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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Facebook testing Trending Topics section in News Feed

Facebook is testing a Trending Topics section in its News Feed. The social network is checking new ways to make Hashtags useful. The section is similar to "Trends Box" of rival Twitter and showcases topics, including Hash-tags, currently popular on the site.

Facebook testing Trending Topics

A spokeswoman from Facebook confirmed the test with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, 30 August 2013. She is quoted to have said the following in a WSJ Blog post about Trending:
"We are running a small test of a unit on News Feed that displays topics currently trending on Facebook. Right now it's only available to a small percentage of US users and it is still in the early stages of development. We will share more details down the line if we decide to roll it out more widely."

Facebook launched searchable Hashtags in June 2013, to make it easy for people to see related conversations around a single topic. At that time, the Social Networking company said it would be "rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics". Earlier this month, it started showing trending topics to some mobile web users.

Trend based navigation is a natural outgrowth of adding Hashtags. Facebook is taking a while to go to the next phase. Public-private dynamics work quite differently on Facebook than on Twitter, where the hashtag / Trending Topics idea was popularized. Facebook is using tests to make sure this approach makes sense with its more private model. Let's see if Hashtag.org incorporates Facebook hashtags tracking in future.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Winners of eCities of America in 2013

Scott Levitan, Director of Small Business Engagement, a division of Google, congratulated eCities of America in 2013. Google eCity Awards recognize the digital capitals of each state; whose businesses are using the worldwide web to find new customers, connect with existing customers and fuel their local economies. Across the USA, the online businesses expect to grow 40% faster.

Following is the detailed post which he wrote about 2013 US Digital Capitals on Google Official Blog:

I love to discover local gems that help make a community unique. Sometimes those gems can be around the corner—like Cafe Borrone, my favorite for Sunday brunch with my family; the food is great and even the dog is welcome on their patio. Sometimes I find those great places when I am on the road—places like Frank in Austin, Texas with their epic sausages or Boulevard Coffee in Ashland, Ore. which has great coffee and friendly people. Some of the best things I discover without even leaving home—like Casa Kids, which designs original children’s furniture from their studio in Brooklyn, N.Y., or Sticks in West Des Moines, Iowa, which sells hand-carved and hand-painted treasures.


The web helps people everywhere discover the best of what’s around the world or around the corner. Ninety-seven percent of Americans who use the Internet—pretty much all of us—look online for local products and services. So it should come as no surprise that the impact on businesses of being online is huge. According to a McKinsey study, small businesses that make use of the web are growing twice as fast as those that aren't on the web. Just as businesses that embrace the web grow faster, communities whose businesses embrace the web grow faster as well.

Given the importance of the web in growing our local businesses and our local economies, we worked with independent research firm IPSOS to analyze the online strength of local businesses in cities and towns across America. Businesses in these communities are embracing the power of the web to find new customers, connect with existing ones and fuel their local economies. Today we’re introducing the eCity Award winners for 2013—the strongest online business communities in each state.

2013 US eCities Winners


AL - Madison
AK - Homer
AZ - Scottsdale
AR - Bella Vista
CA - Carlsbad
CO - Boulder
CT - Glastonbury
DE - Bear
FL - Santa Rosa Beach
GA - Atlanta
HI - Kailua Kona
ID - Sandpoint
IL - Oak Brook
IN - Zionsville
IA - West Des Moines
KS - Lenexa
KY - Lexington

LA - Mandeville
ME - Scarborough
MD - Ocean City
MA - Westborough
MI - Walled Lake
MN - Minnetonka
MS - Ridgeland
MO - Maryland Heights
MT - Whitefish
NE - Lincoln
NV - Carson City
NH - Amherst
NJ - Princeton
NM - Albuquerque
NY - New York
NC - Cary
ND - Fargo

OH - Solon
OK - Edmond
OR - Ashland
PA - Exton
RI - Middletown
SC - N. Myrtle Beach
SD - Sioux Falls
TN - Hendersonville
TX - Austin
UT - Park City
VT - South Burlington
VA - Chantilly
WA - Bainbridge Island
WV - Charleston
WI - Pewaukee
WY - Casper

We hope these "digital capitals" are an inspiration to cities and businesses everywhere of what can be accomplished by embracing the web to grow. Congratulations to the 2013 eCities of America.

Source(s):
2013 eCities of America - Google Economic Impact
2013 eCities of America Award Winners