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Google’s resident search expert Matt Cutts and his company’s web policy team came under fire recently after it was alleged that the search engine were currently under investigations for antitrust violations.

Conference website Launch.is featured a blog post claiming that due to Google facing a number of security breaches, all manual search involvements have been ‘frozen’. – however, whilst the post remained unsigned, a link to the post was tweeted by Jason Calacanis: “Government Investigations Have Frozen Google’s Manual Search Results”, read the tweet.

In regards to the recent post, a Google spokeswoman said: “This report is completely unfounded and false, and nothing has changed in our approach.”  The statement went on to say that “computer algorithms are the most scalable way to deliver relevant results.  However, manual controls are necessary to improve the user experience in very limited cases, such as security concerns, legal issues and spam.”

Matt Cutts has strongly denied the claims, and went on to Twitter to clear his name – previously leaving a comment on the post: “@Jason  That’s false.  I left a comment on the blog post to debunk the headline and store.”  The Public Policy team for Google’s official Twitter account also left a statement, saying: “@Jason  This report is completely unfounded and sale, and nothing has changed in our approach.”

But the post itself makes absolutely no sense, as it is not possible to carry out a web search without the use of manual controls, and it seems that Google have got the last laugh – both through admitting to manual interventions, and giving them yet more publicity.

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When it comes to web hosting, you want to make sure you make it and not break it – as finding the appropriate hosting solution is essential in maintaining a decent website.  The first thing you need to do is to understand the definition and importance behind unlimited hosting.  Many companies will offer unlimited hosting services, but unfortunately, no such foolproof system exists.   However, you’re already faced with a problem – as all companies claim to be able to provide unlimited hosting.

But this isn’t to say you cannot find an appropriate web hosting provider; by following these simple tips you can ensure that you’ll find a service that meets both you and your website’s needs:

1.       Safeguard your credit card information.  It’s not so much the idea of theft that is a worry, but rather the misuse of such sensitive data.  Several web hosting agencies have been accused of continually charging accounts even when the customer has long gone cancelled their subscription.  Always check your statements to ensure you aren’t being further billed, especially when trialling new web hosting services.

2.       Check the terms and conditions for the web host site you aim to use.  The last thing you want to experience are the issues of cost and time, so always check the refund policy – and check again.  It is easy to misread jargon, and any worries you may have are best settled with the web hosting company’s customer service team.

3.       Should your websites specialise in a number of areas, experiment with other web hosting services for an idea of what type of solutions are out there.  If one of your websites suddenly goes down due to a technical hitch, at least you can have peace of mind that your other sites are fully operational.

One piece of advice that is essential is this – ensure your websites are all functioning smoothly.  Instant gratification comes at a price, so make sure you get your money’s worth with long term web hosting success.

Apparently we can’t seem to get enough of Twitter these days, and thanks to the Ryan Giggs and Imogen Thomas fiasco, everyone in the world will know of Twitter (as well as know who Imogen Thomas is – finally).  However, with so many misleading reports and not to mention, super-injunctions, it’s easy for news to get lost in legal translation – especially in the case of a BBC report wrongly accusing Twitter of revealing details of the site’s users allegedly breaking privacy injunctions.

“Our policy is notify users and we have fought to ensure user rights.  Sadly, some are more interested in headlines than accuracy,” stated Twitter’s general counsel, Alexander Macgillivray.

During a speech made at theG8 forum held yesterday, Twitter’s newly appointed European manager, Tony Wang, found himself the victim of a smear campaign following a BBC journalist coming to his own conclusions following comments stated by Mr Wang.

“Platforms should have responsibility not to defend the user, but to protect that user’s right to defend him or herself,” he said.

“If we’re legally required to turn over user information, to the extent that we can, we want to notify the user involved – let them know and let them exercise their rights under their own jurisdiction,” he added.

“That’s not to say that they will ultimately prevail, that’s not to say that law enforcement doesn’t get the information they need, but what it does do is take that process into the court of law and let it play out there”.

The BBC stated that the Twitter representative was in a way warning Twitter users that they could be subject to legal action should they be found guilty of breaking privacy injunctions following tweets posted relating to the affair.  This was strongly denied by Macgillivray, who provided proof of Wang’s comments by posting a series of tweets in his defence.

Remember how the world was meant to end on May 21?  Well don’t take your panic hats off yet – as apparently 89-year-old Bible scholar Harold Camping miscalculated the date.

According to the self-proclaimed prophet, doomsday is now taking place on October 21; but judging by the mayhem it caused on the original date both online and offline, it looks as though the another type of world will be in a frenzy – the social media world.

Social media monitoring firm Crimson Hexagon assessed various tweets referencing the rapture, and found that a large majority (67 per cent) were joking about the apocalypse, with a few (10 per cent) condemning Camping for his predictions, with many (9 per cent) even making plans for a doomsday party.

“The whole world is under Judgment Day and it will continue right up until Oct. 21, 2011 and by that time the whole world will be destroyed,” he revealed in an interview.

Change the date to April 1 and *maybe* people will start believing Mr Camping.

With so many tweeting applications jumping on the bandwagon of other successful tweeting websites, it’s about tweeting time social networking site Twitter took on TweetDeck.  With reports in May suggesting Twitter offering between $40-50 million as part of an attempt to purchase TweetDeck, CNN Money have now conformed that the acquisition deal has been signed, and all that is left to do is wait it out until all is approved.

What makes Twitter so tweeting successful is its plethora of third-party applications, giving users a range of opportunities allowing total control and freedom when arranging their Twitter timeframes.  From Tweetie to Twitbird, their layouts can be tailored to the user’s requirements for their own – or other people’s amusements.

Although Twitter occasionally attempts to download third-party applications, more often than not, it generally cannot be done.  So in order to rectify this issue, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.  Hence Twitter buying out TweetDeck.

Whilst Twitter were not available for comment, a spokesperson tweeted: “For those who might be curious we continue to not comment on rumours”.

That’s not what a little birdie told me…

The ongoing saga of reality TV star’s Imogen Thomas regarding affair with a married celebrity spilled over into Twitter-land recently, with the anonymous individual taking to the High Court in London to sue microblogging site Twitter and a number of its users.

Whilst the person is simply referred to by the initials of “CTB”, this same identity was assumed by a professional footballer in England who won a “super-injunction” in order to ban the media and Miss Thomas from revealing any information concerning the alleged relationship.

Filed against Twitter on May 18, the lawsuit names “persons unknown responsible for the publication of information on the Twitter accounts.” Twitter have not released a statement in response to the case.

May 8 saw an unnamed Twitter user post six messages to the site naming numerous UK stars who have allegedly won super injunctions preventing the media from publishing any of their activities, as well as claiming to disclose these actions. The user has since gained over 110,000 followers. The next day, an official Twitter profile linked to the account revealing the supposed super injunctions – which currently remains active.

As part of an attempt to rank this news high up in Twitter’s ‘trending topics’, several of the site’s users have repeated the information posted – with many users claiming Twitter to be putting a stop to these actions.

With so many Twitter users being named in the CTB lawsuit, should the repeating of posts continue to take place, there won’t be much left to say – which in effect, says it all.

A study has shown that male university students who comment on or upload photos of alcohol-related situations tend to have more Facebook friends than those who do not.

According to research soon to be printed in the American Journal of Men’s Health, 225 male undergraduate students from one university were examined by studying their public Facebook profiles for any references to alcohol – such as images containing an alcoholic beverage as well as any literary remarks.  The results found that 85.53 per cent of the profiles assessed included at least one indicator to alcohol, with on average, containing around 8.5.

Men aged over 21 referenced alcohol roughly 4.5 times in their profiles more than the younger students did, with the amount of references posted proving a strong correlation with the amount of friends the Facebook user had.

However, the way in which students reference alcohol consumption on the social networking site has sparked an interest in those hoping to prevent alcohol abuse within further education.  Citing research from 2002, it found that the contributing factor of excessive drinking amongst undergraduate was perceived peer use (usually surpassing actual peer use).

“Our hypothesis is that because alcohol in college students is a predictor of social acceptance, there could be a similar correlation in the social networking world with alcohol references…[posting alcoholic references] might be a mechanism for peer acceptance,” explained Katie Egan, initially leading the research in 2009 as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin.

Recently it seems that the world has enough worries to deal with, from the earthquake in Japan to protests in Libya – but let’s be honest, everyone’s biggest concern has to be…Facebook.  Yep, the social networking site is always in the headlines both personally and professionally, but the age-old worry every Facebook user, ahem, ‘faces’, is – who ‘unfriended’ me?

Well, say goodbye to the paranoia of feeling as though you’re not wanted, as some clever third-party tool has now made it possible to tell you all the unfriending details and more.  Called the ‘Unfriend Finder’, the userscript add-in works in conjunction with Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Opera – notifying you when someone rejects your friend request as well as letting you know when a friend’s account has been deactivated.

By simply downloading the add-in that can be installed directly or after the installation of an addition allowing for userscript compatibility, the application creates an ‘Unfriends’ menu in the Facebook sidebar, along with an Unfriends option and icon nest.  Through clicking on the sidebar menu, you can find out which friends have removed you from their friends list – but will only notify you after the application has been added, and will not be able to reveal past unfriendings.

Although a public site, users should still have a certain right to their privacy – and in effect, leaves the social media site a closed Face’book’.

Personal messaging tools are costing UK businesses approximately £57.8 billion pounds a year – due to many workers losing productivity through emailing and social networking, reports a recent survey.  But who is really footing the costs?

Carried out by online market research organisation, uSamp (United Sample), types of questions asked covered the work patterns undertaken by employees in marketing, human resources, legal and sales departments of over 500 global companies.

The results showed that around 60 per cent of interferences accounted for included switching between instant and text messaging, social networking and email applications.  At least 53 per cent of those interviewed reported wasting roughly an hour a day on interruptions, whilst 45 per cent stated that they could not manage working continuously for more than 15 minutes without being distracted.

Yaacov Cohen, CEO and co-founder of the company Harmon.ie commissioning uSamp’s study, proposes that the research shows proof of “online compulsive disorder,” and states that: “For all of us, it’s time to take back the Internet and find ways to control our digital addiction.”

However, the study doesn’t take into account the whole picture.  For instance, the survey was done on the basis that the average salary comes to £14.25 an hour, which is more than double the current UK National Minimum Wage of £5.93 – meaning that the grand total amounts to £3,277.50 in reduced productivity per worker.

But that’s not all – according to the recent study conducted by the UK’s Trades Union Congress, over 5.26 million UK employees worked for free in 2010.  Clocking up each week an average of seven hours, 12 minutes in unpaid overtime, this results in a huge £5,485 yearly per person.

Now that’s something to update my Facebook status to.