Another Google Black Eye
March 10, 2010
“Google’s Online Only Phone Selling Model Has Failed” makes it clear that the math club is not particularly good in the sales and marketing game. In the last few months, I have noted that some folks are taking a more critical look at the search company everyone loves to use. Here’s a representative passage from this right jab to Googzilla’s head:
Well, it’s been a while now since Google launched the Nexus One — and so far, it hasn’t lived up to their expectations. I guess it’s not as bad as the Google Buzz roll-out, but Google’s attempt at fundamentally changing the way we buy cell phones has yet to bear much fruit.
Interesting. But Google has a policy of not paying for ads itself nor hiring consultants. I wonder if ZDNet’s editors will become more frisky as 2010 unfolds? Not much risk I suppose.
Stephen E Arnold, March 10, 2010
No one paid me to write this item. I will report non payment to the US Postal Service which may deliver some of the Google phones.
Surprise. Telcos Do Not Like Nexus One
March 8, 2010
Some chatter over the last two days suggests that Google plays favorites. Google does play favorites, but it does its head patting in subtle ways; that is, if you see the Nexus One roll out as a low key initiative. Navigate to the SP Trading Desk and the story “Google’s Nexus One Upsets Carriers.” You may have to do some work to see the story. The ads load slowly and then there is a weird pop over thing, but the content is still there.
The Financial Post said:
The launch of Google Inc.’s new Web-enabled smartphone, dubbed Nexus One, means the end of the Internet search giant’s Android software as we know it.
The insight comes from an analyst, Peter Misek.
The story points out that some telecommunications carriers are not jumping with joy over Google’s intrusion into yet another parcel of telco land. Google, the analyst and the telcos, now realize that:
Google is trying to circumvent their ownership of networks, spectrum and customers…Android is currently available on more than a 20 phones.
Now how can Google disadvantage competitors. My goodness, I am no Elizabeth Barrett Browning but let me count some of the ways:
- Applications. Some may not be available for non Google phones. This is the Apple approach and lots of other companies’ approach.
- Latency. Ah, more subtle. Google does prioritize certain network services. Maybe but some hard evidence is needed.
- Content delivery. My research indicates that Google’s CDN technology has some interesting technical capabilities. Even better, the CDN is smart and considers many factors which to one skilled in the art may be applied in other ways.
- Features. Ask Motorola about this angle.
- Metrics. Lots of metrics are available. The question is who gets what and when.
- Services. I can anticipate the real time translation service emerging as an interesting poker chip in the telco game.
Back to the gossip and rumors. Does Google advantage itself? Do Google employees use MOMA?
Stephen E Arnold, March 8, 2010
No one paid me to write this. I will report non payment to that most objective of US government entities, the FCC.
AT&T Dumps Google for Yahoo Search
March 3, 2010
I was surprised to read that AT&T prefers Yahoo Search to Google Search. The story I saw was “AT&T Ditches Google For Yahoo Search on Motorola Backflip.” I found this passage interesting:
AT&T’s first Android phone won’t ship with Google Search. Instead, The Motorola Backflip‘s home screen will sport a Yahoo Search widget, and its browser will run Yahoo searches by default. Yep. I think that’s what they call a burn. It’ll be the first Android device of any kind with Yahoo as the main search engine, which makes sense: Android is Google’s platform, so Google Search is a natural fit. But Android’s also an open platform, which means that carriers can do with it what they please—including denying its creator a chunk of valuable search revenue.
So the love birds are unhappy in the nest? I had heard that AT&T was grousing about having to spend money for Google AdWords as it whips it attorneys to find ways to make the non-telco Google heel like a well trained poodle. Then AT&T indicated that it would sell the Android phones. Now as a way of showing who is still the boss, those phones will use Yahoo Search as the default search engine.
Horrors. I assert that there will be more to this saga.
Stephen E Arnold, March 3, 2010
Nope, not paid. Because I mention AT&T, I must report a freebie to the FCC. I am now reporting: “I wrote this item for free.”
Perfect Video Search?
February 22, 2010
I wrangled a free meal from two Perfect Search engineers. I learned that Perfect Search was providing the technology for i.TV, pronounced “i dot TV.”
I have written about Perfect Search’s robust, high-performance search and content processing system previously. You may know that the company was founded in 2007 by veterans of the search industry. Perfect Search has achieved significant, game-changing, patent-protected innovation in the core processes of search. The Perfect Search system can chop down the number of servers needed to manipulate petabytes of data by an order of magnitude. The result is increases in indexing and query speeds and throughput and dramatically lower infrastructure costs. Perfect Search products include a Database Search Appliance for Oracle, a OneBox Extender for the Google Search Appliance, and search for Backup and Storage solutions.
I am not “into video” so I was not familiar with i.TV. The company offers an application for the iPhone and iPod touch that helps people discover, share and consume media. With i.TV, users can browse hundreds of thousands of up-to-date local TV and movie listings, as well as a catalog of hundreds of thousands of TV and movie titles available for download and DVD rental. i.TV also includes community features and allows people to write reviews, rate shows and recommend shows to followers and friends on Twitter and Facebook. i.TV enables users to watch movie trailers and television previews, purchase movie tickets, manage their Netflix queues, and use their iPhone or iPod touch as a remote control.
My host, Ken Ebert, one of Perfect Search’s senior technologist, told me:
We have been able to replace the native search functionality of the MySQL application and integrate the Perfect Search engine into the i.TV application and have high-throughput functionality for indexing of new data and querying of the multiple MySQL databases that i.TV maintains. Companies that have multiple relational databases struggle to index and search these content repositories in a timely, cost-effective manner, especially when the query involves complex database joins. We are able to search over a billion records on a single Database Search Appliance. We are excited to be able to be involved with a company that has such a great product and that is poised to have significant growth.
Mr. Ebert explained that the Perfect Search team was delighted to to be installed as part of one of the top downloaded iPhone applications.
We downloaded the app and were able to locate specific shows quickly and easily. When I travel, I will be able to catch my History Channel favorite, “Engineering an Empire.” The i.TV app is available at the Apple Store and in the iTunes store and is a top download. Perfect Search brings order to the untidy world of programming databases. From the iPhone there is snappy performance for basic and advanced search.
Besides matching up geo-codes to determine the customer location, Perfect Search is handling some complex database joins, allowing i.TV customers to search by TV Network, actor name, or TV Show title with blistering response times. Perfect Search is also providing queries of several TV and movie listing databases.
Stephen E Arnold, February 22, 2010
I did get a free meal, but I was not otherwise compensated for this write up. I will report good food and fine company as a payoff to the Economic Research Service, a unit of the Department of Agriculture. Adhere Solutions is working with Perfect Search. My son is a smart lad in my opinion.
Someone Said It, Facebook Is a Problem for Google
February 18, 2010
I react to what I see in the open source information flow. I was quite happy to read “Don’t Count Out Facebook as a Competitor to Google.” Google managed to match Facebook’s disjointed approach to user privacy. Neither company is the Olga Yosifovna Preobrazhenskaya (darn good Russian dancer) of social media. Nevertheless, these two companies with their skill in the Plexico Burris Method continue to chase one another. Shooting oneself with regards to privacy could be fatal I suppose. Facebook with its wounds is hounding the Google.
Web Pro News wrote:
Facebook has surpassed Yahoo as the #2 site online in the U.S. in terms of unique visitors, just under Google. In December, according to Compete, Facebook’s unique visitors in the U.S. had increased by over 121%. That’s pretty incredible, because I seem to recall Facebook being pretty popular in late 2008 too.
The Google is chasing some big fish, but I think Facebook might be one of those creatures from the depths of the demographic ocean. Gmail’s Buzz might not be the net to catch the Facebook beasties. Facebook’s search is not too spiffy, but it has users and keeps getting more.
Stephen E Arnold, February 18, 2010
No one paid me to write this article. Because I mention the deep sea, I think I must report fishing without a catch to NOAA.
Vodafone Light Bulb Goes On
February 17, 2010
I was quite amused to read the Guardian’s story “Vodafone Chief Warns Google’s Growing Power Could Harm Consumer Choice.” In the midst of the Barcelona mobile flamenco, Vodafone about Google’s “power”. The Vodafone senior manager making this statement is Vittorio Colao. I wonder if he realizes that his firm hooked up with Google as early as April 2001, long before the US telcos knew there was more to Google than Web search. I noticed that on the Vodafone site there is a Google Nexus One Phone FAQ. Not even the addled goose is sufficient crazed to poke too much fun at Google. I don’t have any relationship with the Mountain View crowd until I publish a Google study based on open source documents. Then a Google 20 something attorney writes me or my client to complain that the information in a BearStearns report was secret or that one of my studies includes diagrams not in a Google patent document. We fax the open source document to the eager lawyer and go on about our business. But the Vodafone outfit is a Google partner and has been since 2001. Now the Guardian is reporting that Vodafone understands Google’s partner. The hook for the story was a speech at the mobile flamenco. I was amused by the Vodafone poobah’s statement that, according to the Guardian, “warned mobile phone executives about Google’s growing power in the online advertising and search market, which he [poobah] claims could damage consumer choice.” I was also amused that the Guardian did not point out that Vodafone was going on dates with Google, presumably doing more than batting their eyes over a coffee and bizcocho.
I am in Harrod’s Creek, and there are some real stories at the mobile flamenco. A poobah criticizing a partner could have been a story; for example, answering this question would have caught my attention, “Why after a nine year relationship are you afraid, poobah?” Or, “Is your deal with Google putting your company in jeopardy and risking shareholder value?” Or, “Why are you partnering with an outfit and warning others in your industry to be wary?” Could be a signal, eh?
I am not a real journalist, so I suppose my questions are just silly addled goose thoughts.
Stephen E Arnold, February 17, 2010
No one paid me to write this. Because the post pokes its beak toward telecommunications, this is a fact of important to the FCC to which I herewith report no dough.
Online Pricing: App Store Wars
February 16, 2010
Apple has figured out online pricing for music. The digital chains are attached to the children of the people at the Barcelona mobile hoe down. I am not sure Apple’s model applies as well to audio books and videos, though. I will admit that the iPhone App Store has been a bit of a surprise to me and my goslings. The iPhone was good looking and easier to use than some of the mobile clunkers I had previously owned. But the different pieces worked reasonably well with iTunes, the iTouch, the iPhone, and the App Store snapping my wrists together quickly.
A few moments ago I popped open my newsreader and saw a headline that caught me by surprise, probably not the magnitude of the surprise that the Apple vertically integrated approach to gizmos evokes, but close enough for an addled goose in the snow.
The article was “Two Dozen Carriers Worldwide Unite against Apple’s App Store.” After a bit of clicking, I noticed that dozens of comments were flashing around the Internet. The basics, according to MocoNews.net, a publication “healthily obsessed with mobile content”, reported:
Two dozen of the world’s largest mobile-phone companies, including Verizon Wireless, AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, Deutsche Telekom, China Mobile and Vodafone, are teaming up to create an “open international applications platform,” which is obviously in direct response to Apple’s success with its own iPhone App Store. Release. The announcement was made this morning at Mobile World Congress. In addition to the 24 carriers, the GSMA and three device manufacturers—LG (SEO: 066570), Samsung and Sony, Ericsson—are also supporting the initiative. All combined, the group reaches 3 billion subscribers worldwide, making it easily the largest app-store initiative.
Several observations:
- In the online monetizing wars, victory goes to the outfit who figures out how to get money and keep others out. The reason that there are a couple of big companies controlling information in certain market sectors is not an accident. The market coalesces around services that amass high value content. Music is not a must have to me, but I think Apple has done a good job of turning information about which I care not a whit into a must-have information type for its customers.
- Developers go where the money is and keep poking their heads up and honking when a potential new source of money lands in their pond. Developers are paying attention to Android because it is Google, free, and gaining support. If anyone puts a dent in Apple’s shiny vertical consumer combine, it will be Google. Then guess what. Google will be the “new” Apple. It is not Google management acumen; it is the way online markets work for certain information types. I know you don’t believe me, so take a gander (no pun intended) at the online vendors of legal content.
- The Balkans approach to battling a service-device chain is going to be an interesting management problem. Sony, for example, should have been Apple. Apple grabbed a space Sony dominated and then went at the children of Sony executives. Keep in mind that the folks running these companies united against Apple can find the root cause of Apple’s success by talking to their children. If there are any young employees around, ask them.
Now is it fair, just, and right to join together to beat up on a company that was on death’s door with a boss who was on death’s door? In today’s world, I know two dozen companies who think that this type of behavior is just ducky (no pun intended).
My thought is that the telecommunications companies have problems beyond Apple. Maybe the Balkans’ method is the new management revolution? I will keep an open mind.
Stephen E Arnold, February 16, 2010
No one paid me to write this. Since the write up is about management strategy, I will report scribbling for no dollars to the Federal Consulting Group, a very strategic operation. Do you read its reports? I think the telecommunications companies do. Check ‘em out here.
Googler Alfred Spector Grants Interview
February 15, 2010
TechRadar ran “Google’s Alfred Spector on Voice Search, Hybrid Intelligence and Beyond”. If you are a Google watcher, you will want to read this write up. The “hook” for the story is voice search. Now before you get too excited, the Googler does not mention that the voice search interface for a search engine is the product of top Googlers Sergey Brin and Monika Henzinger. You know Mr. Brin, but Ms. Henzinger may be even more intellectually adept. You may want to snag a copy of US7366668 because it can provide some useful insight into the references that Mr. Spector makes in his comments.
Second, you need to know who Alfred Spector is. He’s been at Google a couple of years, joining in 2007. Prior to founding Transarc Corp., he was a professor at Carnegie Mellon. Like most Googlers, he has a wheelbarrow full of awards, including his being inducted as a Fellow of the ACM in 2006.
For me, the key points in the write up were:
- Google’s voice search has come along rapidly.
- Voice search is important in mobile search.
- Machine translation is coming along.
Okay. I understand.
Was there a nugget that makes the goose’s feathers stand up?
Yep, and here’s the key comment in the article. Mr. Spector is quoted as saying:
“It’s very difficult to solve these technological problems without human input,” he says. “It’s hard to create a robot that’s as clever, smart and knowledgeable of the world as we humans are. But it’s not as tough to build a computational system like Google, which extends what we do greatly and gradually learns something about the world from us, but that requires our interpretation to make it really successful.
How are these human inputs integrated into voice and other tough information problems? That question is not answered. My new Google study on rich media does describe some of the systems and methods that Google uses. Surprising stuff and not in Mr. Spector’s comments.
When Mr. Brin or Mr. Page “invent” something. Do you think that invention is important? I do. That “hybrid intelligence” stuff is interesting as well.
Stephen E Arnold, February 15, 2010
No one paid me to write this. Since I mention a patent, I will report my hopeless state of poverty to the USPTO, an outfit with a surfeit of financial and intellectual riches.
Google Flashes Star Trek Gizmo
February 8, 2010
Short honk: In 2006 one of my partners and I made a series of presentations to Big Telecommunications Companies. After about 15 minutes of introductory comments, I perceived the reaction as my bringing a couple of dead squirrels into the conference room, chopping them up, and building a fire with the telco executives’ billfolds. Chilly and hostile are positive ways to describe the reaction to my description of Google’s telecommunications related technologies. Fortunately I got paid, sort of like a losing gladiator getting buried in 24 BCE in a mass grave.
You can see telco woe when you read and think about the story in the Herald Sun, “Google Leaps Barrier with Translator Phone.” The story apparently surfaced in the paywall secure London Times but the info leaked into the world in which I live via Australia. The key point in the write up was the sentence:
If it [a Google phone with automatic translation] worked, it could eventually transform communication among speakers of the world’s 6,000-plus languages.
Well, if it worked, it means that the Googlers’ voice search, machine translation, and low latency distributed computing infrastructure will find quite a few new customers in my opinion. Think beyond talking, which is obviously really important. I wonder if entertainment executives can see what the telco executives insisted was impossible tin 2006.
One president of a big cellular company in the chilly Midwest said in a very hostile tone as I recall, “Google can’t do telecommunications. It’s an ad company. We’re a telecommunications company. There’s a difference.”
Oh, is there? Bits are bits in my experience. I used to watch Star Trek and so did some Googlers assert I.
Stephen E Arnold, February 8, 2010
No one paid me to write this. I will report non payment to the FCC, a really great entity.
Attensity Goes for Mobile
January 21, 2010
I saw the headline “Attensity Announces New Mobile Features for Attensity Analyze for VOC”. VOC means voice of the customer. The acronym is gaining popularity as a synonym for customer support. As you know, customer support sounds so darned good and so easy to say when giving a sales pitch. But when you buy a gizmo and have a question, customer support is almost as bad as having a kidney stone when you are having a root canal. I find the “your call will be recorded for quality purposes” one of the most memorable pieces of disinformation I have encountered. When one gets to a person, I find that the individual reads a script and often does not listen to my question.
I lost a bank ATM card whilst undergoing a security check at Boston Logan airport on January 6, 2010. When I arrived in Philadelphia, I discovered that my bank ATM card, a gift card for a book store, and a handful of business cards were missing. I called my bank and requested that the card be “killed”. I was rushing to a connecting flight, and the bank reluctantly agreed to “kill” the card but only after I agreed to a $10 service charge, providing my social security number twice, my address twice, and verification via a “yes” or a “no” that I had an account at the bank. That made a wonderful impression on me because I don’t think there are too many people who knew the card number, my social security number, my bank account number, and my middle name. The institution? Ah, the fraction bank, Fifth Third.
Customer support, therefore, raises some sunken baggage, and I think the VOC acronym is designed to dance around the connotations of customer support. Well, I learn quickly, so this news story is about customer support. Attensity, according to the news item,
announced new mobile functionality for its award-winning Attensity Analyze for VOC. … Attensity Analyze for VOC offers users deeper capabilities for understanding and acting on customer feedback.
The story continued:
The new mobile functionality for Attensity Analyze for VOC enables users of mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone, the Verizon Droid, and the Google Nexus One to analyze Voice of the Customer (VoC) feedback across a variety of customer conversation channels including emails, CRM notes, survey responses and social media. Users can select any of their Attensity Analyze dashboards and switch between various views from any mobile device. Interactive drill-downs allow for deep exploration of data, while automatic issues and topic alerts allow customer service professionals and executives to be alerted in near-real time to potential crises or issues with their company or their competitor’s products.
If you are struggling with your own organization’s customer support demons, you may want to check out the Attensity offering. Sounds really good. Just like an executive’s promise that his / her company provides customer support.
Stephen E Arnold, January 21, 2010
Oyez, oyez, oyez. (I think I needed three oyezs to check out Google deduplication method revealed in US6658423.) I received no dough for this write up. I will report this sad fact to the Federal Reserve Bank in St Louis, a publisher of economic research on many topics often unrelated to monetary policy.
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
