Those who have been blessed to not get scammed are the lucky ones. So many people get trapped into situations that leave their pride injured and their bank accounts drained.

This graphic by our friends at FinallyFast allows us to see the statistics behind the epidemic of identity theft, account hacking, and general Internet thievery. Have you been scammed? Leave your stories below.

Click to enlarge.

Local search has become a hot niche within the overall search landscape. Web searchers want to easily access data about what’s around them as efficiently as possible. As a result, more local search tools are popping up.

Whatsopen.com is one of these new local search destinations. Originally released at the beginning of the year in “Beta,” WhatsOpen’s only unique feature was its claim to provide hours of operation data for businesses that appeared for a user’s search query. Unfortunately, upon using the site for only a few seconds it became clear that the initial version of Whats Open had completely inaccurate and useless data, and had little more to offer than a cute frog logo and some fluffy language hyping their supposed testing in China and a pending mobile application just around the corner.

Although Whats Open was nothing more than a less useful version Google Maps, they did have a strong viral response thanks to some cleverly executed rumors. High profile blogs from Engadget to Gizmodo to Valleywag covered Whats Open leading up to and following its launch, not for its functionality (as there wasn’t any), but for its rumored relationship with Google as a potential Google Android application. All these stories explored the Google angle and didn’t really pay any attention to the Whats Open site itself.

After a short hiatus where a splash page promised an-all new version of the weak local search engine, Whats Open has gloriously been re-launched just this week. Luckily, the new website now features…well…no new functionality. But instead of a cute frog, the site now has a logo with a cool new attitude with spray paint and freeways around it! Clearly they didn’t take Google’s approach to good design, and rather than providing a simple layout that maximizes function over form, they chose to have a handsome albeit over-the-top design that is absent of any real value.

Whats Open is what’s wrong with local search. It’s simply a waste for users. The entire unique selling proposition is the availability of the hours of operation for businesses, but they can’t even get that right! Just like the previous version, the data is inaccurate and useless. Do they just expect users to not notice? Interestingly, in the previous version, users were able to login and edit the information if they felt charitable enough to provide the data for them, but they seemed to have removed the ability to edit the content in its current version, hmm.

We’ve featured stories on local search before. Local Buzzer is similarly an up-and-coming local search site, but it provides a vastly more useful experience for users. Not only does it provide useful mapping and address data, but it provides relevant links to websites, an events calendar, user reviews, coupon offers, and a wealth of other value information about the business the user is trying to find, including hours of operation! It’s more than just a Google Map mashup – it’s truly a local search tool.

When it comes to local search, there are plenty of options for users. First, there are the established local search portals that have become increasingly popular thanks to their clever social networking functionality. Yelp is one of these destinations, as it has a rapidly growing and active user base that has contributed greatly to its wealth of content thanks to the site’s solid foundation and features. Even Citysearch remains a user favorite for restaurant ratings and reviews.

But before all else, users have the top tier search engines themselves to locate all the local search data they could ever want! Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask all feature local search capabilities that are constantly being developed to provide users with a more robust search experience. Looking at Ask’s, local search portal, it provides the type or specialties of the business, amenities, what type of payments are accepted, user reviews, search results related to the business, and…wait for it…the hours of operation! Even Yahoo! has Upcoming which goes a step further and provides useful local even information.

As local search becomes more important and relevant to searchers, especially as more users are adopting mobile technology and need to know what’s happening around them, local search engines and portals will become more valuable to users. The top search engines have done a good job of providing the technology that facilitates effective location-based searches, and websites such as Yelp have provided an environment where users actually want to become involved and contribute to the community and its content. When it comes to local and mobile search, websites such as What’s Open are simply useless and shouldn’t promise what they clearly don’t deliver.

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Reviews of more new websites coming soon.

Advertising sometimes goes too far. They just don’t always understand exactly what they are implying. I’m sure they didn’t mean to command people like dogs (or worse?) but that’s exactly what they did on this ad that is currently appearing on Digg.

Here is a portion of the original page where it was found:

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Find more odd news here.

Advertising on the Internet isn’t what it used to be. People aren’t falling for the “9,999th Visitor” iPod winner ploy. They are catching on to Google Adsense, and pop-up blockers have destroyed that avenue.

The problem is, they also don’t want to pay to visit websites. “Don’t make money off of us, AND make it all free.” That’s the message, and a recent study described in Arstechnica about Web surfers and Behavioral Targeting touches on this fact. Check out that article (later) but first, let’s take a look at a solution.

It’s more challenging for advertisers such as Los Angeles Toyota Dealers and Auto Loans Boston to truly make an impact without the right message.

OurSocieties, a social media and social networking hybrid, is taking advertising to the next level. People will look at ads. They may even click on them if they are relevant. They don’t want their data used to determine relevance. That’s the catch-22. To combat this, OurSocieties is selecting sponsors based on their targets without using the user data. Pages will be served based upon an opt-in advertising platform.

When new users join the site, they will be able to opt-in to the advertisers that they are willing to see. It will not be cumbersome — if they want to select their advertisers later, they will be served from the entire pool until they have the time to complete their own “behavioral targeting” profile.

In other words, instead of tracking the activities of the users, Our Societies plans to just flat out ask them.

It will be a breath of fresh air for both consumers and advertisers. Super-targeted advertising without incentives to click (other than to shop for products) is the way of the future. Advertisers paying for people who WANT to see their ads — there’s something new. No more force-feeding or manipulating.

There will be another advertising section that involved “relevant sponsorship.” The automotive category of the social media section will be sponsored by someone automotive — Toyota, Automotive.com, NASCAR — whoever steps up to sponsor it. Again, the advertiser is only paying to be viewed (and clicked on) by people interested in what they have to offer instead of misplaced Cole Haan ads in the Gadgets section (not that people who read about gadgets won’t wear Cole Haans, but a nice iPhone ad will probably have a better effect).

Scheduled to launch in July, Our Societies should become the model for online advertising. It isn’t too hard. If you want to give the people what they want, just ask them.

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This isn’t necessarily a Marketing and Business Blog, but it plays one on television.

In the short life of this blog, it has received quite a bit of attention both negative and positive. One of the stories in particular about McCain Fanning the Obama-Clinton Flames has received comments on it as well on Digg and Propeller that are not complimentary.  It has been called names, bashed, yadayadayada.  It’s awesome!

Bloggers are in many ways amateur journalists.  I have written columns for print publications in the past and I prefer the editorial license allowed in blogs.  Why?  Because you can be more bold on the Internet than you can in a newspaper or a magazine.

The article in question speculates that there may be people in the McCain campaign who are intentionally doing whatever they can to help keep Hillary Clinton in the race so she can launch attacks on Barack Obama.  This is a reasonable specualtion and is probably, to some extent, true.  If done properly, McCain can only gain from a longer fight.

The attacks have been in addressing this opinion piece as one that does not offer an proof.  My retort: “If everything on the Internet needed proof, there would be about 1/3rd of the blogs that there are today.”

Blog boldly.  People will bash.  Don’t be afraid to share a controversial opinion or ask an odd question just because people will bash your point of view.  The true beauty of the Internet is that it allows everyday people to ask controversial questions and get outlandish responses in return.  That’s part of what makes it fun and informative.  It’s a blog, a place for people to speak freely.

Write for your audience.  Write for yourself.  Write what you want.  As long as nobody gets hurt, it’s all good.  No harm, no foul.

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This, for those who don’t know, is my blog.  Enjoy it, bash it, ignore it — whatever fits your needs.

Over the past several weeks, I have been privy to many projects in different stages of development. One thing that seems to hold true for many of them is that the developers’ idea of “the next big thing” is a hybrid of sorts.

Some are leaning towards social media mixed with social networking. Most of the social media sites have tried to head in this direction to some extent. All have fallen short. Most notably, the Digg changes a few months ago have turned from an attempt to socialize social media (with shouts and other features) into an unfair way to game the system. The results have been disastrous.

Social networking sites have each tried to crossover to other mediums. MySpace has been attempting (in vane) to offer portal-style integration, while Facebook had Beacon for a couple of weeks before realizing that becoming an advertising medium unlike any other had strangely predictable results.

StumbleUpon has been the only site to have some measure of success in trying new things, but that is at a scale. It isn’t that they have succeeded at anything outside of their core service. They just haven’t outright failed like the rest of the sites.

Enter stage left the Web 3.0 Social Hybrid. W3SH sites are all the rage right now because so few know exactly what will work and what won’t. The first wave of social sites, even the juggernauts like the ones mentioned above, all have glaring holes in them. User dissatisfaction is rampant, larger companies are considering them for buyout but not pulling the trigger because they don’t know how to make real money with them yet, and investors are lining up to start something without knowing what that “something” will be.

Of all of the ideas that I have reviewed over the past couple of months, only one really seems to have the legs, vision, and marketability to truly set the pace in 2008 and beyond. Only one seems to be a true contender to start Web 3.0. Sadly, I’m under strict orders not to discuss it here (or anywhere). Yet. Stay tuned though. If my gut feelings are correct, this one will really take off here in a few months.

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Read more about Web 3.0 soon on this blog.

A little-known but dangerous epidemic is spreading across members of social media websites like Digg, Reddit, Propeller, Newsvine, and Mixx. Like a secret scourge, SM-FPA (social media front page addiction) isn’t making national headines yet, but the effects have been felt in thousands of households across the world.

“Ever since my wife’s submission hit the front page of Reddit last month, we only see her on the way to the bathroom,” said Jake Dixon. His wife Amber, better known as “diggwho”, made the front page of Reddit with a story titled Bush makes more people mad by saying something stupid. Since then, Amber has been submitting 15-25 stories per day and has a submission hit the front page 3-5 times per week. She declined to be interviewed.

Research scientists at the Social Media Institute of Technology (SMIT) in Kolkata, India, say that Mr. Dixon and his family are not alone. They have documented 342 confirmed cases of SM-FPA in 2007 and estimate the actual number in the thousands.

Chief socialmediatologist Tapan Patel says dozens of treatment techniques have failed. “Because each social media site has different ways for submissions to become hot or popular, it has been extremely difficult to isolate a cure. We’ve used drugs, had accounts banned, and even tried a new technique called Taser Therapy where we have members of law enforcement perform electro-shock treatments.

“It’s almost like a virus that mutates. Just when people think they’ve figured out how to make the front page, the social media website algorithms change, prompting an increase in SM activity.”

For Kim Kiyotu, her family’s problems are doubled. “My husband has been a front page addict on Digg for over a year now. It was manageable, but when he discovered Mixx last month, he was soon fired from his job for excessive absences.”

After being kicked out of his house two weeks ago, June Kiyotu, “asianassassin69″ on Digg and Mixx, spends most of his waking hours at the public libraries in his area that offer free internet access. “I know it’s a problem, but you can’t understand how FPing (front paging) a story makes me feel. Nobody can.”

Rick Shaw, Director of PopUrHere, a half-way house for recovering FP addicts, says the solution is in recognizing the problem. “We reach out to everyone we find who shows signs of SM-FPA. If they are submitting dozens of stories at different hours of the day and night, we know we’ve found someone who needs our help.”

He continued, noting that the problem is not just with the addicts themselves. “It doesn’t help that some of the most active Diggers, Propellers, Redditers and Mixxers have fans that vote for all of their stories. If you are one of those who damages these poor souls by hitting their submissions, stop. Stop right now. The damage you’re doing is heinous and obscene.”

SM-FPA and other Socially Transmitted Diseases have caught the attention of Washington. “We’re actively pursuing the problem of STDs,” said Janine Rodgriguez-Callahan, the spokesperson for the recently-formed Department of Homepage Security. “Plagues such as stumblitis, tweeteria, and youtuberculosis must be stopped. We are weighing all of our options. The US will start with sanctions, but if the President feels it isn’t enough, airstikes on the headquarters of each social media war criminal are not out of the question.”

There is opposition. Some groups have been vocal in their support of peoples’ right to participate in social media at whatever level they choose. The National Society of Frontpage Warriors (NSFW) has issued a response to the recent backlash against SM-FPAs.

We at NSFW feel strongly that every individual on the planet has the unalienable right to Digg or Stumble as much as they want. We need the leaders of the world to understand that there is good that comes out of making the front page. To this end, we support Ron Paul as the next President of the United States.

The organization is making waves through their lobbyists because of a constant flow of financial support given to the group by corporations that include Apple, Firefox, the Wall Street Journal, Pirate Bay, and several search engine optimization firms. None of the companies’ could be reached for comment.

If you or anyone you know suffers from SM-FPA, call the STD hotline at 888-DIGGTHIS.
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Related Links:

• Problems at Digg with the Algorithm
• StumbleUpon vs. Digg

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This article was originally published at Social News Watch, but now it is here. I asked permissions. Really. Check out more jacked stories at this blog of jacked stories. (btw, that was a joke — the other blog is mine too)

When I stumbled upon a site called Local Buzzer last night, I have to admit that I was skeptical. “Easiest Local Search Ever” is what it uses as its tag line. My reaction to this:

“Oh reeeaaallly.”

One thing I liked and probably the only reason I tried it was the homepage layout — one of the cleanest I’ve seen. I tried something pretty random – Chiropractor/my zip code. While the results page is nicely set up with Google maps integration, the real juice is in the community aspect. It has a chance to be truly local.

Two interesting quotes from the About page:

“We are here to promote that conversation and provide tools for our community to discuss the places that they are passionate about.”

“By looking at local businesses through the lens of the collective community on Local Buzzer, you will always find a place that is new and interesting. We are committed to giving every local business a fair chance at being the next big thing.”

Interesting concept. The only way this will work (and I definitely think it can) is with a nice number of people in one’s local area using it. The bad part about most of the review sites is that you can’t find sites or businesses that haven’t been reviewed. The problem with classifieds and map searches is that they don’t have many, if any, reviews. In theory, Local Buzzer brings the two together into one neat, clean package.

Here are some more quotes from the About page and our analysis of what they propose:

User Powered Local Search

We believe that a community working together will create the best search results. Every user will have the power to suggest new businesses, edit business details, review and rate businesses. We will rank our search results based on the user input for any particular business.

Assuming that they are able to get businesses themselves to be active and participate with the site, this can be a really good thing. It’s like having a free listing, so they should be more inclined to make sure the details are correct. Since it offers reviews, those who know about it will be more inclined to visit often and suggest that their clients check it out.

Speedy Results

The whole focus of the site is to give the users what they want, quickly. We have spent a lot of time making sure users should be able to find businesses they are looking for in the shortest amount of time.

This is the part that I’ve been personally dying to see for ages. The search engines are too gamed, too cumbersome, and don’t always have relevant results. If I can pop in and find my next Pizza purchase quickly… that’s a beautiful, wonderful, awesome thing.

Community Driven

We dont worry about any bottom lines and “pay for placements”. You get honest results. We are not about clients, page impressions and traffic. We write reviews, upload pictures, choose our favorite businesses, and enjoy making friends just like everyone else.

I have questions here, but that’s not to say that it won’t work. I can see it as a valuable service, but getting people to sign up is the tough part. I signed up, and while I admit that it was a no-brainer, no-time-waster style setup that I prefer, I wonder how many people will use it but never sign up. On the other hand, there are advantages to having limited signups. Those who do are probably doing so because they feel passionately one way or the other about local businesses. They want their opinions to be heard. That part alone would make signing up worthwhile.

Pound for pound, I think LocalBuzzer has a real chance of making it. I hope it does — I know I would use it.

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For more website reviews, go to the homepage.

For a while now, I’ve been looking for a consolidated place to store and share files. Pics, videos, large files — so many needs, so few offerings.

FileDropper came highly recommended like BZ Results, but there was a cost associated. Granted, the basic plan was only $.99 per month, but it’s still a hassle to buy anything on the Internet when there are free alternatives. Then, someone sent me an offer for a Free accounts for bloggers as well as members of Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Mixx, and del.icio.us. It was a sign. I tried it tonight.

What I found was that their claim of being “The simplest file sharing website ever” is quite true. The interface is one that my mother-in-law can use (and she has trouble with working her email). Member files are never deleted, it has incredibly fast upload and download speed, and there are no count down timers.

MegaUpload has issues. A premium account is great but when you upload something and send it to your friends, they have to wait for a slot to clear. You get 250 gigs of file storage with a $9.99 monthly fee. It’s the slowest service I have tried, particularly in the download area. If you don’t have a US, UK, or Canada based IP, you’re in for a long wait. Worst of all, the beeping buttons when you mouse-over them drives me insane.

RapidShare is one of the most popular options for downloading or uploading files. The monthly account is around 10 euro and provides some good options for premium users. The problems is, when it comes to the free user, the road is a bit rocky. There is excessive pressure to sign up for a paid account and bandwidth is slower for free users.

While I’m not a big fan of paying for anything when there is a free alternative, I can say that FileDropper would be something that I would actually buy. Luckily, I don’t have to. This free offer came at the right time. I’m a blogger, digger, stumbler, redditer, mixxer, and deliciouser, so I think I qualified for the freebie. FYI, it expires May 15.

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There will be more stories about free offers on the Internet coming soon. This story was too fun to let it go.

With Flickr dominating the photo storage and display market, the fact that Photobucket passed the 5 billion uploaded photos mark today is an unexpected accomplishment. For the most part, it has also gone unnoticed.

There has been some recent negative publicity — negative but minor — about censoring babies in diapers as nudity. There was also an unfortunate bit of timing with the release of their photo editing features coming a couple of weeks before getting overshadowed by Adobe’s launch of a web-based photoshop service.

These three events plus other important things happening in the industry have let Photobucket’s proliferation of 5 billion photos pass unnoticed by just about everyone. They seem to be okay with this, as they haven’t even posted about it at the time of this article on their own blog. That seems to be their style — quality of service instead of loudspeaker marketing.

The marketing seems to be going towards News Corp’s online darling, MySpace. Meanwhile, Photobucket keeps popping out features, including a “Baby Einstein” styled slideshow, Photobucket Mobile, and a new MySpace App.

It should be noted that this blog hosts most of its photos on Photobucket, just in case this seems a little biased.

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Read more noozeez. It’s good for the brain.