John Battelle's SearchblogThoughts on the intersection of search, media, technology, and more.Google Gets Social- January 30, 2006 Who says Google doesn't play the tagging, sharing, social search game Not Google. Today it released a new version of its toolbar that's very....well...Web 2.0. From SEW coverage: Google has enhanced its toolbar for Internet Explorer, introducing several new features that will appeal to regular users of the program. The new features include enhanced "suggestions" that appear on the fly as you type a query, the ability to add custom buttons to search your favorite sites, the ability to..http://battellemedia.com/archives/002279.php Can't Keep Up On China- January 30, 2006 Nor can I. Thank God for Rebecca....http://battellemedia.com/archives/002278.php Mazda Says: Thanks for the Idea- January 28, 2006 Remember how Pontiac was pushing its line of cars by asking you to "Google Pontiac" (See here for the background). In my post, I wrote: Now, when I Google Pontiac, I see two sponsored links up top, both from Pontiac (if I were, say, Toyota, I might just think about bidding that keyword....but I digress). Well, Toyota didn't take the bait, but Mazda sure did....http://battellemedia.com/archives/002276.php The Real Irony Here...- January 28, 2006 ...is that Google is, for the first time, being a content editor. I've written extensively about how Google, by its very DNA, does not like to be an editor of content. But in China, it's doing exactly that. (SEW) Google's first big editing job Deciding which sites to exclude because they might offend the Chinese government. There's still time to pull out, guys. I've read your rationalizations, and Uncle Bill's as well. I don't buy them. I don't buy that this is what, in your heart, you believe..http://battellemedia.com/archives/002275.php So Much News- January 28, 2006 That this slipped by: Google AdSense begins rich media beta test. In other words, "floating ads", interstitials, and expanding ads...oh my!...http://battellemedia.com/archives/002274.php Kosmix- January 28, 2006 I'm speaking with these guys next week. For now, you can read about them here....(SiliconBeat) Meet Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, two of the co-founders at Junglee, and who twice seriously considered acquiring Google in its early days, but decided their friend Brin was too bold, if not arrogant, to deal with. Now they plan to officially launch an ambitious search engine company, Kosmix at the Demo conference to begin the week of Feb 6 in Phoenix. They've also raised $7.4 million in...http://battellemedia.com/archives/002273.php What Info Does Google Keep- January 27, 2006 A reader asked me: Does Google keep logs of searches correlated with IP address or other personally identifiable information for users who have not logged in I knew it kept parts of this data, but was not sure. So I pinged Google PR, which checked in for me (thanks!). The response was to quote Google's privacy FAQ: Like most Web sites, our servers automatically record the page requests made when users visit our sites. These "server logs" typically include your web request, Internet...http://battellemedia.com/archives/002272.php Ugh. This Just Doesn't Feel Good, Does It- January 27, 2006 Who wants to have stories like this written It just feels so ... wrong. A day after Google's buggy censorship of sites for Chinese-users was revealed, the search giant has responded by fixing its filters so topics such as beer and jokes are no longer deleted. An investigation published Thursday by CNET News.com showed that Google's new China search engine not only censored criticisms of the Chinese government, but went further than similar services from Microsoft and Yahoo by targeting sites...http://battellemedia.com/archives/002271.php But There's Always Music....- January 27, 2006 In a PDF report (download from Searchblog), Bear Stearns Analyst Robert Peck speculates that Google will launch a music store soon. Sure they will, and it will take lessons from video. Gary Price groks it here. From Peck's report: Why is Google Tunes attractive to Google According to NielsenNet ratings, unique visitors to Apple&8217;s iTunes site increased 241% YoY to 20.7M, for a 14% reach. Further, Nielsen indicates that iTunes users form a distinct target audience with brand preferences...http://battellemedia.com/archives/002270.php Video Store: Yeah, We Blew It- January 26, 2006 From the Seattle PI: "We made a big mistake," Mayer, who oversees all of Google's search products, said Tuesday. "You can't come out and launch a product like Google Video and say 'CSI' and 'Survivor' are there if they're not on the home page."...http://battellemedia.com/archives/002269.php |