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...
- Daily
SearchCast, June 27, 2006: School Upset Over Student Data In Google; Is GBuy
GooglePal?; Microsoft adCenter Gets Promoted; New Travel Search Engines; The
Matt Cutts Doll & More!
Today's search podcast covers a school district's student social security numbers getting into Google; Amazon.com going missing on Google; Google's PayPal-like system about to launch; Microsoft promotes adCenter with advertisements and lab tools; new travel search engines to try; dress up Matt Cutts and more! -
Microsoft Demographics Prediction Tool Interactive Review
We posted about Microsoft Center Labs once again, but this time I wanted to show you, my eight-minute review of the demographics prediction tool at the lab. I created a movie of my running through the tool and uploaded it to YouTube. Now, before you watch the video, keep in mind that the percentages I discussed in the video may be determined as a "confidence" ratio and not a simple flat percentage -- you will see what I mean. In any case, there is no way that google.com has predominantly a female audience, with a confidence ratio of 1.00 and. - Image
Database To Fight Online Child Porn
The AP reports that AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, EarthLink, NetZero and Juno are teaming up to fight child pornography. They are pooling together $1 million to build a database of pornographic images of children and software to match the image database with similar matches on their own networks. So Yahoo may scan email attachments, Yahoo Groups images and other places in the Yahoo network where images may be. If any of the images match an image in the database, it can be flagged and sent to the authorities. The exact details of the software and how it will be used have... - New
Players in Travel Search Threaten to Disrupt Status Quo
Travel search has improved enormously over the past several years, but serious travellers still find themselves checking multiple web sites to make sure they're getting the best deal. That may change with the launch of two new services that use historical and predictive data to not only find the best prices for specific flights, but also to suggest the best dates on which to purchase your tickets. Brian Smith has more about the new services in today's SearchDay article, New Players in Travel Search.... -
Microsoft Re-Launches adCenter Labs Again
Been hearing about the "new" Microsoft adCenter Labs tools this week? That's because Microsoft has done another round of publicity on them after initially launching them earlier this month. Our past recap is here and here.... - Still No
Results Found For A Google Search on Amazon.com
John Battelle asked why Google was/is returning no results for a search on [amazon.com] at 9am (PST, I think) yesterday. At the time, I felt it wasn't a huge deal, these things happen on occasion at Google, normally not for such a large brand, but it happens, nevertheless. What is a bit surprising is that Google is obviously aware of the issue, based on John telling us Google contacted him with a confirmation of the issue, but Google has yet to fix the issue, almost a day later. LeeAnn Prescott at the HitWise blog provides some value statistical insight into... - Google's
PayPal-Rival GBay Looks Set To Launch This Week
We've had rumors that Google would launch its own PayPal-like payment system this week. Widely reported as GBuy, the Wall Street Journal has a few further details of what looks to be coming any day now....
Other Things We Read, Didn't Blog But You Might Want To Read...
- Best Blog on Search Marketing by MarketingSherpa, Search Engine Roundtable (congrats, Barry!)
- Spotlight on Search - Interview with Daron Babin of WebmasterRadio.FM, Search Engine Guide
- Yahoo's 'Nobel' pursuit: The battle for brains to manage the bits, MarketWatch
- Google Desktop Gadget Contest, Google
- YouTube Tries to Build a Lasting Business, Wall Street Journal
- Protecting children online, Official Google Blog
- More of the world in your pocket, Official Google Blog
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Google AdSense Tests Images Blended in Text Ads, Search Engine Journal
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Berlin Search Engine Workshop, Google Blogoscoped
- Windows Live Spaces to Debut July 15, BetaNews
- GenieKnows? GenieLocal.com Running Verizon Superpages Advertisements, Search Engine Journal
- Bad Clients: Three Warning Signs, Search Engine Roundtable
- Leo Hindery's death sentence for the portals, Tech Confidential (sorry, Leo Hindery, Google and Yahoo aren't going to fold because content providers will steal back visitors. That didn't work in 1999; it's less likely to work today).
- The Zoom List (Beta): An Autonomously Built Directory of Companies, Products and Services from ZoomInfo: Resource Shelf
- Interview with Yahoo's Bradley Horowitz and Caterina Fake, Read/WriteWeb
- Google-eBay venture promoting free Wi-Fi with sale of $5 routers, Seattle Post Intelligencer
- Big Google Ideas Generated Here [Google's Seattle-Area Office], The Seattle Times
- Content Planning for Search Engine Optimization, SEO By The Sea
- Microsoft's Cadillac of Online Ads, BusinessWeek
- UK mobile phone users can now access Google news and email, The Guardian (heck, I always could before)
- Google Searches for a Home in China, BusinessWeek
- Search Engine Results and Sociopolitical Controversy, Traffick
- Ad Agencies Battle Search Engine Optimization, Reality SEO
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