Bigmouthmedia search engine news: online-pr

Google blocks Yahoo's Pipes

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The two leading search engines have reached a technical impasse over Google's news service and Yahoo's pipes product.

Pipes is a highly regarded product from Yahoo's Brickhouse team. Users are able to collect data from various sources around the internet, manipulate it, filter it, sort it and then deliver it in another format. For example, with Yahoo Pipes a brand team could monitor news aggregators and blog search engines around the web for mentions of their brand and then deliver this research in one single RSS feed. That's easy to read and easy to monitor.

In the past Google has been used by viruses to query the web looking for forum sites with known vulnerabilities or email addresses. Google's defence to this sort of virus attack is to block automated queries to the search engine and also to Google News.

Google's anti-automated query defense is now blocking the automated queries from Yahoo Pipes. Many of the published pipes in Yahoo's system are now showing as empty and blocked as Google News was an incredibly popular source of information.

Yahoo's Pipes requests for Google News URLs are being forwarded to Google's blocking page. Google is treating Pipes as a virus or other unwanted computer request.

Yahoo Pipes fail gracefully. Pipes constructed from various information sources continue to work and simply exclude the feeds taken from Google. One of the features that sets Yahoo Pipes aside is their unique visualisation of the information stream. Pipes sending data are highlighted in light blue whereas empty pipes, such as those now being blocked by Google, appear in dull grey.

Tim O'Reilly described Yahoo Pipes as a "milestone in the history of the internet" when it launched and Nic Cubrilovic of TechCrunch said, "...my mind is still buzzing thinking about all that can be done with Pipes."

It is within Google's ability to 'whitelist' Yahoo Pipes and allow the internet application to successfully auto-query the search engine, news and blog search. Until the impasse is resolved, however, Pipes may struggle to remain useful.

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Second Life or second home? Sony unveils new social media universe

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Popular social sites such as MySpace, Digg, FaceBook and Flickr have been some of the biggest winners in the age of Web 2.0. Now, Sony are set to get in on the action with their forthcoming online network universe, "Home", which will be available as a free download for the PlayStation 3 in autumn 2007.

Described as a real time, networked 3D community, Home will build on the success of other virtual worlds and social networking sites, and incorporates elements of Second Life, YouTube and MySpace, which promote user generated content and allow web surfers to interact with each other online.

Gamers will be able to create a personal avatar, choosing from a wide range of body types, skin tones, ages, clothes and accessories. They will also be able to buy products from virtual shops and play online games. Users will be given a virtual living space in the form of a stylish modern apartment that can be customised with the users' own content. For example, you could hang your own personal photographs on your walls, have your MP3 collection playing on your apartment stereo or create a personal cinema for watching your movie downloads.

Communication between users will be facilitated through text, audio and video chat, and avatars will express their emotions through animations. Certain features of Home are expected to be available via the PlayStation Portable and on mobile phones; users will also be able to visit special paid-for events. It will even be possible to explore the Home world and meet other gamers in public spaces, but this will be controlled by Sony to ensure that the content remains suitable for minors.

Sony is expected to develop lucrative advertising deals with partners and businesses that will be able to incorporate commercials into the Home universe - for example, high definition movie trailers. Although it is expected that gaming companies will take up a large proportion of the available ad space, Sony hopes that businesses outside of the gaming world will also be attracted to the high exposure environment that Home hopes to provide.

Sony's move into the world of social networking marks the trend in user generated content and online communities. Phil Harrison, Sony's president of Worldwide Studios says that the company's vision of Home is to "create a rich layer that sits on top of the network platform... a rich three dimensional world where you can build community, you can customise and communicate - empowering audience with user content."

Compared to rival gaming systems Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox, Sony's PS3 online functionality has been limited up to now. However PlayStation Home is expected to help the electronics giant's new PS3 gain a competitive edge in the software market, as well as increase Sony's online presence considerably.

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BBC in deal with Google-YouTube

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The BBC has teamed up with YouTube in a deal which will see short clips of BBC content played on YouTube, the web's most popular video sharing website owned by Google. The aim of the deal for the BBC is to attract more web users to the BBC's website through site traffic from YouTube.

There will be three BBC channels on YouTube - one for news and two for entertainment:

BBC: this is one of two entertainment channels which will be a 'public service' with no advertising. This channel will show clips of programmes and trailers; for example, showing users around the Dr Who set to entice users to the BBC website, from where they can watch or download BBC programmes in full.

BBC Worldwide: this is the second entertainment channel that will play self-contained clips up to six minutes long from popular BBC programmes; for instance, clips from Top Gear and nature programmes by David Attenborough are expected to be included.

This channel will feature advertising; for example, banner ads and pre-roll adverts. BBC Worldwide said that this is not a new concept for them, as BBC magazines like Top Gear and channels like BBC World and UK Living already carry advertising.

The corporation will also get a share of the advertising revenue generated by traffic to the new YouTube channels.

BBC News: the news channel, which will be launched towards the end of 2007, will show about 30 news clips per day. It will be funded by advertising and similar to deals with Yahoo! USA and Real Networks. Controversially, because of advertising legislation, these clips can be seen outside the UK only. Any UK users clicking on a link to one of the news clips on YouTube will incur the message that they have no access to this clip.

The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, said the deal was a "ground-breaking partnership" that would "engage new audiences in the UK and abroad".

The BBC's director of Future Media and Technology, Ashley Highfield, said the deal was "not about distributing content like full-length programmes; YouTube is a promotional vehicle for us".

TV networks in the US, including CBS, NBC and Fox, have already trialled this method of promotion and several television programmes experienced a huge increase in viewers after clips were made available on YouTube.

Other media companies have already accused the BBC of straying from its license-fee funded public service remit and moving too far into commercial web ventures.

YouTube enables members to watch, share videos and upload their own content. As a result, the site hosts a lot of pirated film and music clips uploaded by members who do not own the copyright. The media firm Viacom, for example, recently demanded that YouTube remove tens of thousands of clips from the site for which the firm owned the copyright.

The BBC said they would not be hunting down all BBC-copyrighted clips already uploaded by YouTube members. However, it said it would reserve the right to swap poor quality clips with the real thing or to have content removed that infringed other people's copyright, like sport, or that had been edited or altered in a way that would damage the BBC as a brand.

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AOL makes $900m bid for Swedish online marketing group, TradeDoubler.

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Swedish online marketing group, TradeDoubler, have been subject to a $900m cash offer by internet content provider AOL, a wholly owned subsidiary of US media giant, Time Warner Inc.

AOL has recently been restructuring most of its markets in order to become a more advertising-led business, competing with the likes of Yahoo! and Google within the ever-growing web marketing sphere. The acquisition of TradeDoubler would allow AOL to sell more advertising online via its European sites; moreover, parent company Time Warner believes the addition would complement their own AOL-owned company, Advertising.com - an online advertising network for publishers and advertisers.

Jeff Bewkes, President of Time Warner Inc. said of the offer:

"With AOL and Advertising.com, we have built a robust online advertising business in Europe, and TradeDoubler will help us accelerate the growth of this business."

The offer of 215 kronor per share represents a 20 per cent increase over the average TradeDoubler share price across the preceding three months, as well as reflecting AOL's determination to reinforce its European advertising business following the sale of its internet service operations across the UK and Europe. While the offer is still subject to shareholder approval, the board of directors at TradeDoubler has recommended that AOL's offer be accepted. The acceptance period for the offer is expected to run from January 22nd to February 19th, with around 20 per cent of TradeDoubler's shareholders having already accepted the bid.

Randy Falco, Chairman and CEO of AOL, said:

"This investment provides a unique opportunity for both TradeDoubler and [AOL] to capitalize on the continued rapid growth in online advertising and e-commerce in Europe. We believe that TradeDoubler will be complementary with our other businesses, especially with our third-party advertising network - Advertising.com. We look forward to working with the great people at TradeDoubler to offer European online marketers the broadest range of advertising solutions and websites the most comprehensive set of monetization opportunities."

TradeDoubler was founded in 1999 and went public in 2005, following the completion of its IPO. The company provides online marketing and sales solutions and manages many performance-based marketing programmes for a list of high-profile clients. Although headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, the company's biggest market is the UK, where it has benefited from rapid adoption of online advertising by marketers. TradeDoubler has 334 workers with operations in 18 countries, including France and Germany, as well as Scandinavia and other parts of Europe.

The company, whose clients include Dell, British Telecom and ASDA among others, is best known for their pioneering affiliate marketing programmes, in which website owners receive payment for passing traffic onto affiliated sites, recording sales of $151 million in 2005.

TradeDoubler had been the subject of much takeover speculation during 2006, but said in mid-December that takeover talks had ended. However, many analysts expect that the company may yet receive a higher bid. Opening stock trading in Stockholm saw TradeDoubler's price per share rise to 220 kronor, an increase of 5 kronor over the price offered by AOL.

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MSN debuts marketing strategy for coming months

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Forums and blogs are abuzz with the announcement of the new Microsoft online marketing strategy for the coming months, which possesses the express aim of trying to gain new users and wrest back some control of the search market. Whilst MSN search used to be a powerful force in the search engine arena, its attraction to users has waned in the face of multiple new innovations and better search results provided by their major rival; and if you don't know who they are, here's a wee hint - they hail from America and begin with a G.

But Microsoft hopes to change all that through the massive promotion of their MSN Live product, which offers well-formatted and relevant result pages, an image service, a dedicated news page and a product which allows you to zoom across the earth to view the globe from a variety of different perspectives. These services are very similar to those offered by Google and, as the recent battle between Firefox 2 and IE7 demonstrated, it is commonplace for companies to imitate a product or service once it becomes established.

Regardless of these clear similarities, MSN's marketing strategy is set to roll out with a bang - in fact, it already started on October 27, with large amounts of "relevant and targeted advertising" (i.e. a pay-per-click campaign aimed at the sites and users they wish to target). We will also see a "sustained strategic online program" that will last until the end of March 2007. Essentially, if you have a hotmail account, this means that you'll receive a barrage of emails from MSN in the coming months. Full page ads in the New York Times and Wall St. Journal are also being run for the next few weeks.

However, there is one fun widget Windows Live currently has in Beta. Extremely popular in Japan, QR codes allow a user to scan a 2-dimensional barcode picture which contains a large amount of encoded text. This is useful because it means a small picture on a business card can be photographed by a mobile or handheld device which is then converted into a ready-made, ready-formatted contact that can be saved with no manual data input. This potentially offers a hugely valuable time-saving device.

The new beta product offers the facility to convert either plain text or pre-made business card text into the QR code creator, which can then be used by mobile devices in the following fashion. There is wide scope for such codes, especially in the usage of novel promotions and marketing - research is already underway to think up a fun marketing campaign that people can view by scanning it into their phones (such as scavenger hunts and guerrilla marketing on the side of bus-stops, etc).

Essentially, the process goes like this: Firstly, add a new contact and turn on the camera on your device.

Then point your camera at the printed code and take a photo.

This is then converted into a ready-made contact.

The product seems to offer solid, Web 2.0-style functionality but, at the moment, is not multiple-browser friendly - and it doesn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to work out which browser it works in and which it doesn't.

Should be an interesting product to watch for when coming across a web marketing campaign or a piece of above the line advertising which tied back to below the line support and promotions.

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What's happened to Digg? Have teens rushed the site as Microsoft predicted?

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 12:00:00 GMT

In August 2006 Digg was used as a case study to examine Microsoft's adCenter technology. AdCenter is Microsoft's shiny new pay-per-click bidding technology, their attempt to take on Google and has the demographic targeting edge over Google's current AdSense. The adCenter labs are used to showcase the technology and whet our appetite for more.

Back in August Microsoft claimed that less than %10 of Digg's visitors where in the under 18 age bracket. Their prediction program forecast that the under 18 population on the site would rise dramatically to over %20. This would double the "credit card-less" audience of the site. The biggest reductions would be in the 18~24 and 24~34 age brackets - typically where many marketers try and target their messages.

Has it happened? No.

A look at Microsoft's adLabs today shows that the demographics have shifted but not in the way that was predicted. The under 18 bracket has slid up, a small fraction, to only %9.80. Despite this, Microsoft is predicting an even higher increase is still to come and states that the future audience for Digg will see nearly %22 of the viewers on the website 18 years old or younger.

There have been bigger changes. In August Microsoft adCenter Labs predicted a drop in the number of 24~34 year olds on the site. October's figures show that it has increased to over %27.

The adCenter labs also show that the gender gap on Digg is closing and there is now only a 12 point split between male and female web users on the site.

The August case study revealed a 56/44 split in favour of male viewers on the site.

Does this mean that Microsoft's demographic tracking and prediction technology is no good? No. We need to zoom in on the small print. Microsoft does make it clear that the adLab tools are not yet in full production. The demographic prediction tool is a prototype to demonstrate what adCenter tools might be like. An even more important caveat is that the data used to process the results is a sample only. The adLabs tools do use actual audience data but not nearly as much data as Microsoft has available to it. When it comes to demographic predictions then volume in data does help with accurate predictions.

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Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7 duke it out

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 12:00:00 GMT

The final version of Firefox 2 is due to be released later today, with many brand new features that have been suggested and improved upon by the thriving and enthusiastic open-source Mozilla / Firefox community.

New innovations include an anti-phishing filter, which strictly checks the URL of sites asking for confidential information to make sure that it is not a scam attempt; an integrated RSS and XML reader allowing live feeds to be viewed in the browser without first installing an RSS reader; and an improved tabbed browsing feature which ensures that previously viewed web pages and tabs are not lost, even when the browser crashes (shades of SessionSaver there!).

The release of Firefox 2 comes only a few days after the release of Internet Explorer 7. The Internet Explorer browser series remains the most widely used browser in the world, with analysts estimating the figure at somewhere between 82% and 86% - although this is generally not representative of the more technically savvy population, where Firefox accounts for around 50% or more of browser users, with other niche browsers such as Safari and Opera also being used and Internet Explorer generally being used much less. Many of the new features of Internet Explorer are mimicking those seen in the previous and current releases of Firefox, such as an integrated search function which allows for internet search across the major search engines and popular websites, including Google, Yahoo, Amazon and eBay.

Analysts from Jupiter Research have also shown that Firefox usage is becoming more popular in business, with 44% of businesses and 250 employees or more allowing their employees to download the popular open-source browser. This is an increase of 26% from last year.

Reasons for this include Internet Explorer's extremely close integration with the Windows operating system - it is notorious for being near-impossible to uninstall without going through a laborious procedure and using third party programs. Due to this, in an office environment much testing is required to ensure that no impact is had on their core business applications - and as such, many companies are opting to wait for the next major Windows release, Windows Vista, before allowing the new browser to be installed.

Due to teething problems and many businesses deciding to wait for this period to be over, the upgrade to Windows Vista is likely to take a year and a half or more. With the previous version of Internet Explorer now lacking many of the features users have come to expect, such as an integrated multiple-use internet search bar, the usage of Firefox in the coming months is therefore sure to rise - but only an unstable, tech crazed Microsoft-o-phobe could possibly claim that the new Internet Explorer will not allow Microsoft to continue to dominate the browser market for a good period of time.

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Google AdImages - why can't I advertise on Google Image search results?

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Google's image search has long been the definitive program of its kind on the web, offering a comprehensive index of billions of images to be sorted and viewed according to unique algorithms. Images are now commonplace in Google AdWords, with a list of banner, skyscraper, and small square image ads to choose from. However, there is still no trace of a pay per click 'Sponsored Links' option, which would allow users to advertise on the image search result pages by bidding on keyterms.

The first question anyone would likely ask in regards to this is, "why would you want to advertise on Google Image Search in the first place?".

It all turns on the idea of 'Associate Name' - a term which refers to a striking marketing image or branding logo associated with a company or a product. If you were able to bid on a brand image or company logo that you could associate with a keyterm - via Google Image Search - you would have access to a very powerful marketing tool.

Of course, any images of adult or inappropriate content which are linked to your keyterm have already been taken care of by Moderate SafeSearch. But if it was possible to stretch this idea to bidding on terms like 'Holiday Resort in Spain,' and then placing an image of your villa at the top right corner of the page, how much more effective would advertising be?

The existing Google Image Search already has advertising-friendly relevance constraints in place with another Google product, Google News. If you search for an image that happens to be topical, then the results shown will deliver images from Google News to the top of the Google Images results page; is this not a form of advertising?

It should be pointed out that this is not merely a placing of Google AdWords on the Google Image Search results page; it's an introduction of a solely image-based version of AdWords onto the search results for images. Are Google merely waiting until they have enough of an image store before they roll it out? Should features such as the Google Image Labeller be seen as an attempt to do this?

Time will, no doubt, tell.

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HM Queen Elizabeth II seeks 'geeks' to run her website

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Buckingham Palace is ensuring it keeps up with modern technology through a variety of measures, including appointing an ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Director to look after the Queen's computer and telephony systems across the Royal Household.

The post has a salary of £70,000 (US$130,000) to £80,000 (US$150,000) per year and the appointee will be responsible for managing more than 900 users around the UK, as well as implementing wider ICT initiatives.

Tabloid headlines such as the Daily Record's "Queen's in need of geek" relay the importance with which the Palace sees the role. A Buckingham Palace spokesman commented:

"An effective information and communications strategy underpins the work of the royal household, and developing and implementing change programmes to merge and enhance ICT will be at the heart of this role. This is an important new role and reflects the importance we put on good communications and keeping up to date with technology. We have had lower level specialists, now we feel there is a need for such a senior post within the Palace."

The job advert asked for "applicants from the public or private sector who have held a role at board level or equivalent, and have experience with sophisticated user support and development function using desktop networked systems, mobile and networked telephony and web-based communications." But, just in case you were thinking about applying, applications for the post closed on Monday.

For those with less experience the Palace is still recruiting for a Web Editor, at £30,000 per annum plus benefits, to work on the British Monarchy website - www.royal.gov.uk. Applicants should "be of graduate calibre, with previous experience working on a high-profile web site in the public or media sectors" and "also be a first-class writer, able to develop imaginative and creative copy, have strong project management skills and be able to work effectively within a team and to strict budgetary constraints. Expertise in Photoshop, Content Management Systems, HTML and statistical packages is prerequisite, in addition to an awareness of emerging digital technologies and the current online environment. Knowledge of WC3 and Government web standards would be an advantage." If you happen to read this in time, the closing date for this application is Friday 20th October.

Potential applicants may wish to peruse the British Monarchy website as it has a "People Profiles" section where you can read about people who work within the Palace; how they got their job, what advice they would offer and what their daily routine is, among a host of other things. Of particular interest to IT types may be Mohammed Saleh's profile of his role as IT User Support Team Leader.

The British Monarchy web site was originally launched in March 1997, with an updated version of the site launched in November 2001. The site currently copes with around two million page views every month from all over the world.

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Copiepresse step up their crusade to...not get read by so many people.

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:00:00 GMT

In a peculiarly insular move, the Belgian publishing group Copiepress, having succeeded in getting Google to remove them from their index, has now sent a cease-and-desist letter to the MSN news search site.

In order to avoid the legal wrangle Google has found themselves in, MSN has sent lawyers to meet with the publishers to facilitate a quick removal of all of the groups' materials. The Belgian publishers claim that Google has unfairly been using the content of their newspaper websites in order to generate advertising revenue, even though the content (though copyrighted) is freely available to view and download on the publishing groups' website. In a further display of inscrutable decision making, the group has also now demanded that if Google wish to index their sites, they must pay them a pay-per-click fee each time one of their news sites is accessed. Google has appealed the decision, and are set to start arguing the case on November 24th.

This shows a singular lack of understanding of the way search engines work - 91% of online users use search engines and Google holds a large European market share. What the publishers seem to be failing to understand is that Google is akin to a very large, free, internet-based directory with a fantastic search functionality which does not cost anything to be listed in - and, crucially, which everyone in the world with an internet connection can see.

To demand to be paid for the privilege of having sites included is somewhat of a novel strategy to take with a company which has no obligation to include any sites if it feels that it doesn't care to, and has provoked speculation of a mass search-engine exodus away from Copiepresse. This situation threatens to leave the Copiepresse sites high and dry in the vast uncharted (unindexed) wastes of the web. Currently, Google has jumped ship, MSN is currently undergoing discussions, and it cannot be long before other engines follow suit one way or the other.

The publishers claim that all they want is a "win-win situation". With search engines having previously driven large volumes of traffic driven to them for no cost, it remains to be seen what they think their new situation could possibly be. Certainly, this reporter can't help but think of a certain man named Ned Ludd and his merry band which railed against perceived injustices of new industrial practices way back in the mists of time (OK, OK: in the 1810s).

Considering the effort that very many people go to in order to make sure that their websites are optimised efficiently and appear highly in the SERP listings, many people are having a hard time understanding Copiepresses' reticence in the matter.

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