Google and Relationships

On the lighter side of things (on a Friday), the Bottom Liners cartoon sites Google as a relationship success factor:

"Our relationship works because George and I took the time to know each other on Google."

See the comic

Google is Number One Brand (CNET)

Internet search engine Google has retaken first place in the 2005 global poll of the world's most influential brands, while the eBay-owned Web phone service Skype makes its debut at No. 3.

The annual survey compiled by online branding magazine brandchannel.com often throws up controversial results, such as in 2004, when Arabic TV station Al Jazeera was voted the world's fifth most influential brand (down to 25th place this year).

But this year, the 2,528 branding professionals and students who voted came up with more conventional and--perhaps unsurprisingly for an online poll--tech-heavy answers when asked "Which brand had the most impact on our lives in 2005?"

Google, the minimalist search engine which has expanded regionally and moved into new markets areas as its price comparison service Froogle, last topped the poll in 2003, and for 2005 reclaims its top slot from Apple Computer, which came in second this year.

Skype, which offers free calls using Voice over Internet Protocol, crashes in at third place in the global list, while omnipresent coffee chain Starbucks and Swedish furniture chain Ikea take fourth and fifth place respectively.

The poll does not take account of economic brand value, the dark science of assigning a financial value to brands, which regularly puts Coca-Cola's Coke in first place.

Neither is the survey too fussy about whether the reported brand impact is positive or negative, so the winners need not necessarily take too much credit.

From Cnet

Google's reputation at stake

Google, facing its biggest public relations battle yet, has more at stake than competitors as it fights a federal government demand for data on how millions of users search the Internet.

As the No. 1 online search company, Google has the highest profile, and a brand built on a "don't be evil" motto that it must defend as it expands further into search-related ventures.

"That is their motto and their ambition, and they need to be true to that," says Denise Garcia, an analyst who follows Google at W.R. Hambrecht.

Google's stance will likely burnish its image as a search engine industry leader that can be trusted to guard its users' data, Garcia says.

But in the short run, investors are worried. Friday, stock in the company plummeted 8.5%, or $36.98 a share, to $399.46, a day after published reports of its refusal to bow to a Justice Department subpoena. It was Google's biggest daily percentage decline since it went public in August 2004.

Garcia said the subpoena fight was the biggest factor in the stock's decline. It also was driven by a weak revenue forecast earlier in the week by competitor Yahoo. That spooked investors anti-cipating Google's fourth-quarter results, due out Jan. 31.

The Justice Department asked a federal judge in San Jose on Wednesday for an order to force Google to turn over the records as part of the administration's efforts to revive an online pornography law.

The other major search providers — Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and Time Warner's America Online — have cooperated with the government. Company representatives all said that they did not turn over data that identified individual users.

Google, MSN, AOL and Yahoo declined to say whether they had received other government subpoenas in the past year, company representatives said Friday.

Continued at USAToday

oogle, Sun, and a New PC: Anatomy of a Rumor

For more than three months, the Internet has been abuzz with talk of new technologies that might emerge from a collaboration between search giant Google and networking and software provider Sun Microsystems.

The alliance, which appears to be part of an effort to outflank Microsoft in the area of software and services delivered via the Web, is quite real: the two companies announced it on October 4, 2005, saying they intended to "explore opportunities to promote and enhance Sun technologies," such as the Java virtual operating system and the OpenOffice.org productivity suite.

But so far, Google and Sun have taken only one small public step toward cross-promotion, by including the Google Toolbar as an option for customers downloading Java. Rumors that Google would release a "Google Office" software suite based on OpenOffice.org or come out with a Java-powered "Google PC" or a "Google Cube" for home-entertainment networking so far have turned out to be just that: rumors.

For many consumers, the prospect of a new set of operating systems and application software that isn't as risky and unreliable as Microsoft's products, as expensive and eclectic as Apple's, or as complicated and geeky as those written by the Linux community holds a strong attraction. It's tantalizing enough that Technology Review has already covered it and will keep doing so.

Nonetheless, a look at the evolution of the latest series of speculations about new software or hardware from Google and Sun suggests that they boil down to little more than wishful thinking -- amplified by the Internet's tireless gossip machine.

Rumors of a Google Office software suite -- perhaps based on Sun's StarOffice or its free, open-source cousin OpenOffice.org, or perhaps built afresh in the form of Web-hosted applications similar to Gmail -- began circulating in the blogosphere even before the October 4 announcement. Once the announcement occurred, many observers-- who were looking forward to the emergence of a serious competitor to Microsoft Office -- expressed disappointment at the limited scope of the collaboration. Yet some still held out hope. "This is the first step on the road that leads directly to Google and Sun trying to take Microsoft's application and server revenue," Stephen Arnold, author of The Google Legacy: How Google's Internet Search is Transforming Application Software, told CNET News.com.

Business Week columnist Stephen Wildstrom repeated that theme in an October 20 article. Wildstrom wrote: "A world in which software from Google has replaced much of today's Microsoft hegemony seems far-fetched. But advances in technology and the hints dropped by the very secretive Google suggest that it could become a reality a few years down the road….A Google-Sun alliance, if it flowers, could take advantage of new technology for running applications on the Web, one that eliminates the sluggishness and limited functions of traditional Web-based programs."

Continued at Technologyreview.com

Google is #1 in China (link)

Despite trailing Chinese traffic leader Baidu, Google is rated the best search engine in China, according to new research from Keynote Systems.

The study focused on the user experience of the four leading search engines in China: Alibaba/Yahoo!, Baidu, Google China and Sohu/Sogou. The study observed the searching habits of more than 1,200 adult users, with 70% residing in major mainland China cities and 30% located in diverse locations within the country.

In a moderately surprising finding, Google was ranked #1 over market share leader Baidu.

Keynote Customer Experience Rankings

1. Google
2. Baidu
3. Alibaba/Yahoo
4. Sohu/Sogou

Users were asked to complete a set of searches in their normal environment (home, office, internet cafe, etc.). In addition to monitoring the searches users completed for their own needs, each participant was asked to search for specific products, news, images and MP3s.

Keynote used its proprietary technology to track users' ability to complete these searches, capturing responses on more than 250 different metrics measured across each site. Data about the searches was captured, as well as thoughts, feelings and direct answers as users searched. The combination of behavioral, qualitative and quantitative data collected from the panelists gave Keynote the information to rank the engines according to how well they accomplish business goals.

These goals included activities such as acquiring new customers, retaining customers, building brand affinity, motivating customers to adopt online services, providing a positive customer experience, advertising metrics and several others.

Google outperformed its competitors in 11 of 13 factors measured. The finding "was quite a surprise given Baidu has such a strong market share," said Dr. Bonny Brown, Keynote Systems director of research.

The most important "impact drivers" for Chinese searchers were home page design and appeal, general search quality and image search quality.

Continued at searchenginewatch.com

Google's Video Store Sends Shockwaves Through Multiple Industries

With Google's planned launching of an online video service akin to iTunes or Napster in the music field, several industries will feel the shockwaves.

With many advertisers and marketing industry executives already concerned over the video on demand services offered through most cable operators, the news from Google is further evidence of the need for the entire industry to find new and innovative ways to get their message to consumers.

Traditional television watching patterns have changed dramatically over the last several years as a result of innovations such as TiVo, DVR services and VOD services. Viewers have stopped watching traditional television commercials and that has many advertising firms scrambling to come up with more creative ways to market their clients' brands.

Google's announcement of an “online video store,” which will include movies, television programming and sports, can open the floodgates for many content owners (e.g. broadcast stations and cable stations) to jump on the Google bandwagon or create similar opportunities for viewers to access their content.

Both the television and advertising industries have been working feverishly to solve the growing concerns of advertisers who want to pay lower premiums based on the concern that many viewers are skipping past commercials while watching content on alternative viewing platforms.

Continued at DMNews.com

dMark Radio = Google (AP)

Google is continuing to expand its advertising capabilities beyond the online world, agreeing to buy a company that automatically connects advertisers with radio stations. The price could top $US1.2 billion.

The company, dMarc Broadcasting, creates an automated platform that lets advertisers more easily schedule and deliver ads over radio and keep track of when they air. On the broadcaster side, the dMarc technology automatically schedules and places such advertising, helping stations minimise costs.

Under the deal, announced on Tuesday, Google would pay dMarc at least $US102 million in cash. If performance targets are met, Google would make additional payments of up to $US1.14 billion over three years.

The up-front cash payment will make only a small dent in Google's reserves. Through September, Google had $US7.6 billion in cash and marketable securities, though it has since committed to making a $US1 billion investment in Time Warner's America Online unit.

Google said it plans to integrate the dMarc technology with its highly successful Google AdWords platform, in which third-party websites share revenues with Google for carrying the company's highly profitable search ads.

"Google is committed to exploring new ways to extend targeted, measurable advertising to other forms of media," said Tim Armstrong, Google's vice president for advertising sales.

Already, Google has bought advertising in print publications such as tech magazines and resold chunks of the space to its online advertisers.

TheAge.com

Google files single-click patent (Techworld)

Google has filed a patent application for technology that lets mobile phone users click on a Web-page ad and be connected via a voice call to the advertiser.

Such services already exist but Google's application could be specific enough to win a patent, said Aaron Chatterjee, a patent attorney at Foley and Lardner "I think they have a chance," he said.

Users at the moment can wirelessly search an online database for a nearby business and then click on a link on the results page to automatically call the business. But Google's application is specific to clicking on advertisements and by narrowing the click-to-call parameters, Google could win a patent, Chatterjee said.

However, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is fairly strict when it comes to issuing business methods patents - the category under which this application would fall.Only about one in 10 such applications are approved.

Techworld.com

CES analysis: Why I know Google will do an office suite and a desktop OS in 2006 (calacanis.com)

"I got to spend some time with Eric, Larry, and a dozen other journalists yesterday after the amazing keynote.

The story everyone wanted to talk about--and Eric and Larry didn't--was Google going into the operating system, deskop computer, and office suite business (let's call those three things "Google Desktop" for simplicity).

Eric kept saying the Google vision is to index the worlds information, but we all know that is a smoke screen. Google's business is to make money from targeted advertising (i.e. AdSense).

Let's look at the facts:

1. 99.9% of Google revenue comes from Adsense.
2. Google search is not necessarily the most efficient carrier of Google Adsense (content based websites and applications are very good at carrying Adsense as well)
3. Google is doing projects like Google Pack, GTalk, Orkut, and GMail that have NOTHING to do with indexing the worlds data--these projects are all carriers for Adsense.
4. Google has built the largest grid computing networking in the world with hundreds of thousands of computers--extending this to a desktop OS would be a cake walk.
5. Google has hired folks who worked on Open Office.
6. GMail's WYSIWYG is 90% of Microsoft Word. Everyone and their brother is making web-based word processors and spreadsheets today.
7. Google is about to launch a calendar according to reports. That's a no brainer since they have contacts and email already.
7a. Email, contacts, and calendar=Outlook. Outlook=Microsoft Office. Office=Microsoft's main revenue stream.
8. Most folks are fine with web-based applications now. AJAX has made web-based email competitive with desktop email--case is closed on that issue.
9. Google's server network is the only one in existence that could handle a hosted office suite--GMAIL has proven that.
10. Google is getting involved in the light $100 laptop project--which is really close to the Google Desktop concept.
11. Bill Gates himself said that there will be a huge market for advertising-based software, and Microsoft is making a web-based version of Office a major priority.
12. Tech CEOs lie through their teeth all the time--they have to. Steve Jobs said that he would never make a video iPod for two years--then he did. I would task Eric's comments that they are not interested in making a desktop OS, Office Suite, etc. with a grain of salt. If they were interested--and i know they are--they would never tip their cards." .....

calacanis.com

Using your Google Brain (Antigravitas Blog)

"Over the last year I've been using a new party discussion gambit which consists of positing that 'Google makes me smarter.' The resulting discussion quickly separates the digiterati from the illinternet sheep.

Why? Because it is true! Using Google as an outboard memory system for our brains results in a net increase of our apparent intelligence. In fact this is so demonstrably true that even the old media is starting to notice. Although, predictably, they warn of the dangers rather than exploring the positive; reminding me of similar articles from the 1970's describing how kids were starting to use calculators in school, all of which invariably ended in dire predictions of impending innumeracy. (Ignoring the fact that you have to understand math conceptually in order to use a calculator in the first place. Which should be your first clue that the writers of such articles are probably innumerate themselves, if they think math consists of memorizing the multiplication tables.)... "

More

Google mobile ads patent (News.com)

"Google apparently has a patent application out for advertising on mobile phones, according to William Slawski's SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by the Sea blog.

The patent application abstract says: 'At least some ads may include call-on-select functionality,' which would automatically dial the advertiser's phone number when the user clicks on a button. "

News.com

Google Tests Local Ads on Maps (ClickZ)

Google is experimenting with plotting local advertisers' locations on its Maps product, giving marketers a visual and spatial accompaniment to their locally targeted ads.

A search on "hotels" in New York City returns an organic list of local hotels, plotted on the map with red markers and bracketed by sponsored hotel listings, plotted on the map with blue markers. The same search in other locations, such as San Francisco, doesn't yet return the paid listings.

More at ClickZ

Google Surges In Search

"The gap between the top two search engines widened in November 2005, as US searchers Googled it for nearly four out of every ten searches they conducted.

It wasn't just the stock priced that accelerated past Google's flat-footed search rivals in 2005. The comScore numbers for November told a similar tale, IDG said in a report.

For that month, Google's search engine processed 2.05 billion searches, 39.8 percent of the 5.15 billion made that month. Yahoo handled 1.52 billion for 29.5 percent. Year over year from 2004 to 2005 saw a much narrower gap between the two big search players, 34.6 percent to 32 percent in Google's favor, the report said.

Microsoft trailed the pair with 14.2 percent of searches in November. AOL, most recently in the news for its expanded partnership with Google, served up 8.7 percent of the answers users craved, while IAC's Ask Jeeves grew a bit in share to 6.5 percent.

Google's dominance should give investors in the search advertising company more reasons to keep pushing the stock price forward. More queries means more opportunities for those valuable contextual ads to be clicked, and more money to roll into the Googleplex. "

webprodnews.com

How Click Fraud Could Swallow the Internet

"Pay-per-click advertising is big, big, big business. So are bogus hits on Internet ads. It's search giants against scam artists in an arms race that could crash the entire online economy."

Wired

Google to Patent Mobile Click-to-call Ads (ClickZ)

Google appears to be setting its sights on the mobile advertising market, given its latest patent application. The company is seeking protection for a kind of ad that would trigger a phone call instead of rendering a new page when clicked.

This "call-on-select" functionality is described in U.S. patent application 20060004627, filed last week by Shumeet Baluja, a senior research scientist at Google. The application describes a process that takes into consideration a device's screen size, connection speed, and input capabilities to determine if it would be better to serve an ad with a link to a Web page or one that causes the phone or other mobile device to place a phone call to the advertiser.

More from ClickZ

Montage-a-google

This is pretty cool:
"Montage-a-google is a simple web-based app that uses Google's image search to generate a large gridded montage of images based on keywords (search terms) entered by the user. Not only an interesting way of browsing the net, it can also be used to create desktop pictures or even posters"

Google's Video Store Sends Shockwaves Through Multiple Industries

"With Google's planned launching of an online video service akin to iTunes or Napster in the music industry, several industries will feel the shockwaves.

With many advertisers and marketing industry executives already concerned over the video on demand services offered through most cable operators, the news from Google is further evidence of the need for the entire industry to find new and innovative ways to get their message to consumers.

Traditional television watching patterns have changed dramatically over the last several years as a result of innovations such as TiVo, DVR services and VOD services. Viewers have stopped watching traditional television commercials that has many advertising firms scrambling to come up with more creative ways to market their clients' brands.

Google's announcement of an 'online video store,' which will include movies, television programming and sports, can open the floodgates for many content owners (e.g. broadcast stations and cable stations) to jump on the Google bandwagon or create similar opportunities for viewers to access their content."

More

Google Plans to Expand Video Offerings, Allow Content Owners to Set Their Own Prices

"Google Inc. is upping the ante in the online video gold rush, allowing content owners to set their own prices in a bid to create a more flexible alternative to Apple Computer Inc.'s pioneering iTunes store.

Google's planned video expansion, announced Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show, already has lined up commitments to sell thousands of downloads, including recent television broadcasts of popular CBS shows and professional basketball games, as well as vintage episodes from series that went off the air decades ago. A launch date for the expansion has not been released."

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Google Launches Paid Video Download Service

"The Google Video Store lets users search for video stored on Google's servers, then download it using a new Google Video Player. If the content provider has specified a fee, Google will collect it and take a 30 percent cut. Google began accepting video uploads in April 2005...The Google Video Store will provide a new revenue stream for the search goliath, while offering video creators at least the possibility of collecting some money."
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Google forms a tech pack to take on Gates

THE bitter battle between Google and Microsoft escalated on Friday as the search firm announced it would head an alliance of Microsoft’s rivals.

Called Google Pack, the alliance offers free of charge many of the services available from Microsoft’s world-leading Windows program.

The alliance was unveiled by Google co-founder Larry Page at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Last week Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder, dismissed Google as an over-hyped “media darling”. In an interview before his appearance at the show Gates downplayed the impact of any Google launches.

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Google's Grand Plan to Take Over TV Advertising

"If I'm right, Google's current business will have been nothing more than a great test-bed for what will turn out to be their real business, which will be IP-TV ads. Program choice is just the Trojan horse that will be used to sell this to viewers; the essence of the IP-TV buildout is the fully domesticated consumer.

Far scarier, of course, is that Google will be handling all political advertising, and will eventually be helping networks customize their news offerings, too."
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