on business moves has been proven wrong, and I’m not shameful in the least to admit that I, like [...]

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My Problem With Affiliate Links

by Mike Mansell September 5, 2011
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While most of the people who take the time and effort want to write a valuable review choose to do so in order to assist other users in making their buying decisions, the fact of the matter is that just like in the streets of the real world the Internet is filled with people looking to make a buck off of your trusting them. This is where the abuse of affiliate links comes into play.

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A Pivot Perhaps? Yelp Trims Daily Deals Team.

by Mike Mansell September 1, 2011
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When Google wants to copy or mimic your idea you take it as a sign that your company and venture is taking a step in the right direction.  When Google puts an offer on the table and wants to buy your company and idea, though, you know that you’ve hit a home run.  So imagine [...]

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How To: Block Ads On Your Website

by Jeff Weisbein August 22, 2011
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If you use Google’s Competitive Ad filter (found in the AdSense control panel), you can easily block specific URL’s of websites whose ads you don’t want to appear on your site. While this is great if you advertise a particular product and don’t want a competitors ad to show up, this is also great for people who care about the types of ads shown on their site. Let me explain.

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Online Advertising: Annoying or Useful?

by Mike Mansell August 18, 2011
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In society it has almost become commonplace to see ads everywhere. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re at, or what you’re doing; there is always going to be someone out there looking to buy your eyes in order to push their goods or services.

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Will Online Colleges Make Traditional Education Systems Obsolete?

by Guest Author August 17, 2011
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The condensing and popularizing of online social interaction is happening so fast that speculating on its future simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Specifically, the fate of computer-based remote learning through video lectures, e-learning, the best online colleges and the like is fairly foreseeable. Combined with the decades-long determination that traditional education techniques are for some [...]

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Hunch Introduces Itself to the World

by Jeff Weisbein August 11, 2011
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Earlier today, a New York City based startup called Hunch released a video (below) essentially introducing Hunch to the world. It’s a service that uses information added by its users (e.g. you, your friends, connections, other people with similar tastes as you) to build a “taste” graph of things you like, would potentially like, or not like.

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The Cloud Has Failed Me

by Mike Mansell August 10, 2011
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If you’ve been keeping even a moderate eye on the technology industry during the last couple of years I’m sure you have heard of “the cloud.” While more of a concept than a specific product or service “the cloud”, a term short for “cloud computing” which in turn simply means computing and storage that is handled via network instead of on a user’s desktop computer has taken off.

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Google Plus Taking a Nose-Dive Already?

by Mike Mansell July 29, 2011
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It seems that users have been fed up with Facebook and Twitter for nearly as long as each respective service has been around, and if only in day-dreams I think it’s safe to say that just about everyone has wished for the “perfect” social network to come along at one point or another. After opening its doors as an invite-only service on June 28th, yesterday officially marked the one month milestone for Google Plus.

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Should Reddit Buy Imgur?

by Mike Mansell July 26, 2011
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Before I start out this article, I must say that I myself am not a huge Reddit user at all.  I opened an account more than two years ago when Digg was still a hot hangout for bored Internet users, but over the years I honestly haven’t visited the site all that often.  That said, [...]

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