Summary Box: Microsoft’s IE9 promises speed (AP)

AP – THE NEWS: Microsoft released the “beta” test version of Internet Explorer 9, its updated Web browser program. Starting Wednesday, people with computers running Windows 7 or Windows Vista can download IE9 at beautyoftheweb.com.

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Google pitching online music service to labels: Billboard (AFP)

Internet search powerhouse Google is trying to put together an online music service that would take on Apple's market-ruling iTunes, according to a report at Billboard.com.(AFP/DDP/File/Torsten Silz)AFP – Internet search powerhouse Google is trying to put together an online music service that would take on Apple’s market-ruling iTunes, according to a report at Billboard.com.

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Microsoft’s new IE9 promises zippier performance (AP)

AP – Microsoft Corp. unveiled the “beta” test version of Internet Explorer 9 on Wednesday, the first of a new generation of Web browser programs that tap into the powerful processors on board newer computers to make websites load and run faster.

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PARTING SHOTS: Bill Clinton is not a fan of Michele Bachmann or the tea party movement (The Upshot)

The Upshot – Here is our roster of stories that managed to evade the full-on blog treatment: • Bill Clinton did not mince words when talking about Rep. Michele Bachmann and the tea party at a fundraiser in Minnesota. (Salon) • The Obama administration ordered the oil and gas industry to permanently shut nearly 3,500 nonproducing wells and [...]

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PARTING SHOTS: Cuba will lay off half a million workers (The Upshot)

The Upshot – Here is our roster of stories that managed to evade full-on blog treatment today: • A leaked memo might land French President Nicolas Sarkozy in hot water over his mass deportation of gypsies. (The Guardian) • The Senate may schedule a vote on the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy next week. (Washington Blade) • [...]

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Americans spending more time with news: Pew survey (AFP)

A man reads a newspaper in front of a newsstand. Americans are spending more time consuming news than a decade ago, adding online news to a diet of traditional media such as print newspapers, radio and television, according to a new survey.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)AFP – Americans are spending more time consuming news than a decade ago, adding online news to a diet of traditional media such as print newspapers, radio and television, according to a new survey.

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Summary Box: Tenn. utility offering fast Internet (AP)

AP – THE PROVIDER: The city-owned utility in Chattanooga, Tenn., which now provides electricity, television, telephone and Internet service to more than 169,000 residents in Tennessee and Georgia.

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Chattanooga utility offering fast Internet service (AP)

AP – Chattanooga’s city-owned electrical utility has started offering an Internet service that is among the fastest in the world, and it is hoping the move will attract businesses looking to relocate.

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eBay defeats Tiffany in counterfeit jewelry suit (Reuters)

Reuters – EBay Inc on Monday won dismissal of a Tiffany & Co lawsuit accusing the auctioneer of deceiving customers by allowing the sale of counterfeit Tiffany jewelry on its website.

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More Opportunities To Gain Traffic From Facebook Likes

Facebook continues to make changes that have implications for benefiting businesses and driving traffic. They have now launched three new updates to its Like button social plugin. First is the ability to like canvas URLs for Facebook apps that represent things like causes, movies, or other real world objects. Second is the ability to link a Like button to a Facebook Page. Third is the "box count" layout that displays the total number of likes above the button.

Do you consider Facebook likes important to your online marketing strategy? Let us know

"Since we launched social plugins in April, we’ve been listening to user feedback and working with developers to optimize the Like button to make it as seamless as possible for people to like content around the web and share it with their friends," says Facebook Platform engineer Jerry Cain.
 
The ability to like canvas URLs in apps means that app users can like pages from within an app. This will then place a like in the user’s newsfeed, linking to the app. This could help app growth tremendously.
 
Page owners now have the option to either use the Like button or the Like box to encourage user engagement, with like buttons linked to Facebook Pages. 
 

Facebook's Open Graph

 
As far as the box count format for the like button, Cain says, "This layout provides another option to suit different website designs. To determine which Like button is most effective at driving referral traffic for your site, use our ref attribute for tracking."

Some Other Things to Keep in Mind
 
1. Consumers want to interact with brands on Facebook (and Twitter for that matter). WebProNews reported earlier this week on a study from ExactTarget, which found this to be the case. 
 
"Consumers don’t isolate their communications to email, Facebook or Twitter and expect brands to communicate consistently across the channels," says ExactTarget‘s Jeff Rohrs.
 
The study found that 93% of online consumers subscribe to email marketing messages, 38% are fans of brands on Facebook and 5% follow brands on Twitter.
 
2. Facebook has been testing a feature that would make it much more valuable for search. The feature has Facebook showing all liked articles in its search results. The results, as AllFacebook describes, show content based on the number of likes and the number of friends who liked that object. 
 
"The search results have now become dramatically more relevant with the inclusion of recent news articles, something that previously wasn’t accessible via Facebook’s open graph search results," says AllFacebook’s Nick O’Neill. "Currently, the search results only appear within the drop down from Facebook’s search box, however I’d assume that this will eventually shift to Facebook’s search area, which has yet to undergo a significant overhaul."
 
3. Facebook is also testing subscriptions, which would let users "subscribe" to others. This means they would get notifications when a new status update is made. You can clearly see the advantages of this from the brand standpoint, no doubt. 
 
Facebook likes have quickly become an integral part of online content marketing and driving traffic/engagement. It is good that Facebook continues to add options around its social plugins, and the company will likely increase those options has time goes on.

Which feature that Facebook has launched or is testing do you think has the most potential to help you get more traffic? Share your thoughts.

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