Google recently celebrated its ten year anniversary recently and over the last couple of years we have seen its meteroric rise from a university research project to one of the world's most successful companies. However I have a slightly differing perspective (as always!) to the norm with respect to the search engine.

People are now so used to 'Googling' things that it has now become second nature. Google has become an almost indispensible lifestyle and business tool with people using it buy products and services as well as research and general surfing. Having said this the evolution of IT and Web Technology is very quick. History has taught us that the rules of the game change often.

Google's income mostly comes from its innovative non-intrusive advertising techniques. These have worked very well so far but I must say that I for one pay little or no attention to sponsored links whether they are on the top or on the side. I do not think I am alone. As people get more and more accustomed to Google and they will start to ignore all the irrelevant information. They will have to because there is so much rubbish out on the net it is unbelievable. Companies may find that there pay-per-click and other advertising may become less effective on Google.

However, this is not the only strategy employed to get positive exposure on Google. Research shows that statistically people most of the time only look at the first three search engine results. This has given rise to a whole specific industry who's sole purpose is to get your company to the top spot of Google. The process is called Search Engine Optimisation. These companies streamline your website with related keywords (search terms that be picked up by Google) and generally create more links to their site from other sites to increase your Google ranking. There are other strategies involved in SEO too and everyone seems to be obsessing about it at the moment. Competition is fierce for the top spots and there are lot of SEO companies cashing in on this at the moment.

My problem with this if everyone is doing this I feel it may undermine the integrity search engine process as whole. If you are search for stuff and all you get is rubbish and websites trying to sell you things you may soon get sick of the search engine and lose trust in it. This is something that Google should be paying attention to as at the moment they are one of the most trusted and liked brands out there but it could all change so quickly! It also seems to assume that Google is the ultimate internet authority. It is certainly one of them now but may not be for ever as IT world moves very quickly. The question is will these companies, who rely on SEO in Google, be able to adapt when the game changes (which it inevitably will). I think many of them would be left behind if other search engines were to become more popular. Different search engines use different techniques to crawl the net so what works for Google will not be as effective in other ones. Companies offering SEO will also have to adapt very significantly or enjoy their current success while it lasts.

There are new search engines appearing now and the older ones like Altavista and Yahoo may soon catch up with Google in time. Resently some ex-Google employees set up a search engine called Cuil which has a more magazine like interface. I have to say I really like Cuil too.

However, it does not end there. Google offer other services like Gmail, Google Maps, Google Earth, along with a whole manner of others which are fantastic and very versatile. They now also own YouTube and will pounce on the next big thing I am sure! Then again the popularity of Facebook shows that other companies are on the rise too.

Maybe Google have realised that their days may be numbered as the top search engine and have branched out into other areas. However, Google's search engine is still central to its reputation and other services will to a greater extent rely on its continued success.

Oh Gosh! I have just realised Google actually also own the company who host this blog! I love you Google honest I do! :-)

On Saturday I was absolutely fine but on Sunday I woke up with a feeling that spelled impending doom! No it wasn't alcohol related it was this year's round of the flu!

I am always surprised at this time of year in UK (when it starts to get wintery) how colds and flu seem to creep up on us unawares like grey mist getting thicker and thicker! Sometimes you get off light and you only have a runny nose and feel drained. Other times you get the full blown event with headaches, fever and a general gloomy feeling that you wouldn't mind if the earth swallowed you up now! If you can get the sleep that is good but quite often the illness renders you for the most part incapacitated but conscious as you struggle to make the next cup of lemsip.

Some people's approach is to take enough medicine that they walk around some strange trance state not unlike 'Dawn of the Dead'. Whether it's cough syrup, paracetemol or ibuprofen they get stocked up on all of it. I personally don't recommend this course of action as I believe the best way is to let you body deal with it in its own way. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?

You are always left with an annoying waiting game with the virus in which all you can do is stick it out. It helps if you can convince someone else to look after everything while you are ill as cooking dinner and tidying up becomes a real chore. Sympathy always goes down a treat too. Then again being alone has its merits - you don't necessarilly want to deal with other people's issues when you are ill.

Anyway if you are also down with flu, cold or similar virus at the moment my heart goes out to you! Hang on in there!

Gosh - I've managed to write a whole post complaining about being ill! I must be feeling better...

I have been watching the US Presidential Race between Barack Obama and John McCain with much interest. To be honest I have a lot of disagreements with the way the USA generally handle themselves especially with their foreign policy. They don't do themselves any favours and whoever gets in will have a difficult road ahead especially with financial situation at the moment. Having said that it will be good to see Obama in though as he seems to have a plan and is certainly inspiring young american voters.

The final presidential debate yesterday made for some interesting viewing especially when they kept talking about Joe the Plumber! I initially thought like many people, 'who the hell is Joe the Plumber?'

Apparently Joe the Plumber is a small business owner who challenged Obama over his economic policy when he was campaigning in Ohio at the beginning of the week. His name has now become famous as unwitting symbol of the econonic situation in the US because of being mentioned so many times in the final presidential debate.

Barack and John went on to discuss the issue of negative advertising in both of their campaigns. Both of these guy have been have mudslinging at each other the last few months. I think it doesn't send out the right message generally to focus on the negative. The Americans need positive solutions from their presidential candidates not personal attacks on each other.

McCain choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate has also been the source of much debate. In my opinion I am pretty shocked that someone like her could rise to such a position of influence. She comes from Alaska and is known for her radical creationist views. I find it hard to take her seriously. Go American Soccer Mums! Yeah whatever...

One thing I will say about both Obama and McCain's campaign is their impressive use of new media and the internet to propel their campaigns. Both have used Facebook, YouTube and Blogs to very good effect to engage with especially younger voters. Our very own UK policians could learn a lot from this as they seem to be very slow in the uptake of new media. Number 10's YouTube channel is a start but doesn't seem to be getting many hits. It's a shame but I don't think British Politicians have the media savvy or 'Pzazz' of their American Counterparts.

Barack Obama is one of the most charismatic speakers I have ever seen. He seems to really engage his audience in their own language. If he got in it would of course be historic as he would be the first American president of African descent. He is even inspiring kids from the ghetto areas of the US which is amazing feat. Symbolically in the US and across the world (even here in the UK) his appointment would have massive affect and would mean a radical shift in thinking.

Also I know this may sound ageist but I would imagine the American presidential role to be very demanding if not one of the most demanding roles there is. It would probably be more suitable for someone in his forties.

Fingers crossed Obama gets in as we don't want another four years of a Bush-style Government throwing its weight around. A change we can believe in? We hope....as I'm sure Joe the Plumber will.

The third series of 'Ross Kemp On Gangs' has now come to a close on Sky 1. In this post I want to communicate my general admiration for the series and talk about some of the issues it throws up about the reality of the world we live in today.

If you are not familiar with 'Ross Kemp On Gangs' it follows Ross Kemp as he travels to different countries around the world to examine serious issues surrounding gang culture. Ross gets into some sticky situations as he tries to discover the truth about gangs are fighting about. Possibly the most dangerous parts are when goes and meets the gangs themselves and interviews the gang leaders. For instance he has members of the US gangs Bloods, Crips and the Latin Kings. Some of the other countries that have been featured in the series include Brazil, New Zealand, Jamaica, Poland and of course the 'good ole UK'!

With this show Ross has managed to totally revive his career. Many people know him as 'Grant' from Eastenders but after that Ross Kemp did not really hit home any of the shows he did. I guess he decided to chuck in the third rate ITV cop dramas for something with a bit more balls and the 'On Gangs' Series is definitely that! The show won a BAFTA in May 2007 for best factual show.

Having watched the series, it really has opened my eyes to the issues that people face around the world. In my mind it seems to be same issues that come up over and over again whatever country it is or whatever gang it is. Firstly it is that of economics, when there is a large gap between rich and poor the less well off understandably get angry when they have to struggle to make ends meet. Seeing as there are limited resources they have to band together for protection. The gang problem arises when you get lots of people banding together like this and competing for scarce resources. In many cases there are little or no job opportunities for these people and some may come from broken families. For them the gang is all they have and they will defend it at any cost. This may be difficult for the average person to understand until they have been in the situation themselves.

Secondly, they seem to be in an environment where there is deep seeded political or social instability. In the case of Kenya there has been history of political uncertainty leading to people of different tribes having difficulty asserting there collective identities. Again a gang provides this identity, philosophy, structure and pride for these people. Also Politicians and other people in authority, who seem squeaky clean in public, are manoeuvring situations to there own ends and perpertuating the problem.

Thirdly, Greed and Power are two powerful motivators. The gangs compete over who controls the territory, money, drugs, prostitution, rackets, etc. In all gangs some people are leaders and some people are followers. The leaders all want to be at the very top and followers all want to know they are following the right leader. This can be the case for men especially who are attracted to power, competition and high status.

It is very sad to see the number of disillusioned, angry and frustrated men in these gangs (though there are many women too) who would kill members of a rival gang in a blink of an eye. In my opinion they become this way because there is no positive outlet or role models for them and everyone wants to express themselves. I am not condoning the terrible acts of violence that they perpertrate. A lot of these are unspeakable with no regard for human life and quite often innocent people get caught in the crossfire.

I cannot help thinking though that in a different environment these 'gang leaders' might have been successful career and business people if they had chosen this path or given the opportunity.

The gang problem is something that has to be addressed by Politicians, Police, Community Leaders and public at large. People have to be provided with viable alternatives to joining gangs through appropriate education and interaction with positive role models.

Anyway well done to Ross Kemp and the other people behind the show for bringing these issues to our attention.