Seattle
Partnership Rewards Seahawks Fans for Searching with Bing
Bing has been giving users rewards points for years, but a new partnership with the Seattle Seahawks marks the first time a third-party has been involved in the program.
Google’s My Maps Upgrade Presents Opportunities for Local Search
Google's My Maps feature could help businesses drive in-person traffic by giving them a new tool to better market themselves to consumers searching for what's nearby.
Google Buys, Then Shuts Down Restaurant Website Builder Appetas
Google has purchased and shut down Seattle-based Appetas, a website that lets restaurateurs build a website inexpensively with integrations (social, mobile, reservations, delivery) that only larger restaurants can usually afford.
Google Reveals What New & Expectant Parents Search For
New and expecting parents do twice as many searches as non-parents. Health is their biggest concern, but believe it or not, college planning is right up there. And they rely heavily on mobile devices for more than you might think.
Google Slaps Marketing Company Portent for Unnatural Links
Ian Lurie, Chairman and Principal of Seattle-based marketing company Portent, revealed today that his company received a manual spam action notice for unnatural links from Google. His site now can be found on Page 60 of Google.
How Easy is it to Spam Google Places for Business? The FBI Knows
A network engineer intentionally created fake business listings for the FBI and Secret Service without them knowing to prove a point to Google once and for all that its business listings on Google Maps had major loopholes and were primed for spam.
Google Places Updates Quality Guidelines to Include Business Descriptor
Google Places for Business recently announced an update to its quality guidelines that allows businesses to add a descriptor to its business name that clarifies what the business is about. Some worry this opens listings up to major spam.
Google Glass Not Welcome in Seattle Diner
A Seattle diner has banned its customers from wearing Google Glass, as one visitor found out the hard way when he was asked to remove them or leave.
Facebook Graph Search Now Available to All U.S. English Users
Facebook announced Graph Search in January and now it's available to all users with settings set to U.S. English. Facebook is also starting to retire its "who can look up my timeline by name?" feature, which it said it would do so in December 2012.
Google Buys Startup Wavii in Move to Boost Knowledge Graph
Google has acquired news summarization start-up Wavii for more than $30 million. Wavii, which uses natural language processing technology to distil online news into topics the users most care about, confirmed the news in a post on their website.
