Googolians

Google Q3 conference call

2006-10-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

After a little bullshitting about deals in the first, canned part of the call, Google's top execs made some great points in the Q&A section of their latest investor conference call.

The first questioner asks why Google doesn't use its cash for future purchases, rather than the $1.65 billion in stock it spent on YouTube. The assumption is that Google's stock is undervalued, so using cash would make a better deal for Google. CFO George Reyes says, "Going forward we're going to use cash."
Co-founder Sergey Brin explains about consolidating products: if Google keeps launching new products, users will have to search for a product to use it -- "you will have to search before you can do a search." Instead he wants to integrate what Google already made. Thus the combined image/web page results for some searches.

A senior VP says Google's video ads are doing great. No mention of whether they're coming to YouTube.
Schmidt won't say whether YouTube will be profitable. "We don't give [financial] guidance."
Schmidt also stonewalls on the reaction of MySpace (which recently signed a near-billion-dollar deal with Google) to the purchase of YouTube.
Why did Google have such a great quarter, unlike its competitors? A senior VP chalks it up to "incredible" product improvements, geographic expansion, and the success of new ad formats.
Brin stretches that annoying "low-hanging fruit" metaphor: "In a sense, you might imagine that the low-hanging fruit have been picked. But in fact, we have at the same time built ladders and are reaching for perhaps even larger, higher-hanging fruit."
Schmidt closes by wishing senior VP Omid Kordestani a happy birthday. Cute.

Google Q3 2006 Earnings Call Transcript

Hackers Taking Too Much Advantage Off Google Code Search?

2006-10-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Security watchers from both sides of the fence have been testing Google's Code Search service to determine whether it can be misused.

Experts at Beyond Security's advisory arm, SecuriTeam, have already discovered that the tool can be used to unearth a treasure trove of vulnerabilities in open source software.

"Like most of Google's tools it can easily be abused for hacking," the SecuriTeam researchers wrote in a blog on the site.

Google Code Search has indexed several billions lines of code from archives hosted on the Web, as well as software control repositories from services like SourceForge and Google Code which host open source projects.

Tom Stocky, a product manager with Google, said at the tool's launch: "We will try to make this useful for everyone from computer science students to serious programmers and even hobbyists and code enthusiasts."

It seems that he forgot to mention hackers. The search tool is also proving to be a source of humour for the geek community.

A number of blogs frequented by coders have already posted a litany of amusing search terms which resulted in comic hits, usually amounting to criticism of coders or 'notes to self' that were presumably never meant to be seen.

Some of the less offensive search terms that return hits on the Google Code Search database include 'In Case Some Idiot', 'The Guy Who Wrote This' and 'I am drunk'.

The Official Google Mac Blog

2006-10-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

We like Google as much as the next guy (unless the next guy works for Microsoft or Yahoo!) but sometimes their Mac support let's us down. It looks like things could be changing since Google just launched the Google Mac Blog. At the moment the blog is pointing to http://www.google.com/mac.html, which lists all the Mac related Google products that are available in one place.

Here's hoping we see support for Macs out of the gate with future Google products.

The Google And YouTube Story May Be A MIstake!

2006-10-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

Everybody's buzzing about Google and YouTube. Stocks went up on the news. Commentators are writing about why it makes so much sense. I'm not so sure.

Mark Cuban points out one big problem: Lawsuits. As if Google weren't being sued enough already (at the last Google Shareholder's meeting, someone asked what the company was being sued for, and head lawyer David Drummond responded, "How much time do you have?") Cuban, who founded the the Web's first popular audio broadcast site, Broadcast.com, and sold it to Yahoo, knows what he's talking about.

What happens when thousands of people who create their own videos start suing Google/YouTube because others keep downloading their videos, which are automatically copyrighted as soon as they're posted? YouTube does downloads, not streams. Most pundits seem to think Google will have blocking technology to deal with that problem. I don't have that much faith in technology, especially when it's attacked by hackers.

Perhaps Google will switch to a streaming model. But unlike Cuban, I also worry strongly about the media companies suing. People are going to be creating mashups of videos, and will post pirated works. It's the direction of the Internet. When there's a copyright violation, who you gonna sue? The company with the deep pockets.

This whole concept of being a content site that lets people post their own stuff is great in theory (that's what blog sites are all about.) But man, you enter into a quagmire when anyone can post anything. Just because Internet companies are now trying to work with established media companies, it doesn't mean they will sit back quietly while their familiar business models disappear. The spirit of Napster still lives in the Internet.

It's going to be bad enough that Google Search will find pirated video all over the Internet. When the stuff is on its own site, the lawsuits will fly. I'm certain there are a lot of lawyers salivating over these trends like drunken sailors on the shores of Tahiti after five years at sea.

I also have a problem with google being in the video posting space for other reasons. It's something that strikes me, finally, as a move that violates Google's original mandate. Google used to avoid being a "media company," instead vowing to send people to other sites to find their content. I think Google may actually manage to keep sending people offsite if the best videos don't reside at home. but why set up the conflict of interest?

People don't seem to get it. Media sites are a great service. But monetizing them is a huge problem. Let/Yahoo be the media/portal. It can't compete with Google, so it may as well step into its own quagmire.

BUT im wrong
look
http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/google_youtube.html

Digg Runs Zune Ads

2006-10-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Take a look at these screenshots of Microsoft Zune ads at the top and side of Digg.com, I didnt think they would run them but they did... I thought they where more of Mac fans than MS.

10 Ways To Be a Better Blogger

2006-10-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

I have seen many articles listing how to become a better blogger, and the latest one on Tech Republic is a little too common sense, but if you are not doing most if not all of these, you better get your act together.

Define your purpose
Create visual appeal
Use the proper tools
Make it easy to navigate
Stay in one place
Engage your readers
Establish a blogging schedule
Keep it concise
Proofread before publishing
Go syndicate yourself

I need to work on a being better at a few of these myself. A good reminder to those that think the are in “the know” when it comes to blogging.

Google Code Search

2006-10-06T13:31:00.001-07:00

Google Code Search is a new search engine created by Google that "helps you find function definitions and sample code by giving you one place to search publicly accessible source code hosted on the Internet". You can restrict your search to a certain language, license, file or package. You can also use regular expressions, so don't forget to escape characters like space (for example, for\ $;;$).

Google does a good job at finding duplicates, and locating a file in a package.

Google Gadgets For Your Webpage

2006-10-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

Google has launched a collection of "Google Gadgets for your webpage" that allows users to browse a gallery of small, web-based devices that display information ranging from calculators to maps to photo galleries.

Upon selecting a Gadget and adjusting the settings, users are then given a string of HTML code to place onto their pages. The Gadgets are distributed free of charge and hosted remotely, so users would not need to upload any data to their web pages other than the widget code.

End users aren't the only target of the expanded Google Gadgets. The company is also attempting to lure developers.

"We're working to connect developers with enthusiastic consumers and to make information universally accessible and useful to the individual user," said Google developer Adam Sah.

Several of the currently available Gadgets offer content from non-Google sites, including Wikipedia and Whitepages.com.

Google hopes that by releasing the Gadgets to users, they can greatly expand the reach of Google Gagdets and bring in more interest from developers.

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open&num=24

Whats SearchMash ?

2006-10-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

SearchMash is a low-profile search tool created by Google that mixes normal search results with Google Images. As shown in this screenshot, the idea is similar to an older version of A9. The Google Operating System has the run-down:

Search results are numbered and you can reorder them. Clicking on the green URL, you'll see a list of options like "cached copy", "similar sites". You don't have click on the search box to type your query. There is no search button, you just have to type enter. Google shows the number of visible search results in the top right corner. Clicking on the "more" link, Google loads a new set of results using Ajax and scrolls to the first result of the new set using a nice animation (this seems broken in Firefox). Actually the entire site uses a lot of JavaScript and Ajax, and it can't be used if you disable JavaScript.

For now, Google will use SearchMash as a place to play around with their technologies, and might be the foundation for a redesigned version of Google's search results.

Blogger Makes 35k A Year?

2006-09-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

indeed is a new site focused on job searches, but they also have a handy tool to let you know the average wages for a job. I put in things like Blogger, Journalist, Reporter, Computer Support Technician, Writer among others and got some interesting figures. I will tell you right now, I make way less blogging than $39,000 a year.

An interesting tool but I question its accuracy. Though it might also be a good way to ask for a raise…

Don't Do It Yourself - Please

2006-09-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

How quickly things can go wrong.

video.google.com/videoplay?docid···=plumber

Get paid to test Google products

2006-09-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Google is soliciting people to use its products and get paid to provide feedback. As part of Google User Experience Research, people will typically be paid $75 an hour for time spent with Google researchers. Participants can also fill out surveys online or answer questions over the phone.

"You'd be helping us to improve Google products, both existing ones and those that are still in development. For example, we might ask you to try out a prototype and give us feedback on it, or we might interview you to help us plan a new product," the Web site's frequently asked questions page says.

Google used to have a "Trusted Tester" program for friends and family of Google employees to test products before they were launched, but the new program may be replacing that one, Garett Rogers speculated in a ZDNet blog.

Google representatives did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

New Google Reader!

2006-09-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

Google Reader got a HUGE update! With a new interface, whole bunch of new features, and a new favorite icon. :D Below is a list of changes,

Expanded view and list view
Simplified sharing functionality
Improved read-state management
Infinite scrolling
Unread counts
Mark all as read
and a bunch more...

Other than the ones listed above, you can now see the number of new updates in the title bar, like the one Gmail has, and from the number next to the "folders" under "Updated Subscribtions". Also, checkout the (new?) Google Reader for Mobile.

Google's Birthday!

2006-09-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

This week we celebrate Google's 8th birthday, and I hope you like the commemorative logo that appears on today's homepage

Google & Saturn Ad

2006-09-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

New Features: Google Calendar

2006-09-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Google's rolling out a lot of new stuffs and updates today, Google Maps Update, Google Transit Update, New Features for Google Notebook, and now, new features for Google Calendar. :D "You can now get some extra information directly in your calendar view — like the upcoming weather, the phases of the moon, and even a heads up when a new Google Doodle appears on Google.com."

The upcoming weather feature is disabled by default, you can enable it in the Setting page, by entering your location and choose either Celsius or Fahrenhe it for "Show weather based on my location".

Steve Irwin's Last Swim

2006-09-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

»youtube.com/watch?v=q1DiCyui1uA

Blog Search

2006-09-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

Exerpts from a recent article i wrote in my blog....At present there is a lot of talk about blogs. About blogs being used in marketing, customized advertising, customer feedback, customer reviews, “word of mouth” marketing, etc. We are all seeing an increase in the number of blogs being created everyday, hundreds of them just cluttering the web space, like remains of past satellites or spacecrafts cluttering space. They don’t have anything significant to say, no contribution, a great majority of them have been “under construction” since years. When I m searching about some topic, blogs come very low in the list, what comes first are established sites like wikipedia, news sites, etc. When I look at blogs many of them are just about a person’s personal life, his/her daily life, now how useful is that? Yes, it’s a medium of expression for the person, but apart from that what else. In this whole clutter of personal, under construction or just blank blogs how do I find something that I m looking for. It’s only by chance that I’ll land up at the right blog at the right time. So how much can the companies advertising on a particular blog actually make? Yes, I know they are paying only per click. But doesn’t that mean all that talk about blogs being a good medium for internet marketing. Blogs are no doubt a good source of information provided we spot the right one when we actually need it. So what’s the future of blogging? I think they are not going to last for long, till someone somewhere comes out with a way to make available all the information at one place. Our own blogger.com does give us a way to search the blog space for a particular topic, but how many of us actually go to blogger.com to search for anything. What if Google adds blogsearch to it main page, just like image search, video search etc. This will give a lot of blogs a new lease of life, and thus blogging a new lease of life. So happy blogging!!!

OHHHHHHHHHHH..............so i m a little late...there is already google blog search...ya ya who can beat those minds.........but i have a question why isnt it on the home page, as blogs are becoming more and more important, the blog search can have a place one the home page...well thats for Google to decide...

Become a Google Lab Rat

2006-09-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

Google has a form up for you to request to become a "User Experience Research" at. Google is "currently looking for Google Page Creator users to participate in a user study to improve our product."

So if you love Google, like to test things, and enjoy Page Creator, then fill out the form.

Regina of Google, posted this request in the Google Groups forum.

She adds,

Just to let you know, filling out the survey doesn't guarantee you'll be contacted.

The Form | Google Groups Discussion

Create Multiple Sites on Google Pages

2006-09-22T18:38:00.001-07:00

You can now create multiple sites on Google Pages, like what you can do in Blogger. Just click on “Create a site with a different address” on the top of the page, and enter the subdomain you want, choose layout and theme, then click on “Create Site”. With this, you can have more than 100 MB on Google Pages without creating a new account.

Google is actually giving wrong examples on how to create a new site… The subdomain should be longer than 6 characters, and the examples are showing “eve” and “frogs”.

Google Pages | via GoogleOS

New on AdSense

2006-09-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Inside AdSense let us know that the AdSense team has revamped your Channel page under your AdSense Setup tab.

Besides cleaning up the design by housing each product on its own sub-tab, we’ve also made it easier for you to take action on your channels. Just select the checkbox next to a channel and then choose to activate, deactivate, remove, or rename the channel you’ve selected.

AdSense also launched the small square, a 200 * 200 size ad format. It will support text, image and video ads.

read more | suggestions? | image by Google

Google Video Updates

2006-09-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

Google Video added two links to the end of every videos that played on Google Video site. The links are "Send link to a friend" and "Post to Blog/Myspace". For posting to blog, you can choose either Blogger, LiveJournal, or TypePad, the embed HTML is no longer there. :( [InsideGoogle]

Also, Google has added a new page for you to find captioned videos, "Selected videos with captions", and videos that with captions will have a icon when you search. The caption feature isn't new, but people rarely use it, you can learn more about how to use it here.

Google AdSense Running in Newsletters

2006-09-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

Google AdSense, according to a DigitalPoint thread covered by Barry Schwartz, seems to be letting select publishers serve Google AdSense ads in newsletters and mass commercial emailings. I’ve tried (as a test) placing Google AdSense in Constant Contact powered emails and the ads were served and targeted almost perfectly.

So, if Google AdSense does work in HTML emails and Google has figured out ways to adjust AdSense click costs via Smart Pricing, why not just allow all email publishers the right to run AdSense ads?

Possibly because email spam is more out in the open on the Internet than AdSense powered Splogs and the public backlash against Google Ads in spam mails could be crippling.

On the other hand, a trusted email publisher working with the AdSense team to throw out some targeted mailings could lead to a new revenue stream for both Google and their Premium Publisher mail partners.

Oh yes, Google’s normal stance on AdSense in emails?

Digital Point Thread | Barry Schwartz

Syndicate Search Is Coming?

2006-09-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Google registered thirty variations of a "syndicated search" domain on the September 15th that hint at an upcoming "syndicated search" feature. When I think syndication, I automatically envision blogs but Google already has Google Blog Search. There are a few possibilities for the meaning of these domains. Google Blog Search could be the recipient of a new name (something similar to Google Syndicated Search), or they are working on a separate service to aggregate all RSS/Atom feeds it can find not necessarily just blogs.

Another possibility (and the one I think is more likely) is support for the OpenSearch format created by A9. The official site for OpenSearch describes it as the following:

OpenSearch is a set of simple formats for the sharing of search results. Any website that has a search feature can make their results available in OpenSearch™ format. Other tools can then read those search results.

OpenSearch basically allows developers to syndicate search results to be consumed by aggregators (like A9 Search or Google if I'm right). Currently, there are over 400 search providers that publish their results using this format they include sites like flickr, New York Times, Wikipedia, imdb and more. If this is what is happening, it would be interesting to see if the feeds integrate with organic search results or if they would be a part of Google Co-op.

Yes, this is all speculation, but when Google registers domains, they are usually getting pretty close to announcing something. If the recent past has any weight, we will be seeing what these domains mean very soon.

Add MSN Cotacts to Gtalk

2006-09-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

GTalk2VoIP is a site that promises to transform Google Talk into a full VoIP application, so you can call from Google Talk to a phone number or from a phone number to Google Talk. Another interesting thing you can do is to talk to a MSN Messenger user and even create a voice conference with users from Google Talk and MSN Messenger (Windows Live Messenger).

You don't need to install a software, you just have to add a contact (service@gtalk2voip.com) and use it as a gateway.

The creator of this service seems to have a lot of interesting ideas, but I hope it won't take too long before Google starts to offer similar features.