The staggering use of YouTube shows no signs of slowing as the firm turns eight years old, with Google reporting that 100 hours of video are now uploaded to the site every minute.

This is the same as four days of video being uploaded every minute, while one billion visits are made to the site every month. Sadly, there are no stats on how much of the video that's uploaded is actually worth watching.

The rise of the site as one of the hottest properties on the web underlines the relative steal the $1bn paid by Google for the firm represents, and sets the benchmark for other $1bn purchases, such as Facebook for Instagram, and, as expected, Yahoo for Tumblr.

Google wrote in a blog post: “Over the years, you’ve continued to surprise and delight us. And the past year was no exception. Who would have guessed that a tux-rocking K-pop star would shatter records left and right or that Sesame Street would go global with 1 billion views?

“That’s one of our favourite things about our global audience: you’re as unpredictable as you are creative and irreverent.”

Earlier this year V3 noted the creative ways businesses have jumped on the YouTube bandwagon, with a top 10 rundown of some of our favourite weird and wonderful hits that have gone viral.

Last year Google chief executive Larry Page set off a flurry of speculation when he missed time at the firm due to health issues.

The issues were initially played off by Google execs who said Page had lost his voice due to an unspecified illness. The issue was not said to be serious and Page eventually returned to work.

One year later, Page is finally opening up, saying that the issue with his voice is in fact a chronic condition but is not life-threatening or debilitating. In a post to his Google+ page, the company co-founder said that he has struggled with paralysis in both of his vocal cords.

According to Page, one vocal cord was damaged following a cold 14 years ago, while another began to suffer paralysis last year. The condition has since improved and Page said he's able to speak with colleagues again, joking that co-founder Sergey Brin "says I’m probably a better CEO because I choose my words more carefully".

The disclosure comes with news that Page is working to push a study on individuals with such rare vocal cord paralysis issues. He is hoping to help gather data from patients with similar conditions in hopes of gleaming more information.

It also rehashes a debate that has existed in the IT sector ever since Steve Jobs first shed light on the battle with cancer, which would eventually claim his life. In companies where the chief executive plays such a prominent role in guiding the company, how much of their own health should executives be expected to share?

We now know that Page's life was never in danger from his condition and the company was none the worse for his brief absence. But in the wake of Jobs' death and Apple's struggles since, investors may become worried when the face of the company takes ill. That said, chief executives also have a right to privacy, and in such cases the board should protect their executives from any intrusion while also assuring investors that things are under control.

Google will always be a search company first. In spite of all the other things the firm has its hands in, search is its lifeblood. It makes plenty of ad dollars from it and it's become synonymous with the company.

That is why Google has been so keen to add to its mobile search repertoire. The firm has just added two new features that look to extend its search power into the mobile sector.

First, the company introduced Google Now for iOS. The move is a bit of a mobile warning shot at Apple. If Google can show off some Android features to iPhone users than the firm may be able to find some converts.

Secondly, the firm added app activity integration into its entire search platform. The integration allows users to see aggregated user info when they search app titles online. For Google, the move takes them one step closer to complete convergence of mobile and PC platforms.

Both moves speak to the company's ambition with search. It's no longer an independent part of a user's online experience. Search is now a piece of a greater whole of a users experience both mobile and sedentary.

You can think of search as Google's foundation. It is the thing that everything else flows from. When you search for something on Google it leads you to other services that the firm offers.

It's not just search, its search and then some. It's the core that lead Google to become all the things it is today. Plus, judging from the recent announcements it is also is the thing that looks to be guiding the company into tomorrow.

The importance of exciting and inspiring the next generation of IT professionals and innovators has been high on the agenda at V3 for many months now with our Make IT Better campaign. This meant we were eager to hear from the Science Museum on Monday evening, about its plans for a brand new £15.6m Information Age exhibition to celebrate the roll of technology in the modern world.

Major backers BT, Google, Arm and Accenture were in attendance, explaining that part of their involvement is to try and ensure interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) remains strong in the future for the country.

All made it clear that it was important that those who could become the tech stars of the future had the chance to visit exhibitions like the Information Age space, set to open in 2014, so they could learn about the people and products that had changed the world, and go away excited to learn more about it all.

V3 was also privy to the construction of the new exhibition space, albeit in its very early phases (above), but with plans for a giant radio tuning coil (top of the page), a full-size real-life communications satellite (pictured below) and telegraph transmission technology dating back to the 1800s set to go on display, it will no doubt be a fascinating gallery.

Roll on 2014.

A recent study found that Amazon's App Store may actually become a real threat to Google's Play store. The report found that the amount of paid apps and the growth of Amazon's store could put it in real competition to Google down the road.

The theory is interesting but probably inevitable. A third competitor in the mobile space is bound to happen. Apple and Google can not own a huge sector of the market forever.

Whether an Android fork like Amazon's is that third competitor is yet to be seen. With Samsung building out Tizen and Firefox launching its mobile OS, someone will be able to compete with Apple and Google.

Amazon has its positives. Its devices are well liked for media consumption. They are cheap to purchase and Amazon has a strong ecosystem when you throw in its e-commerce business and cloud.

The company seems to be taking more cues from Apple than Google. Amazon looks to be headed towards an ecosystem that's well curated and offers premium apps instead of just a lot of them.

While Amazon devices may sell at lower margins than Apple's, its ecosystem is similar to the one used with iOS. It's well organised and puts the focus on easy of use instead of excessive features. That is why Amazon is able to sell paid apps to the tune of strong revenue numbers.

However, Amazon still has yet to capture the market in the way that Android and Apple have. Kindle Fire models in the wild are still are not competitive with the kings of the mobile world.

Whether that changes anytime soon is yet to be seen. However, so far, Amazon looks as though it has a solid plan to become a real competitor with Google and Apple.

Google had a pretty good quarter. The search giant saw decent revenue and continued success with its core products. Yet, investors still want more.

During the company's conference call with investors, many Google stock owners questioned the firm's significant investment in future technologies. Investors wondered why Google dollars were going towards things like self-driving cars and virtual reality glasses.

Analysts didn't understand why Google was putting money into products that only have the potential to make profit down the road, grilling company bosses on how they decide appropriate levels of investment for the blue-sky projects.

Google chief executive Larry Page reported that those types of projects are necessary for its future success. He said his responsibility as chief of Google was to make sure that the firm didn't get lazy and invest in only incremental upgrades.

Page makes a great point. Microsoft has suffered because it didn't have any groundbreaking products in the pipeline. People are even saying Apple maybe running into the same problem.

But at Google they're making sure they don't get blindsided by the future. Page and co-founder Sergey Brin have always been looking to find the cutting edge of technology. From cloud computing to Google Fiber, the search giant has always made crazy bets on crazier technology.

That's why it must be so frustrating for Page to hear investors wonder why Google spends so much money on currently unprofitable technology. Google has made a lot of people a ton of cash. Yet, some still wonder if the powers that be know what they are doing.

It's smart to ask questions, but Page and company clearly have a plan that's been working. Most of the time, you'd complain if a company decided to rest on their laurels. But investors are worried about Google taking measured risks.

Investors absolutely have a right to question what Google is doing. Even the company's supporters must be starting to question its Motorola purchase. However, investors should be more trusting of Google in one category: R&D.

Google knows how to make things and even if those things won't always make money right away they are still good products.

So, maybe, the time has come for Google investors to have a little bit of faith. Googlers know what it takes to make money in the internet age and by investing in the future they'll make sure they make money on whatever comes next.

Microsoft has quickly become one of the most powerful patent licensing firms in the world. Following its deals to license patents to original design manufacturers (ODM) like Foxconn it has amassed a flow of cash on all the patents it has created during its illustrious career.

Redmond has reported that 50 percent of the world's Android phones are now made by firms that license its patents. According to a 2011 report from paidcontent.org, license fees actually made more money for Microsoft than Windows Phone devices.

That figure will likely roll over to the new line of Windows Phone if the firm continues to muscle Android makers into paying licence fees. Not to mention, if Windows Phone continues to struggle to gain a foothold in the market.

As Microsoft continues to licence its patents it will continue to make money hand over fist. Nothing about what the firm is doing is illegal. The last time a competitor argued that it was they lost.

Barnes & Nobles tried to fight Microsoft in court last year. The Nook maker argued that Microsoft tactics were of the anti-trust variety. Of course, a US judge dismissed that thought and Barnes & Noble ended up signing a licensing pact with Redmond.

The only one who has really put up a fight with Microsoft and its patent portfolio is Google. By way of its subsidiary Motorola, the search giant has fought hard to avoid paying fees to Microsoft.

If anyone could put up a true fight it is Google. However, precedent has already been set because of the Barnes & Noble case and it's hard to see a government authority stepping into to stop the Windows maker under current law.

After all, Microsoft did develop the technology completely above board. The R&D department in Redmond is one of the best in the world. So it's not like Microsoft hasn't invented truly ground-breaking tech.

It's just good business for Microsoft to make money on its patents. Perhaps that's part of the problem affecting the wider software industry when it comes to patents.

Microsoft, Apple and Google will continue to use their patents as a weapon until the powers that be do something to stop it. Using a patent portfolio to make money is not a good thing for the public.

Overtime, Android handset makers may have to increase their prices because a piece of the pie goes to the licence owner. To cover overheads the next Galaxy phone might cost an even crazier price tag because of patent licence fees.

It hasn't affected prices yet. But that is mostly because margins are still pretty high in the smartphone market.

However, Microsoft may eventually end up being responsible for price hikes on phones it didn't have any effect on making, to cover the cost of licensing its patents.

Hopefully, it may not get to that point and lawmakers will clamp down on patent trolls before it gets out of hand. Unfortunately, they are the only ones in a position to srop it.

In the wake of Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon, the internet community is showing its compassionate side as assistance and hospitality abound.

Shortly after the bombs went off, raw video documenting the explosions was circulating on the web. Being a publicly broadcasted event there were not shortage of cameras present and both professional and amateur videographers were there to film the aftermath.

We will not be linking to any of the raw (and graphic) footage of the scene. It can easily be had by those who want to find it and is best unseen or forgotten by the rest of us.

But what should be remembered, however, is how the internet has mobilised in the aftermath of the attack to support the victims of the attack and do what they can to support Boston.

In most cases of terrorist attacks and mass tragedies, supplies of blood become an issue as hospitals struggle to treat casualties. As users mobilised, however, donations poured in and despite the horrific nature of the attacks the Boston Red Cross said that it has received enough donations to cover demand just hours after the attack.

People around Boston have also used the web to help care for runners and fans who find themselves stranded can consult a special Google Doc file dedicated to connecting attendees with generous individuals willing to loan out rooms.

Even if you can't donate blood or put up a stranded running fan, you can do a small bit to help console Boston residents with donations of money, well-wishes or just a nice hot pizza.