Google announced that it would be rolling out a Mobile Friendly Update this week based on the mobile qualities of a website. Early Wednesday morning, there was not much change in the search results of many sites leading some to wonder if a change had been made at all. Google has stated that the roll-out will be a one week process, so changes might still be coming. Companies such as Search Metrics and SEOClarity were not able to pick any winners or losers as they did not see any significant change in the search results from Google.

Sites such as WikiPedia.org might see better results within mobile searches as their site is fairly friendly to mobile devices. Websites should not see any change in ranking when searching from a desktop as this update only affects mobile searching. Google started informing webmasters in their webmaster tools dashboard if their site had mobile issues. But no action was taken against those sites until this week and the announcement from Google.

Google will be tracking Santa Clause once again this year as he travels around the world in one night. The Santa Tracker is available from Google to track the sled and the reindeer on Christmas Eve 2014. In addition to the tracker there will be games, animated shorts, information on holidays around the globe and even some JavaScript classes for the kids.

iGoogle with the Winter Scape theme. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Google Shuts Down IGoogle

iGoogle, Google's all-in-one homepage site, was finally shuttered in early November. The site's shutdown is only the latest in a long line of rollouts and shutdowns from the giant search engine company, and one that seems to have been a long time coming. In fact, iGoogle's continued existence might have been puzzling to many.

The second logo for AOL, used from 2006–2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

AOL Reader - A Replacement For Google's RSS Reader?

It is difficult to understand why Google would end its RSS reader service, especially as dozens of copycat services have appeared to feast upon its cast-off users. AOL, perhaps better known for its virtually defunct ISP than its adoption of modern conveniences, has jumped into the fray with the AOL Reader. The product incorporates many of Google's features into a speedy pattern, making it a relatively useful alternative for those who feel lost in the new market.

Screenshot of Android 4 on Galaxy Nexus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What To Expect At Google I/O

This year Google I/O plans to outdo last year's presentation, but the bar is set pretty high.  After revealing the Nexus 7 tablet last year this year Google plans to not outdo itself in presentation but to be relaxed.  A common rumor is Google Glass, Chrome, Wallet, Music and Google Maps are getting updates.

The AdSense Code (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Google Affiliate Network Closing

Google Affiliate Network was set up to connect publishers with advertisers.  Publishers could use the network to promote products to earn a commission from sales, and publishers could earn a percentage of each sale from a link generated on their site.  Google has recently announced that Google Affiliate Network is closing soon because they are concentrating on different products and services for both publishers and advertisers. 

Google feels that other products will be more beneficial to advertisers and publishers, so they want to devote more time and resources to developing different products with hopes of better results. 

GAN closing will take several months, and Google will continue to support their customers during this period of time.  They are offering AdSense as an alternative to Google Affiliate Network, and they encourage publishers to use AdSense to earn money on their blogs and websites. 

cloud computing (Photo credit: kei51)

AWS Compared Google Compute Engine Cloud Services

Both Amazon and Google have lowered what they charge for their Cloud services among many others. The thing is, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Compute Engine (GCE) have brought down their costs significantly in an all-out competition. Besides this, Google has gone a step further and increased the number of virtual servers it has, providing great choice. It has also made its service Euro-friendly.

twitter y macworld (Photo credit: juque)

Twitter Follows LinkedIn, Facebook and Google With Ad API

In an attempt to get more advertising without hiring a good number of new sales members, Twitter opened its Ad API to the public today. This follows other technology companies that have made similar moves including Google, Facebook and LinkedIn. This makes it easy for large buyers to quickly setup and manage campaigns with in-house programmers. Small businesses can continue to use the web-based interface provided by Twitter for small transactions.

Dear Facebook (Photo credit: JAMES ANTHONY CAMPBELL)

Facebook's New Developers Live Video Channel

Google started a Developers Live Video channel for developers and now Facebook is following in its footsteps with the development of Facebook Developers Live video channel. Effective today, this channel will showcase news updates, speaking sessions, tutorials and much more.

According to Facebook, people will be able to view live broadcasts as well as previously recorded videos. This enables developers to access the latest information and make contact with product designers and engineers. Doug Purdy, director of product for Facebook, shared that the first broadcast will be on February 19.