Google's "Searchology" event was yesterday (Tuesday), and they revealed a number of new search features they want to implement in the future.
One feature is Google Squared, which will hit Google Labs soon. If you search "small dogs" using Google Squared, you'll get a table of name, picture, description etc of small dogs.
Screenshots of Google Squared from Google Blogoscoped
Another talked about feature is "rich snippets" which will return more data using markups in a page's HTML metadata (meaning Google will support microformats and RDFa). (I don't quite understand this, but here's a brief discussionof it- including screencaps of rich snippets- for those who might better understand.) This ideally will get more relevant information faster for reviews, people, businesses.
BBC article;
CNET article
SearchEngineLand's recap links page of Searchology;
Google Blogoscoped's recap of Searchology (it has screenshots of Rich Snippets)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
"Revolutionary new web software could put Google in the shade"
Here is an interesting article about new web software that will supposedly revolutionize the way we interact with information on the web. We shall see I guess.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/an-invention-that-could-change-the-internet-for-ever-1678109.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/an-invention-that-could-change-the-internet-for-ever-1678109.html
Web 2.0 and Android (for May 7th)
For class on Thursday, please read the classic statement on Web 2.0 by technology-guru, Tim O'Reilly: "Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software".
This will provide the theoretical and historical basis of our conversation for the next couple of weeks. Please read this article carefully.
Then, learn about Google's Android:
1. www.android.com
2. The developer site for Android
We'll be joined by Scott Ruston (PhD, Mellon Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA) and David Shephard (PhD Candidate, UCLA) to discuss mobile media and the platform.
This will provide the theoretical and historical basis of our conversation for the next couple of weeks. Please read this article carefully.
Then, learn about Google's Android:
1. www.android.com
2. The developer site for Android
We'll be joined by Scott Ruston (PhD, Mellon Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA) and David Shephard (PhD Candidate, UCLA) to discuss mobile media and the platform.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Advertising and Google
For class on Thursday, April 30th:
We will be speaking with a Google Advertising Sales Manager and learning about how Google has transforming web advertising.
In preparation for this meeting, please learn about Google Adwords and Google Adsense.
Also, read about Google's privacy policies and it's other advertising services, including DoubleClick and Google Analytics.
After you have read this material, please formulate at least two questions (posted on here as comments) for our conversation.
Info from our guest from Google:
Kiesha Ramey-Presner is an Advertising Sales Operations Manager for one of Google's largest retail account teams. Her team is responsible for specialty and big box Bay Area-based retailers including Gap, Levi's and Macy's, and generates approximately $100 million in annual revenue. Now managing aspects of both the pre-and-post sales client relationship for Search and Content, Kiesha began at Google seven years ago as a Creative Maximizer. In this capacity, she came up with keywords, wrote text ads and structured performance-driven accounts for some of Google's largest clients.
Make sure students understand what Search-based Google text ads are (AdWords). This is the baseline for any discussion that gets into other areas, like Content (ads on all of our partner sites outside of Google) - including YouTube. It's also worth noting we've explored applying our auction-based ad model to offline areas, including TV, Print and Audio (the latter two of which were cut in recent quarters).
We will be speaking with a Google Advertising Sales Manager and learning about how Google has transforming web advertising.
In preparation for this meeting, please learn about Google Adwords and Google Adsense.
Also, read about Google's privacy policies and it's other advertising services, including DoubleClick and Google Analytics.
After you have read this material, please formulate at least two questions (posted on here as comments) for our conversation.
Info from our guest from Google:
Kiesha Ramey-Presner is an Advertising Sales Operations Manager for one of Google's largest retail account teams. Her team is responsible for specialty and big box Bay Area-based retailers including Gap, Levi's and Macy's, and generates approximately $100 million in annual revenue. Now managing aspects of both the pre-and-post sales client relationship for Search and Content, Kiesha began at Google seven years ago as a Creative Maximizer. In this capacity, she came up with keywords, wrote text ads and structured performance-driven accounts for some of Google's largest clients.
Make sure students understand what Search-based Google text ads are (AdWords). This is the baseline for any discussion that gets into other areas, like Content (ads on all of our partner sites outside of Google) - including YouTube. It's also worth noting we've explored applying our auction-based ad model to offline areas, including TV, Print and Audio (the latter two of which were cut in recent quarters).
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Preparation for April 23rd class
Dear class,
For class on Thursday, I would like to discuss and evaluate -- as concretely as possible -- the fears over technology "taking over the world." As you certainly know, there is a long history of representing computers/robots/technology as "evil" and destroying human civilization. Think, for example, of the Matrix (a film in which humans are essentially the "food" for a massive, omniscient super-computer) or the idea of "the Borg" in Star Trek (an all-powerful, computer-like being that consumes everything in its path). Can you think of other examples?Why is technology to be feared?
Perhaps the video that Kevin posted (below) can help us -- why are we so scared of openness? Why can't the technologies enable new, more open social formations rather than dystopian visions of a fallen world?
The real work for the seminar is this:
How (if at all) is Google and Google technologies changing society and our very notions of what it means to be "human"? How is Google changing the ways we think about information and knowledge? How is Google changing the ways we think about privacy, individuality, identity, and our sense of self?
Please spend some time looking at the posts already on the site and thinking about the implications of various Google Technologies: Google Search, Google Earth/maps/streetview, Google Latitude, Google Docs, Google Book search, Gmail, etc. Look at the various posts and comments already on the blog.
Finally, learn about at least one Google Technology that you have never heard of before (ie, Google Knols). Click here to see some that you know and some that your probably don't know.
For class on Thursday, I would like to discuss and evaluate -- as concretely as possible -- the fears over technology "taking over the world." As you certainly know, there is a long history of representing computers/robots/technology as "evil" and destroying human civilization. Think, for example, of the Matrix (a film in which humans are essentially the "food" for a massive, omniscient super-computer) or the idea of "the Borg" in Star Trek (an all-powerful, computer-like being that consumes everything in its path). Can you think of other examples?Why is technology to be feared?
Perhaps the video that Kevin posted (below) can help us -- why are we so scared of openness? Why can't the technologies enable new, more open social formations rather than dystopian visions of a fallen world?
The real work for the seminar is this:
How (if at all) is Google and Google technologies changing society and our very notions of what it means to be "human"? How is Google changing the ways we think about information and knowledge? How is Google changing the ways we think about privacy, individuality, identity, and our sense of self?
Please spend some time looking at the posts already on the site and thinking about the implications of various Google Technologies: Google Search, Google Earth/maps/streetview, Google Latitude, Google Docs, Google Book search, Gmail, etc. Look at the various posts and comments already on the blog.
Finally, learn about at least one Google Technology that you have never heard of before (ie, Google Knols). Click here to see some that you know and some that your probably don't know.
Quit Being So Damn Scared of The Internetz...
So the title is just to get everyone's attention and I wanted to perhaps continue our discussion about privacy/social networking/meeting stranges on the internet in one concise place. Maybe no one wants to discuss this but I want to know everyone's opinion on meeting new people on the internet.
There seem to be many here, or at least a few, who would gasp at the idea of going on a site, finding someone, e-mailing or messaging them and introducing yourself. People who may take the attitude "the internet is for me to maintain my local friends or friends that I know in person." Psh! I say "no way" to that. Certainly it can and does help with that. But I am under the impression and have always used the internet to MEET NEW PEOPLE, meet new people with similar interests, who can help me get ahead, who can give me advice, who I can ask for advice, who I can ask for a place to stay when I am in their neck of the woods.
GASP...I know right. Anyway, what are you all's thoughts about this? Do you guys meet "strangers" on the internet? Give out your information, etc. Personally, I have met tons of great people over the internet, some that I talk to at least twice a week. As typical as this sounds....one of my really good friends on the internet is a 46 year old gay man from New York. So yes, I am an 18 year old college student talking to a 46 year old gay man and I don't feel threatened, scared, intimidated, or nervous. Am I naive? Stupid? Young? Also, let me throw this in. Does it make a difference that I am guy? Is there a gender double standard when it comes to meeting people online? I would argue yes. Discuss!
Also, here is a video that pretty much sums up my view on this. Vaynerchuk style!
There seem to be many here, or at least a few, who would gasp at the idea of going on a site, finding someone, e-mailing or messaging them and introducing yourself. People who may take the attitude "the internet is for me to maintain my local friends or friends that I know in person." Psh! I say "no way" to that. Certainly it can and does help with that. But I am under the impression and have always used the internet to MEET NEW PEOPLE, meet new people with similar interests, who can help me get ahead, who can give me advice, who I can ask for advice, who I can ask for a place to stay when I am in their neck of the woods.
GASP...I know right. Anyway, what are you all's thoughts about this? Do you guys meet "strangers" on the internet? Give out your information, etc. Personally, I have met tons of great people over the internet, some that I talk to at least twice a week. As typical as this sounds....one of my really good friends on the internet is a 46 year old gay man from New York. So yes, I am an 18 year old college student talking to a 46 year old gay man and I don't feel threatened, scared, intimidated, or nervous. Am I naive? Stupid? Young? Also, let me throw this in. Does it make a difference that I am guy? Is there a gender double standard when it comes to meeting people online? I would argue yes. Discuss!
Also, here is a video that pretty much sums up my view on this. Vaynerchuk style!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Busy Day For Google
Google had quite a busy day today, launching two new, and in my opinion, extremely useful features in Google Labs. The first is called Similar Images, and basically it lets you narrow your image searches to like items, colors, styles, etc with just the click of a button. The second is called Google News Timline, and it organizes news articles chronologically and lets you search for articles on a specific topic during a specific time period. It would seem that both of these features have the potential to be huge time savers, and both are directly related to Google Search, showing that despite its ambitious expansion, Google is first and foremost a search engine.
You can learn more about Similar Search and Google News Timline over at the Official Google Blog (which is on Blogger of course).
See...Google might not be so evil after all
You can learn more about Similar Search and Google News Timline over at the Official Google Blog (which is on Blogger of course).
See...Google might not be so evil after all
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Google Book Search settlement
Google settles case over copyright infringement of book search -- and gains a huge, uncontested right to distribute book content. Read about this case here. For a less-legalise version of the story, click here. This story breaks down how Google has actually managed to engineer a monopoly over the rights to search virtually every book ever produced in the world.
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