So that's where all the IPO cash is going

Not content with its parasitical relationship to the browser through the Google toolbar, it seems that Google may be putting all of that lovely IPO cash to good use in taking on a serious challenge. Google is rumoured to be planning a rival browser to Microsoft's dominant Internet Explorer.

Google has been steadily expanding its list of services from blogging (Blogger), to email (Gmail), to e-commerce (Froogle) and is in increasing competition with Microsoft, who have of course invested serious amounts in their revamped search capability.

Microsoft have shown that they know how to deal with browser competition in seeing off Netscape and it will be fascinating to see how this story develops in the coming months.

My covergirl 'Elle'

Today this blog got in touch with it's feminine side and achieved every girl's dream by appearing on the front page of ELLE magazine. Before you all go rushing out to the newstands to see the man behind the blog, this is a co-branding that ELLE and HP have done to establish their credentials in the consumer lifestyle market, HP's I take it.

I'd have loved to provide loyal readers with a link to my covergirl moment but you can only print them out, so you'll just have to make your own.

Could this be the new vanity publishing (erm, apart from blogging, that is)?

Just how DO you follow a dancing chicken?

Burger King have tried to address the difficult question of how you follow up one of the weirdest and more original (OK, it's a spoof, but all the same...) viral campaigns in Subservient Chicken with a new spoof.

The Angus Diet is fronted no less a luminary than comedian Harry Enfield in good form as a self-help guru that clearly needs some help of his own.

It's a more mainstream offering than the dancing chicken and no doubt the use of the big star is a sign of increased confidence in the medium as a way of targeting those difficult-to-reach yoof customers.

Looking for Google, perhaps?

Despite plenty of posts about Google in recent times, this blog was somewhat suprised when investigating a recent surge of traffic to find out that many readers arrived after a search for 'Google dot com'.

A quick check of the logs revealed that this blog is number 3 on MSN UK (among others) for 'Google dot com' which explains the traffic. Although this blog is powered by Google-owned blogger, you may well be after this Google dot com.

Contrary to rumours, I'm not planning to float the blog just yet, but any potential investors should just send cash for now (unmarked notes in brown paper bags please).