SES Chicago - December 7-11, 2009

December 12, 2005

New Google Catalogs Database Now Live

That was fast. Via Google Blogoscoped word that Google Catalogs, you know, the one that went offline last week, is now back online. The wonderful Phillip L. even has a screen cap that shows the new and old interfaces.

My post from last week has a bit on the history of Google Catalogs and how the database grew stale over time.

At one point, Google Catalogs contained about 6,600 catalogs. The new Google Catalogs site does not list the amount of catalogs listed in the new database. The advanced search interface remains the same as what was available before the retooling. However, I did notice that at one time the advanced interface offered a SafeSearch filter that you could use on a per search basis. Here's a screen cap from 2004 that illustrates what I'm talking about. The current advanced interface does not offer this search option.

Posted by Gary Price at 5:06 PM | Permalink

December 7, 2005

Google Catalogs Goes Offline for Retooling

In the past 24 hours or so one of Google's most useful and different tools went offline for what appears to be a retooling. The Google Catalogs site, once home to more than 6,600 scanned (see MSN Cache), full text, searchable, and browsable catalogs is not currently available. However, the Google Catalog site does say the service is being updated and will be "up and running again shortly."

I have a hunch (no official word whatsoever) that it will not be very long as Google is still asking merchants to send in their catalogs for free scanning.

Google Catalogs is/was not only useful (save a tree kind of thing) but also a great demo of ocr scanning technology that I would think has some place in the Google Book Search/Google Library Project. Google Catalogs went live in and hit the 6000 catalog mark in May 2003. It has been very evident that the database had not been updated in quite a long time. For example, back in May of 2004 I posted on ResourceShelf about how out of date so many of the catalogs were and asked if the service was kaput. Well, some 13 months later it looks like works is being done to bring the service back.

Since we're on the topic of useful scanned material, I hope Amazon.com does some updates and expansion of their restaurant menu scanning program. Very useful.

Google Catalogs debuted in December 2001. Stay tuned!

Posted by Gary Price at 9:50 PM | Permalink

October 11, 2005

Is Google Catalogs Poised for A Comeback? What About Amazon Restaurants?

Could Google Catalogs be on its way back to being a useful service? According to this article: Google Revamping Catalog Search Section, from Multichannel Merchant the folks in Sunnyvale sent an auto-response to the magazine saying that Google is aware that the database hasn't been updated in a while (understatement) and their engineering team is working to restrcture the database and hopes to have new catalogs posted on the site in upcoming months. Well, I don't like being a cynic, but actions speak lounder than words, we will have to wait and see.

Currently, the Google Catalogs homepage lists 6,600 catalogs but doesn't list how many, if any, have been updated recently. For example, the L.L. Bean catalog in the database is from two years ago. The Dell catalog is from August, 2003. The 6,600 total catalog count has been online since early 2004. Google Catalogs launched in January 2002 and allowed any merchant to submit their catalog for keyword searching. In other words, printed catalog would be coverted into machine-readable text and then be searched and browsed online. Very cool, useful, and maybe enviromentally friendly (save a tree). I always thought it could also be a profit center for Google. Consumers could search/browse online and then, if they purchase on order online or over the phone Google would get a cut.

I wouldn't at all be surprised if some of the concepts and scanning technqiues used for Google Catalogs are now being used for Google Print.

Around the same time, Amazon.com introduced Amazon Restaurants that allows users to keyword search menus from restaurants in several major cities. Most of the menus currently listed are out of date. No word if this VERY useful service might also return.

Posted by Gary Price at 3:38 PM | Permalink

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