Surprises in Search: Holiday Gifts for Pundits
December 6, 2009
The first week of December 2009 delivered a rich feast to mavens, pundits, poobahs, and azure chip consultants. Kwanza and Chanukah arrived early.
What’s transpired in the last week or so?
First, Google jumped into eCommerce search, hired Endeca’s chief technology officer, and made it clear that it wanted to suck in some cash from this lucrative sector of the information retrieval market. I know that most of this eCommerce excitement happened over a period of weeks, but the significance of this tactical move is significant. Endeca which has been working through its cash injections from Intel and SAP now has a real fight on its hands. The company has an RV full of bright MBAs, and it will need these folks to convert a Google thrust into new revenue. Fun holiday and New Year’s Day ahead for the Endeca folks. My “cutting Endeca from the herd” story evoked a gust of push back when I voiced my opinion. I stand by my argument in “Google Cuts Endeca from the Search Herd”.
Second, Microsoft and Yahoo finally got married. Well, maybe the right word is decided to implement their version of the Bernard Slade play “Same Time, Next Year.” The two outfits are going to team up to challenge Google. If you are not on top of this unusual sales / search deal, you may find the Macworld write up a useful summary. Read “Microsoft, Yahoo Finalize Search Deal.”
Third, Oracle, a notoriously aggressive outfit, attacked Mark Logic in a white paper filled with interesting assertions. I wrote about this on December 3, 2009. If direct attacks escalate, 2010 will be a contentious year. The notion that a multi billion dollar database company is threatened by a next generation XML data management system says more about the fear that traditional companies have for smaller firms with better technology.
Finally, the odd yet interesting machinations of traditional publishing companies have signaled a perceived urgency in adapting to the digital information environment. There’s the dust up between Google and News Corp. over indexing. I noted the San Francisco Chronicle’s take on one facet of this battle in “Google’s Schmidt Strikes Back at Murdoch.” More interesting is the push by traditional print publishers to create an online newsstand, sort of a modern day version of the old “Magazine Rack” idea from 15 years ago. You can read about this “old wine in new bottles” approach in “Publishers Alliance to Create iTunes for Print Media as Tablet Rumours Continue to Build”. The problem with this idea is that it is aimed at a generation of readers. The demographics argue that readers will be a small percentage of the consumer population which may not bode well for dreams of new revenue for traditional publishers.
I am looking forward to the discussion of these holiday season topics.
Stephen Arnold, December 6, 2009
Oyez, oyez, I wish to disclose to Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia that I was not paid to write this round up of holiday delights.
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2 Responses to “Surprises in Search: Holiday Gifts for Pundits”
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Very interesting points here but more than ever people are definitely shopping online and also looking for the best deals possible.
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