WebProNews

GoDaddy Gets Smart and Social

GoDaddy has released as service called SmartSpace, which it claims will make creating web sites  - complete with blogs, chat rooms, email addresses, photo galleries, and video showcases - easy for people that are not the least bit "tech savvy."

NBC Redefines Its Local Sites

NBC is launching new local sites in cities across the United States, targeted at "locals only" to help them stay connected with what is going on in their respective cities.

FCC Clears Free Wireless Broadband

Free speech issues weren’t enough to knock down FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s push-through of a free national wireless Internet initiative, but few were talking about those free speech issue anyway. Neither were T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom AG arguments about signal interference—which is the cry-wolf line of the wireless industry these days; after successful testing in Seattle, free wireless Internet is on the way.

Google Maps Introducing English Labels For Japan

Visiting a country in which English isn't the official language can be tricky.  Visiting one in which the Latin alphabet isn't common can be crazy.  But luckily for some travelers, Google's trying to sort out the matter on its maps of Japan.

Number Of Illegal Downloads Falling In The UK

Fewer people in the UK are illegally downloading music for fear of having their Internet connections cut off, according to a new survey from Entertainment Media Research.Three quarters of music pirates would stop if told by their Internet Service Provider (ISP) the survey of 1,500 UK consumers revealed.About 39 percent of music fans currently download songs from illegal sites, compared to 43 percent in 2007.Proposals announced in July said that music pirates could have their Internet access restricted if a voluntary enforcement on piracy is not effective.

Gray Lady Warms Up To Linking Out

Let it be on record that in late 2008, the New York Times decided linking to other sites is acceptable for respected journalism operations. The headline, meant to be the replacement of the town crier, is heavy and sluggish with decrescendo: “Mainstream News Outlets Start Linking to Other Sites.” I’ll save you the trip to the calendar. No, we haven’t time-warped back to the Nineties.

Marketers To Spend More On Viral Video In 2009

The majority (70%) of ad agency and media buying executives plan to increase budgets for viral video marketing in 2009, according to online marketing firm Feed Company.Even with the industry's support for viral video, the benchmark for viral video success remains unclear.

Microsoft Experiments With Customized Results

You have to give it up to Microsoft for tenacity. The company’s been sound trounced by Google in search, yet they haven’t given up their search ambitions. Most recently, Microsoft has been conducting a search experiment called U Rank. It’s not entirely original, of course. Google’s been experimenting with personalized search results for a while now. U Rank is accessible via existing members’ Windows Live ID.

EU Warns Music Fans About MP3 Players

A new European Union study shows that 5-10 percent of personal music player listeners risk permanent hearing loss, if they listen to a personal music player for more than one hour per day each week at a high volume over a 5-year span.A European safety standard is already in place that restricts the noise level of personal music players to 100 decibels, but there is more concern over hearing damage from excessive exposure to such sources.

German Court Comes Down On Google's Thumbnail Images

Either Google Germany's lawyers aren't up to snuff, or they're just stuck in a really hostile environment.  Regardless, a new report indicates that two court rulings would have Google stop showing certain thumbnail images in its search results.