It’s been a little while since we’ve done a Search Biz column. So it’s time to dust off the old snark machine and get right into it. First up there’s a very entertaining post on some new, unsealed records from the YouTube-Viacom litigation featuring a range of colorful expletives as both sides insult one another […]
Google has launched a new privacy dashboard — technically just called Google Dashboard — that gives users quicker access to, and more control over, the personal information stored in Google’s databases. The dashboard is a one-stop shop for managing this data and the settings that are associated with the Google products you use when signed […]
In the U.S., we tend to do our streets big and wide. In Europe, not so much. (I have literally been able to cross a road in Ireland in four steps, and I’m barely 5-foot-9.) This is a problem for Google’s Street View tool and its mission to map the world’s roads — even the […]
The noise about whether Google is a monopoly that needs to be controlled continues to ramp up, with Google itself releasing a “charm offensive” set of slides after its lobbying using those slides was outed by Consumer Watchdog. I’ll cover that below, but as I watch the debate continue over whether Google has too much […]
Google’s Street View recently hit the UK streets, and an angry throng of Brits has hit back. It happened in the wealthy village of Broughton: Seeing the Street View car driving through town, residents formed a human chain to stop the car and hassled the driver until he turned around and left. The Times reports […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Since it launched a couple days ago there have been several predictable responses from persistent Google critics who regard the new location-aware Latitude service on Google Maps as a threat to privacy. The phrases “tracking,” “stalking” and “Big Brother” popped up in a range of articles in mainstream news outlets. Those stories were quickly written […]
Back in March 2007, Google promised to begin anonymizing log data to better protect user privacy. That kicked off a wave of privacy pledges from competing search engines. In addition, by agreeing to limit itself, it inadvertently got the European Union to demand even faster data destruction. Below, a look at Google’s progress toward its […]
Privacy issues are back with a vengeance. Everywhere you look now NGOs, legal experts, and government officials are raising questions about this or that online or ad initiative and privacy. The most recent privacy debacle was the Viacom-YouTube ruling, which is being circumvented by cooperation between the parties. Now, as Google formally launches StreetView images […]
You have no privacy on YouTube. So effectively declared a US judge yesterday. And now somebody in the US government better stop grandstanding about search and privacy protection and actually get some laws enacted. Yesterday’s move might be the ultimate incentive, as US politicians realize that what they’ve watched on YouTube may now be open […]
As promised, now that a full calendar year has gone by, it’s time to look at some key stats about how Search Engine Land has grown in various ways over the year. Let’s dive in!
First Google, then Ask.com and now Microsoft have jumped onto the privacy protection train. Late yesterday, Microsoft announced that it was going to follow Google’s lead and anonymize search log data after 18 months. In addition, it has partnered with Ask to call for an industry effort to develop privacy principles. There’s a tinge of […]
Below are Search Engine Land’s 10 most popular stories from June 2007:
As part of today’s Google Press Day 2007, Marissa Mayer, Google vice president of search products and user experience, covered the "Past, Present & Future Of Search." Much of this is known to Search Engine Land readers and also already covered by Google during its Searchology day last month. But, there was a size tidbit […]
In response to an EU letter over data retention, Google has announced that it will now anonymize server log data after 18 months, rather than the previous maximum time it had announced of 24 months. It is also reconsidering how long its cookies last. It’s nice to see Google make such a fast, responsive move, […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
It’s a bad privacy day for Google, with Privacy International first accusing the company of having the worst privacy performance of any internet service company in a study it has just released and then accusing Google of conducting a smear campaign against it. But if you actually read the report, Privacy International itself comes off […]
There's growing concern about the type of company Google is becoming. Yet Google's has survived these "tipping points" so far.