Slashdot: "daveperry writes 'The Google Blog has a post about their use of prediction markets to forecast certain events that are relevant to their business. From the article: 'Our search engine works well because it aggregates information dispersed across the web, and our internal predictive markets are based on the same principle: Googlers from across the company contribute knowledge and opinions which are aggregated into a forecast by the market. Sometimes, just feeling lucky isn't enough, and these tools can help.' In related news, some software was recently open sourced that enables people to set up their own prediction markets.'"
Official Google Blog: Putting crowd wisdom to work: "Building on the ideas of Friedrich Hayek and the Iowa Electronic Markets, a few Googlers (Doug Banks, Patri Friedman, Ilya Kirnos, Piaw Na and me, with some help from Hal Varian), set up a predictive market system inside the company.
The markets were designed to forecast product launch dates, new office openings, and many other things of strategic importance to Google. So far, more than a thousand Googlers have bid on 146 events in 43 different subject areas (no payment is required to play)."
Friday, September 23, 2005
| Is AOL The Key to Microsoft 'Killing' Google?
Slashdot | Is AOL The Key to Microsoft 'Killing' Google?: "VK writes 'When Steve Ballmer yelled at a departing Microsoft employee that he would 'kill Google' we had no idea just how direct a method he had in mind. Buying all or part of AOL may be the first part of the master plan, as Google relies heavily on the advertising pages that come from Yahoo, since it now syndicates its search to Google.'"
Google dancing and it doesnt look good.
WebProWorld Forum...."There is a TON of movement taking place on these datacenters.
66.102.7.104
66.102.7.105
64.233.189.104
66.102.7.106
66.102.7.147
216.239.63.99
99 66.102.7.99
216.239.63.104
On one of my main keyphrases I have watched my site go to the #1 position in MSN (easy) and #2 and #5 in Yahoo. Today on these datacenters I was pushed from #16 to #70 give or take a few depending on the DC.
Not only was I pushed back, but about 25 scraper sites have moved into the top 40 results. These sites are nothing but reprinted articles and google adsense. Nothing unique. Nothing you cannot find on 100 other sites."
66.102.7.104
66.102.7.105
64.233.189.104
66.102.7.106
66.102.7.147
216.239.63.99
99 66.102.7.99
216.239.63.104
On one of my main keyphrases I have watched my site go to the #1 position in MSN (easy) and #2 and #5 in Yahoo. Today on these datacenters I was pushed from #16 to #70 give or take a few depending on the DC.
Not only was I pushed back, but about 25 scraper sites have moved into the top 40 results. These sites are nothing but reprinted articles and google adsense. Nothing unique. Nothing you cannot find on 100 other sites."
On Cutts Comments On Reinclusion Requests
Cutts Comments On Reinclusion Requests: "one drawback is probably the time factor involved in getting the relisting done. In some cases, it could take 6-8 weeks or it could take as little 2-3 weeks depending on the type of error and its severity.
Dan Thies over at SitePoint mentions in his blog, 'Unfortunately, he doesn't address the collateral damage caused by some of their more aggressive filtering practices, or the possibility that following Google's webmaster guidelines on redirects can do more harm than good.'
Thies did say his students were reporting better results for the reinclusion process as long as they followed Google's rules. This should bode well for worried businesses. As long as they play by the rules, then they are ok. "
Dan Thies over at SitePoint mentions in his blog, 'Unfortunately, he doesn't address the collateral damage caused by some of their more aggressive filtering practices, or the possibility that following Google's webmaster guidelines on redirects can do more harm than good.'
Thies did say his students were reporting better results for the reinclusion process as long as they followed Google's rules. This should bode well for worried businesses. As long as they play by the rules, then they are ok. "
The things Google makes you do
Net Sense Bambi Francisco writes : Google "has just begun testing advertisements on its image pages, a property that holds 1.1 billion images and drew 21 million unique visitors in July. Google images was also the place where 3% of all searches were conducted that month, according to comScore Networks.
The ads aren't turned on everywhere. But in some locations, like Manhattan, if a person types in 'Dell' under the images tab, they will see sponsored search listings at the top of the results page....
What does that add to revenue? A lot, I imagine. What does this say? Google's methodically following the script it laid out for Wall Street. That is: It aims to organize the information (text, pictures, clutter, and so on), attract traffic and sell that audience to marketers.
I can't say this logical prioritization of strategy and laserlike focus is being applied elsewhere."
The ads aren't turned on everywhere. But in some locations, like Manhattan, if a person types in 'Dell' under the images tab, they will see sponsored search listings at the top of the results page....
What does that add to revenue? A lot, I imagine. What does this say? Google's methodically following the script it laid out for Wall Street. That is: It aims to organize the information (text, pictures, clutter, and so on), attract traffic and sell that audience to marketers.
I can't say this logical prioritization of strategy and laserlike focus is being applied elsewhere."
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Google Secure Access: Frequently Asked Questions
bloggers are a-buzzing about a possible Google WiFi launch. The buzz was started by the following FAQ that appears at the subdomain wifi.google.com an
Google Secure Access: Frequently Asked Questions:
"What is Google Secure Access?
Google Secure Access is a downloadable client application that allows users to establish a more secure WiFi connection.
Why would I want to download and install Google Secure Access?
Google Secure Access allows you to establish a more secure connection while using Google WiFi. By using Google Secure Access, your internet traffic will be encrypted, preventing others from viewing the information you transmit. "
Google Secure Access: Frequently Asked Questions:
"What is Google Secure Access?
Google Secure Access is a downloadable client application that allows users to establish a more secure WiFi connection.
Why would I want to download and install Google Secure Access?
Google Secure Access allows you to establish a more secure connection while using Google WiFi. By using Google Secure Access, your internet traffic will be encrypted, preventing others from viewing the information you transmit. "
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO � Filing a reinclusion request
Google opens up means of communication for webmasters.....will Yahoo follow?
Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO � Filing a reinclusion request: "Everybody wants to hear about SEO-ish stuff instead of gadgets. I’ll still subject you to pure geekery now and then, but let’s tackle how to do a reinclusion request.
First off, what’s a reinclusion request and why would you want to do one? If you’ve been experimenting with SEO, or you employ as SEO company that might be doing things outside Google’s guidelines, and your site has taken a precipitous drop recently, you may have a spam penalty. A reinclusion request asks Google to remove any potential spam penalty.
The first step is to take a long, hard look at your website. Is there hidden text, hidden links, or cloaking on your site, especially on the front page? Are there doorway pages that do a JavaScript or some other redirect to a different page? Were you trying to use some automated program to get links or scrape Google? Whatever you find that you think may have been against Google’s guidelines, correct or remove those pages.
Now where should you send a reinclusion request? This has changed in the last few months from an email address to a web form. The best location to go is http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py . Google: Help Center You can select “I’m a webmaster inquiring about my website” and then select “Why my site disappeared from the search results or dropped in ranking.” Click Continue, and on the page that shows up, make sure to type “Reinclusion Request” in the Subject: line of the resulting form. Upper- or lower-case doesn’t matter, but make sure you use the words “reinclusion request” in the subject line so it gets routed to the right place.
Now we come to the heart of things: what goes into a reinclusion request. Fundamentally, Google wants to know two things: 1) that any spam on the site is gone or fixed, and 2) that it’s not going to happen again. I’d recommend giving a short explanation of what happened from your perspective: what actions may have led to any penalties and any corrective action that you’ve taken to prevent any spam in the future. If you employed an SEO company, it indicates good faith if you tell us specifics about the SEO firm and what they did–it assists us in evaluating reinclusion requests. Note that SEO and mostly-affiliate sites may need to provide more evidence of good faith before a site will be reincluded; such sites should be quite familiar with Google’s quality guidelines.
Okay, so you found the hidden text that your webmaster put on your front page, you removed it, and you sent your reinclusion request off to Google. How long do you have to wait now? That depends on when Google reviews the request and on the type of spam penalty you have. In the days of monthly index updates it could take 6-8 weeks for a site to be reincluded after a site was approved, and the severest spam penalties can take that long to clear out after an approval. For less severe stuff like hidden text, it may only take 2-3 weeks, depending on when someone looks at the request and if the request is approved.
There’s an interesting thread started by stuntdubl here. I’d add the following things to that thread:
Don’t bother mentioning that you spend money on AdWords or you’re an AdSense publisher. The person who will look at your reinclusion request doesn’t care if you have a business relationship with Google.
Remember, we need to know
1) that the spam has been corrected or removed
2) that it isn’t going to happen again.
I would request reinclusion for one domain at a time. It looks bad if you had 20+ sites all thrown out at once, and you send a reinclusion request for 20 domains in one email. "
Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO � Filing a reinclusion request: "Everybody wants to hear about SEO-ish stuff instead of gadgets. I’ll still subject you to pure geekery now and then, but let’s tackle how to do a reinclusion request.
First off, what’s a reinclusion request and why would you want to do one? If you’ve been experimenting with SEO, or you employ as SEO company that might be doing things outside Google’s guidelines, and your site has taken a precipitous drop recently, you may have a spam penalty. A reinclusion request asks Google to remove any potential spam penalty.
The first step is to take a long, hard look at your website. Is there hidden text, hidden links, or cloaking on your site, especially on the front page? Are there doorway pages that do a JavaScript or some other redirect to a different page? Were you trying to use some automated program to get links or scrape Google? Whatever you find that you think may have been against Google’s guidelines, correct or remove those pages.
Now where should you send a reinclusion request? This has changed in the last few months from an email address to a web form. The best location to go is http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py . Google: Help Center You can select “I’m a webmaster inquiring about my website” and then select “Why my site disappeared from the search results or dropped in ranking.” Click Continue, and on the page that shows up, make sure to type “Reinclusion Request” in the Subject: line of the resulting form. Upper- or lower-case doesn’t matter, but make sure you use the words “reinclusion request” in the subject line so it gets routed to the right place.
Now we come to the heart of things: what goes into a reinclusion request. Fundamentally, Google wants to know two things: 1) that any spam on the site is gone or fixed, and 2) that it’s not going to happen again. I’d recommend giving a short explanation of what happened from your perspective: what actions may have led to any penalties and any corrective action that you’ve taken to prevent any spam in the future. If you employed an SEO company, it indicates good faith if you tell us specifics about the SEO firm and what they did–it assists us in evaluating reinclusion requests. Note that SEO and mostly-affiliate sites may need to provide more evidence of good faith before a site will be reincluded; such sites should be quite familiar with Google’s quality guidelines.
Okay, so you found the hidden text that your webmaster put on your front page, you removed it, and you sent your reinclusion request off to Google. How long do you have to wait now? That depends on when Google reviews the request and on the type of spam penalty you have. In the days of monthly index updates it could take 6-8 weeks for a site to be reincluded after a site was approved, and the severest spam penalties can take that long to clear out after an approval. For less severe stuff like hidden text, it may only take 2-3 weeks, depending on when someone looks at the request and if the request is approved.
There’s an interesting thread started by stuntdubl here. I’d add the following things to that thread:
Don’t bother mentioning that you spend money on AdWords or you’re an AdSense publisher. The person who will look at your reinclusion request doesn’t care if you have a business relationship with Google.
Remember, we need to know
1) that the spam has been corrected or removed
2) that it isn’t going to happen again.
I would request reinclusion for one domain at a time. It looks bad if you had 20+ sites all thrown out at once, and you send a reinclusion request for 20 domains in one email. "
Monday, September 19, 2005
America Online May Switch to MSN For Web Search, Abandoning Google
America Online May Switch to MSN For Web Search, Abandoning Google - September 16, 2005 - The New York Sun - NY Newspaper: "Microsoft is in talks with Time Warner about taking a stake in America Online, as part of a broader discussion about the two companies working together, according to people familiar with the matter.
The conversations have centered on whether AOL would switch to using Microsoft's search engine, these people say. AOL currently uses Google's search technology and was Google's single largest source of revenue last year."
The conversations have centered on whether AOL would switch to using Microsoft's search engine, these people say. AOL currently uses Google's search technology and was Google's single largest source of revenue last year."
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