Satisfied with Google’s recent emphasis on improving user privacy practices, the FTC has ended its investigation into Google’s collection of personal data earlier this year via its Street View photography service. The commission is not penalizing Google for what happened. In a letter to Google attorneys dated October 27, 2010, David Vladeck of the FTC’s […]
In Italy the country’s privacy authorities are asking Google to more clearly mark Street View cars, as well as publicize their itineraries. According to Reuters: Under the regulator’s decision, Google has to publish three days in advance on its website, in local newspapers and on radio in which locality, including which area of a large […]
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 Demands Speed—Do You Need A Content Delivery Network? With Google upping the ante on speed of delivery as a factor in relevance ranking, even medium to smaller sites may now […]
Having caused PR and legal headaches around the globe for Google the company has decided to permanently discontinue its Street-View-based WiFi data collection. Multiple countries have asserted that Google’s Street View practices violated privacy laws for the collection of personal information from unsecured WiFi networks. Google is being fined in Spain and in Canada the […]
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 Faces Spanish Lawsuit Over Street View Data Collection Data protection officials in Spain have filed a lawsuit over Google’s collection of Wi-Fi data earlier this year as part of its […]
Data protection officials in Spain have filed a lawsuit over Google’s collection of Wi-Fi data earlier this year as part of its Street View product. The Spanish Agency for Data Protection says it has evidence of five violations of Spanish law involving Google’s collection of SSID and MAC addresses from unencrypted Wi-Fi routers. Two of […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Yahoo Previews “Rich, Immersive” Search Experience Yahoo previewed a new search experience that’s coming this fall during its Yahoo Product Runway event this morning. The event focused on several Yahoo products, […]
In a lawsuit that will be closely watched Boston’s Skyhook Wireless has sued Google for patent infringement and interfering in its business relationship with Motorola. Skyhook’s principal business is providing location to third parties through the use of cell tower and WiFi location databases often referred to as “triangulation.” Skyhook’s system and technology is widely […]
Zastavit means stop or halt. And that’s what the Czech government has told Google regarding StreetView image collection in the central European country. The stated reason, according to the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection, is that Google did not have the required license/registration to conduct the activity. It’s not the case that Google failed […]
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 Launches AdWords Help Site For Small Business Google has announced a new website aimed at offering tips and advice for small business owners that use AdWords. It’s called the AdWords […]
“Where’s the revolution,” I asked when Google launched its Nexus One phone earlier this year. There had been plenty of rumblings that Google would shake up how cell phones were sold in the US. Google’s Eric Schmidt once predicted we’d all be using free phones paid for by ads. But the Nexus One simply offered […]
In less than two months, Search Engine Land’s SMX East search engine marketing conference comes to New York City from Oct. 4-6. Involved with generating business for your company? You should be there, to ensure you’re keeping up with the burgeoning medium of search. SMX East isn’t just for search marketers, though there’s plenty for […]
At Google I/O Google VP Vic Gundotra and his co-presenters showcased a dizzying array of announcements and products to come. Included among them was Google’s iTunes competitor, soon to come to market, and well as a range of new richer mobile ad formats. Those new mobile ad formats have been gradually rolling out. This morning […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Yahoo Q2 Revenues Flat, Display & Net Income Up Yahoo announced generally flat Q2 revenues of $1.6 billion but improved net income today. That compares with revenues of $1.57 billion in […]
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 Street View Collected Emails, Passwords (Social Security Numbers, Your Dog’s Name….) Google’s Street View cars that were logging wi-fi locations also collected private information such as email messages and passwords, […]
Google’s Street View cars that were logging wi-fi locations also collected private information such as email messages and passwords, a French data protection agency has found. Guess what. Without even seeing the data myself, I can tell you that those cars also logged private information such as social security numbers, telephone numbers, medical conditions and […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Time To End The Bullshit Search Engine Share Figures? Yahoo’s up again in comScore’s latest search rankings. Reason? It seems largely due to non-search “slideshow” activity. Solution? Time to end the […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Colbert Goes From 0-To-40 “Bing” Mentions In 2 Minutes, For Charity Bing bought a pretty funny product placement on the Colbert Report this week. Comedian Stephen Colbert was promised $2,500 for […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Woman Follows Google Maps “Walking” Directions, Gets Hit, Sues Is Google responsible for giving out bad directions through its Google Maps service? We’re about to find out. After Googling walking directions […]
Google continues to bump up against frustrated government regulators around the globe who are convinced that the company is doing sneaky things and willfully violating domestic privacy laws. Yesterday European privacy officials continued to express disapproval and assert that Google’s data retention policies violate its six month data retention rule. Today the NY Times covers […]
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 […]
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 Launches Encrypted Web Search Want to keep your searches from being seen when using open WiFi or other networks? Google’s introduced a new “secure” encrypted version of its search. Anyone […]
Want to keep your searches from being seen when using open WiFi or other networks? Google’s introduced a new “secure” encrypted version of its search. Anyone who has been to a bank web site will be familiar with the idea of encryption, where a little “lock” symbol appears at the bottom of Firefox or the […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: What We Know So Far About Google TV It’s very had to overstate the potential impact of Google TV (GTV) announced today. While there have been numerous efforts to put the […]
It’s very had to overstate the potential impact of Google TV (GTV) announced today. While there have been numerous efforts to put the internet on TV in the past (including Apple TV), none have really succeed with mainstream consumers. This may be the first Web-TV integration that has that potential.
It’s Day 2 of Google I/O, Google’s annual developers conference. The morning keynote gets underway at 8:30AM Pacific. What to expect? How about Google TV? An Android Tablet? TechCrunch found evidence that’s what we may be hearing about. We’ll see shortly. My liveblogging begins, below. Those at home can also watch live. I/O sessions are […]
Still smarting from the privacy furor over Buzz and then the inadvertent collection of personal data from WiFi networks by its Street View cars, the Financial Times reports that Google is reconsidering how and whether it should use facial recognition technology: Eric Schmidt, chief executive, said a series of public disputes over privacy issues had caused […]
At a press briefing at the Google I/O developers conference today, Google cofounder Sergey Brin didn’t mince words about his company’s accidental collection of wifi data. “We screwed up,” he said. He was asked about the incident, where last week Google admitted it accidentally gathered data from private wifi networks around the world over the […]
The Google Blog admitted that they made a significant privacy mistake with some of their Street View cars. The wifi data collecting versions of the Google Street View cars were not just collecting publicly broadcast SSID information and MAC addresses but they were also collecting “samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) WiFi networks,” […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Has Facebook’s Active User Growth Dropped 25% to 50%? Are a significant number of people cancelling their Facebook accounts because of privacy concerns? The easy answer would be for Facebook to […]
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 AdWords With Ratings & Reviews Matthew Mierzejewski posted a screen capture on the Rimm-Kaufman blog, showing reviews and ratings directly in the AdWords ads. As you can see in the […]
I attended the F8 Facebook developer event this morning and might have live blogged it but the public WiFi connection was extremely slow. Maybe that’s a good thing; aspects of what were announced had me confused, especially the privacy issues raised by the announcements. I’m not a developer and this event was geared toward them; […]
In about two months, our thrice sold-out SMX Advanced search marketing conference returns to Seattle. Below, a personal virtual tour about why I believe this is a must attend event for serious search marketers. Learn more about the show and why you should book now, not only to save with the early bird deadline expiring […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: 2010 Biggest Search Geek Demographics The 2nd annual SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest, sponsored by Marin Software, is designed to recognize the most knowledgeable and capable experts in the field of […]
Google continues to flirt with being an ISP or carrier. Several years ago the company was part of the aborted municipal WiFi bid for San Francisco with Earthlink. Google is also one of the major forces behind the White Spaces initiative (“WiFi on steroids“) that seeks unused TV spectrum for broadband purposes. In addition, Google […]
We’re just weeks into 2010, and already a host of major tech, online, and mobile companies have made some exciting announcements about their latest plans for local search. In mid-January, Google’s Mobile division announced that it is upgrading its search engine on Android-powered devices and the iPhone to present results reflective of the current or […]
A new year offers new opportunities for local search providers and small business customers to reevaluate their advertising strategies to reflect the latest consumer usage trends and economic realities. On December 31st, Yellow Pages directory publisher Idearc emerged from bankruptcy with a new name, SuperMedia, and a fresh understanding that new initiatives in the online […]
In less than two months, Search Engine Land’s SMX West search marketing conference will happen from March 2-4 in California. Anyone who is even remotely connected to gaining visitors, customers and driving sales should be attending. Experienced search marketer? Newbie? Web developer? Designer? Involved in public relations? Traditional marketer? There’s good stuff for all these […]
Peace on earth, good will toward holiday travelers. That seems to be Yahoo’s modus operandi today: The company is paying the baggage fees for all outbound travelers at San Francisco and San Jose international airports. It’s part of the Yahoo for Good campaign, and as local news reports suggest, it’ll probably help build some goodwill […]
You saw the rumors earlier in the week and we reached out to Google for confirmation of the reported Gizmo5 acquisition. But at the time they didn’t say anything. In fact they said, “We’re always talking to various companies about various things, but we don’t comment on rumor or speculation.” It’s no longer speculation because […]