With lots of mapping news today, we're combining it all into a single round up, which focuses largely on Google. The company decided, after suspending, examining and "scrubbing" its Street View equipment in Europe and elsewhere, to resume collecting imagery and related data in several countries: Having spoken to the relevant regulators, we have decided to start Street View driving in  Ireland, Norway, South Africa and Sweden again starting next week. We expect to add more countries in time. Our cars will no longer collect any WiFi information at all, but will continue to collect photos and 3 [...]

Related Topics: AOL: Local | AOL: MapQuest | Channel: Local | Foursquare | Google: Maps & Local | Microsoft: Bing Maps & Local | Top News

You might not have thought of it this way but the old MapQuest was mostly about driving directions. The new Mapquest (launching today) is about local search and an expanded range of capabilities and use cases. There's a new look and feel, a new back end, a single search box and a new "brand." Mapquest is the number two mapping site; Google having toppled it from atop the mapping throne in early 2009 after years of complacency and "feature neglect" at the AOL-owned property. But now with a new boss at AOL, fewer ads and a new focus on the consumer experience, Mapquest hopes to build new o [...]

Related Topics: AOL: MapQuest | AOL: Mobile | Channel: Mobile | Google: Maps & Local | Top News

Coy AOL is trying to get as much as it can for its flat to declining search volume from either current partner Google (AOL CEO Time Armstrong's corporate Alma Mater) or Microsoft, still hungry for more search wins and share. In an article recapping the D8 interview of Armstrong this week, he asserts there are "more than two potential partners" for AOL. The current Google search deal expires in December of this year. Sure, there are scores of search engines out there but only two that are able to genuinely compete for AOL's business: Google and Microsoft. Yahoo's not on the list because [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | AOL: Local | AOL: MapQuest | Channel: Local | Google: Web Search | Microsoft: Bing

Happy New Years! The Search Engine Land team would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and successful 2010. Just for fun, I wanted to share the various logos from the search engines and also Google's surprise. Let's start with Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" count down to New Years. Remember when you hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button on Google.com, it would show you how many minutes to 2010? Well, when 2010 hits, it then shows you a fireworks display. Here is a video I made of it. Now for the logos, which is basically a repost of my listing from the Search Engine Roundtable: [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | Ask: General | Channel: Consumer | Google: Logos | Microsoft: Bing | Search Engines: Baidu | SEM Industry: General | Top News | Yahoo: General

While analysts and practitioners have been prognosticating the imminent arrival of local search for the last several years, 2009 was finally the year that proved us right. A number of innovations and developments in mobile search, such as the widespread adoption of the iPhone, the release of Android, and a burgeoning number of location-based apps like Foursquare have certainly helped fuel local search's rise. But local has gained mind share among SEO's, marketers, business owners, and perhaps most importantly, searchers, in its own right as well. Let's take a loo [...]

Related Topics: AOL: MapQuest | Channel: SEO | Google: Maps & Local | Microsoft: Bing Maps & Local | Search Engines: Maps & Local Search Engines | Search Marketing: Local Search Marketing | SEO: Local | Top News | Yahoo: Maps & Local

In a Security and Exchange document filed on Tuesday night, AOL plans on cutting about one-third of their staff, about 2,300 people. The filing said, "the Restructuring will include the reduction of approximately a third of the Company’s current employee base, which will be conducted on a voluntary and involuntary basis." AOL became an independent company earlier this month, as the "new" AOL. It is unfortunate that so many people are going to lose their jobs early next year. It is also very unfortunate AOL had to officially announce this a day before Christmas eve. [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | Channel: Other

MapQuest or variations on its name represent five of the top 22 search queries in the travel category (in November) according to Hitwise. However Google Maps is solidly in first place now as the top mapping site online. That puts MapQuest in the position of having to figure out whether to be content with its second place position or do some things to try and regain the lead. It's not clear whether MapQuest could regain the lead; however, the company has introduced a number of features and upgrades recently in a bid to improve the look and functionality of the site: 360 View: street-leve [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | AOL: MapQuest | Channel: Local

We're more than two years in with street-level photography, although Google was the only game in town for most of that time among the majors. There were also less-well-known independents such as Everyscape and MapJack. Then two weeks ago, Bing made a big splash with a very enhanced Silverlight version of Bing Maps and national coverage with its Street Side imagery. MapQuest for years had been the leader in Maps and it's still the top search term in Travel according to Hitwise. But in February of this year Google passed MapQuest to become the top mapping site for the first time. Throughout t [...]

Related Topics: AOL: Local | AOL: MapQuest | Channel: Local | Google: Maps & Local

Yesterday was the first day of trading for the "new" AOL, an independent company with a market cap of $2.5 billion dollars. When AOL "bought" TimeWarner a decade ago in an all-stock transaction worth $182 billion there was a near consensus that the combined company represented the future of media and publishing. It made a lot of sense -- conceptually. But the marriage never worked out and AOL saw its fortunes decline literally and figuratively as newer companies ascended over the last 10 years. Now, with former Googler Tim Armstrong at the helm, the company's independent strategy is focused [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | AOL: Local | AOL: MapQuest | AOL: Mobile | Channel: Mobile

AOL has weighed in with a heavy hitting list of 2009's top searches in the categories below. AOL’s top searched celebrities for 2009 michael jackson robert pattinson rihanna farrah fawcett kim kardashian megan fox jon and kate miley cyrus patrick swayze natasha richardson Oh, Edward. Patrick Swayze should roadhouse you from heaven. It surprising that AOL is the only search engine where Rihanna made the Top 10, given her year of very public struggles, although Ask does get an honorable mention for a popular Rihanna rumor being questioned. [...]

Related Topics: AOL | Channel: Strategy | Search Headlines | Stats: Search Behavior

One wonders how much the branding consultancy Wolff Olins was paid to help create America Online's new "brand identity." Over the weekend the about-to-be-independent company revealed its new brand and brand philosophy. The major change (so far) is the move from uppercase to lowercase letters: from "AOL" to "Aol." Here's how the release describes that new identity: The new AOL brand identity is a simple, confident logotype, revealed by ever-changing images.  It’s one consistent logo with countless ways to reveal. The new brand identity will be fully unveiled on December 10, when AOL common [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | AOL: MapQuest | AOL: Video | Channel: Video

If you visit Google.com today, you will see a special logo for Veterans Day. The logo is less complex when compared to last years, where Google had to fix their Veterans Day logo. Last year, Google placed hats on top of each letter on the Google logo, the hats included Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. But they forgot one, the U.S. Coast Guard, which they added later. Google also has a logo on Google.co.uk for Remembrance Day: Bing has a Veterans Day Theme: Yahoo typically skips adding a special logo for today, which is what they have done today. But you can see more [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | Ask: General | Channel: Consumer | Google: Logos | Microsoft: General | SEM Industry: General | Yahoo: General

Today is Halloween and the search engines have logos up for the special day. Before I post the logos, here are some posts from others in the community on Halloween. Matt Cutts of Google had a holy costume. Google Blogoscoped noticed Google added trick or treat to their robots.txt file. Bing has a special visual search edition for today. Bruce Clay's team dressed up and PPC Heros added some funk. Finally, the logos you see below is reposted from the Search Engine Roundtable. Google has four Doodles: Yahoo (Flash): AOL (Flash): YouTube: Bing: Ask.com: [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | Ask: General | Channel: Consumer | Google: Logos | Microsoft: General | SEM Industry: Community | Top News | Yahoo: General

AOL announced today that it's hired former Google employee Shashi Seth as its Senior VP of Global Advertising Products. While with Google, Seth was head of monetization for YouTube. Most recently he was the Chief Revenue Officer for Cooliris. AOL's addition of Seth is the latest in a series of hirings from the search industry -- and Google in particular -- going back to March when Tim Armstrong left Google to become AOL's Chairman and CEO. Armstrong was one of Google's longest serving executives, and AOL credited him for helping to "build one of the most successful media teams in the histor [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | Channel: Industry | Google: Employees

The Six Revisions blog complied an excellent list of the classic search engines, some dating back to the 1990s. His list includes screen shots of both the old and current (if available) versions of HotBot, Excite, WebCrawler, Ask Jeeves, Ask.com, Yahoo, Google, Dogpile, AltaVista, Lycos, MSN Search, Bing, AOL Search, Infoseek, Go.com, Netscape, MetaCrawler, and All The Web. Scrolling down the list and looking at some of those old screen shots bring back fun memories. Of course, there are many search engines missing, too many to list there or even here. But looking at the old screen capt [...]

Related Topics: AOL: Search Marketplace | Ask: Web Search | Channel: Search | Google: Web Search | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Live Search | Search Engines: Lycos | Search Engines: Other Search Engines | Yahoo: Search

Brad Garlinghouse, who was previously an SVP at Yahoo, and the author of the now famous "Peanut Butter Manifesto," is joining AOL as president of Internet and Mobile communications. What this means is that he'll be responsibile for email, IM and other communications tools, which implicates a range of properties including Bebo. According to the press release out this morning Garlinghouse will also be "heading up AOL's Silicon Valley operations from its Mountain View campus and serving as the West Coast lead for AOL Ventures, the company`s venture capital arm headed globally by Jon Brod." [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | AOL: MapQuest | Channel: Local

In anticipation of a spin off/IPO for AOL, TimeWarner bought back Google's 5 percent interest in the company for $283 million dollars. Google originally purchased the equity stake in AOL in 2005 to preserve its search relationship with its largest partner and fend of Microsoft, which was seeking a potential deal with or acquisition of AOL. The original Google investment was $1 billion, which valued the TimeWarner AOL unit at $20 billion. The current valuation of AOL, based on the share buy back, would be roughly $5.6 billion. Here's what Google said, before it wrote down most of the va [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | Channel: Industry | Google: Business Issues | Google: Legal | Google: Partnerships

It's been roughly 100 days since Tim Armstrong was named CEO of AOL in anticipation of a spin-off/IPO of the company from corporate parent TimeWarner later this year. There are a slew of interviews out this morning in which Armstrong assesses his first 100 days, the state of the business and gives some indications of where AOL is headed. Among the highlights: AOL sees content and its display ad network reach as its primary strengths It will have many brands built on more unified platforms that simplify the back end The new AOL will be divided into the following areas (per AdAge): co [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | AOL: MapQuest | AOL: Search Marketplace | Channel: Local | Google: Partnerships

According to comScore the average watcher of online video in the US took in 385 minutes-worth in April. And according to Nielsen, in May, "year-over-year, unique viewers, total streams, streams per viewer and time per viewer were up, led by a 49 percent growth in time per viewer." The leading video site is Google/YouTube by a large margin with almost double the unique users of Fox Interactive Media, the next ranking US online video provider. After that it becomes much more competitive. Against that backdrop of intense competition and increasing consumer demand for online video, AOL's video [...]

Related Topics: AOL: Video | Channel: Video | Search Engines: Video Search Engines

We wanted to wish all the fathers out there a happy Father's Day from all of us at Search Engine Land. To celebrate, below is a collection of some of the logos from Google and the rest of the industry. Happy Father's Day! Google: Yahoo: AOL: DogPile: Bing: Ask.com: Cre8asite Forums: Search Engine Roundtable: [...]

Related Topics: AOL: General | Ask: General | Channel: Consumer | Google: Logos | Microsoft: Bing | SEM Industry: Community | Yahoo: General