Month: April 2007

See, This Is the Strategy

Have something in the wings, in case you don't win the acquisition game. This case is small – StumbleUpon. But from sources I've talked to, Google had built an entire Doubleclick killer, in case it did not win there. Huh….

Have something in the wings, in case you don’t win the acquisition game. This case is small – StumbleUpon. But from sources I’ve talked to, Google had built an entire Doubleclick killer, in case it did not win there. Huh.

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Oh, Goody!

Today two books came in from Amazon. Both are written by Douglas Hofstadter. One is, of course, Godel, Escher, Bach, the classic which I read while a pup at Wired. I clearly read it stoned – it's time to read it sober. The other is his new book -…

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=johnbattelles-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0465030785&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
Today two books came in from Amazon. Both are written by Douglas Hofstadter. One is, of course, Godel, Escher, Bach, the classic which I read while a pup at Wired. I clearly read it stoned – it’s time to read it sober. The other is his new book – I Am A Strange Loop. To get them, click on the image. I’m stoked. My posts might get a bit…stranger over the next few weeks…

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Goodbye Froogle: It’s Time to Grow Up

At some point tonight, Google is dropping the Froogle name, and getting realistic about the category: The new moniker for the service is – wait for it – Google Product Search. More to come once they post on it… This is Google getting real about Froogle, a product, and…

Googprod

Froogle 110Tall-1

At some point tonight, Google is dropping the Froogle name, and getting realistic about the category: The new moniker for the service is – wait for it – Google Product Search. More to come once they post on it…

This is Google getting real about Froogle, a product, and a category, that never quite hit it with consumers. Why? Well, it might have something to do with the way we interact with search. We’re still learning about how we interact with this beast. Froogle never made it as a destination, but then again, neither did any other product search categories, really. Sure, some of us use them religiously. But search, broadly, is where we all start, and product search is simply a place we drill down into. Why brand something which is, in the end, simply a feature of the larger engine? Hence…Google Product Search.

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Follow to My Conversation with Jeff Weiner

Again, one made far smarter by your input – about the same number of comments and questions as with Eric. Dave finds what might be the nut of the conversation – Jeff's openness to partnering (again) with Microsoft. Remember my "Soverture" post? (Grin) We spoke of DoubleClick, and as…

Again, one made far smarter by your input – about the same number of comments and questions as with Eric. Dave finds what might be the nut of the conversation – Jeff’s openness to partnering (again) with Microsoft. Remember my “Soverture” post? (Grin)

We spoke of DoubleClick, and as we spoke, Jeff’s boss, CEO Terry Semel, was predicting advertiser defections in a Reuters’ piece.

DoubleClick could see defections by advertisers put off by Google’s $3.1 billion deal to buy the online advertising market maker, Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Terry Semel predicted in an interview on Tuesday.

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Not Every Acquisition Is YouTube – DodgeBall Founders Quit, and Not Quietly

Youch! Check out the Dodgeball founders on getting acquired by Google back in May 05: "As a two-person team, Alex and I have taken Dodgeball about a far as we can alone," Dennis Crowley, founder of the New York-based text messaging service, wrote on the company's Web site. (that…

Dodgy

Youch! Check out the Dodgeball founders on getting acquired by Google back in May 05:

“As a two-person team, Alex and I have taken Dodgeball about a far as we can alone,” Dennis Crowley, founder of the New York-based text messaging service, wrote on the company’s Web site. (that link is now down)

And today, on quitting:

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TellMe Goes Broad

I've covered TellMe's mobile search elsewhere, but my ongoing commitments at Web2 Expo meant I could not cover its launch Monday. No worries…TC has it covered…….

I’ve covered TellMe’s mobile search elsewhere, but my ongoing commitments at Web2 Expo meant I could not cover its launch Monday. No worries…TC has it covered….

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Microsoft People Ready

As I did with Cisco and Hakia, we're doing some conversational marketing on Searchblog with Microsoft. They've asked me to tell them when I felt my business was "people ready." Well, that was not an easy answer, but I've tackled it over here. As I do with all my…

As I did with Cisco and Hakia, we’re doing some conversational marketing on Searchblog with Microsoft. They’ve asked me to tell them when I felt my business was “people ready.” Well, that was not an easy answer, but I’ve tackled it over here. As I do with all my partnerships with marketers, I post to let you know when I’ve agreed to work with a sponsor. So far, it’s been a very enjoyable conversation.

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Help Me With Jeff Weiner

Tomorrow I am interviewing Jeff Weiner, Executive Vice President, Network Division of Yahoo. Jeff and I have had a great relationship for years now, he was a key source for the book and a very smart guy to bounce just about anything off of. Today with Eric you all…

Jeff Weiner Thumb

Tomorrow I am interviewing Jeff Weiner, Executive Vice President, Network Division of Yahoo. Jeff and I have had a great relationship for years now, he was a key source for the book and a very smart guy to bounce just about anything off of. Today with Eric you all really made me much smarter, and I’d love your help with Jeff as well. Jeff ran the integration of all the Yahoo search properties and only recently left those duties to take a senior role in the entire Yahoo network – what is now known as the audience division. So, what do you want to know about Yahoo?

I can tell you what I want to know. First, because it’s news, Yahoo announced earnings today (Google announces Thurs.). Now, folks were expecting a win, given what Terry Semel said earlier about the early lift of Panama (see here). In short, he said he was “all smiles.” But….Wall St. gave Yahoo’s earnings a frown today – it’s down nearly 8% in after hours trading. Why? Because despite the Panama expectations, earnings dropped 11% year over year. Now, Yahoo warned the Street that the lift would not hit till Q2, but the Street wanted a surprise to the upside, and it did not get one.

So I will ask him about that.

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