Sites include Yahoo.com . Published on November 9th, 2011. Written by Anthony West.

Yahoo recently revamped its email interface and I for one am very impressed. But so too are the other 300 million+ Yahoo Mail users around the globe.

The popular web-based email service has had a rebirth of sorts and since making the much needed changes the platform has been performing rather well. According to a data visualizations project presented by Janette Toral, Yahoo Mail delivers around 50,000 emails per second. That is to an extent expected given the size of the user base, but where Yahoo Mail shines is with the work it does against spam.

According to the visualization study, the recent anti-phishing and spam-blocking enhancements has helped Yahoo Mail to block over 550 billion spam messages each and every month. That level of activity has seen a massive 65% reduction in spam reports across the entire network of email addresses.

Yahoo Mail has also seen massive growth in the Asian market with a reported 76.5 million users emanating from Asia alone. These users account for more than 23% of all network activity on Yahoo Mail and the overall improvements on the platform is expected to push this percentage even higher. You can view a live dashboard of the usage at visualize.yahoo.com.

Let’s just hope the rebirth can sustain itself long enough to make Yahoo Mail once a again a relevant email service for the masses.

Do you use Yahoo Mail? Let us know what you like about the popular email service in the comments below.

Sites include Groupon.com . Published on November 9th, 2011. Written by Anthony West.

The Groupon IPO is now a reality and just mere minutes into its foray as public company; Groupon saw massive increase in its valuation. Shares in the now publicly traded company jumped 40% or $28 above its initial asking price, leaving many experts to scratch their heads in bemusement.

What many are questioning is the current estimated valuation of Groupon which currently sits at $18 billion. Hard to believe I know, but Groupon has gone from a business model in doubt to a publicly traded company that is stumping analyst’s expectations. And although Groupon’s 40% increase is nowhere near the 66.7% increase enjoyed by one big tech company in 1999, many are asking if the valuation can be supported by sound business numbers.

The company is still yet to turn a profit and has seen many issues in the last few months leading up to the IPO. One of the biggest was the investigation of Groupon’s accounting practices by the SEC. Many are calling the valuation ‘hype gone mad’ and the fact that Groupon’s valuation is second only to Google’s valuation at IPO in 2004 is perplexing indeed.

Still, investors and the markets will ultimately determine Groupon’s fate. It’s one thing to be a privately traded company and not make money, but when you are listed on the stock markets, investors will kill for their pound of flesh. Let’s see how Groupon gets on.

Is Groupon’s $18 billion valuation madness? Share your thoughts below.

Sites include YouTube.com . Published on November 9th, 2011. Written by Anthony West.

YouTube launched an official version of the popular online video sharing site in Kenya recently so that should act as the gauge for just how popular YouTube is in African and other non-English speaking countries. But just in case that barometer isn’t working we can draw on Janko Roettgers of GigaOM’s NewTeeVee who has just concluded a study of YouTube’s popularity around the world.

According to the study, more than 60% of all YouTube videos are uploaded by non-English speakers leaving the obvious conclusion that the site is being used and accessed by those countries untouched by the language crafted in the British Isles.

YouTube presently has accommodation for over 51 languages, including the recently added isiZulu and Afrikaans. On top of that, YouTube currently has 34 country specific recommendations for localized content, making it one of the most diverse and inclusive platforms on the web. In fact, it’s hard to use YouTube from an English speaker’s perspective and not the see the non-English influence. The comments are a good place to see this and it’s not uncommon to see a Russian comment nested between a comment from Italy and France.

No doubt YouTube will continue to grow in popularity around the world as more and more people gain access to high speed internet. When this happens, YouTube will truly become a melting pot.

Do you think YouTube makes it easy for non-English speakers to use the platform? Share your views below.

Sites include Facebook.com . Published on November 9th, 2011. Written by Anthony West.

The latest study on social media and user engagement is out and the numbers surrounding Facebook are not at all surprising. Facebook has being reigning supreme as the number one social network for most people in most countries around the world for some time. The surprise on the list is LinkedIn, but more on that later.

According to Forrester Research, Facebook is the number one social network in the US among all segments of users. Generation gaps simply don’t exist where Facebook is concerned and a whopping 96% of users ranging from grandparents to teenagers cite Facebook as their number one social networking destination online. But while

Facebook has been quietly winning the hearts of users keen to be part of the ‘cult of Facebook’, another set of social networkers have been digging in their heels. The set I am referring to are the professional social networkers, and they’ve helped to push LinkedIn to the number two slot of most used social networks in the US.

In just a few short years, LinkedIn has risen to now control over 28% of the US online social networking population. Naturally, the core base of users are of working age and this makes the platform ideal for long term growth with advertisers and marketers. Facebook may have more users; LinkedIn could one day become more valuable due to the type of user it attracts.

Is Facebook your number one social network? Let us know in the comments below.