jatiN mahindrA doT coM

Twitter Earns Itself a Candy Heart Phrase

You know those candy hearts everybody has around Valentine’s Day with the little sayings on them? Showing just how much of a stronghold Twitter actually has on pop culture, this year, one such saying that will appear on these candies is "Tweet me." NECCO, the company that makes Sweethearts announced today that this (and "Text Me") were among the top user-generated choices...

Facebook’s Merry Christmas: Becomes Most Visited US Site

According to new statistics from Hitwise, a lot of people may not have done the Norman Rockwell thing this holiday season, gathering around a fire with family members.  Instead, they may picked computer screens and online friends, helping propel Facebook to a new high. A 136-character tweet from the Hitwise_US account announced the big news this morning: "Facebook was the most visited site...

Google Shares Top Retail Searches for the Holiday Season

Google has shared the top retail searches for the 2009 holiday season. These results are based on the company’s Insights for Search tool. "Using Google Insights for Search, we can see that the hottest toys over the last seven days include stalwarts like Pikachu and Legos, as well as newcomers, such as the Nerf Marshmellow Shooter and the surprise hit of the holiday season, a blanket-with-sleeves...

Google/NORAD Santa Tracking About to Begin Again

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, otherwise known as NORAD is tracking Santa Claus’s rounds this year, keeping up a tradition that has been going on for 54 years. Norad has been working with Google for several years by way of Google Maps and Google Earth. Last year, they started using Google Analytics as well. Google is now sharing a video of last year’s Santa tracking: On...

Going Home For The Holidays? Google Wants To Tag Along

As people return home this holiday season, there will be all sorts of hugs and "have you had enough to eat"s.  Then they’ll be pressed into service, lifting heavy stuff or perhaps climbing ladders.  And Google would very much appreciate it if visitors install the company’s software, too. A new post on the Official Google Blog about "unofficial tech support"...

Google Earmarks $20M For Charities As Holiday Gift To Everyone

Some time ago, Google established a tradition of sending top AdSense and AdWords users holiday gifts.  This year, it’s departing from that routine.  But people are going to have a hard time complaining about the decision, because instead, Google’s committed $20 million to a group of charities. AdSense and AdWords partners received messages today that announced the move by saying,...

PayPal Wants You To Regift Fruitcakes For Charity

For the second year, PayPal is running the Regift the Fruitcake campaign, an effort to raise money for charity through the sharing of a virtual fruitcake. The slogan is, "By giving the gift no one wants, you’re giving the gift that everyone needs." PayPal is asking people to participate by logging onto the site to create a fruitcake on behalf of a featured charity (there are 25 of them),...

Site Usability Issues Matter During the Holidays

We’re well into the holiday season now, in terms of having sites ready for holiday sales. That said, it’s never too late to improve your site. Your sales may depend on it. There are lot of key ingredients that go into the recipe of a successful e-commerce site: marketing, analytics, customer service, prices, competition, and the list goes on. Somewhere in there is design, and more importantly,...

Google Makes Free Holiday Postcard Offer

It is, of course, the thought that counts.  A message from a friend or loved one means a lot regardless of what form it takes.  Still, physical items tend to have more of an impact, and Google’s made a very nice gesture by offering to send out real postcards this holiday season. A Google representative wrote in an email to WebProNews, "As a token of our appreciation to our most...

Walmart Wins Thanksgiving, Amazon Wins Black Friday

You may have read about the online price wars going on this holiday season between Walmart and Amazon. It looks like both companies are doing quite well as a result (not that that is much of a surprise). According to data from Hitwise, Walmart was the top retail site on Thanksgiving Day, and Amazon was the top retail site on Black Friday. Where did you spend your dollars on Thanksgiving/Black Friday? Share...

What Twitterers Are Thankful For

Do you want to tell the world what you’re thankful for? Will the Twitterverse suffice? How about you followers and the few people that go to TurkeyTwitter? What is TurkeyTwitter you ask? It is a site that was launched yesterday to give those celebrating Thanksgiving a place to see the collective thanks of Twitter users. Sure, you could simply use Twitter Search, and search "thanksgiving,"...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well for all you American based internet marketers, Happy Thanksgiving! For everyone else, happy Thursday. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and this year it’s looking like it will be one of the best years ever. The main reason for this is that I will be having my first Thanksgiving at my new house. All my family from both sides are coming and spending the day at my house. It will...

Traffic and Time Spent on Black Friday Sites Increase Rapidly

New research from Nielsen finds that during the last weeks of October and the early weeks of November, the number of unique visitors to the top websites offering previews of Black Friday deals (like bfads.net for example), has been increasing rapidly. No surprise there. Week-over-week, however, traffic to these sites has increased by as much as 87%, from 3.8 million unique visitors during the week...

Sony Can’t Guarantee E-Reader Holiday Shipments

Sony has begun taking pre-orders for its new electronic reader, the Reader Daily Edition, but due to unexpected demand it can’t guarantee shipments before the holidays. Its $399 Reader Daily Edition is available for pre-order on SonyStyle.com, but the company says it will ship between December 18 and January 8, and "an actual delivery date cannot be guaranteed." "The number of...

Holiday Shoppers Want Deals Even More Than They Did Last Year

Google has used its Insights for Search tool to provide some data about consumers’ searching behavior when it comes to things like discounts, free shipping for the holidays, coupons, and promotional codes. Unsurprisingly, there is an uptick in searches for all of these things, indicating that this is the stuff consumers are after for their holiday shopping. Such data serves as a great indicator...