Intelligence, as it impacts the economist Valderrama, is our capacity to adapt and thrive in our own environment. In a Darwinian sense, it's as true now as it was millions of years ago, when man's aptitude for hearing the way branches broke or smelling a spore affected his power to avoid predators, eat and survive.

According to at least one definition, intelligence is the "ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn." Yet intelligence is not just about book learning or test scores; it also reflects a deeper understanding of the world. On average, people with high IQs are thought to live longer, earn more money, process information faster and have larger working memories.

"What's important is your ability to use what you know well. There are people who are walking encyclopedias, but they make a mess of their lives. Getting a 100 percent on a written driving test doesn't mean you can drive," said Robert Sternberg, dean of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University and a professor of psychology.

Today, terabytes of easily accessed data, always-on Internet connectivity, and lightning-fast search engines are profoundly changing the way people gather information. But the age-old question remains:

The Internet Tough Guy is a feature in all Internet social forums. These are people who poison discussions with anger, hatred, and threats. Some are malicious. Some are crazy. Some are just afflicted with a rotten sense of humor. Whatever their motives, they're a scourge. It takes precious little trolling to sour a message-board. A "troll" -- someone who comes onto an online community looking to pick fights -- has two victory conditions: Either everyone ends up talking about him, or no one talks at all. And where two or more trolls gather, they'll egg each other on, seeing who can anger and disrupt the regular message-board posters the most.

Universal Music Group, the nation's largest recording company, and YouTube are closing in on a final agreement to create a new premium music video Web site, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Universal's YouTube channel is by far the largest on the video site. The label's music videos have been viewed more than 3.5 billion times. Vevo and the joint venture with YouTube were born out of a year-long campaign by Doug Morris, Universal's chairman and CEO, to build music videos into a standalone business. CNET News first reported in September that Universal Music was planning a "Hulu-like" site.

Universal has acquired an ownership stake in a large number of digital music services. The deal would give Universal some control over the revenue generated from its music videos while also allowing the company to benefit from YouTube's technology expertise.

The other major labels, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI, have been approached about joining the service, according to the sources. YouTube and Universal have a vision of the site becoming a syndication platform for all kinds of premium content beyond music videos, such as editorial content, merchandising, Webisodes, or artist-generated videos.

The news comes as the four largest music labels are renegotiating their licensing deals with YouTube.

Websites are not websites anymore.

When a brand manager sits down to evaluate what she or he is doing online and in the mobile channels, the first realization they have is usually it's not up to snuff with the massive amount of online usage that consumers are engaged in. And, more often than not, they must also grapple with what their peers and competitors are doing in these spaces as well.

The age of creating basic websites that shill your products and services with mumbo jumbo and corporate rhetoric is over. The age of brochureware websites is just that - an age. It can't (and wasn't meant to) last forever. The new types of employees that are going to fill the marketing, communications and sales departments of the most successful companies are going to have job titles like community manager, editor in chief, blogger, podcaster, videographer and social media director.

When entrepreneurs speak of their company, it’s rare to hear them say: “I have a small business.” The expression sounds too much like a governement categorization, and it connotes a type, style, or scope of activity that may not reflect their big dreams.

You need confidence to start a company as well as a mom-and-pop, and prosaic common sense to make it succeed. A startup is not a miniature version of a big company. So see yourself as who you really are: a small business “owner.”

Language shapes reality: as unglamorous it may be, this wording will force you into a continuous sense of personal accountability.

Here are my four rules for forecasting the future of retail:

1. "Human factors" trump everything: If the user experience is not intuitive, it will be disdained by consumers.

2. Auctions aren't for everyone: Despite eBay's success, most people don't want to bid in the open market for most purchases. As several analysts have noted, the auction model peaked in the Middle Ages, at the weekly village market. It is a crude instrument when applied to every aspect of commerce.

3. Catalogs aren't for everything: Catalog buying peaked nearly a century ago, when the Sears catalog was the Amazon.com of early 20th century retailing. But catalogs quickly turned into a niche of the consumer economy complementing retailers, rather than replacing physical stores.

4. People who need people are the luckiest people: Consumers enjoy - and will pay for - the company of others who share their interests, in comfortable settings.

Appreciate one critical thing: the client probably knows their target audience a lot better than you do.

Of course, when faced with such a situation, a good Web professional would understand the business driver and suggest alternative solutions that convey the same message and achieve the same goal but that are unique, original and creative.

One of the most common problems, especially among freelancers, is an inability to speak the client’s language. Being able to speak in a way that relates to the client’s business sense is crucial at all stages of managing a Web project, but never more so than when challenging a client’s decision.

How often in life have you volunteered your point of view to someone for months, only to be beaten down each time; and yet when someone else comes into the picture and says the exact same thing, their advice is seized upon as revolutionary. This is human nature and happens just as much when explaining to clients that they’re wrong.

If a client is, for whatever reason, unpersuaded by your arguments, you might want to consider going all CSI on them and producing evidence that backs up your recommendations.

And if you have to sit in the corner and be quiet, do it professionally and politely. Under no circumstances should you throw your toys out of the pram and give the client attitude. Simply explain to them that you have put forward your recommendations and given your reasons. At the end of the day, it’s their business and their decision. It stings, but you’ve done all you can, and your dignity remains intact. But don’t give up yet!

Analytics.
Vertical Search.
Google Searchwiki.
Mobile Advertising.
The average web user will continue to refuse to even sniff curiously at RSS.
Internet Explorer 8.
Content marketing.
Social Media Conferences.
Nofollow.
Twitter monetization.
Yahoo!'s Downfall.

A Chinese teenager sent to an internet addiction rehabilitation camp has allegedly been beaten to death by its counsellors, according to reports.

Some estimates suggest up to 10% of the country's 100 million teenage web users could be addicted, and a growing number of rehabilitation services exist

Camp staff are alleged to have put the teenager in solitary confinement on Saturday and then beaten him that evening.