Hugely embarrassing: Daily Mail jumps gun on “Amanda Knox guilty” story
October 3, 2011 – 8:47 pm | 70 Comments

I'm not sure it gets more embarrassing than this for a news site. In their attempt to be first with the verdict on Amanda Knox, the Mail Online published its pre-written story the moment the ...

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Dear Google – what’s with the apostrophe and +1?
June 1, 2011 – 11:44 pm | No Comment
Dear Google – what’s with the apostrophe and +1?

Google has launched its +1 button and thrown its grammar book out the window.

Ryan Giggs affair injunction: the front pages
May 23, 2011 – 10:21 pm | 5 Comments
Ryan Giggs affair injunction: the front pages

How the newspapers are running the Ryan Giggs injunction story

The injunction DID protect the footballer Google search volumes show
May 22, 2011 – 11:20 pm | No Comment
The injunction DID protect the footballer Google search volumes show

Until this weekend, Google shows the injunction has been fairly effective. But on Saturday, there were 425,000 searches for his name ...

Search volumes for a footballer vs the rapture vs horoscopes
May 21, 2011 – 9:36 am | No Comment
Search volumes for a footballer vs the rapture vs horoscopes

Search volumes for the word horoscopes tend to be fairly stable at about 500,00 a month, so I've used them as a handy comparator so we can compare search volumes for a certain footballer's name vs the rapture vs horoscopes.

Are the courts blind to Google autosuggesting Fred Goodwin’s affair partner?
May 19, 2011 – 6:48 pm | No Comment
Are the courts blind to Google autosuggesting Fred Goodwin’s affair partner?

Fred Goodwin allegedly had an affair and although publishing the woman's name is forbidden by an injunction, Google is autosuggesting it ...

394,000 web pages name Imogen Thomas’s anonymous injunction footballer
May 16, 2011 – 9:04 pm | No Comment
394,000 web pages name Imogen Thomas’s anonymous injunction footballer

How much privacy has the injunction footballer got left after all the rumours on Twitter and hints on newspaper sites?

Google shows social connections in Flickr sitelinks
May 13, 2011 – 11:28 am | 2 Comments
Google shows social connections in Flickr sitelinks

When I search for Flickr, I see the Flickr user profiles of people I'm apparently connected to in my Google social circle (well, I recognise 3 of the 4, anyway).

Pippa Middleton’s arse: how newspapers optimise for the phrase without showing it to their readers
May 12, 2011 – 12:30 pm | 14 Comments
Pippa Middleton’s arse: how newspapers optimise for the phrase without showing it to their readers

Interesting use of different headlines on the Daily Mail today to solve the problem of how to optimise for the high-volume search term "Pippa Middleton's arse".

Super injunction names: 6 national newspaper stories that flouted the injunction to reveal all
May 11, 2011 – 7:01 am | 4 Comments
Super injunction names: 6 national newspaper stories that flouted the injunction to reveal all

Six newspaper stories from the last week that told you who the names of those with superinjunctions were.

Twitter and super injunctions: no one need pack their toothbrush
May 10, 2011 – 7:38 am | 3 Comments
Twitter and super injunctions: no one need pack their toothbrush

No one is going to prison over the Twitter superinjunction leaks

Super injunctions and Twitter: Alfie Patten, John Terry, [redacted] and [redacted]
May 9, 2011 – 9:59 am | No Comment
Super injunctions and Twitter: Alfie Patten, John Terry, [redacted] and [redacted]

The biggest problem is, oddly, not that you can find out on Twitter or via Google. It's that the lawyers involved didn't seem to think it's necessary to tell Google or Twitter that an injunctions exists.

Pippa Middleton underwear pictures: Google updates its autosuggester
May 6, 2011 – 9:48 am | 7 Comments
Pippa Middleton underwear pictures: Google updates its autosuggester

Google is no longer suggesting Pippa Middleton's arse when you start to type her name in its search box.
Even worse, it's now suggesting Pippa Middleton underwear pictures, SHOWN HERE, after a photo of her in ...

Express newspaper creates an infinite number of URLs using rel = canonical
May 6, 2011 – 7:00 am | 6 Comments
Express newspaper creates an infinite number of URLs using rel = canonical

The Express newspaper has cocked up its implementation of the rel=canonical command SO BADLY that it has created an infinite number of duplicate webpages ... many of which now have links from elsewhere on the internet.

Pippa Middleton’s arse closing the gap on her dress
May 2, 2011 – 12:31 pm | 2 Comments
Pippa Middleton’s arse closing the gap on her dress

Searches for "Pippa Middleton arse" running at 72% of the level of those for "Pippa Middleton dress"

Pippa Middleton’s arse: classy, Google, classy …
May 1, 2011 – 10:20 pm | One Comment
Pippa Middleton’s arse: classy, Google, classy …

In a new low for google autosuggest, it's suggesting "arse" as the top suggested search term when you type in Pippa Middleton's name.

Uncovered: the first ever tweets, in order (warning: they’re dull)
April 19, 2011 – 5:58 pm | 5 Comments
Uncovered: the first ever tweets, in order (warning: they’re dull)

The first tweets ever sent, in order. See how Twitter actually began on its first two days. Try to stay awake ...

Google’s indexed 64 fake Independent jelly-bean Kate-Middleton URLs
April 19, 2011 – 11:06 am | 7 Comments
Google’s indexed 64 fake Independent jelly-bean Kate-Middleton URLs

You can change Indy URLs to anything if you leave the unique ID number in. Google's started to index the fake ones people are circulating on Twitter ...

Online news isn’t turning journalists into sheep
April 19, 2011 – 7:30 am | 3 Comments
Online news isn’t turning journalists into sheep

John Naughton wrote an Observer article at the weekend complaining that news websites such as Gawker "allow ratings to dictate content". What's wrong with that, I say?

Why the ASA’s figures on online advertising complaints won’t be trustworthy
April 12, 2011 – 7:00 am | 4 Comments
Why the ASA’s figures on online advertising complaints won’t be trustworthy

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has thrown away my complaint about an online marketing claim because it's too similar to a complain about an offline marketing claim.

A simple graph shows why the Guardian’s future does look bleak
April 7, 2011 – 10:33 am | 15 Comments
A simple graph shows why the Guardian’s future does look bleak

Dear the Guardian: Please let me give you more money. This graph shows how my switch to your digital services is costing you a fortune.