Google Sites, is a new service that launched by Google in order to help users to create the Websites. It is mainly developed by using Google-acquired JotSpot’s technology, and it is Google’s foray into what I believed will be the first step for an organization to make a team site as easily as possible. As it is designed for organization, an user need to sign-up with her office email, not that those individual email addresses with the suffix of gmail, yahoo, hotmail, or aol.com. In other word, only schools or businesses email addresses can be used in applying the Google Apps Team Edition, as Google Sites is part of the beta products available in Google Apps. Presently, Google Sites is a latest new addition to the Google Apps, as Google Apps Team Edition currently includes the following Google Apps services: Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Talk, and Personalized Start Page. Once an user sign-up with the service, she is eligible to create Website with Google Sites. In return, Google also assigns a partner page for this particular user. The partner page will looks like a personal Google page, with search bar at the top, and several links such as link to email, today’s weather news, Reuters news, Google Talk, and etc., but the partner page will has its own sub-domain, prefix with http://partnerpage.google.com/yourusername.

As mentioned by Google blog, Google Sites is a feature-rich application. It offers templates, a rich-text editor, 10GB of storage for each Google Apps account and integration with other Google services so you can embed gadgets, calendars, spreadsheets, presentations, photo slideshows and videos. You can invite people to collaborate or just view a site and you can also publish the site so that anyone can view it.

Below is the Google Sites that I’ve just made.

The sample Google Partner Page:

via [Google Operating System Blog]

Twitxr is a new micro-blogging platform that recently launched by FON, a startup that aimed to make WiFi universal and free. Though FON is not available in some countries due to the restriction of WiFi coverage, but Twitxr is different. Twitxr allowed user regardless where she lives to sign-up, and post update instantly through the mobile phone, laptop, or desktop, with the pre-requisite of Internet connection. It is inevitably that we’ll compare Twitxt with Twitter. As Twitter has developed into a strategic user communication tool, Twitxr is aimed to achieved a differentiation advantage by offering message/update with image posting. One of the features offered by Twitxr is the image can be geotagged, so that your friends or buddies following you will know where you are and what you’re doing. Put an instance, if you’re cooking, post an update and a photo which you and the dish at your kitchen will convince them you’re not doing something else, and you’re serious about cooking. There’s help to explain a proverb, i.e. A picture is worth a thousand words. Given the image and geotagging functionality, for those who do not want to attach image together with an update, Twitxr also provide an option where users can choose post text-only updates, picture-only updates or both. But remind you, after you sign-up for Twitxr, remember to keep your Twitxr e-mail address private, this is for the security reason.

Currently Twitxr is still in beta mode, but successfully released iTwitxr for the iPhone. I believe that we can expect more from them as their technologies develop into mature. To know more about Twitxr, there’s a video clip, as embedded in the below.

Microsoft extended its serious on online advertising by acquired an Israeli startup that called YaData, in Hebrew it mean “You Knew.” YaData, began operation in 2006 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, is a startup that provides analytics software for firms to micro-segment their customers. Despite the fact that the cost of acquisition is not announced by both parties, YaData can be considered as a good buy as it gives Microsoft a much-needed targeting tools especially in areas of customer segmentation. Moreover, this technology particularly is a new brand in services, and will help to increase advertisers’ confidence in using Microsoft’s online advertising products. This is very important especially at this moment Microsoft is going closely after Google in online advertising industry.

In a press release (PDF) issued by YaData, YaData team will join Microsoft’s Israel R&D center in Herzliya (another R&D centers of Microsoft is in Tel Aviv) and its solutions will be deployed through Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions group. Besides, it should be noted that YaData’s previous backers also included Giza and Ofer Hi-Tech.

via [VentureBeat]

I just came back from a bookstore and bought the FAST COMPANY technology magazine. By usual, I don’t like about technology magazines because I often find technology magazines have been occupied by a lot of advertisements. However, this issue of FAST COMPANY caught my attention because its headline has a word on Google, i.e. 15 REASONS GOOGLE IS NO. 1. It interviewed 15 different people working at Google, each holding position such as CIO, VP, Director, and etc. All these Googlers shared their experience of why they think Google is different. It is a fine read. If you’re interested in reading it, this is the online version.

The blogosphere has speculated that Quarterlife might not have a long life on NBC. This is particularly attributed to the size of the audience on Tuesday night, happened to be only 3.8 million viewers in the 10pm TV slot, ranked third behind Jericho that debut on CBS, and Primetime: What Would You Do Now? that debut on ABC. If you watch the shows available on Quarterlife’s site through the Internet, you won’t know the estimated statistics other than Quarterlife or any Web measurement firm released it. At this point, I’m not sure that the poor figures did help Quarterlife in getting more buzz. However, it is certainly Quarterlife has made their name well-known for its sluggish start from Internet to the television network.

Ironically, Quarterlife has made their name first known to the public with the TV debut strategy by firstly premiered on MySpaceTV. The pace of growth continues to accelerate with the TV crowd, predicting that it will eventually make it on dual PC community and TV world. Unfortunately, results often speak louder than the ambition. Apparently, Quarterlife will not give up easily, they have launched their own social networking site, but it’s still believed to be too complex for ordinary users. I’ll expect only a certain number of people that want to upload their user-generated content would eagerly to join and actively involved in Quarterlife’s social network activities.

Will the Reuters comment on Quarterlife, i.e. worst time-period performance in at least 17 years scare out some of the Internet firms that want to follow the same path, i.e. from Internet to TV? However, it doesn’t stop the sheer number of opportunities for these type of firms as the Internet has shifted to a mainstream media delivery platform. With or without NBC’s slot, I think Quarterlife will survive if they have a group of producers constantly produce high-quality video clips that live up to the demand of the viewers. Temporarily, it seem that they have.

via [The New York Times]

There are as many different reasons social networking platform providers will be considered as the hot targets in venture capital as social networking sites. HiveLive, an enterprise social software solution provider is announcing that it has raised $5.6 million in a Series A financing. In a press release, this round of financing was led by Grotech Capital Group and with participation of the current private investors. This bring HiveLive’s total funding to date is $7.8 million, which includes prior angel investments of $2.2 million. In addition, Grotech General Partner Joseph R. Zell will take a seat on HiveLive’s board of directors with immediate effective.

This news reminds me of another social networking platform provider that called Five Across, acquired by Cisco exactly one year ago. Both target on enterprise customers, with the offering of some social tools such as wiki, forum, blog, all with the core purpose to facilitate the online communication from one enterprise to its enterprise clients. Frankly, I never used or get involved with HiveLive software, but reading some other blogs on HiveLive, I know that HiveLive tend to become a Web software that is a highly customized, configurable, and scalability. Since HiveLive is an on-demand, companies that want to create social network on their sites will probably short-list HiveLive based on the aforesaid features. If you want to know more about the social networking functionality that offered by HiveLive, you can visit the review done by TechCrunch.

Finally, HiveLive is a Boulder-based startup that just launched in last year.

I’ve been follow-up a news that surrounding Baidu, the China search giant and Maxthon, a popular Chinese browser for a couple of days. A buzz from the China Internet industry stated that Baidu has acquired Maxthon for an undisclosed sum. There is certainly no confirmation about this news, and yet no official announcement can be found on Baidu or Maxthon’s site. Frankly, I putting this rumor at mostly 50% to be true. In last year April, the first Internet company that has vast interest on Maxthon was Google (read my April 2007 post). Though buying a browser and make it an asset, so whenever an user in China used this particular browser, the first landing search engine will be Google or Baidu, for Google or Baidu, this is indeed not a necessary move for them.

Apparently, Maxthon browser has great appeal for Baidu or Google, because it is made-in China. While buying Maxthon raises a question of ROI (Return on Investment), but this news offers tips that Baidu has quietly expanded its product lines. Nevertheless, no news is not a good news for Baidu. Perhaps reading a newest article posted by China Web 2.0 Review will tell you more about the secrets of Baidu’s investment.

Adobe has recently launched its new open source site, a significant move that reflect the extension of its open source focus. There are several positive effects on this site, particularly users can find a total number of nine (9) projects, with the notable one Flex 3 SDK, as well as the intention to put its applications that support Linux platform. On this site, users will access to available projects, source, documentation, but notice carefully will know that Adobe is demonstrated a strengthened focus on Flex 3 and BlazeDS. Additionally, this site also keep users in touch with some of our favorite bloggers by providing a blogroll on the sidebar of the site.

It should be noted that Adobe’s new open source site will help speed both the Adobe and Linux growth through application support. They definitely trying to improve the existing Adobe Reader and Flash on the Linux distributions.