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Samsung Galaxy Nexus available for pre-ordering, launching in Bell stores early December

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is going to be widely available across Canada from the big three carriers, Rogers, Telus, and Bell. The phone will include the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and is expected to hit Bell stores in early December, so you can start pre-ordering just in time for Christmas. If you're with Rogers or Telus, you might just have to wait until 2012. 

Samsung in Canada now represents 24-26% of the overall mobile market and 21% of the smartphone market according to the IDC and other sources.

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Google+ Joins Twitter In Saying That It's Not a Social Network. But Isn't It?

This article was originally published on Smedio.

There’s no doubt that Google+ started on the right note – it came, saw and conquered the hearts of people all over the world. It had the wow factor and it hit other social media networks where it hurts the most.

And then Facebook hit back in style, launching one innovative feature after the other. Google+ responded back by opening itself to the enterprise with the launch of Google+ Pages and critics were back to their usual best – pitting Facebook Pages against Google+ Pages.

But now it seems Google’s had enough of Facebook vs. Google+ comparisons. Google, the world’s leading online search giant, has now changed its standard pitch and is saying that Google+ is not a social network that competes directly with Facebook.

As expected, people have interpreted this announcement in their own ways. Some believe Google is afraid of pitting Google+ against Facebook while others say the online search giant is now planning to market the broader Google+ ecosystem rather than just the social networking aspect.

In my opinion, it’s fair to say that Google+ is much more than being just a social network and here’s why.

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Google+ Pages vs. Facebook Pages – Let The Battle Begin!

This article was originally published on Smedio.

When Google+ launched, it was widely projected as the next big Facebook Killer. While that didn’t happen, Google did a remarkable job of exploiting Facebook’s weaknesses with innovative features such as Circles and Hangouts. The world’s leading social network eventually hit back in style and as time passed, the initial euphoria over Google+ begin to fade away.

All this while, I maintained that the true litmus test for Google+ would be in the business segment when it takes on the world’s leading social network head-to-head. To that effect, I questioned whether Google+ can stand the test of time and the intense competition from Facebook or will it die in its own course.

Yesterday, Google formally launched Pages for Google+, thereby setting the stage for a titanic clash with Facebook Pages. The idea is to let people interact with a business much as they would with people over the network. While Facebook Pages eventually proved to be a game changer, the fate of Google+ Pages remains to be seen.

None the less, Google and Facebook competing hand-on to grab a lion’s share of the enterprise segment promises to be a mouthwatering prospect.

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Mobify’s mobile web platform showcased in Google’s GoMo initiative

Vancouver's Mobify announced last week that they’ve been selected by Google for their new GoMo program.

Google’s GoMo initiative is designed to help businesses embrace mobile by providing them with the tools and resources they need to make their websites more mobile-friendly.

Mobify is among 11 solutions recommended by Google in their Get Started section and the only Canadian one.

“We’re honored to be recognized by Google as a leading solution for creating mobile websites,” said Mobify CEO, Igor Faletski. “Our vision for One Web with full search, social, and email marketing integrity for websites whether they’re accessed from desktops or mobile devices aligns perfectly with the GoMo program.”

The Mobify platform powers some of the largest sites on the mobile web and now with Google's GoMo endorsement they'll be adding to that customer base significantly.

Optimized: Canada's 10 Best SEO Companies Revealed

Top SEOs logoSearch engine optimization (SEO) is an integral part of digital marketing. Canada.topseos.com, the independent authority on search vendors in Canada, just released the list of the ten best enterprise search engine optimization companies in their rankings for the month of November 2011.

Mediative, part of the Yellow Pages Group, was ranked first overall. “Mediative is unique in the SEO industry, because we are able to integrate our understanding of search engine user behaviour, as well as website user behaviour into our SEO projects. Our research capabilities have helped medium sized clients all the way to Fortune 500 clients, understand their customer search behaviour,” says Mohamed Kahlain, VP Products and Marketing, Mediative.

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The World's 5 Most Powerful People in Tech

With the 2011 edition of the World's Most Powerful People now released, it's interesting to observe how potent the technology industry is. While the majority of the listees are leaders of big countries like Russia and major cities like New York, tech leaders remain affluent even on global scale. Aside from perhaps financial industry, no space stands out in the list quite like tech. So the question must be asked then—who, among the techies, are the most powerful of all?

1. Bill Gates (#5 overall)

Mr. Gates is much more about philanthropy than technology these days. In fact, Forbes lists his organization as the Bill & Melina Gates Foundation, not Microsoft, the highly impacting software giant he founded decades ago. Still, it's hard to ignore his historical significance in the tech space—and his tremendous wealth is not lost on Forbes.

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Toronto's Acuity Ads makes a giant splash in the display advertising world

Toronto-based Acuity Ads says they have become the fastest growing company in their respective advertising industry since launching in April. They are further revolutionizing the industry through their demand side platform that maximizes display advertising technology through consumer profiling, real-time bidding and machine learning technology in order to create connection with the consumer.

While they couldn't release any numbers, some of Acuity’s impressive clients include Dell, Sears, The Bank of Montreal, Ally, and RBC Financial Group.

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U.S. Government Requested User Data From Google 6,000 Times in 6 Months; Canada just 50

America's government is the world's most active requester of data of search engine giant Google, the company's latest Transparency Report says, while Canada's government is one of the least active.

The U.S. Federal Government requested user data from Google 5,950 times from January to June 2011, and Google complied fully or partially with 93% of these requests. The Government of Canada, meanwhile, issued just 50 requests over the same time frame, with a 43% compliance rate. 75 users or accounts were involved in the Canadian requests while the U.S. requests breached more than 11,000 users or accounts.

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Google wants Canadians to update Google Maps

Google has created its Google Maps feature largely from its own hands up to this point—an impressive feat. But the softwarwe giant has now admitted that it cannot complete its vision alone and is inviting Canadians to update its maps Wikipedia-style.

Quoth The Globe and Mail:

“Google’s objective here is to create an accurate atlas of the world and the reality is that Google’s not big enough to do this (alone),” said Google Canada spokesman Aaron Brindle. “When it comes to our assumptions around who actually is in possession of the most relevant information to any user, I think it’s hubris to assume Google alone can do it without the help of the community of our users. It’s a model that’s worked with Wikipedia and a model that’s worked astoundingly well when it comes to the maps (elsewhere in the world) that are already online.”

This more open type of Maps feature should serve to update old and correct inaccurate information, as well as add new data Google failed to capture, particularly in more rural areas. All changes will be vetted by Google before being published on Maps.

Unlike Wikipedia, though, this call to arms doesn't render any of Google Maps' data open or otherwise available to the secret.

OpenStreetMap.org is a lesser-known Canadian maps service that has been supporting a community-powered concept for years. 

Would you like some Tweets to go with that wine? Best social media wine pairings

Natalie MacLean, a popular Canadian wine writer and blogger recently released a video which describes the best wines to pair with social media.

Below are some of her wine pairing suggestions for Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Twitter: Perhaps something low in alcohol, like the 2009 Lingenfelder Bird Label Riesling from Australia is the best bet. Natalie says this “will allow you to Tweet all evening while you drink it.” However, please drink and Tweet at your own risk. Here’s a link to the funniest drunk Tweets by comedians from the Huffington Post.

Facebook: Natalie suggests that you can toast Zuckerberg’s success with Mark West’s Pinot Noir from California.

Google +: Try Union from Ontario, because Natalie believes Google + will bring us all together in a meaningful way.

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