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In the recent past, a news story came out that Yahoo! has begun testing a blog search application in its Korean blog site. Yahoo!, a leading global Internet company offers a range of features making it a one-stop shop for all the popular activities of the Internet. These features include Yahoo! Mail (a web-based e-mail service), Yahoo! Messenger (instant messaging client), online gaming, chat, news and information portals, online shopping and online auction facilities. Add to this array of features, the Blog Search. Yahoo! seems to be ready to challenge industry leader blog search site, Technorati.

The blog search technology is designed to let bloggers sign up to publish their weblogs. The technology boasts of various search tools that will enable blog visitors to retrieve content and images within weblogs, latest blog postings or pages marked as favorites.

Blogs are currently the rage in the Internet. Anybody with an Internet connection can publish a blog for the worldwide audience to see. At the beginning of 1999, there were only an estimated two or three dozen blogs in existence. As of July 2006, Technorati counted more than 50 million and still growing. In fact, 75 000 new blogs are created everyday.

A blog, short for weblog, is an interactive, personalized web journal for posting articles or anything one wants to share with the general public or a select few. Articles or posts are arranged in reverse chronological order, that is, recent addition is at the top of the page. A blog is updated regularly and contains links to other articles (posts), blogs or websites. Posting comments is another feature. Many blogs focus on a specific topic such as politics, sports, technology, health, news, etc. Others are more like personal diaries detailing the author's (blogger) rants, raves and musings.

Because of the rapid growth of blogs, keeping on top of them is quite challenging. Industry players like Yahoo! is well aware of the increasing power of blogs and their ability to provide a wealth of information online. Yet, there are only a few blog-specific search tools to go through all the information in real time.

Two months after Yahoo! began testing the blog search feature on its Korean blog site; it has finally unveiled its blog search tool. The launch came at a time when the United States was still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. During that time, millions of people logged in to Yahoo! News for in-depth and accurate information. Simultaneously, bloggers were posting first-hand accounts, pictures, opinions, personal experiences. But due to lack of mainstream exposure, much relevant information was not disseminated. This further highlights the role that a blog search tool can play – a channel to bring information to the public in the shortest time possible.

Instead of launching a stand alone feature, Yahoo! has integrated blogs in Yahoo! News Search. When a user conducts a search in Yahoo! News, blog results as well as news from trusted news sites will be displayed simultaneously. Yahoo! acknowledges that the opinions, stories and experiences published on blogs make a great complement to mainstream news people read everyday. Blogs have proven to be an effective medium for anyone who wants to be heard in the public forum. A lot of times bloggers have even beaten mainstream media to newsworthy stories.

Traditional media recognize that they do not have the time and resources to cover all the events and happenings in the world. By incorporating the blog search into Yahoo! News, Yahoo! desires to offer an alternative perspective on news aside from what mainstream media can offer. Yahoo! wishes to bring professional journalism and amateur or citizen journalism together to provide the users with a wider array of information. Yahoo assures the users and the general public as well that there will be enough distinction where the information is coming from.

Yahoo! aims to learn from users and publishers. The expanded news search gives users more chances to find relevant information that matters to them from leading news stories, commentaries, citizen first-hand reports, pictures and images that mainstream media may not have covered. It will be to the utmost benefit of the millions of people who wants to be informed of what is going on around the world if Yahoo! News can bring mainstream and personal or grassroots media together. The people are then assured of greater variety of sources and viewpoints from all corners of the world.

When a user conducts a search on Yahoo! News, results from mainstream media partners of Yahoo! will be displayed on the left side of the page. On the right side, in a side-bar type area will be relevant blog search results. When the user clicks on “all blog results”, the user will receive Flickr (Yahoo!'s photo sharing service) photo thumbnails related to his search on the right hand side of the search results page. By integrating global grassroots media into the News Search results, users can enjoy analysis or opinions thru blogs but also related photos from the Flickr community that will provide a visual context to content as reported by the citizens. In addition, My Web links will also be displayed on the right hand side of the search results page together with Flickr. My Web is Yahoo!'s social search engine that utilizes the combined knowledge of the My Web community. My Web provides important links to information related to the user's search topic.

As to which search results to display in its blog column, Yahoo! does not give specifics but suffice it to say that blog search results are based in part on the popularity of the blogs within My Yahoo!, as measured by a computer algorithm. At first, only blogs registered with the My Yahoo! RSS directory will be included in the search but will eventually scan the millions of blogs outside the My Yahoo! sphere.

Yahoo!'s Blog Search will complement Yahoo! 360, its social networking and blog publishing service and Yahoo!'s recently launched advertising service for small publishers.

Whether you are looking for political commentary on the Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, Superman movie reviews, iMac G5 specs, sumptuous Vietnamese recipes, Louis Vuitton's latest bag collection, or anything else, Yahoo! Blog Search will help you find out what people are saying on these subjects of your choice.

Beta Testing Sign Up

Successful beta testing starts even before your system is born! Does that idea sound strange? It's not really that odd when you think that beta testing is meant to involve a methodical prove-in of a carefully designed system, such as an electronic device, Web site, or automated tool. It's not meant to be a hit-or-miss, cross-your-fingers-and-hope-everything's-OK Band-Aid that you can apply at the last minute.

We've all seen examples of software programs -- even from well-known, respectable software companies -- that arrive on our desktops barely breathing. They seem to be full of bugs, and thereby cause us more grief than they help us carry out work. Or we try to use a Web site that looks great, but we can't get from the shopping cart to the order page. Or we buy a new widget, yet even using the instruction booklet, we can't jump from the main menu to the critical functions the way we're supposed to.

Are you anxious to catapult your business into the ranks of companies that frustrate their customers this way?

Of course not! Therefore, I'm confident that you will do things differently.

That's why testing involves such a systematic, tedious, yet indispensable sequence of activities. Without a method to the madness, you're not doing anything more than randomly banging on the system to see if by chance you can find a way to break it. So, what do you need to know to properly estimate the effort, carry out the process, and keep the testers happy? Here are 10 strategies for achieving testing success.

1. Design test scenarios.

What's a "test scenario"? Each test scenario should be mirror image of a "use scenario" that's been guiding a team to design and develop the system. A use scenario describes one typical interaction a customer has with the system. For instance, for an automated teller machine, one scenario involves a customer inserting a card in order to withdraw some cash. In another scenario, a customer makes a deposit. In another, he or she checks the balance.

Scenarios must represent any plausible ways in which users could interact with the system, including unusual and unintended actions. So both use scenarios and test scenarios should account for possible error conditions such as jammed cards, cancelled transactions, or overdrawn accounts.

2. Write a test procedure.

A test procedure specifies how testers will exercise the test scenarios, including the order to follow. In the ATM example, it might say, "Test withdrawing cash denominations in this order: $20, $30, $50, $100. Run another test in reverse order: $100, $50, $30, $20. Then run several tests in random order." It should also explain what results to expect in each case.

You'll want the procedure to test all new system features or changes. You'll also want the procedure to test features in various combinations. For example, you might specify 1) withdrawing cash, then 2) checking balance information, and then 3) making a deposit. Be sure to vary the order, and test error conditions.

3. Determine what data you need.

If your system stores values in a database, you'll need to load some typical data to test the scenarios. In the ATM example, values would include account balances -- for testing withdrawal limits and giving balance information. Create the sample data sets and pre-load the systems to be tested. Don't forget to include extremely high and low values!

4. Plan specific roles for testers.

Schedule each tester to focus on specific test scenarios and related data sets. If there are enough testers, assign more than one to cover each test scenario. Each person will approach it differently.

5. Create a bug reporting system.

It could be designed as a form, a database, an e-mail message, or a combination. Have testers submit bug reports as they find errors in each round of testing.

6. Establish a test schedule.

The schedule should allow for several iterations of beta testing. Be sure to clear the schedules of testers for each round in which they will be participating.

7. Get all materials ready for testing.

The following items should be ready for the kickoff meeting: A new or updated system, lists or descriptions of any bugs fixed, new or updated documentation, test scenarios and procedures, and so on.

8. Set a start date.

On the start date, hold a kickoff meeting! Also schedule progress checks. If testers find numerous bugs -- or especially critical ones -- before reaching a given checkpoint, stop testing, fix the bugs and/or documentation, and return to Step 1. Ask before restarting: Are new test scenarios or data sets needed?

9. Perform a new round of testing for each new test baseline.

This means starting the complete test from scratch after each round of fixes. You can't sidestep this requirement, because each time something is fixed, it can "break" something else. Stop the cycles of testing only when no new bugs are evident.

10. Plan a reward for a job well done.

Testing is very tedious -- so testers need a special incentive to keep them focused on the goal. Although they're helping to produce a high-quality system, a post-testing party never hurts morale!

Thorough beta testing is essential for producing quality systems. If you discover errors you can't fix in time, you could decide to release a system with known defects (documented in your "Read-me" notes). The stakes can be high, so weigh this option carefully before proceeding.

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Both Danny Wirken & Adele Sommers are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Danny Wirken has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Vacation and E Books. . Danny Wirken's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.

Adele Sommers has sinced written about articles on various topics from Blogging, Site promotion and Retirement. Adele Sommers, Ph.D. is the creator of the "Straight Talk on Boosting Business Performance" success formula. To learn more about her tools and resources and sign up for other free tips like these, visit her site at. Adele Sommers's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.

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