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Google + Intel = Smart TV

posted on May 17, 2010

This week is a big one for Google . Their 3rd I/0 conference for developers takes place on Wednesday and Thursday so there should be some interesting news coming out of San Francisco (there usually is anyway but this time we’re talking about tech stuff only).

Early reports are getting ahead of the conference about an alliance between Intel and Google to (as well as Sony) to move the Internet and TV closer together. The Financial Times reports

Google and Intel are expected to announce a significant breakthrough into consumer electronics and the broadcast industry this week with the launch of a “Smart TV” platform.

Top executives from the Silicon Valley companies are reported to be ready to reveal a deal with Sony, bringing web services to its televisions, during Google’s annual developer conference in San Francisco.

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Search Marketing Still Helps to Pay the Bills

posted on May 17, 2010

While most of the attention these days is given to the growth of social media and mobile applications as ways for business to capitalize online, one thing doesn’t seem to change much. That one thing is that search marketing delivers. Sure it fluctuates and there are changes happening all the time but a study conducted by Internet Retailer and brought to us by MediaPost shows that it performs. In the end, that’s what matters, right?

There are several other interesting points that the survey found not the least of which is that 43% of those checking in will be shifting some marketing dollars to search efforts with bing. Where will the money come from?

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YouTube At 5: Over 2 Billion Views Served Per Day

posted on May 17, 2010

YouTube is celebrating its 5th birthday this year. Needless to say they have done more in their first five years than most. Not the least of the accomplishments is the sheer enormity of the following point of interest (I refuse to say fact): YouTube is streaming 2 billion views per day currently. To put some perspective on this, albeit that the company is proclaiming it, that “nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major US television networks combined”.

TechCrunch gives us a little more info into how YouTube is celebrating:

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Oracle’s Larry Ellison Weighs In On CEO Blogging

posted on May 16, 2010

This week one of the richest and most influential men in business and the world, Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of Oracle Systems, gave his opinion on corporate blogging. Well, at least he gave his opinion on one attempt at corporate blogging and it strikes right at the core of some things that the social media and Internet marketing communities claim as near and dear to their heart.

Ellison attacked what many have held up as one of the prime examples of a company creating content through executive blogs and more. In fact, he didn’t just attack it; he crushed it.

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Cup of Joe: Facebook Hates Girl Scout Cookies

posted on May 15, 2010

Facebook is now against Girl Scout cookies. That’s right, from this point forward Facebook is banning all discussion promotion and dialogue regarding all of our favorite treats (Thin Mints included)!

Okay, so that’s not true. As far as I can tell, Facebook doesn’t care one way or the other about Girl Scout cookies. However, if the recent surge of dialogue revolving Facebook’s changes to privacy is anything close to reality, one could assume that Facebook has signed a deal with the devil. To put it simply people are angry with Facebook. Many of Facebook’s new critics sound like a heartbroken teenager who has been cheated on. The talk of betrayal runs rampant through most of the criticizing blog post and comments. Most are asking why would Facebook betray us?

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Google Gives Up on Nexus Webstore

posted on May 14, 2010

Google is giving up on one of the most revolutionary aspects of its attempt to corner the smartphone market: it’s shuttering its web storefront for selling its Nexus One phone. They’re not abandoning the phone or the attempt altogether—but apparently the demand for a phone absolutely free of contract limitations (and carrier subsidies, and, well, a service provider) wasn’t what they’d anticipated.

Initially, the plan was for several carriers to offer month-to-month subscription services, but only T-mobile followed through (Sprint and Verizon initially pledged to offer service, but never followed through). So now Google will work on getting their phone into more carriers’ stores. Once they’ve gotten a number of partners selling their phone, they’ll discontinue the storefront.

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Schmidt: Situation “Stable” in China

posted on May 14, 2010

Google’s already made big waves in the international arena this year by deciding to pull out of China after too many censorship demands and a cyber attack targeting human rights activitists’ email accounts. Although they’re now redirecting google.cn to google.co.hk, Google says that the situation “seems to be stable” now.

CEO Eric Schmidt spoke at the annual shareholder meeting this week. MarketWatch reports that Schmidt said their engineers and sales forces remain in place in China. However, Schmidt recognized that the status quo could always change: “should the Chinese government become upset with us,” they could always block access to the Hong Kong version of the site.

BusinessWeek reports that Google will continue to sell ads within China. However, overall, the move has hurt Google in China, it seems: