Publisher news bits from the blogosphere Earlier this week, Yahoo! announced a partnership with HP and Intel to create a "global, multi-datacenter research testbed for the advancement of cloud computing research and education." What's cloud computing ? Well, we had to look it up, too, but the simple way to describe it is as a way for customers to tap into computing resources that can be anywhere, and only pay for what they use. "Here at Yahoo!,

Posted by rebecca Stories, news, and other notable items from the past week: Three star links: Giles Bowkett examines what it's like to be " Internet famous ." I'm not exactly sure, but I think it involves cheezburgers. SEO Black Hat is offering seats to this year's SEOktoberfest . Want to party in Munich and pick the brains of some of the best super affiliates and black hats around? If so, contact Black Hat and let him know you want in. It's a pricey ticket (5,000 Euros,

Dear catalog marketers, It's August 1st. Have you finalized your holiday SEO copywriting strategy? Right now, while we're enjoying vacation time and lazy summer days, the words "holiday season" sound far in the future. Guess what - it's not. Already, you're seeing "Back-to-school" newspaper inserts'and soon, Halloween goblins will be gracing the shelves'after that, holiday music will bombard your ears with cheer and joy.

Online measurement research firm comScore has pledged to plant more than one million trees in developing nations as part of its panel recruitment program. In an initiative called "Trees for Knowledge," comScore plans to continue past the initial plantings as people join and remain active on the firm's panel. To accomplish this program, which the research company announced earlier this week, comScore partnered with Trees for the Future,

Many website owners create their first site simply because 'it was a good idea at the time'. The site is put together with little thought as to why, with little direction, and certainly with little or no thought of search engine optimization. Trying to undo several years' worth of aimless site building can be a nightmare from a search engine optimization view point. In fact at times the quickest option is to scrap the lot and start all over.

With over five million views and counting, the films featured in The YouTube Screening Room since its launch a little over a month ago seem to be holding your attention as much as they've held ours. This program, designed to connect those of you looking for original, compelling film content with talented filmmakers seeking out new audiences, continues to grow and we thank you for your many comments, ratings and messages. Today, we're pleased to announce two new features,

Last month, Yahoo launched the SearchMonkey gallery , where searchers can go and add applications to their Yahoo search. Now, Yahoo is making three of those apps automatic for all users. The Yelp , LinkedIn , and Yahoo Local SearchMonkey apps are now set to 'default on.' The three apps have been part of a test Yahoo conducted where they set the app to default on for select users. Yahoo says they saw click-through rates increase as much as 15% as a result.

Microsoft recently published research on a new algorithm it calls BrowseRank, which is based on user behavior instead of linking patterns. Microsoft thinks this could be the answer to increased relevance in search results. But is it? In today's SEM Crossfire column, " Look Out PageRank, There's a New Algorithm in Town ," Frank Watson and Kevin Newcomb share their thoughts on BrowseRank's potential, and potential pitfalls.

Earlier, I wrote about the estimates for location-based social networking to reach $3.3 billion in revenues by 2013 . The iPhone is leading the way with several new location-based social networks developed by third parties for the new iPhone 2.0 software. Here are 7 social networking apps that use location-based technology: Twinkle is a Twitter app that incorporates a location-based feature. Not only can you view your usual Tweets from the people you're following,

Chris and I have worked with a ton of travel industry professionals over the years and helping them with their online marketing needs. We have even spoke at travel industry conferences on SEO and Social Media. I feel I have a pretty grasp on the whole travel industry online scene and wanted to share a viral marketing idea that I was thinking about (because of my recent travels) that would probably go huge and make front page on every top social site out there. Also,