Track Tim in Google Earth
Tim works for and is wearing the product of a GPS tracker company, and he’s become a lab rat for tracking folks using Google Earth (no privacy implications here, of course). There’s also a New Yorker named Dave both wearing a live tracker and displaying images from a cam on the side of his glasses.
http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2006/05/wheres_tim_trac.html
http://www.timhibbard.com/wherestim/default.aspx
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2006/04/real-person-real-time-google-maps.html
http://www.shakindave.com/index.php?flash=yes
Google Parses Top URl Search Result
Google tests more UI results, this time trying divvying the top result into its hierarchy, letting users choose relevant content within. The test occured at least in Dutch and French, categorizing into articles, links, forum, games, teaching lessons, etc… As SEL notes, “If this is something that becomes widespread your page naming conventions had better make sense and be accurate ;)”
http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2006-05-01.html#n47
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-google-test-more-from-top-result.html
PIC: http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7506/607/1600/google_serp_test.jpg
PIC: http://img502.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss7gg.jpg
via http://www.searchenginelowdown.com/2006/05/google-serps-experiment-top-ranking.html
“The Most”: Search-Directed TV
Finally, TV becomes less dumb by letting search trends to determine news/entertainment content (yeah, Current does this, sort of…). Though the execution of the idea is has yet to be seen– this is a neat idea, something of a triumph of search potential and technology into the MSM.
(Perhaps a future trend, and places them in better competition with UTube/Digg and the like.)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12537219/
Yahoo! and MSFT, the Counter-Attack, Enough?
Business Week article on the tech overhaul of Yahoo! and MSN adCenter. Concludes that their changes may hurt rather than help, suggesting that advertisers want Google’s large audience more than a super-targeted small group. MSN’s targeted ads hope to used demographics on users, but Google prefers to continue improving the prediction ability of the few cached words it stores from individual search histories.
(Interesting juxtapose to your recent post) Also, MSFT to invest an additional $2 million in web services to compete.)
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_19/b3983079.htm
http://www.paidcontent.org/msft-expected-to-invest-another-2-billion-on-web-services-xbox
Grayboxx Local Search
How exactly is Grayboxx going to improve local search? Well, their algorithm is in the stealth stage, as their beta webpage says, so they aren’t revealing details yet. But it looks like a guerilla tactic approach to ranking local results, taking cues from tags in digital images and Outlook address books to create a local community rolodex of favorable votes “without imposing review-writing chores.”
http://www.grayboxx.com/
Rhode Island May Be First Wi-Fi State
http://searchviews.com/archives/2006/05/awwwamericas_sm.php
Swicki
An interesting mashup between search and community tagging, the new Swicki attempts to create a “cloud of buzz” by essentially providing communities ;with search histories (or so I gather from the demo).
(These could be useful for well-delineated, like-minded groups who share trust in knowing what each other is interested in. But many online communities are dynamic experiments, a game of musical chairs with very different-minded people potentially approaching the same subject (or search) in different ways. In other words, it could just be frustrating to a minority member of a given community–though for the rest a boon.)
http://eurekster.com/
Google Interactive, Integrating User/Expert Feedback
Matt Cutts calls it Google++, paying closer attention to user and expert feedback on product design. Recently used for the customization of Base and Talk, notes Blogscoped.
(This initiative is likely to become key to the future survival of Google–as it bloats– finding ways to insure that user experience remains a central driver in directing the company’s innovation instead of splaying in all directions.)
http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2006-04-29.html#n83
Internet Archive sells extended archiving for organizations
Archive-It 1.5 provides subscription-based service that allows institutions to store, categorize history (at lower price) from their website and WWW. “Users are able to explore and access these text-searchable collections, without needing additional technical expertise.”
http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/ArticleReader.aspx?ArticleID=15639
MySpace Videos Most Popular in Days
http://www.paidcontent.org/myspace-video-numbers-1-in-matter-of-days
And Yet More….
Utah Techie takes on Orrin “watchman state” Hatch with Open, Wired Campaign
http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,70761-0.html?tw=rss.technology
WashPost Stops to Talk About ParkedPages
http://searchviews.com/archives/2006/05/google_wins_the.php
The Tech Market in Mega Churches
Wired article juxtaposes well with 2004 article, transition from “Churches wage war on Cell phones”
http://news.com.com/Is+Jesus+the+next+killer+app/2100-1025_3-6066157.html?tag=nefd.lede
From 2004: http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2004/104092203.asp
Google Lags in South Korea
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2006/04/28/181274-google-fails-to-make-inroads-in-s-korea
Its worth noting something (albeit minor) with regard to the potential MSFT acquisition of YHOO. Yahoo has spent a hell of a lot of money over the past x years building an infrastructure based prett much on open standards. As far as i’m aware it uses no MS software whatsoever.
That Korea story has been around for a few months:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200601/kt2006012315202711780.htm
Another factor is that Korean webpages are covered with ads and commercial links. Google people grimace when they talk about Korean search, presumably because of the difficulty of getting decent pagerank.
Here is an idea mailto:info@grayboxx.com
Also Very Nice Job, boarder design is neat and posting information is easy and accessible.
but not worth Five Million yet.
I think that its an excellent outline, but nothing to crow about, just wait until you have to fight with your #query strings.
Warmly,
Student Doug Threet
Amy Nilson
5-10Data Systems