Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Google's Picasa Adding Facial Recognition
  Revamped Google Picasa site identifies photo faces by Stephen Shankland reports Google's adding facial recognition technology to Picasa. Picasa users will be able to label their photos with names. Google will then start to automatically suggest other photos that look similar to the ones you already named. Mike Horowitz, Google's...
• Waiting For Google Chrome To Launch
  Obviously the big story of yesterday and today in the technology world is the impending launch of Google's open-source browser Chrome. It will likely be available for download here later today. (TechCrunch and Google Blogoscoped have a few screenshots.) There are dozens and dozens of stories on Techmeme....
• Google Apps To Add Business Video Sharing Tools
  NeeTeeVee reports Google is going to be adding video sharing tools to Google Apps for businesses this coming Monday. Paid users of Google Apps will be allowed to upload videos with no time restrictions but a maximum size per upload of 300 MB, for a total of 3GB per account...
• Last Chance To Save On SMX East – 11 Reasons To Register Now
  Summer is over. Time to get back to business. Start by registering for Search Marketing Expo - SMX East at the Early Bird rate. Here are 11 reasons to do it now: Only 5 business days left to save $200 on your All Access ticket. Rates increase September 9. Register...
• Google Chrome - Google's Finally Launching Its Own Browser
  So much for a quiet Labor Day off. Google Blogoscoped has news of Google Chrome, a new browser that Google plans to release. More coverage can also be found on Techmeme. No -- it's not just a rumor. Google tells me that it is indeed a real browser it plans...
• 9 Keys to Successful Day-Parting
  Taking advantage of intraday fluctuations in traffic value can be important to maximizing the efficiency of your pay-per-click (PPC) ad spend. We see statistically significant variances in traffic value on the order of 5% to 25% for many retailers, and much more than that for some. However, measuring and...
• Labor Day & Programming Note
  Today is Labor Day and I wanted to let you know that normal search news coverage will be mostly suspended for the day. In addition, I do want to point out the Labor Day logos from the various sites in our industry. As I noted this morning at the Search...
• Lessons in Longevity From The Original Search Engine
  When you're in an industry that is based on answering consumer needs, as all local search brands are, you're hardwired to remain relevant. After all, the granddaddy of local search, the printed Yellow Pages, is 125 years young this year, born out of necessity in 1883 when a Wyoming...

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Implements Social Graph API and hCard in Profiles, Read/Write Web
• Google Launches Cloud Operating System 'Chrome' And Calls It A "Browser", Silicon Alley Insider
• Something You Can't Find Using Google, Google Operating System
• The comprehensive guide to using Google Reader, Bloggle
• Live coverage of the GOP Convention on Google News, Google News Blog

Business Issues

• Google Not Going to Let a Little Thing Like Regulatory Approval Get in the Way of Search Market Consolidation, AllThingsD
• Do We Really All Work for Google Here?, Profy
• Happy Tenth Birthday Google! When Are We Celebrating?, TechCrunch
• Google's Vanderbilt joins Bebo, The Guardian
• Russian Search Firm Yandex Delays IPO Till Next Year, paidContent.org
• Google considering a move to OpenSolaris?, News.com

Local, Maps & Mobile

• iPhone doubles Web browser share, News.com
• Tracking Hurricane Gustav in Google Earth, Google LatLong
• Google Maps shows Missile over Utah, Inquisitr
• 13,000 people (so far) stand up to "free the airwaves", Google Public Policy Blog
• Google white space petition: 13,000 signatures and counting, Ars Technica

Link Building

• 3 Methods to Build Links with a Blog - An Interview with Ross Dunn, Stepforth
• Link Building Strategies: Blackhat Edition, Wiep.net
• 6 Ways to Build Links with Your Graphic Design Skills, Search Engine Journal

Paid Search & Contextual

• Google Ramps Up Madison Avenue Charm Offensive; Agency Reaction Remains Mixed, paidContent.org
• Googling in Person to Make Friends, New York Times
• 10 Tips to Improve Ad Quality Score - Notes from SES San Jose , Search Engine Guide
• How I Optimize My PPC Campaigns, ShoeMoney
• New Quality Score Pics, The PPC Book
• Several Uncommon Metrics Worth Taking a Look At, Serengeti Communications
• 9 Keys to Successful Day-Parting, Rimm Kaufman
• Shortcut for navigating your accounts, campaigns and ad groups in adCenter - adCenter Blog for Advertisers, adcentercommunity.com

Searching

• Something's different at Live Search!, Live Search
• The future of search may be personalized, but what about your privacy?, Pandia
• Microsoft slams Google on privacy, News.com
• Google Squashing Sarah Palin Ads?, Rimm Kaufman
• Google's Knol: So Far, Not So Good, Technologizer
• Create RSS Feeds for Yahoo Web Search, Images & Video, Digital Inspiration
• Search engine Vadlo caters to life sciences, altsearchengines.com
• The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines, September 2008, altsearchengines.com
• The Vaynerchucks Launch T-Shirt Search Engine PleaseDressMe, TechCrunch
• The X-Files of Google: 10 Inexplicably Weird Search Results, SEOmoz

SEM Industry

• Just Married!, Yoast
• Paul Griffiths: Search Blogger of the Day, The SEO Scoop
• Fun Friday Photos: John Carcutt, Loren Baker & Darrell Long, Search Marketing Gurus
• Modern Day SEO Warriors, DerekChew.com

SEO & SEM

• How to Know When You Should Develop a Domain Name, Bill Hartzer
• My New SEO Video Course - available next week, SEO Fast Start
• Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: August 31, 2008, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google took its eye off the Ball, David Naylor
• Is Cuil Killing Websites?, TechCrunch
• Should I Continue Working with an Ignorant SEO Client?, Search Engine Roundtable
• 6 Tips for Small Business Marketing Success, Search Engine Watch
• A reputation 2.0 problem - wiki-circularity, SEOmoz
• Google Does Crawl & Index UTF-8 Encoded URLs, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Webmaster Tools Mobile Warning: "Document Size Too Large", Search Engine Roundtable
• How Much Are You Spending on SEO?, Search Engine Watch

Social Media

• A Peek inside Facebook, PC World
• Is Twitter about to retire the whale?, Royal Pingdom
• Why Twitter is winning, TechCrunchIT
• Ads For Twits On Twitter (TwittAd Launches), TechCrunch

Video, Music & Image Search

• Can Hulu Be A Bigger Business Than YouTube?, TechCrunch
• Revamped Google Picasa site identifies photo faces, News.com

Other Items

• Google Tech on the Toilet (Pic), Google Blogoscoped
• Kenya - Google's Philanthropy Arm Leads Effort to Use Weather Data to Fight Disease, New York Times
• Denver recap and St. Paul update, Official Google Blog

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