Google Trends was originally released as a tool that let you see visual comparisons between search volume of keywords. That hasn’t changed, but Google now also gives us the keys to more data about actual popularity of websites based on daily unique visitors.

This data is similar to what companies like Alexa already provides, but it’s not ready to be a complete replacement yet. There is not as much data available through Google Trends as there is in other tools. Searches are currently limited to the domain level — so blogs.zdnet.com would translate to zdnet.com before the search happens.

If you have a popular enough website to be included in these results from Google Trends, you may be disappointed to know that there is no way to remove your site if you wanted to. Google doesn’t think that rule should apply to them though, as they have removed all their web properties — searching for things like google.com or youtube.com comes back with nothing.

Many members of the so-called Web 2.0 generation of Internet companies, such as social-networking sites, blogs and other similar “social media,” have made little revenue, the Financial Times reported.Roger Lee, a partner at Battery Ventures, told the FT there is going to be a “shakeout” in the industry in the next year or two, with many Web 2.0 companies disappearing.
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Social networking sites need more regulation in order to ensure that they won’t pose major security risks to users, according to the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). The agency issued a preliminary version of its General Report (PDF) covering online security this morning, pointing out that it views social networks as a “positive social phenomenon” that are not without their own set of security problems, and the organization has a set of recommendations meant to protect users online. ENISA said that some of the main threats identified so far through social networks involve digital dossiers, face recognition, and social engineering attacks on enterprises. Phishing attacks, reputation damage, ID theft, stalking, and cyberbullying are common as well. The organization says that, because of the human desire to connect and the growing popularity of social networks, it’s easy for users to let their guards down and not be aware of the size of the audience accessing their information. “Social Networking may be seen as a ‘digital cocktail party,’” read the report. “However, compared with a real-world cocktail party, [social networking service] members broadcast information much more widely and sometimes unadvisedly, either by choice or unwittingly.”

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A generation of children are effectively being “raised online”, spending most of their free time on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, a report warns today.

It says that many under-16s spend more than 20 hours a week glued to the internet, three times higher than official estimates.

With millions left to surf the web on their own, 57 per cent of children have seen online pornography, most of it accidentally in the form of “pop-up” adverts.

And one in four has received obscene “spam” e-mail, according to the Centre-Left think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research.

It found that young people are “constantly connected”, staying up to the early hours surfing the internet and leaving their mobile phones on all night in case they receive a text message.

Apart from porn, many are also being exposed to scenes of violence - such as socalled “happy slapping” attacks - on home video sites such as YouTube.

Although many sites have community guidelines or acceptable use policies, the report warns they are not being properly enforced.

On YouTube, for example, a search for the term “happy slap” delivered 117 videos posted in the last week and ’street fight’ 312 videos.

AOL has agreed to acquire social networking site Bebo for around $850 million in cash.

AOL announced Thursday that it plans to buy the company to round out its portfolio and step into social networking Bebo could complement AOL’s AIM and ICQ personal communications networking and increase AOL’s user base to 80 million.

“This is a tremendous acquisition and one I think is game-changing for AOL,” said Randy Falco, AOL chairman and CEO, during a conference call.

Falco said that AOL is eager to acquire Bebo’s growing user base of 40 million people around the globe. The company’s focus on media also appealed to AOL, which spent about six months negotiating the acquisition.

“Bebo is the perfect complement to AOL’s personal communications network and puts us in a leading position in social media,” Falco said.

Bebo relies on users to create, discover, and share content. It employs about 100 people in San Francisco, Austin, Texas, and the United Kingdom. Its focus is on entertainment and self-expression. The company boasts heavy user engagement with an average of 78 page views and 33 minutes spent on the site by each user each day. The company also works with major media outlets on content distribution.

Bebo’s current President, Joanna Shields, will continue running Bebo, while reporting to Ron Grant, president and COO of AOL.

“Bebo’s dynamic management team recognizes that the Internet is less about destination and more about connecting people, culture, and lifestyles,” Grant said. “This acquisition supports our key objectives — accelerating the growth, engagement, and monetization of one of the world’s most engaged online communities.”

AOL said it has launched 17 international Web sites over the last year and it plans to expand into 30 countries by the end of 2008. Bebo also announced plans to launch in five new countries this year.

Last week, AOL launched Open AIM 2.0, which gives developers increased access to the AIM network and allows integration of AIM into other sites and applications. Also last week, Apple announced an AIM application for the iPhone.

“AOL understands the shifting dynamics of the Web and has clearly demonstrated its commitment to leveraging the ever-increasing power of social networks,” Shields said. “With one and the same vision in this area, it was a natural progression for Bebo to join AOL, and we look forward to working together to continue to expand the online social experience globally.”

Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is reportedly considering whether to spin off AOL, which is trying to compete against Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Google (NSDQ: GOOG).