If you want to get high Google rankings for a local business, then getting a Google Maps listing can be a big plus. The trick is learning your way around Keyhole Markup Language, or KML. For those unaware, KML is the language used to show points on Google Maps. (Keyhole, incidentally, was the company that originally developed the language.) In “The Definitive Guide on Using KML for SEO,” one blogger takes you through the ins and outs of KML, from the other underlying theory to screen shots showing you exactly how to use it.

As most of you already know, link building is one of the best things you can do to get higher search engine rankings - and more free traffic. And if you have a WordPress blog, check out the Link Builder plugin. Link Builder scours the links you post in your blog, and then notifies the webmaster that you have linked to them. It’s not completely automated, which is probably a good thing, but it’s easy to use. Link Builder gives you an easy way to get more links from quality sites — and that’s always good.If you want to build a longer term relationship with those who visit your site, you might want to try Comment Relish. Comment Relish is a WordPress plug-in that sends a personalized welcome letter to all first-time posters to your site. Comment Relish is a cool way to solidify new relationships with those most likely to become long-term readers. Oh… and it’s free. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

And once you start reeling in more readers, you want to keep track of them. Wassup is another fantastic (and free) WordPress plug-in that lets you keep track of statistics, visitor information, and much more. For example, you can see which blog posts are the most popular and see what links are referring visitors to your site.

Finally, if you keep working on bringing in more readers, you might just become one of the top blogs around. There are several lists of “best blogs”, but one of our favorites right now is “The Top 142 Social Marketing Blogs,” created by our friends at Friday Traffic Report, “The Top 142″ shows you which blogs you should be reading and why. Be sure to subscribe to the Free Line Report, whether it’s on the list or not.

As faithful followers of the Free Line already know, Google is easily at the top of the “search engine pile.” The folks at Cuil is aiming to change all of that. Headed by former Google employee Anna Patterson, Cuil is a new search engine that will supposedly “change the way that searching works.” Their secret? Well for starters, Cuil supposedly has 120 billion pages in its index. Google “only” has about eight billion. Patterson is also experimenting with a three-column search result page, which gives the page more of a “magazine-like” feel.The first search engine using Yahoo BOSS, the new search initiative that allows users to create their own search engine, has been released. Called SearchCloud, the engine allows users to dictate the importance of a keyword or phrase. The idea behind it is that by qualifying the importance of the keywords used within a search, users will receive results more suited to their needs. It remains to be seen how well the SearchCloud concept works in practice. Expect to hear more about this promising new engine in the coming months.

In other search engine news, Microsoft announced last week that Live Search will be heading to Facebook. The agreement is considered to be an expansion of a previous deal that saw Microsoft purchase a $240 million stake in the company. As we reported Monday, the deal with Microsoft is just one of two major partnerships deals Facebook had made in the past few months. Facebook plans to have Live Search online by the end of the year.

Switching to the world of online music, it appears as if the Yahoo Music Store will be shutting off their servers September 30th. Due to the store’s use of the controversial Digital Rights Management (DRM) copy protection, users will be unable to copy their music to a new computer or device after the September deadline. In an e-mail to its customers, Yahoo is recommending that users burn their tracks to a CD and re-rip them into the file type of their choosing.

It seems as if Amazon is looking into becoming the backbone of the new “MySpace Music” project. Launching in September, MySpace Music will offer users a variety of music-related content, including DRM-free MP3 files from three out of the four major record labels, ring tones and concert tickets. If the deal goes through, Amazon will be in charge of all of the transactions that happen on the site. Although Apple and Rhapsody are still in the running for the lucrative contract, many analysts consider them to be long shots at best.

Online video advertising isn’t as annoying as you might think. According to a recent poll done by Ipsos North America, 82% of those surveyed are fine with “a few” ads being inserted into a feature-length television program. That number drops to 48%, however, when YouTube-style “homemade” videos are added to the mix.

Taking snapshots of the Internet is an interesting concept. And that’s exactly what Websnapr does. The basic concept is simple: type in a web address and get a real time screen cap of that site. What sets the service apart from its competition, however, is its compatibility. Websnapr can be integrated into such platforms as Wordpress, Nuke, and Drupal, allowing users to view new pages, pictures, and blog posts before actually clicking on the links.

You know, in today’s world, organization is key. And the folks at Jott realize this, and they’re here to help. Are you using Jott yet? It’s been around awhile, and for some it’s something they use all day, every day. There are a million uses for it, but the idea is you can jot yourself a note by just calling a number on your speed dial. Jott records your voice and sends back what you said to you in a text message or an email. Or you can even send your notes to someone else. And of course, it’s free.

Let’s say that you’re at a conference or any meeting. You see a chart or a graph — or notes on a whiteboard — that you want to take a picture of, but normal image files just won’t cut it. What you really need is a pdf that you or anyone you send it to can email, save, print or fax. The solution? Qipit. It’s is a free service that will turn a photo from your digital camera or camera phone into a shiny new PDF file. From there, the world is your oyster. You can do almost anything you’d like with your new PDFs, like save them to a flash drive or fax them. Cool.

Sometimes, you need to send a file to someone else via email. And not just any file, but a really big one. Your normal email provider can’t send a file like that — but mailbigfile.com can. Mailbigfile allows you to send files up to 100mb to anyone … for free. If that isn’t enough, a pay service is available which supports files up to one gig. Sending big files without using external media or the post office. Sounds like a good deal to me.

看起来，在线视频广告并不像你想象中的那么讨人厌。·根据最新的一项调查，82%的人说他们觉得在一个电影中加入“一些”广告还是可以让人接受的·。不过说到YouTube的草根视频，希望看到这种广告的人数马上就降到了48%。如果你想了解更多深入的数据，或是想知道这些数字对你意味着什么，请访问我的Freelinereport.com.另外一个想法，你说要是能给网页拍摄一些快照会不会很好玩呢？这也是Websnapr正在做的事情。·你只要输入一个网址然后就能得到一张实时的网页快照了。而这个网站跟其它竞争者有什么不同呢？就在一个兼容性上·。 Websnapr可以被整合到很多平台如Wordpress, Nuke或是Drupal，并允许用户们在点击实际链接之前就能看到新的页面、图片和博客。 当然了我们介绍的服务都是免费的。

你知道，在当今世界，管理就是王道。 ·在Jott的一帮人发现了这个道理，并来帮助大家。不知道你听过Jott没有，他们创立已经有段时间了，而且对有些人来说Jott已经成为一种习惯·。不过我们之前还没有报道过这个免费的服务。所以如果你还没听过它的话，不妨试一下。他们差不多有100万用户，服务内容就是你只要打一个电话，就可以随时记录你的想法。Jott会录下你说的话然后通过email或是短信再来通知你。或者你也可以把记录发给其它人。就像twitter。当然了，它完全免费。

下一个想跟大家分享的东西是Qipit. 比如说你在某个会议上或是其它什么地方，你发现了一张图表或是图片，或是白板上的一些信息，你想用相机把他们拍下来，可是一般图片文件却不通用。这时其实你就需要一个任何人都可以email，存储或是传真打印的PDF文件。·怎么实现？用Qipit。它是一个免费的能把你从相机或是手机照出的图片文件转成PDF的工具·。

最后，有时候，你需要通过email跟别人发送些文件。有时候也有问题，比如文件超大。普通的email服务商一般不支持太大的附件——·但是mailbigfile.com可以。你可以通过Mailbigfile免费的向被人发送最大100M的文件……·如果这还不够，那么付费的服务最大可支持1个G的文件。所以发送大的文件既不需要u盘也不需要邮局。听起来挺吸引我的。

今天就到这里，我是Brad Fallon。明天的两分钟我们明天将带来更多好玩有用的东西。

Wikipedia, the user-edited encyclopedia that popularized the phrase “citation needed,” is getting a little competition. Last Wednesday, Google officially launched Knol, its new collaborative information resource. Unlike Wikipedia, which allows any user to edit the articles at will, all of the articles in Knol will be overseen by a group of authors. Before an edit actually appears in the article, it must first be approved by the authors. We don’t yet know how users will take to the so-called “moderated” editing. At this point (and admittedly, it is rather early), it isn’t looking good. Knol doesn’t really have much in terms of articles. A search for SEO, for example yielded one article - a list of SEO extensions for Firefox. Helpful for people who know what search engine optimization is, but will leave “SEO newbies” in the dark. We are currently running an in-house experiment involving both Wikipedia and Knol. When we know something, so will you.

In other Google news, the company has recently announced the addition of voice recognition for YouTube video searches. Using a new iGoogle applet called the “Google Election Video Search Gadget,” users will now be able to search for a video based upon a word or phrase spoken in the video. As the name implies, only a few “specially chosen” political videos are equipped to handle this special feature. While it is interesting, I honestly don’t think that this feature will see a full-scale rollout. Political videos are one thing, but “normal” videos are quite another. Can you really see someone combing through, say, a professional wrestling match to document the number of times the announcer says “Bryan Danielson” or “submission hold?” I don’t think so.

Elsewhere, Digg founder Kevin Rose announced a new partnership with Facebook Thursday. Called “Facebook Connect,” the new service will allow Facebook users to become registered Digg users quickly and easily. From there, users will be able to share and comment on Digg to their heart’s content. Facebook users will also have the ability to post their Digg content into their own Mini-Feeds. Facebook Connect should be up and running soon.

Switching gears completely for a second, Zimbra is an easy to use offline email application that has many people in the tech world taking note. In addition to accessing their email accounts, users can do everything from editing documents to importing calendar entries from iCal to viewing addresses with Yahoo Maps. Zimbra is currently available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. And it’s also the email client of choice for all of us at StomperNet.

Despite what Doc Brown told us in “Back to the Future,” there is still no way to travel to the future. Your Tweets, however…well, that’s a different story. With TweetLater, you can schedule to send your Tweets at a later time. You can fool your friends, send “helpful reminder” messages to yourself, or even automate “good morning” messages for your followers. The possibilities are nearly endless, and you don’t need 1.21 gigawatts to do it.

Wikipedia，这个当红的在线百科全书一直受着资料可信度的困扰，而现在又来了新的对手。上周三，Google正式·发布了Knol，一个新的协作信息平台。不像维基百科，任何用户都可以随意编辑文章，Knol上的所有的文章必须被一部分人审阅·。在一个词条正式出现之前，它必须被这部分人通过才行。我们目前还不知道用户们如何才能体现所谓的“适当”参与。你可以访问我们的网站来了解更多Knol和wikipedia的消息，网址就在freelinereport.com

另一条Google新闻，他们刚刚宣布为YouTube视频加入了新的语音识别搜索功能。通过一个新的叫做Google选举视频搜索工具“的iGoogle小程序，用户们可以通过视频中说的话来搜索想要的视频了。而看名字也就知道，只有一些少数被选中的政治视频才有机会被搜索出来。所以针对全部视频的搜索还要等段时间。

其它地方，Digg的总裁Kevin Rose在上周四宣布了和Facebook新的合作，·叫做“对接Facebook”，新的服务允许用户们通过Facebook快速的成为Digg用户·。这样，用户们也就可以对Digg上他们喜欢的内容进行分享和评论了。同时Facebook用户们也可以把他们Digg上的内容贴到自己的主页上了。对接Facebook应该不久之后就会上线了。

接下来，让我们来说说Zimbra。`Zimbra是一个很多IT界的人们都在使用的简单易用的离线email程序·。除了可以登陆他们的email帐户，用户们还可以做很多事情比如编辑文档，从iCal导入日程表，或是在Yahoo地图上查看地址。Zimbra目前支持的系统有Windows，Linux和Mac。它也是我们大家在StompernNet所使用的email程序。

最后，现实中我们不可能像电影回到未来那样做时空旅行。不过你在twitter上的帖子，那可不一定了。·通过TweetLater，你就可以设定未来发送帖子的时间。这样你就可以开朋友的玩笑，给自己发送日程提醒，甚至可以在前一天晚上向大家问候早上好。可能性是几乎无限的，所回到未来并不是白日做梦。

让我们下期免费帮再见，我是Brad Fallon。明天的两分钟我们将给大家带来更多的Web2.0新闻。

Social networking fans should head right over to the Flock website and download the new Flock 2 Beta 2. Built on a solid foundation of Firefox 3, the new update has all of the security and speed improvements that one is looking for in a modern browser. Flock users are still unable to log in to multiple networking accounts at once, but this is just a minor issue. The Flock beta is available now.

If you would like the advantage of having a social web browser but only use MySpace, then BuddyWave is for you. You can edit your profile, post messages and more, all directly from the web browser. Easy to learn and fun to use, Bubby might just make visiting MySpace a thing of the past. BuddyWave is currently only available for Windows.

Despite what you might have heard, social networking isn’t just for browser-based applications and sites. eMusic, the online music company that pioneered the “MP3 album” concept, is taking steps to insert itself into the social networking structure. Subscribers now have the ability to embed sound clips and album art into no less than thirteen networking sites, including Digg and Facebook. Subscribers will find that many of the album pages are now linked to appropriate YouTube sites.

Innovation is really nothing new to eMusic. On July 19th, indie rock pioneers They Might Be Giants released the first full-length MP3 album, “Long Tall Weekend,” through the service. eMusic also garnered praise for its use of DRM-free MP3 files and its extensive collection of vintage jazz recordings.

Of course, not everything on the Internet is associated with social browsing. Take Sleipner, for instance. This star of the Japanese computing scene a lot of the same functionality as Netscape Navigator 6, including the ability to allow users to choose how to “properly” view a website. Sleipner also has option of running in both Gecko (Firefox) and Trident (Internet Explorer) modes, similar to the “IE Tab” Firefox plugin. Sleipner’s developers, the Osaka-based Fenrir Inc, has promised that English, French, and Spanish versions will be released shortly.

And finally, if you love Firefox, but hate downloading all those plugins just to get it working exactly they way you want it, try downloading the Orca browser. The appeal of browsers like Orca and its Internet Explorer counterpart Avant are that many of most downloaded extensions, including ad blockers and tab editors, are built into the browser. It’s blazingly fast and ultra customizable , allowing you to change the color scheme and toolbars on the fly. Like the previously mentioned BuddyWave, Orca is a Windows-only application.

社交网络的粉丝们应该蜂拥到Flock的网站并下载最新版的Flock 2 Beta 2. ·新的Flock构建于火狐3浏览器之上，并提供了其它现代浏览器所能提供的速度和安全性·。Flock用户们目前还是不能一次性登陆多个社交网络平台，不过这也影响不大。Flock beta的链接就在我们的博客上。

如果非常喜欢社交网络浏览器但是你却只喜欢上Myspace，那么BuddyWave正适合你。·你可以直接通过浏览器实现主页编辑、发布帖子等其它功能。好学易用的BuddyWave可能会使直接登陆Myspace变得过时·。不过BuddyWave目前还只有windows版。

·eMusic，这个曾经提出Mp3专辑概念的网络公司最近提供了在社交网络中嵌入音乐的功能·。用户们现在可以把音乐片段或专辑嵌入到至少13个社交网络网站中，包括Digg和Facebook。另外现在许多专辑的页面也被连接到了相应的YouTube页面当中了。你可以通过我们的网站了解更多关于eMusic的过去和最新消息，网址就在freelinereport.com。

·Sleipner这个日本的浏览器之星现在提供了很多跟Netscape6一样的功能·，比如它允许用户选择用合适的方式去浏览一个网页。Sleipner现在还提供了Firefox和IE两种浏览模式，这跟火狐的IE Tab插件很像。Sleipner的开发者，也就是大阪的Fenrir公司，透露说其英语，法语和西班牙语版也正在开发中。

最后，如果你喜欢火狐，却不希望下载很多插件来让它按你喜欢的方式工作，那么就试一下Orca吧。·跟它的IE兄弟Avant一样，Orca的最大特点就是把那些热门的插件融入到了浏览器当中，如广告过滤器和标签编辑器·。速度奇快是它的另一特点，并允许用户随时更改工具栏和主题颜色。可惜跟之前提到的BuddyWave一样，Orca目前只有windows版。

祝你周末愉快，周一回来我们会带给大家更多的web2.0新闻。

Google is about to get even bigger. According industry blog Tech Crunch, Google is finalizing a deal to buy social media powerhouse Digg. If the deal does indeed go through, Google plans to fold the site into its “Google News” subsite. Microsoft, which is currently in the midst a three year advertising deal with Digg, attempted to purchase the site last year. A Microsoft takeover is still possible if the Google deal falls through, says the article.

While Microsoft continues to strike out in the mergers and acquisitions department, microblogging kingpin Twitter seems to have there game under control, announcing the purchase of the search engine Summize. The newly named “Twitter Search” does everything that Summize used to do, only under a different name. You might remember Summize from our report on May 5th.

Jing, a handy little program that gives users the ability to photograph and record their desktops, has recently turned one. And what better way to celebrate your birthday than to announce an affiliation. That’s right. The Jing project is now a part of SnagIt developer TechSmith. The Jing team is also upgrading its free storage space on screencast.com from 200 megabytes to two gigs.

What’s interesting about the acquisition is that Jing, SnagIt and Camtasia Studio all perform similar functions. Judging by the documentation available on the Jing website, TechSmith will be marketing the three platforms in “tiers” - a “good, better, best” approach. I am currently downloading Jing as I type this. I will give you all a full report on my experiences with the product in a future post.

Adobe has announced that Twhirl, their one-size-fits-all microblogging client, will now be supporting users of former Free Line all-star Identi.ca. Other services supported by Twhirl include Twitter, Seesmic, and Friendfeed. While Identi.ca might not be a household name, many users are confident that its inclusion will help garner the service some much deserved mainstream recognition.

And finally…

Unless you’re a graphic designer or a college student trying to push that page and a half essay on Moby Dick to two pages, you probably haven’t given fonts a second thought. Great typography can easily bring life and vibrance to a web space, while boring or overused fonts can make the same space seem boring. In the never ending quest to get a leg up on the competition, I suggest giving Fontspace a try. Fontspace delivers a repository of attractive fonts for an attractive price - free. So go experiment. You have nothing to lose… except for your utter reliance on Times New Roman, that is.

首先，Google又要扩充自己的大军了。根据Tech Crunch说，Google正在购买大牌网站Digg的最后阶段。·如果这项交易成功的话，Google打算把Digg归到自己的Google News旗下。而目前Digg签有3年广告协议的微软，在去年也曾提出购买意向。·我们会继续跟踪报道这个大新闻的。

而正当微软被各种合并收购搞得焦头烂额的时候，微博客始祖Twitter这边则好像进行的非常顺利，·宣布他们收购了搜索引擎Summize。虽然有了新名字叫”Twitter搜索”，这项服务和被收购之前的Summize并没有什么不同·。如果想知道更多关于Summize的消息，或是想了解之前关于它的新闻，就请访问我们的网站freelinereport.com.

·Jing是一款小巧的可以轻松录制并分享桌面活动视频的免费程序，它刚刚度过了它自己1岁的生日·。为了庆祝成立一周年他们也推出了很多改进的新功能，最让人感兴趣的是它的容量从之前的200兆升级到了2G之多。多好的生日礼物啊！

·接下来，Twhirl刚刚加入了对免费帮之星Identi.ca的支持·。 Twhirl目前支持的其它程序有Twitter, Seesmic和Friendfeed。由于Identi.ca并不是一个家喻户晓的名字，他们也希望通过被Twhirl所支持来让更多主流的用户来认识它。

最后呢，除非你是一个设计师或者是一个在想办法能把一页的论文两页的大学生，我猜你从来没在字体的问题上下过功夫。不过你知道，一个好的字体总能使网页变得更加活泼起来，而无聊和过度使用的字体可以让你的空间变得，很无聊。在市面上种类繁多良莠不齐的字体软件当中，我们向大家推荐Fontspace。·Fontspace为那些性感的字体的存储提供了一个性感的价格—免费·所以试一下吧，反正不用白不用……除非你这辈子非用Times New Roman和Arial不可。

这里是免费帮，我是Brad Fallon。多谢观看。我们明天会为大家带来更多关于Web 2.0 的实用新闻！