Google Webmasters Central Rebrands to Google Search Central

Twenty years ago, every aspect of developing a website and putting it online was more complex than it is today – an enchantment of Merlin’s wand to most common folks. The term “webmaster” hasn’t aged well, but it was commonly used in a different era when tech wizards were the only people creating and managing websites. The term has become outmoded as online publishing and website building has become more user-friendly.

Google recently ran a study that showed usage of the term webmaster is in sharp decline, as web professionals now prefer more specialized terms, such as blogger, developer, SEO, or online marketer. In recognition of this change, the company is rebranding “Google Webmasters Central” to “Google Search Central.” The change will be rolled out to Google’s websites and social media within the next couple days.

In addition to the rebranding, Google is also centralizing its help information on one site and consolidating its blogs:

Moving forward, the Search Console Help Center will contain only documentation related to using Search Console. It’s also still the home of our help forum, newly renamed from “Webmasters Help Community” to “Google Search Central Community“. The information related to how Google Search works, crawling and indexing, Search guidelines, and other Search-related topics are moving to our new site, which previously focused only on web developer documentation. 

The Google Webmasters blog and 13 other localized blogs are being moved to the new site for better discovery and easier language switching. Google is going to redirect current RSS and email subscribers to the new blog URL, so readers only need to update their bookmarks.

Google is also introducing a new jumping spider bot to accompany its Googlebot mascot in crawling the internet. The creature doesn’t yet have a nickname, but the company is soliciting suggestions.

Don’t Fear Artificial General Intelligence

Photo: Naeblys / iStockPhoto


AI has blasted its way into the public consciousness and our everyday lives. It is powering advances in medicine, weather prediction, factory automation, and self-driving cars. Even golf club manufacturers report that AI is now designing their clubs.

A Friendly Introduction to Graph Neural Networks

Graph Neural Networks Explained

Graph neural networks (GNNs) belong to a category of neural networks that operate naturally on data structured as graphs. Despite being what can be a confusing topic, GNNs can be distilled into just a handful of simple concepts.

Starting With Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs)

We’ll pick a likely familiar starting point: recurrent neural networks. As you may recall, recurrent neural networks are well-suited to data that are arranged in a sequence, such as time series data or language. The defining feature for a recurrent neural network is that the state of an RNN depends not only on the current inputs but also on the network’s previous hidden state. There have been many improvements to RNNs over the years, generally falling under the category of LSTM-style RNNs with a multiplicative gating function between the current and previous hidden state of the model. A review of LSTM variants and their relation to vanilla RNNs can be found here.

7 Software Development Models You Should Know

The Software Development Life Cycle, or SDLC, is the process of planning, designing, developing, testing, and deploying high-quality software at the lowest cost possible, preferably in the shortest amount of time. To achieve this goal, software engineering teams must choose the correct software development model to fit their organization’s requirements, stakeholders’ expectations, and the project. There are a myriad software development models, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Details of the project, including timeframe and budget, should influence your choice of model. The goal is to select a software development model that will ensure project success. Selecting the incorrect model will result in drawn out timelines, exceeded budgets, low quality outputs, and even project failure.

How to Remember Nullable Value Types

Recently nullable reference types have become trendy. Meanwhile, the good old nullable value types are still here and actively used. How well do you remember the nuances of working with them? Let's jog your memory or test your knowledge by reading this article. Examples of C# and IL code, references to the CLI specification, and CoreCLR code are provided. Let's start with an interesting case.

Note. If you are interested in nullable reference types, you can read several articles by my colleagues: "Nullable Reference types in C# 8.0 and static analysis", "Nullable Reference will not protect you, and here is the proof".

A Complete Guide to the Stages of Penetration Testing

As per the new study, 95 percent of all successful hacks in the companies worldwide are the result of spearfishing. This is a kind of an email spoofing that targets a particular company or individual for stealing steal sensitive information or gain a grip on the network. 

As per the Statista, fig shows the nations majorly targeted by phishing attacks globally during 1st quarter 2020

What To Look For In Your Next SIEM Provider

Security information and event management (SIEM) software is a security information system that analyzes security alerts and data generated from devices on a network in real-time. It will act as a platform that efficiently collects and stores security data at a central point and then converts it into actionable intelligence. SIEM tooling has become highly relevant, especially if you have a deal with a data/security breach and you need to 'know' how and what happened in such a ‘cyber-security’ incident.

A SIEM tool can oversee this type of incident and improve the management of it by:

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With the growth of online activity in many areas of life, outstanding digital marketing competency is needed across all business sectors. On this CIM - approved and accredited programme, developed in consultation with our industry partners, you will extend your existing skills while gaining the digital and social media marketing knowledge needed in todays demanding digital global economy.

You will look critically at current literature on a wide range of digital marketing theories and issues but the programme is also highly practical. You will work on live case study assignments and group projects while running real-life digital marketing campaigns, applying search and social media marketing techniques to support competitive marketing strategies.

Why is Manchester a great place to study Digital Marketing? Master's student Simge Vurtak says

I think I made a perfect decision coming to the University of Salford. Location-wise, Manchester offers digital sectors a great hub for growth and innovation and Salford gives students and graduates advantageous access to key businesses, projects, and people in related sectors.

You will be taught by internationally recognised experts based in the Salford Business School. Looking at the challenges faced by organisations in a dynamic and competitive global environment, you will learn to understand the role that digital marketing plays in addressing these challenges. You will also look at relevant ethical issues, issues of sustainable development, and how digital marketing can support a wider commitment to social justice. In particular, you will develop the range of skills needed to plan, manage and implement a digital marketing plan to support a business strategy.

The programme is highly industry-focussed and culminates in a period of time on work experience. You can choose between a 9-12 month paid placement or the 3-6 month Industry Collaboration Project. Whichever you choose, you will put into practice the knowledge that you've learned.

International students should apply for the MSc route.

Strengthen Enterprise Security Through Network Isolation Approach

IT security managers are increasingly waking up to realize that the sheer quantity of regular generated malicious and non-malicious software programmers requires them to be on their toes, searching for effective countermeasures. They are largely moving to network segmentation/isolation to ensure security, sensing the failure of traditional security approaches.

Corporate IT security managers are rapidly waking up to realize that the sheer volume of malicious and non-malicious software programs that are generated daily requires them to be on their toes, looking for effective countermeasures. Sensing the failure of conventional security approaches, they are largely shifting to network segmentation/ isolation for ensuring security.

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With the growth of online activity in many areas of life, outstanding digital marketing competency is needed across all business sectors. On this CIM - approved and accredited programme, developed in consultation with our industry partners, you will extend your existing skills while gaining the digital and social media marketing knowledge needed in todays demanding digital global economy.

You will look critically at current literature on a wide range of digital marketing theories and issues but the programme is also highly practical. You will work on live case study assignments and group projects while running real-life digital marketing campaigns, applying search and social media marketing techniques to support competitive marketing strategies.

Why is Manchester a great place to study Digital Marketing? Master's student Simge Vurtak says

I think I made a perfect decision coming to the University of Salford. Location-wise, Manchester offers digital sectors a great hub for growth and innovation and Salford gives students and graduates advantageous access to key businesses, projects, and people in related sectors.

You will be taught by internationally recognised experts based in the Salford Business School. Looking at the challenges faced by organisations in a dynamic and competitive global environment, you will learn to understand the role that digital marketing plays in addressing these challenges. You will also look at relevant ethical issues, issues of sustainable development, and how digital marketing can support a wider commitment to social justice. In particular, you will develop the range of skills needed to plan, manage and implement a digital marketing plan to support a business strategy.

The programme is highly industry-focussed and culminates in a period of time on work experience. You can choose between a 9-12 month paid placement or the 3-6 month Industry Collaboration Project. Whichever you choose, you will put into practice the knowledge that you've learned.

International students should apply for the MSc route.

Quality Sense Podcast: Lisi Hocke, Accountability and Conquering Personal Challenges

How To Push Yourself To Achieve Big Goals, Lisi’s Personal Growth Journey, and More

Tune into this episode of Quality Sense where the conversation takes a bit of a turn! Instead of focusing on testing, Federico chats with Elisabeth Hocke aka “Lisi” about how she systematically pursues new goals that help her not only in her professional career but also to grow as a person. She blogs about each as she goes, which has helped her, among other things to be named the “Most Influential Agile Testing Professional” in 2019.

Episode Highlights

  • How Lisi got involved in software development despite not coming from a technical background
  • Lisi’s journey into learning more about bias and anti-racism
  • How she started her personal challenges that she began to document on her blog to share with others
  • What’s important to have in an accountability partner to achieve your goals (no matter how scary they may seem)
  • How to become a better tester even if you’re a lone tester in your organization

Listen Here:

Quality Sense, a Software Testing Podcast · S2E3 – Lisi Hocke – Personal challenges & thoughts on the article “I’m white”

Episode Transcript:

(Lightly edited for clarity.)

How To Check the Encryption Certificate of an AS2 EDIINT Data

AS2 aka Applicability Statement 2 communication protocol, one of the most widely used secured protocols used in the B2B world can sometimes be very tricky to troubleshoot, especially when you are trying to set up a new connection with your trading partner.

There can be numerous different reasons why your AS2 setup may not be working but in this particular article we are only going to talk about the error "insufficient-message-security" which comes in a negative MDN originated from the receiving party.

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With the growth of online activity in many areas of life, outstanding digital marketing competency is needed across all business sectors. On this CIM - approved and accredited programme, developed in consultation with our industry partners, you will extend your existing skills while gaining the digital and social media marketing knowledge needed in todays demanding digital global economy.

You will look critically at current literature on a wide range of digital marketing theories and issues but the programme is also highly practical. You will work on live case study assignments and group projects while running real-life digital marketing campaigns, applying search and social media marketing techniques to support competitive marketing strategies.

Why is Manchester a great place to study Digital Marketing? Master's student Simge Vurtak says

I think I made a perfect decision coming to the University of Salford. Location-wise, Manchester offers digital sectors a great hub for growth and innovation and Salford gives students and graduates advantageous access to key businesses, projects, and people in related sectors.

You will be taught by internationally recognised experts based in the Salford Business School. Looking at the challenges faced by organisations in a dynamic and competitive global environment, you will learn to understand the role that digital marketing plays in addressing these challenges. You will also look at relevant ethical issues, issues of sustainable development, and how digital marketing can support a wider commitment to social justice. In particular, you will develop the range of skills needed to plan, manage and implement a digital marketing plan to support a business strategy.

The programme is highly industry-focussed and culminates in a period of time on work experience. You can choose between a 9-12 month paid placement or the 3-6 month Industry Collaboration Project. Whichever you choose, you will put into practice the knowledge that you've learned.

International students should apply for the MSc route.

amazon prime phone number account Phone Number without Card toll fr.ee US

Best.jpg

With the growth of online activity in many areas of life, outstanding digital marketing competency is needed across all business sectors. On this CIM - approved and accredited programme, developed in consultation with our industry partners, you will extend your existing skills while gaining the digital and social media marketing knowledge needed in todays demanding digital global economy.

You will look critically at current literature on a wide range of digital marketing theories and issues but the programme is also highly practical. You will work on live case study assignments and group projects while running real-life digital marketing campaigns, applying search and social media marketing techniques to support competitive marketing strategies.

Why is Manchester a great place to study Digital Marketing? Master's student Simge Vurtak says

I think I made a perfect decision coming to the University of Salford. Location-wise, Manchester offers digital sectors a great hub for growth and innovation and Salford gives students and graduates advantageous access to key businesses, projects, and people in related sectors.

You will be taught by internationally recognised experts based in the Salford Business School. Looking at the challenges faced by organisations in a dynamic and competitive global environment, you will learn to understand the role that digital marketing plays in addressing these challenges. You will also look at relevant ethical issues, issues of sustainable development, and how digital marketing can support a wider commitment to social justice. In particular, you will develop the range of skills needed to plan, manage and implement a digital marketing plan to support a business strategy.

The programme is highly industry-focussed and culminates in a period of time on work experience. You can choose between a 9-12 month paid placement or the 3-6 month Industry Collaboration Project. Whichever you choose, you will put into practice the knowledge that you've learned.

International students should apply for the MSc route.

Inc Authority Review

Inc Authority is one of the most reliable and trusted names in the business formation industry. For over 30 years, they’ve helped form tens of thousands of LLCs and corporations.

The company is best known for its low cost and simplicity. In fact, Inc Authority even offers free business formation services (more on this shortly).

Entrepreneurs across all 50 states have used Inc Authority as a one-stop shop for starting a business. In addition to the business formation plans, Inc Authority offers other services related to tax planning, retirement planning, bookkeeping, funding, business credit, and more.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to start an LLC or corporation without the hassle associated with filing paperwork on your own, Inc Authority has you covered.

Is Inc Authority right for you? This in-depth review will tell you everything you need to know about their services. From plans and pricing to real customer reviews, you’ll be able to make an informed decision as it pertains to your needs after reading this guide.

Ready to get started? Sign up for Inc Authority today!

Inc Authority Business Formation Services

As previously mentioned, Inc Authority has an extensive list of service offerings. But the company is best known for its business formation services, which will be the primary focus of this review.

Those services can be segmented into three main categories—LLC services, incorporation services, and registered agent services. We’ll cover each of these in greater detail below.

Inc Authority LLC Services

The LLC services by Inc Authority are the most popular offerings from this provider. They make it easy for anyone to start a new LLC online—for free.

Yes, you read that correctly. Inc Authority is one of the only business formation companies on the market offering truly free LLC services.

It’s really easy. Just select your state, enter some details about your business, and Inc Authority will handle the rest.

The first thing they’ll do is check the availability of your business name with the state. From there, they’ll prepare and file your LLC documents and submit those to the state as well. Inc Authority also provides tax planning consultation, business funding analysis, and exceptional customer support via phone or email.

Another top benefit of using Inc Authority for your LLC registration is the digital access to your LLC documents. Everything will be delivered to you electronically and is stored for easy access through an online client portal.

The free services don’t stop there. When you use Inc Authority to form your LLC, you’ll also get free registered agent services for one year.

One of the upsells you’ll see during the registration process for your free LLC is for an employer identification number (EIN).

Inc Authority charges $49 for this service. You could avoid the cost and get a free EIN directly from the IRS on your own. But it’s certainly more convenient to get one from Inc Authority and avoid the hassle. Other LLC services charge $75 or more for an EIN, so $49 isn’t too bad compared to alternatives.

Aside from the EIN, the only payments you have to make will be for the state filing fees. This amount varies from state to state.

An LLC operating agreement does not come with the free plan either. All banks require an operating agreement. This document will provide proof that you own the LLC, and it’s required to open a new account. Operating agreements also ensure that courts enforce your liability protections. It establishes the rules that govern how your profits are divided and how decisions are made at your LLC. Adding an operating agreement to your LLC plan is an additional $89.

Inc Authority also offers a legal document package. This contains ownership certificates and LLC seals. The package is crucial if you’re ever audited by the IRS or sued by a third party. The legal documents services add-on is offered for $99.

You’ll also have the option to add express processing to your order. This $49 fee moves your order to the front of the line. Inc Authority will immediately process the information and get it to your state on the same business day.

They continue to pile on the upsells for things like domain registration and success advisor services. Most of you can ignore these.

Overall, Inc Authority legitimately offers free LLC registration. You’ll be hit with a handful of upsells along the way, but you could turn most of those down and handle them on your own.

Inc Authority Incorporation Services

You can also use Inc Authority to form a corporation. This includes both C Corporations and S Corporations. Just like the LLC Services, Inc Authority’s incorporation services are also free—you just pay the state fee.

Getting started is really easy. Just head to the Inc Authority website, choose your entity type, and select your state to proceed.

If you need some guidance choosing the right entity type for your corporation, Inc Authority has useful resources to help you decide which option is right for you.

Similar to the LLC services, here’s a quick overview of what you’ll get for free with Inc Authority’s incorporation services:

  • Business name check for your corporation
  • Preparation and filing of incorporation documents
  • S-Election document IRS form 2553
  • Free registered agent for one year
  • Digital copies and online access to incorporation documents
  • Expert support (phone and email)
  • Tax planning consultancy
  • Business funding analysis

Again, all of these services are 100% free. There’s no catch, and you’ll only have to pay the state filing fees.

With that said, Inc Authority does hit you with some upsells throughout the ordering process. The first one you’ll see is for an employer identification number (EIN). Inc Authority charges $49 for this. It’s something that you’ll need, so getting it now as you’re finalizing the order makes sense.

Inc Authority can also customize your corporate bylaws. This service costs $89. They offer a legal documents package as well. The package contains things like customized organizational meeting minutes, custom stock certificates, and an official incorporation seal. All of this costs an additional $99. You’ll also have the option to expedite the processing of your documents for $49.

The upsells continue with domain registration and success advisory services. These start at $10 and $27 respectively. You can skip these.

Again, you can use Inc Authority’s incorporation services to set up a C-Corp or S-Corp for free.

Will you be presented with some upsells along the way? Yes, but it’s not a big deal. Skip the ones you don’t need and just keep moving forward.

Inc Authority Registered Agent Services

The registered agent services from Inc Authority are popular as well.

As previously mentioned, if you form an LLC or incorporation through this service provider, you’ll get a free registered agent for one year.

As a registered agent for your business, Inc Authority will act as a responsible third party with a physical address in the same state as your company. They can receive official government documentation like tax forms or lawsuit notices on your behalf.

You could technically be your own registered agent, but we advise against that.

The registered agent will always be available during business hours to accept statutory notice on behalf of your company.

As for the registered agent pricing, there’s no exact information on those rates beyond the first free year. I reached out to a customer service representative via live chat on the Inc Authority website for a quote. While the agent responded within 30 seconds, they were unable to give me an exact number. I was told that the “registered agent pricing varies depending on the state and business type.”

The only way to get an exact quote is by speaking with an agent over the phone regarding your unique situation. This is a little bit of a hassle, considering other sites are more transparent with the registered agent costs. But when you’re using a free service, you can’t expect everything to be perfect.

Overall Pricing and Value

Inc Authority’s business formation services are 100% free. Whether you’re starting an LLC, C-Corp, or S-Corp, those free services include:

  • Business name check
  • Entity formation document preparation and filing
  • IRS form 2553
  • Registered agent services for one year
  • Digital document delivery and storage
  • Phone and email support
  • Tax planning consultancy
  • Business funding analysis

As you go through the order process, you’ll be presented with several different upsells:

  • Employer identification number (EIN) — $49
  • Operating agreement — $89
  • Corporate bylaws — $89
  • Legal documents package — $99
  • Express processing — $49
  • Domain registration — $10
  • INC success advisor — $197 per year or $27 per month

Depending on the add-ons you need, you’ll likely end up paying more than $0.

However, these add-ons are not a requirement. You can handle these on your own if you truly want to start your business for free. The only fee you’re actually required to pay is the state filing fee. This number varies from state to state.

If you’re interested in lots of add-ons, you might want to consider one of the Inc Authority premium startup bundles. In some cases, it’s cheaper to get a bundle instead of adding on each service individually.

Pricing is not available online, so you’ll need to call up Inc Authority to talk pricing or ask questions about these bundles. But here’s an idea of what you get in each package:

Starter

  • Verify name availability
  • Custom state filing
  • Operating agreement
  • Bylaws
  • Record book and company seal
  • Meeting minutes and resolution
  • Ownership certificates
  • Tax ID (EIN)
  • Business credit and funding analysis
  • Tax consultation
  • One year of INC success advisory services

Executive

  • All Starter services
  • Business license report
  • Website domain

Tycoon

  • All Executive services
  • Express processing
  • BizCredit Express
  • Business credit coach
  • Multi-tiered credit building system
  • Business credit LaunchPad
  • D&B credit bureau registration

The Starter package is really all you need if you’re just looking to start a business. The other two options go above and beyond what you likely need, though it does depend on your specific situation, business, and needs.

In terms of value, Inc Authority’s free plan is more than enough for most businesses. You’ll likely add on at least a couple of the upsells (because it’s easier than doing it yourself). But you probably won’t find a better deal on the web from a business formation service that will actually let you check out for free (except for state fees).

User Experience

The user experience with Inc Authority is seamless. I went through the process a few times with different entity types to get a feel for it, and it really only takes 2-3 minutes from start to finish.

Everything is very straightforward, and you can figure it out even if you don’t have any experience using a business formation service.

The only potential gripe that users might have is that they’re presented with so many upsells throughout the order process. But those few extra clicks are a small inconvenience to avoid paying anything at all.

Compared to other business formation services we’ve reviewed, Inc Authority might have the simplest user experience of them all. The layout and dashboard are really clean, and it almost feels too easy.

Customer Support

When you sign up for Inc Authority, you’ll get unlimited phone and email support.

Personally, I reached out to a customer support rep via live chat with a question about pricing. I was pleased that the agent responded almost immediately. It was also refreshing to know that I was chatting with a real human and not a chatbot.

While I didn’t quite get the answer I was looking for from the agent I chatted with, they quickly put me in contact with someone who could answer my questions in greater detail over the phone.

Final Verdict

Do we recommend Inc Authority? Absolutely.

It’s one of the only truly free business formation services on the web—with no strings attached. You can use them to form an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp for $0 (just paying your state filing fees).

With that said, I’d recommend adding a few extras to your plan. At the very least, get an EIN from Inc Authority. It’s easier than dealing with the IRS directly to save a few bucks.

Between the LLC services, incorporation services, and registered agent services, Inc Authority has everything to accommodate the needs of your startup.

Pie Insurance Launches Partner Program API to Streamline Workers' Comp Claims

​Pie Insurance today launched its API for partners. Using Pie's API, partners who serve small businesses can easily get a quote without leaving their platform or website, this is intended to streamline the process and help clients save on workers' comp insurance. Partners can easily customize their integration, connecting to a variety of endpoints including accessing Pie's appetite checker, getting a price indication, or retrieving a bindable quote to share with clients.