In an amazing display of internet capability, users anywhere in the world can help the search for missing adventurer Steve Fossett via Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) Mechanical Turk. The Mechanical Turk service acts as a middleman for companies that need to incorporate in their web processing tasks that their computers cannot handle.

For example, if I repeatedly needed to search blocks of 1,000 portraits for the one best resembling Humphrey Bogart, I could write a piece of code that would automatically throw it to Mechanical Turk. MT would then identify the go-to person for such a task, assign the work, and send me the results when finished. For the company and the customer, the process is indistinguishable from using outsourced computing power, and provides work for behind-the-scenes experts.

In this case, Mechanical Turk is asking volunteers to review digital satellite images of the possible crash area, provided in high resolution to their PCs. The organizers hope to have five to ten people review each segment to minimize the possibility of overlooking potential sites.

The concept of a flashmob working together reviewing digital imaging has incredible potential for search and rescue. It also stands to make millions of potential customers aware of Amazon's Mechanical Turk service, which could give it a huge shot in the arm.

I only wish the occasion weren't a search for one of our modern pioneers.

Via Mashable

When a pretty popular Internet company witnesses a flaw in a product -- which will inevitable happen -- the speed to which it applies a working fix is something that doesn't get much press in the mainstream news circuit, although it should. Why? Because the speed and efficiency at which these companies can patch holes in their products relates directly to the confidence levels its customers have. Ask anyone with a Microsoft Windows PC about that concept.

Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Gmail web-based email service was exposed just this week regarding the way in which it handles the "contact list" inside itself. This is the feature that allows a fast way to send an email to several people at one without remembering all those email addresses. A potential hack was discovered that could have allowed an unscrupulous spammer how to leech stored email addresses inside a Gmail account and add those email addresses to the stockpile.

Within about 30 hours, Google had allegedly fixed the problem and the potential exploit was nixed. Do other web-based companies repair issues as quickly? If so, what are some examples? Generally, the issues that web-based companies have can be repaired, and deployed, pretty fast over the web.

There are no hordes of machines to update and so forth. Does this strategy increase customer confidence in the products that Google makes? It does for me. I know nothing is perfect, but a quick response to issues is what keeps me as a customer satisfied and loyal. Long delays and non-communication? Well, that sends me to the competition.