Webcast follow-up.
I want to thank everyone that joined us for our MSDN Webcast this afternoon. Andy and I both had a great time demonstrating MSN Search and WDS. Actually I’d meant to do this post earlier this afternoon but got distracted by some very pressing matters at the office (It was nearly 11PM when I finally got home).
I’m going to post some more about some advanced usage of WDS this weekend. But for now I’ll supply the list of links I promised. So here they are:
Steve Ickman’s “WDS Tech” blog at MSN Spaces
—-Steve’s guide to adding locations to the “All Locations” drop-down in WDS
—–Steve’s guide to customizing the stock Preview Pane templates
Deskbar Shortcut guide from the MSN Toolbar documentation.
Advanced Query Syntax reference from the MSN Toolbar documentation.
Be back with more soon.
MSDN Webcast today!
Andy Edmonds and I are hosting a 1-hour MSDN Webcast at 1pm (Pacific) this afternoon. We’ll be discussing tips, tricks, and hacks for MSN Search and for Windows Desktop Search.
We’ll also take some questions near the end of the webcast.
You can get the details and join us here.
Windows Live Local has launched!
Yes, Live Local is now… Live!
And yes, we’re contractually obligated to make that joke every time a Windows Live product/service launches =D
So go check it out! I particularly love the directions implementation. They did exactly what I wanted when I first used Virtual Earth. Awesome.
Vikram from the Live Local team has details about the launch here.
What is Bitacle.com?
It looks like a Blog search engine. I’d never heard of it, but it appears to be sending people to my site – so they’ve figured out how to make a good first impression 🙂
That was quick.
Searching for my name on MSN Search now puts this site in the 3rd spot. That was fast! And I never even had to submit it there.
Google on the other hand, despite being pointed directly at it, still thinks my site doesn’t exist. Weird, eh? I wonder if they have some problem with my host or DNS or some such.
Yahoo won’t show my site in searches for “Brandon Paddock” or “Brandon Live” – but if you search for “brandonlive” you can see that I’m at least in their index – and over time it will likely move me up.
So when I set out to move my blog to a new host, I was curious how long it would take the various search engines to pick up the new site.
As of today, no search for my name returns the new site just yet. But more interesting… it appears that Google hasn’t even realized my site exists. Searching for Brandon Live or Brandonlive will get a couple of sites that linked to this one, but no results from this domain. So earlier today I submitted the site to Google via their submission page. So far no change.
MSN, on the other hand, found my site all by itself – as did Yahoo. And I never submitted my URL to either of them.
And now I found some interesting statistics reported by StatTraq:
Google Yahoo MSN
Number of Pages Indexed 3 12 59
Number of Pages Not Indexed 84 75 28
Percent Saturation 3% 13% 67%
More X360s already showing up?
Despite all the stores that falsely report there “won’t be any more til next year”– I just heard from someone that bought an Xbox 360 (“premium” version) at their local Target in Columbus, Ohio this morning. Apparently the store received 10 units in their second shipment last night.
It may not sound like a lot, but if stores start getting several every week or so… getting one before Christmas is looking a lot less like a lost cause.
My advice if you’re on the hunt for a 360? Check with your local Target or Best Buy often. I’d think you’re more likely to find one in the morning. If a manager will tell you what days they receive shipments from their distribution centers, that might help too. And don’t bother with stores that took pre-orders and still have a huge list to fill (like GameStop and EBGames) – unlesss you’re on the list or know that they’ve filled all their pre-orders.
Search Champs returns!
For those that don’t remember – the MSN Search Champs program is what originally brought me to Redmond. According to the official MSN Search Blog, Search Champs are a group of “academics, bloggers, siteowners, and technologists” that are invited out to Redmond for a couple days to meet with various teams at Microsoft/MSN and talk about Search.
With all the amazing work going on around these hallways these days, I’ve been anxious to get more Champs out here to give us some real honest feedback about what we’re doing. I really think events like this can help keep a team on track or put them back if they’ve lost focus of what’s impotant to the user.
So guess what? We’re having another one! 🙂 You can read the full details here.
Also, this time we’re doing things a little different. How so?
First of all, we’re making an Open Call for applicants that would like to participate. Think you belong at this event? Let us know! Or do you know someone else who we absolutely must consider? Tell us!
Second, the format will be a bit different. I don’t know if all the details have been worked out, but basically we want Champs to have some face time with the teams they’re most interested in talking to (about the project they’re most interested in talking about).
Some final details ripped from the official post:
The event will take place in Redmond (on the MS campus) from 1/24-1/26 and expenses will be paid by us. Champs will be selected based on who applies and what products we are reviewing. Hope to meet you!
Best Christmas lights EVAR!
Microsoft’s “Major Nelson,” – who is the “Xbox Live Director of Programming” is on the Chris Pirillo show tonight.
So head on over there and tune in! I hear they’re going to have some special giveaways for listeners who call in 🙂
Update So, there seem to be some technical difficulties over at Pirillo’s. It’s kind of entertaining actually 🙂 Apparently their equipment has been possessed. Either that, or maybe Major Nelson is really a robot!
Update 2 They have the issues cleared up now. So go check it out!