by Eric Cass
for CyberNAC

Software development has come a long way in the past two decades.  An endless supply of small software publishers have evolved into industry powerhouses by producing innovative products, only to be challenged by a brand new crop of publishers.  It seems to me however that now days, a parallel can be drawn between the software industry and mining for minerals; every once in a while you turn out a fine gem, but only after producing a whole lot of waste.

Overview

Alexa Inc., a subsidiary of California based Amazon.com, is well-known for collecting web traffic metrics.  While the accuracy of their information is sometimes called into question, Alexa continues to be relevant force in the web metrics market.

In this article I have complied a list of the Top 10 results from Alexas Global 100 for each of the countries in which Alexa collects information (a total of 120 different countries).  I have then plotted the results on a map of the world to represent subsets of the data in different and unique ways.

Some of the results are about what you'd expect.  Others might be more supprising.

If you’re an AdSense publisher, you're probably aware that there are a number of customizations options available to you by using the AdSense for Content ad creation tool.  However, cut-and-paste html design is fine for some publishers, others may want finer control over how ads are integrated into their site.  For example, a designer might use a scripted language such as PHP to dynamically control things such as ad type, size, or colors.

At some point in the past year or so, virtually every American has thought they should try their hand making a buck or two online. Perhaps the idea came as they were cleaning out the basement, wondering if all that junk could be sold online. Or maybe its hobbyist in their workshop or sewing room imagining selling their craft goods online. Or maybe still its the recently unemployed considering exploring the work-from-home option.