Below, a recap of stories posted today to the Search
Engine Watch Blog, along with other items we’ve spotted but not blogged
separately:
From The SEW Blog…
Google’s
Belgium Fight: Show Me The Money, Not The Opt-Out, Say Publishers
I’ve had a long talk with the group that so far has successfully sued Google
in Belgium over indexing, a talk that leaves me thinking they don’t fully
understand how search engines work and why their arguments over copyright
infringement will ultimately fail. Then again, the case is really about trying
to convince Google it should pay to carry their news content. A closer look at
all this in the story below, as well as an update on the situation in general,
including an appeal for Google that’s been granted….
See
Google Results As If You Are In Another Country
This morning at the Search Engine Roundtable, I reported that you can now
easily Check Your Google Results in Any Country. How? Well, go to oy-oy.eu/google/world/
and then select the locations you want to compare side by side. Danny and I
tested this out and it seems to be working well. Danny is in the UK and I am
in the US, we searched on liar in Google.com, both not signed in to Google. I
then compared the results Danny saw on his screen and I saw on my screen, with
a side by side comparison of the US location…
The
Unchanging Search Interface
Why Search Sucks & You Won’t Fix It The Way You Think from me on my personal
blog Daggle covers a session I did at Euro Foo Camp this week. It looks at how
the search interface of major search engines has largely stayed unchanged over
time. We’re still using what I call the “DOS of Search.” Interestingly, the
Google Base change that just happened is a unique event — the first major
search engine to have an important property without that all-important search
box on the home page. For me, it’s just another sign of how Google Base is…
Again,
The Need For Search Ad Revenue To Stand Alone
Has the search bubble popped, given Yahoo’s warning yesterday about declining
ad revenue? That warning generated a stock plunge that has hit both Yahoo and
Google. No, it’s probably not a search bubble. Instead, it’s a lesson in the
danger of not breaking out search ad revenue from other forms. Exactly as
Robert Scoble notes here, the ad slip at Yahoo is not necessarily a search ad
problem. What Robert calls “banner ads” is more specifically display
advertising, graphical ads that are not pay-per-click text ads that show up in
response to a search. Yahoo has a much bigger display…
Google
Webmaster Central’s Vanessa Fox & Amanda Camp Interviewed
Seattle 24×7 has an excellent conversation with Vanessa Fox and Amanda Camp of
Google on Google Webmaster Central and working at Google. Both Google women
began working at Google in April of 2005 in Seattle. They discuss the
conception of Google Webmaster Central (also known as Google Sitemaps). The
discussion also goes into the 20% time and recruiting Google women. You can
see a picture of the “Seattle’s Sisters of Search” also….
Microsoft To Enter Chinese Market With China Telecom
People’s Daily Online reports in Microsoft opens search market with China
Teleco that Microsoft is starting push their way into the Chinese search
market through a new deal with China Telecom. China Telecom China’s is said to
be China’s largest “network operator and internet provider, providing 25
million customers with broadband service. It has more than 80 million internet
users and over 400 city portal webs.” The deal, in some way, will give the 25
million customers Live Search features (not sure how exactly). As we noted
earlier, Baidu is rocking in China, Google is doing OK and Yahoo is…
Google
Base Drops Search Box As Part Of Usability Improvements
The Google Base Blog announced that they have updated the Google Base home
page to make it easier to use. Garett Rogers over at Googling Google has a
deeper look at those changes. Basically, merchants were confused on the
different options available to them, so Google made it clearer. A significant
change from a searcher’s standpoint is that they have removed the search box
from the Google Base home page. You can still search, but you need to be
within Google Base already to do so, such as from the dashboard. This makes it
probably the first Google search product…
Yahoo
Teams Up With Gore’s Current TV
The news is buzzing about the Current TV and Yahoo partnership. Current TV,
founded by Al Gore, and Yahoo announced the launch of The Yahoo Current
Network. This network is to “combine professional and user-generated video
clips” reports the New York Times. The paper says each show will likely “be
preceded by a 15- or 30-second commercial,” which is the first time Yahoo
“included commercials with user-generated content.” TechCrunch notes that this
video at Yahoo describes a bit more about how the shows will run, and it also
describes “VC2,” viewer created content (i.e. user generated content). The
user contributed…
Zillow
Adds ‘Owner-Generated’ Content
Real estate search site Zillow.com has added personalization features and the
ability for homeowners to publish their own information beside Zillows
home-valuation “Zestimates.” A new “My Zillow” feature allows users to track
homes and save other content to a personal page. Zillow previously allowed
homeowners to modify and/or correct the details, features and amenities of
their homes and recalculate the estimated value. Those details and
modifications can now be made public beside Zillow’s own Zestimate if owners
so choose. Zillow’s Zestimates have been critiqued in some quarters for being
inflated or otherwise inaccurate. This capability will help add more
accurate…
Citysearch Launches in San Diego
Venerable local search provider Citysearch has launched a new site in San
Diego, California. Recently, Citysearch has added “insider lists” (users’
local favorites) and local sales events to its mix of editorial and
user-generated content. After a period of retrenchment, Citysearch traffic is
up and the Citysearch brand appears to be resurgent. The site also provides
all the local content for sister IAC property Ask Local….
Yahoo
CEO Says Ad Growth Slowing Down; Ask.com To Increase Market Share
The Wall Street Journal reports that Terry Semel, Yahoo’s CEO, has warned that
online advertising growth will be slowing in automotive and financial services
industries. He said that there is still growth, but “but they’re not growing
as quickly as we might have hoped at this point in time,” Semel said. On that
news, Yahoo’s shared dropped $3.47, or 12%, to $25.54. Barry Diller, CEO of
IAC, said he can see Ask.com gaining market share, about 8 to 10 percent
share. More details on that story at Reuters.com. Postscript From Danny: See
my follow-up post, Again, The Need For Search…
Customizing Your Own Search Engine
Want to build your own search engine that skews toward your favorite sites or
topic, but don’t have a few billion to start up your own company? No problem:
A number of companies are now offering services that let you tweak their
technology to create a highly personalized search experience for you and your
blog or web site users. More on these services by SEW correspondent Phil
Bradley in today’s SearchDay article, Your Search, Your Way….
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