What the heck is Google up to?
MHenry, the Page Editor for the Experts-Exchange
Macromedia products group, wonders what the search giant is thinking.
What do you do when you have one of the best brands on the Internet? From
watching Google recently, it looks like you should run it into the ground.
We're all familiar with Google's recent IPO and the meteoric rise of its
stock. For the last several years, most technology companies have been
waiting for the smoke to clear before even considering going public. Google's
IPO was a thing of beauty; it gave hope to us all that the days of island
vacations and stock options were on their way back. Of course, that hasn't
happened and from the looks of things, it won't.
Google had been a blueprint of how to market an internet company. While
other companies were selling smoke and mirrors and burning through venture
capital, Google wasn't selling anything. With few-if any-missteps, Google
became the search engine of choice and a media darling. Like a case study
of marketing success, Google seemed to do everything right. Recently though,
I've seen some cracks in the shell. I may just be yelling, "The sky is
falling," but I've got to admit, I don't understand what Google is up
to.
I did a search a couple of weeks ago looking for Photoshop tutorials.
One of the sites I went to was serving up Google ads. I rarely look at
ads but these caught my eye specifically because they were served by Google.
I was shocked at what I saw: Out of four ads on the page, two were obvious
scams. One was offering the infamous $25 copy of Photoshop and the other
was one of those "Get a free Ipod, Plasma TV, computer, etc." I'm sure
Google is taking a similar stand to newspapers who deny any culpability
in the help wanted ads that promise $250K a year to work at home, but
I don't think that will wash. When you have a brand as strong as Google
you shouldn't be watering it down with garbage like this. Would you expect
to see ads from Microsoft, IBM or Intel offering Photoshop for free?
There have been other cracks in the Google brand lately. When Google introduced
GMail, its free email service, articles popped up everywhere questioning
the security of the service. Google also offered search software that
would help you find files on your computer. Again, security issues were
raised. Just imagine any company having access to your email and all the
files on your computer. Given the recent security breaches at banks and
credit card processing companies, it's easy to understand why people were
concerned.
So what did Google do to bounce back from all the recent missteps? What
any good company would do, they gave us old technology in a shiny new
box. Google did the unexpected and began to mimic some of Yahoo's offerings,
maps, driving directions, free Email, etc. There's a good marketing decision:
Copy the company you just beat out in your core business.
I guess I'm a little jaded but I don't understand all the fuss about their
new satellite map service. Remember, about 6 to 8 years ago there was
some other company that came out with satellite images. Most of us looked
at our house, maybe even at the house of the girlfriend who dumped us
in college and then we moved on. And that company was trying to charge
for the service. Outside of land speculators, I don't really see anyone
paying for this service. Granted, Google did it better and faster and
the technology is damn impressive, but it's still the same service for
which most of us were unwilling to pay. Of course, if they're just hoping
to serve more ads, it may pay off. And at least the image of the moon
with a surface of cheese was good for a chuckle.
People are also wondering where Google is heading with the search engine.
I recently ran across a discussion relating to a patent application that
Google supposedly filed. In this forum, people are discussing how Google
may be ranking pages based on the freshness of content. If true, this
is a huge mistake. Sure, it makes sense if you're looking for news articles,
but if you're the average shopper looking for a deal on presents for Johnny's
birthday, freshness is probably not the most significant factor in your
search. In fact, it may be that this will increase search engine spamming.
Most of the SMB market doesn't have the budget or the technical knowledge
to continually update their pages in the hope of achieving higher rankings.
That means, only people with budgets to burn will get the high rankings:
Big companies and spammers.
To be fair, I've also read that the freshness isn't of prime importance;
that as long as new links are added, most sites will be ok without updating.
We can only hope this is the case. One thing seems to be clear: The shine
is off the apple.
When Google first started listing ads on searches, most of us were unsurprised.
We all knew they had to come up with a revenue model that would work.
The good news was, it seemed like serving ads was going to be all they
needed. Apparently, it's not enough. In the pursuit of becoming all things
to all people, Google is sliding down the same slippery slope where many
companies have stumbled. Let's hope they can clean up the garbage ads,
focus on their core competency and return to the glory days.
moose – Fri, 03 Sept 2005 15:16
some you win, some you don’t
Snd some
are messed up by the weather.
Would it not be sensible to change the rules of cricket to add an extra
day in the event of a rained off day, or at least put an extra half-day
on. Better still, count the number of wickets fallen at the end of the
game and if the team behind on runs has lost more wickets, declare them
the loosers?
No? Ok, probably just me.
moose – Fri, 15 Aug 2005 23:04
If you follow me...
In response to lastminute.com/manchester
I thought I would have a look for Birmingham?
and it made me laugh.
moose – Fri, 22 Jul 2005 18:42
Is the world Going MAD?
I wonder, is it ever OK to shoot
anyone?
Surely when you have someone pinned to the floor, you can arrest them
without having to kill them first! Oh, and is it necessary to call the
ambulance once you have unloaded half a clip into someone’s back?
moose – Fri, 22 Jul 2005 18:42
birthday thoughts
You know you are getting older when... Birthdays are
no longer exciting ...You can’t think what you want except some
mundane things you need ...You don’t get an awful lot and you don’t
mind a bit.
Happpy 27th Birthday me!
moose – Wed, 20 Jul 2005 11:57
conspiracy theory
Call me a conspiracy theorist but I find these opinions
rather interesting!
9/11 and Five Major Coincidences
moose – Wed, 20 Jul 2005 11:55
all too easy?
Is it just me or does this look like it was a little
too easy to find the suspects? Perhaps the police are trying to pin it
on people as quick as possible? Does it not strike you as a bit odd that
"His driving licence and cash cards were found in the mangled wreckage
of the bus." and: "Documents belonging to Mohammed Sadique Khan
were found in the debris of the Edgware Road blast" Who would take
their documents and driving license etc when they wanted to blow up a
bus or train? Why not leave a trail direct to the perpetrators? Either
they have been framed, they have set off the bombs and deliberately left
belongings there to be found and so people will think they are dead when
they are actually planning further atrocities or something else funny
is going on. It all seems to be a bit too easy for the police. But that
is just my opinion!
‘Ordinary’
lives of bomb suspects
moose – Wed, 13 Jul 2005 20:45
wake up sleepy head
Not an uncommon site as I leave work at almost any time
of day!
moose – Thu, 07 Jul 2005 09:11
Oh Dear Prime Minister
"...I was trying to do some work on the G8 stuff..."
Tony
Blair’s comments after the announcement that London
was chosen as the city to host the 2012 Olympics.
"...the G8 ‘Stuff’..." what a dismissive throwaway
line!
moose – Wed, 06 Jul 2005 19:56
weird weird weird
News doesn't come much stranger than this: False
breasts betray exam cheats
moose – Mon, 04 Jul 2005 19:50
"Smash the granny out if
it"
Max Beesley on what he hoped Robbie Williams would do
for his set at the Live
8 Concert Hyde Park!
Strikes me as a slightly unusual and possibly inappropriate sentiment,
yet Mr Beelsey used the term as blithely as he might say "have a
nice day", and it fairly tripped off his tongue without any hesitation
or space for thought. Maybe that tells us something about Max.
moose – Mon, 04 Jul 2005 19:50
Free iPod?
I am Sceptical but... get
yours here
There has been various press articles about this free
iPod giveaway, BBC
have flagged it as a new wave of getting young consumers hooked on certain
products by offering them a free
iPod. Personally, I doubt if it really is true, it sounds too good
to be true so it probably is.
But if you are willing to humour me and give it a whirl, mail me your
address and I’ll tell you if I ever get a free
iPod so you know if it’s worth referring loads of people to.
moose – Fri, 24 Jun 2005 11:06
Wine
Here’s a fine thing; "spainforwine.co.uk"
It's a place where you can get some really special spanish wines, not
just the run of the mill stuff. You may not have heard of any of the regions
(I hadn’t), but I'm pretty sure that it is all sourced from individual
vineyards (100% grape, no blended stuff) and it tastes fantastic to say
the least.
I thoroughly recommend the Juan
Gil Monastrell 2003, we had a bottle (well half, as I was forbidden
to drink any more) tonight and every mouthful tasted better than the last.
It was spicy and distinctly fruity whilst having a nice bit of body and
a solid aftertaste. Delicious, oh, and 14.5%!!!
moose – Sat, 18 Jun 2005 02:25
Haka
With Reference to these articles from "Robbo"
at the BBC: Just
bec-Aus you're losing!(last paragraph) and How
to respond to the Haka
I think that a spot of "Riverdance" would be in order as a response
to the Haka.
"Scene 5
The brute power of elemental forces, beyond human control, beyond human
understanding."
Sounds about right for the Jonah Lomu’s of this world!
Imagine it, or perhaps a bit of line-dancing.
(All images used without kind permission
from www.riverdance.com but they
do get a free link and a bit of publicity!)
moose – Thu, 16 Jun 2005 21:13
Support the KBA movement
The following article - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/barnet/4369593.stm
sparked me to make another entry in this currently rather moribund blog
I'm rather mad that although Barnet
Football Club are likely to win the conference by a mile, they may
not be allowed into the football league due to the ageing stadium (not
that they haven’t tried to do something about it!)
It seems like another of those social injustices that are becoming more
common. Probably just a load of political claptrap for example, Mr John
Prescott MP [meddling pratt] (& nosy parker) has again pushed his
nose in where it was never wanted by quashing the redevelopment of copthall
stadium (which would have been an excellent project) in much the same
way as he has stuck his unwanted and unusually large facial appendage
to block Ikea’s plans for a stockport
store. Because of course Mr Prescott lives in stockport and knows
all about the area doesn’t he?! (the correct answer is no)
moose – Fri, 25 Mar 2005 15:39
Plain weird
This message was left on our answerphone on Thursday
while we were out. Our outgoing message is:
"Thanks for calling Alex, Kate & Jacob, Please leave us a message
after the tone."
answerphone.wav
"The British Gas"?
moose – Thu, 18 Nov 2004 21:25
Scary
Jacob telephoned the police today. He is still only
8 months old!
moose – Tues, 09 Nov 2004 14:42
Irony
Kate would say I am using the word inappropriately but
I think it ironic that, having initiated the purchase of a group of computers
to keep costs down, the only computer of the six that were ordered that
fails tests and isn’t ready on time is mine!!
moose – Mon, 13 Sept 2004 19:35
Time wasting
Another Mad Video
from Mooseworks!
moose – Thurs, 03 June 2004 18:09
To Let
Check out the blue smaller text!
moose – Thurs, 03 June 2004 18:09
I have...
An unhealthy fascination for dead things at the moment.
moose – Tues, 01 June 2004 11:09
Bluetooth
Vodafone were kind enough to upgrade my phone to a SonyEricsson
T630 and supply it with a bluetooth headset free of charge which I thought
was rather nice of them although I am still waiting for the headset.
So I bought a bluetooth USB dongle to synchronise appointments
between phone and laptop and enable me wireless / roaming web browsing.
It does most other things that I currently don’t
need but I can’t get it to do the two things I do want! I keep getting
errors along the lines of
Bad obex response to a request
or
general OBEX error
Whatever they mean.
Perhaps I should give up on technology all together?
moose – Sat, 29 May 2004 16:00
Laptop trials
Finally the laptop works normally, although I have had
to borrow a power supply to sort it out!
Looks like it’s back to the reseller who sold
me the power supply to get it changed.
moose – Thurs, 13 May 2004 20:35
good riddance to bad rubbish
Finally the mint has been vanquished, we got rid of
the nasty broken white Polo that was a constant thorn in the flesh and
replaced it with a silver Ford Focus.
The final images of the Polo as we left it with King
Ford
And the list of what was wrong with it:
Boot latch intermittent
Nearside rear wing needs repainting
Both Front wings need repainting
Jumps out of 5th gear when accelerator released
Radio only picks up FM and reception poor at best of times
(bad aerial)
Fractured offside wing morror with cracked casing
Driver side glovebox thingy falls off
Small wonder we wanted rid!
moose – Tue, 11 May 2004 12:38
UNBLOGLIEVEABLE UPS Courier
Country Manager
Bill Caplan
UPS in UK
Forest Road
Feltham
Middlesex TW13 7DY
United Kingdom
21 April 2004
Dear Mr Caplan
Today at about 16:45, I was unfortunate enough to have
some goods picked up by a UPS courier from the address above.
This being the second pick up in as many weeks, I was
disappointed that the same courier in question was unable to act in a
courteous or pleasant way.
I have no real complaint that your courier could not find the good will
to smile or wish me a good day, after all we are English, not American
and misery goes with the Manchester weather, however I am seriously concerned
that the courier unceremoniously deposited saliva on the floorboards just
inside my front door. Why; I am not sure! When; I am certain (while I
collected the return slip)
I actually feel rather violated. Maybe I am alone but
I am not aware that spitting in other people’s houses is a conventional
or indeed tolerable activity, especially when one is supposed to be providing
a service.
I look forward to your swift reply, explanation and
suggestions for my appeasement.
Yours sincerely
Alex Green
Stunned
moose – Thur, 22 Apr 2004 12:38
Life is
Fragile
Strange
All in a day’s work...
moose – Wed, 21 Apr 2004 19:00
UPS / HP Scum
OK, the laptop arrives home Monday, with the most Grumpy
UPS guy in the world again to drop it off.
Wednesday the most grumpy UPS guy in the world is back
again to take it back to HP as it doesn’t run off mains power or
charge if the computer is running.
Actually now very upset, although to their credit HP
will do it for free this time (thank goodness).
moose – Wed, 21 Apr 2004 08:35
HPee
45 minutes on the phone to Hewlett Packard (on my mobile
no less) and they wriggle and writhe and finally... as always, the little
business gets screwed!
HP one of the big giants in the world of computers are
not prepared to warrant their own repairs past 90 days. Same thing breaks
twice... sorry, that’s tough luck and the small business pays out
again. So the big business can make more money. Well, I’ll be damned
if I ever buy anything HP ever again! (Oh and I don’t recommend
them, buy MAC)
Actually quite upset, considering dropkicking the
lap top out of a window and claiming the whole thing on the house insurance.
moose – Wed, 07 Apr 2004 17:47
vorsprung durch technik
Jacob helps to fix the HP notebook.
HP want about £380 to fix the problem so Jacob
decided to have a look.
moose – Sat, 03 Apr 2004 14:45
Football and Passion
Read this article on the Independent last week, I thought
I should share it with you, I really enjoyed it.
Tim
Lott on the Chelsea - Arsenal game
I was reminded of the bit in the film "Face"
with Robert Carlisle & Ray Winston, where one of the characters played
by Phil Davies says ’Passion goes a long way but it don’t
last, what you really need is kindness’.
moose – Mon, 29 Mar 2004 13:18
baby blog
I thought it would be better for me to put all the baby
rantings in a separate section so that general bloggers don’t get
bored by it all and it doesn’t turn in to a completely baby absorbed
site!
So this is the place where I will be documenting the
life of the ’mini moose’ Jacob Edward, with more pictures
and other bits and bobs for the people interested in these sort of things!
baby blog
moose – Sun, 21 Mar 2004 16:04
"reality" TV
They are popping up everywhere, these ’reality
TV’ shows, stemming from the likes of ’Big Brother’
and ’Survivor’, I am unsure as to why they are called ’reality
TV’ at all.
Owing to the fact that they are almost completely bereft
of any ’reality’ they are pretty much as far from ’reality’
as it gets (referring to, ’I’m a celebrity...’ ’The
Osbournes Series Two’ and wasn’t ’Footballer’s
Wives’ touted as one?) I motion that their name should be altered
from ’reality TV’ to ’artificiality TV’.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/realitytv1.html
moose – Mon, 15 Mar 2004 19:09
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