Google Plus Search Impact
Google adds public Google Plus posts to Google Social Search, impacting Google Search; http://eicker.at/GooglePlusSearchImpact
Updates from August, 2011 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Gerrit Eicker
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Gerrit Eicker
Wired: “Google is making plans to turn its +1 button into a crowdsourcing tool that helps it re-order search results and fight web spam. – While not surprising, the move would bring Google’s search engine into the social networking era, while simultaneously creating a new avenue for blackhats to manipulate search results and potentially incurring the wrath of trust-busting authorities. – Google confirmed its plans in an e-mail to Wired.com: ‘Google will study the clicks on +1 buttons as a signal that influences the ranking and appearance of websites in search results,’ a spokesman wrote. ‘The purpose of any ranking signal is to improve overall search quality. For +1′s and other social ranking signals, as with any new ranking signal, we’ll be starting carefully and learning how those signals are related to quality.’”
Gerrit Eicker
ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie 2011
Die ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie 2011: 3/4 der Deutschen online, Videokonsum steigt, Teilhabe niedrig; http://eicker.at/Online2011
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Gerrit Eicker
ARD/ZDF (PDF): “73,3 Prozent der Bevölkerung (2010: 69,4%) sind mittlerweile online. Damit stieg die Zahl der Internetnutzer ab 14 Jahren in Deutschland binnen eines Jahres von 49,0 Millionen auf 51,7 Millionen. Besonders nachgefragt werden Bewegtbilder im weltweiten Netz, die 68 Prozent (2010: 65 Prozent) aller Onliner abrufen. Dabei schauen sich 29 Prozent (2010: 23 Prozent) TV-Sendungen zeitversetzt an. Der Anteil derer, die live im Netz fernsehen, liegt bei 21 Prozent (2010: 15 Prozent). Dies sind rund 19 Millionen Menschen, die zumindest gelegentlich Fernsehinhalte im Internet sehen – vier Millionen mehr als 2010. Dabei ist die Zunahme bei den 14- bis 29-Jährigen überdurchschnittlich hoch. … Auch die Nutzung sozialer Netzwerke wird immer beliebter: Bereits 43 Prozent der deutschen Internetnutzer haben ein eigenes Profil in einer Social Community angelegt (2010: 39 Prozent)… Deutlich angestiegen ist auch die mobile Nutzung: Statt 13 Prozent (2010) gehen aktuell 20 Prozent der Onliner unterwegs ins Netz. 17 Prozent der deutschen Onliner nutzen Apps auf Smartphones oder Tablet-PCs.”
ARD/ZDF (PDF): “Auch 2011 bleiben die bekannten geschlechtsspezifischen Unterschiede weitgehend erhalten: Frauen verbringen weniger Zeit im Netz als Männer. Während 82 Prozent der Männer nahezu täglich im Netz sind und dafür rund 150 Minuten täglich aufwenden, sind es nur 70 Prozent der Nutzerinnen bei durchschnittlich 123 Minuten. Männer sind grundsätzlich aktiver im Netz. Sie surfen häufiger, zeigen eine höhere Affinität zu Audio- und Videoanwendungen und nutzen ganz generell mehr und zeitaufwendigere Anwendungen als Frauen. … Nach den aktuellen Ergebnissen der ARD/ZDF- Onlinestudie 2011 entfacht die Idee des Web 2.0 als ein Netz zur aktiven Beteiligung weiterhin keine Breitenwirkung. In Bezug auf die (passive) Nutzung sind drei Web-2.0-Angebote erfolgreich: Wikipedia, Videoportale (z. B. YouTube) und private Communitys (z.B. Facebook). … Die Grundidee der aktiven Mitwirkung bleibt grundsätzlich weiterhin nur für ein Drittel der Onliner interessant. … Für über die Hälfte ihrer Nutzer ist eine private Community tagtäglicher Begleiter.”
ARD/ZDF (PDF): “80 Prozent der Onliner senden und empfangen wöchentlich E-Mails, 25 Prozent nutzen Instant-Messaging-Dienste wie ICQ, MSN Messenger oder Skype, und ein Fünftel (21 %) tauscht sich in Gesprächsforen, Newsgroups oder Chats aus … Trotz der Konkurrenz durch Web 2.0 ist die Nachfrage nach diesen Angeboten ungebrochen – Communitys reichen (noch) nicht annähernd an diese hohen Nutzungszahlen heran. Allerdings verzeichnet die ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie aktuell erstmals sinkende Nutzungszahlen bei der elektronischen Post. – Bei den Web-2.0-Intensivnutzern, den Teenagern, scheint die Zeitenwende bereits eingeläutet. Der Austausch per privater oder beruflicher Community liegt 2011 erstmals vor der E-Mail-Kommunikation. … 12 Prozent aller Onliner, das entspricht rund 6,25 Millionen Menschen, interessieren sich sehr dafür, sich aktiv einzubringen. Erweitert man den Kreis der potenziellen Web-2.0-Interessierten um jene Onliner, die zumindest ‘etwas interessiert’ sind, sinkt das Potenzial im Vergleich zu den Vorjahren etwas und bleibt unter der 30-Prozent-Marke. … Für die überwältigende Mehrheit der Onliner ist das Produzieren von User-generated Content eher uninteressant. … Weblogs fristen weiterhin ein Schattendasein im Web-2.0-Universum. Nur 1 Prozent aller Onliner nutzt solche Webpublikationen regelmäßig mindestens einmal pro Woche.”
Gerrit Eicker
Google Plus Games Launched
Google: Today we’re adding games to Google+. The stream will remain focused on conversations; http://eicker.at/PlusGames
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Gerrit Eicker
Learnings: Games have a higher priority than business (profiles) and have definitely been on the agenda before G+’s launch. They even have a higher priority than usability fixes to the +Stream, +Notifications, +Circles. Well…
Google: “Today we’re adding games to Google+. With the Google+ project, we want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. But sharing is about more than just conversations. The experiences we have together are just as important to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life. – [G]iving you control over when you see games, how you play them and with whom you share your experiences. Games in Google+ are there when you want them and gone when you don’t. … If you’re not interested in games, it’s easy to ignore them. Your stream will remain focused on conversations with the people you care about.”
GigaOM: “The first titles include Angry Birds from Rovio, Bejeweled Blitz from PopCap and most notably Zynga Poker from longtime Facebook game developer Zynga, which is preparing to go public. … The move ratchets up the competition with Facebook and gives Facebook game developers a new opportunity. Some have felt that Facebook has played favorites with Zynga, which is by far the largest developer on Facebook. Now this will give them more leverage in dealing with Facebook and another place to make some money. Google+ won’t have top Zynga titles like Cityville and Farmville because they’re exclusive to Facebook but it does show that Zynga is further branching out apart from Facebook. … I don’t know how big a deal that is, since Facebook has clamped down on some of the game notifications you see. But it’s one way that Google is trying to stand out.”
RWW: “Games are an important feature for a social network that wants to compete with Facebook for users’ attention, not to mention its gaming business. … The battle for game developer attention is likely to be heated. Tricia Duryee reported late last month at All Things D that multiple sources told her Google would try to undercut Facebook by charging developers a lower fee for things like in-app sales. – Mike Swift, a writer at the San Jose Mercury News (Silicon Valley’s paper of record), says that Facebook has already issued a call for a press conference on the topic of gaming tomorrow.”
VB: “Zynga has built its business on social games on Facebook, and it currently has more than 250 million monthly active users, according to AppData. The company has been so successful that it recently filed to go public and raise up to $1 billion, and it made $90 million in income last year. Part of Zynga’s success comes from its ability to promote games virally through notifications – something Google appears to be shying away from.“
Gerrit Eicker
Online Activities
Pew: Social networks are on the rise, but eMail and search continue to lead online activities; http://eicker.at/OnlineActivities
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Gerrit Eicker
According to Pew research, social networking is a daily activity for 65% of onliners in 2011, compared to 11% in 2005.
Pew: “Search and email remain the two online activities that are nearly universal among adult internet users, as 92% of online adults use search engines to find information on the Web, and a similar number (92%) use email. Since the Pew Internet Project began measuring adults’ online activities in the last decade, these two behaviors have consistently ranked as the most popular, even as new platforms, broadband and mobile devices continue to reshape the way Americans use the internet and web.”
Pew: “Email and search form the core of online communication and online information gathering, respectively. And they have done so for nearly a decade, even as new platforms, broadband and mobile devices continue to reshape the way Americans use the internet and web. Perhaps the most significant change over that time is that both activities have become more habitual. … Perhaps surprisingly for an online activity that has been around for a while, search is most popular among the youngest adult internet users (those age 18-29), 96% of whom use search engines to find information online. But even among the oldest internet users (age 65+), 87% are search engine users. … Email is similar to search (and many other online activities) in that the youngest online adults, the college-educated, and those in the highest income categories are more likely than others to engage in the activity.“
Gerrit Eicker
Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messages gets mobile apps: the Facebook Messenger, an answer to Google Plus Huddle; http://eicker.at/FacebookMessenger
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Gerrit Eicker
Facebook: “More and more of us rely on our phones to send and receive messages. But it isn’t always easy to know the best way to reach someone on their phone. Should you send an email or text? Which will they check first? Did they even get your last message? – We think messaging should be easier than that. You should be able to write a message, click ‘Send’ and know that you will reach the person right away. – So today, we’re introducing Messenger, a new mobile app that simplifies how messaging works, and gives you a faster way to message friends and small groups. … Messenger will be available for both iPhone and Android starting today. Just search for ‘Facebook Messenger’ in your phone’s app store, or get a link to the app texted to your phone.”
RWW: “Messenger is fairly simple. If you have used BlackBerry Messenger before then you should be able to understand Facebook’s newest offering (without the confusing PIN system of BlackBerry). Messenger can also do group chat, which puts it in competition with the Google Plus Huddle function in its mobile app on iOS and Android. What do you think of Facebook’s new Messenger initiative? Is it something you plan on using? … Facebook Messenger is the product of Beluga, which Facebook acquired in March, right before the start of SXSW. It was started by ex-Google employees Lucy Zhang, Ben Davenport and John Perlow. Beluga was released to Apple’s App Store in November 2010 and must have impressed some developers at Facebook as it was not even six months before Facebook came swooping in. … Dubbed ‘Project Titan‘ before it was announced, Messenger is another phase in the rollout of Facebook’s unified inbox. Facebook’s messaging philosophy has three main ideas: 1) seamless messaging, 2) conversation history and 3) the ‘social inbox.’”
TNW: “Rumor has it that Beluga will keep its doors open, but there’s no telling for how long. Now that Facebook has derived Messenger from its acquisition, it’s highly unlikely that the company will continue support for the other product. … If you’re a big fan of Facebook’s integrated messaging platform, it should be great. If you loathe having to log in, well, no app’s going to fix that problem. The one very interesting part? You can use Messenger to contact anyone in your phone’s contact list, not just your Facebook friends.“
Gerrit Eicker
NYT Beta620
Beta620, a new home for experimental online publishing projects from NYT developers and readers; http://eicker.at/NYTbeta620
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Gerrit Eicker
NYT: “At The New York Times, our software engineers, journalists, product managers and designers are constantly striving to create new and innovative ways to present news and information and interact with our readers. Yet it’s often difficult to try out new inventions on the world’s largest newspaper Web site. That’s why we created beta620, a new home for experimental projects from Times developers — and a place for anyone to suggest and collaborate on new ideas and new products.”
AdAge: “The New York Times has introduced its long-delayed Beta620, a public beta testing site where web surfers can experiment with new products that could eventually take root on NYTimes.com. … ‘It’s a place that gives a permanent home to the tradition of innovation,’ said Denise Warren, senior VP and chief advertising officer at the New York Times Media Group as well as general manager at NYTimes.com. ‘And it invites our community in to help us formulate an opinion about the innovation and the new products.‘ … The Times’ public beta site has come along just a few weeks after Google said it would wind down its own Google Labs page, which showcases a very wide range of ideas, in an effort to prioritize core products and put ‘more wood behind fewer arrows.’ … The Times believes its public beta site is perhaps different because the projects being tried there bear on its core digital product, The New York Times Online.”
Nieman: “‘It’s all about spurring innovation – coming up with ideas that no one has thought of before, and having a place for them,’ says Marc Frons, the Times’ CTO for digital operations. And not just innovation, but ‘continuous innovation.’ The hope is that, in highlighting experiments as they evolve – and in providing a shared space for shaping their evolution – beta620 will be a place where developers, designers, readers, journalists, and pretty much anyone with an interest in the Times can engage in an ongoing conversation about its future. And about, specifically, the tools that will shape that future. … With beta620, the Times is taking the lessons of end-user innovation and applying them to the process of development, rather than simply the products of it. It’s trying to make experimentation something that’s open and interactive – rather than, Frons says, ‘something that’s cordoned off in the ivory tower.’”
RWW: “The Times has recognized the importance of open data for several years now, and the launch of their API in 2008 was an important step for the struggling news industry, which must now rely on the rest of the Web to make the most of its wealth of data. The Times has put considerable effort into properly categorizing its content for the open Web, and now it has begun to open its software development to the public, too. Some Web citizens have even taken to redesigning NY Times Web products without being asked. – As of now, only NYT developers can display projects on beta620, but the site has set the tone for a public forum on the future of the Times’ technology, so that could certainly change.”
GigaOM: “Can a newspaper think like a startup? New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen said on Twitter that the launch of beta620 is a turning point for the newspaper company because it means the media giant now has an ‘openly experimental newsroom.’ In an inaugural post on the new site, meanwhile, NYT staffer Joe Fiore said the company hopes it will become a place where Times developers ‘interact with readers to discuss projects, and incorporate community suggestions into their work.’ … But can a company whose financial status is still less than stellar really devote much time or resources to something like beta620? The New York Times may be a digital leader, but the reality is that the vast majority of its revenue comes from the printed product it has been manufacturing for a century and a half, because that contains the advertising that is its bread and butter – and even though many see the paywall as a success, its contribution to the bottom line remains relatively minuscule. Will the Skimmer or the NYT’s take on instant search make a difference? That seems unlikely.”
pC: “Right now, the projects on Beta620 are submitted by employees only, though anyone can comment on them or provide suggestions for improvement. Eventually, the NYT will open the site up to allow outside individuals and developers to submit their own proposals. At the moment, the best outsiders can do is send along recommendations for what the NYT R&D technology staff should be working on.”
Gerrit Eicker
My Name Is Me
#MyNameIsMe: We want people to be able to identify themselves as they wish; http://eicker.at/MyNameIsMe #PlusGate
Gerrit Eicker
Wikipedia Citations
Does only written knowledge count? Wikipedia and the rules of citation and verification; http://eicker.at/WikipediaCitations
Gerrit Eicker
20 Jahre Web
20 Jahre sind eine kurze Zeitspanne. Und trotzdem: das Web ist heute überall und unverzichtbar; http://eicker.at/Web
Gerrit Eicker
Google News Editors’ Picks
Google leaves its algorithm-centricism: adds serendipity to Google News via Editors’ Picks; http://eicker.at/GoogleNewsEditors
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Gerrit Eicker
Google News Help: “Editors’ Picks is a feature that showcases original, innovative news content that a news publisher has on their site at any given time. This content may include long-form narrative articles, slideshows, interactive graphics, or video stories, just to name a few possibilities. – The links you see in Editors’ Picks are hand-picked by the news organization whose logo is displayed above the links. Google News does not select the articles. – If you are a News publisher and wish to submit an Editors’ Picks feed to Google News, please review our guidelines and documentation first.”
Google: “Google News is introducing a new section in the right-hand column of the U.S. edition. The section is called ‘Editors’ Picks,’ and it displays original content that publishers have selected as highlights from their publications. This is the latest addition to recent improvements we’ve made to the variety and presence of stories and multimedia on Google News. – An array of news organizations, including local, national and niche publishers, are now using Editors’ Picks to display their best, most engaging content. Because Google News relies on algorithms, Editors’ Picks will always be just that- picks provided by publishers themselves, and not by Google. … You may have first noticed Editors’ Picks as an experiment last year. Based on the data from that experiment, we have been working with nearly two dozen publishers in recent months and have seen a positive response from readers and publishers alike: readers get the news they’re interested in from the sources they trust, and publishers receive higher traffic to their websites.”
Nieman: “When Google News launched in 2002, it did so with some declarations: ‘This page was generated entirely by computer algorithms without human editors.’ And: ‘No humans were harmed or even used in the creation of this page.’ – That core approach – computerized curation, algorithmic authority, NoMo sapiens – has served Google News well in the nearly-a-decade it’s been around… Editors’ Picks, a display of original content that journalists (human ones!) have selected as editorial highlights from their publications. … That’s a big deal, and only partially because of Google News’ traditional algo-centricism. … In addition to providing users with more good content, Editors’ Picks might also pave the way for more effective partnerships with news publishers. … For publishers, Editors’ Picks is also a way to highlight brand identity within a platform that has tended to emphasize news stories over news institutions. … It takes the notion of serendipity, in other words, and applies it to news organizations themselves.”
SEL: “More than a year after the experiment began, Google News has brought Editor’s Picks to the home page of its US site – marking the first real human-curated content on what Google has proudly said was always a completely algorithmic way of presenting news. – It could also be seen as something of an olive branch toward publishers, especially given the shaky relationship that’s existed between the two.”
SEW: “This appears to be a win-win for everyone involved. News publishers now have a mechanism to let Google know what their featured stories are. – Readers will be able to see additional content in the form of these features. As a result, Google will likely see a boost in on-site time and stickiness. Clearly the number of articles you read will help you collect Google News badges. – However, bringing search back into the conversation for a moment: since these articles are hand-picked by the editors – which may include editorials and paid features – will this adversely affect relevancy?“
Gerrit Eicker 09:02 on 14. August 2011 Permalink |
Google: “Back in 2009, we launched Google Social Search, and we’ve made several improvements since then. And earlier this year we made an update which let you get more information from people you’re connected to on other publicly available sites. Today, we’re including public Google+ posts as well. So if you’re signed into your Google Account, your search results may start including posts shared publicly by people you’re connected to on Google+. … Remember, to experience this updated feature, you’ll need to be on Google+ and also make sure that you’re logged into your Google Account when you search. In addition, only public posts on Google+ are visible in search results. Private posts on Google+ aren’t. – We’re rolling out this update over the coming days. This is just the latest step in helping you find the most relevant information possible, personalized to your interests and the people you care about.”
SEL: “Google has added another source to its social search results: public posts from Google Plus. – Social search has been adding annotations to search results when content from your social connections (not to be confused with your Google+ Circles) was shared on services such as Twitter, LinkedIn and others. – Soon you may start seeing annotations that mention Google’s own social service, and these will come from people in your Google+ circles… Google Social Search continues to operate as before. Things shared socially at places like Twitter and Facebook by those you’re connected with may appear with annotations and rank better in results. – The main difference is, as Google’s post says, is that things you share on Google+ itself are now part of the mix.”
TC: “In a move that was pretty much inevitable in Google’s overall strategy of eventual Google+ integration into most if not all Google products, the search engine has announced that it will now be including publicly shared Google+ posts in its ‘social search’ results. … After getting confirmation from Google, Danny Sullivan responds, ‘It’s new. Posts you share on Google+ now appear and rank better. Previously, only posts you shared elsewhere would.‘”