Reader Tom writes: Ultimately, it will be the consumers who decide if Google is to be trusted. Vendors ought to move as quickly as possible to offer Paypal and Google side by side. After all, why should vendors try to figure-out what their customers are most comfortable using when they…
Missed that Forbes is predicting a June 28 release for GBuy, the PayPal competitor. Consumers using GBuy, which is set for release on June 28, will be taken off the merchant's site to complete the payment. This will enable Google (nasdaq: GOOG – news – people ) to capture…
Consumers using GBuy, which is set for release on June 28, will be taken off the merchant’s site to complete the payment. This will enable Google (nasdaq: GOOG – news – people ) to capture e-commerce transaction data, driving more precise targeting in future searches.
Given how important this particular launch is to Google, I am sure it will be a good product, not the spaghetti against the wall we sometimes see. However – and as odd as this might sound – I am not sure the world is ready to trust Google with its payments. I sense the overall cultural vibe on Google is that it’s gaining too much power. Folks are starting to wake up to the whole ephemeral to eternal riff. The Times is banging the table about it nearly every week (see this front pager from Sunday, or today’s story, for example, which kindly quotes me.) Soon, the networks will pick it up. And then….
Read MoreI knew The Search had been translated into Hungarian because a family friend who speaks it told me so, but still, it's cool to see it – "Keress!" I like the sound of that. (thanks Adam and Eni)…
I like the sound of that.
(thanks Adam and Eni)
Synch Firefox Toolbar between browsers Google adds a Firefox toolbar synch tool between browsers, announced on the Google blog. The Fragmentation of Search Fred argues that the the drop-down search engine menu (in Firefox and now IE) belies a future where specialized search tools dominate. Top Searches at CIA.gov…
The Fragmentation of Search
Fred argues that the the drop-down search engine menu (in Firefox and now IE) belies a future where specialized search tools dominate.
Top Searches at CIA.gov
The CIA publishes a monthly zeitgeist list of top 25 search phrases on their website, in compliance with the Freedom of Information act. (via Matt Haughey on MetaFilter.)
I had the pleasure of being interviewed a few times by the authors of "eBay and Google: A Coopetition Perspective," a term paper of sorts written by two Haas School of Business 2006 MBAs (they both graduated this year). Despite my participation, Julien Decot and Steve Lee have written…
In fact, as they researched the paper over the course of the year, the authors came to the conclusion that eBay had no choice but to ally with either Yahoo or Microsoft. Then the Journal reported as much, and the Yahoo/eBay deal went down.
If you love data (they estimate 12% of all eBay traffic comes from Google, for example), financial analysis, and competitive scenarios, this paper is for you. There is an entire section on “next moves” which I also recommend. The authors have allowed me to post it here (PDF). They would very much like to hear your take on it. Remember, this is the work of students, not industry experts, but it’s quite valuable nonetheless.
Read More(via Melanie, admittedly belated) Last week Google unveiled Ajax Search API (Beta)–its experimental dynamic search module that blogs and websites can place can use to place complimentary content to their sites while their readers can access/clip content (samples). Optional search categories are parsed into local, video, web and blogs;…
O’Reilly: For Google this is about distribution and getting on more websites. By making a rich UX accessible for little work they will get even more people willing to put their results on their pages. Assuming they add advertising (which is mentioned as an “if” in the FAQ) then the uptake will definitely increase – especially if site-owners are able to share in the AdSense revenue (it’s not surprising to note that the AdSense question was the first one asked in Developer’s Group).
SEL: This is a good move for Google – they’ve apparently learned their lesson from the Google Maps API. Let the development community figure out what you’re good for 🙂
The week's buzz is rising on MerchantCircle, a local search play with a twist. I spoke to CEO Ben Smith this week, and he got me smart on the idea behind it. In short, MerchantCircle is trying to get local merchants to play the search game on their own…
The week’s buzz is rising on MerchantCircle, a local search play with a twist. I spoke to CEO Ben Smith this week, and he got me smart on the idea behind it. In short, MerchantCircle is trying to get local merchants to play the search game on their own terms, and I like that idea.
SiliconBeat has some good thoughts on it:
…MerchantCircle has pre-populated its database with generic business listings. Business owners can then sign in to claim their profile pages.
…Smith doesn’t view MerchantCircle as a destination site for users. Most people won’t go here looking for a local bike shop, although you could. Instead, they’ll find MerchantCircle profiles when they’re Googling for Palo Alto bike shops, for example.
Read MoreDave Morgan of Tacoda pens a piece in MediaPost today which I think nails why Google has (apparently) struggled with its bid to sell ads in magazines. From it: ….the failure had much more to do with Google's inappropriate approach to print advertising than it did to print advertising's…
….the failure had much more to do with Google’s inappropriate approach to print advertising than it did to print advertising’s inability to deliver results for its clients.
Why? Google has not created the world’s greatest all-purpose advertising machine. Rather, it has created the world’s greatest yellow pages directory. There is a big difference.
Read MoreBut….I'm very pleased to see this kind of silly, out there stuff coming from Google. From InfoWeek: Two Google research scientists want your computer to watch television with you so it can deliver personalized Internet content at the same time. In a research paper presented last week at interactive…
Two Google research scientists want your computer to watch television with you so it can deliver personalized Internet content at the same time.
In a research paper presented last week at interactive television conference Euro ITV in Athens, Greece, Google researchers Michele Covell and Shumeet Baluja propose using ambient-audio identification technology to capture TV sound with a laptop PC to identify the show that is the source of the sound and to use that information to immediately return personalized Internet content to the PC.
Read MoreI like this idea. From the Reuters coverage: Lala.com, which allows fans to trade music discs for just $1, plus shipping, pledges to give a fifth of its sales to all the musicians, including lesser known session studio players, involved in the making of CDs exchanged on its site….
I like this idea.
From the Reuters coverage:
Lala.com, which allows fans to trade music discs for just $1, plus shipping, pledges to give a fifth of its sales to all the musicians, including lesser known session studio players, involved in the making of CDs exchanged on its site.
