In a week that saw the world rocked by disaster in Haiti, the online sphere was also shocked by a sophisticated global cyber attack originating in China. Delve into the bigmouthmedia newsletter to read all about the news that's kept the technophiles glued to their screens in the last seven days.
Reports that a hack from within China's borders had attempted to penetrate Google's formidable walls sent ripples of astonishment through the online landscape, especially when evidence suggested that the attack was aimed at the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. The search star subsequently announced it was considering a 'new approach to China', provoking speculation about the possibility that Yahoo! and Bing could profit from Google's choice. However, Yahoo!'s owners in China have since http://www.bigmouthmedia.com / live / articles / yahoo-criticised-for-supporting-googles-china-st.asp / 6699 / ">criticised the search provider for supporting Google's stance.
Meanwhile, Google was also hit by complaints from disgruntled news firms in Germany and censors in Australia as the Mountain View giant removed a search result deemed racist from its SERPs.
The week also saw donators the world over keen to lend a hand to earthquake victims in Haiti and the volume of text donations suggests that the technology is coming into its own. The news follows reports that a barcode reading application offering price comparisons quickly topped the iPhone charts, making it all too clear the subjects that are at the forefront of many minds as we launch into the New Year.
When an ill-planned tweet from a frustrated commuter saw the gentleman in question arrested under the Terrorism Act, Twitter found itself in the headlines again and this week also saw Google revealing its methods for indexing tweets. A bigmouth newshound spent a little time considering the search giant's use of favicons in Webmaster Tools too, and wondered whether they would be making more of an appearance in the search results of the future. Make sure your finger is one the button and keep abreast of the news with the ever on-topic bigmouthmedia newsletter.
Text donations raise millions for Haiti
Text fundraising is coming into its own, as a simple and immediate method of helping the victims of the Haiti earthquake.
Twitter user taken literally, terrorism attempts assumed
Twitter user faced seven hours of interrogation after jokingly tweeting plans to blow up the airport.
German news firms lodge complaints against Google
Germany's anti-trust offices also hear concerns from mapmakers and shopping site
Yahoo! criticised for supporting Google's China stance
The Alibaba Group, Yahoo!'s owners in China, have criticised the search engine for siding with Google in the wake of cyber-attacks.
Google censors 'racist' search result in Australia
Google has taken down an offensive search result in Australia in the same week it announced the decision to cease censorship in China.
Barcode reader spells out success on iPhone
Scanning app dominates sales after launch last week
Is Google's withdrawal from China a chance for Yahoo! and Bing?
Analysts are debating the benefits for the other two major Western search engines if Google pulls operations out of China.
Google expands use of favicons in Webmaster Tools
Google has expanded Webmaster Tools to include favicons alongside site names. Could this be an indication that Google plans to make further use of favicons within search results?
Google explains real time Twitter search
Google lifts the lid on its Twitter indexing methods.
Google unveils 'new approach to China'
The Mountain View giant is reviewing its operations in China, following a sophisticated and targeted cyber attack that originated in the nation.
