For example – take UK web hosting company 34SP.com. The company used to offer a Personal hosting plan for £17.95 per year. Then they retired that hosting plan and created the new Professional hosting plan for £3.95 per month (which translates into £47.40 per year). So they have raised their prices, right? Well, not so fast. The new package includes many new features and dramatically increased resources. For instance, the new plan includes free spam and virus protection, free SMTP, and free weekly backups. These ”extras” were are charged for under the Personal plan. Also – as you can see in this hosting comparison chart – the new Professional plan has ten times the resources as the older plan. So it ought to cost ten times as much, right? See how difficult it is to compare pricing on hosting plans?

Now consider the case of Rackspace Managed Hosting. A few years ago you couldn’t even dream of getting into a managed dedicated server with Rackspace for less than about $400 per month – and that was on the lower end of the range. Fast forward to today and the company has acquired two new brands: Slicehost and Mosso (now the Rackspace Cloud). Both of these newer brands offer entry level hosting prices of around $20 per month. That’s a dramatic price decrease in terms of minimum price compared to just a few years ago. However, if you look closely at the offerings, you’ll find that Rackspace servers are fully managed and many of the maintenance tasks are included in the price, while the much lower priced offers are in effect unmanaged. That means you have to do more of the heavy lifting yourself. It still look like a price reduction to me though.

Then there is the case of a brand new product from Lime Labs which is a new hosting and domain registration service, LimeDomains. LimeDomains is an ICANN accredited domain registrar and also offers shared hosting products. What makes this relevant for the issue at hand is that the company is offering one of the hosting products for free. Even that isn’t groundbreaking – there are plenty of free hosting companies out there. What is truly different about LimeDomains and the free hosting product is that it looks and feels almost exactly like a paid hosting product.

From the Lime Labs press release, ”All LimeDomains accounts come with access to an extensive catalog of open source web applications ranging from popular blogs such as WordPress, to full-featured content management systems such as Drupal and Joomla. Users can also upload their own files or transfer their existing websites – such as their Geocities pages – to LimeDomains via a built-in file manager, or any popular FTP client. Most popular web design applications, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, are also supported.

Unlike other free hosting services, there are no strings attached to the free hosting offer on LimeDomains. Users do not have to sign-up for any third party services, or submit themselves to a barrage of solicitations (e-mail, or otherwise), or place mandatory ads on their website. Most importantly, the free accounts are not crippled in any way – and receive the same quality of service, performance and reliability that most other hosting services charge a premium for.”

If you’d like to check out the new free hosting account and specifications from LimeDomains please visit: http://www.limedomains.com/hosting.

So now this appears to indicate that the price of shared hosting is going down. I plan to conduct a bit of further research to get to the bottom of the hosting pricing puzzle. Look for more tangible data soon.

What is Cloud Hosting?

Cloud hosting really refers to the server setup at your web host. In a traditional hosting environment, your website is hosted on a single server, often alongside multiple other websites. Your site’s performance is restricted by what that particular server is capable of, which means that under high loads (like when your newest blog post makes the front page of Digg), your site may crash.

Cloud hosts approach things differently, though. A better term might be “cluster” hosting. Servers are configured in clusters, and your site gets the benefit of multiple servers for performance. In other words, when your site suddenly gets a spike in traffic, it can utilize resources not from just a single server but from all the servers within its particular cluster.

The Benefits of Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting provides a number of benefits over traditional hosting. First is that you get access to the resources of multiple servers for a much lower cost than would be required for dedicated servers. In many cases, cloud hosting is comparable in cost to better shared hosting services. In others, cloud hosting costs are based on the resources you actually use, so you’re only paying for what you actually use.

Cloud hosting services can provide excellent stability (provided they’re set up properly). If one server in the cluster goes down, the others generally pick up the slack with no noticeable impact on the host’s sites (provided there’s proper redundancy built in). Of course, if the cluster isn’t set up optimally, a single server going down could take down the entire cluster or cause other major problems in performance.

Another advantage some cloud hosts offer is the ability to access a variety of platforms and programming languages on a single site. You can access Windows and Linux servers simultaneously, opening up a lot more options for your site’s functionality. Not all cloud hosts offer this, though, so make sure if it’s something you need that your chosen host can accommodate those needs.

Cloud hosting is more easily scalable than other hosting options. Because you already have access to the capabilities of multiple servers, in many cases upgrading your site’s hosting is as simple as clicking a button. Check with your chosen host to see how easy it will be to scale your hosting as your site grows.

The Drawbacks of Cloud Hosting

Every type of hosting has its drawbacks. For cloud hosts, one of the potential drawbacks is security. Because sites are effectively hosted across multiple servers, there are more opportunities for security breaches. Make sure the cloud host you choose has proper security measures in place (this is true for any host).

Because cloud hosting is becoming so popular, you need to be wary of hosts who have jumped on the bandwagon without the necessary technical expertise. A poorly configured cloud hosting solution can be more prone to downtime or security breaches. And cloud hosting is a bit more complicated to properly set up than a simple shared hosting server.

Depending on your site’s needs, cloud hosting can be more expensive than other hosting options. If your site is small, you may be better off with a shared host that offers higher bandwidth and storage limits, or a cloud host that offers basic packages that include a predetermined amount of bandwidth and storage with additional charges when you go over. Otherwise, paying on a per-hit or similar basis you may end up paying a lot more without really utilizing the benefits of the cloud. In other words, if you don’t need the scalability and other benefits the cloud offers, the cost can really outweight the benefits to your site in particular.

Who Should Consider Cloud Hosting?

Cloud hosting, like any other hosting option, isn’t right for every site. There are some sites that are much more suited to it than others. Here’s a rundown of who might want to consider cloud hosting:

• Blogs with occasional spikes in traffic. This might be caused by content making the front page of Digg or otherwise going viral once or twice a month, but having dips in traffic in between. Cloud hosting lets you accomodate those spikes without overpaying the rest of the time.
• Sites that expect to grow rapidly. Because of the scalability of cloud hosting, it makes perfect sense for sites that hope to grow their traffic quickly.
• Sites with cyclical traffic. Maybe your site is really popular one or two months out of the year but not so much at other times (which might be true of a business catering to a particular holiday or event). Cloud hosting means you can easily meet those jumps in traffic without having a bunch of wasted capabilities the rest of the year.
• Web application developers who would rather focus on developing their applications than on the intricacies of hosting them. Cloud hosting provides the scalability they’ll need as their app grows.

Cloud hosting is least suited to small sites with only a few, rarely-changing pages. For those sites, simple shared hosting is probably a better fit.

Questions to Ask a Potential Cloud Host

There are a few things you may want to ask any cloud host you’re considering. These questions are in addition to questions you should ask any web host you’re considering about security, pricing, etc.

• Is there a setup fee for adding new services?
• How are hosting fees charged? Are they on a usage basis or is there a flat fee for a certain level of service with charges for overages?
• How much downtime have you had in the past month? six months? year? Do you guarantee a certain amount of uptime?
• Have you taken any special security steps to protect your cloud hosting customers?
• Is there enough redundancy built into your server clusters so that if one goes down sites won’t be effected?

Since I know tons of hosting professionals who have made considerable sums from shared hosting, I wondered how this migration from shared to the Cloud would occur. In order to conceptualize the transition from shared to the Cloud, I decided to look over a few Cloud offerings and consider the advantages of the Cloud over a traditional shared hosting offering. First off, let’s settle on the definition of Cloud computing as offered by Mr. Sayegh at HostingCon: ”A set of pooled computing resources done offsite using software”. Also based on the HostingCon discussions I gathered that two of the big advantages of Cloud computing are ‘instant on-off’ and ‘scalability’.

So how exactly do these products currently stack up against each other? Here’s a quick comparison. I used a few popular services for this evaluation. UK website hosting company 34SP.com, and Host Gator for shared, and the Rackspace Cloud and Slicehost – both owned by Rackspace for the Cloud and VPS hosting components.

The Cloud
According to information provided via live chat and on the website, the entry level Cloud offering is priced at $10.95 per month. The specifications on the plan are: 256 MB of RAM, and 10 GB storage. Bandwidth is an additional cost of either 8 cents/GB for all incoming or 22 cents/GB for all outgoing. In order to compare, I assumed 100 GB bandwidth usage – all of it incoming. This adds $8.00 per month to the cost. So the Cloud comes in at $18.95 per month entry level.

VPS Hosting
VPS hosting comes in as follows. The entry level plan is $20 per month. The specifications are: 256MB of RAM, 10 GB of storage, and 100 GB bandwidth included in the price. So this is roughly equivalent to the Cloud offering. The differences are in included bandwidth versus pay as you go bandwidth.

Shared Hosting
Which brings us to the shared hosting offerings. One popular offering is Host Gator’s $7.95 plan. The specifications are: unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth for $7.95 per month. Now, of course we all know that there is really no such thing as truly unlimited shared hosting. So I used a finite offering from 34SP.com to offer an apples to apples comparison. The Professional Hosting 2500 plan from 34SP.com offers the following specs: 25 GB of storage and 100 GB of bandwidth for just $13.95 per month. This plan also includes: free SMTP, free virus and spam detection, free weekly backups, free script installers, and shell access.

So on the specs and pricing alone, shared hosting wins the day handily. As far as the ‘instant on-off’ and ‘scalability’ offered by the Cloud, these may indeed by worth the extra marginal costs for users that need these features, but for the hundreds of thousands of WordPress bloggers and shared websites, they probably won’t offset the difference in costs. Additionally, in order to manage a Cloud or VPS hosting account, one needs a deeper set of development skills to manage the server.

So my verdict, based on this research, is that shared hosting has a ways to go before being obsoleted. Perhaps, though, Mr. Sayegh will prefer to differ.

But there are plenty of hosts out there who are making great strides in the direction of being green. This means there are lots of options for those looking to make their personal or business website more eco-friendly.

Levels of Green

Different hosts take more or less initiative when it comes to being green. Some might simply buy renewable energy credits from their local utility. Others buy carbon offsets to partially or fully offset the carbon dioxide emissions they’re responsible for. Some make sure the servers and equipment they’re using are the most energy-efficient models available.

But some hosts go quite a bit further. There’s a data center in Washington state that uses outside air almost year round to cool their equipment, rather than traditional air conditioning units. Other hosts produce their own power via renewable methods (like solar or wind) or purchase solar and wind power from their utilities. Using energy-efficient servers and backup systems are also important, as these can have a major impact on how much energy is used overall. Some of the most energy-efficient servers use up to forty percent less energy than traditional servers.

Some hosts may have additional environmental initiatives, such as supporting local, national, and global environmental charities, or participating in tree-planting or other environmental campaigns. These efforts are not insignificant, but beware of hosts who use these as their only activities to back up their claim of being environmentally responsible.

The greenest web hosts will be doing a combination of the above. They generally use solar or wind power to run their data centers (usually with the grid serving as a backup system), sometimes even producing more power than they use and feeding the excess back into the grid. They have energy-efficient servers. They’re located in areas where air conditioning isn’t necessary year-round and use outside air for at least some of their cooling needs. Many also offset carbon emissions for activities not directly related to energy production (such as new equipment, employee travel, and even commuting). Recycling programs should also be in place, both for outdated electronics and for general office waste. Some hosts are even going so far as to have paper-free offices, telecommuting employees, and incentives for employees to make their own lives greener.

Reasons to Go Green

There are a number of reasons you might want to go with a green web host for your hosting needs. First of all, green and eco-friendly businesses are very popular with consumers right now. Whether you have a “green” business or not, being able to say that you’re doing your part to make more eco-friendly business decisions can go a long way with certain customers.

There are the obvious benefits to the planet, of course. Green hosts use less power, create less waste, and contribute less to a variety of environmental problems than their traditional counterparts. Running a single medium-sized web server can emit as much CO2 as an SUV that gets 15mpg in one year. Considering the thousands of data centers and servers located around the world, that’s a lot of CO2. Plus, the waste created when servers and other equipment are upgraded can cause a huge number of environmental problems if the old equipment isn’t disposed of (and recycled) properly. Computer parts can have significant amounts of some heavy metals (like copper and lead) as well as large amounts of plastics and other non-biodegradable elements.

What to Look For

Some hosts will use vague language to try to make themselves look greener than they actually are. If you’re not happy with the information provided on their website, there’s nothing wrong with calling and asking for more specific information on their eco-efforts. Here are a few things you may want to look for or ask about:

• Do they use energy efficient servers?
• Are they carbon neutral?
• Do they produce their own electricity?
• Do they buy green energy through their local utility?
• Do they have any employee incentives for living greener?
• Do they have an office recycling program?
• Have they won any green hosting awards?
• Do you use carbon credits or offsets for some or all of your emissions?
• Do you use carbon credits or offsets instead of or in addition to using green energy sources?
• Do you let employees telecommute or offer incentives to them to carpool?
• Do you try to minimize the use of paper in your offices?

While there are very few hosts out there who can meet all of the guidelines above, they are becoming more common. And the more consumers who demand green initiatives by their hosting companies, the more companies will adopt them.

Other Green Steps Hosts Can (and Do) Take

Some web hosts are opting to make small steps to become greener if they don’t have the funds or otherwise can’t make huge changes to their businesses. Things like changing the layout of a server room can make a difference in energy usage and cooling needs. Consolidating sites onto fewer servers can also help, as it lets some servers be shut down all together (just beware of companies that are overloading their servers at the expense of speed and stability). In many cases it’s possible to retrofit a building to use outside air for cooling rather than air conditioning.

Simple things like using less paper and encouraging employees to carpool or telecommute can also have a big impact. Letting each employee telecommute just one day each week can mean emissions from commuting are cut by 20%. Carpooling can have an even bigger impact. Going completely digital for interoffice communication and even customer communications can have a huge impact on the amount of waste the company generates, too.

If you’re not ready to make the switch to a completely green host, or if you just can’t find one that meets your specific needs, talk to your current host about making some smaller changes to the way they’re currently doing business. Many are already aware of the need to make their businesses greener, and are just unsure of what they can do without a major overhaul. Give them suggestions they can act upon immediately and you might be surprised at how open they are to making those small changes.

But physical security is a big concern. There are attempts to break into data centers on a regular basis, some of which are successful. You should really pay attention to what precautions your web host has taken to ensure that their servers stay secure from physical threats in addition to electronic ones.

Break-ins aren’t the only potential threats. Fires, floods, power outages, and other natural disasters can also be huge concerns. Where is the host’s data center located? It might be in a completely separate city from where their corporate offices are. Is the area prone to floods? Mud slides? Earthquakes? Hurricanes? If so, what have they done to protect themselves, their equipment, and your data from these threats? Have they built their data center to the most current building codes for their area? Have they put in additional systems to protect against common threats? Do they have offsite backups or mirrors in case of a major disaster in their primary data center?

Some common security precautions you might look for include:

• Smoke detection and fire suppressant systems.
• Off-site data backup storage or mirrors.
• 24-hour monitored security system.
• Biometric or other secure pass codes required to access their data center or server rooms.
• Reinforced entry doors, bulletproof/safety glass, reinforced walls.
• Video surveillance both inside and outside the facility.
• A standby generator or backup power systems.
• 24-hour security guards.
• “Mantraps” for automatic physical detention of an intruder.
• Buffer zones around the building itself so that unauthorized vehicles can’t gain entry.
• Redundant utility setups, with multiple incoming power lines, data lines, water lines, etc. each coming from separate utility substations or mains.

Data Centers are graded in Tiers (according to the TIA-942:Data Center Standards Overview) depending on their level of security, infrastructure types, and reliability. Tier 1, the lowest level, is equivalent to a basic computer room. They’re very susceptible to downtime from both planned and unplanned sources. The highest level, Tier 4, is meant for mission-critical type data. Their data centers aren’t interrupted by planned activity and they can still operate under many worst-case scenarios without any critical impact. Most data centers for shared hosting fall into the middle tiers, though there are some that are Tier 4.

Many hosts outsource their data center operations and simply buy space in one of the larger data centers located around the world. While this might make some customers uneasy, it can actually be a good thing. Large, dedicated data centers generally dedicated resources to up-time and security in a way that smaller hosts couldn’t afford to do. Oftentimes these data centers work with not only hosting companies but also large corporations where security is a big concern (such as banks or hospitals). In many cases, these kinds of hosting companies offer the best of both worlds: you get personalized attention from the hosting company’s staff while also getting all the benefits of a large data center.

Realize that if the data center your host uses is compromised by a physical threat, it can mean not only downtime for your site(s), but also a range of potential liability issues if your customers’ data is lost. Physical security is especially important if you deal with sensitive data like financial or medical records. Make sure that your web host is taking all of the proper precautions to make sure their facility and your data remain secure. Some questions you may want to ask a prospective web host about their data center:

• What tier is your data center rated at according to the TIA-942:Data Center Standards Overview?
• Do you have monitored alarm systems and/or twenty-four-hour security onsite?
• What kind of fire suppressant system do you use?
• Have you taken necessary precautions to defend against natural disasters common to your area?
• Do you use biometric or other identifiers to control access to your facility?
• What redundancies and backup systems have you put in place?

Realize that a host may be reluctant to share exact details of some of their security features (which is good, as they shouldn’t be giving potential threats information on all their security precautions), but they should be able to at least give you basic information about precautions they’ve taken. Many of the better web hosts have information of this nature right on their website. Even smaller hosts often use servers in a data center that has top-level security, while some of the larger ones might not take physical security seriously. Again, how much security you need depends on the type of data you handle and how important constant up-time is for your website.

Beware of web hosts who don’t take physical security seriously. There are plenty of hosts out there who only take threats from electronic sources seriously. But considering that physical security threats come not only from people, but also from nature, it’s not something to be taken lightly.

1. What kind of site are you creating?

The requirements for a simple brochure site are a lot different than those of a blog, an e-commerce site, a social network, or a forum. You need to sit down and figure out exactly what kind of website you want, or may want in the future. At the moment you might only want to have a simple brochure site with a few pages explaining your business or organization. But what might you want to do six months or a year from now?

If there’s a chance you’ll want to add a blog to your site, or an online store, or any other functionality, make note of it now. It can be costly to switch web hosts, so it’s better to choose a host that will be able to support all of the functions you may need in the future.

If you’re going to build an e-commerce site, for example, look for a host that can provide secure servers and an SSL certificate. If you’re going to have a site that’s any more complicated than a few basic static pages, you’ll need a host that supports databases and programming languages.

2. How much traffic do you expect?

Good web hosts allow a specified amount of bandwidth for their customers and charge an overage fee if you use more bandwidth in a given month. Hosts that offer unlimited bandwidth on low-cost plans are generally overselling their servers, which can result in your site being slow or going down for periods of time. If you’re building a site that you hope will eventually get millions of visitors, look for a host that offers high bandwidth limits and low overage charges. If your website is just for a local business that will likely only see a few hundred visitors each month, bandwidth is less important.

Bandwidth also comes into play depending on the kind of content you offer. If your site is primarily text-based or only uses embedded photos and video (instead of those uploaded to your server), you can get away with less bandwidth. If you’re going to host videos or large numbers of images, or have an interactive web application, you’ll need more bandwidth.

3. How big is your site going to be?

The amount of storage you need will depend on the content on your site. If you’re going to host a lot of videos or images, you’ll need more storage. If your site is mostly text-based or only uses embedded images and video that are hosted elsewhere, you won’t need as much storage. Check into what a host charges for more storage, too, so that if you end up needing more storage in the future, you’ll know what you’re in for.

4. What programming language and content management system are you going to use?

Some hosts, especially lower-cost ones, don’t support programming languages like PHP or Ruby on Rails. While a simple brochure site might not need these things, pretty much any other kind of site will. Make sure that whatever host you choose supports the most up-to-date versions of whatever programming languages you need, or you may find incompatibility problems with certain scripts or apps you want to install on your server.

If you’re going to be using a CMS (content management system), you’ll need to verify that your host supports its programming language and database needs. Many low-cost hosts don’t offer databases in their basic hosting. If you’re going to be hosting multiple sites or if you plan to use more than one CMS (for instance, if you want to use one CMS for your main site, one for your forums, and another one for your blog), you may need more than one database. Make sure your host can provide you with the numbers you’ll need.

5. What other features do you want?

Some users like the convenience of one-click application installation. Others want root access or the ability to use .htaccess files (which not all hosts allow). Check the features list of the hosts you’re considering and verify that they provide the features you want.

Consider things like the number of email accounts you’ll need. Some hosts offer as few as 10 accounts, while others might offer 1,000 or even 10,000. You might find that 10 ends up being too few, while you’re unlikely (unless you have a large business) to ever need 10,000.

The host’s dashboard or control panel is often an important consideration for webmasters. Do they use something standard like Plesk for their control panel, or is it a custom interface? Is it easy to perform basic functions, like setting up a new database or email account? While some web designers and webmasters will be comfortable doing these things directly on the server, others prefer to work through the control panel.

Look over the features list of your prospective hosts and make sure they provide everything you’ll need. Don’t worry about other features they may offer, as it’s not worth paying more for features you don’t intend to use.

6. How many sites are you going to need to host?

Some shared hosts allow you to host multiple domains on a single hosting account. And some hosts are better at this than others. You not only want to check into how many they allow on a single account, but also how easy it is to manage multiple domains. Some hosts set these up as little more than subdomains, while others mimic having multiple hosting accounts on a single control panel. It depends on your own personal preference as to which method you prefer.

7. How much security do you need?

Are you dealing with sensitive data on your site? If so, you’ll want to make sure that the host you choose is secure both electronically and physically. Datacenters that aren’t properly secured can be an easy target for thieves. Even if your data isn’t particularly sensitive, realize that if you’re on a shared server, if someone else on your server has attractive data, your site can become a target just by proximity.

If there’s a break-in, either physically or electronically, it can mean that your site goes down for a few minutes, hours, or even days. Make sure that the host you choose has a reasonably secure facility and has taken all the necessary precautions to prevent electronic attacks.

8. How much support do you need?

Support levels vary considerably between hosts. Some hosts only have online support systems. Others offer phone support. While particularly tech-savvy users may not need much support, others may want to be able to call up with a problem and have someone on the other end walk them through the solution step-by-step.

Make sure you consider when tech support is available. Some hosts offer 24/7 tech support, others offer it only during business hours. Realize that in many cases, tech support after standard business hours is outsourced and that those tech support workers may not have as much power to correct problems.

9. What about backups, redundancies, monitoring and the like?

While you should always be doing backups of your site on a regular basis, it’s sometimes reassuring to know that your host also does backups or mirrors your site on multiple servers. The advantage of a host that does this is that if there’s a problem on their end, they’re usually better-equipped to handle it and get your site back up faster than if you have to restore your site yourself. Also, with redundancies and mirrored servers, if the server your site is hosted on goes down, it will automatically redirect to a new server, resulting in little or no down time for your site.

You should also make sure that the host you choose has redundant connections to the Internet as a whole. Some of the best hosts not only have redundant connections, but also have connections from different providers so that if one provider’s entire network goes down, they can reroute through a different one.

Another thing to verify is that the servers are monitored, preferably 24/7. You don’t want to have to rely on someone noticing their site is down to report it to tech support. By the time you notice your site is down, tech support should already be working on correcting the problem.

The general takeaway here is that Google will either mesh Twitter posts into the main search results, or create a separate search feature (like blog search) containing Tweets on the subject queried.

So this begs the question – is Google coming into the game too late? I would argue that they are.

Here are the main reasons that Google is at a disadvantage to Twitter in correlating and displaying search results based on Tweets.

1. Twitter owns this data – NOT Google. For starters, consider that Google needs permission to post anything on its search engine. Of course one could argue that Twitter benefits from being indexed by Google and being integrated somehow into the Google search results. That would seem to indicate that Twitter will cooperate and let Google spider and display results based on Tweets. But this is not a given. At any time Twitter could decide to block Google from spidering its property. Then what will Google use for real-time search?

2. Twitter owns the customer relationship – NOT Google. Twitter has a direct email address and (in most cases) URL of every Twitter account. They can communicate directly with these customers. They can explain their point of view, or make the case for a certain way of doing business. Twitter can also directly survey its audience and solicit feedback on the value of services – such as being included in Google search. Google can’t do that – they don’t even really know who the Twitterers are.

3. Twitter has real-time built into its DNA – Google DOESN’T. The entire fabric of the Twitter brand is built on real-time data transmission and messaging. Every system, every process, every employee position is created with the mandate of delivering real-time data in the form of Tweets to the world. Sure this has created a few noticeable growing pains in the form of various system failures – but it has also produced solutions to these problems. This gives Twitter a real edge in spitting out real-time data at staggering speeds.

4. Twitter messages are different than websites. Google has spent its energies spidering and displaying the results of data created and housed in the form of websites. Websites are for the most part a bit thoughtful – this is a byproduct of the fact that it takes a bit of effort to create a website. Consider the difference between the HostingCon website and its Twitter feed. Or the difference between UK hosting company 34SP.com’s website and the 34SP.com Twitter feed. These are totally different things. Tweets are easy to create, and sometimes have – literally – no thought behind them. They are potentially mindless ramblings. That’s part of what’s so fun about Twitter. It’s unfiltered. So now, here comes Google trying to filter the er…unfilterable. So how do you rank search results for something like ”#3wordsaftersex”? Good luck with that Google.

Bottom line for Google: figure out how to buy Twitter right now. Don’t fiddle around and wait for someone else (Microsoft?) to snatch it up. Open up your massive wallet and buy it. Then let it run the way it is – and please don’t screw it up.

Be green to get green…

Do you remember last year when web hosts and data centers were turning ‘green’ 20 a dozen in a bid to “save the environment”? I do – ‘green’ was quite the buzzword at the time and it seemed that anyone who wasn’t turning green was basically turning their back on Mother Earth. Back then I personally questioned whether there was a bandwagon effect taking place, and as they say, if there’s any doubt, there’s no doubt.

At the recent Data Centre World conference in the United Kingdom, data center managers were surveyed and only one in eight cited green issues as their main reason for establishing energy saving strategies. The previous year a substantial one in three attendees suggested green issues were driving their energy efficiency drives. Despite this, over two thirds of those surveyed were actively minimizing power consumption, but now economic issues and driving down costs are at the forefront, not the environment.

It seems that in times of economic hardship people can abandon their good intentions and perhaps they shouldn’t.

A recent 1&1 Internet survey suggested 78% of online shoppers value green-powered websites. The results of the survey of 543 US adults suggested consumers believe virtual shops should offer green operations, with 60% of people “being swayed to purchase from an online shop if the website identifies itself as using green energy”.

The bottom line here is that online shoppers can’t be that different from your average web host’s end user clientele, so if being green sways people to purchase from a certain site, surely being green is likely to sway people to use a particular host. Perhaps people have abandoned environmental issues in favor of economic issues TOO quickly. Perhaps these issues have merged to some extent. Perhaps these days, people have to be green to get green…