If there is one thing that everyone knows about, it’s advertising. No matter where we look, there always seems to be a thirty-second television spot, billboard, or conveniently placed Coke can within eye shot. While that sort of bombardment does have the tendancy to be annoying at points, it could always be worse. We could be living in the media obsessed dystopia of Max Headroom. In the series, advertising is present in three unique, highly diverse ways. On today’s installment of Twenty Minutes into the Future, we will take a look at three techniques and discuss how each are being used in today’s culture.

Technique #1: The Cheviot Method

Championed By: Ben Cheviot (George Coe), founder and president of Network 23.
Thesis: People first, ads second.
Explanation: According to the “Cheviot Method” of advertising, it is imperative to remember that it isn’t robots and/or lemmings watching these ads. It’s people. If “advertiser A” uses their predetermined ad time to insult the viewer, or if they try to do to much, the viewer is less likely to return. If such behavior keeps up over time, the viewer will simply “give up” and simply stop caring about your product or service. By treating people like people, not only do you get the viewer to care about the product, you make hem more willing to investigate other products or services that have your name on it.
In-Show Result: Network 23 is consistently number one in the ratings.
Real-World Example: Anyone who tows the Free Line concept practices this advertising method.

Technique #2: The Grossberg Method

Championed By: Ned Grossberg (the late Charles Rocket), the president of Network 66 and Cheviot’s mortal enemy.
Thesis: People exists to buy things, so they might as well be buying those things from us.
Explanation: When this particular advertising method is employed, the consumer essentially becomes secondary to the items that are being shown on the screen. Although the company involved might see a initial spike in “audience participation,” the numbers will actually be lower overall. To compensate for this, the advertiser/network is forced to employ a variety of gimmicks in order to coerce people into coming back for more. In the show, these gimmicks ranged from ridiculous (”Watch 66 in your sleep! You can do that now!”) to horrifying (one second long “blipverts” that had a nasty habit of making fat people explode) to the downright bizarre (a reality show about the life and times of super genius infants).
In-Show Result: Grossberg is made to look like a fool on a fairly regular basis; network ratings go down sharply.
Real-World Example: Any company labeled as an “evil corporation” has been accused of using this advertising method at least once in their existence.

Technique #3: The Zik Zak Method

Championed By: A fairly mysterious, multi-national corporation called “Zik Zak.” While it is implied that Zik Zak makes everything from furniture to prescription drugs, the company’s main products are soft drinks and fast food.
Thesis: People?! Who cares about people! Buy our stuff and quit complaining!
Explanation: People who employ this kind of advertising structure simply do not care about anyone or anything other than their product. It really doesn’t matter if people get “inconvenienced” or even find themselves in a sticky situation. They still bought the product. The “in-world” example of this tactic is the NeuralStim, a “free bracelet” that caused people to crave cheeseburgers. In the case of our hero, Edison Carter, the bracelet made him nearly die from overspending.
In-Show Result: The “faulty” bracelets cause Zik Zak to nearly go bankrupt.
Real-World Example: In a fictional TV show, it’s called a “NeuralStim.” In the real word, it’s called “malware.”
Special Note: During my research, I ran across three very different organizations that call themselves “Zik Zak.” Please keep in mind that the comments above only apply to the fictional corporation, not to the these real-life entities.

Our Advice: The “Cheviot Method” is the only way to go. As I said a few days ago. These are your people. Never forget that. Your customers (and everyone else, for that matter) will thank you in the long run.

Anyone who lived through the late 1980’s ought to remember Max Headroom, the hyperactive, pseudo-CGI “head in the box” portrayed by actor Matt Frewer. The Max Headroom character was everywhere in those days, from music videos to ads for Coca-Cola and seemingly everything in between. What many people don’t remember, however, is the science fiction program that bared the character’s name. This was not the lovable, wacky Max that called Cinemax and England’s Channel 4 home. This Max exists in a world where the major television networks are in charge. Because of this, such every day items as the off switch and the mute button are deemed to be illegal. Televisions are everywhere, including bathrooms and junk yards. Simply put, no one could ever escape the grip of the mass media, and the people like it that way.

Working within the confines of this odd, “Network-meets-The Matrix” world is Edison Carter (also portrayed by Matt Frewer), ace reporter for the highly-rated Network 23 and the “basis” for Max Headroom. It is his mission to bring his viewers the truth, no matter the situation. In the show’s fourteen episodes, Emerson and company does everything from thwart a sentient supercomputer to blowing the lid off of a dangerous subliminal advertising scheme run by Bill Maher, using nothing more than quick thinking and a heaping helping of brutal honesty. The viewer, both physically in the show and otherwise, are constantly reminded that the world is a better place thanks to people like Emerson Carter and his “computerized” alter ego. As long as there are people fighting for the truth, there really is nothing to worry about.

In many ways, we are approaching this basic existence, only with a different concept serving as our vice. Instead of thriving on a flashing picture, we are addicted to information. I don’t just mean the “TMZ/Perez Hilton” style celebrity gossip columns. I mean anything. Pick your topic — President Obama, professional wrestling, U2 — and I bet there is someone, somewhere talking, tweeting, or blogging about it at this very moment. We need to know about what is going on, and we need to know it now. Take the recent “best of seven” series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic for example. Five years ago, we would have had to wait two to three days to hear former Laker Shaquille O’Neal talk about his former team. Thanks to Twitter, we heard it minutes after the Lakers cliched the NBA title. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that this kind of “instant feedback” can become addictive.

Now despite what some might be thinking, things really aren’t all that dire. Our world isn’t based upon the idea of two-way television sets or networks that can make commercials so compact that they make people’s heads literally explode. We’re simply talking about the delivery of information, not a re-creation of 1984. It’s human nature to want to know what is going on around us. Exploiting that desire, on the other hand, is something else entirely. It all comes down to priorities. Those who put more effort into their advertising than their content are more likely to alienate their audiences than the people who put their “product” front and center. By ignoring the very thing that got you into this very situation to begin with, the writer/blogger/YouTube “star” is actually sending a message that your fan base’s mouse click means more than their physical presence. Who cares if the content is good nor not? You clicked the link. It’s your loss.

While it might seem like a good idea now, turning your audience into a group of mind-numbed automatons randomly clicking things will not help you become a success in the long run. The trick, if you want to call it that, is to adopt what I like to call the “Edison Carter” approach to content creation and maintenance. It all breaks down to three basic principles:

1. Your users are more than just a group of random mice clicking a white box. They’re people. Your people. Always keep that in mind when developing your content.
2. Stay genuine to your cause.
3. Stay open to the needs and concerns of your user base.

Do this, and the world just might become a better place. If you don’t, well … let’s just say living in an “off switch-free world” is not anyone’s idea of a good time. Be sure to come back tomorrow for part two of our three part series. Until then, this is Brad Fallon signing off for Network 23 the Free Line.

…So you want to start your own blog. Good for you. Let’s see … it says here that you already have a topic and have bought some web space. That’s good. Okay then, what software are you running? What’s that? You haven’t picked out your content management system (aka CMS) software yet? No need to worry. We realize that picking the proper management software can be a bit tricky, and we’re here to help. On today’s episode of Showdown, we take a look at five of the blogosphere’s top software packages to see which one is best for your needs. As always, all of the programs in question were tested by graphic designer/web developer/overall classy lady Angela Smedley on her custom-built, Windows 7 PC.

App #1: WordPress

Site: http://wordpress.com
Company: Automattic
Plugins: Yes.
First Impression: “Five minute install.”
Initial Setup: As we hinted at above, WordPress installs onto your server in five minutes. If you’re looking for installation trouble, you won’t find it here. Everything installed quickly and easily, with nary an error message in sight.
Special Bonuses: The documentation supplied with WordPress not only tells you how to set up the software, it offers up some suggestions on how to effectively write your blog. While most don’t have the need for such advice, it’s nice to know that it’s there.
Ease of Setup (Out of 10): 8
Overall (Out of 10): 8

App #2: Movable Type

Site: http://www.movabletype.org
Company: Six Apart Ltd.
Plugins: Yes.
First Impression: “Congratulations! It’s a blog!”
Initial Setup: While it didn’t match WordPress‘ now-famous “five-minute install,” it was fairly easy to setup and use. When a problem did arise, the official blog always seemed to have an answer.
Special Bonuses: None.
Ease of Setup: 8
Overall: 6
Notes: Make sure that your web server is up to spec before installing this software. As you might have heard, Movable Type is notoriously picky when it comes to compatibility. If something is missing or outdated, the install will not work. End of story. While it isn’t a “bad” system, nothing about Movable Type stands out. It works, but there are others out there that can do more.

App #3: b2Evolution

Site: http://b2evolution.net
Programmer: Francois Planque
Plugins: Yes.
First Impression: “I can do multiple blogs!”
Initial Setup: Insanely easy. Just upload the components to the server and start working. Everything else is automated, even down to database table creation. (You have to supply your own empty database, however.)
Special Bonuses: Photo blogs and link blogs can also be set up.
Ease of Setup: 7
Overall: 7
Notes: The entire “b2Evolution experience” left us confused. By rights, this system should be sitting with WordPress and Joomla at the top of the blog/CMS hierarchy, but for some reason, it isn’t. In fact, we haven’t even heard of it until twenty minutes before starting work on this piece. It’s a shame, because a world-class software package such as this deserves world-class attention. All in all, b2Evolution is a fantastic system for users of any age or skill level.

App #4: Joomla

Site: http://www.joomla.org/
Company: Open Source Matters, Inc.
Plugins: Yes.
First Impression: “It’s much, much more than just blogging software.”
Initial Setup: Installation is hit-or-miss. On the first go-around, the automatic install worked perfectly. The second time, which saw us move to a completely different web server, things got a tad more difficult. Due to an annoying “enable cookies” message, we had to resort a more “manual” approach. Although it sounds like a nightmare, the extra documentation supplied by the company made setup a breeze. Everything installed perfectly, and the mysterious message disappeared completely.
Special Bonuses: An exhaustive collections of add-ons.
Ease of Setup: 6; “A bit more complicated than your standard fare.”
Overall: 9; based solely upon the sheer amount of plugins, tweaks, and expansions available.
Notes: To many web professional, Joomla is the standard that all other CMS systems should be judged by, and it’s easy to see why. While it’s more complex that the others, it also the most versatile. Everything from a simple blog to a full-blown social network can be built off of this system, making it a must for anyone who tends to “dream big” when it comes to website creation. Expansive and dependable, Joomla is definitely worthy of all of the praise that it gets.

App #5: Drupal

Site: http://drupal.org
Programmer: Dries Buytaert
Plugins: Yes, though half of them aren’t exactly available to the public as of yet.
First Impression: “This is different.”
Initial Setup: Easy, in a way. It was after the setup that things started to get hard. (More below.) If you have shared hosting, be careful. Some errors cannot be fixed if you don’t have complete control over your web server. Make sure that you read the documentation thoroughly before attempting to install it.
Special Bonuses: If you know your way around PHP and CSS, you can make this system do what ever you would like.
Ease of Setup: 5
Overall: 7
Notes: We wanted to like Drupal. We really, really did. It just didn’t work on our test server. We tried for hours on end, but it still didn’t work properly. The final straw came in the form of a PHP-induced server error. Despite assurances to the contrary, the system would not allow us to allocate enough memory to the PHP scripts. The result was a variety of errors that simulated a memory leak. None of the suggested fixes/hacks worked for us, mainly due to the stigma it places on shared hosting sites. If you run your own server, you’d be a fool not to give it the old once-through. Everyone else should proceed with caution.

…And the Winner Is – While WordPress and Joomla are our personal favorites, all five systems have their own strengths and weaknesses. It all comes down to taste. With that in mind, we suggest giving them all a try. Who knows … you might find something that really takes you by surprise. And if your favorite software isn’t mentioned here, tell us. We at the Free Line enjoy expanding our horizons as much as you do.

The interview with Slacker is back on! Expect to see the interview on a computer screen near you either Friday or Monday. In the meantime:

Traditional print media, or at the very least, websites based upon traditional print media, is doing better than once thought. According to polling gurus Nielsen Online, the overall site views have risen nearly 23% in the past year. Unique views are also on the upswing, going up roughly 16% from December 2007. Many within the industry say the change is primarily due to both the recent economic upheaval and the 2008 elections. Leading the “old guard” charge is the New York Times, which saw a 6% increase to 40.1 million users. Other notables include the USA Today (18.2 million users; a 15% increase), the Washington Post (9.4 million users; a 12% increase), and the Los Angeles Times (7.9 million users; a 73% increase).

Websites featuring newspaper content isn’t the only service to make strides in 2008. Visits to free online gaming sites have risen by 27% in the fourth quarter, while the participation in the games found within have risen by 42%, says comScore. The spike, according gaming director Edward Hunter, is likely due to the a rise in free time caused by the aforementioned economic unease. “Not only have consumers turned to outlets such as gaming to take their minds off the economy, but as they curtail their discretionary gaming-related purchases they are turning to free alternatives.” Yahoo Games takes the top spot, with 19.5 million users.

And finally: the folks behind the world famous tech blog TechMeme are allowing users to suggest prospective stories via Twitter. If a user’s story is chosen, his or her Twitter name will appear in the corner of the article. The new policy is the latest in a series of actions designed to move the site away from its “automated” past. Users who want to help can send their stories to either Tip @Techmeme or Tip @TechmemeFH.

Legendary pollsters Nielsen have released their data concerning the growth of online video in 2008, and the results are, to say the least, surprising. According to the findings, nearly 60% of videos loaded from sites such as YouTube and DailyMotion are from people above the age of 35. Younger viewers, on the other hand, tend to watch more diversified content more often. “Initially, it is a bit shocking,” writes the team on the official Nielsen blog, Connecting the Dots. “But the truth of the matter is that video has already reached popularity to the point that the video universe, in broad terms, looks much like the overall Internet audience.”

Entrepreneur, sports executive, and generally polarizing figure Mark Cuban has a few interesting things to say when it comes to the future of Yahoo. According to the Dallas Mavericks owner, the solution to Yahoo’s financial woes is simple — buy up the competition like there is no tomorrow. “Yahoo has a very simple business. Generate traffic and monetize it,” writes Cuban. “Their strategy should be to acquire every and any company that makes their traffic, services, content or monetization stronger.” If all goes well, he theorizes, Yahoo won’t need another company like Microsoft to bail them out. It would also prove once and for all that the company might not be as “washed up” as many think. “Yahoo has the opportunity to be the ultimate next generation media company. Google does one thing well, search. Yahoo is and should be the best at everything else. It just has to stop being afraid of its own shadow.”

Elsewhere, Twitter is the latest major media concern to sign on to Google’s new Friend Connect service. Users can now use their Twitter IDs to access everything the Friend Connect universe has to offer, from Google Doc to AOL Instant Messenger and everything in between. The service also adds your Twitter contacts as friends automatically, making it easy to stay in touch no matter which service is in use. The addition of Twitter is big news for the fledgling service, which has to compete with both MySpaceID and Facebook Connect. While many within the industry applaud the new Google/Twitter partnership, some wonder if the existence of three “universal login services” is even necessary. The new, Twitter-centric Friend Connect is available now.

In other Google-related news, the search engine giant has begun to make a few changes to its Google Suggest feature. Instead of providing a series of “related searches,” Suggest now simply provides a sponsored link that takes the user directly to the site. Full-fledged advertisements have also been spotted, but these links do not interfere with the normal Suggest listings. At press time, the new “intsa-link” technology is active for only established organizations (UPS, for example) and news stories. While beta testers have been working with the new addition for a few days now, it is as of yet unknown when the feature will hit the general population.

Finally, we have Zannel. Zannel is based around the idea that iPhone users need a microblogging service of their very own. Like Twitter, the service lets users send short messages back-and-forth at rapid speed. Unlike the name brand equivalent, however, users can use the included map to see what other activity is going on around them. In addition to the root program, the map picks up Twitter and Flickr usage as well, making it easy to find new things and people. Easy to use and set up, Zannel is perfect for anyone who wants something a bit more “technologically advanced” from their portable microblogging client. Zannel is available now for all users.

“Networking” via your mobile phone might be more of a passive activity than once thought. According to a new poll conducted by ABI Research, roughly 30% say that they use their handsets to perform “major” social networking tasks such as uploading music or images. Furthermore, only 17% say that they use their phones to network on a daily basis. Despite this, many within the industry believe that the findings point more to a “phase” than anything else. “The fact is that more consumers are really starting to adopt social networking on their phones,” said ABI research director Michael Wolf to WebProNews. “”The combination of more capable phones with flat-rate mobile broadband and pre-installed social network applications will help cement social networks as hubs for entertainment and communication, regardless of the screen consumers use to access them.”

Elsewhere, the folks at Google have created a specialized YouTube channel designed to help users master Analytics. While the notion of a “video help desk” seems to lend itself to mostly beginners, Google is assuring that users of all skill sets will get something out of the new service. “[The new channel is] a one-stop source for the latest Google Analytics-related videos,” writes Melissa Hsieh on the Google Analytics Blog. ” If you’re looking for a beginner’s guide to interpreting and acting on your data, an introduction to motion charts, or you want to learn how to perform placement targeting in 60 seconds, you can now find it [here].” The Analytics YouTube channel is available now to all users.

In other Google-centric news, the Google Docs PDF Viewer is now officially available for Gmail. Previously, users who wanted to access a PDF file directly from their account had to use a shoddy “PDF to HTML” converter. The result was a faux-PDF full of the document’s content, but lacking most of its style. Those who wanted the “full expereince” had to turn to third-party external programs such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. Although it is still technically a third-party app, Google Docs PDF Viewer brings a level of ease and functionality to a platform desperate for it. In short, your emailed PDF files have never looked so good.

Next, we have Twitblogs. As the name clearly implies, Twitblogs attempts to combine the visual panache of Twitter with all of the standard features of a normal blogging setup. It also automatically throws your post onto the base Twitter service, making sure that everyone sees what you have to say. While the expanded message size is a nice little touch, the cartoony nature of the service makes serious blogging almost impossible. That said, Twitblogs is perfect for someone who wants to add a happy, optimistic vibe to their words. Twitblogs is available now.

Finally: Every now and then on the Free Line, we like to cover things that are, for lack of a better phrase, a bit on the strange side. This story definitely fits the bill. Oleg Teterin, a businessman and entrepreneur from Russia, has announced that he has officially trademarked the wink — or — emoticon. Teterin, who also claims to own the copyright to the popular symbol, says the trademark is to put a stop to others “making a profit” off of something he rightfully owns. The average user, he says, will not be affected and will not have to pay up. At press time, the trademark is valid for Russia only.

It seems as if Microsoft and Sun Microsystems are about to become much closer than they used to be. According to several published reports, users who install Sun’s Java Runtime Environment will also have the option to install the MSN Toolbar as well. Many within the industry see the move as a roundabout way to take on Google, which is currently the number one search engine in the United States. The exact terms of the deal are unknown at this time..

Moving to the world of social networking for a moment, the new profile editor for MySpace has been officially released to the general public. Aside from the previously mentioned Flash-based template tool, the new editor also features extensive drag-and-drop functionality and the ability to “hide” information from certain users. While it seems small on the surface, the editor change is actually a part of the massive update known to fans as “MySpace 2.0.” The new and improved editor is available now on a totally optional, “opt-in” basis.

Elsewhere, Google has finally released Ad Planner to all users. For those unaware, Ad Planner is a tool designed to help you get the most out of your advertising dollar. The software sports a ton of new features, including the ability to break down users by geographic location and three new ranking methods. The “demographics” portion has also been altered to include users from five major European countries. While it isn’t exactly perfect — the physical site design leaves much to be desired — Ad Planner is perfect for those who only want the very best for their ads.

In other news, blogger Jo Han Mok has written a fascinating piece about what it takes to succeed in business. According to Mok, the tried-and-true adage of “work on your business, not in your business” is, at best, an exaggeration. “I… am totally convinced that working ‘on’ a business brings in big bucks,” he writes. “However, I am also totally convinced that it is very hard to work on a business that you have not worked in before.” True knowledge, he theorizes, comes from experience. The more real world experience you have working in a particular field, the easier it will be to market that field to others. “It’s all about getting your hands dirty, and getting it done.” Short yet intriguing, Mok’s article is a great read for anyone who desires to look at the idea of a “start-up” in a different way.

And finally, we have Spot.Us. Spot.Us is a social news site based around the idea of “community journalism.” Under the system, users pitch story ideas to a slate of freelance journalists. The users then “vote” on which article they want to see written by donating money to the story they want to see written. The articles with the most “votes” (or rather, most money raised) are written first. “Anyone can be a journalist,” founder David Cohn tells TechCrunch. “I decided NOT to try and define who is and isn’t a journalist.” Writing for Spot.Us, however, isn’t exactly as easy as it sounds. “You must explain your qualifications and journalists are encouraged to fill out their profiles which include giving their work history and work sample.” Spot.Us is available now in the San Francisco bay metro area.

Searching the web from your cell phone seems to be on the rise. According to the Kelsey Group, 33.6% of those surveyed said that they use their phones to get movie listings and research products, a 9.2% increase from the previous year. While only 18.9% say that they currently own cell phones, 49.2% say that they are planning to buy one within two years. “We are seeing a qualitative difference in consumer usage of mobile phones,” said Kelsey Research Director Steve Marshall to tech blog WebProNews. “The aggressive projections about mobile are approaching reality, as smartphones are now becoming mainstream platforms for commercial usage.”

Delver, the search engine known for making web searching a social experience, has announced a content partnership with Yahoo. Under the terms of the deal, search results derived from Yahoo BOSS will be integrated into Delver’s existing results. “Leveraging Yahoo Search BOSS allows us to keep focusing on social-graph ranking and indexing,” said Delver Chief Executive Liad Agmon in a prepared statement. “[The deal provides] our users with a solution that intelligently mixes social results with traditional Web results.”

Elsewhere, Google has launched a series of short videos and blog posts designed to help people get the most out of AdSense. In the debut episode, the AdSense team discusses advertising size. According to them, there is one thing that you must do when creating an advertisement — make it big. “Publishers often ask us what the best ad sizes are to include in their site’s design,” writes team member Mel Ann Chan. “If you position your ad units well, users will be more likely to see these ad formats and find an ad that they’re interested in.” Expect more helpful hints such as this in the near future.

In other news, groups are coming to Twitter … in a way. Twitter Japan, along with their partner Digital Garage, has officially launched Twicco, a new site dedicated to groups and the people who frequent them. Aside from the affiliation, the basic group structure is similar to what you will find elsewhere on the web. Twicco groups are available now in Japan. Both Twitter Japan and Digital Garage are promising a “wider roll out” of the service in the near future.

Finally: Internet surveyors Netcraft have finished counting the numbers of active sites on the web. According to the firm, there are 182,226,259 sites, up nearly 948,000 from July. Netcraft is also reporting that Apache is the server software of choice for the majority of active sites, with Microsoft’s IIS server technology coming in a distant second. Apache has been on top of the web server food chain since July 1996.

YouTube is the number one video site in the land yet again. According to a poll conducted by Nielsen Media and Beet.tv, the Google subsidiary had roughly 5.4 billion total views and 82 million unique users in the month of September. The big news, however, has nothing to do with who is number one. In a surprising turn of events, Yahoo Video was able to grab the number two spot, with 264.2 million views and 30 million unique users — an astonishing 59.1% increase from the previous month. Many insiders believe that the popularity boost is due to Yahoo’s unique “quality over quantity” approach to online video. Other video sites listed include Fox Media/MySpace (242.4 million views and 19.2 million users), MSN/Windows Live (164.7 million views and 11 million users), and Nickelodeon (163 million views and 6.15 million users).

To many users, the illegal downloading and sharing of media files are the “dark side” of the Free Line. If you feel this way, then you have a new ally in the fight — the French government. In an overwhelming 297 to 15 vote, the French Senate passed a so-called “P2P three strikes” anti-piracy bill. According to the bill, a new government agency known as the High Authority for Copyright Protection and Dissemination of Works on the Internet (or HADOPI) will be created to monitor all of the country’s Internet connections. If a user is convicted of online copyright infringement three times, HADOPI will have his or her Internet privileges revoked. Critics argue that the punishment does not fit the crime. The French National Assembly has yet to vote on the bill.

In other news, text messaging is coming to Gmail. The folks over at Gmail Labs are hard at work on a plugin that will allow users to send text messages from their mail accounts. The service initally launched last week, but was quickly taken offline after a few major bugs were found. “When you’d try to turn it on, it wouldn’t fully enable,” writes product manager Leo Dirac in the Official Gmail Blog. “We thought about keeping it out there — bugs and all — but the experience wasn’t that great. So, in the spirit of Labs, we’ve pulled SMS chat back to fix it.” Dirac expects the new service to up and running again “in about two weeks.”

In other news, it seems as if the usually mundane task of web searching is about to get a bit more social. Scour (formally known as Aftervote) is a new search engine that allows users to view results from Google, Yahoo, and Windows Live Search, then rank them in order of relevance. Aside from the distinct social aspect, users also have the opportunity to get paid for their work. Each search query, vote, comment, and recommendation is worth a point. For each set of 6500 points, the user gets a $25 gift card. Despite the similarities in the name, Scour has little to no connection to the domain’s previous tenant, music downloading pioneer Scour Media. Scour is up and running now.

Elsewhere, blogger Jack Humphrey has written an interesting piece about attracting more people to your blog. According to Humphrey, the key is to let your personality shine through. “The majority of successful blogs share one thing in common: people follow the blogger, not the blog,” he writes. “If personality weren’t important to building more than just a casual following for your blog, why would so many people who have reached the big time in blogging feel the need to pass on what they feel is a pretty important factor in their success?” Interesting and thought provoking, Jack Humphrey’s article is perfect for anyone who wants to shake things up a bit.

It seems as if Yahoo has decided to give social networking another try. Instead of creating an add on site such as the now defunct Mash, the Yahoo team decided to make the entire service a social experience. The first section to receive a makeover is the all-but-forgotten Yahoo Profiles. “This new profile [system] is not intended to be a new social destination on Yahoo,” writes Vice President Jim Stoneham. “Rather, our plan is to integrate ’social’ as a central dimension into the services you use every day.” The new Profiles page is available now to all registered users.

In other news, the world of graphic heavy display ads is finally coming to Google AdWords. Called the Display Ad Builder, the new service lets you make a smart looking advertisement without spending a lot of time or money. The ad can run on the entire Google Content Network, including in YouTube videos and in-game marketing situations. Easy to use, the Display Ad Builder is perfect for anyone who is growing tired of the traditional, text-only scene that AdWords usually provides.

Elsewhere, scientists have discovered that using the popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo might be better for your brain than reading a book. According to a new study on aging brains from UCLA, users who chose to surf the Internet had twice the amount of activity in cognitive centers than those who chose to read. “[The] results are encouraging,” says Professor Gary Smalls. “Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function.” At press time, neither Google nor The Association of Literary Scholars and Critics have chosen to comment on the study.

Despite what you might have heard, you don’t need a fancy degree or an internship with webtoon maestros The Brothers Chap in order to make elegant Flash files. Nope … not while Wix is around. Wix is a new online Flash editor that lets you create stunning animations and websites with just a mouse click. You can mix and mash YouTube videos, drag and drop images into a stunning layout, and even create simple menus. Unlike most Flash content, files created in Wix are completely search engine friendly. While it won’t exactly give you Homestar Runner, Wix based Flash files are the perfect way to add a little “spice” to your existing site.

And to finish off the week, blogger extraordinaire Chris Brogan has a few tips on how to grow your blogging community. Twenty-five, to be exact. Brogan’s advice ranges from the simple (use Twitter) to the thought provoking (”Keep your eyes on the STRATEGY of what you’re doing”). As always, these words of wisdom are just one man’s opinion. “If this all works for you, great,” He writes. “If not, as always, I want you to give your thoughts. You probably know better than me.”