SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 2, 2008

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Apr. 2, 2008 at 5:52pm Eastern by Barry Schwartz

SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 2, 2008

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

Google's First Layoffs: 300 To Go From DoubleClick
Google to Lay Off About 300 at DoubleClick from the New York Times reports that Google will be firing about 300 employees at DoubleClick. The layoffs will cut down the American division of the company by 25-percent, currently employing about 1,200 people. Google has not yet confirmed these layoffs. In...
Google Selling Performics -- Thanks, Google!
Last month, I did an open letter to Google wishing they'd quickly sell off Performics, to avoid the conflict of having a search marketing firm that works to improve results on Google's own search engine. Well, thank you Google! They've acted far more quickly than I would have hoped for,...
Megachart & Analysis: Google Management Changes, 2000-2008
With two high-ranking Google executives leaving the Big G within a month's time, I thought it would be interesting to go back through Google's executive management page over the years and see how it reflects changes among the higher-ups. Below, there are a series of tables and commentary that hopefully...
Yahoo Introduces Wide Range Of Mobile Search Improvements
Yahoo made a range of mobile search-related announcements today at CTIA. At a high level, these include: Open oneSearch (Search Monkey for mobile), Search Assist for mobile, voice-enabled oneSearch, and "idle screen" search....
Google Lets Business Owners Take Control Of Plus Box
Mike Blumenthal has detailed on his blog how Google is now letting business owners provide the address information that's mapped when a "plus box" is opened in search results associated with their listings. Previously Google determined what address/mapping data to show in the plus box, which resulted in errors on...
Verizon Enters The 'Voice Search' Fray With 1-800-THE-INFO
Verizon is formally launching an ad-supported free directory assistance/voice search product in the US called 1-800-THE-INFO. It joins an increasingly crowded field that already features Google, Microsoft, and AT&T, among others. As I said yesterday in my post about the launch of a new voice search offering from ChaCha, most...
Google Update Dewey - Google Confirms Algorithm Change
Remember a couple days ago I reported on some major shifts in the Google search results? Well, this morning I spotted Google's Matt Cutts requesting feedback on the change at WebmasterWorld. In short, Matt said he did not see "large differences in rankings between these datacenters," but he would like...
Microsoft To Upgrade Mobile IE Browser, Live Search For Mobile With New Mapping Features And Voice Search For Blackberries
At the CTIA wireless industry trade show yesterday, among the scores of announcements, Microsoft said that it would be releasing a new and improved mobile IE browser for smart phones in the fall that promises to bring "desktop quality" to the mobile Internet experience. (Numerous others are engaged in this...
Google Loses Another Exec: CIO Douglas Merrill Goes To EMI
Word is from John Furrier that Google Chief Information Officer Douglas Merrill is leaving the company to become president of EMI. News.com has confirmation of his departure from Google and says sources also say he's going to EMI. The New York Times also has sources saying he's headed to the...