Category: Of Note in Search Biz

Microsoft To Announce Search News Today

Wish I could tell you all about it, but the announcement is set for later this morning when I'll be on a plane to a meeting back in the Bay Area. So watch the NYT, the feeds, and here's a story with some details (but no analysis) on PC…

Wish I could tell you all about it, but the announcement is set for later this morning when I’ll be on a plane to a meeting back in the Bay Area. So watch the NYT, the feeds, and here’s a story with some details (but no analysis) on PC World or the Seattle PI. I spent a fair amount of time talking about this with execs up there and there’s more than just a cash back angle to this story. More this weekend….when I have time to write. Suffice to say, Bill Gates is going to be on stage, a swan song of sorts. This is a big deal for the company, the start of something.

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Microsoft To Advance Its Search

I will be up at Microsoft this week, meeting with Kevin Johnson, President, and others during the company's Advance 08 conference. I am particularly looking forward to hearing what news comes around search, as Kevin has promised in a note to staff: "On Wednesday, we will be announcing a…

I will be up at Microsoft this week, meeting with Kevin Johnson, President, and others during the company’s Advance 08 conference. I am particularly looking forward to hearing what news comes around search, as Kevin has promised in a note to staff:

“On Wednesday, we will be announcing a major new initiative that our search teams have been driving. We are getting better and better with our core algorithmic search, and at the same time, we are investing to differentiate in vertical experiences and to disrupt the current model.”

I will post what I learn by Weds. midday.

1 Comment on Microsoft To Advance Its Search

Can Yahoo Get the Search Monkey Off Its Back?

(image) Yahoo's Search Monkey is released today. Not a moment too soon. My one word summary of what Yahoo needs to do to win: Open. Nothing new there, this is the rallying cry of Yahoo's senior leaders. But perhaps I should add another word: Open faster. Today Search Monkey,…

Monkey(image)

Yahoo’s Search Monkey is released today. Not a moment too soon. My one word summary of what Yahoo needs to do to win: Open. Nothing new there, this is the rallying cry of Yahoo’s senior leaders. But perhaps I should add another word: Open faster.

Today Search Monkey, where developers can take Yahoo results and rejigger ’em, opens to the world. It’s a good idea. But it’s not enough.

I think Yahoo should be far more radical. Yahoo should let folks play behind the curtain. It’s one thing to give folks a feed of results and let them mash it up. It’s quite a different thing to let folks play with the machinery that produces the results.

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PowerSet To Go

I'm late on Powerset (I just don't have time to do the briefings anymore), but Mike has coverage here and Danny's is here. What I find interesting about Powerset is the refinement, which Danny covers well. The interface (in particular the response to query) is much more grammatical and…

I’m late on Powerset (I just don’t have time to do the briefings anymore), but Mike has coverage here and Danny’s is here.

What I find interesting about Powerset is the refinement, which Danny covers well. The interface (in particular the response to query) is much more grammatical and conversational. That’s where the entire web is going, and it’s cool to see an example of it.

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Is Google Bureaucratic?

Maybe only when it has to create products in response to market demand (ie new features for enterprise Google Apps), as opposed to engineer delight. Philipp has an interesting post/thread here….

Maybe only when it has to create products in response to market demand (ie new features for enterprise Google Apps), as opposed to engineer delight. Philipp has an interesting post/thread here.

4 Comments on Is Google Bureaucratic?

Continuing to Grok Twitter

Something going on here. And here. Always like to see Steve pondering things. And then the search driven queries in Matthew's post are great: love: working with Canadians margaritas for lunch when i know exactly what to do buttered popcorn jelly beans Trent Reznor’s lyrics having lunch with my…

Something going on here. And here. Always like to see Steve pondering things. And then the search driven queries in Matthew’s post are great:



love:

working with Canadians

margaritas for lunch

when i know exactly what to do

buttered popcorn jelly beans

Trent Reznor’s lyrics

having lunch with my mom

the rain

my foster parents

Twitter



hate:

nitrogen

talking to my insurance company

airports

when i’m all itchy and stuff

those robotic voices

my work computer

deja vu

the Red Wings

Twitter



feel:

so lost

like i am cramming for a final

like i am being followed

bad but not guilty

extremely safe

old

like i’m on drugs, minus the high

a little lost

sick

exhausted



wish:

i were going to the ballpark

i was still asleep

i was outside

michigan had more job openings

i knew what bit me last night

i was never born

i could go back and punch myself

i was in nashville

people would do their jobs

4 Comments on Continuing to Grok Twitter

The Day Is Coming

Remember when I said this: Expect display and video ads on the home page of Google very soon. Well here's a summary from a Bloomberg story via IWantMedia: Google May Run Display Ads With Searches Google is considering running display advertisements alongside the results of Web queries for pictures,…

Remember when I said this:

Expect display and video ads on the home page of Google very soon.

Well here’s a summary from a Bloomberg story via IWantMedia:

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The Future of Search Series

Danny and I have contracted with Thomson Reuters, a sponsor of Searchblog, to write a series of posts on the future of search. They've given us no guidance, just asked us to ponder the topic. This is my first post, "A search is not just a search," longtime readers…

Futureofsearchthomsonreuters

Danny and I have contracted with Thomson Reuters, a sponsor of Searchblog, to write a series of posts on the future of search. They’ve given us no guidance, just asked us to ponder the topic. This is my first post, “A search is not just a search,” longtime readers will find it familiar, if updated. From it:

In the past few years, a significant new feature has crept into the results portion of this otherwise predictable interface. Called “universal search,” the idea is to incorporate more than simple HTML pages into the results. A search for “London restaurants”, for example, might bring up maps and local results, as well as videos, images, organized reviews, and of course web pages. Every major search engine, from Google to Ask, has incorporated some kind of universality into its search results.

But while universal search points the way toward a new approach to getting you the answers you seek, it’s a half step at best. The results change, somewhat, but the process is pretty much the same. You enter a query, you get a set of results. Not particularly new.

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The New Live.Com

Ah, Simplicity. What do you think? Methinks it looks familiar, as all have since Alta Vista days….

Ah, Simplicity. What do you think? Methinks it looks familiar, as all have since Alta Vista days.

Live Search-3

3 Comments on The New Live.Com

Microsoft Bails, Yahoo’s Google Threat Appears to Have Worked

Posting what I was just sent: Microsoft Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Yahoo! REDMOND, Wash. — May 3, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). “We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft,…

Posting what I was just sent:

Microsoft Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Yahoo!

REDMOND, Wash. — May 3, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

“We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole. Our goal in pursuing a combination with Yahoo! was to provide greater choice and innovation in the marketplace and create real value for our respective stockholders and employees,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.

“Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal,” said Ballmer.

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