Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including Mashable recommends 10 Adobe AIR applications for your desktop, Yahoo Maps adds more data and other improvements, despite the rumors and wide-spread speculation, Ask clarifies that they will stay committed to search, SEOmoz launched their own analytics product.

10 Adobe Air Apps Worth A Look (Mashable)
Adobe AIR (short for “Adobe Integrated Runtime”) is changing how we interact with certain parts of the web by bringing it directly to our desktops. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone in the initial release of applications, so Mashable has gathered together a sampling of 10 apps to give you a taste of what the service has to offer. Aplications include AOL Top 100 Videos, Chorducopia, Color Browser, Google Analytics, Klok, NetBook, StockQ, Twhirl and WebKut.

Yahoo Maps Adds More Data, Other Improvements (Search Engine Land)
 Yahoo Maps has announced a range of improvements - expanded global coverage, including better data and coverage of Eastern Europe, more "granular" neighborhood data for 300 cities and 12,000 neighborhoods in the US, and improved functionality. Additionally, tiles are "lighter" for faster load times, colors and styles have been adjusted and there are several other visual improvements.

Despite Rumors & Speculation, Ask.com Remains Committed to Search (Search Engine Watch)
The reports of Ask.com's death have been exaggerated. Earlier this week, reports began to circulate in the mainstream press that Ask.com would give up on its search technology to become a Q&A engine for married women. Search bloggers immediately began to run with it, and took no time in rushing to judgment to declare the death of Ask.com. However, according to Ask.com spokesperson Nicholas Graham, nothing could be further from the truth. The article also pointed out that the key to Ask.com's new strategy is search, specifically its Teoma technology that currently powers its search algorithms. That technology is not going away, Graham said.

SEOmoz Launches 'SEO Analytics' Product (SEOmoz)
SEOmoz has launched a new product that they dub SEO Analytics. It is a bit different than traditional analytics programs in that it works to find your site's inbound links, brand name mentions, indexing data and search engine inclusion information. It allows you to keep track of your site and your brand's online presence via thirteen different metrics, recorded and stored every three days in a convenient chart format. SEO Analytics is available to SEOmoz PRO members only, however if you were at SMX West last week, your combined badge code will still get you a free month-long trial of the service.


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