And Now…A9 Maps
Here's A9 Maps' offering: San Francisco, CA. A different approach combining graphical and photo imagery (Block View). Now if Google Earth and A9 started dating that would really be something.
CNet for Sale?
The Internet Stock Blog exposes (via the NY Post) the rumor and speculates as to why. Will another traditional media company or newspaper publish gobble up this online brand (like MarketWatch, About and Shopzilla)? Or will it be, as mentioned…
More Maps Mania
Google Maps has proven extremely popular and now the company is encouraging developers to run with it (a la Housingmaps). The company has formally launched an API. One day later Yahoo! launched its own Maps API. Here are a couple…
Play It Again, Sam?
Specifically, digital radio can offer listeners very high-quality sound and allow stations to split their signals to increase channels. The problem is the conversion is expensive, perhaps $100,000 per radio station, and only listeners who have digital receivers will notice…
A $1 Trillion Market Cap for Google?
Sorry, but I simply don't believe Google will reach a trillion-dollar market cap. Don't get me wrong, Google is an incredible company. One of the things that I like about them is their relative modesty, something that is not often…
Google Earth: Novelty Meets Utility
After playing around with GE this morning I'd have to say it's really, really cool (to use the vernacular). I especially like the way the map can be manipulated and the perspective (from overhead to "3D") changed. Once the satellite…
Personal and the Social Collide in MyWeb 2.0
The MyWeb upgrade from the original Yahoo! MySearch was a great improvement, allowing users to save and annotate Web pages. I have been using this for months and love it. Today Yahoo! further upgraded the offering (MyWeb 2.0) and made…
Google Earth Has Landed
Google has launched its much anticipated Google Earth (GE) makeover of Keyhole. Dubbed "a 3D interface to the planet," it's basically an upgraded version of of the Keyhole software, integrated with Google Local and personalization. Yes it's cool, it's loaded…
Publishers Face Universal Challenges
The Kelsey Group met last week with Publicar, Colombia's leading directory publisher, and was given a look at the results of recent user focus groups conducted in that country. The results were fascinating to us, because they were so similar…
NY Times Does Tickets Deal, Leverages Coverage
Here's a marriage of content and commerce that leverages the NY Times' theater expertise and following to deliver e-commerce revenues. In one sense it's a no-brainer, but in another it's a good model -- where newspapers have content strength they…
eBay to Build Sites for SMEs
One of the announcements coming out of eBay Live, which I'm merely reading about rather than attending, is that eBay is launching a Web site initiative for SMEs -- ProStores. It will allow SMEs to build sites (with e-commerce capability)…
SME Winner of Yahoo!'s 'Think Big' Competition
Search Engine Journal covers the winner announcement -- StairCycle. In my quest to lower my cholesterol, I'll have to get one. More at ClickZ.
AOL Unwraps Its New Portal
AOL beta-launched its new portal, with certain pieces to follow later (e.g., video, personalization). Internal and external expectations are high for the new site and strategy, which seeks to leverage the AOL user-base and network to drive more advertising revenue.…
MSN Local Search Goes Live
Today is the summer solstice, an auspicious day for the beta launch of MSN Local Search. Though late to the party, MSN is the last but not least major search entrant in the effort to deliver local. With the transformation…
The Bank of Google
Lots of media outlets (here the NY Times) picked up on a story that first appeared in the WSJ online Friday about the allegedly impeding launch of a PayPal rival (Google Wallet is the rumored name). One of the key…
Google's Wallet Not Another PayPal
That's according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The tantalizing quote from Schmidt was: "The payment services we are working on are a natural evolution of Google's existing online products and advertising programs, which today connect millions of consumers and advertisers."…
The Click-Fraud Juggernaut
As I said before, this is really starting to become a big, big PR problem -- although some advertisers and SEMs argue it's a real problem. Coverage from Wired on the issue follows on the heels of recent WSJ coverage…
Contrarians at the Gate
Everyone's jumped on the Google going up, up, up bandwagon. But now, inevitably, the contrarians are emerging. An interesting financial analyst blog, the Internet Stock Blog, presents an argument from fund manager John Hussman about why Google is really worth…
Unlimited DA
Metro One - the wireless provider that touts flat fees and unlimited calling without the hassle of contracts or service plans - announced it would now be offering unlimited DA calls. For $2.00 per month, Metro One subscribers can have…
Google Should Buy . . .
John Battelle points to an interesting piece at Kuro5hin, "a tech/culture site," which reviews Google's past acquisitions and about who/what the company might acquire next. From where I sit, I think Google needs a couple of things. The company has…