Google has added a new functionality to their Google Trends Product which will allow you to view estimated traffic data for individual websites. Till now Google Trends allowed you to compare only popularity of search queries. Google says that it estimates the traffic trends by combining data from a variety of sources such as aggregated Google search data, aggregated opt-in anonymous Google Analytics data, opt-in consumer panel data, and other third-party market research.

The interesting bit is that it uses aggregated opt-in-anonymous Google Analytics data. I am not sure exactly what that means. Google specifically states that individual site level information from Google Analytics isn’t currently used in Trends for Websites. One possibility that comes to my mind is that Google isn’t using direct metrics like number of page views, instead it’s accumulating hits other websites (with analytics installed) are sending your way to gauge net traffic received by your website.

This service is similar to that being offered by Alexa, Comscore and Compete (Google however doesn’t offer a traffic rank). However, I believe Google Trends has the potential to become the most accurate traffic comparison service due to the vast amount of data available exclusively to Google. Google search is the majority traffic source for large majority of websites. Hence, that alone can be an effective tool in judging a website’s popularity.

Interestingly enough you cant search for google.com. Now that doesn’t sound fare! But, hey its also unlikely that people would search for Google on google.com.

Mozilla is also working on a stealth project that will introduce an opt-in traffic monitor to its Firefox web-browser. But, I will put my bets on Google Trends to provide more accurate data. Mozilla’s traffic metric is going to be similar to Alexa. Sure, its going to have a larger sample size than Alexa and hence would be more accurate. But, it would retain many of the problems Alexa has. It’s not a mainstream product yet and doesn’t represent the entire spectra of web surfers. For example, in Mozilla’s metric Technology related websites would do comparatively better than say a Women’s gossip website.

Today I went looking for a free WYSIWYG HTML editor that was good enough that my students could use it instead of purchasing FrontPage or DreamWeaver. I found KompoZer. It was everything I was looking for and more.From what I understand, KompoZer is an update to Nvu. Both are open source programs, but Nvu is no longer being updated.

I was looking for a program that could switch between HTML and WYSIWYG modes while editing. I have tried to use the HTML mode in OpenOffice, but have found it to be more of a “convert your Word document to a web page” instead of a program that can be used to create a series of pages for a more complex project. KompoZer can handle a complex project complete with cascading style sheets.

I only played around with the program long enough to show it to my class. In less than half an hour I was able to figure out most of the features of the program. I was able to format text, drag and drop images into my pages and complete advanced table manipulates.

I have used DreamWeaver for more than seven years and don’t plan on switching to something new, but it is good to know that a robust program like KompoZer is available for free.

Here is a handy tool for anyone interested in finding a podcast about a specific topic. Everyzing is a service that scans through an assortment of podcasts and converts all that speech into text that is searchable. You can search for generic topics like “educational technology” or broad topics like “politics.” Search results can be sorted by date or relevance. By clicking on a hit, you can listen to the audio in the built-in player.

A link to your specific search term is also available so you can jump right to the part of the podcast talking about your topic. In this way, you can quickly hear a phrase in the context it was recorded.

The site also searches online video clips and other multimedia. The goal is to make all digital content searchable. Imagine being able to find a video clip of someone giving a speech by searching for a few key terms from the speech. You wouldn’t even have to know the speaker’s name.

EveryZing also sells a product that will convert multimedia content to printed pages. This has potential for hearing impaired students.