SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 2, 2007

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 Responds To Katrina Controversy With Fresh New Orleans Images
  The Google Blog has responded to the concerns about showing pre-Katrina images for New Orleans. In short, Google said they changed the imagery back in September 2006 to provide higher resolution images of the city, even though views were from before Hurricane Katrina caused widespread damage. Now those pre-Katrina images…
• Topix Transforms Into Community Generated Local News Site
  This evening Topix is doing something entirely logical and taking a big risk at the same time. The site, which has been a "top 25" news destination, is now effectively flipping its model and going from being a news aggregator with comments and community at the margins to a community…
• ZoomInfo Offers Free Company Profiles
  ZoomInfo today launched its Business Information Search Engine, a service that offers information on more than 3.5 million companies. Although the company profiles are similar to those offered by Hoovers.com and other subscription-based providers, ZoomInfo business profiles are free. The profiles also differ in how they’re compiled. While most business…
• Local Search: More Is Not Always Better
  Recently, we’ve seen a deluge of forecasts about massive financial opportunities associated with the growth of local search and local advertising. Whether you’re a company in the Internet search space, a yellow-pages directory, or a niche player, it is indeed tempting to get overly focused on how to earn…
• Looking At Links From News Search
  When you make news, either by being written about or by issuing optimized press releases, you often find a headline link to your news or press release in the news search results at all the major search engines. This can happen within minutes of the news posting. Everyone gets…
• Google In Talks To Buy DoubleClick
  Google joins race to buy DoubleClick: report from MarketWatch reports that Google is now interested in buying DoubleClick, a provider of internet ad serving software. Now that Google is vying against Microsoft for DoubleClick, the estimates on the purchase price have jumped "beyond $2 billion." Other potential buyers include Yahoo…
• New Search Blogs From Women
  I’ve written before about how there are many women are involved in search and search marketing, but blogrolls like ours can still feel man heavy. Fortunately, there are some new blogs up from women in search, including Google Webmaster Central’s Vanessa Fox. Here’s a round-up….
• Search Funnies: The April Fool’s 2007 Roundup
  April Fools Day was yesterday, and the search engines along with others in the search world, went all out. Here is a roundup of the different pranks played….
• Yahoo Underground: Fringe News Featured
  The Yahoo Blog has announced the launch of Yahoo Underground, a new site backed by Yahoo News that’s meant to look at fringe cultures. April Fool’s joke? Could be, given how the post stresses "Beginning today, April 1…." Then again, the main feature about last year’s World Science Fiction convention?…
• Ask Kevin: Ask.com Acquires Kevin Federline’s "Search With Kevin"
  I had lunch with Ask CEO Jim Lanzone last Thursday when he was here in the UK, and I’ve been itching to tell the news he gave me under embargo. Now it’s up, with Jim himself sharing the announcement in video. Kevin Federline’s Search With Kevin service is…
• No Joking: Last Chance For Early Bird Discount On SMX Advanced
  A fast reminder for our SearchCap newsletter readers and anyone who visits Search Engine Land. Tomorrow — Monday, April 2 — is the last day to save $200 on a ticket to our first Search Marketing Expo event, SMX Advanced, in Seattle this June 4 and 5. For more about…
• TiSP: Google Flushes Free Wireless Broadband For All
  Now posted on the Google Blog, news of the new Google TiSP service offering free wireless to homes via their, ahem, plumbing systems. Sir Thomas Crapper would be proud. See discussion at Techmeme. Google’s latest feature will better connect you with previous Google products that have been rolled out…
• The Matt Cutts Blog Gets Hacked
  The Dark SEO Team has had a bit of a beef with Google’s Matt Cutts from back in 2005 over URL hijacking. Looks like they’ve pulled a prank on him today. Matt’s blog is down, hacked — and archives wiped out as well. Matt has posted previously to this…
• Matt Cutts & CuttsCon
  Goodness knows Google’s Matt Cutts is popular at conferences. I’ve seen him swamped by people at them. In fact, so many people surround Matt wherever he goes that I nicknamed them "Cuttlets" last year and wondered if they’d ever form a formal fan club. Well, turns out they’ve done more…

Search News Headlines From Elsewhere

Applications & Portal Features

• Google Apps for Enterprise missing full-time SSL?, InfoWorld
• Creating Dynamic Client-side Maps Mashups with Google Spreadsheets, Google Maps API Blog

Business Issues

• Google Atlanta Open House (Read: We’re Hiring!), Google Blog
• Dan Rosensweig’s Tenure With Yahoo Ends Today; Also Osder’s Last Day, PaidContent.org
• More From Yahoo: Tech Group Changes, PaidContent.org
• If at First You Don’t Succeed, Write a Check, New York Times
• ComScore Files for $86 Million IPO, Mashable
• Blogger, YouTube get F for downtime, GigaOM

Local, Mobile & Maps

• Google Geoday Benelux 2007, Google Blogoscoped
• New Orleans, take two, Ogle Earth
• Google Has Killed the Mobile Web, SEO Principle

Paid Search & Contextual

• AdSense "Related Pages" appearing in Google Groups, SEOptimise
• Some good links to see inside beta AdWords programs, eWhisper.net
• Best & Worst Features of the PPC Engines, eWhisper.net
• Yahoo Publisher Network Blocking Ads to International Visitors?, Search Engine Journal
• Desperately Seeking Stats to Prove the Value of Branded Keywords, Search Engine Watch

Podcasts

• Podcasts of Neil Patel, Eric Ward, and Vanessa Fox, Natural Search Blog
• New weekly podcast on tech news and trends, Niall Kennedy
• Rush Hour Episode 7, Pronet Advertising
• Podcast: BusinessWeek Cover On Google Power Fears; Concern Over Outdated New Orleans Images; April Fool’s Gags & More!, Daily SearchCast

SEM Industry

• ClickZ Is 10!, ClickZ
• Recruiting new AdWords Seminar Leaders, Inside AdWords
• Evaluating Search Results and Protecting the Innocent, ClickZ
• Channel Intelligence Product Attribute Conference, ComparisonEngines.com
• Microsoft’s Steve Berkowitz to Deliver Keynote Address at Search Engine Strategies New York 2007, Incisive Press Release
• OFFICIAL SES NYC 2007 Party & Events Schedule Announced, SES Blog
• 21 Practical Applications For Your Extra Conference Totes, Media Post

SEO & SEM

• The role of insite linking in search engine marketing, Pandia
• Jason Calacanis Challenge Update, Pronet Advertising
• Getting Clean Links From NoFollow Lemons, Link Spiel
• Ask.com Patent Application Discusses Responding to User Queries, SEO By The Sea
• Domain Names Will Become Less Relevant (to Search Engines), SEO Book
• Microsoft bCentral Submit It Deadline Announced, Marketing Pilgrim

Social Media

• Twitter Vision, Google Code Blog
• You’re Crazy if You Use Digg’s New Friend Invite Feature, 10e20
• Digg’s Unknown Social Networking Functionality, Pronet Advertising
• Digg Coupons – New Category or Yet Another Digg Scam, Marketing Shift
• Coding Horror at Digg, Pronet Advertising
• Making Digg Comments Work For You, Not Against You, Pronet Advertising
• Serphing out of beta, Pronet Advertising
• Get Your Content onto Twitter, Pronet Advertising
• Is Technorati Going After Spam Blogs?, louisgray.com
• Yahoo acquires Wretch for $21m, 901am

Video & Image Search

• Google TV under development in UK News, PC Advisor
• YouTube grows market share: No end in sight?, Compete
• Site Update, YouTube
• Advertising.com to Manage Video Ads for News Corp./NBC Venture, ClickZ
• Push Comes to Shove for Control of Web Video, New York Times
• Shut Up and Ship!, Jeremy Zawodny
• In which I speak out of school, and likely sound quite smug doing so, Chris DiBona

Other Stuff

• Thefind, the search engine, not as clean as we thought, SiliconBeat
• Some Yahoo Search Results With Automatic Spell Correction, ResourceShelf
• What it Takes to Sell to a Teenager Online, 10e20
• RUMORMONGER: Python on the loose at Google NY, Valleywag