Legal

An Unintended Side-Effect of Google’s Hunt for Bad Links

by Barry May 14, 2012

As you’ll probably know Google has been ramping up its fight against webspam recently, especially focusing on bad links. As a result, many sites that have received ‘bad link’ notifications in Webmaster Tools and/or have been hit with the sledgehammer of a Google penalty are scrambling to get those spammy links removed. In some cases [...]

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The problem with Google’s feature creep

by Barry May 1, 2012

As of today, Google has started showing credit card affiliate links in its (UK) search results. Do a search for ‘compare credit cards’ on Google and chances are you’ll see a box below the ads, and above the first organic result, with some credit card deals on which Google earns an affiliate commission: There are [...]

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Google’s ‘free internet’ hypocrisy

by Barry April 16, 2012

A Google co-founder advocating a free & open internet, whilst his own company is among the most ferociously secretive and possessing a voracious information appetite, is more than a little ironic. View my “Google’s ‘free internet’ hypocrisy” rant on Storify.

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Google Antitrust / Office of Fair Trading

by Barry December 21, 2010

Two articles about legal issues this week: first a column for the Belfast Telegraph where I discuss the antitrust suit the European Commission is investigating against Google. I believe that the EU might have a strong case against Google: Belfast Telegraph: The Google Antitrust Suit The EU recently announced it is investigating a potential antitrust [...]

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Make Your Legal Statements Human-Readable

by Barry November 10, 2008

If you sell products online, or if you have valuable or proprietary content hidden behind a password, you may be tempted to slap long, heavy-handed legal statements on your website. I’m not a legal expert by any stretch of the imagination, so I’m not one to vent an opinion on the necessities of online legal [...]

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Keep Your Forms Short And Simple

by Barry October 16, 2008

Privacy matters to internet users. People are aware of the dangers of giving out personal information, and everyone that has an email address understands the hazards and annoyances of spam. As a result users are less inclined to type a lot of information in a website’s form. Whether it’s a contact form or an orderform, [...]

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Choosing The Right Domain Name

by Barry October 10, 2008

The domain name where your website resides at is an important part of your online identity. It represents your business in a vital way. Your domain name can have a big impact on the overall success of your website. It pays off to think hard before you choose a domain name. Ideally your domain name [...]

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