Google’s web browser is now available for download, at least if you’re running a Windows system with XP or Vista. It is a lightweight, fast, and pretty stable browser, although perhaps not as smashingly great as Google had hoped.

Give it a go and tell us what you think, or read up. read more

So by now most of us have learned that Google finally is entering the browser market, with Google Chrome, an open source browser that promises a lot, but is yet to be released. It is due today, Tuesday, for in a beta version for Windows only, with Mac and Linux versions on the way. While we wait for something truly substantial on this, here’s some required reading:

• Google Chrome comic book, an explanation of the project
• Official Google Blog post
• Google Blogoscoped broke the story
• TechCrunch story
• Coverage by Om Malik: Why is Google releasing a browser, and Mozilla’s response (they’re not worried yet)
• Techmeme discussion

Personally, while I’m excited about a lot of things in Google Chrome, I’ll keep quiet until the browser is actually available in beta. It sounds good though. One final thought, however. Google went with Webkit (used in Safari), not Mozilla’s Gecko engine. That’s got to hurt…

Take a look at the comment below, caught by Akismet and held for moderation on a client blog I have access to, but not automatically marked as spam and removed when clicking the Check for Spam button. Why do I have to see it? What in this comment makes it even remotely possible to be a valid one?

Don’t get me wrong, Akismet is a great service, and it saves me a lot of time, as it does numerous others, but sometimes it amazes me what it lets through. And I’m not only thinking about the porn spam that litters most blogs’ moderation queues (or comment areas) should they have obtained some degree of traffic. read more

Google has launched their hosted ad manager in open beta, as opposed to the invitation only one they’ve been running for some time. Google Admanager is a straightforward approach to ad managing, a lot easier to use than the otherwise excellent OpenX open source software, for instance. I’d reckon that Google Admanager is a bit much for most blogs, especially if you just want to push out some contextual ads, and sell a bunch of 125×125 button ads. If that’s the plan, I’d go with something like Performancing Ads (a Splashpress Media service), or one of the ad managing plugins out there.

However, if you need more power, then Google Admanager is a good choice. It competes with OpenX rather than simple ad managing plugins and scripts, though, so there’s a threshold before you actually get started. The overview isn’t perfect either, but hopefully Google will streamline everything, and make it more accessible.

Google’s Matt Cutts writing on his personal blog offers up three tips for company blogging.

His best tip is #2:

Don’t trash talk a competitor.

Your product should be strong enough that you don’t have to diss a competing company. Back in 2002, an article in the Boston Herald showed up about another search engine. The article claimed that “The entire XXXXXXXXX Catalog is updated every 9 to 11 days.” I knew for a fact that wasn’t true and at first I wanted to rip that claim to shreds like a bulldog. But (with the advice of some wiser Googlers), I decided to take the high road instead of picking a fight. In fact, claims like that motivated Google to be fresher and faster. Now I believe Google has the freshest index of any of the major web search engines.

What advice would you give someone blogging for/about their own company or employer?

Jaiku is down right now, but it might be a good thing that it is. Jaiku Invites blog reports that Google is moving the microblogging service that could have been a serious Twitter contender to the Google Apps cloud setup. This could mean a number of thing, one being that we’ll soon be able to get internal Jaiku-ish communication within Google Apps, but the most prominent result of this should be better uptime.

It is my opinion that Jaiku could’ve taken its share of users from Twitter, as well as given other social web sites and app a run for its money, with its very lifestreamish take on microblogging. However, the site never got the push it needed, and it feel marginalized to me. Fun fact though: In Sweden, where I live, Jaiku is the microblogging site.

Following up to yesterday’s post about Google sponsoring a large bloggers venue at both the DNC and RNC political conventions over the next few weeks, Simon Owens, writing at PBS’s Mediashift blog, profiles some of the bloggers that will be covering next week’s DNC convention in Denver, Colorado.

Here’s a look at blogger Tracy Viselli:

“I really want to focus on some of our local or state stories,” Viselli told me. “For instance, not only is Nevada a swing state, my county is considered the swing county in the state. Also, we have the possibility of electing our first all-female congressional delegation, which is really exciting.”

She explained that her “over-arching narrative” at the Big Tent will be written from the point of view of a female progressive blogger from a swing state, a fact that she believes gives her a unique perspective.

A great post that looks in-depth at the upcoming political conventions. We’ve come a long way from 12 bloggers at the 2004 DNC to a huge facility for bloggers in 2008. What impact might they have on the upcoming election?

Google will be providing significant support to bloggers at the upcoming DNC and RNC conventions over the next few weeks, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal:

Google Inc. will help set up a two-story, 8,000 square-foot headquarters for hundreds of bloggers descending on the Democratic convention in Denver next week, and it will offer similar services at the Republican convention in September, as new media gain influence in politics.

Four years ago, Google wasn’t a significant presence at the Democratic and Republican conventions. Its high-profile presence at both conventions this year mirrors the growth of new media, which will provide their takes on events and compete with established media companies via Google’s YouTube video site and other social-media outlets.

In 2004, I was in Boston during the Democratic National Convention, and while bloggers were given press access to the event, they certainly did not receive support on a scale such as this. This is a significant step towards providing bloggers with a more equal playing field with mainstream media.

Everyone has been trying to figure out the future business model for Twitter - BusinessWeek believes that it will be advertising - and soon:

Yet, putting such personal conflicts aside, I predict Twitter will begin selling ads outside Japan, which is no doubt a usability test. American users will see banner ads soon, and don’t be surprised if your message on dining out gets side-saddled with an ad for a local restaurant. And to be fair, Microsoft’s deal valued Facebook at 100 times its then-$150 million in estimated revenues. Similar hyperbole could turn Twitter’s $28 million revenue potential into a $2.8 billion valuation.

But response rates will be low, since other social media, such as Facebook and MySpace, have fared poorly selling stuff to their users. It seems social media users are too busy being social to pay much attention to ads. As marketers see poor results, they will move their ad budgets to other, more responsive ad media. The social media value bubble will be pricked by reality.

The article covers a number of possible revenue streams for the short-messenging service used by millions worldwide… but in the end predicts that they will be acquired by a company like Google or Microsoft as a “hood ornament” to their other services.

Google has been ordered to unamsk the identity of an anonymous blogger in Indian that has been accused in a defamation case against a construction company, according to Wired News and the Wall Street Journal this morning.

Wired writes:

The blogger known only as “Toxic Writer,” is accused of attacking the Mumbai-based Gremach Infrastructure Equipments & Projects Ltd. in what they are calling a “hate campaign.”

The blog was taken down, and Google’s Indian subsidiary is claiming they are not responsible for the Blogger.com service.

India, as a former British Commonwealth nation, has a legal system that does not have an equivalent to the US’s First Amendment, protecting free speech.