Back in December, Google Reader announced that it was introducing a feature that let users share posts with anyone in their Gmail/Gtalk contact list. Unfortunately, the sharing was all-or-nothing - if you decided to share a post, it would be available to all of your contacts, as there was no way to single out a group to share a post with. This lack of control led to a privacy debate as a number of high profile bloggers wrote that Google Reader needed to include granular privacy controls. Google responded with a workaround option using tags, but it was inconvenient and unintuitive.

Today, Google Reader has finally implemented custom friends lists, which allows users to selectively share posts. However, while this will restrict who your posts are automatically shared with, the added privacy may not be enough for some people, as users will still be able to access your shared posts through a static public URL.

Read more: techcrunch.com 

Labels: reader, share

Yahoo has agreed a deal with Google which will see Yahoo use the search engine giant's advertising technology.

Under the agreement, Google ads will appear alongside some Yahoo search results in the US and Canada.

The announcement came after Yahoo said it had failed to persuade Microsoft to renew its bid to buy all of the internet company.

Recent talks concluded after Yahoo rejected a Microsoft proposal to buy just its online search business.

Full article: news.bbc.co.uk 

Labels: advertising, share, technology, Yahoo

And prepare for something else to assume its name

When Google bought Picasa, a photo-sharing division called Hello went along for the ride. Unfortunately for Hello and its users, a sort of fatal crash is scheduled to take place on May 15th.

"Hello will be shut down on May 15th," admits a message on Hello.com. It continues, "We originally embarked on a mission to make photo sharing easier and more fun with Hello. We plan to keep carrying that torch in new projects to come."

Read more: webpronews.com 

Labels: hello, picasa, pictures, share

Google Maps has launched a collaborative map-making feature that lets you invite people to contribute to a map you have created.

Map makers can ask friends or family to contribute, or click the “Allow anyone to edit this map” to make it open to anyone. The new feature makes it easier for multiple people to plan events on Google Maps.

Read more: webuser.co.uk 

Labels: feature, Maps, share

ZebDisk is a free software, and you can store, and share your files on the internet with it using Google’s Picasa service.

Google’s Picasa service gives its users the ability to share their photos on the internet. ZebDisk places other files in these photos using a technic similar to steganography.

· Download : Users can connect to any Picasa address shared via ZebDisk, and they can download and save any file which was accessible publicly.

· Upload : Users can sign up a Picasa account, and can send any file to this account. They can set these files accessible publicly or restricted to themselves only.

Download: ZebDisk 0.0.1.1 

Labels: freeware, photos, picasa, share, Web, ZebDisk

There's a small army of Google-watchers out there, and one of the best has to be Ionut Chitu at Google Operating System, who regularly comes up with things that others miss (Google Blogoscoped is another one). And last night, he posted about an interesting move by the Web behemoth to expand its social-networking features by adding something called Google Shared Stuff.

The new service isn't exactly easy to get to, since you have to add a bookmarklet, and it isn't exactly revolutionary -- as both Ionut and Tony Ruscoe of Google Blogoscoped describe it, it is a fairly simple service that allows you to share links with your friends. You can create a rudimentary profilem, and you can see what links others have shared (and how many times) and that's about it.

Read more: theglobeandmail.com 

Labels: service, share, shared stuff, social

YouTube now has enhanced sharing and uploading features, new partners, and better browsing for your mobile appliance.

Take YouTube on the road—now you can watch the best of YouTube from anywhere your mobile device gets a signal. Whether you want to see the most viewed, top rated, or other popular videos, they're all right at your fingertips.

Shoot and upload video in the moment—capture the best bits of life and share them with your friends and family, wherever you are. All it takes is a few keys on your mobile device.

Read more: youtube.com 

Labels: mobile, phone, share, youtube

Yahoo has a strategic plan due in 100 days and lags Google in most metrics. Yet despite Yahoo’s issues it still has the No. 2 market share in search. But if Yahoo wants to change its standing it should work on its interface a bit more.

According to Nielsen/Netratings, Google’s search market share in June was 52.7 percent with 20 percent going to Yahoo (gallery at right). To put this in context, Microsoft in third place with 13 percent. Yahoo’s year over year search growth is 20 percent compared to Google’s 46 percent. Microsoft’s Live Search grew 77 percent annually.

Full story: blogs.zdnet.com 

Labels: market, microsoft, search, share, Yahoo