Last week our site was filled with all things around tools. And we have a few more surprises up our sleeves on that front. But in the meantime the world kept on spinning. And although State of Search is not a news-reporting site but a site that interprets the news and looks at why something is happening and what that means to you, we still like to give you an overview of the most important things that happened last week.

In this post we will bring the top stories of what happened last week with links to articles around the web. So you will know what you’ve missed.  

Here’s what happened last week

Public Alerts for Google Search, Google Now and Google Maps available in Japan 

Some international news: Google launches Google Public Alerts in Japan—the first international expansion of a service debuted last year in the United States. Google Public Alerts is a platform designed to provide accurate and relevant emergency alerts when and where you’re searching for them online.

Related stories online: Google Blog, Tech in Asia, WebProNews, The Register, Mashable!, PC Magazine 

Microsoft fined $731 million for breaking EU antitrust promise 

EU antitrust regulators fined Microsoft 561 million euros ($731 million) on Wednesday for breaking a promise to offer European consumers a choice of web browser.

Related stories online: Reuters, Engadget, Wall Street Journal, Marketing Pilgrim, WebProNews 

Did Google tip off EU authorities over Microsoft’s browser fine?

Microsoft’s fine is a warning to Google, but some say that the fine Microsoft got was originated by a tip from Google.

Related stories online: Financial Times, The Verge, ZDNet

Google+ gets updated with “Local reviews”, larger cover photos and a redesigned About tab

Google announced a number of updates to Google+ in the browser, with the addition of a new “Local reviews” tab, a new About tab and larger cover photos.

Related stories online: The Next Web, Google+, TechCrunch, Engadget

YouTube to launch music streaming service, competing with Spotify

Google is planning to roll out a music streaming service to capitalize on the power of YouTube.

Related stories online: CNET, PC Magazine, paidContent, Forbes, Ubergizmo, ReelSEO Video Marketing

Microsoft Not Abandoning Anti-Google Campaign 

Microsoft has no intention of completely ending its Google-bashing ad campaign, “Scroogled,” the company told Business Insider.

Related stories online: Business Insider, ReadWrite, TechCrunch, Search Engine Watch

Facebook announces (yet another) new look for the News Feed

Your newsfeed is about to change (again) as Facebook announced a new version of Facebook designed to reduce clutter and focus more on stories from the people you care about.

Related stories online: Facebook, AllFacebook, Search Engine Watch, Inside Facebook, Business Insider, Marketing Land,  BBC,  WebProNews, Reuters,

Twitter improves search with ‘Top Tweet’ emphasis in apps

Twitter has released an update to its iOS and Android apps which features an improved search interface.

Related stories online: Twitter Blog, CNET, PC Magazine, Engadget, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac,Search Engine Land, AllTwitter

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Gets a Million-Dollar Bonus After Six Months

According to a regulatory filing by Yahoo, its CEO Marissa Mayer got a $1.12 million bonus, as part of a compensation package she got when she came to the Silicon Valley Internet giant.

Related stories online: All Things D, Mashable!, Bloomberg

Posted in News | Tags: Facebook, Google, microsoft, News, yahoo