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I'm going to Disneyland! (yeeeeeaaaaaaah, say my three kids)….
I’m going to Disneyland! (yeeeeeaaaaaaah, say my three kids).
Month: December 2007
Why No One Comments on Google News
TechDirt comments on the NYT's story on the fact that pretty much no one is commenting on Google News stories, despite Google's attempts to get folks to do so. Why is that, we wonder? Why, given that Google News is one of the largest, most successful, most important drivers…
TechDirt comments on the NYT’s story on the fact that pretty much no one is commenting on Google News stories, despite Google’s attempts to get folks to do so. Why is that, we wonder? Why, given that Google News is one of the largest, most successful, most important drivers of news reading in the world, why won’t we engage in a conversation around it?
It’s simple, really, and it goes to the heart of what Google is not good at: Community. Look at the comment threads on Digg, for example, or Ars Technica, or Boing Boing. Why are there such long, boisterous comment threads? Because we know that the news we are reading there was driven by human beings, and when we respond, those human beings are paying attention, and want to be part of the conversation. But Google News is driven entirely by a computer algorithm. There is no explicit community. No one goes there to engage in community. Even if one can argue, as one can with web search, that the News algorithm is derived from community actions, it is not subservient to them, as is Digg’s. In short, there are no stakeholders in the Google News community. It’s not a place people go to be social.
Once again, Google has shown its Achilles heel – computers are great at generating smart results, and terrible as proxies for community. This is also reflected in the company’s approach to policy around new community features like those at Google Reader, an asberger’s of sorts when it comes to understanding how people want to connect.
Read More2007 Predictions, How Did I Do?
Related: 2007 Predictions 2006 Predictions 2006 How I Did 2005 Predictions 2005 How I Did 2004 Predictions 2004 How I Did Well, the time has come to review my predictions of a year ago. Overall, I think I did pretty well, but I've had to interpret a few liberally…
Chronicle Profile
Thanks, Sam, for taking the time to get to know me!…
Thanks, Sam, for taking the time to get to know me!
Merry Christmas!
In 2008, Keep an Eye on Hadoop
Worth a read….
Smart Politician: Stand Up for Bloggers
Ars has the story: It's not every day that a senator takes to the floor to defend "Internet blogs and other Web-based forms of media," but Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has done just that in his recent push to pass a Freedom of Information Act reform bill he has…
Ars has the story:
It’s not every day that a senator takes to the floor to defend “Internet blogs and other Web-based forms of media,” but Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has done just that in his recent push to pass a Freedom of Information Act reform bill he has coauthored with two Republicans.
The Senate passed the OPEN Government Act last week (which builds on previous reform attempts), and the House followed suit on Tuesday of this week. The reforms in the bill make it easier for bloggers and other Internet journalists to make FOIA requests without paying fees, and they strengthen deadlines for agencies to respond to requests. Contractors who work for the federal government are now explicitly covered by FOIA rules, and a new FOIA Ombudsman will help resolve disputes outside of court. The legislation awaits President Bush’s pen.
Travel Heats Up Again
Mike has the news on Kayak merging with Sidestep and raising tons of dough. I'll be looking at Kango over the weekend, which recently relaunched….
Mike has the news on Kayak merging with Sidestep and raising tons of dough. I’ll be looking at Kango over the weekend, which recently relaunched.
ScobleShow Is Up
You can find it here!…
Dog Bites Man
Emailed to me this AM: MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (December 20, 2007) – Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today welcomed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's clearance of its planned acquisition of DoubleClick Inc., a premier provider of display ad serving technology and services. Google announced in April 2007 a definitive agreement to…
Emailed to me this AM:
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (December 20, 2007) – Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today welcomed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s clearance of its planned acquisition of DoubleClick Inc., a premier provider of display ad serving technology and services. Google announced in April 2007 a definitive agreement to acquire the company for $3.1 billion in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management.
“The FTC’s strong support sends a clear message: this acquisition poses no risk to competition and will benefit consumers,” said Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google. “We hope that the European Commission will soon reach the same conclusion, and we are confident that this deal will deliver more relevant ads for consumers, more choices for advertisers, and more opportunities for website publishers.”
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