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I'm Drew Breunig and I obsess about technology, media, language, and culture. I live in New York, studied anthropology, and work in advertising technology.Twitter

These are reactions to things I feel are important.

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Posts tagged search
“ [A] new opt-in, Android-only feature allows Google Goggles to work in the background on your phone or tablet, and analyze photos as they’re taken. The app will automatically notify you when any search results match your captures — without you asking for them.
”

Mashable* (via interestingsnippets)

Really interesting idea; wish I could try it out. What are the legal issues that surround this? Could Google be required to notify parties due to copyright violations or criminal activity?

* Man, I can’t stand Mashable. Throwing in the handwringing “without you asking for them” after they stated it’s opt-in is a joke. Great journalism, guys.

(via journo-geekery)

My theory that the search business will eventually become nearly identical to the soft drink industry is panning out nicely

  • Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan: You say that you have like these 200 factors [that determine search rank], why not at least just list them?
  • Eric Schmidt: Because we change them. What would happen is, you’ve asked me this question for the eight years I’ve worked with you, so it’s the same question. Why don’t we publish these things. And the fundamental answer is we’re always changing. We’re always changing, and if we started saying here’s how the black box works, then all of a sudden huge incumbencies would come out about this change and that change, and we just don’t want that pressure.
  • Sullivan: I’m not saying this is how the factors are actually measured up or weighted.
  • Schmidt: But even the list.
  • Sullivan: But 50 of those factors have never changed.
  • Schmidt: Let’s just be honest and say you and I disagree.
  • Sullivan: OK...
  • Schmidt: It’s a business secret of Google.
  • Brian Womack of Bloomberg: But that’s not very open.
himmelsblog: infoneernet: Why is Google Afraid of Facebook? Because Social Networking Could Soon Pass Search It’s often said these days that Google and Facebook are major rivals, but how could that be if one is in search and the other, social networking? Traffic analyst firm Hitwise provided one very clear clue tonight when it published new numbers for web user activity in Australia. For perhaps the first time ever, social networking sites have surpassed the traffic search engines receive, Hitwise says. There is reason to question the company’s categorization of web traffic, but the trend is worth examining none the less. » via ReadWriteWeb Isn’t google trying to monetize this by bringing status updates into search? Huh. In a few short years, search and social have recreated the fight for position being played out by telco companies and content providers. Search plays the role of telco, the service which is quickly being commodified and turned into “dumb pipes.” (See here) Social, with it’s rich content and emotional relationships, plays the part of content. AKA, the stuff people actually care about. I had a related, heated discussion with a strategist from a search engine optimization company who shall remain nameless. My position was that in the future, search would be marginalized. It would become so slick, so ubiquitous, so second-nature that people would simply cease to care about it. In that dangerous position, search share becomes a fight over installs in software, OSes and hardware, like we’re seeing with Bing’s current strategy. Suddenly, the all the effort Google has invested in serving reliable ads is diluted by all the disparate offerings that, ultimately, are second nature. Once invisible, search ads are purely directional, true brands will be built on the backs of media people care about: content, friends. This strategist disagreed.

himmelsblog:

infoneernet:

Why is Google Afraid of Facebook? Because Social Networking Could Soon Pass Search

It’s often said these days that Google and Facebook are major rivals, but how could that be if one is in search and the other, social networking? Traffic analyst firm Hitwise provided one very clear clue tonight when it published new numbers for web user activity in Australia. For perhaps the first time ever, social networking sites have surpassed the traffic search engines receive, Hitwise says. There is reason to question the company’s categorization of web traffic, but the trend is worth examining none the less.

» via ReadWriteWeb

Isn’t google trying to monetize this by bringing status updates into search?

Huh.

In a few short years, search and social have recreated the fight for position being played out by telco companies and content providers. Search plays the role of telco, the service which is quickly being commodified and turned into “dumb pipes.” (See here) Social, with it’s rich content and emotional relationships, plays the part of content. AKA, the stuff people actually care about.

I had a related, heated discussion with a strategist from a search engine optimization company who shall remain nameless. My position was that in the future, search would be marginalized. It would become so slick, so ubiquitous, so second-nature that people would simply cease to care about it. In that dangerous position, search share becomes a fight over installs in software, OSes and hardware, like we’re seeing with Bing’s current strategy. Suddenly, the all the effort Google has invested in serving reliable ads is diluted by all the disparate offerings that, ultimately, are second nature. Once invisible, search ads are purely directional, true brands will be built on the backs of media people care about: content, friends.

This strategist disagreed.

Apple and Microsoft in talks to make Bing the default iPhone search engine?

himmelsblog:

go:

On Monday we asked, based on some rumor rumbles, could Apple snub Google and set Microsoft’s Bing as the default search engine on the iPhone’s browser? BusinessWeek says yep.

Love this point over at Business Insider: “Apple just needs a search API it can use on its phone. If Microsoft will pay a premium, and Apple doesn’t have to see an ugly Bing interface, Apple doesn’t care.”

Whoa. Is search commoditized? At least when it comes to function, this appears to be the case. If Microsoft negotiates installs with big players (rather than forcing them to rely on AdWords) they could capture a significant share. Especially if they make up for the change with better service.

And no, I don’t think there’s an ounce of truth to the rumor that Apple will build it’s own search engine right now. They can’t offer a better experience than Microsoft out of the gate (the consumer will suffer), their ad-serving isn’t in place yet (so they won’t profit), and there’s almost no incentive to build a search engine when you can buy one. File this one for later.