Here’s an excerpt from the official blog post by Principal Engineer, Matt Cutts:

We’ve been exploring different algorithms to detect content farms, which are sites with shallow or low-quality content. One of the signals we’re exploring is explicit feedback from users. To that end, today we’re launching an early, experimental Chrome extension so people can block sites from their web search results. If installed, the extension also sends blocked site information to Google, and we will study the resulting feedback and explore using it as a potential ranking signal for our search results.

For those who aren’t familiar with content farms, here’s the definition from Wikipedia:

a content farm is a company that employs large numbers of often freelance writers to generate large amounts of textual content which is specifically designed to satisfy algorithms for maximal retrieval by automated search engines. Their main goal is to generate advertising revenue.

Here’s how the Google web search results will look like after you install the Personal Blocklist extension:

Sites you block using the Personal Blocklist extension won’t appear on Google search results. To view the list of blocked sites or unblock a particular site, just scroll down to the bottom of the search results page and look for “Some results were removed by the Personal Blocklist extension” and click on “show“.

Another method of unblocking sites is to click on the Personal Blocklist extension’s icon found on the top right corner of the Chrome window.

I’m not sure how much effect or if it will have an immediate effect on content farms as not all web users use Google Chrome. Maybe if they released versions for other web browsers then I believe that it can help bring down content farms. Another thing to consider is what effect will this type of extension have on SEO (search engine optimization)? Other concerns include people or companies using this extension to maliciously and deliberately block a competitor’s site and maybe even pay people to do it for them, right?

The Personal Blocklist extension is now available from the Chrome Web Store.

Anyone here tried or are using the Personal Blocklist Chrome extension? What do you think are the advantages or disadvantages of this type of extension? What are other ways to fight content farms? Please share your thoughts.

Earlier this week, Facebook rolled out several updates including the Mobile Initiative with updates on its Facebook iPhone/Android apps. However, the most noticeable update and the one that got a lot reaction/complaints is the Facebook font size. A lot of Facebook users are complaining about the smaller font size because it’s causing them to squint and strain their eyes just to be able to read stuff on Facebook.

I didn’t notice the new font size because I use the Facebook for iPhone app most of the time. I found out about it because of several status updates posted by my friends. It’s not certain whether the font size will be reverted to the original size but according to Facebook, the smaller font size is just an experiment on making the site more efficient for users.

Because of the amount of complaints and frustration I’ve seen from many Facebook users, I’ve decided to write this short and simple tutorial to help them with the Facebook font size issue. This tutorial will enable users to adjust Facebook’s font size to make it bigger and more readable (this is applicable to any website). This procedure doesn’t require any changes done to your Facebook profile settings but utilizes a built-in “universal” shortcut command for all web browsers.

It doesn’t matter what web browser you’re using – Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Opera, etc. because the procedure is the same. All you need to do is login to Facebook and once you get to your profile, just press and hold CTRL then press the + (plus) key and that would automagically resize the font on your browser, making it bigger and easier to read.

Here’s a sample I made while viewing my Facebook profile:

BEFORE

AFTER

If you compare the BEFORE and AFTER screenshots, you can see that the font is a little bit bigger after performing the procedure and is now easier to read.

Usually, doing the procedure once is enough to make the font size readable for most people, but in case it’s still too small for you to read, you can make the font size larger but repeating the process. In case you want to revert and/or make the font size smaller, instead of the + (plus key), press the - (minus) key. So press and hold CTRL and then press - (minus).

Btw, some users may not experience any issues with Facebook’s new font size due to web browser settings. Also, if you’re logged in to Facebook on the iPhone or Android app then you also won’t be affected by this update. It’s still uncertain whether Facebook will revert back to the original font size or provide font size options, so for now this tutorial can be used as a temporary solution while the new smaller font size is still in effect. I hope this short and simple tutorial will be useful for those having problems with the Facebook font size. Please don’t forget to share this with your friends on Facebook.

Anyone having problems reading stuff with the new Facebook font size? Do you prefer or hate the smaller font size? Please share your thoughts.

Got an email invite a few weeks back from Aileen Apolo-de Jesus for an exclusive Google Chrome event. Since I couldn’t make it to the event, I asked Aileen if she could send me a press kit. I got it October 1st but because of my busy schedule and the week-long road trip, I wasn’t able to blog about it right away and ended up forgetting about it. Remembered about it today and decided to share it with you guys even though it’s a bit late.

Andrew McGlinchey, Google Southeast Asia Head of Product Management and Derek Callow, Google Southeast Asia Head of Marketing were both at the event to unveil the new Chrome features made by Filipinos, for Filipinos. They were joined by dozens of bloggers and top names in the Filipino Industry.

Highlights of the event include a video about a survey done by Google Southeast Asia that asked random people the question – “What is a browser?” and unveiling of local Chrome apps/extensions and themes created specifically for Filipinos.

Philippine Google Chrome Extensions
Some of the local Chrome apps unveiled during the event were from local companies and websites like ABS-CBN, Philippine Airlines, SmartBro, Cebu Pacific, Pinoy Exchange and Ayos Dito.

Philippine Google Chrome Themes
Here are some of the local Chrome themes created by Filipino artists:

Maria Makiling by Arnold Arre

Team Manila

Corey Cruz

Electrolychee

Drew Europeo

You can check out the rest of the local Chrome themes from the Google Chrome Philippines theme page. You can also view photos of the event from Aileen’s blog.

Anyone else attended the Google Chrome for Filipinos event? For my Filipino readers, which local app or local theme do you like the most? Please share your thoughts.

[image by Aileen Apolo-de Jesus]

Gmail’s built-in filters, labels and the recently launched Priority Inbox help users who receive a boatload of emails on a regular basis to easily organize and manage their Gmail Inbox. However, there are still instances where the built-in features aren’t enough to organize and keep track of the emails you send and receive. Boomerang for Gmail offers a few more features that users can use in addition to the current tools to better manage their Gmail account.

I first found out about Boomerang for Gmail via a Facebook wall post from Buffy, a friend of mine and one of the regular readers here in JaypeeOnline. So what is Boomerang for Gmail? It’s a Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome plugin/extension that lets users control how and when to send and/or receive email messages. This works for all Gmail accounts including Google Apps/Hosted Gmail email accounts.

To better understand what Boomerang for Gmail is and how it works, check out the video demo:

Screenshots:

Manage scheduled messages

Choose when to receive an email

Choose when to send an email

With Boomerang for Gmail, users can choose when to send and/or receive emails, enabling them to send and/or receive their emails on the right time. The options that Boomerang for Gmail offers used together with the built-in features of Gmail will definitely help users to better organize and manage their emails. Scheduled emails is a feature that Google should come up on their own and implement on Gmail. I’m guessing that it won’t be long until we see this added to the list of Gmail’s built-in features but for now, we’ll have to thank the good folks of Baydin for coming up with Boomerang for Gmail.

Boomerang for Gmail is currently in closed beta so you’ll need an invite if you want to try it out and use it. I got my invite a couple weeks back but I wasn’t able to try out and use Boomerang until today. If you want an invite, you can sign up on this link or follow @baydinsoftware and tweet that you want an invitation. They”ll DM you an invitation code within one day.

If you already have an invite code, just visit the official Boomerang for Gmail site and enter the code. Once you entered the code, you’ll be brought to a download page where you can choose between a Mozilla Firefox extension and a Google Chrome plugin. Download the right plugin/extension for your browser and install it (Firefox users have to restart their browser). Once Boomerang for Gmail is installed, just login to your Gmail account and you’ll see the options added to the interface (see screenshots).

Btw, if you’re already using Boomerang for Gmail you can view and manage all your scheduled emails by clicking on the Manage Boomerang link found on the upper right corner of your Gmail account. I hope that Baydin would also create a Mozilla Thunderbird extension that will let Gmail users like me use the Boomerang for Gmail features on Thunderbird.

So what do you think of Boomerang for Gmail? Anyone else tried or are using it already on their Gmail account? What are the things you like or dislike about it? What other options would you wan to see the Baydin team add to it? Please share your thoughts.

It was exactly two years ago this month, when Google released the first beta of Chrome, their version of the web browser. Since then, Chrome have accumulated numerous features, browser themes, password manager, better privacy controls, built-in Adobe Flash Player, HTML5 capabilities and over 6,000 extensions.

For Chrome’s 2nd birthday, Google is celebrating this momentous occasion by releasing a faster and more streamlined stable version – Chrome 6.0.

Today, we’re releasing a new stable version of Chrome that is even faster and more streamlined. Chrome is now three times faster than it was two years ago on JavaScript performance. We’ve also been working on simplifying the “chrome” of Chrome. As you can see, we took the already minimalist user interface and stripped it down a bit more to make it easier to use. We combined Chrome’s two menus into one, revisited the location of the buttons, cleaned up the treatment of the URL and the Omnibox, and adjusted the color scheme of the browser to be easier on the eyes.

Screenshots of the Old and New versions of Google Chrome.

Old Chrome – first beta

New Chrome – latest stable release 6.0

Personally, I still use Mozilla Firefox as my main web browser because of the different extensions/plugins that I use for work and which I can’t live without. However, I always install and keep a copy of Google Chrome on every computer that I have as an alternative/backup web browser and for testing purposes.

You can upgrade to the latest stable version of Google Chrome directly from the browser by clicking on the wrench icon on the upper right corner and then click on About Google Chrome. You can also download it directly from http://www.google.com/chrome. If you’re having a hard time downloading/installing from that link, you can try the offline installer.