Patricio Robles

Hitwise: Twitter looks like a social network

Yesterday I detailed my experience of trying to use Twitter as a search engine. It wasn't a good experience.

A lot of people have been trying to define and categorize Twitter lately with minimal success. That's probably due to the fact that Twitter is being used by lots of different people for lots of different things; it's hard to fit it in a neat little box.

by Patricio Robles 13 March 2009 09:09am 5 comments

AOL: you've got a new CEO

AOL has seen better days. It has never been able to replicate its high-flying act of the 1990s and under Time Warner, at times it seems to have barely managed to stay above ground.

It was time for a change and yesterday it got one as soon-to-be-former Google Senior Vice President Tim Armstrong was named chairman and CEO of AOL.

by Patricio Robles 13 March 2009 10:58am 0 comments

Google preps AdSense publishers for launch of interest-based ads

Google continues to redouble its efforts on its core business - advertising - and on Wednesday launched a beta of what it is calling "interest-based advertising".

Interest-based ads add a new dimension to ads on Google. Unlike ads that are completely contextual, interest-based ads "associate categories of interest...with your browser, based on the types of sites you visit and the pages you view".

by Patricio Robles 13 March 2009 11:11am 0 comments

Online marketing and charity: a dangerous combination?

Charity is good, right? There are obviously lot of great causes that deserve our attention and our investment.

But can charity be abused? It's a question I've been asking myself lately.

by Patricio Robles 12 March 2009 17:07pm 9 comments

Facebook makes a major update

Facebook, which now has 190m users and continues its ascent as the world's largest social network, has rolled out a major update.

There are UI changes and new features alike and many are designed to put Facebook into the competition as talk of the 'real-time web' heats up.

by Patricio Robles 12 March 2009 15:17pm 0 comments

Google gives up on Google Checkout

The last 6 months have been sobering for Google. Once at the top of the world, Google has seen its share price plummet and the idea that it would be immune to recession has been proven a fallacy.

So Google is doing what any good company does: cutting out the fat. It has already shuttered a number of projects that weren't going anywhere and is refocusing its efforts on its core business.

by Patricio Robles 12 March 2009 09:48am 1 comment

Fail whale: Twitter as a search engine

Is Twitter a search engine? It's a question a lot of people are asking, myself included.

I signed up for Twitter at the beginning of the year and even though I'm not a hardcore user and only have a modest 'following' of around 225 people, I do like the service. I've found it to be very useful in staying on top of industry trends and seeing what interesting people are talking about.

by Patricio Robles 12 March 2009 09:07am 9 comments

Guardian launches open platform

If 'platforms' were a piece of clothing, it'd be safe to say that everybody's wearing them.

News organizations are getting into the act too and The Guardian yesterday announced the launch of its Open Platform.

by Patricio Robles 11 March 2009 16:09pm 1 comment

Online ads: it's a buyer's market

The global recession that has hammered stock markets around the globe continues on. Some people are even seriously referring to the 'D' word.

This hasn't been good news for businesses relying on advertising dollars. Advertisers are cutting budgets and for some ad-supported online businesses, that means cutting back on services, cutting back on staff and trying to come up with new business models.

by Patricio Robles 11 March 2009 11:25am 1 comment

Does Twitter's Million Dollar Homepage push the limits?

Most of us remember the Million Dollar Homepage. Launched by then-21-year-old Alex Tew, the idea was simple: sell a homepage containing 1 million pixels for $1/pixel.

As might be expected, the reaction to the simple yet clever idea was mixed. Some thought it was brilliant, others thought it was stupid.