March 2003

Google tests distributed computing  - March 27, 2003

Popular Web search company Google this week introduced Google Compute, a new feature of its toolbar that lets Microsoft Windows users donate their otherwise unused processing power to help solve scientific problems.

Google, ad networks team on text ads - March 27, 2003

In the last month, Google's AdWords, or text-link, ads have started appearing on sites belonging to Web publishers that are members of major ad networks, including Fastclick and Burst Media--which combined represent sales of ad space on nearly 24,000 sites. Google said it started syndicating ads to Fastclick and Burst, among others, as part of a test of its newly minted service to place text ads on pages selected for their relevance to a marketer's products or services.

Now you can Sesha i-Google and Google Uphendlo
- March 27, 2003

Translate.org.za has translated Google's home page into Zulu and Xhosa as part of its ongoing campaign to translate Internet content and software into SA's official languages.

No Plans to Take Google Public  March 26, 2003

Sergey Brin, the company's president and co-founder, said he's thought a lot about taking the popular search site public, but currently the cons outweigh the pros.

Adwords and other Pay Per Clicks Changing Search Engines - March 25, 2003

Ken Abbott knows the ins and outs of search engine marketing: Dollars for clicks are in, directory listings are out.

Abbott, head of Web marketing for Integramed.com, which sells infertility treatments, considers obtaining an editorial listing in Yahoo's directory "a waste of time," given that 95 percent of his site's traffic comes from pay-per-click advertising in search networks Overture and Google.

Google ramps up Australian presence - March 25, 2003

Google has boosted staff numbers in Australia, and announced partnerships with Fairfax and News Limited online networks.

Fairfax's online business f2 and News Interactive, owned by News Limited (publisher of Australian IT), have both entered partnerships with the world's biggest search engine.

Web pros search Google to keep track of
friend and foe March 25, 2003

Savvy Web users are using Google (www.google.com) and other powerful Web search tools to track down or keep tabs on long-lost acquaintances -- be they former lovers, classmates, friends or enemies.

These searches, which once might have required hiring a private detective, have become increasingly easy as the amount of data available on the Web grows. Sites like AltaVista (www.altavista.com), which indexed about 20 million Web pages when it was founded in the mid-1990s, now has information on billions of pages.

Google broadens search overseas - March 20, 2003

BusinessWeek

The company will power search results for visitors to one of the largest Web sites in South Korea, heating up the competition with Google's chief rival there.

Could Google Have Saved theglobe.com? -
March 19, 2003

"Google could have made theglobe profitable," declared Tim Armstrong, Google's vice president of U.S. sales.

Paid search, the bright spot of the Internet advertising industry in 2002, is poised to become an even hotter commodity in the years ahead. Piper Jaffray forecasts the worldwide search industry will generate $2.1 billion this year, growing to $7 billion in 2007.

Google's Human Touch - March 19, 2003

TechTV

In the good 'ol days, if you had a question you'd head to the library, do your research, and if you were still stumped, the nice librarian with the horn-rimmed glasses would help. Not anymore. Search engines such as Google have largely replaced those library trips.

Google's Offspring: Taking Baby Steps - March 19, 2003

BusinessWeek

With Google News and Froogle in their early stages of testing and tweaking, they offer unique experiences but still have a way to go to offer the user friendliness of direct competitors Yahoo and AOL.

At this stage in the game Froogle is simple a product search engine with few of the user friendly comforts of Yahoo Shopping.  Froogle doesn't offer the convenience of being able to store credit card numbers and save items to a shopping cart for future purchase or have  product comparison features like DealTime

Google News is a different beast.  It is unrivaled in the number and variety of sources it searches for news.  At the moment its biggest drawback is the lack of customization.  It would be nice to be able to create your own custom news feed tailored to your interests.

I have disagreed with some of the viewpoints of Business Week in the past but this time they have it right.

I like Google news and have only used Froogle occasionally.  Both offerings are not at 100% and Google does point out that both are in the Beta stages.

I'm sure once they get the search algorithms right you will see a few more features added.

Google and Overture Search for Tomorrow - March 19, 2003

TheStreet.com

An overview of the paid search market with Google and Overture leading the charge.

Despite their dominance, new players in the industry such as Espotting, are taking aim and hope to grab a share of the market in the next several years.

Google becomes university's official search engine - March 19, 2003

Stanford.edu

Google becomes Stanford University's official search engine.

Interesting that Stanford has been using an Inktomi based search engine and has just now adopted Google, the search engine created at the University!

Excellent Google Tutorials and Articles -
March 19, 2003

TopSiteListings.com

This site has several very useful google tutorials and articles ranging from PageRank, the importance of Google in your Search engine optimization campaign and understanding the Google dance and update cycle.

Very useful information for the newbie and veterans may be able to find a few useful tid-bits to improve your optimization efforts.

• Google.com - An In-Depth Look at the Search Engine Giant
• Google Update Window Of Opportunity
• If Increasing Visitors Is Vital - Target Google.com
• Understanding and Building Google PageRank

How Google Grows...and Grows...and Grows
March 18, 2003

Fast Company

Article focuses on the intense motivation and commitment Google's employees have for the company.

It is refreshing to see a  company put its customers first. By allowing us to test new technologies before they are ready for prime time, Google is able to get  almost instantaneous feedback on whether they have a success or failure on their hands.

According to Google, failure is good. Good failures are better.

Fascinating.  If only I had the cranial capacity to work there!

Google Censorship - How It Works - March 17,2003

An interesting article on how Google might use its technology to suppress certain web pages from search results based on local government standards.

Includes links to other papers on the topic.

Agog about Google: Europeans tag along -
March 17,2003

IHT.com

Question: How are Internet businesses competing with the Web searcher Google in Europe? Answer: By doing other things.

Few of Google Inc.'s European counterparts have been able to take on the American Web pop star that has over the past two years so handily won over searchers for key words on the Internet. As a result, many European sites often choose to work with, not against, the popularity of Google.

Google's rivals face daunting challenge - March 13, 2003

I'm tired of Google. Its ubiquity is starting to become irritating. Not satisfied with being the world's most popular search engine, Google has expanded into news, e-commerce and advertising. Google has even become a verb to describe doing research on something or somebody. In other words, Google is everywhere.

On the Web, Google has become the search engine equivalent of America Online at its peak. When the Web started to enter the mainstream in the mid-1990s, millions of people (at least in the U.S.) gravitated towards AOL for Internet access, even though it was more expensive than most dial-up rivals. AOL was seen as the way to get online.



'Google Stalkers' Troll for Lost Acquaintances - March 13, 2003

Savvy Web users are using Google (news - external web site) (http://www.google.com) and other powerful Web search tools to track down or keep tabs on long-lost acquaintances -- be they former lovers, classmates, friends or enemies.

These searches, which once might have required hiring a private detective, have become increasingly easy as the amount of data available on the Web grows. Sites like AltaVista (http://www.altavista.com), which indexed about 20 million Web pages when it was founded in the mid-1990s, now has information on billions of pages.



Discounters gain ground on Google - March 13, 2003

ServiceMagic's decision to stop using the word "Realtor" in its advertising copy could prove beneficial for national online brokerage companies and local commission discounters that also advertise on Google.com.

That's the view of ServiceMagic CEO Rodney Rice, who pulled the trademarked word from the company's advertising on the popular Google search engine and elsewhere after being pressured to do so by a small but insistent group of Realtors.

Google search ends in Dublin - March 13, 2003

Leading search company Google will establish its European headquarters in Dublin Ireland.

More that 200 jobs will be created and the new center will serve Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Similar Stories:

Google picks European headquarters

Tech body welcomes Google jobs news

Search Guiding More Web Activity - March 13, 2003

WebSideStory on Tuesday released data that showed search engines and direct navigation make up the lion's share of referrals to Web sites.

According to the data culled from WebSideStory's StatMarket Web site optimization service, search engines generated 13.4 percent of site referrals on the day measured, up from 7.1 percent measured a year earlier. Direct navigation also rose in the StatMarket sample, growing to 65.5 percent versus 50.1 percent a year earlier. Web links, on the other hand, fell from 42.6 percent to 21 percent.

Google: a do-it-yourself hacking tool for the masses - March 13, 2003

While recent large and recurring security exploits are taking most of the attention these days, there are more and more people discovering novel new ways to 'hack' for fun and profit using the Internet's favorite surfing tool: the search engine.

Smart Search Engine Tactics: - March 13, 2003

Need to learn more about search engine marketing? David Hallerman explains the various ways in which you can optimize your company's site for better search engine placement, and also highlights why it's important

Web companies searching for dollars - March 13, 2003

The search box is becoming dominant in all areas of the Web for news, finance, shopping, personals and jobs; and Yahoo is committed to making the most of the opportunity, according to the company's vice president of search, Tim Cadogan.

"Search is working so well from a user point of view and from a business perspective," Cadogan said in a keynote address at the Search Engine Strategies conference here Wednesday. "So Web search is spreading."



Visualizing Google - March 13, 2003


A company specializing in uncovering criminal connections and terrorist networks has released a visualization tool that reveals hidden relationships in Google search results.

anacubis, a subsidiary of intelligence analytic software company i2 Group, has made its Google Viewer available for free download today.

The anacubis Viewer automatically represents "entities," such as people, organizations and locations, as small graphic icons. It then shows the relationships between entities as specialized link types -- for example, president, business type, address, and so on.



Disney to Use Google Web Search Technology - March 13, 2003

The Walt Disney Co. DIS.N said on Monday it chose Google Inc.'s Web search technology for a number of the media conglomerate's Internet sites, giving closely held Google a win against its key rival.

In particular, the move unseats Google competitor Overture Services Inc.OVER.O on Disney's Go.com gateway Web site and underscores how competitive Internet search has become due to the rise of services -- referred to as "paid search," "paid listing," or "paid placement" -- that help advertisers place promotions that look like Web search results prominently among other search results.

Let's Google each other - March 13, 2003


New York - "Googling" has become the latest fashion for increasing numbers of information-hungry Americans using the internet search engine Google to find out more about each other.

Of the 150 million questions, the majority are from individuals trying to investigate other individuals.

Google Flotation Could End Search For New Star

Not since Netscape has one company created this much buzz around Silicon Valley.

It is nearly eight years since the web browser's stock market listing kicked off an investment boom, and four since it succumbed to a takeover by America Online. Squashed by Microsoft, Netscape now has only a 5 per cent share of the browser market.

This time, say the Valley faithful, it will be different.



Google closes Blogger security holes

Internet search giant Google confirmed this week that it
closed several security holes that could have allowed
hackers to substitute their own musings for any of the over one-million electronic diaries maintained through the
popular "Blogger" online publishing tool.



How Blogger could do more than improve Google's Web searches.

Why did Google buy Blogger? Ever since the news leaked a few weeks ago, the Web has been awash with speculation. So far, most theorizing has focused on the ways that Blogger could enhance Google's ability to search for Web pages. But the Blogger acquisition could open up an entirely new service for Google. Instead of just helping you find new things, Google could help you keep track of what you've already found. Right now Google is a kind of information detective, and a brilliant one at that. But it could be something more: an extension of your memory.



O'Reilly Now Shipping "Google Hacks" Book

O'Reilly & Associates has published a new book dedicated to improving internet searching, "Google Hacks". Written by Tara Calishain and Rael Dornfest, the book is a tool
designed to improve a readers understanding of how Google works and how to get the most out of the popular search engine. According to O'Reilly & Associates:



Google launches new advertising service

Google has announced a new content-targeted advertising service that extends advertiser reach and makes web pages more useful by replacing untargeted ads with relevant sponsored links. This results in an improved user experience and increased revenue for website publishers.



Alltheweb Sports Similar Look To Google

Move over Google, alltheweb Internet search engine recently bought by Overture Inc is now similar looks to Google and added Extra features.



Google's Popularity Makes it a Media Target

The e-mail came into my in-box innocently enough, something about uber-search champ Google winning another award. Hold a moment. Upon further review, it seems that Google is being nominated for Privacy International's Big Brother award -- a dubious honor it probably wouldn't want to flaunt in the trophy case.



'Reassurance' a key word as Google grows

Google is known and loved for its impressive Web search
tool, but now the company is beginning to face some probing questions about its plans as it branches into new areas.



Google: You Ain't Seen Targeting Like This
Before

Search engine Google announced yesterday
that it has begun serving advertisers' links on other Web
sites based on the subject matter of the pages viewed....

Google claims the service will deliver ads so targeted that
it can help Web site publishers sell even remnant or
run-of-site inventory because advertisers will see a return
on investment from such inventory similar to that of
Google's successful paid-search-advertising service.

Google, the Internet search company, has begun an automated program that expands its business by selling and delivering ads on other websites.

The privately held company said in a statement that its new automated content-targeted ad service identifies the focus of a Web page and then automatically serves relevant ads.
 

(news archives)