Archive for Michael Boland

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Local and Social: It's all Coming Together
Google and Bing strike deals giving them access to real-time social feeds. What does it mean for the future of local search? Oct 30, 2009
Mobile Search Discovers a New Path: mobilepeople
The latest mobile search products have elements of push and pull that represent this interplay of local search and discovery. Those that win the land rush currently underway will balance these in the most publisher-, advertiser-, and user-friendly ways. Oct 2, 2009
Location-Based Services: Discovering Old and New Paths
Search has improved content delivery and ad performance over many existing media, due to clearer expression of user intent. But does the mobile device possess capabilities that can make it even more effective? Sep 4, 2009
Surrounded by Search Engines: A New Kind of Mobile Search
Voice search could have a bright future in mobile, and even evolve beyond the phone itself. An area known as speech controlled Internet devices (SCIDs) transforms the myriad electronics that surround into their own little search engines. Aug 7, 2009
Google Evolutions: Clouds, Waves, and Shiny Metal
Google's Chrome OS is getting quite a bit of hype this week. But this time it may be at least partially deserved, though it's more evolutionary than revolutionary. Jul 10, 2009
The Future of the Mobile Web: To App or Not to App?
Improved capabilities of the Safari mobile browser in the latest iPhone have lots of implications for mobile local search. They essentially make it easier to build mobile products without having to spend time and money on native app development. Jun 12, 2009
Twitter and Local Search: A Status Update
Twitter search brings structure to all the noise with an index of real time conversations. but is the excitement around Twitter causing us to force unnatural mashups, as with local search? May 15, 2009
Skype Dials in to Local Search
The online phone service will spin off as an independent company next year, giving it a greater ability to redefine itself. Local search could be one way to do this, tying Skype in with a local search engine with click-to-call functionality. Apr 17, 2009
Getting Closer to Mobile Local Search's Day
The year of mobile has perpetually been on the horizon, proving time and time again to only be a desert mirage. Now we're closer than ever, but the market is understandably cautious of bold claims about mobile search and location-based services. Mar 20, 2009
Replicating the Web: Will Google Dominate Mobile Search?
With mobile Web publishers, Google is following the same path it did online many years ago: Partnering with publishers to share ad inventory and planting its search box all over the place. Feb 20, 2009
Of Local Search, Love Meters, and Raking Leaves
This week saw a series of events and announcements that indicate more love for local search, despite a continually faltering economy. Jan 16, 2009
Local Search: Where's the Love?
Local search sometimes seems like Rodney Dangerfield: It can't get no respect. But there have also been glimmers of hope for local, if you watch closely enough. Dec 19, 2008
Searching for Something to Watch
TV and search are converging. Finding something good to watch could soon be more like online search, and less like browsing through a cable channel guide. Nov 21, 2008
The Future of Online Ads: Location, Location, Location
Location awareness -- the concept that a device knows exactly where it is -- is changing the way mobile search works. Search applications are being developed to tap into this capability and serve more locally relevant content. The next steps will be for national advertisers and ad networks to serve ads that are actually useful and actionable for local users. Oct 24, 2008
When will ROBO's Time Come?
"Research online, buy offline," (ROBO) is the concept that a growing volume of product research is happening online while the majority of buying remains offline in physical stores. A growing number of local search engines are basing their business model on the concept. But why haven't ROBO features picked up on a mass market level? Sep 26, 2008
For Local Search, It's All About the Online-Offline Gap
The need to bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds is a key issue in local search. Though search volume continues to rise and capture a growing percentage of product research, more than 95 percent of actual purchase behavior in the U.S. still takes place offline. Aug 29, 2008
Has Mobile Local Search Finally Arrived?
Can the iPhone and Google's Android fix the limitations that have plagued mobile advertising and mobile search? It could take a couple years to really get moving, but after a long period of being rusted shut, it appears that the wheels are finally starting to creak forward on local mobile search. Aug 1, 2008
What Can TV Learn from Search?
A few television and cable companies appear to have taken a page from the online marketing playbook. But if television networks are to take a page from the Internet, they should take the entire page. In other words it's not just effective placement, but direct response capability that has made search marketing shine. Jul 11, 2008
The 3G iPhone: Good Things Come in Threes
Social media has been positioned by many as a killer app for mobile, along with local search. The combination of all three -- mobile, local, and social -- makes sense, as they go hand in hand in lots of situations. The new 3G iPhone could introduce entirely new ways to think about mobile, and a whole new batch of mobile products built on them. Jun 13, 2008
Black, White, and Blue all Over
The LA Times is in the midst of an aggressive online product rollout. If anyone should be able to build solid local content sites, it's newspapers. It's their game to lose, with a sizeable but quickly closing head start, as publishers across the country sit on their hands. May 9, 2008