Reprise Media Reading List 11/09/06
|
Written By Kate Zimmermann | November 9, 2006 | Share This
|
|
Newsworthy, notable, and not entirely relevant headlines from today:
The Model T of Search
In a panel at the Web 2.0 Conference, Microsoft’s Steve Berkowitz and Ask’s Jim Lanzone kept an optimistic tone as they discussed Google’s search market dominance. Referring to Google as the “Model T of Search”, they basically called Google an outdated, assembly line type of search engine that will inevitably lose its competitiveness as “people’s needs evolve.” As ZDNet writes, “Neither came up with a convincing plan for how they might knock Google off its game” - though both speakers referenced things like “community”, “the user experience” and “data control” as ways to win back market share.
Google Starts the Giving Early
On Nov. 8th, Google announced their holiday promo offering all Google Checkout transactions Fo’ Free. No, that doesnt mean shopping spree, it means that Google has waived its usual transaction processing fee for the duration of the year. Google is hoping the promotion will lure merchants away from PayPal.
Phonedance Festival
Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute will commission five short films to be made exclusively for mobile. Reuters reports, “The pilot project would create a platform for ‘artists to develop and grow and opportunities for audiences and consumers to see work they might not normally see.’” Redford says that the project is a modern-day attempt to bring back short films. GSM Association CMO Bill Gajda said that film content, once downloaded, could be shared via bluetooth at no extra cost.
The Actually World-Wide Web
According to a recent ComScore report, 3/4 of traffic to the top 25 websites comes from visitors outside the U.S. Furthermore, the top five web properties - Yahoo!, Time Warner, Microsoft, Google and Ebay - all have more users abroad than in the United States. In less than ten years, analysts report, the US share of global online population has fallen from 65% to 25% - an indication of the increasingly global Internet penetration.
Inside Reporter
A MacBook programmed to take a photo every time it “wakes up”, and then upload photos to a flicker account, accidentally snapped photos from the inside of Apple’s repair center in Tennesee. Some of the MacBook’s stealth photos are posted on Apple Insider.
Internet Victory
Slashdot points to a report that the Democrat’s Midterm Election sweep is good news for the web. Democrats are notoriously strong supporters of Net Neutrality, and are likely to pass legislation in favor of a free and open Internet.
Topics: Search: News |