Search Engine Strategies Forum

Google yesterday announced winners of the [URL=http://code.google.com/android/adc.html]Android Developer Challenge[/URL], which put up US$10 million in prize money to developers of the best applications for its nascent mobile platform. In doing so, Google also helped to stock the shelves of Android Market, a forthcoming online retail site for Android applications akin …

Why prebuying Google sponsored ads might be a bad idea. Google "lieberman mccain." Or, click [URL="http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=lieberman%20mccain&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8"]here[/URL]. The result, at least as of this writing? Sponsored Link Lieberman & McCain JohnMcCain.com/lieberman Senator Lieberman Joins McCain's Team. Learn Why You Should Join! Clicking the link takes one to "Citizens for McCain," an …

Google has just released their new Advertising program which works with your currently existing Ad Sense account. Google's new advertising program is called Google Ad Manager, and it is currently available in 32 languages! I had to get a Google Ad Manager account the second I heard about it and …

With gas still hovering at $4 a gallon, the Arctic ice caps melting, and our waistlines expanding, walking is more important than ever. But how to figure out whether a particular home or work location is a good one for walking? Well, there's a way. [URL="http://www.walkscore.com/"]www.walkscore.com[/URL] is another one of …

According to the San Fransisco Chronicle Verizon and google are making a deal to make Google the default browser for all Verizon mobile phones. Eflux Media says that Verizon will get part of the adwords revenue. Almost everyone loves Google but having Google as your only browser choice for your …

It looks like the browser wars may be hotting up as Microsoft has fired its salvo - it seems that by [URL="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10020157-93.html?hhTest=1"]storing our previous search behaviors[/URL] it's going to beat Google at its own game. I guess this is a different approach. [URL="http://www.cuil.com"]Cuil[/URL] appears to be trying the 'if it …

Remember the [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=3052158"]Great BlackBerry Email Debacle of 2007[/URL]? Yesterday's unexpected [URL="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/11/systemwide-gmail-outage/"]Gmail outage[/URL] wasn't on quite the same scale, but if your business relies on Google's uptime to manage email, there were no doubt some tense moments around the water cooler. Was this a wake-up call for your company? Did it …

Anyone remember all the fuss back at the end of 2005 when, in December of that year, it was revealed that Google had managed to beat off the attentions of Microsoft to ensure that its relationship with AOL remained good? The [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/technology/16cnd-aol.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1218404764-tWD3Cl9qLyg5YnYCxoIULw&oref=slogin"]New York Times reported[/URL] at the time how Time …

Google is doubling down on cookies. I like cookies as much as the next guy; I've got a box of linzer tarts next to me as I write this. But when a company as powerful as Google starts force feeding you with tracking agents, some might see that as unpalatable. …

If you have ever been vaguely interested in search beyond the simple 'where can I find x' type question, and perhaps more from an 'who is asking about y' or 'where is z the most popular' instead, then listen up. Google has announced the launch of [URL="http://www.google.com/insights/search"]Insights for Search[/URL] which …

Thursday saw another horror show on Wall Street, with the Dow tanking 200 points over the weaker-than-anticipated GDP number and the shaky job market (the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 5.7% today). Still, tech stocks seemed to navigate the tumult of bad news in surprisingly robust fashion. We covered Motorola …

When you make changes to your site design, it’s not always easy to figure out how the changes affect traffic and visitor behavior. That’s where the [URL="https://www.google.com/analytics/siteopt/new_expt?account=5119167"]Google Website Optimizer[/URL] tool comes into play. You can experiment with two or more designs and see which one works best to achieve your …

Claiming to be the biggest search engine on the web is a pretty confident thing to do on the day that your search engine launches, but that is exactly what the creators of [URL="http://www.cuil.com"]Cuil[/URL] have done today. Combining the "biggest Web index" with "content-based relevance methods" whereby results are organised …

According to [URL="http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/25/microsoft-inks-deal-facebook"]reports[/URL] it looks like Facebook and Microsoft have agreed a deal which will see Microsoft Live Search integrated into the Facebook service. Along with the related advertising of course. This should come as no great surprise to anyone who watches the technology market for trends, as Microsoft had …

The Wall Street Journal and others are reporting today about [URL=http://knol.google.com/k/knol]Knol[/URL], a Google service now in beta that's being compared to Wikipedia, a comparison that I believe is incorrect. While Wikipedia attempts to accumulate all the world's knowledge and information as a sort of user-made encyclopedia, Knol seems more like …

It has been a long time coming, and the subject of much online speculation as a result, but now Google has finally officially launched [URL="http://knol.google.com"]Knol[/URL]. Google seems to be positioning this as less alternative to, and more complimentary with, Wikipedia. "Knols are authoritative articles about specific topics" Google says "written …

It seems that botnet usage could have been behind an increase in the number of click fraud clicks cited in the latest [URL="http://clickforensics.com/Pages/click-fraud-index.asp"]Click Fraud Index[/URL] which monitors such things. Running for three years now, the index monitors and analyses data from more than 4000 online advertisers and advertising agencies. The …

A host of tech earnings results are pouring in from all corners, with some confidence-building numbers coming from United Technologies, Nokia and (especially) IBM. Others were a mixed bag. Microsoft checked in with better-than-expected sales of $15.84 billion for the quarter and earnings-per-share (46 cents) was in the range of …

[I]Though nothing will Drive them away We can beat them Just for one day ~David Bowie, Heroes.[/I] That collective sigh of relief you hear this morning is probably the millions of YouTube users who are relieved that [URL="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/07/15/youtube_viacom_agree_to_mask_viewer_data/"]Google and Viacom have reached an agreement[/URL] to protect their privacy. All I …

[I]It's not always easy, And sometimes life can be deceiving, I'll tell you one thing, its always better when we're together ~Jack Johnson, Better Together. [/I] [URL="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/07/11/schmidt_independent_yahoo_better_for_competition/"]AP is reporting [/URL]this morning that Eric Schmidt, he being CEO of the great and almighty Google, thinks it would better if Yahoo! remained …

Technology stocks received something of a boost yesterday, with the NASDAQ rising 21 points to 2,266. Traders were buzzing about Microsoft’s admission that it would re-open talks with Yahoo, but only if less-than-subtle co-conspirator Carl Icahn can manage to unseat the Yahoo board of directors. Icahn, the famed corporate raider, …

Code search company [URL=http://www.krugle.com/]Krugle[/URL] on July 8 will begin shipping Krugle Enterprise 2.3, an update to its code repository appliance that it claims now allows more fine-tuned searching, increased storage and search capacity and the ability to search using custom data fields. Krugle positions its enterprise search appliance as a …

First, a bit of confirmation - the iPhone does indeed seem to be in short supply over here, many thanks to 'staff writer' for the story [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2755.html"]here[/URL]. I had a text from 02's publicity people to say the orders were being taken at 7.30am and the site had stopped offering …

Following on from [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2739.html"]my posting[/URL] two days ago, the [URL="http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/viacoms-statement-youtube-user-data-controversy"]EFF is reporting[/URL] that Viacom has issued a statement regarding the US court ruling over disclosure of those YouTube video viewing logs. Here is the statement in full: [QUOTE]It is unfortunate that we have been compelled to go to court to …

I’ve been highly critical of many of Microsoft’s moves lately, mostly because they have felt like the awkward ramblings of a company one step behind the curve, but the other day Microsoft made, what in my view, is a smart play. They bought [URL="http://www.powerset.com/"]Powerset[/URL], a San Francisco-based semantic search company …

According to the official [URL="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/06/improved-flash-indexing.html"]Google Webmaster Central Blog[/URL] it would appear that much better Adobe Flash indexing is heading for Google. In fact, if the Googlebot engineers posting to that blog are to be believed, the ability to index textual content in SWF format files, including Flash, has already improved. …

""I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [hard-core pornography]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it." -- Judge Potter Stewart, Supreme Court Justice, 1964 In …

Yesterday [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zFiu3aqfmg"]a (slightly) risqué ad[/URL] for JC Penney made the rounds on the internet. It depicted two teens getting ready for a date by timing how fast they could get dressed. At the end of the ad, the boy comes over to the girl’s house and they let the stern …

It is [URL="http://happygeeknewmedia.blogspot.com/2008/06/google-android-mobiles-face-lengthy.html"]no secret[/URL] that Google is facing problems with the Open Source Android cellphone project. Manufacturers finding it hard to meet deadlines delivering the handsets themselves, and developers finding it hard to work with Google and get Android compatible applications ready. Now, just to add to a week of …

Two’s not a crowd according to Salesforce.com. The company today unveiled [URL=http://developer.force.com/]Force.com Toolkit for Google Data APIs[/URL], a set of tools it says enable developers to link applications built for its Web-based customer relationship management platform with data yielded by Google services, including Google Spreadsheet and other and Google Apps. …

Cloud computing or software as a service (SaaS) has a lot of advantages, especially for small and medium sized companies with fewer resources to devote to an IT infrastructure. The cloud vendors, whether [URL="http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/var_1c.html"]Google[/URL], [URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?node=16427261"]Amazon[/URL], [URL="http://www.salesforce.com"]Salesforce.com[/URL] (or whatever company) provide all the software and back-end infrastructure support. They even update …

Here's a belter of a link from Nicholas Carr at [URL="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google"]TheAtlantic.com[/URL]. When I first read it I felt like laughing out loud because it was so improbable. Google and other searches (but mostly Google because so many modern searches are based on it anyway) making us mentally lazy or even …

I've just had a press release from Salesforce.com about the next iteration of its software. It's all going to be based on cloud computing - you log onto it from a browser more or less anywhere and it's available to you wherever you are. Much as the new version of …

It has not been a good couple of weeks for Microsoft, at least not when it comes to how the online search space is fanning out anyway. Following on from the refusal of yahoo to take the Microsoft buy out bid seriously, comes the news that it is jumping into …

People have been saying that Google is going to buy Digg for the longest time, but now that Digg founder [URL="http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/205647/google-close-to-digg-deal.html"]Kevin Rose confirms[/URL] he is not against selling up does this mean that GDigg is a real possibility? It seems so, yes, and to the tune of $200 million as …

I'd hate to be Jerry Yang's therapist today. The Yahoo CEO turned down a $33 per share buyout offer from Microsoft several months ago, with some saying the price could have gone as high as $37 per share. But that was then and this is now. The Associated Press is …

Google Gears are now available for the Firefox 3 Browser, or so it says on CNET - understandably there's some reluctance to confirm in advance of the formal release of the browser itself (although the release candidate looks pretty clean). The final version of the browser will be around later …

People interested in shaping features for Gmail, Google’s free mail service in beta for about the last half-century, can now test their latest creations in a safe new environment. The company Friday launched [URL=http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=29418]Gmail Labs[/URL], a type of sandbox that people can use to test and provide feedback on Gmail …

Tomorrow marks the start of the much-anticipated [URL="http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/"]Apple World Wide Developers Conference[/URL]. Rumors of all sorts are flying ahead of the conference, but in the midst of all the hype and hoopla is actually some real news as [URL="http://zoho.com/"]Zoho[/URL] and [URL="http://www.transmediacorp.com/"]Transmedia[/URL] Glide have announced brand spankin’ new versions of their …

Google has [URL="http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about_whatsnew.html"]made 13 new features available[/URL] to users of its Gmail service, although you do have to dig into the 'labs' settings in order to enable them. Remember also that Gmail is one of those long-term Beta test services that Google seems to specialise in (although word is that …

Google would argue that it does not need to make the privacy policy it has any easier to find, after all you only have to click the 'About Google' link on the homepage and then go and click the 'Privacy Policy' link that can be found at the foot of …

Google released a shiny new version of its hosted enterprise search product today that includes new custom indexing and a synonym dictionary. While they were at it, Google changed the name of the product to [URL="http://www.google.com/sitesearch/"]Google Site Search[/URL], which replaces the old (rather awkward) moniker Custom Search Business Edition. If …

They haven’t let us look under the hood, but Google yesterday published a few more specs about App Engine, including how usage will be priced if an application deployed using its infrastructure exceeds the limits set for the free edition. When it launched the service in early April, Google had …

Gentlemen, start your engines. Google App Engines, that is (and ladies, too). That was the word from Google tech lead Kevin Gibbs in his keynote speech at the annual [URL= http://code.google.com/events/io/] Google I/O conference [/URL]today at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The company in April introduced [URL= http://code.google.com/appengine/] App …

[I]I can’t stand this indecision married with a lack of vision Everybody wants to rule the world ~Tears for Fears, Everybody Wants to Rule the World. [/I] There has certainly been a lot of gamesmanship going on in the computer industry these past few weeks as the industry’s biggest players …

American readers will have been delighted by l[URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7413099.stm"]ast night's announcement[/URL] ('last night' is relative, it was last night in the UK) that Microsoft is going to offer cash back on items bought through its partners from its search engine scheme. The idea completes a notion that began over a decade …

Google told Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to [URL="http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2008/05/dialogue-with-sen-lieberman-on.html"]pound sand[/URL] Monday -- politely, of course -- after the Senator [URL="http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=8093d5b2-c882-4d12-883d-5c670d43d269&Month=5&Year=2008&Affiliation=C"]called on Google[/URL] to remove all "Internet video content produced by terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda" from YouTube. "YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. …

Google on Monday [URL= http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2439.html ] launched[/URL] Friend Connect, APIs for accessing data from Facebook and other social networks. By Thursday, Facebook banned the access, saying the tools don’t let its users know their data is being scanned. A [URL= http://developers.facebook.com/news.php?blog=1&story=111] post[/URL] by Facebook’s [URL= http://www.facebook.com/people/Charlie_Cheever/1160]Charlie Cheever[/URL] on the Facebook …

Pop quiz: which is the most popular website in the US? For years the correct answer would have been Yahoo, despite everyone thinking it is Google. However, the latest comScore rankings, which list popularity in terms of the unique monthly visitor metric, has Google beating Yahoo for the first time …

I've been following the career arch of corporate raider Carl Icahn for years. The billionaire investor specializes in buying up huge chunks of stocks of volatile companies, then going after the company's board of directors to get the deals he wants. It's worked pretty well with Icahn's investments in companies …