mediajunk

Have you noticed that a lot of social sites now offer to find your contacts? It's definitely useful -- but do you trust Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter with your email address and password?! What about Fernando, SlugIt and Redface? (Okay, I made those ones up, but you get my point.)

How can I trust these new kids on the block? In short, I can't. But I trust Google. At least, they already have my login details!

So here's my suggestion: Google should offer a "protected contact list transfer service" whereby there's some sort of link or badge I can click in Twitter, Facebook, wherever. The link takes me to a page within Gooogle's domain where I login, and where the contact list transfer takes place. I can then go back to the host page. I envisage this process a bit like PayPal payment integration -- you temporarily leave a site to make a transaction within PayPal, then get redirected back to the site when the transaction is successful.

Better yet, Google should be able to guarantee me that the host site can only access the contact list for this fetch only. Maybe they could make the host site pay for this service? Maybe it could be an API?

Until Google offers such a service, I'm always going to be wary of giving a third party access to my email.

On hearing of the OLPC organisation's attempts to create a hundred-dollar-laptop that can be distributed free of cost to children in developing countries, many people (including myself) asked "if you can build them that cheaply, why not do it in developed countries too?"

It seems market forces may get there ahead of OLPC. In the US, Walmart is selling a PC for $199usd. At the time of writing, that works out at €137.43039eur".

The PC has been created by gOS -- a name which suggests Google Operating System, except it's not a Google venture. gOS is an independent company that seeks to use open source software, although it does have Google's permission to use its trademarks.

The PC boasts a decent 1.5 GHz processor, 512 MB of memory and an 80 GB hard drive. Its operating system is Ubuntu (i.e. Linux), and it makes use of Google's many (free) applications, such as Gmail, Gtalk, Calendar, Maps, Docs and Spreadsheets, etc, as well as other popular open source and Web 2.0 applications.

If you are buying in euros, you will probably see the price drop even further over the coming weeks and months, as the dollar continues to slide on currency exchange markets. As for shipping to Europe and paying the taxman when it arrives -- unfortunately, these expenses will probably cost more than the PC!

An article about Google published in today's Sunday Times gives an excellent insight into the company's utopian technological vision.

Google’s overall goal is to have a record of every e-mail we have ever written, every contact whose details we have recorded, every file we have created, every picture we have taken and saved, every appointment we have made, every website we have visited, every search query we have typed into its home page, every ad we have clicked on, and everything we have bought online.

This would not just make Google the largest, most powerful super-computer ever; it would make it the most powerful institution in history.

Big brother or little lover? Only time will tell...

Google is planning a "double lucky" version of its search tools for mobile devices, says Stephen Arnold of ArnoldIT (source: Red Herring).

In the Double Lucky system, your search results will be enhanced by two factors: a) your location and b) the time of day.

To give a crude example, if you searched for "things to do" on your mobile device, and you were on Grafton Street in Dublin at 10am, you may be given sites about tourist attractions such as the Book of Kells in Trinity College. Type the same phrase at the same location at 10pm, and you may be given a list of theatres, cinemas and clubs in the area.

Google wants to create a predictive mobile search system for two reasons, Mr. Arnold said. Aside from providing a more accurate search for the user, such a system can reduce latency -- that delay common in wireless communication -- by queuing up answers in advance.

Personally, I have yet to be convinced about the benefits of mobile search. It's been "surely the next big thing" for so long ... a bit like nuclear fusion.

People don't necessarily use technology the way Big Business expects (and wants) them to. The mobile industry expected us to embrace 3G with open arms ... and wallets. That didn't happen. Conversely, nobody expected texting to become the phenomenon it has.

I can understand why people think mobile search will be big, but I'm a compulsive internet user, and I have yet to use any internet-enabled mobile device in any meaningful way. Perhaps the technology will improve, but I suspect mobile device screens will always have to be small enough to fit in our pockets... and that's just not big enough.

Plus, when I use the internet, I'm in "sit down" mode. I can't imagine walking down the street trying to read web pages. But I'm open to being converted...

In Ireland, we have a saying that if you get a reputation as an early riser, you can sleep in as long as you like.

Google clearly wanted to establish a reputation as being morally and ethically incorruptible when it launched its "Don't be Evil" manifesto (which allegedly was created by Paul Buchheit, who has since left the company).

But Google's revenue model is entirely predicated on advertising. Of course, advertising isn't inherently evil (a point I've been making on my Advertising the Future web-book).

But Google doesn't state clearly that some links on its SERPs are adverts; instead it calls them "Sponsored Links". If you know that Sponsored Links are ads, fine. If you don't, are you being deceived? In my experience of giving talks and seminars about Search Engine Marketing, many people do not know that Sponsored Links are advertisements.

This point is made by Falsus.com, in a blog post about a lawsuit against Google for "misleading and deceptive" practices:

As of earlier this year, 62% of searchers were still unaware of the distinction between sponsored and organic results. It's not a stretch to say that Google is trying to take advantage of that. Why else would Google be doing things like giving the top three sponsored links real estate at the top of the page when it used to be the top two? More ads appear above the fold. Present day Google is built on the advertising dollars generated by Adwords, and those ads were carefully integrated into SERPs after Google spent years branding itself as the source for relevant results. One might say Google's entire existence is built on deceiving its users into clicking on those ads (interestingly, the sort of behavior they frown upon with their Adsense publishers).

Meanwhile, John S. Rhodes asks in Apogee.com whether Google Advertising is Evil. His point is that Google encourages Adsense publishers to try to blend ads into websites, making them less distinguishable from content:

Google actively encourages content providers to place advertising in the middle of the page where users normally expect to see content. At the same time, they actively discourage publishers from putting advertising in the right column where users expect advertising.

Personally, I like and admire Google's philosophy. I trust Google. Then again, as any good used car salesman will tell you, the oldest sales trick in the book is to get the customer to like and trust you...

Google has expanded its Pay Per Action programme worldwide and is now available to any Adwords advertisers who have had "at least 500 conversions in the past thirty days under Adwords’ conversion tracking tool", according to a press release.

For those of you who do not have access to the Pay Per Action feature on the Adwords dashboard, here's a screenshot (and an enlarged version):

What is Google Pay Per Action?

Also known as pay per event or cost per action (CPA), this is a new model where Google only charges you when you have received some (customer-defined) benefit on your website.

If a Google visitor clicks on an ad that leads to a sale, sign-up, download, form fill-out -- or some other action you pre-define -- then you pay a pre-agreed sum.

If the visitor sees your ad but doesn't click the ad, you pay nothing -- as per the old model. With the new model, however, if the visitor clicks your ad but doesn't buy your product (or fill out your enquiry form, or whatever you have defined as a valuable "action"), then you pay nothing.

So What's the Catch?

There really is no catch. In my opinion, this is a bold, innovative move from the company that is defining business in the 21st century.

No, Really, What's the Catch?

Well, this (really) isn't a catch, but action payments cost more than click payments. Google recommends setting a value of each action at "between $0.50-$300". We can assume that, the higher the value you set, the more likely your ad will be shown.

Few advertisers would pay $2, let alone $300, in the Adwords pay per click model. So why do I insist that the PPA model's higher price isn't a catch? Because, providing that you set the value of the action lower than what it is actually worth to you, you are guaranteed to make a return on investment (ROI).

Why Is Google Doing This?

I have several theories.

1. Google's Philosophy
I believe that the people who run Google genuinely want to offer an innovative, ethical service that provides a win-win; a service that isn't simply about ripping people off. Google's halo has slipped in recent years, but this move is in keeping with its ethical philosophy.

2. Profit
Ethical, shmetical! Google will probably end up making more money this way.

3. Click Fraud
While Google says it has sophisticated algorithms that deal with click-fraud, how can you (or they) know for sure that they are catching fraudsters?

It is hard to dislodge the suspicion that webmasters are clicking your ads on their sites for their own financial reward, or that your competitors are clicking on your ads to hurt you financially.

With pay per action, however, you can avoid fraud. Define a sale as an action, and the "fraudster" will have to pay more than you!

4. The Ever-Rising Cost of Adwords
When it begin, the Adwords programme was great for "mom-and-pop" home businesses. Five years ago, It was not unusual to pay only two or three cents per click.

Today, however, Mom and Pop are competing with Big Business, who are bidding for the same search terms. Sure, the click through rate (CTR) and the quality of your website play a role in determining which ad gets shown first, but when your competitor is paying a dollar or two more than you for each click, guess who's going to win?

Hopefully the pay per action model may level the playing field -- though at this stage, I can't say that for sure -- in fact, the opposite may happen! Let's wait and see.

And Finally
Well, those are my theories. One thing's for sure, this is a new direction in advertising (not just online) -- and will provide excellent fodder for my evolving online book, Advertising the Future.

Google's Public Service Ads are served to a small, select group of charities and non-profit organisations, chosen by Google. They are sometimes displayed on websites participating in the Adsense programme.

Below is an example of a Google Public Service Ad:


You do not receive any payment if someone clicks on a Public Service Ads displayed on your site.

If you are running the Adsense programme, a public service ad may appear on your website if:

- You have changed the Adsense code (to show the ad above, I deliberately changed the client id line to the following: google_ad_client = "pub-0000")
- Google's bot has not yet crawled all the pages of your website
- The crawler has determined that the page contains certain types of "sensitive content" e.g. adult content
- Your Adsense account has not been declined (usually because your site is deemed inappropriate or non-compliant with the Adsense programme guidelines)
- Your Adsense account is still under review and has not yet been approved
- Your robots.txt file is blocking the Google Adsense crawler
- Your web page contains little or no content

For a fuller list of reasons why your site may be displaying Adsense, visit the Google Adsense Help Centre's information on this topic.

At the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco a few days ago, John Battelle (author of The Search) interviewed Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt.

The interview was thought-provoking, as Schmidt hinted at Google's future, and that of the Internet.

Here are some of the points he touched on:

• Google has acquired Double-Click because advertising is one of the four "thrusts" within the company. "Advertising is both an art and a science", said Schmidt. "We can apply the science".
• Another thrust is creating the world's most powerful supercomputers and largest data centres. This will give them a massive Web 2.0 type platform, allowing them to create scalable applications and release useful APIs.
• The loss of "Net Neutrality" -- whereby telecommunications companies would begin charging tolls on web traffic -- would ultimately be bad for users and bad for society. While Google would be able to afford this tariff, many other companies would not.
• The integration of the internet and mobile devices (e.g. phones) is a space Google is watching carefully
• The internet has only just started "scaling". We ain't seen nothing yet.
• Soon you will be able to move your personal data (search history etc.) from Google to other services (like Yahoo), i.e. you will "own" your own data

Well, that's my take on it. Watch the interview for yourself:

Google has released the API for Picasa Web Albums, the online site associated with the nifty Picasa application.

I've always liked Picasa - particularly the way it finds images all over your hard drive, and makes it ultra-easy to organise and label (tag) them.

As far as I understand it, this API allows you to do many things including:

• Develop your own desktop app that posts images to the Picasaweb site
• Develop a website that makes use of images, albums and tags already stored in Picasaweb
• Develop a photogallery type website where visitors can upload photos using Picasa (or your own app) ... effectively the site uses Picasaweb for image hosting

Expect a spate of development over the coming weeks and months, as enthusiasts play with this API.

Google has had a movie review feature for about a year now but I've only discovered it recently.

Simply type "movie:name of the movie" into the regular Google search box. I like the way Google identifies -- and distinguishes -- positive and negative reviews from other sites, then creates an aggregate review score.

These techniques has been around for a while on sites like movies.com, IMDB and rottentomatoes.com, but Google presents them in a simple, clean, uncluttered way, that's free of overbearing "rich media" advertising.

Personally, I like to read the BBC's review of any film I'm considering, along with Entertainment.ie's review (usually penned by friend-of-Mediajunk Gavin Burke). These reviewers' preferences and opinions tend to be close to my own. Perhaps its a cultural thing?

If you want to see lists of good movies, I'd recommend the BBC's a-z of reviews (in particular, the 4-star and 5-star reviews), or for good 2006 movies, check out the Golden Tomatoes.

SEO practitioners have long suspected that Google takes a hard stance on "duplicate content".

Now this hunch has been confirmed, as Google has been awarded a patent for what it describes as a "'method and apparatus of estimating similarity".

The obvious application of this patent is to hide duplicate pages, or pages that are roughly similar, from searchers. Instead, Google will present only the page that it deems to be the "original" (how it decides this is a question for another day).

Google has had to take this action in response a sneaky trick known as "page-jacking", where search engine spammers identify a page that is already showing up in the top 10 of the SERPs for a particular keyword, then copy that content -- usually with some changes -- to their own website.

However, the patent may have other applications -- such as helping teachers and examiners to detect plagiarism. The sale of essays, assignments and exam answers online is big business, as this Google search for "buy essays online" shows.

Google is for searching, right? Well, not entirely. You can use the Google search bar to perform some other useful functions. Here are three:
1. Calculator
I use Google's calculator function a lot - particularly when working out VAT.

2. Currency Convertor
I discovered this one today. Up to now, I'd been using xe.com. I don't know which is more accurate. Google's rates are provided by Citibank. XE's rates are "mid-market rates" taken from "a variety of sources." My guess is that XE's are more accurate, but the difference is usually minor.

3. World Clock
The "time in city x" function is particularly useful if you are about to send an instant message to someone in another country, particularly a business contact. Just because someone is online doesn't mean they are at work!