Microsoft introduced a new front-end for MSN Search data last night on Live.com, the new default homepage for Internet Explorer users. The new features improve the search experience for novice users with a more familiar interaction and customization. Scrollbars, no next button Microsoft found about 60% of their users request more than one page of results for services such as image search. They redesigned the experience, replacing the “next” and “previous” buttons common on other search sites with a with a draggable scroll up or scroll down slider that requests new result sets in the background. Choose your thumbnail…
Category Archives: Search
Google now on Sony Ericsson phones
Sony Ericsson announced a new lineup of mobile phones today with Google integrated as a blogging and search platform. Sony Ericsson’s new K800 and K790 phone models include a 3.2 megapixel camera with a xenon flash and the ability to upload photos and text to Google’s Blogger service. Google will become the default search engine on all Internet-enabled phones from Sony Ericsson. A Google search bar will appear as a part of the default browser but hopefully won’t take up much space on the small 2″ screen. Tags: sonyericsson…
Teoma brand retired
Search company Ask is dropping the Teoma brand name in a further move to roll all of its brands into one. Jeeves, longtime mascot and search butler, was dropped from the site earlier this month. The Teoma team has been a part of Ask Search Technology since Teoma’s September 2001 acquisition. Paul Gardi, formerly VP of search for Ask Jeeves and Teoma, is now leading IAC’s Advertising Solutions business. Teoma has powered Ask’s backend search since 2001 but the Teoma.com front-end always provided more advanced features than Ask. Teoma features have now been rolled into the Ask engine. I’m…
One hallway at Google
I was walking around Google tonight after a party and noticed Udi Manber, formerly of A9, working late. A few offices down from Udi was Andy Hertzfeld. That’s just one hallway in Building 43 but I’m sure there are seriously smart people all over the place. I kept an eye out for Guido but no luck….
Online privacy podcast
In this week’s episode of Om and Niall PodSessions we discussed the current state of online privacy and the options presented to users with their choice of product and features. Do users pay any attention to EULAs? Does anyone realize what data is being stored about them online and shared with advertisers and potentially governments? This week’s podsession, Online privacy: who’s watching you?, is 29 minutes long and a 13 MB download. Tags: privacyonlineprivacy…
MSN Search and Win
MSN Search is giving away prizes to searchers who pay close attention to ads in its search results. If you see a sponsored link with the words “MSN Search & Win” and click on the ad you may have won a new snowboard or maid service. A pretty clever way to get users to pay more attention to ads in search results. Users may change their search behavior to try and trigger a prize response for sponsors such as Bugaboo, Crate and Barrel, and Design within Reach, an average $2.50 CPC on Google AdWords….
Continued interests
I’ve been digging into a few new areas of interest over the past few months I feel still need improvement in search, discovery and tracking. I’ve spoken about most of these topics in my podcast series with Om, but it’s worth mentioning again in text. I’m interested in continuing my work in these areas and perhaps helping to solve some existing problems. Feeds We have RSS 2.0, and Atom 1.0, the world is starting to understand how syndicated content makes sense, but I don’t see a lot of future thinking for handling multiple locations, personas, and personalized content. Advertising is…
Seeking new horizons
I am leaving Technorati to pursue new opportunities. I submitted my resignation letter this morning and I will be a free agent on March 1. I joined Technorati in February 2005 excited about changing the world of weblogs and introducing people to a new kind of search. Almost a year later my passions at work have eroded and it’s time to find new horizons. Valentines Day is the perfect time to rekindle lost flames. The company has accomplished a lot in the past year, emerging from what many people viewed as a commodity space into a market leader. The Alexa…
Ma.gnolia group bookmarks
I spent a little time today playing with Ma.gnolia, a new social bookmarking site currently in beta. Ma.gnolia was built in San Francisco by Larry Halff using Ruby on Rails and some design help from Jeffrey Zeldman and Happy Cog Studios. Ma.gnolia includes standard bookmarking features such as a title, a description, and some tags but the application does a good job of connecting those bookmarks to other groups of users with similar interest. You can browse groups to find like-minded users and subscribe to a group pool of interesting links. Groups allow members to stay involved even if…
Google Maps to carry ads
Google employees confirmed in person today plans for local advertisements within Google Maps, including their Web APIs. Google will overlay blue markers on the map to highlight local business advertisements directly within the graphical search result. A corporate logo and advertising message will be displayed inside of marker info windows complete with a paid link. API developers will have the option to display the ads or to signup for a commercial relationship with Google. Combining local search targeting with graphical ads should yield extremely high payouts for Google. Google is currently paying data fees for maps used in a…