Well, it’s officially 2012. And now that we are four weeks in, it’s the perfect time to get organized so you can make the most of the year ahead.

That’s why this week, the Gmail team is taking part in the 5th annual Clean Out Your Inbox Week, a week dedicated to clearing out the clutter and getting your inbox organized. Whether you get hundreds of emails a day or just have past messages loitering in your Inbox, Clean Out Your Inbox Week is a great opportunity to do that email organization you’ve “been meaning to do.”

According to a Google+ post, the Gmail account will be posting a new tip each day this week to help you de-clutter your inbox. Today’s tip involves archiving and searching:

Archive and Search tool: Clearing out the clutter in your inbox is an important part of staying organized. But sometimes there are emails you don’t want to trash: important documents and records, things you might need for future reference, and messages with sentimental value from the people you care about. Gmail’s Archive button lets you safely tuck those emails away, clearing up space in your inbox so you can focus.

And finding them again is easy with our Search tool (made even better with Gmail’s new look!). Click the down arrow next to the Search box in your Gmail, and you quickly search your emails by recipient, sender, time, subject, or content.

Google also wants Google+ users to get in on the action by posting their own inbox cleanup tips and tricks with the hashtag #GmailCleanup.

I’m happy to report that my inbox number is currently under 100. Take that, clutter.

These new features will be rolling out over the course of the next few days. This looks to be the culmination of Google’s #seasonforshipping, which was promoted by Google employees across Google+ as a period of important new upgrades and added features.

Horowitz had this to say in a Google+ post Monday morning:

I’m really thrilled to announce new features and functionality, all of which will be rolling out in the next day or so… These aren’t bells-and-whistles, but really deep improvements that I’m sure you are going to love.

The team knocked it out of the park… Huge congrats and thanks to the many folks who really gave of themselves to make this pre-holiday mega-launch possible. (I hope they find a moment to recharge during the holidays, because we have some awesome stuff planned for 2012!)

Enjoy, and as usual, tell us what you think so that we can learn, improve and adapt accordingly.

The first new feature is probably a long time coming for many users – a noise filter. Google will soon allow users to customize the volume of posts they see in their main Google+ streams from each contact – with a simple slider at the top of people’s specific pages. This way, in theory, heavy posters won’t be able to drown out everyone else on your stream.

After just recently introducing Google+ pages for businesses, Google has looked at all of the feedback and made some adjustments based on the top complaints and requests. One huge new thing that will be rolling out soon is the ability to add 50 different users as administrators to the pages.

There will also be a new notification system for admins as well as a very basic little page stat counter that allows admins to see page interaction – by way of +1′s and circle adds.

Another year-end improvement coming to Google+ involves photos:

Viewing a photo in Lightbox has been completely redesigned with improved navigation, enhanced comment legibility and better overall utility. This design makes the photo the hero, letting the content itself shine through. And we’re introducing a completely new photo-tagging experience that’s both fun and fluid, and lets you quickly focus on the people in your photos.

Google will also roll out improved notifications for everyone with instant “sneak previews” and functionality that allows you to see all the +1s and shares that your posts receive.

Last week, Google+ made small improvements like allowing search results to be filtered by location.

Do you think it will be a good new year for Google+? Let us know in the comments.

These new features apply to the eBooks web reader. Now you can define, translate and search specific words within the text easily, with two clicks of the mouse. Either double click or highlight a single word within a Google eBook, and a menu will pop up with five options: Search, Translate, Search Book, Search Google and Search Wikipedia.

These new features only work in “flowing text” mode, not “scanned pages” mode. Note that some books can be switched over to flowing text mode, but not all Google eBooks are available as such.

Defining a word will pull from Google Dictionary, and it will pop up right on the page instead of navigating away. Many words will also have the audio icon next to them, so you can hear the words pronounced without leaving the page. If you click “more,” you’ll be taken to the full Google Dictionary page for the word in question.

You can also translate words or even entire paragraphs into any of the languages Google offers in its translate service. For the Hatian Creole struggling with his Bulgarian text, this function is for them.

The final new functions offered are search functions. “Search Book” will search the selected word or phrase throughout the book you’re reading. “Search Google” and “Search Wikipedia” will open up a new window and do a full search of the word or phrase in the respective engines.

Oh, and first person to identify the book used in the demonstrations gets (doesn’t really get) 10 internet bucks! (Shouldn’t be too hard, people)

Mobile and local have always been a good match, but the implementation of this natural pairing hasn’t fully “arrived.” Mobile by Citysearch, however, is a good step along that path. The new site is designed to be compatible with whatever mobile device you use, including content layout and using your phone’s default navigation (thumbwheel, touch screen, etc.) for a more intuitive UI.

Citysearch has long been available through mobile phones—two years ago, they added mobile search to their site as well as local business listings via text message.

Rather than just making the website readable on a mobile phone, however, the new Mobile by Citysearch better integrates mobile and local. Its new design makes reading and even creating reviews from a mobile device easy and makes popular website features mobile-friendly. The new mobile Citysearch is also integrated with text messaging, allowing users to text reviews, directions and ratings directly to mobile phones.

The Citysearch website has also been redesigned. New features enhance not only the interface but the access to the site’s reviews and other information. But the new site is more than just prettier. An enhanced back end allows for even more focused local searches—down to the neighborhood level, instead of just the metro area.

The new Citysearch also integrates social media better—including the seldom-mentioned Open ID rival, Facebook Connect. The integration with Facebook is one of the best applications of social search so far. If you’re signed in to Facebook (currently or using a permanent session), Citysearch will highlight your friends’ reviews of local restaurants. (Image from Read Write Web.)

Finally, the new Citysearch is sure score points with local business owners—it prominently features owner comments alongside editor and user comments. It also is added enhanced features for videos of local businesses through a partnership with Brightcove.

Users will be able to upload their own photos and videos early next year.

This redesign comes just a few days after some bad press for Yelp, a rival local review site. Yelp is alleged to have offered to remove or move down negative reviews of local businesses for a fee (and there’s even some allegations they took the money without actually moving the reviews, doubly unethical).

Yelp has been gaining momentum against Citysearch’s popularity recently, but Citysearch’s new features and Yelp’s bad press might combine to reverse that. What do you think—are the new features cool enough to get your “vote” (traffic)?

Comments

Just when I knew exactly where everything was and how it worked, Twitter made sweeping changes–apparently without consulting with its users first. I’ve not seen too many Tweets showing delight for the new navigation location.

But, I’m not naive. Despite Twitter doing its best to push these features as huge benefits for its users–perhaps we’ll learn to love them–these changes are not about us. Nope, they’re about Twitter’s ability to grow and remain stable in the process. Here’s the statement to that effect:

But more importantly, it was an investment in the future. We plan to have more tabs, and we’d run out of room putting them along the top. This was the driving factor for this redesign, but you won’t see all the benefits until a future release (hopefully, very soon!).

Go take a look at the list of new features. If you’re a Twitter user, let me know what you think of the design. User either the comments below or @andybeal me. You can also share your feedback with @twitter.

Comments

Like the recently launched Suggest a feature for Google Checkout, the Suggest a feature for Google News form isn’t blank – a list of ideas from which users can choose is provided.  There’s also an "I have another idea" space, if you feel like thinking a bit outside the box.

No numbers or dates are given, but on the Google News Blog, Greta Ghizzo Van Everen assures readers, "We’ll use your ideas to help inform us about what changes to make to News in the coming months."  And there’s really no reason that Google would create a list of options, present a poll, and then ignore the outcome.

This effort leaves us moderately impressed.  Google News works well as it is, and we don’t see it moving ahead of certain news organizations regardless of what happens.  But at the same time, it’s good that Google is trying to improve the service, and even better that it’s asking for user feedback.

Meanwhile, prominent stories include a mix of primary results, economic reports, and Britney Spears gossip.

A form called "Suggest a feature for Google Checkout" gets straight to the point with its list of ideas.  Some of them aren’t that great – we say "meh" to multiple shipping addresses.  Others might open a number of new doors; take, for example, the ability to choose different currencies for the "Buy Now" buttons.

But if you’re prepared to naysay all the existing suggestions, Google also provides a write-your-own box, and as evidence that some of the suggestions will be implemented, a list of six that already have been is on display.

It’s hard to say what sort of gains this approach might generate; when Google Checkout extended its fee-free status through the end of this month, it may have won over most fence-sitters.  Still, now that the money-making holiday season has passed, businesses may feel able to experiment a little.

Meanwhile, PayPal has made inroads with a UK corporation called CyberSource.