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An index to all the Windows Azure and SQL Azure presentations from PDC09. For those of you that made PDC, this will serve as a reminder and for those of you that missed PDC this year (too bad!), this will serve as a guide to some great content. - Troy Sabin

MySpace will soon be launching a new set of APIs and functionality to provide the stream of user activities in real time (aka Real Time Stream). The new functionality exposes the activity stream via a subscription-push model. 1. An application external to MySpace invokes the Subscription endpoint to create an Activity Stream Subscription. The subscription parameters include filtering criteria and partner endpoint URL which should receive the stream. 2. As activities are triggered on MySpace, they are filtered based on the criteria in the subscription and optionally sampled (for rate limiting) and batched. 3. The stream is then pushed to the partner endpoint for application consumption. - Troy Sabin

You are about to request access to the Microsoft Windows Azure Platform TCO and ROI Calculator, which will provide you with a customized estimate of potential cost savings you (or your company or organization) may achieve by building on the Windows Azure Platform. Upon completion of the TCO and ROI Calculator profile analysis, you will be presented with a detailed report which shows estimated line item costs for an accurate TCO and a 1 to 3 year ROI analysis for you or your company or organization. - Troy Sabin

Enables any developer to solicit YouTube video submissions, moderate them, and display them on their own website. YouTube Direct was built on top of YouTube's public APIs and is designed to run on Google App Engine - Google's highly scalable platform. To date, several media organizations like ABC News, The Huffington Post and Politico have taken advantage of the open platform to deploy their own version of YouTube Direct to empower citizen journalism and enrich their site in the process. YouTube Direct (YTD) Inlcudes: # The embeddable YTD container * Google AuthSub authentication to YouTube * Direct video upload to YouTube # The YTD admin panel * Manage assignments * Manage video submissions * Generate embed code for YAW container for each assignment * Preview submitted videos * Search filter for assignments and submissions - Troy Sabin

The AdvologixPM Professional Services Cloud provides the core business management applications for law practice management and other professional services firms - delivered in the cloud. * Client Relationship and Matter Management * Scheduling and Docketing * Outlook, Mobile Device and Google Integration * Time, Billing and Expenses * Invoice, Payment and Retainer Management * Document Automation, Assembly and Management - Troy Sabin

A framework for parallel, multithreaded, and asynchronous work/task management within a single Windows Azure worker role. - Troy Sabin

A jQuery plugin for mobile web development on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and other forward-thinking devices. - Troy Sabin

f you've created software for sale, you have dealt with the all-important question... what do I charge for it? Neil Davidson does an excellent job in helping you figure out the answer in his book Don't Just Roll The Dice - A usefully short guide to software pricing. He doesn't tell you *what* to charge. Instead, he give you a short lesson on how to come up with the best pricing strategy given your situation. And best of all, he does it in a concise 73 pages. - Troy Sabin

Visual Samples of all Google AdSense formats and dimensions. Includes: Text Ads | Image Ads | Video Ads | Link Units | Flash Ads - Troy Sabin

JsTemplate (or "Jst" for short) is a javascript library that provides client-side processing and reprocessing of HTML templates. As all template systems do, Jst separates data from its presentation in HTML. Two features set Jst apart from other template systems, however: its processing of templates on the client-side using javascript, and its ability to update the output of a previously processed template to reflect changes in the data. These features make it well suited for use in AJAX applications, which aim to give immediate feedback on the client-side. - Troy Sabin

JsTemplate (or "Jst" for short) is a javascript library that provides client-side processing and reprocessing of HTML templates. As all template systems do, Jst separates data from its presentation in HTML. Two features set Jst apart from other template systems, however: its processing of templates on the client-side using javascript, and its ability to update the output of a previously... more... - Troy Sabin

The Metrics Guidebook is organizes metrics according to WOMMA's Word of Mouth Terminology Framework. The Terminology Framework lays out basic terms and concepts related to the who, what, when, where, and result of brand-related interactions between customers. - Troy Sabin

Last week, Amazon.com announced they would start compensating individuals with referral fees for using Amazon.com links in their Twitter messages and in their Facebook status updates/comments. Realtime discussions are becoming important sources of referral sales and leads for websites—if someone is asking on Twitter what digital camera they should buy, you bet your ass that Amazon.com wants anyone on the Internet responding to that user’s question to be linking to a camera for sale on Amazon.com (and not Walmart.com or BestBuy.com). Amazon.com wants to make sure that those influencers are compensated for referring people to buy from their website, which thus positively reinforces them to continue linking to Amazon.com product pages in the future. - Troy Sabin

A webmaster's work is never done. What may have worked a few years ago when could be outdated today, so it's important to constantly improve your Web site. However, a massive overhaul is just too much work to undertake at one time. Instead, tackle these quick fixes over time, and you'll be able to improve your Web site with minimal pain. - Troy Sabin

A webmaster's work is never done. What may have worked a few years ago when could be outdated today, so it's important to constantly improve your Web site. However, a massive overhaul is just too much work to undertake at one time. Instead, tackle these quick fixes over time, and you'll be able to improve your Web site with minimal pain. - Troy Sabin

With 2,948 participants from the US and Canada, this is the largest study to date of how North American businesses, and business people, use social media as well as the value they find across different social media activities and sites. All study participants currently used social media in their day-to-day jobs as a resource for business-relevant information and/or work for a company currently managing, developing or planning social media initiatives. This 42 page initial report provides excellent business social media benchmarking data for 2010 strategic planning. - Troy Sabin

A collection of industry statistics maintained and shared by Bazaarvoice - Troy Sabin

Google recently open-sourced the JavaScript platform used to drive Gmail, Reader, Docs and other JavaScript-intensive sites. The Closure tools help developers to build rich web applications with JavaScript that is both powerful and efficient. The tools include: A JavaScript optimizer, A comprehensive JavaScript library, and An easy templating system for both Java & JavaScript. - Troy Sabin

Here are 5 of the best posts I’ve read recently (and some not so recently) about the ROI of social media. I think while we’re all continuing to think a lot about this issue, it’s becoming less and less about simply proving our case to the powers that be and more and more about finding a simple, replicable system for what’s worth measuring and why. For the association industry, measuring engagement is one significant piece of this puzzle, but all nonprofits still have businesses to run and it’s worth having a look at what some smart people have said about it all. - Troy Sabin

Apache Shindig is an OpenSocial container and helps you to start hosting OpenSocial apps quickly by providing the code to render gadgets, proxy requests, and handle REST and RPC requests. Apache Shindig's goal is to allow new sites to start hosting social apps in under an hour's worth of work. Apache Shindig is currently undergoing Incubation at the Apache Software Foundation. - Troy Sabin

In the spirit of being as open and transparent as possible, we are publishing parts of our roadmap for Facebook Platform. For the first time in this level of detail, we will provide a roadmap to help you anticipate future changes and opportunities. Like all roadmaps, it may shift slightly, but we will share insight into what is happening as these details are available. We'll keep you posted about the progress of these changes and what they mean for you over the next two quarters. - Troy Sabin

In the near future, experts predict that content on the web will double every 72 hours. The detached analysis of an algorithm will no longer be enough to find what we are looking for. The future of the social web will be driven by Content Curators, people who take it upon themselves to collect and share the best content online for others to consume and take on the role of citizen editors, publishing highly valuable compilations of content created by others. In time, these curators will bring more utility and order to the social web. In doing so, they will help to add a voice and point of view to organizations and companies that can connect them with customers - creating an entirely new dialogue based on valued content rather than just brand created marketing messages. - Troy Sabin

research firms found a 19-percentage-point lift in searches on the campaign brand among users who saw social media relevant to the brand in addition to the campaign’s paid search ads compared with those who were exposed only to the search placements. And there was a further 13-point lift among those exposed to social media influenced directly by the brand. - Troy Sabin

Browse through over 150 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago. To start surfing the Wayback, type in the web address of a site or page where you would like to start, and press enter. Then select from the archived dates available. The resulting pages point to other archived pages at as close a date as possible. Keyword searching is not currently supported. http://archive.bibalex.org, the Internet archive at the New Library of Alexandria, Egypt, mirrors the Wayback Machine. Try your search there when you have trouble connecting to the Wayback servers. - Troy Sabin

Jeremiah Owyang, formerly of Forrester and now at Altimeter Group, offers tips on building a successful Advocacy Program. - Troy Sabin

Internet advertising is expected to account for about 15 percent of global measured advertising spending in 2010, up from an anticipated 13 percent in 2009, according to a new GroupM study. The figure represents an estimated $64.7 billion globally, an 11 percent increase over the previous year’s total. The hike is being sparked by ad spending increases in both search and mobile and a continuing ad spending decline in traditional media according to the report, entitled Interaction. It also said Internet ad spending has outperformed all other media throughout the recession of the past year and into the current recovery. In the U.S., digital advertising is expected to grab 17 percent of total spending in 2010 compared to 15.4 percent in 2009 and 13.9 percent in 2008, according to the report. The 2010 figure represents an estimated $24.4 billion in digital advertising, a 7 percent increase over the previous year. - Troy Sabin

Despite Worst Recession in Decades, Brands Increased Spending on Word-of-Mouth Marketing 14.2% to $1.54 Billion in 2008. While Growth Will Slow to 10.2% in 2009, Word-of-Mouth is on Pace to Remain among the Fastest Growing Segments of the Media and Communications Industry This Year. From Only a $300 Million Blip in the Marketing Services Sector in 2003, Word-of-Mouth Spending is Expected to Reach $3 Billion in 2013. Meanwhile, with the rise of WoM spending by brands, content & service providers are experiencing sizeable growth. WoM strategy & consulting remains the largest segment at $832 million in 2008, but year-over-year growth slowed to 7 percent. WoM Agencies grew 18.7 percent to $197 million in 2008. Spending on WoM online communities increased 26.6 percent in 2008 to $119 million. Although it's the smallest category, WoM media is the fastest growing content & services segment with spending up 34.6 percent in 2008 to $109 million. - Troy Sabin

Recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising, according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries. Ninety percent or consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online. “The explosion in Consumer Generated Media over the last couple of years means consumers’ reliance on word of mouth in the decision-making process, either from people they know or online consumers they don’t, has increased significantly,” says Jonathan Carson, President of Online, International, for the Nielsen Company.” - Troy Sabin

Americans have nearly tripled the amount of time they spend at social networking and blog sites such as Facebook and MySpace from a year ago, according to a new report from The Nielsen Company. In August 2009, 17 percent of all time spent on the Internet was at social networking sites, up from 6 percent in August 2008. Among those taking note of this trend: advertisers. Estimated online advertising spending on the top social network and blogging sites increased 119 percent, from approximately $49 million in August 2008 to approximately $108 million in August 2009 – all despite a recession. Share of estimated spend on these sites has doubled, from 7 percent of online ad spend in 2008 to 15 percent in 2009. - Troy Sabin

At least from this small experiment our hypothesis was disproved, but interesting nonetheless. It actually appears that social media use makes people consume email more, not less, as we had originally assumed – particularly for the highest social media users. Intuitively this makes some sense. Social media sites like Facebook send messages to your inbox every time someone comments on your posting or something you’ve participated in, and depending on your settings, can send updates on almost every activity. Also, it’s perfectly logical that as people make connections though social media, they maintain those connections outside of the specific platform and may extend those connections to email, a phone conversation or even in-person meetings. - Troy Sabin

E-commerce sites have two seconds to load a Web page or consumers will click away. And after three seconds nearly all customers will split, according to research by Forrester and Akamai. - Troy Sabin

The heaviest users of Web 2.0 applications are also enjoying benefits such as increased knowledge sharing and more effective marketing. These benefits often have a measurable effect on the business.nn Over the past three years, McKinsey tracked the rising adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, as well as the ways organizations are using them. This year, we sought to get a clear idea of whether companies are deriving measurable business benefits from their investments in the Web. Our findings indicate that they are. Nearly 1,700 executives from around the world, across a range of industries and functional areas, responded to this year’s survey.1 We asked them about the value they have realized from their Web 2.0 deployments in three main areas: within their organizations; externally, in their relations with customers; and in their dealings with suppliers, partners, and outside experts. - Troy Sabin

The heaviest users of Web 2.0 applications are also enjoying benefits such as increased knowledge sharing and more effective marketing. These benefits often have a measurable effect on the business.nn Over the past three years, McKinsey tracked the rising adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, as well as the ways organizations are using them. This year, we sought to get a clear idea of... more... - Troy Sabin