Tales from the Terminal Room

Your Google results are about to get weirder

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:34:21 +0000

Persuading Google to recreate the same list of results for a search is impossible. Google continually updates its database and index with new and updated pages. Even a few minutes between repeat searches can make a significant difference. Add into this mix the fact that your search will probably be diverted to a different server from the one that gave you your initial results (Google has thousands of servers) and that the second server may have been updated at a different time with different pages. Oh, and Google may have decided to play around with the ranking algorithms and display options on this particular server as an experiment. And are you sure you have entered your search terms in exactly the same order as before, because that can make a difference as well? And we haven't even started to consider the difference of searching in Google.co.uk vs. Google.com vs. Google.ca etc.

Now we have Google personalized search, and by ‘we' I mean all of us by default.....

Google experiments with Image Swirl

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:32:53 +0000

Having made Google Labs Image Options (including colour) and Similar Images available as part of their standard image search, Google are now playing around with Image Swirl (http://image-swirl.googlelabs.com/) in Google Labs. According to Google it "builds on new computer vision research to cluster similar images into representative groups in a fun, exploratory interface". In practice it is a combination of similar images and the Wonderwheel. ...

Potholes.co.uk

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:31:39 +0000

The snow of a few weeks ago has now cleared from Caversham and the lower half of the road on Donkin Hill looks as though it has been repeatedly bombed. Major cracks, huge potholes and an alarming amount of subsidence are now in evidence. It is a scene that is going to be repeated over the whole of the UK now that the snow and ice have retreated to reveal the damage caused by the freezing weather. I was out with my camera and reporting the state of the road to the council via FixMyStreet (see below for information on that site) and I am sure our local Council will be inundated with similar reports from around Reading.

Potholes.co.uk is run by Warranty Direct....

Fix My Street

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:29:34 +0000

FixMyStreet http://www.fixmystreet.com/ is another service from those excellent people at Mysociety.org. So you've got a problem in your neighbourhood that you thought your local council would have dealt with by now? Road drains not clearing? Broken man-hole cover? Industrial waste dumped in your street? Your council may not know about it so this is your opportunity to tell them or chase up an ongoing problem.

UK's Tweeting Councillors

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:28:23 +0000

When heavy snow hit us in Caversham, I could watch from my office window the traffic - or rather lack of it - on Briants Avenue through a gap in the houses opposite. There was also a very obvious lack of buses. Our local radio stations provide good general information and updates on the weather, roads and public services but the #rdg hashtag in Twitter was the quickest and best way of obtaining detailed local news. I have a #rdg column in my Tweetdeck and spotted that one of Reading Borough's councillors, @CllrDaisyBenson, is on Twitter and very active...

Switzerland in Figures

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:26:33 +0000

This is a very useful three page PDF summary of Swiss statistics from UBS (http://www.ubs.com/1/e/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/switzerland_in_figures.html). It contains more than 1,600 facts and figures on the Swiss economy and each of the cantons, and an international overview of key data. Data includes population, employment, the financial situation, indebtedness, tax levels, and figures on the economy and living standards. This is the 2009 edition.

GBRDirect - search the European Business Register

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:25:05 +0000

If you want to check the credentials of a company then the first port of call has to be the official company register of the country in which the company is based. Many of the registers are on the web and allow you to search and view some of the information free of charge.

Flexible Support for Business to become "supersite"

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:23:19 +0000

In February 2010 the Welsh Assembly Government's Flexible Support for Business (http://fs4b.wales.gov.uk/) will become a "supersite". The aim is to provide Wales's businesses with "an unprecedented level of tailored online information and support". The site will supersede the current FS4B web site but will remain at the current web address....

Health for Work Adviceline for Small Businesses

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:21:53 +0000

This new service is part of the UK government's initiative to help people stay in work or return to work more quickly when they develop a health condition or impairment. The free Health for Work Adviceline for Small Business (http://www.health4work.nhs.uk/) helps small businesses to quickly and effectively address the issue of employee health, minimise the impact of staff illness, and provide essential support to staff with physical or mental health issues...

BL launches business essentials wiki

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:20:45 +0000

The British Library's Business and IP Centre has launched a wiki: Business Essentials on the Web (http://bl-business-essentials.wikispaces.com). The wiki aims to provide business information that is aimed at entrepreneurs and SMEs. Topics covered currently include business planning, grants and finance, marketing and PR as well as industry specific pages.....

These things are sent to try us: IE 6 - Die!

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:18:20 +0000

Google has announced that from March 1, 2010 it will start to phase out support for Internet Explorer 6 in Google Docs and Google Sites. IE 6 users who have visited YouTube (owned by Google) over the last 6-8 months will already have seen notices telling them to switch to a more up to date browser .....

Web 2.0 - The Truth Behind the Hype

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:14:05 +0000

Date: Monday, 1st March 2010. 6.30-8 pm. Doors open 6 pm
Venue: Hammonds, Rutland House, 148 Edmund Street, Birmingham B3 2JR
Organiser: CLSIG
Presenters: Karen Blakeman and Phil Duffy
Outline: Karen Blakeman and Phil Duffy debate the pros and cons of using web 2.0 tools and technologies
Cost: £10 for CLSIG members, £15 for non-members and half-price for the unemployed. To book or for more information please email events@clsig.org.uk .
URL: http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/clsig/events/pages/default.aspx

How to research on the Internet: The absolute essentials in just one day

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:01:45 +0000

Date: Tuesday, 9th March 2010
Venue: Ibis Hotel, Cardington Street, Euston, London NW1 2LW
Organiser: Rod Laird Organisation
Presenter: Karen Blakeman
Outline: Topics covered will include: How to save time by knowing how to search Google effectively; which are the best sites for business research and how do you access them; how to use Web 2.0, social and professional networks for research; how to dig behind the URL to check who is behind the web site and the data; using statistics found on the Internet. Please note: no hands on sessions in the program so bring your own laptop if you want try things as we go along. The hotel has charged for wifi.
Cost: £345 + VAT
URL: http://rodlaird.hostinguk.org/default.asp?page=840

Gizmo of the Month

Karen.Blakeman@rba.co.uk — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:15:53 +0000

Twittinesis

http://www.twittinesis.com/

Want to permanently record or back up your tweets? Try Twittinesis. Twittinesis will back publish your tweets to your blog in summary format every 24 hours. Twittinesis works with all of the major blog hosting services, as well as with custom hosting solutions. To see what the results look like see my own tweets backup at http://karenblakeman.livejournal.com/ You will notice that there is another service called LoudTwitter (http://www.loudtwitter.com/), which does the same thing. I use both and live with the duplication in case one of them goes down, as LoudTwitter has several times this year.

Note that this only backs up your own tweets and not those of other people in your twitterstream.

Workshop: Counting on Statistics for Market Research

Karen.Blakeman@rba.co.uk — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:00:36 +0000

Date: Wednesday, 21st April 2010, 9.30 - 16.30
Venue: Netskills, Newcastle
Organiser: UKeiG
Presenter: Karen Blakeman
Outline: Finding reliable statistics, industry and market data that exactly meet your needs can be difficult at the best of times. Free information, if it is available, may have to be gathered from multiple sources and even priced services have their limitations and drawbacks. This one day workshop gives practical guidance on how to find and evaluate web based statistical information and market research. Social and professional networking services such as blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are considered both as sources of information and as a means of identifying real people who can help you. It will also look at options for gathering your own data.
Cost:UKeiG members £180 + VAT at the current rate; others £220 + VAT at the current rate
URL:http://www.ukeig.org.uk/training/2010/StatsApril.html