Google News now has Zennie62, but still plays news favorites

The great development is that as of August 5th, Zennie62 is on Google News and listed as a blog. This marks the culmination (you can almost hear that assistant coach from American Pie saying "culmination") of over a year of template testing, blogger recruiting, configuration changes,  new blogging techniques, and a whole new media organization, and it's fitting.

It's fitting because the same blog posts this blogger installs at SFGate.com, the website at the San Francisco Chronicle, start at Zennie62.com first. Yet, Google News would treat the SFGate.com version with index priority over the exact same blog version. That's just not right. Both should get the same Google News exposure. And so now that Zennie62.com is on Google News, you'd think that would be the case, right?

It's still not the case. If I post the same content, the SFGate.com version is posted over the Zennie62.com version. I have to make a new blog post about the same subject for both the SFGate.com blog post and the Zennie62.com blog post to appear in the listings. But that's not true for SFGate.com and Bloomberg News, and here's an example to prove it.

In checking the Zennie62.com Google News listing regarding Jodie Fisher and the Mark Hurd Sex Scandal, this blogger cyber stumbled over a dual listing: one post called "Ex-HP Contractor Fisher Says She's "Saddened" by Hurd's Exit" on SFGate.com and Bloomberg.com. What's more, both listings were right next to each other, San Francisco Chronicle over Bloomberg as you can see here:

And that's because SFGate.com and Bloomberg have a content partnership. But there's no "partnership notice" that a publisher must fill out for Google News; this duplicate happened because Google News still irrationally favors news sites over blogs.

The Google response is that an algorithm is responsible for this, but my counter is that the algorithm is a cyber-representation of someone's ideas.

That Zennie62.com is on Google News is a major milestone, but Google News still must replace the "big news website" prejudice that's displayed there from time to time.

Thanks,

Z

Jodie Fisher hires Tiger Woods Sex Scandal Lawyer Gloria Allred

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Actress and Event Planner Jodie Fisher hired famed Los Angeles Lawyer Gloria Alred to represent her in her sexual harassment claim against Mark Hurd. Now, from her history in the Tiger Woods Sex Scandal, where she represented two of Tiger Woods 12 or 14 mistresses, Allred's brought in when the woman who selected her is looking for some kind of payoff.

That's what happened in the case of Rachel Uchitel, the first Tiger Woods Mistress who some claim got as much as $10 million, and Veronica Siwik-Daniels, another alleged Tiger Woods mistress that Allred represented, who also sought monetary relief from Woods. Allred's involvement has this space wondering how much Jodie Fisher got from Mark Hurd in exchange for her silence and kind words about the now-former HP CEO?

All of that would depend on what happened to lead to this point in the lives of both Jodie Fisher and Mark Hurd. Here's the statement from Jodie Fisher and Tiger Woods Sex Scandal Lawyer Gloria Allred:

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Gloria Allred released the following statement from her client, Jodie Fisher, the former contractor who recently made a sexual harassment claim against former Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd:
"I was surprised and saddened that Mark Hurd lost his job over this. That was never my intention."
"Mark and I never had an affair or intimate sexual relationship. I first met Mark in 2007 when I interviewed for a contractor job at the company."
"At HP, I was under contract to work at high-level customer and executive summit events held around the country and abroad. I prepared for those events, worked very hard and enjoyed working for HP."
"I have resolved my claim with Mark privately, without litigation, and I do not intend to comment on it further."
"I wish Mark, his family and HP the best."
Ms. Allred added:
"My client is a single mom focused on raising her young son. She has a degree in Political Science from Texas Tech and was recently the vice president of a commercial real estate company. She formerly worked on the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. She has also been a successful salesperson for a Fortune 500 company and has been in various television shows and films, some of which were R-rated when she was in her 30's. Most recently, Jodie was one of the stars in an NBC television show called "Age of Love." Our office does not plan to have any further comment."
SOURCE Allred, Maroko & Goldberg

But if there was never sex, what was it to buy off Jodie Fisher? Mark Hurd clearly feels it was necessary to get involved with some kind of deal.

Or was it some kind of extortion attempt that Mark Hurd got on the wrong end of? Let's look at it this way: Hurd was paying for Jodie Fisher's silence about something that happened. What happened?

Perhaps Tiger Woods's experience is the key here.

Stay tuned.

Jodie Fisher costs Mark Hurd his job as HP CEO over fraud, sex scandal

Image via Wikipedia

It was Jodie Fisher from The Age of Love, not the Actress Jodie Foster.

On Friday, Mark Hurd lost his job as CEO of Hewlett Packard over allegations of fraud and a sex scandal involving a sexual harassment claim that an HP investigation revealed to be baseless. HP fired Hurd for falsifying documents to cover up his relationship with Fisher.

Now, after Mark Hurd lost his job and annual compensation that was as high as $42 million in 2009, it was revealed on Sunday that Actress Jodie Fisher, 50, was the woman at the center of the sex scandal claims.

According to The New York Daily News, Fisher says she's "sorry" Hurd lost his job over the issue, and that they never had sex.

Fisher said she knew Hurd via event organizing functions for HP, where she was paid $5,000 per event to greet and then introduce executives. Apparently, it wasn't enough because whatever the details behind her sexual harassment claim, Mark Hurd paid her off and for an undisclosed sum. So, now Fisher says there wasn't any sex involved and she's "sorry," but given the payoff from Mark Hurd and the paltry money she was making before, why should anyone believe her claims?

It's obvious there's more to this story than we know and the two people who really know the truth, Fisher and Hurd, aren't talking.

Taylor Swift : Mine song #1 on iTunes; can she top Fearless?

Cover of Fearless (2009 Edition)

One reason why Country and Pop Music Superstar Taylor Swift is so well-liked, seemingly teflon-coated, and perhaps why fans buy her songs, is that she's vulnerable, or at least has presented that in her public communications.  In the case of the early release of her new song "Mine," Taylor Swift blogged on MySpace that..

I landed in Japan and got 20 texts and looked at iTunes and got tears in my eyes. And so, we begin again. :)

Taylor Swift grows in power from Fearless

Taylor Swift is 2010's 12th most powerful celebrity from an earnings perspective, pulling down $45 million. That's up from 2009, when Swift earned "just" $18 million, and was the 69th most powerful celebrity. That level was earned because of the success, the overwhelming success of her second album Fearless.

Fearless placed Swift on a pedestal that's going to be hard to maintain. The album featuring this bloggers favorite, You Belong To Me, was at the top of the Billboard 200 for 11 non-consecutive weeks, and no song has been ranked number one more times since 2000.

Can "Mine" and her upcoming third album called "Speak Now", due for release October 25th, 2010, match the performance of Fearless?

If both do, Taylor Swift will prove she's got bankable star power that will last for years. No one can ever say she's a one-or-two hit wonder if that happened.

Taylor Swift : Mine song all over Internet

Taylor Swift via last.fm

Superstar singer Taylor Swift and her management company were forced to release her new single "Mine" 12 days earlier than planned and due to a bootlegged copy that made its way onto the Internet, according to Reuters.

The alleged act of Internet piracy forced Big Machine Records, the producer and distributor of music for Taylor Swift, to issue the following statement on its website:

Due to overwhelming fan demand, Taylor Swift’s lead single, “Mine,” from her upcoming album, SPEAK NOW (in stores Oct. 25), has been rush released to iTunes and to Country radio.

An unauthorized low-quality mp3 file of the single appeared online earlier today. As the low-quality file started to spread virally the decision was made to rush release “Mine" to iTunes and Country radio to ensure that Taylor’s fans were able to hear the single as she intended.

Within the first couple of hours of it's release to Country radio, “Mine," had already jumped into the Top 35 on Billboard’s Top Country Songs chart.

“Mine” is available here.

SPEAK NOW, Taylor’s third album, will be released on Big Machine Records and contains 14 tracks, all written solely by Taylor. Taylor co-produced the project with Nathan Chapman.

Starting on August 20th, SPEAK NOW will be available for special pre-sale on the site www.SpeakNow13.com

Taylor Swift's "Mine" a good song

So how does Taylor Swift's "Mine" sound? It's good, but not the best work she's done. It's not to the level of "You Belong With Me" on her album Fearless, but it's a good, easy listening tune.

Teen Choice Awards hosted by Katy Perry tops Twitter top trends

Katy Perry 

What do Katy Perry, David Archuleta, Kristen Bell, John Cena, Miranda Cosgrove, Ellen DeGeneres, Zac Efron, Ashley Greene, Victoria Justice, Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Zachary Levi, Leighton Meester, Jim Parsons, Robert Pattinson, Ryan Sheckler, Yvonne Strahovski and Shailene Woodley, Dianna Agron, Charley Bewley, Justin Chon, Jon Chu, Chase Crawford, Nina Dobrev, Jimmy Fallon, Selena Gomez, Kiowa Gordon, Ed Helms, Joshua Jackson, Daren Kagasoff, Justin Long, LL Cool J, Jayma Mays, Seth MacFarlane, Alex Meraz, Lea Michele, Heather Morris, the cast of "Pretty Little Liars," Bronson Pelletier, Jackson Rathbone, Nikki Reed, Naya Rivera, Emma Roberts, Christian Serratos, Adam Sevani, Ian Somerhalder, Taylor Swift, Jenna Ushkowitz, Michael Welch, Paul Wesley, and Betty White have in common? The 2010 Teen Choice Awards.

The Teen Choice Awards, hosted by Katy Perry, and which New York Magazine says wants to get "sexier," will be taped tonight and comes on television Monday night, August 9th on FOX, but the buzz for the Teen Choice Awards has pushed it to the top of Twitter trends as of this writing, Sunday, at 11:07 PDT.

The polls have closed, you can't vote anymore, and now the fun of guessing what will happen begins. And you can watch the live stream of the red carpet right from your computer thanks to USTREAM.tv. All you have to do is visit the Teen Choice Awards website at 3:30 - 5:00 pm PST today, Sunday.

Stay tuned to this space for more information.

Ohio unemployment problem gets $600 million in aide

The enormous unemployment problem is felt hardest in fewer places than in Ohio, were just over 10 percent of the population is unemployed according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of this writing.

The unemployment problem in Ohio and states like North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina, has lead to huge foreclosure problems. To combat that, The Obama Administration has established a $600 million aide program for states that have jobless claims of at least 12 percent per year, according to The Wall Street Journal. At just over 10 percent, Ohio comes close enough.

The Treasury Department has already sent over $1.5 billion from its fund for states that have been most severely impacted including Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada, and will announce a new addition of $2 billion, which will come from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds.

Tim Tebow and Demaryius Thomas - Denver Broncos rookies show skills

The talk about Tim Tebow's Hillbilly haircut aside, both the heralded quarterback and fellow Denver Broncos NFL 1st Round Draft Pick Wide Receiver Demaryius Thomas put on a show for 20,782 fans at Invesco Field at Mile High Saturday night, according to The Denver Post. The audience formed a record crowd for this annual "open practice" event.

Tim Tebow threw a 24-yard touchdown strike to Thomas, then celebrated by doing a flying chest-bump with him after the score. "I think it's great for us to come down here and play in an atmosphere like this," Denver Head Coach Josh McDaniels said to The Denver Post. "I think the guys who hadn't done it before start to understand what Denver's all about and how much this city loves this football team, and we're all blessed to be able to coach and play for it."

Brady Quinn plays catchup

As of this writing Quarterback Kyle Orton, who has more experience in the system Denver Head Coach Josh McDaniels installed, is the best performing passer. Brady Quinn, the Notre Dame quarterback who was drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft 1st Round by Cleveland, then traded to Denver after the 2009 season, has some catching up to do. That's why Quinn's getting more reps in practice, but Orton's said to be light years ahead of Quinn and Tebow.

But at Saturday's practice, Tebow, who's only seen sporadic on field action to this point, was allowed to direct an entire drive and before fans who came out to see him play. Tim Tebow's the fan favorite.

Demaryius Thomas comes into his own

If you regularly read this space, you remember meeting Demaryius Thomas at the 2010 NFL Draft in this video interview:



And where we talked about Demaryius Thomas playing with Tim Tebow at Denver. Well, after Saturday's touchdown pass from Tebow, it looks like the two are off to a promising future. The only thing standing in their way are the other teams of the AFC West, especially the Kansas City Chiefs and The Oakland Raiders, which have added the most promising sets of talented rookies in the division.

Stay tuned.

茶分心 - Tea Party Distraction

Many of the pundits and commentators have been speculating, uttering for public consumption variations on a disingenuous theme: the Tea Party threatens to undermine the grand old Republican party. Are you falling for it? Nothing could lead you further from the truth.

Ask what motivates those who echo this "conventional wisdom"

In the case of most employed in the media the answer is simple enough, they seek attention because their producers use ratings as the primary metric - corporate media thrives on advertising revenues, which rise and fall with ratings. Relatively few fans realize credibility takes a back seat to celebrity -- logic is overwhelmed by the profit motives of the "business" of news coverage.

The goal of an expert political commentator has some of that same need for attention, interwoven with the complex agendas of using their pulpit to at once distract and mislead their opponents, hopefully to such an extent they become depressed and disenfranchised, while inspiring and energizing those who contribute to their party's success via both votes and on-going media "success."

Consider the two major factions

In the case of a political strategist the goals, at least, are clear even though the strategies and tactics often defy attempts by the pundits to explain, let alone forecast.  The political strategist cares not - the pundits are a tool, and persuading them to portray the process in a way that conveys advantage to the strategist's cause doesn't require the understanding and consent of the media, although that willingness to play along (as the Fox network is generally charged with doing during the previous administration) has obvious benefits.

Both major parties seek to expand their influence and control. Since voters often forego logic when deciding who to empower, the original goal of a political party has to bow, at least in part, to pragmatic reliance on persuasion to preserve their bureaucratic turf.

The Democrats would be delighted if more people accept that the Tea Party signals the decline of the GOP no matter what the party strategists may or may not believe.  The Republicans party's goal is to use the coverage to suggest that either the mood of the country is more right-leaning than it was as the electorate swung from supporting Bush administration initiatives to sweeping Obama and Democrats into office, or that voters who feel that way are shrugging off their lethargy and energized enough to matter nationwide in the looming elections - although we hear over and over that all politics are local.

What does the Tea Party represent?

The Tea Party ideology may have had legitimate, grassroots origins, but it's now a tool of right-wing strategists who spread the story of their concern that it attracts extremists and all manner of unsavory and under-educated bigots while disingenuously stressing the threat to the GOP if Republicans don't accommodate and react. The appeararnce of a growing third party movement even further to the right than the Republicans sets up the GOP strategists to market their candidates as "middle of the road" moderates in the political spectrum. Brilliant not simply as strategic ploy, but also because it's lately become impossible to continue winning votes by touting the GOP brand as compassionate,  fiscally conservative, or good for small business interests.

On most ballots in November, though, there will only be Democrats and Republicans; the GOP will have invested in looking sensible and middle-of-the-road in their coordinated advertising campaigns while many Democrats will rely on voters to make the logical choices.  Logically, of course, more voters are aligned with what Democrats have accomplished and Democratic candidates advocate. But compared to the media coverage of Tea Party rallies replete with misspelled signs and hats festooned with tea bags the Republicans will seem close to most voter's self-image: sensible and moderate.

The Tea Party is now, above all else and quite regardless of the beliefs and goals of its founders or participants, an excellent marketing tool to reposition and re-brand the GOP in advance of the 2010 general elections.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, Democratic Campaign Manager, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Tim Tebow Haircut looks more like Hillbilly than friar

Sophie Monk 

Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow's sporting a wacky hair style that this space thinks makes him look like a Hillbilly. One of the first posts on the Tim Tebow Haircut was here, but now some have claimed that he's supposed to look like a monk. Er, no way.

There are several kinds of Monks.

For example, there's the super hot Sophie Monk, and Tim Tebow looks nothing like her, even on a good day for him and a bad day for her. There's also Monk from the TV Show Monk, and Tim Tebow with haircut looks nothing like him at all.

Nope, Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos rookie, looks like a Hillbilly. He's got the classic look of hair on the side, beard, and bald top.

The real question is will he keep his HillBilly hair? Time will tell.

Tim Tebow: Denver Broncos Rookie QB has Hillbilly Haircut

Quarterback Tim Tebow, once The Heisman Trophy-winning signal caller of the Florida Gators and now the Denver Broncos 1st pick in the 1st Round of The 2010 NFL Draft, is just a rookie trying to fit in with a new team.

To do so, it seems Tim Tebow will stop at nothing, including wearing a haircut that makes him look like a hillbilly.

Tim Tebow looks like a cross between Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillys, Shaggy of Scooby Do, and some Hollywood movie monster.

In short, Tim Tebow looks laughably horrible.

The person who took the picture of Tebow and spread it around Twitter and the Internet, Former USC fullback Lendale White, wrote "Way to go Rook" at his Twitpic page.

Regardless of how you feel about Tim Tebow, it's hard to argue that he's trying to fit in and doing a good job at it.

Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Russ Grimm in NFL Hall of Fame: Kenny Stabler for 2011

Kenny Stabler 

The NFL 2010 Hall of Fame Class is in: Dick LeBeau, Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Russ Grimm, Floyd Little, and John Randle make up what is, if not the best NFL Hall of Fame classes, then one of the best ones.

But such a discussion of the best class inevitably turns to talk of who should be in the next one. This blogger pushes for Oakland Raiders Quarterback Kenny "The Snake" Stabler.

Ok, let's get this out of the way: I grew up not just watching Stabler, but attending Oakland Raiders games at the Oakland Coliseum.  Everything from rain-drenched affairs to the playoff game against the Steelers in 1976, and even beyond Stabler's time after the Raiders returned to Oakland.

This is not just for Kenny Stabler, but for Oakland and its rich sports tradition.   But Stabler has been a key architect of it.

Kenny Stabler has all of the records and stories that go with being an NFL Hall of Fame player: he's won a Super Bowl, led the Oakland Raiders of the 1970s which posted dramatically successful records during that decade, and posted wins for the Silver and Black in some of the most storied games in NFL history, from the "Holly Roller" play against the San Diego Chargers in 1978...



To the Raiders' "Sea of Hands" Clarence Davis catch play against the Miami Dolphins in 1974:



Ken Stabler has played a key role in the formation of NFL history and lore. Stabler should be part of the 2011 NFL Hall of Fame Class.