UPDATE: Since posting this article Google has updated their terms of service for the Google Chrome product. Still not entirely consumer friendly it is *much* better than the original and even carries a Google apology along with the terms of service amendment.

Is it just me or does that new model car on the road make the model only 1 year older look like it has aged decades? You know the feeling. You put down a massive amount of money on a new car and 1 year later the new model comes out. Your car looks completely outdated at that point. I suppose we can chalk the sensation up to good design.

Speaking of which…..I hopped on the Google Chrome bandwagon as soon as it was released. Switching back to Firefox 3.0 gave me that old car sensation. Is Google onto something? I wouldn’t say that they have completely changed the landscape but they have created something very useful.

Pros –

1. Javascript heavy web apps load a heck of a lot faster. Noticeably faster. I mean *really* fast.
2. The minimalist design is worth mentioning. The amount of screen real estate available for websites is increased without sacrificing necessary browser features.
3. Desktop shortcuts for your favorite web applications: Similar to Mozilla’s Prism offering you are able to create desktop shortcuts for any web app that you frequent. Handy.
4. The name….Google Chrome. While I may not have tricked out my car, I have tricked out my internet experience.

Cons –

1. Third party cookie support…ugh. This is the biggest con for me and something that everyone should be paying attention to. Google Chrome allows for third party cookie support out of the box. You are then required to turn this feature off in the options menu if you so desire. My opinion: By default, all browsers should disable third party cookies thereby creating an opt-in solution vs. an opt-out solution.
   <sarcasm> I wonder if this has anything to do with DoubleClick? </sarcasm>
2. Privacy. Google Chrome has the potential to leak massive amounts of information about you….the internet user. While nothing catastrophic in the way of an overflow or other attack has been discovered, the potential is there.
3. As per usual, the Google terms of service is not very consumer friendly.

UPDATE:  Since writing this post a watchful and attentive reader (Michael of CloudSherpas.com) has pointed out that PicLens has been re-branded and launched as Cool Iris.  I find myself using Cool Iris almost exclusively for image searches via Google images or Yahoo photos.  Extremely useful and worth everyone’s time.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Right? Well, along that same line of thought several visual search engines have been developed.  Here is a quick rundown:

- Kartoo: This is the best visual search engine for determining relationships of sites based on your search term.  They group similar listings in folders and show the interconnected web that we weave….presumably through a link popularity algorithm.

- Quintura:  This site is visual only in the sense that related search terms are displayed in a large column on the left hand side.

- Searchme:  Coverflow for your search results.  ‘Nuff said.

Overall, I prefer Searchme as a visual search engine.  The interface is clean and the results are comparable to Google.  We all love eye candy and Searchme delivers in this area.

One thing to note about visual search engines would be their SEO/SEM implications.  If visual search catches on (I wouldn’t be surprised to see this feature in Gng sometime soon) than not only will your current SEO/SEM efforts contribute to your success but the visual layout will also be an important factor.  An interesting mix of SEO and user interface design efforts will be required to rocket you to the top and……more importantly……capture those eyeballs with a click.

• July 11th is the launch date for the new 3G iPhone.
• July 11th is also the launch date for the App store in iTunes.

From an internet marketing perspective, you should care about this date even if you do not own an iPhone (only a few million of us do at this point).  You should care because the launch date of this new phone is likely to place a renewed emphasis on the GPS chip that is already in many smart phones today.  I’m not giving Apple credit for putting a GPS chip in a cell phone……hardly……but I am giving them credit for putting the tools required to take true advantage of this functionality in the hands of developers.

Keep your eye on the ball.  Here are a few trends to watch:

Geoblogging: location-aware blogging adds a new layer to one’s posts and comments on the internet.

Location-based Advertising (Are we calling this something else yet?): You are in a new city…….say, Seattle…..and you really want a cup ‘o joe.  Power up the GPS enabled cellphone with Google Maps loaded on it and off you go.  Oh yeah….and Google Adsense will be adopted to provide coupons/discounts to those stores closest to you.  Location based advertising will be HUGE.

Kai-Fu Lee on Cloud Computing [Google Operating System]

This is also a good time to mention Microsoft’s Live Mesh announcement from Ray Ozzie.  Similar concepts…different approach.

Today we have an article from Wired that talks about using people to search, sort and segment information found on the internet. The best real-world example that comes to mind is Mahalo (another start-up courtesy of Jason Calacanis).

BUT! I did find this analysis of how Google could derail the process extremely insightful. It’s worth your time.

Featured Greasemonkey User Script: Add Multiple, Address-Specific HTML Signatures to New Gmail

Background information:
Yahoo! Will Add Support for OpenID
Yahoo! accounts become valid OpenIDs

As previously mentioned, OpenID is gaining a good bit of momentum. Remember….this is an open source system that attempts to bring order to the chaos that has become our need to remember hundreds (or thousands) of logins to separate sites. One service…one ID…access to any website. What a perfect world that would be!

We have news today that Google is considering throwing their support behind the OpenID movement beyond just their Blogger platform. I would consider this decision (if it happens) to be the tipping point.