1) What Would Happen If Backlinks Disappeared?

In the following video, Matt Cutts discusses what a search engines would be without backlinks. Google has never shown these publicly but Matt notes, “we have run experiments like that internally, and the quality looks much, much worse”. There will always be spam and people trying to take advantage of backlink buying. But the website quality must depend on the strength of cumulative links and their Page Rank. Watch full video here.

2) Lifehacks For Winter

Here’s a useful and entertaining list of wintertime lifehacks compiled by Bring Me The News. If you’re aiming to survive this winter, you should read the full list here.

3) Google Analytics Dashboard Added To Google+

Google is constantly improving their services. They continue to put a strong emphasis on Google+ and it’s importance to the Google product line. Linking one of their  flagship products – Google Analytics – to Google+ will provide deeper insights into marketing efforts. Read the full article here.

4) 11 Ways The Internet Can Entertain You

Looking to unwind this weekend? Yeah, we know that the internet is not always about business. Whether it’s laughing along with salad, online fridge poetry, or an unstoppable meme, these entertaining links will help you fall back in love with the internet. Click here for full list.

5) Yahoo! Introduces Gemini

Mobile traffic is growing at an unstoppable rate (as noted in our 2014 Tech & Marketing Predictions). And Yahoo is finally taking action. Gemini is a new ad marketplace that combines mobile search and native ads. This will allow advertisers to buy, manage and optimize their mobile search and native ad spend in one place — allegedly driving greater performance. Keep an eye on mobile ad spends. They’ll only grow from here! Read full article here. 

6) Google Reveals ‘Project Tango’ 3D Mapping Phone

Using a combination of robotics and computer vision, Google has released a prototype phone that can map the space around it. Pretty amazing stuff. We can only begin to understand the impact this will have on indoor maps, geocontexual offers and checkins. Read more here. 

7) YouTube Revamps Playlists & Layout

It seems Social Media platforms get a facelift every quarter. Some users may find these cumbersome, but we know that Google has insights into behavior and trends and acts on them. Playlists are a powerful and highly used feature of YouTube and adding more usability features will only increase their prevalence. YouTube is changing the layout to feature a, “center-aligned look, fitting neatly on any screen size, and feeling similar to the mobile apps you’re spending almost half your YouTube time with.” Read full article here.