Showing posts with label Search advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Search advertising. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Google’s goal: to organise your daily life
FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Google’s goal: to organise your daily life
Google’s goal: to organise your daily life
By Caroline Daniel and Maija Palmer
Published: May 22 2007 21:08 | Last updated: May 22 2007 21:08
Google’s ambition to maximise the personal information it holds on users is so great that the search engine envisages a day when it can tell people what jobs to take and how they might spend their days off.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said gathering more personal data was a key way for Google to expand and the company believes that is the logical extension of its stated mission to organise the world’s information.
Asked how Google might look in five years’ time, Mr Schmidt said: “We are very early in the total information we have within Google. The algorithms will get better and we will get better at personalisation.
“The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as ‘What shall I do tomorrow?’ and ‘What job shall I take?’ ”
The race to accumulate the most comprehensive database of individual information has become the new battleground for search engines as it will allow the industry to offer far more personalised advertisements. These are the holy grail for the search industry, as such advertising would command higher rates.
Mr Schmidt told journalists in London: “We cannot even answer the most basic questions because we don’t know enough about you. That is the most important aspect of Google’s expansion.”
He said Google’s newly relaunched iGoogle service, which allows users to personalise their own Google search page and publish their own content, would be a key feature.
Another service, Google personalised search, launched two years ago, allows users to give Google permission to store their web-surfing history, what they have searched and clicked on, and use this to create more personalised search results for them. Another service under development is Google Recommendations – where the search suggests products and services the user might like, based on their already established preferences. Google does not sell advertising against these services yet, but could in time use them to display more targeted ads to people.
Yahoo unveiled a new search technology this year dubbed Project Panama – which monitors what internet users do on its portal, and use that information to build a profile of their interests. The profiles are then used to display ads to the people most likely to be interested in them.
Autonomy, the UK-based search company is also developing technology for “transaction hijacking”, which monitors when internet surfers are about to make a purchase online, and can suggest cheaper alternatives. Although such monitoring could raise privacy issues, Google stresses that the iGoogle and personalisation services are optional.
The Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK said it was not concerned about the personalisation developments.
Earlier this year, however, Google bowed to concerns from privacy activists in the US and Europe, by agreeing to limit the amount of time it keeps information about the internet searches made by its users to two years.
Google has also faced concerns that its proposed $3.1bn acquisition of DoubleClick will lead to an erosion of online privacy.
Fears have been stoked by the potential for Google to build up a detailed picture of someone’s behaviour by combining its records of web searches with the information from DoubleClick’s “cookies”, the software it places on users’ machines to track which sites they visit.
Mr Schmidt said this year that the company was working on technology to reduce concerns.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Google’s goal: to organise your daily life
By Caroline Daniel and Maija Palmer
Published: May 22 2007 21:08 | Last updated: May 22 2007 21:08
Google’s ambition to maximise the personal information it holds on users is so great that the search engine envisages a day when it can tell people what jobs to take and how they might spend their days off.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said gathering more personal data was a key way for Google to expand and the company believes that is the logical extension of its stated mission to organise the world’s information.
Asked how Google might look in five years’ time, Mr Schmidt said: “We are very early in the total information we have within Google. The algorithms will get better and we will get better at personalisation.
“The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as ‘What shall I do tomorrow?’ and ‘What job shall I take?’ ”
The race to accumulate the most comprehensive database of individual information has become the new battleground for search engines as it will allow the industry to offer far more personalised advertisements. These are the holy grail for the search industry, as such advertising would command higher rates.
Mr Schmidt told journalists in London: “We cannot even answer the most basic questions because we don’t know enough about you. That is the most important aspect of Google’s expansion.”
He said Google’s newly relaunched iGoogle service, which allows users to personalise their own Google search page and publish their own content, would be a key feature.
Another service, Google personalised search, launched two years ago, allows users to give Google permission to store their web-surfing history, what they have searched and clicked on, and use this to create more personalised search results for them. Another service under development is Google Recommendations – where the search suggests products and services the user might like, based on their already established preferences. Google does not sell advertising against these services yet, but could in time use them to display more targeted ads to people.
Yahoo unveiled a new search technology this year dubbed Project Panama – which monitors what internet users do on its portal, and use that information to build a profile of their interests. The profiles are then used to display ads to the people most likely to be interested in them.
Autonomy, the UK-based search company is also developing technology for “transaction hijacking”, which monitors when internet surfers are about to make a purchase online, and can suggest cheaper alternatives. Although such monitoring could raise privacy issues, Google stresses that the iGoogle and personalisation services are optional.
The Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK said it was not concerned about the personalisation developments.
Earlier this year, however, Google bowed to concerns from privacy activists in the US and Europe, by agreeing to limit the amount of time it keeps information about the internet searches made by its users to two years.
Google has also faced concerns that its proposed $3.1bn acquisition of DoubleClick will lead to an erosion of online privacy.
Fears have been stoked by the potential for Google to build up a detailed picture of someone’s behaviour by combining its records of web searches with the information from DoubleClick’s “cookies”, the software it places on users’ machines to track which sites they visit.
Mr Schmidt said this year that the company was working on technology to reduce concerns.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
FT.com / Companies / US & Canada - Evolution of the internet opens doors for Microsoft
FT.com / Companies / US & Canada - Evolution of the internet opens doors for Microsoft
Evolution of the internet opens doors for Microsoft
By Richard Waters
Published: May 7 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 7 2007 03:00
A coming shift in the dynamics of the internet advertising business, as the momentum starts to shift away from the keyword-based systems used by search engines, is one of the biggest factors behind Microsoft's takeover approach to Yahoo, according to industry executives and analysts.
Microsoft has shown few signs yet that it is even starting to win back any ground lost to Google in search, despite heavy investments over the past three years to build its own search engine and keyword advertising system.
Evolution of the internet opens doors for Microsoft
By Richard Waters
Published: May 7 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 7 2007 03:00
A coming shift in the dynamics of the internet advertising business, as the momentum starts to shift away from the keyword-based systems used by search engines, is one of the biggest factors behind Microsoft's takeover approach to Yahoo, according to industry executives and analysts.
Microsoft has shown few signs yet that it is even starting to win back any ground lost to Google in search, despite heavy investments over the past three years to build its own search engine and keyword advertising system.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Google chief dismisses rivals’ criticism
FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - Google chief dismisses rivals’ criticism
Google chief dismisses rivals’ criticism
By Aline van Duyn in New York
Published: March 6 2007 19:41 Last updated: March 6 2007 19:41
Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google, on Tuesday shrugged off criticism being heaped on the internet company by rivals and some media companies over its approach to copyrighted content, dismissing it in barbed comments as a form of negotiation.
“The kinds of comments you’re referring to [criticising Google] are in the context of a business negotiation,” Mr Schmidt told investors at a Bear Stearns conference.
“I have learned that as part of being a player in the media industry, the way one negotiates is everything is leaked and you’re sued to death. So the lawsuits...appear to be in the course of doing normal business,” he said, adding this might reflect the preponderance of lawyers in the media industry.
“It is not normal in the technology industry, I can assure you,” he added.
Mr Schmidt’s comments follow a fierce attack on Google by its rival Microsoft over its “cavalier” approach to copyright. Tom Rubin, associate general counsel for Microsoft, earlier accused Google of exploiting books, music, films and television programmes without permission.
A number of book publishers have sued Google for making digital copies of copyrighted books from libraries without permission. In addition, a number of media companies have stepped up pressure on Google to remove their video content from the popular video sharing site YouTube as some negotiations to license the content and share advertising revenues have stalled.
Among the companies facing difficult negotiations with Google are Viacom, CBS and NBC Universal. The discussion started last year after Google paid $1.6bn to acquire YouTube, the most popular online video sharing site. As well as large amounts of videos created by YouTube users, people also share illegally copied videos.
Google has grown to be one of the world’s biggest media companies on the back of strong growth in search advertising, a market it dominates around the world. Google is working to extend its ability to target advertising to other online sectors as well as traditional advertising markets, such as television and radio.
Mr Schmidt said on Tuesday that there was a “genuine disagreement” between it and media companies about the value of copyrighted video material.
“The value is determined by whether people view it, and in our world value is measurable,” he said. “People say: my product is worth x, and Google says: prove it. In that context there is a genuine disagreement.”
Google plans to introduce targeted advertising to the US radio market this year and it is experimenting with introducing it to the television market. Mr Schmidt also said that mobile advertising could become a huge new market sector.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Google chief dismisses rivals’ criticism
By Aline van Duyn in New York
Published: March 6 2007 19:41 Last updated: March 6 2007 19:41
Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google, on Tuesday shrugged off criticism being heaped on the internet company by rivals and some media companies over its approach to copyrighted content, dismissing it in barbed comments as a form of negotiation.
“The kinds of comments you’re referring to [criticising Google] are in the context of a business negotiation,” Mr Schmidt told investors at a Bear Stearns conference.
“I have learned that as part of being a player in the media industry, the way one negotiates is everything is leaked and you’re sued to death. So the lawsuits...appear to be in the course of doing normal business,” he said, adding this might reflect the preponderance of lawyers in the media industry.
“It is not normal in the technology industry, I can assure you,” he added.
Mr Schmidt’s comments follow a fierce attack on Google by its rival Microsoft over its “cavalier” approach to copyright. Tom Rubin, associate general counsel for Microsoft, earlier accused Google of exploiting books, music, films and television programmes without permission.
A number of book publishers have sued Google for making digital copies of copyrighted books from libraries without permission. In addition, a number of media companies have stepped up pressure on Google to remove their video content from the popular video sharing site YouTube as some negotiations to license the content and share advertising revenues have stalled.
Among the companies facing difficult negotiations with Google are Viacom, CBS and NBC Universal. The discussion started last year after Google paid $1.6bn to acquire YouTube, the most popular online video sharing site. As well as large amounts of videos created by YouTube users, people also share illegally copied videos.
Google has grown to be one of the world’s biggest media companies on the back of strong growth in search advertising, a market it dominates around the world. Google is working to extend its ability to target advertising to other online sectors as well as traditional advertising markets, such as television and radio.
Mr Schmidt said on Tuesday that there was a “genuine disagreement” between it and media companies about the value of copyrighted video material.
“The value is determined by whether people view it, and in our world value is measurable,” he said. “People say: my product is worth x, and Google says: prove it. In that context there is a genuine disagreement.”
Google plans to introduce targeted advertising to the US radio market this year and it is experimenting with introducing it to the television market. Mr Schmidt also said that mobile advertising could become a huge new market sector.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
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