The Seattle-Search.com Blog

Can a mosquito be transformed into a “flying syringe,” so that when the insect bites a human, it delivers a vaccine instead of transmitting a disease?  That is one of the ideas which received a $100,000 award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation this week. The awards were made to 104 scientists from 22 nations in the the first round of what is to become a regular practice as the foundation seeks to develop transformational ideas that will help revolutionize health care. The notion  of a mosquito as an airborne syringe  was submitted by Hiroyuki Matsuoka from Jichi Medical University in Japan and was one of 4,000 proposals considered.  Evidently, that high-flying proposal had more bite.

When Seattle’s SEOmoz decided to “go private” last year by taking on over a million dollars in venture capital investment, the search world saw a fly in its alphabet soup.  Just what ROI could the VC’s see from SEO services that would warrant that kind of investment?  First came SEOMoz fee-based “membership” and the monetization of tools which SEOmoz had previously offered to SEO’ers for free.  But the skunk works projects are just getting started and the mozzers hope they will come out smelling like a rose. This week, SEOmoz built on its reputation as the Web’s most prolific link-baiters cum search tool makers by unveiling their most ambitious product yet. The name of the service borrows liberally from the ancestral “Moz”-illa and Netscape  brand DNA — it’s called Linkscape.

Linkscape offers two types of reports that detail inlinks to a URL, anchor text distribution, domain and overall link metrics including comparison reports that compare link metrics and anchor text distribution of a small group of URLs.

Embracing and extending the moz namespace, the Linkscape reports also encompass two new, branded indices. The fitst is mozRank™ - the raw link popularity of a URL or domain based on analysis of the links pointing to it (similar to global link popularity metrics used by the engines). The second is  mozTrust™ - an estimation of how trustworthy a URL or domain is in the eyes of the search engines based on the quality and quantity of trusted links pointing to it.

A new Live SearchPerks program announced today will reward users who install a small desktop counter to their PCs that calculates how many times they use Live Search. Running through April, the program awards users “tickets” for joining the program and for each search conducted per day (up to 25), putting them in the running to win such prizes as free music downloads, air miles, and video games.

Previous rewards programs Microsoft has run to boost their search numbers include Live Search Club, a somewhat maligned program that rewarded users for playing games using Live Search and the “cashback” feature introduced in May that rewarded users for using Live Search by offering rebates for products bought online.

This offers are not likely to be game changers in the search market, but it seems to be having short term benefits for Microsoft’s search business.

Hotel 1000, downtown Seattle’s premier luxury hotel destination and a leader in hospitality IT, will feature one of the first customized versions of the latest Microsoft Surface applications for a truly state-of-the-art guest experience. Beginning the evening of Friday, October 3, 2008 guests will be able to engage in this completely unique interface by visiting Studio 1000 adjacent to the hotel lobby.

Microsoft Surface simultaneously recognizes dozens of movements such as touch, gestures and actual unique objects that have identification tags similar to bar codes. Guests of Hotel 1000 will be able to intuitively engage with various entertaining experiences by the touch of their fingers.

A new virtual concierge will offer hotel guests 100 points of interest for the downtown Seattle area, including restaurants, museums, parks, landmarks and other must-see attractions near Hotel 1000. The Microsoft Surface is connected to a networked printer for easy production of directions, maps and other visitor information.

Guests will also be able to view and interact with photos and videos by browsing previously loaded albums. Hotel 1000’s Microsoft Surface is also loaded with Card Reader, which allows guests to insert memory cards from their own digital cameras, while vacationing or on business in Seattle. This feature is also a beneficial tool for the Hotel 1000 staff to provide an interactive sales experience.

In addition, guests will be able to listen to an array of music on Hotel 1000’s Microsoft Surface application, which can load up to 100 albums.

The partnership between IdentityMine and Hotel 1000 on the Microsoft Surface platform was ideal for both parties, who are each dedicated to improving user experiences within the hospitality sector. The Hotel 1000 team’s vision and commitment to continually provide groundbreaking and enabling experiences for their guests fit perfectly with IdentityMine’s dedication to utilizing the latest technologies to improve user experiences.

“Our goal with this customized version of Microsoft Surface application is to make the guest experience more interactive,” said Denny Fitzpatrick, general manager, Hotel 1000. “Exploring our city becomes more collaborative for our Concierge staff and guests can interact with each other and this new technology in a way that is fun. Our goal at Hotel 1000 is always to provide what is next in hospitality technology. The custom application on our Microsoft Surface is another example of that commitment.”

Boasting a multi-million dollar technology infrastructure, Hotel 1000 is the industry leader for state-of-the-art services and personalized guest room amenities, including an intelligent private bar, touch screen VoIP phones, user-friendly ambiance controls and 40-inch LCD televisions with virtual surround sound and dual performance capabilities as computer screen, digital art gallery and Satellite radio. The installation of this customized Microsoft Surface experience is just another example of how the hotel is revolutionizing the hospitality industry with service-enabling technologies.