The Business And Technology Network

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UK startup Skimbit has released a tool to aggregate affiliate links and offer them to other publishers. TechCrunch reports that the problem with similar schemes is that they don’t leave room for editorial control. However, Skimlinks aggregates 11 affiliate networks and puts publishers – blogs, forums, web apps – in full control, in return for a revenue share.

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As part of their Top 10 Products series, ReadWriteWeb has put up a list of the Top 10 RSS and Syndication Products of 2008. According to the site, “these are the feed tools we and the people we know use day in and day out – we love them, we hate them, we wouldn’t want to work without them.”

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TechCrunch is reporting that Zemanta, a platform that aims to help online content producers find related content from across the web, has released a Public API aimed at helping fuel their Content Suggestion Engine. The idea behind Zemanta is to help bloggers enhance their publication(s) by allowing many more blogs, articles, web pages, etc. to be fed into its system which then recognizes content and returns suggested images, smart links, keywords and relevant related stories from the web.

Below is a brief video explaining the service.

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Robert Scoble has an interesting article about Brownbook.net paying users to add data to their business directory.

Here’s an exerpt;

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Dave Ingram, CEO of Brownbook.net, had a business problem: how can he build a world-wide business directory, but one with much more up to date info than any database that exists so far?

Well, he’s paying people who add data. He and co-founder Marc Lyne explains how it works in this video.

Already they are seeing 40% growth per month and tons of new businesses added all over the world. Can’t argue with that.

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I’m thinking about getting a T-Mobile G1. It features a full QWERTY keyboard, 3G support, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. The Google Android operating system offers good integration with Google applications as well as access to the Amazon MP3 Store and YouTube. As more applications become available, the G1 will also become a more powerful smartphone for all types of users.

The G1 doesn’t include a standard headphone jack (although apparently this will be addressed very shortly) and lacks stereo Bluetooth and Microsoft Exchange support. Some users have reported design quirks that make the phone uncomfortable to hold and difficult to use and there have been reports of difficulty with the GPS tracking and speakerphone.

What I’m hearing is although the design is a bit lacking and it probably could use some additional features, the real beauty of the T-Mobile G1 is the Google Android platform. It has the potential to make smartphones more personal and powerful. But that the G1 may be a bit of a “beta” device and is best suited for early adopters and those who have to have the latest gadgets, rather than consumers and business users.

But at $179 I’m willing to take the risk. I should have it in the next few days and I’ll report my findings.

In the meantime, here are the major feature links from the T-Mobile website.

• Touch Screen
• QWERTY Keyboard
• One-Touch Google Search
• Real Web Browsing
• Easy Access to Google Apps
• 3G Network and Wi-Fi Access
• IM/Text/E-mail
• 3.2 Megapixel Camera
• YouTube™ Videos
• Music Player
• Android™ Market
• Customizable Home Screen