Downloading a video from YouTube is simple and just a few clicks away. You can choose the site of choice for the purpose. I personally find this site useful for YouTube downloads. Up till now, I have found no server busy messages and things like that. All you need is a YouTube video URL and you are set to go. Below is the screen shot of the site I am referring:

In the above screen shot you can see the space like an address bar of your browser; it is there for putting YouTube URL. The YouTube URL can be found at the YouTube Video page or in your browser’s address bar is the URL of Video you are playing. The screen shot below will make the things clearer:

The two places I have encircled above are the places where you can find the URL of the video you are playing. Once you have it, you can put the URL in the site, I have mentioned above for download. It will take sometime to process the requested and you will be prompted to save the content. Yes, it is the YouTube Video you wanted. Once you have downloaded it, you will find that it is in .FLV format (the flash video format). If you are o.k. with it, you need to go ahead with other download but if you want it in .mp3 or such other format, you need to have video conversion software. I have searched about it too and found a good deal of for the purpose. To me personally, Kingdia is at par. I have found it very good. Apart from it, if you want to extract the audio, you can do it as well by using this site named FLVTO for audio extraction and that too in .mp3 format. They are running it for free with third party advertisement revenue and donations of many affording users. They have set this page for raising money to run FLVTO for user like me. The great thing about FLVTO is that that you can convert by uploading a file from your computer too.

Once you are done with it, you can convert your favorite video and audio to .3gp format for viewing it on the mobile. I practically did it with my Nokia converter and the quality was at par with original at YouTube.

I think, by now you are ready to download YouTube Videos, change the Formats of Video you have downloaded and extracting Audio from downloaded Video.

This scribe believes that internet world is dynamic and staying away from one’s account can end up with great many issues and monetary losses. The customers with Fasthosts are going through the same situation because to many small businesses, it is all about putting their products through this account and at the moment they feel themselves locked out of their businesses. It is as if, you have closed the doors to your customers and potential buyers.

BBC reports that they have received many emails with reference to this issue of Fasthosts and the customers have started protesting against it. Few users of Fasthosts went to the extent of setting up websites to share the information and their plight.

If you like reading my posts, you must consider subscribing to my feed via email or reader.

It is reported that Askville users who share their knowledge by answering questions will receive Quest Gold, which will be redeemable for USD50 or USD100 Amazon.com Gift Cards for a limited time, while supplies last. It is really appreciable but Yedda is offering a little bit more with bloggers centric approach, it feels as if they have realized the authority of bloggers in generating the buzz. They have these widgets with them for bloggers and are claiming that by adding them, a blogger will gain authority, resourcefulness and exposure. Suppose we are buying their claims but still the thing is not clear, so let’s go and explore more.

Yedda is offering three types of widgets, FAQ, Ask a question and My Profile. These widgets will stay attached to your account and activity generated will update these widgets automatically. Now let’s see how it will work. I will take each widget one by one:

The My Profile widget is something that they claim increasing your authority in field of your interest. This widget will get updated if and when you will do some activity on Yedda like answering a question by some other user. I think it is a smart idea but it appears of no particular interest to bloggers who already claim authority in their niche. It still can work for the beginners.

Now, let get to FAQ widget, this is an automated widget that will display FAQs randomly related to the content on a particular blog. I think it will add some glow to the blog but will not provide something solid. They claim, it will offer you the required resourcefulness but to me it is offering nothing special since we do have many other resources available.

Last but not least, the Ask a question widget. To me this is the best amongst three because at least this widget appears offering something substantial since every question asked through this widget will include the linkback to one’s blog and generate some traffic but again it totally depends upon your users and their love for internet Q&As. Apart from this, the questions asked through this widget will not open in separate window or Tab and this tend to drive the traffic away from your site.

All said and discussed, I would say that Yedda is trying to generate the buzz in order to gain the valuable volunteers but to me they need to add something more, something substantial in order to embark upon a course that offers them the required mileage to challenge the established competitors in the market only and link back will not work.

Currently, I have started testing FAQ widget on my blog and would see if it is generating some traffic for me. Few moments back, I posted a Question from my blog, they have quick signup system (that’s really very good but requires email confirmation) and the question appeared on their page but the link to my blog appears micro, I wonder if such a micro link will grab the required attention and send some traffic back to my blog???

If you enjoy reading my stuff, consider subscribing to my feed via email or reader for updates.

The story of blogging does not end with comments by the blog readers; the trackback system of blogs takes this two way communication to a newer level and depth. In layman language, trackback may be defined as a method through which blogs communicate with each other in their sphere. Hence, a term blogsphere is in vogue to mark this affiliation of blogs.

Tracking back a URL is a unique method that has provided an easy to use system of acknowledging some post referred by the blogger while writing. Say for instance, the other day I wrote a post about Facebook’s beacon technology. In course of my homework for writing this post, I visited several other blogs that provided me useful information. I picked their point of view and reproduced it in my post with reference to their original write ups. It is here the trackbacks come in play, through tracking back the URL of original post; I will let the post writer know that I have borrowed some content from his work.

Trackback facility is a unique way of saying thanks to those who use to help you out by providing you the required material. Moreover, linking to other blogs wins you some traffic as well. I have been using trackbacks to my advantage not only as a useful way of acknowledging bloggers around but for my bloggers centric Public relations drive as well. It does not mean that every other post on your blog start carrying hundreds of links since there is a very fine line between trackbacks and spam. If you will start putting a lot of links in your posts, you will loose your search engine popularity because the spiders sent by search engines that crawl your blog will take it adversely and your search engine ranking will go down, consequently less traffic in term of search engine referrals.

Having focused the importance of this trackback system, lets get to some must know information about it now. In order to trackback successfully, it is required that the trackbacks are enabled on your platform as well as on the blog of the one, whom you are trying to ping. Mostly, it is enabled by default but in cases where it is not, one need to do it manually. Apart from this, most of the blog platforms use to send trackbacks automatically but for few it is to be done manually and for that matter a separate place is specified where you can add the URLs for manual trackbacks.

Today, you will find thousands of blogs around talking about almost everything on the face of earth and even in skies. This has given a new out look to the cyber world with its influence in real world too. To many, blogging by now is a passion and a tool to online social networking. If you are one of those, who are interested in networking, you must consider using trackbacks to let the fellow bloggers know that you are following them. I can bet, it will offer you many good friends. I wish you happy blogging!

If you enjoy reading my stuff, consider subscribing to my feed via email or reader for updates.

The Beacon advertising technology was launched in first week of November with 44 partner sites including giants like Coca-Cola (KO), Sony Pictures (SNE) and Verizon (VZ). The list does not end here, Kongregate, LiveJournal, NYTimes (NYT), Sony Online, Blockbuster (BBI), Bluefly.com, STA Travel, The Knot, TripAdvisor, Travel Ticker, TypePad, viagogo, Vox, Yelp, WeddingChannel.com and Zappos.com are few affiliates to name. This Blogger and industry commentator Om Malik of gigaom.com was one of the firsts who challenged this technology by terming it a potential privacy hairball and latter this small spark turned out to be a wild fire in form of this petition forcing Facebook to step back.

The Activist site MoveOn was at the forefront of protests against Beacon and set up the petition to gather signatures on 20 November and list of signatories went high enough to make Facebook listen to the demands of its users. Spokesman for MoveOn, Adam Green considers it a success and marks it as the ability of internet users to band together to make a difference.

The apology letter by Team Facebook says, “We’re sorry if we spoiled some of your holiday gift-giving plans.” Further, “We are really trying to provide you with new meaningful ways, like Beacon, to help you connect and share information with your friends”.

It seems appears a happy ending but Om Malik still feels concerned and asks the users to completely opt-out of this program otherwise Facebook will still collect data from partner sites. To Anne Zelenka, this struggle to protect online privacy does not end here, she advocates further steps to gain ability of opting out of sharing any information outside of Facebook as well.

At the moment, it is reported that two rights groups, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy, are believed to be compiling a complaint to the US Federal Trade Commission about it.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) was started in 2002 by Nicholas Negroponte, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its mission is to provide low-cost laptops, known as the XO, to children around the world specially living in third world countries. The machines are planned to cost $100 and have been especially designed for use in remote and harsh environments where there is little access to electricity or the internet.

No doubt computers are important in this information technology age but do you really think that these laptops and such other fancy gadgets will really do the required for betterment of education in under developed world? I think it’s another fancy slogan.

The OLPC website itself claims in its mission statement that most of the nearly two–billion children in the developing world are inadequately educated, or receive no education at all. One in three does not complete the fifth grade. Having these statistics in our minds; I think a class room with a fan, tables and chairs ought to stay on top in this list of required items not a miniature laptop. I don’t know how the founding father of OLPC, Professor Nicholas Negroponte feels it necessary! Mr. Bender has been reported saying that for him this project has crossed the point of no return. True, perhaps, they at OLPC were not very well calculated and now it’s a matter of ego to them?

The third world countries like Nigeria, Libya, Pakistan and others will no doubt opt to order some of these laptops but behind the scene motives can be different. May be a politician with considerations of making some money out of any such deal can drain the public exchequer and direct it into the bank accounts of OLPC.

To education secretary of India Mr. Sudeep Banerjee, the teacher and class rooms are the important considerations. I do feel the same. No matter its India, Pakistan or any other third world country, the situation of schools is not very encouraging and at places one can not find even a class room. Having such a situation on ground, idea of OLPC is not very good and practicable.