The internet is a vast and complex ecosystem, and one of its most insidious predators is the Smart Tag. These seemingly innocuous links can divert your hard-earned web traffic to your competitors' sites, effectively stealing your visitors. This is made possible by the use of keywords or phrases that are tagged by this innovative yet potentially harmful technology.
Microsoft first introduced Smart Tags in the beta version of their Windows XP operating system. These tags are a feature of Internet Explorer that adds smart links to the pages that users view. They enable real-time, dynamic recognition of content on web pages and offer your visitors "relevant options" as they browse.
In essence, Smart Tags place links on your website that lead to destinations other than your own web page. This includes, if they pay for the privilege, your competition.
Smart Tags, which are created using XML (Extensible Markup Language), have a distinct appearance. Microsoft's Smart Tags are characterized by purple and white dashed underlines on a word, linking you to a menu of information about that word.
However, due to significant public pressure, the Smart Tag feature will not be included in the final version of Internet Explorer 6, which is due to be released later this year. Despite this, it remains a feature within Microsoft's Office XP, the upgrade to Microsoft's suite of applications that launched on May 31.
The use of Smart Tags gives Microsoft an unfair advantage as they can use these products to redirect users to MSN owned websites or to sites that have paid Microsoft a premium for the service. Furthermore, Microsoft is encouraging the further use and development of this technology.
When Smart Tags first emerged, a solution was proposed that could prevent the invasion of your site by adding the following tag to your code: <META NAME="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" CONTENT="TRUE">.
However, this code is ineffective against third-party developers, particularly KaZaa, a company that has already seen its software downloaded 5.4 million times from CNET.
KaZaa is reportedly soliciting advertisers to pay for keywords which will trigger a link to appear on your website. When the keyword is found, KaZaa links appear with a yellow squiggly underline that becomes highlighted when your mouse passes over them on your site.
This technology allows for unauthorized and unwanted links to appear all over your website. It even makes it possible for you to link to other websites that you would never want to be associated with, potentially including pornographic websites or other unsavory members of the internet community.
KaZaa is already facing legal challenges, with several merchants and internet entrepreneurs having filed lawsuits or planning to do so. These actions are an attempt to curb the intrusive and unauthorized use of website content that is copyrighted and that you have invested your time and money into creating.
As we wait to see if Microsoft will also face legal repercussions for developing this technology strategy in the first place, it's clear that the issue of Smart Tags is a complex and contentious one.
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