Collaborative Strategy Guild » Google

Another Video on Google’s Evils: Creepy Ice Cream Man Edition – Digits – WSJ

Peter O'Kelly — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:22:00 +0000

Sign of the times

Are anti-Google videos becoming some sort of weird cottage industry?

The Journal’s Amir Efrati reported just a couple of weeks ago on a video about the “evil” side of Google. And now a group called Consumer Watchdog has a video that makes fun of Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s views on privacy. Part of the video is being used in a 15-second ad on a giant screen in Times Square too. (And these are all posted on on Google’s YouTube. Oh, the irony.)

In the video, Schmidt is portrayed as an ice cream man who hands out “free” ice cream to kids — while giving them full-body scans and collecting their secrets. (In Digits’ view, his ice cream man might rank right up there with clowns in terms of creepiness.) .

Another Video on Google’s Evils: Creepy Ice Cream Man Edition - Digits - WSJ

AOL, Google expand partnership – The Boston Globe

Peter O'Kelly — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:12:00 +0000

Maybe the second time will be a charm for Google

Armstrong said the deal is an improvement economically and declined to disclose specifics of the revenue-sharing split. AOL talked to five or six potential partners before deciding on Google and negotiations intensified in July, he said.

In 2006, Google beat out advances from Microsoft Corp. and renewed a search agreement with AOL originally signed in 2002. To seal that deal four years ago, Google bought a 5 percent stake in AOL for $1 billion. Google wrote down the investment by $726 million in 2008 and last year Time Warner bought back the stake for $283 million. Armstrong has said that 2006 pact was done “purely for money.’’

The new agreement doesn’t include upfront payments or equity stakes, he said today.

AOL, Google expand partnership - The Boston Globe

Google responds to Steve Jobs’ activation counting accusations – Google 24/7 – Fortune Tech

Peter O'Kelly — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:28:00 +0000

Check the link below for more reality checks on Apple’s unsubtle Google comments yesterday

Updated: A Google Spokesperson told me: "The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of the Android devices in the market since we only include devices that have Google services." --meaning that Jobs' assertions were wrong.

Google responds to Steve Jobs' activation counting accusations - Google 24/7 - Fortune Tech

Continue reading: Google responds to Steve Jobs’ activation counting accusations – Google 24/7 – Fortune Tech

Here’s The Difference Between Apple TV And Google TV (San Francisco Chronicle)

Peter O'Kelly — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:14:00 +0000

Check the link below for more context-setting

So let's handicap the two, based on what we've seen so far:

Google has a very small chance of totally taking over the TV business -- which would be a massive coup -- and a huge chance of completely failing. (Sort of like its Nexus One phone was a big bet to disrupt the mobile phone industry, which wound up flopping.)

Apple TV, meanwhile, has a good chance of continuing as an obscure, niche device. But if enough people take a flier on the $99 Apple TV, Apple also has a solid chance of teaching people about the idea of using an Internet device in their living room, and it can gradually make the box more complex. This seems like a safer bet, if less disruptive.

Here's The Difference Between Apple TV And Google TV (AAPL, GOOG)

In Defense of Links, Part Two: Money changes everything — Scott Rosenberg’s Wordyard

Peter O'Kelly — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:46:00 +0000

An excerpt from the second part of the series referenced earlier today

How did we get here? Partly it’s because too many editors and reporters waited too long to learn Web basics, and many of the more enthusiastic early adopters fled the newsroom and took their expertise with them. Partly the problem is generational, and thus gradually being solved.

But a big part of it is Google’s responsibility. Google is a great tool because it draws meaning from links. And it is a profitable company because it has placed a tiny but real financial value on many links. But by making links a business, Google also made it harder for editors and writers to defend responsible linking. Links became the province of the publisher, not the editor. Even so, Google — and the Web itself — works best when links are made freely, motivated by passion or professional dedication or fun. When the links are made for a fractional cent or buck, we get spam and malware and wastelands of zombie splogs.

In Defense of Links, Part Two: Money changes everything — Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard

FT.com / Media – Google to rank e-mails automatically

Peter O'Kelly — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:32:00 +0000

An issue for Google users to ponder

Mr Glotzbach said that the company did not believe that the new e-mail feature would raise any privacy concerns.

“We’re not creating any new information, we’re leveraging information that is already there,” he said. Google already analyses the words used in e-mail messages in order to place relevant advertising against them.

FT.com / Media - Google to rank e-mails automatically

Continue reading: FT.com / Media – Google to rank e-mails automatically

Google Offers Respite From Inbox Overload – NYTimes.com

Peter O'Kelly — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:30:00 +0000

Consistent with Eric Schmidt’s recent comments: “’I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions,’ he elaborates. ‘They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next.’"

“Important” messages are judged to be the most significant, and sit at the top of your Gmail window. Next is the “starred” area, the messages you say are important. Finally, “everything else” includes those messages that can probably be dealt with later, or completely ignored — the ones that aren’t quite spam, but don’t need to clutter up your screen or your brain right now.

Keith Coleman, Google’s product management director, told me in an interview that Google has been working to solve the e-mail overload problem for the better part of a decade.

Google Offers Respite From Inbox Overload - NYTimes.com

Google Buys SocialDeck – WSJ.com

Peter O'Kelly — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:36:00 +0000

Another day, another social-something Google acquisition; it’ll be fascinating to see if/how the technologies/services eventually get consolidated

The acquisition, coming just days after Google's previous social acquisition, was announced Monday on SocialDeck's website. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

The Canadian start-up has launched several games titles for Facebook, as well as Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices. SocialDeck's games platform technology enables simultaneous game play across multiple mobile devices and social networks.

The SocialDeck deal is one of several acquisitions in the past month through which Google hopes to build a social-networking service to counter Facebook, which recently topped more than 500 million users and is aggressively moving to develop its advertising business.

Google Buys SocialDeck - WSJ.com

Search for a Google-AP pact succeeds – The Boston Globe

Peter O'Kelly — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:24:00 +0000

AP content assimilation

Google will publish entire stories from the AP in the news section of its website. That’s a departure from its usual practice of showing snippets from stories posted on thousands of other websites. Google maintains those excerpts qualify as “fair use’’ under copyright law, exempting it from licensing fees.

The Google deal is part of AP’s effort to bring in more revenue from the Web to help offset a drop in revenue from newspapers and broadcasters.

Search for a Google-AP pact succeeds - The Boston Globe

Continue reading: Search for a Google-AP pact succeeds – The Boston Globe

Google Blows Off JavaOne, Citing Oracle’s Android Lawsuit – Application Development from eWeek

Peter O'Kelly — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:03:00 +0000

Google Gone from JavaOne; see the link below for more posturing etc.

Then, in an Aug. 27 blog post, Joshua Bloch, Google's chief Java architect and part of the Google Open Source Programs Office, said:

"Like many of you, every year we look forward to the workshops, conferences and events related to open source software. In our view, these are among the best ways we can engage the community, by sharing our experiences and learning from yours. So we're sad to announce that we won't be able to present at JavaOne this year. We wish that we could, but Oracle's recent lawsuit against Google and open source has made it impossible for us to freely share our thoughts about the future of Java and open source generally. This is a painful realization for us, as we've participated in every JavaOne since 2004, and I personally have spoken at all but the first in 1996.

"We understand that this may disappoint and inconvenience many of you, but we look forward to presenting at other venues soon. We're proud to participate in the open source Java community, and look forward to finding additional ways to engage and contribute."

Google Blows Off JavaOne, Citing Oracle's Android Lawsuit - Application Development from eWeek