Google Testing New TV Search Service?
I will let you in on my new system for posts. If the post title has a question mark there is good reason to suspect that it will fall in the realm of rumor. In this case, the source of the information, The Wall Street Journal, tends to report on things that are as “real” as they can be. On this one, however, there was enough evidence that while Google may be up to something it’s not ready or prime time.
What gave it away? This line in the WSJ article
A Google spokeswoman said the company doesn’t comment on rumor or speculation.
That was easy. OK, now that we have that out of the way let’s talk about what Google may or may not be doing with TV search. The Business Insider tells us a little more as well
Google is testing a new TV search service with Dish Network, the no. 2 U.S. satellite TV provider, the WSJ reports.
The service lets you search TV shows and Web video, including YouTube videos
, the WSJ’s Jessica Vascellaro reports. The service runs on set-top boxes “using elements of Google’s Android operating system,” and is currently being tested by Google employees and their families, according to the WSJ.
Google TV search makes sense of course because if anything can be searched then it can be better managed. Also, Dish Network is the perfect candidate for this kind of service because their battle with DirecTV is heating up. Dish has troubles because DirecTV owns the sports side of the ledger so if Dish could create a more compelling experience overall then it has something to battle with.
So what’s the net-net of this? Well, it’s apparently that Google is doing what it always does which is to expand its horizons and to get into more areas to make money. You gotta figure that not all of the 20,000 employees at the Goog are working on search right? Something is always brewing. I guess the lesson to learn here is that if you can be friends with the right Google employees you may get to be part of their informal product tests.
Google Testing TV Search Service With Dish Network
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is testing a new TV programming search service with Dish Network:
The service—which runs on TV set-top boxes using elements of Google’s Android operating system—allows users to search content from Dish as well as other Web video, like YouTube, and to personalize a lineup of shows, according to these [...]
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Is Microsoft Waging a Proxy War on Google for Antitrust?
Well, if the shoe isn’t on the other foot. Once upon a time, Microsoft seemed to be the biggest threat to free trade in the computer world, facing suits across the world. And now it’s Google’s turn—and coincidentally, Microsoft certainly looks like the man behind the curtain. In fact, two thirds of voters at the Wall Street Journal think it’s Microsoft’s machinations throwing the gauntlet down at Google:
How is Microsoft doing this? Certainly not directly (pot, kettle). No—it would have to be through backroom puppetry, which Microsoft of course denies. The evidence does appear highly coincidental. The WSJ outlines one instance where Google filed a two-sentence suit against a small site owing them $335,000 for AdSense—and got a 24-page antitrust countersuit, with Microsoft’s chief outside antitrust council listed as one of the litigants.
Note, though, that this is Microsoft’s outside council: he doesn’t work for Microsoft and Microsoft alone. It’s entirely possible that the small website searched out someone who was familiar with antitrust law and actions against Google.
Meanwhile, Google is facing scrutiny in Europe, including an antitrust suit from a Microsoft subsidiary which has prompted a European Commission investigation.
Naturally, many companies and individuals are concerned about Google’s dominance. Accusations and suits seem to be coming from all quarters, including the US government. Microsoft has used a few more open tactics to wage an antitrust war. These latest volleys might not be orchestrated by Microsoft—or are they? What do you think?
Is Redmond The Puppet Master In Google EU Anti-Trust Investigation?
As both the Wall Street Journal and Telegraph UK are reporting, the EU has opened a formal investigation into Google’s competitive practices and potential abuse of its dominant market position in Europe. That investigation was triggered by several complaints from private companies, which we discussed in part before.
One of those companies, the shopping engine Ciao, [...]
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Google Resumes China Talks Despite Evidence Of Govt-Hacking Connection
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google has re-engaged with China around its ability to continue operating its number two search engine in the country in an “unfiltered” way. The Chinese have given no public indications that they will permit this in the country, which is ruled by state control of speech and media.
The WSJ [...]
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In Other News…Van Natta Out as MySpace CEO
Question: How long does it take for a new CEO of a social media falling star to get his walking papers these days?
Answer: If you are Owen Van Natta of MySpace it takes just about 9 months.
Wow, I wonder if the time went quickly? It seems like just yesterday that the announcement of the former Facebook executive’s hiring was the start of a new era at MySpace that would make its climb back to the top of the social media heap. Instead the only news the site seems to generate is just how poorly it has performed and how much of waste of money and time it has been for News Corp. who acquired the company back in 2005 for $580 million.
The Wall Street Journal (that’s a News Corp. property that actually makes money and has some traction) reports
“While this may be a surprising turn of events for some of you, I am absolutely confident that this change is best for all parties involved and–most importantly–the MySpace business,” Jon Miller, News Corp.’s chief digital officer, said in an internal memo.
Mr. Miller, who oversees MySpace, hired Mr. Van Natta last April as part of a shakeup that saw MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson reassigned to different roles.
Mr. Van Natta, a former Facebook Inc. executive, was hired last year to turnaround MySpace, which has suffered from sagging advertising revenue and stagnant Web traffic.
“In talking to Owen about his priorities both personally and professionally going forward, we both agreed that it was best for him to step down at this time,” Mr. Miller said in a statement Wednesday.
Mr. Van Natta couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
By most accounts it appears that the infighting amongst the leadership at MySpace was pretty intense. Van Natta’s reputation as a tough negotiator may have been why he was hired but the rest of his reputation according to former co-workers was around his short fuse. Combine that kind of volatility with egos and the pressure to make something happen with a dying property and you have the makings of some serious fireworks.
So now that MySpace has once again put themselves in the headlines for more negative reasons is there any hope? Well, one sour note is the report from News Corp. executives that MySpace is falling short of minimum traffic levels that it has in place for a $900 million deal with Google. Not good.
But enter Rupert Murdoch who tried to spin his way through his thoughts on MySpace
“It’s not yet where we want it,” News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said about MySpace in an earnings call last week. He added that Web traffic had shown signs of stabilization. “We believe the stability points to progress the new management team has made to repositioning MySpace as the prime place where people share thoughts and ideas about music, entertainment and other popular content.”
No problem, Uncle Rupert, and the then the sugar plum fairies will come down and dance and all will be fine with the world. Things are not likely to get better any time soon. With all the talk of connecting social networks when is the last time that a list included MySpace?
And Iran, Iran from Gmail
In case you are wondering about the title of this post, you need to do two things. Stop thinking about Google Buzz for a minute (please!) and also try to remember a song from way back when called “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Flock of Seagulls. Now sing the chorus using the title of the post and you’ll get it. See? Clever, right?
Anyway, it appears that while Iran has marked February 11th as a day of reckoning for the west (something to do with uranium which doesn’t matter to the Internet marketing world because we have to sell things, right?) I have to guess that their biggest announcement must have been how they are going to suspend Gmail services in Iran. Boy, if you want to hurt the west, screw uranium, go after Google. Now, that’s playing hardball.
The Wall Street Journal reports
Iran’s telecommunications agency announced what it described as a permanent suspension of Google Inc.’s email services, saying a national email service for Iranian citizens would soon be rolled out.
It wasn’t clear late Wednesday what effect the order had on Gmail services in Iran, or even if Iran had implemented its new policy. Iranian officials have claimed technological advances in the past that they haven’t been able to execute.
A Google spokesman said in a statement, “We have heard from users in Iran that they are having trouble accessing Gmail. We can confirm a sharp drop in traffic, and we have looked at our own networks and found that they are working properly. Whenever we encounter blocks in our services we try to resolve them as quickly as possibly because we strongly believe that people everywhere should have the ability to communicate freely online.”
This should be interesting to follow because as Google looks to make the world smaller what it ends up doing is truly exposing the areas of the world where personal freedom is not a top priority. Add this to the China battles that Google is encountering and you wonder if these countries believe Google when they say they will “Do no evil”. Not likely.
It was Iran’s political upheaval of last year that put Twitter at the forefront of “citizen reporting” and made the political unrest very vivid and palpable with reports and images that shocked the rest of the world. It is likely that a country like Iran is trying to do whatever it can to keep its control over its citizens. They put it this way
An Iranian official said the move was meant to boost local development of Internet technology and to build trust between people and the government.
Wow, that’s a beaut, huh? Basically, Iran’s move is a continuation of efforts to crack down on political dissenters worldwide on Facebook and Twitter as well. While it is easy for us to look at this and wag our finger, here in the US we can’t fully comprehend just how egregious this kind of activity is. Nothing good can come from this kind of censorship and it is likely Google will not be able to stop it.
So far this ‘suspension’ seems to be working and if successful will hurt efforts by those who are interested in helping the Iranian people.
Nikahang Kowsar, an Iranian online activist in Toronto, said he experienced disruptions using Gmail Wednesday afternoon with friends in Iran. Usually, Gmail works without problems, he said. Gmail replaced Yahoo as the most popular email service in Iran in the past year because users believe it is the most secure, or the hardest for government censors to crack, he said.
Well, maybe the government censors couldn’t crack it so they just said they would suspend it. It will be interesting to see how far Google takes this battle and what happens in the end. What are your predictions or thoughts?
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They’re Back: AP Stories Reappear In Google
In the peek-a-boo dance of the AP-Google negotiation, it appears that AP stories are back in Google News. Earlier this month Danny wrote an extensive post about an apparent deal between the parties to allow the continued indexing of AP stories in Google News.
Now the Wall Street Journal reports:
New articles from the Associated Press have [...]
….
Google to Make Its Move on Facebook and Twitter?
The buzz around the Internet marketing and social media circles is humming with the news (or the rumor, call it what you want) that Google is getting set to introduce a new feature to Gmail. No, it has nothing to do with your e-mail but rather your ‘experience’ with Gmail and in particular your social experience. Looks like Google is getting into the social game. This comes on the heels of the talk of Facebook getting into the e-mail game as well. What’s going on? It’s like opposite day with Google going social and Facebook getting all e-mail on us.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Google Inc. is taking a swipe at Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. with a new feature that makes it easier for users of Gmail to view media and status updates shared online by their friends.
Google could announce the new Gmail feature as soon as this week, said people familiar with the matter. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.
The change adds a module to the Gmail screen that will display a stream of updates from individuals a user chooses to connect with, said one of these people. It is a format popularized by Facebook and Twitter.
The whole idea is an interesting bit of news but is it something that people will use? I know for me that I really like going to my Gmail because it’s just that and nothing more. I can go to Facebook or Twitter when I feel the urge. Just like I have no interest in a Facebook e-mail account I can’t say that this Gmail as social tool approach is lighting any fires for me.
I am sure the industry will fight and squabble over these matters and forget that they are really yelling and screaming at a small cross-section of the real world. Whenever these announcements are made I immediately think about all of my friends who are using some of these tools but are not nearly as vested in them (yes I do talk to people who aren’t enamored with every little shiny social media object that gets tossed in the ring). Will the bulk of Gmail users welcome this? I don’t know. If they are already using Facebook and are happy what is so compelling to make a switch?
The Journal gives a little more information
The new stream will eventually include content that a user’s connections share through Google’s YouTube video site and Picasa photo service, according to one person familiar with the matter. But whether those features will be announced in the coming days remains unclear.
OK. I get “it” but I also see that “it” is possibly becoming too much. Normal human beings who do not live and breath social media and who find other social interactions just as meaningful may not be impressed. Maybe I am being too simplistic but I see Google as the practical, stable older brother who is a business guy and Facebook and Twitter as the crazy younger siblings who can’t hold a job but are “fun”. That’s fine with me. Google to me is about business and practicality. Facebook and Twitter not so much. I like it that way but that’s just me.
Is it possible that the large numbers of users of all social media that we talk about are actually more casual than we think they are? Do they need to be connected with everyone, everywhere at all times? Your thoughts?
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Google to Open Online Software Sales Effort
Google continues to reach into the application side of the web wholeheartedly while dabbling in the device area as well. It is likely that Google is smart enough to see what happened to the PC industry when it was finally realized that “It’s the application, stupid!”. As a result it looks like Google is readying another opportunity to get deeper into the application game while turning the corner from being totally “free” to generating revenue from their efforts. Imagine that. Revenue.
The Wall Street Journal reports
Google Inc. is preparing to launch a store selling online business software that integrates with its Web services, according to people briefed by the company, enlisting software developers in its battle against Microsoft Corp.
These people said the store will sell business software designed by outside developers to integrate and add capabilities to Google Apps, such as enhanced security features or the ability to import contacts. Google Apps provides Web-based email, word-processing and spreadsheet functions.
Google could announce the new store—a revamped version of its Solutions Marketplace site that features third-party programs—as soon as March, they said.
The revenue side of this is that Google would so a revenue share with the developers thus getting a piece of everything sold through this online marketplace. Google is officially shying away from an actual announcement but it makes sense that they would head in this direction. The goal is to take a bite out of Microsoft’s lead in this area for the enterprise. The smallest of the SMB’s of the world can usually get by with free versions of the tools but the enterprise requires more functionality. Google has been making inroads in getting larger customers to use the Google apps platform like the City of Los Angeles and others.
Google says more than two million businesses are using the paid or free version of Google Apps. There are around 500 million users of Microsoft Office, according to Microsoft.
Google is turning to developers to help fill the holes and develop features its online software lacks, such as specialized editing software or tools to access online files offline.
The new store borrows a page from other technology companies including Apple Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc., which have tried to broaden the appeal of devices and software by opening up to outside developers.
While some bemoan the fact that Google is looking to charge for something that they feel should be free I think those days are finally starting to move along. Free doesn’t pay the bills and there is absolutely NO obligation to any company to provide the people as a whole with free services. None. So if anyone barks about the idea of charging for online business software they are missing the point. It takes money to do this stuff.
There is plenty of opportunity for sure. And we can be assured that where there is opportunity there will be Google.
