Welcome to this week's WebmasterWorld Weekly Round-up.
That Google pigeon seems to be fluttering back and forth with no apparent direction. Clearly, Google has been testing the water and probably rolling back, correcting, then rolling out again. It seems a level of flux is to be expected, and it's arguable that now, holiday time, is a good time to test the SERPs.
With a slightly shorter holiday time update, let's take a look at a few of our hot discussions and news topics for the week.

The previous WebmasterWorld Weekly is
here.As I mentioned, WebmasterWorld Members report the
Google local pigeon update is in flux.
Spanish newspaper publishers believe they have found a way to get payment for the listing of their online content in Google. "
Spain's Newspapers Target Google Tax For Links To News" Only time will tell.
Over the the last few days
Facebook has stopped allowing messaging in its main iPhone and Android apps, and is forcing all users around the world to download its standalone Messenger app. Users are not happy about the move by Facebook, yet Europeans have already been through this process.

Microsoft continues to progress with
Cortana, its Siri-like system, and has now integrated Foursquare data.
Twitter's Q2 results were out, and in addition to its financials, it said it has 271 milliion active users, and 211 million active mobile. "
Twitter Reports Q2 Financial Results: Revenue Up 124pct to $312 Million"

LinkedIn has invested in its mobile interface with an announcement it has
improved its look for users on-the-go.
Google has begun
adding stars and user review counts to its Shopping advertising listings. Advertisers need to apply for the change to be implemented. Google said, "To help shoppers easily find this information when searching for products, we're introducing product ratings on Product Listing Ads."
News from Bing as it has updated the Bing Ads interface. In addition, it's added some new features to the program. "
Bing Ads New Look UI and Program Features"
This week WebmasterWorld Members were discussing
Google Sandbox 2.0 and how it's affecting sites. Bing has made moves to step up malware notifications. "
Bing Site Safety Information Now More Informative"
There's no doubt that tablet computers are very popular, and sales of some types have tailed off a little, however, one major US retailer suggested that
tablet sales are "crashing." I wonder how much of that is unique to them.
Mozilla revealed there was a
hack of its 76,000 strong developers database. It seems those that may have been affected have been notified.
Do you remember that high-tech barge Googlw was developing? News came in that the barge is heading for the scrap heap. "
Google "High Tech" Barge Heading For The Scrap Yard"
Sorry, no video this week as it's vacation time.
Thank you for joining the conversations, until next time...
Cheers
Neil
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