SearchCap: The Day In Search, Dec. 14, 2006

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 Picasa Add Photo Search & Other Features
The Google blog announced that Picasa, Google’s photo sharing application, now enables you to search photos. You can search your own or your friends’ public albums captions, album titles, and album descriptions. Picasa also added the ability to print your pictures with Shutterfly or PhotoWorks and a feature to enable you to upload your videos for easy sharing in Picasa….
Google & NASA To Release More Space Images & Searching Tools?
SpaceRef.com reports that Google and NASA are to make an announcement tomorrow. The details of the announcement are not clear, but I would speculate that NASA has provided Google with more detailed imagery and data points so that Google can improve Google Earth. There is currently Google Earth, Google Moon, and Google Mars. What do you think is coming next? Enhanced imagery? Better data points? Google Pluto? Google Deep Space? SpaceRef.com writes that it has learned that the "agreement represents a significant advance for how the agency might collaborate with the private sector in the future - specificially as to…
First Webinar Next Week: How to Find the Right Search Marketing Partner
Just a quick reminder that the first webinar from our sister site Search Marketing Now happens next week. It’s called How to Find the Right Search Marketing Partner, led by Chris Sherman and happening on Tuesday, December 19 at 1pm Eastern time. The webcast is free to attend. You’ll find more information and registration info here….
AT&T Tests Ad-Supported Directory Assistance (Mobile Local Search)
AT&T is launching an ad-supported directory assistance (DA) service through the phone number 1-800- YellowPages (1-800-935-5697). Right now it’s available in three markets: Bakersfield, CA.; Oklahoma City, OK; and Columbus, Ohio. Described as a "controlled trial," it’s not clear yet if the service will roll out nationally. However, I would assume so eventually….
Microsoft China To Display Baidu’s Search Ads
MarketWatch reports that Microsoft and Baidu struck a deal where Baidu will be powering the paid search ads at Microsoft’s MSN, Live.com and other China based services. Again, Baidu is to power Microsoft’s ads in China, not the other way around. Baidu has the official press release. From the top of that:…
Comptroller Of NYC, Thompson, Pressures Google & Yahoo Over Censorship In China
The NY Sun reports that William Thompson Jr., the current comptroller of New York City, has been pressuring Google and Yahoo over operating ethically and legally overseas. Thompson "filed shareholder resolutions calling on the two search engines to create practices for dealing with censorship issues in communist countries like China, North Korea, and Cuba, as well as other "authoritarian" regimes including Iran, Syria, Burma, and Egypt." He wants Google and Yahoo not to do "proactive censorship."…
Google Advertisers Take On Audio & Print Ads
A Wall Street Journal article named Google Tests New Ad Offerings — But Will Advertisers Follow? looks at various types of advertisers reactions to Google’s efforts to expand to print and audio ads. I’ll put out some quotes for you on this: The success of Google’s efforts to persuade Mr. Cohen and his counterparts [Google AdWords Advertisers] to shift more ad dollars to its new offerings are crucial to the company’s success in expanding beyond advertising linked to Web-search results. It’s not just big marketers who need to be persuaded — the company will be focusing a good part of…
AOL Video Search Sued By Evel Knievel For Distributing Kanye West’s Music Video
Steve Bryant reports that Evel Knievel has sued not only Kanye West for making a music video that allegedly infringes on his likeness but has also sued AOL for helping distribute that video. AOL Video Search had clips of the music video come up for searches on "Evel Knievel." When AOL was given the suit, they removed the music video they apparently hosted but it still comes up hosted elsewhere in their crawler-based search results. Oh, and Steve posted a YouTube video of the music video, I kinda like it. :)…
Live Local (Virtual Earth) Adds Easier Birds Eye View & Distance Drawing Tool
Gary Price spotted a Windows Live Local Blog update announcing new features added to Windows Live Local (aka Virtual Earth). There are two main features: (1) You can navigate the maps in birds eye view, as you would in street or trips view. You simply can drag the map, zoom, using the same inset map construct as the other views. (2) You can draw a line from point A to point B on the map and the map will tell you the distance of that line. FYI, Measure Regions With Google Planimeter at Google Blogoscoped covers a third party tool…
Google Launches Google Patents, Full-Text US Patent Searching
Google has rolled out a new Google Patents search engine (Official Google Blog post here), allowing people to search across the full-text of US patents from 1790 through the middle of 2006. The company plans to update the service further with more 2006 filings and move to a weekly or better refresh schedule in the future. US patents can already be searched by the general public using, among other resources, the search service provided by the US Patent & Trademark Office. So why bother with a new service from Google? "We’ve really applied the Google experience to it. It’s easier…
Search Engine Land Stats: December 2006 Preview
I’ve been trained from internet birth that site stats are a precious thing, never to be shared. Well, not trained, but somehow I got it in my head. It’s somewhat silly, given that any site that carries advertising often reveals this information in their media kit anyway. With Search Engine Land being all new, a virtual restart for me, I thought it would be fun to share site stats on the site each month, to talk about how it hopefully grows. I’ll do this at the beginning of each month, to cover the previous one. But I wanted to share…