Google had a strong Q1 with $8.58 billion in gross revenue. Net revenue was $6.54 billion. Both figures were somewhat better than some expected, although many are calling them "mixed." Growth was 27 percent year over year. Expenses and costs were higher and some investors are expressing disappointment; Google shares are down almost 5 percent in after-hours trading. Here are some highlights from from the release: Revenues – Google reported revenues of $8.58 billion in the first quarter of 2011, representing a 27% increase over first quarter 2010 revenues of $6.77 [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: Acquisitions | Google: AdWords | Google: Business Issues | Google: Employees | Google: General | Top News

Ars Technica reports Google has given a $1 million grant to a team at Georgia Tech in order to build tools to help users around the world monitor the internet for free. The goal is to build web-based tools any user can use that enables them to detect Internet throttling, government censorship, and other transparency problems. It will let users verify that their ISPs are delivering the upload and download speeds they were promised. It will let users learn if their governments are blocking or modifying the Internet without their knowledge. It will basically help users know if they are being [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: General | Google: Internet Access

There's lots of buzzing and posting this morning based on a couple of tweets from Tim O'Reilly and Steve Case. They state that "Google Circles" (which is "awesome") is going to launch "possibly today." (See updates below.) ReadWriteWeb has a lengthy discussion of the reportedly impending product launch. It's based largely on hearsay but here are the main bullets from that post: The service will offer photo, video and status message sharing Everything shared on Circles is shared "only with the most appropriate circle of social contacts in their lives, not with all your contacts [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Buzz | Google: General | Google: Orkut | Google: Social Search

Hubspot, a software company that makes tools for online marketing, has garnered a $32 million series D funding round from Google Ventures, along with Sequoia Capital and Salesforce.com. The firm's original investors also participated in the round. Hubspot, founded in 2006 by two MIT alums, offers businesses a suite of software to help them attract more visitors to their web sites and convert those visitors into leads and customers. The tools do everything from help optimize landing pages, to blog, to manage e-mail campaigns, to lead tracking. The company also offers search engine optimizati [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Google: General

So you or your child has already conquered the annual school science fair? And you've even dominated at the regional and state levels, too? And you're thinking to yourself, "We need a real challenge. Competing against Johnny down the block was too easy." Well, Google has something just for you: the first Google Science Fair. Any student from 13 to 18 years old can enter, no matter where you call home. The only requirements are a computer, Internet access, and a web browser (because you'll begin by building and submitting the science project online). Registration is open until April 4th. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: General | Google: Other | Google: Partnerships

Facebook passed Google as the most-visited website in the US in 2010, according to a new end-of-year report from Experian Hitwise. And not only that, but Facebook was also the most searched-for keyword of the year, too, just as it was a year ago. In fact, Hitwise says four of the top ten most popular search terms in 2010 involved people searching for Facebook. According to Hitwise, Facebook accounted for 8.93% of all US website visits between January and the end of November, 2010. Google, which was the most-visited site in 2009, dropped to second this year with 7.19% of all visits. But, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Google: General | Search & Society: General | Stats: Hitwise | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Search Behavior | Top News

Satellites have long been used for good and ill but never before have they been marshaled to help prevent human rights abuses and political violence -- before they happen. But that's the aim of a project that involves the UN, Google, Harvard and a non-profit organization called Not On Our Watch, co-founded by US actor George Clooney. The objective of what's being called "The Satellite Sentinel Project" is to monitor and thereby prevent anticipated violence expected to coincide with a vote in Sudan about whether to split the country into two: north and south. The project is the brainchild o [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: General | Google: Other | Google: Outside US | Google: Partnerships

Google Me. Google Emerald Sea. Google +1. Those are some of the names thought to be in play for Google's much hyped, discussed, and anticipated social project. Maybe "overhyped" is the right word because, if TechCrunch got its hands on a real screenshot (and it appears they did), it's just a toolbar with a "share" button. A toolbar? With a share button? That's Google's big social project? Well, just a couple months ago, CEO Eric Schmidt did clarify that Google was working on adding a social "layer" to its products, not on a specific social product. And a toolbar certainly qualif [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Features: Analysis | Google: General | Google: Social Search

The subject of "Google Me" has been discussed and debated and picked apart at length already. It's already tired and the "product" hasn't even launched. A new round of rumor and speculation has emerged from Quora (and TechCrunch). The supposed internal-testing name for Google Me was reported to be "Emerald City" but is now actually, supposedly, "Emerald Sea." But wait, it could also be called "Google + 1" and be a toolbar or browser extension that will try and duplicate the function of Facebook's Like. It's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma -- or rather that was Russia. H [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: General | Google: Labs | Google: Orkut | Google: Partnerships | Google: Social Search

Earlier this week Google launched offline product inventory for Google Shopping/Product Search. And this morning the company is going live with the decidedly un-Googly Boutiques.com. On the surface Boutiques may resemble other "social shopping" sites such as Polyvore or Stylehive, among others. But the underlying technology, I'm told, is much more sophisticated than comparable female-centric shopping sites. (There's also an iPad app.) Boutiques is a highly visual, social and personalized shopping destination built on sophisticated machine learning and visual recognition technology. M [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Retail | Google: Acquisitions | Google: General | Google: Personalized Search | Google: Product Search | Top News

Google CEO Eric Schmidt will be speaking today at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. I'm here and will be live blogging his remarks, when the session begins. Schmidt is set to speak at 2:35pm Pacific, and he'll be interviewed on stage by John Battelle and Tim O'Reilly. Live blogging to start shortly. There's also a live stream here. John asks about news from a new device from Google... Eric: we don't make devices John: A new device powered by software. Eric: I have an unannounced device here. Showing an Android phone, looks like the Nexus 2 / Nexus S that's been rumored. S [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Google: General | Top News

Back in 1996, the now defunct Boardwatch Magazine had a classic cover depicting Microsoft and CEO Bill Gates as the Borg. For 2010, we'd like to submit some more modern candidates: Google, Facebook and Apple. The article below assumes some knowledge of the Borg from Star Trek. Never heard of them? Nasty creatures that "assimilated" everything into their "collective" society. The Google Borg Google started as that lovable search engine that found what you wanted. Google still finds what you want, but to some, it feels much less lovable these days. The company has assimilated many web [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Features: General | Google: General | Top News

Bloomberg Television is airing a documentary on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 9PM Eastern about Google, as part of its "Game Changers" series. It features interviews with a number of Google watchers, such as Ken Auletta who wrote Googled, author Steven Levy and myself. Former Googler and now notable venture capitalist Chris Sacca is also interviewed, among others. I haven't seen the documentary yet, so I'll be watching along with others to see the final product. There are two preview clips you can watch now, a short 30 second one: and a longer 3:30 minute one: If you don't have Bloombe [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Google: General

Louis Gray reports that Google has opened up a physical retail store, to compliment their online store. The physical store is located on the Google Campus at 2000 Charleston Road building, known as the 2000 Alza building. The building houses the Google Buzz team and "consumer-facing products" according to Gray. When Gray visited Google recently he said he found the "lobby swarming with gadget seekers today, and a line with dozens of customers looking to sport the Google logo." He took a video of the inside of the store, which shows a nice line at the checkout counter: Can you ju [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Employees | Google: General | Google: Marketing | Google: Other

Imagine this: You're driving across town to catch a concert by a new artist that friends have been talking about for weeks. Only you're not really driving. The car is driving itself. And you're actually paying as much attention to the video screen on your car's dashboard as anything. You've already bought the singer's latest album and it's stored in your car's hard drive. As you listen, some ads pop-up on the screen inviting you to "like" the artist on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. There are also ads offering tickets to see her perform, but you don't need those. You do need a pla [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Google: Cars | Google: General | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile | Top News

Google announced last night that the company has invested "in the development of a backbone transmission project off the Mid-Atlantic coast" that will help support future harvesting of power from offshore wind turbines up and down 350 miles of the US East Coast. The windmills have yet to be built, but this is key infrastructure for the development of wind power on the Atlantic Coast. According to the NY Times the "backbone" project is valued at $5 billion. Google, Good Energies and a Japanese company Marubeni have all invested in the first phase of development. Google and Good Energies are [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Business Issues | Google: General | Google: Other | Google: Partnerships

Google's mission is "to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful." Their next step into that realm is making auto driving cars. The Google Blog announced Google has "developed technology for cars that can drive themselves." Yes, auto-driving cars, like from the movies and high tech TV shows. Google's reasoning behind this move is to make the roads safer and reduce accidents. Google said they have been testing this for a while and have already driven 140,000 miles with trained safety drivers who can override the system at any time. Google explaine [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: Cars | Google: General | Google: Labs | Google: Mobile | Google: Transit | Top News

Google gets blamed for everything these days. Even game show format changes. This past Wednesday, with our SMX East conference winding down in New York City, I walked up to ABC studios to watch a couple tapings of Who Wants To Be A Millionare. I also stayed after the tapings to take the audition test, hoping to qualify to be a contestant on the show. Who wants to be a millionaire? Duh. Me. Now, watching TV shows being taped can be a very dull experience. There are takes, re-takes, breaks, stops, starts, edits, interruptions, and so forth. (It took more than two hours to tape two 3 [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Features: Analysis | Google: General | Google: Web Search | Search & Society: General | Top News

Most of you have seen the recent and now semi-infamous quote from Google CEO Eric Schmidt about how Google goes right "up to" what it considers a taboo boundary -- "the creepy line" -- but not beyond: "There is what I call the creepy line," he said at an event at the Newseum. "The Google policy on a lot of things is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it." If you look at the slightly larger context of this comment you see that it's intended to be a joke of sorts. But the degree to which this quote was repeated and blogged about reflects the sensitivity (and fear) that exists a [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Critics | Google: General | Google: Legal | Legal: Privacy

It's the return of the Nexus One online store. In fact the old URL for the Nexus One site is now occupied by a mini shopping comparison site for Android handsets called the "Google Phone Gallery." Note that it's called Google Phone Gallery and not "Android Phone Gallery." Indeed, it's meant to showcase "Android-powered devices that deliver the best Google experience today." Android devices are multiplying like rabbits and consumers are going to be confused by all the handset choices. Verizon in the US, for example, has six Android handsets to choose from. It's therefore helpful to be abl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Retail | Google: Business Issues | Google: General | Google: Mobile | Google: Product Search