Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim: Why Google Wants the Entire World to Upload an Image to Its Homepage

See that? That is Google’s homepage today. For everyone…in the world!

When Google announced that it would let users upload images to its homepage, it was cute. It gave me the ammo to suggest that Google was copying Bing–which was the first big search engine to go with the background images.

That’s still a legitimate observation, but here’s another one that I’ve not seen mentioned.

Google wants you to add an image to its homepage because that is exactly what you do to the background of your desktop, right? You customize your desktop with an image that makes you happy, makes you smile….makes you want to see your desktop!

That’s right, this is not so much Google copying Bing, but Google trying to make its homepage your new desktop. Google’s not just taking on Bing, but Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

Think about it. Bing shows you some random image on its homepage–to give you something to look at. Google’s letting you upload your own image so you’ll come back…over and over again...Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim

Business Insider: 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

MORNING:

* AT&T was hacked, resulting in the exposure of the email address of over a hundred thousand iPad 3G owners, including major hot shots like Mayor Bloomberg and Rahm Emmanuel.
* Google is freaked because Apple is not going to let it advertise in iPhone apps. Now the Feds are getting involved.
* Bill Gates, John Doerr, and Jeff Immelt want the U.S. to triple spending on energy research.
* Here's a cool rumor: T-Mobile will make all phones free for one day -- June 19.
* Apple updated its Safari browser and added extensions. Here's 25 extensions available to install today.
* A year after Zynga unleashed FarmVille on the world, it is releasing FrontierVille, a new game that's similar to FarmVille, but has a few twists says TechCrunch.
* Linden Labs, the company behind Second Life laid off 30% of its staff.
* The Netflix/Hulu effect: The percentage of people watching full length movies on the web has doubled in the last year, writes Joesph Tartakoff at PaidContent.
* iFixYouri, a site claiming to have an iPhone 4 minus the circuit board
, did some tests on the screen. Turns out it will break just like an other iPhone, despite all the talk of a super strong screen.
* If you haven't yet, do read the big feature we have on the "Startup Con Man," it's quite a tale.
Read more: Business Insider

Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim: Google Now Fully Caffeinated

In August of 2009 Caffeine was introduced to parts of Google’s ecosystem and there has been plenty of speculation as to just how much it has impacted results. Of course, whenever anything is rolled out to just a percentage of the Google search as a whole it can be tough to see just what it is actually doing.

Now there is no more need to wonder as Google has rolled out Caffeine in all its glory. The Official Google blog says

Today, we’re announcing the completion of a new web indexing system called Caffeine. Caffeine provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than our last index, and it’s the largest collection of web content we’ve offered. Whether it’s a news story, a blog or a forum post, you can now find links to relevant content much sooner after it is published than was possible ever before.

So there you have it. When you read that statement it is pretty amazing that there is a “new” web indexing system from the leader in search. So what brought this on?

So why did we build a new search indexing system? Content on the web is blossoming. It’s growing not just in size and numbers but with the advent of video, images, news and real-time updates, the average webpage is richer and more complex. In addition, people’s expectations for search are higher than they used to be. Searchers want to find the latest relevant content and publishers expect to be found the instant they publish.

Google’s old system was layered and it updated slowly compared to the Caffeine experience which is diagrammed below.

Here are some fun facts that Google shared as well:

* Every second Caffeine processes hundreds of thousands of pages in parallel. If this were a pile of paper it would grow three miles taller every second.
* Caffeine takes up nearly 100 million gigabytes of storage in one database and adds new information at a rate of hundreds of thousands of gigabytes per day.
* You would need 625,000 of the largest iPods to store that much information; if these were stacked end-to-end they would go for more than 40 miles.

So Caffeine is here. What do you think? Have you had enough caffeine yet to comment?
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim

Business Insider: 10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Morning! Here's the top news you need to know:

* Steve Ballmer was on stage at the D8 conference. He said the PC isn't going anywhere, despite what Steve Jobs wants you to believe.
* The HTC Evo 4G, the latest super Android
phone, goes on sale today at Sprint. Early reviews complain about its weak battery life. HTC CEO Peter Chou says, buy a second battery. It's removable after all.
* At D8 Tim Armstrong said AOL started negotiations on its next search deal last week. He said he's talking to more than just two search companies. Really?
* Check out this cool presentation from Netflix about the future of the company.
* Yelp and OpenTable are teaming up to fight Urbanspoon.
* Apple was the topic of 51% of news related tweets last week. Insane.
* The WSJ has a story about the "dark side" of apps for the iPhone and Android. Apparently there's some malware apps for smartphones out there, so be careful.
* Here's a big feature from Wired UK about Foursquare and Gowalla. Instapaper it and read it this weekend.
* Bill Gates and his old man swung by Larry King to talk tech, and other things. Gizmodo has a nice wrap up. Bill still thinks tablet computers need styluses.
* Like your information in graphic form? Check out this awesome infographic about men and women on Facebook.
Read more: Business Insider

Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim: Google’s Data Collection Practices Gets Canada’s Attention …. Again

Google must be pretty excited that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have been under intense scrutiny as of late regarding privacy. Why would they celebrate that other than it being a stumbling block to a “frienemy”? The more that Facebook gets the privacy stink eye from the world the less attention can be paid to Google’s own battles over their alleged breaches of privacy.

Google has been under scrutiny by Germany regarding their collection of wireless network data that occurred while their little Google Maps mobiles went around taking pictures of the world. Now Canada can be added to the list of countries that are looking into this practice. We know from past experience that Canada fights hard when it comes to privacy concerns (just ask Facebook).

Reuters reports:

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said on Tuesday that she was concerned about the privacy implications stemming from the collection of data from wireless networks in Canada, the United States and other countries.

“We have a number of questions about how this collection could have happened,” she said in a statement. “We’ve determined that an investigation is the best way to find the answers.”

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has already begun an informal inquiry into the matter.

Google said in a statement that it would cooperate with authorities to answer their questions and address their concerns. It has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Google has been on the fringes of the “too much information” argument with its Street View product since its inception so this is familiar territory to a degree. Lately, though, the additional revelation that data from wireless networks has been collected along with the ‘accidental’ collection of data run on those networks has raised new red flags about Google’s policies.

Canada is not alone in its concern.

Suits have been filed in Washington D.C., California, Massachusetts and Oregon by people who accuse Google of violating their privacy by collecting data from open Wi-Fi networks.

U.S. lawmakers have asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to look into the matter, and a district court in Portland, Oregon, has ordered Google to make two copies of a hard drive containing data from the United States and turn them over to the court.

So where should we as marketers stand on all of this? I notice that most of our readers stay mum on these discussions and my suspicion is that everyone is dying to get their hands on more data but doesn’t want to be known for having it. It’s the Internet marketers’ ultimate Catch-22. You need the data but having the data puts you and your company at risk of being labeled a privacy violator in the name of a few more sales. Ask Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook crew how that is working out for them these days.

So where is the line? Is there really a line yet or are we just going to be continually pushing the current privacy boundaries to loosen people’s tolerance for these ‘breaches’ to the point where everyone just rolls over, plays dead and goes along with the Google party line? That comes from their CEO who has said “”If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place”?

Oooops, sorry, that was from December of 2009. As of May 2010 in response to this current flap his take as reported by the Guardian is:

Google chief executive, Eric Schmidt, has defended his company’s record on privacy in the wake of the discovery that its Street View camera cars had accidentally recorded data from unsecured domestic Wi-Fi networks, insisting that Google has the “most consumer-centric privacy policy of any service online”.

Gee, it’s so hard to keep up with what needs to be said at any given moment to do the corporate CYA dance, isn’t it? Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim

Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Insights - By Mitch Joel at Twist Image: There Will Be Blood

Why do so many companies struggle with Digital Marketing, the Internet and the mobile platform?

If this Blog has done anything over the years, it has grappled with the question above. At a macro level... at a micro level... and at every point in between. We've looked at specific platforms, dissected trends and even looked into the crystal ball to ponder what the Marketing world will be. It is incredibly frustrating to watch one individual talk to a room full of senior marketers and explain - in a couple of sentences - why most brands grapple with the Internet and Digital Marketing as much as they do.

I hate Avinash Kaushik.

Kaushik is the Analytics Evangelist at Google, Blogger over at Occam's Razor and the best-selling business book author of Web Analytics - An Hour A Day and the recently released, Web Analytics 2.0 (he's also a semi-regular guest on my Six Pixels of Separation Podcast). And, I hate him because he did just that... in magnificent form. Last week at the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) National Convention (of which I was the co-chair), Kaushik (who was the opening keynote speaker) gave a very passionate presentation to a select few senior marketers during the President's Dinner, and he helped crystallize this brand struggle perfectly:

"The Web has been around forever and yet it is not in the blood of the executives who staff the top echelons of companies. Make no mistake, they are smart, they are successful and they want to do better. But the web is such a paradigm shift that if it is not in your blood it is very difficult to imagine its power and how to use it for good. How do you demand innovation & creativity & radical rethink if you can't imagine it?"

I love Avinash Kaushik.

This isn't about hiring young talent. This isn't about outsourcing all of your Digital Marketing needs. This is about shifting attitudes, embracing the very real reality of what the Internet has done to business and holding everybody within the organization accountable for their marketing actions online.

"I must admit up front that I am as hard core as any evangelical born again Christian in my passion when it comes to the web. The raw innovation and empowerment that a connected digital world has unleashed is the reason I lovingly refer to it as 'God's gift to humanity'."

While those are the words that Avinash used to open up his speech (and words that I choose to live by as well), it is how every member of your team should be thinking too (from the senior most executives to the latest newbies).

For brands to be successful, they need the Internet to be in their blood. Period. End of story. Case closed.

...and there's more where that came from. Avinash published his comments as a Blog post today titled, Online Marketing Still A Faith Based Initiative. Why? What's The Fix? Read it now and pass it on to your entire team. It is an important read.
Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Insights - By Mitch Joel at Twist Image

TAXI - BLOG: HUGE Internet Secret Revealed!

It’s Everywhere!

The Internet is filled with secrets. Who killed JFK, cheats & hacks, how to extend your penis size by 12 inches or discover your long lost lineage connecting you to the Royal Court of Louis XIV. So it goes without saying when Google this week finally released it’s revenue sharing agreements with other Non-Google sites & properties a lot people attentively listened.

Google revealed that it’s partners get 68% if revenue placed alongside articles/partner content. For on-site complimentary partner search Google offered it’s partners 51%. These generous percentages have been in place between 2003 & 2005 respectively. Financially impressive numbers flow along with the figures. The numbers show hefty profits for Google to the tune of over $7 Billion dollars, which compliments the $15.7 Billion dollars it made off of it’s own sites and services.

Sharing this long held secret also showed that Google is starting to become more expressive & social in the way it deals with the outside world. It is demystifying itself , it is moving away from a monolithic giant…slowly but surely.

I remember for a long time Agencies, especially Media Agencies saw Google as an industry killer. I never shared that belief. There are many reasons I did not believe this, but for the purpose of this post I will stick to culture/outlook. One reason I personally was not afraid of Google: they were just to focused on building, on complete automation and it company that was driven & populated by Engineers immersed in an insular culture. Google has always felt a little impersonal, this despite it’s best efforts to deliver increasingly more and more social tools, gadgets and platforms. Additions like Youtube and the attempts to become more socially relevant through platforms like Wave have been big catalysts for change within Google (externally the jury is out on Wave). With these changes have come new people and new ways of thinking. These additions, are helping balance a culture born out of automated ad systems and the cold an impersonal world of Search that was embedded deep into Google’s DNA.

As someone who deals with Google and watches Googles tact’s and movements very carefully, I think that this is a continuing sign of change @ Google. A change that will make the company even stronger (not without growing pains). A change that will empower a new relationship with Media Agencies and hopefully better services and functionality for consumers.

Only time will tell....TAXI - BLOG

Adcrowd TV: Google's Chairman and CEO, Eric Schmidt talks about innovation at the Roads to Innovation conference at the Arrillaga Alumni Center

Please view here: Adcrowd TV

Business Insider: 10 Things We Learned This Week

Google held its I/O developer conference, and thus dominates the big stories of the week. SAI held its slightly smaller Startup 2010 conference.

Android 2.2 (codename "Froyo") has arrived. Everyone seems to agree that this is a huge update. Plus, it runs Flash!

Google's other huge (and expected) announcement: Google TV. Here's what you need to know about it, and here's what it looks like.

Facebook's privacy woes continued. There were reports of internal conflict at Facebook over the company's new policies. Then it emerged that Facebook was (accidentally, it says) giving way too much information to advertisers. Still, we think this will blow over, and perhaps it's finally beginning to.

Google has privacy problems of its own. The company is facing a class action lawsuit over the private wifi data recorded by its Street View vans. It isn't clear that Google ever recorded data that could have been exploited, and there's certainly no reason to think any data was exploited, so we still don't think this is will be a big issue.

Another big announcement from Google I/O: the company is launching a first of its kind web app store, the Chrome Web Store. The idea is to do for web applications what Apple has done for mobile apps with the iTunes store. There seem to be more skeptics than believers so far, but the Sports Illustrated HTML5 app chosen to push the concept blew everyone away.

Redbeacon is the most promising startup in the land. Well, the most promising of the entrants to our Startup 2010 competition. Congratulations!

Australia now requires that people entering the country declare any pornography they have with them, including on their computers and mobile devices. Customs officials are digging through computers to make sure declared porn is above board. Gizmodo mulls over a few of the obvious reasons this is a terrible idea.

MarketWatch discovered that Steve Jobs traded in a huge pile of underwater stock options back in 2003 when Apple was at its low point. The momentary loss of faith cost him $10.3 billion.

Facebook made up with one of its key partners, FarmVille developer Zynga. The two companies struck a 5 year deal. They had been feuding over the revenue split on micropayments made within Facebook games. Facebook is pushing its own payment system, Facebook Credits, and will take a 30% cut of all transactions using them. Zynga will likely get some free ads. Meanwhile, its user base continues to shrink.

Somewhat unfairly, Apple continued to bear the brunt of the PR backlash over conditions at Foxconn's gadget factories in China. An investigative reporter spent a month inside one of the facilities constructing iPads and iPhones, and painted a very grim picture of life there.

Read more: Business Insider

Edelman Digital: Quick Hits: May 21

NBC Turns Television Into a Social Media Game
Fan It is an interesting new initiative by NBC that aims to tie social networking directly into its programming. In combination with myNBC, NBC’s online fan community, the program rewards users who converse around and promote – through Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and Foursquare integration – NBC shows. This kind of social integration into television should provide new information for NBC to know early which shows are building a passionate fanbase.

Foursquare Snags a Deal with The Today Show
As if you needed another reason to pay attention to Foursquare, the location-based network has added another mainstream media partner to its ever growing roster. The Today Show partnership will center around the show’s yearly Concert Series. Users can earn special badges by attending the concerts and get tidbits about New York City venues.

You Can Now Skype From Your TV
Skype-on-TV sounds like something from the future, doesn’t it? Not anymore. If you own a Panasonic or Samsung internet enabled HDTV, all you have to do is purchase a special webcam once available, and you can start video chatting from your couch – with multiple people. This is big for Skype, considering the announcement that Google may be hot on their tail.

Google Close to Making Web TV a Reality
Speaking of Google, looks like it’s finally getting close to making its “Smart TV” platform a reality. We don’t know much yet, but partnerships with Sony and Intel should make this system smart, fast, and very web-content friendly. Could Google be making plans to integrate Google Talk into Smart TV, taking yet another swipe at Skype?

In the Future, We Will All Be Replaced by Telepresence Robots

Kind of puts the Google versus Skype discussion in context, doesn’t it?
Please view in full @ Edelman Digital

Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim: Google Takes Aim and Fires at Apple

As one might expect, Google is pretty confident when it comes to just about everything. You have to be to do what they have done in a short period of time relative to most business success stories. Of course, taking the lead position in the development of the Internet Age will do that, won’t it.

Google also is very interested in maintaining that position as the shift toward a more robust mobile computing and communication world is underway (it may even be for real this time!). So when Google’s Vic Gundotra spoke yesterday at the Google I/O developer conference he left little room for speculation as to Google’s intentions for the Android OS and who it is looking to ‘take out’. At about the 3 minute mark of the video below Gundotra takes aim directly at, you guessed it, Apple.



So we should be looking for a true battle of these titans because Google is making a dent in the valuable market of mobile communications. They are going about it in a very different way than Apple which comes as no surprise. What may be a surprise, however, is the speed with which Google and Android are impacting the space.

I know many iPhone app developers who shrug off the Android’s advances and feel that Apple will win the day in the long run. They may be right. What is not going to happen, however, is that Apple will have the runaway success many had predicted. Apple’s first position in the market is their strength right now but Google’s open approach and ability to leverage all of its other market leading capabilities are hard to compete with over time. Couple that with an aggressive stance on going after Apple and the way Steve Jobs views the world and we are in for quite a show.

Who will come out on top? Let’s hear your thoughts...Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim

Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim: Google Interviews Conan O’Brien; Hilarity Ensues

There are two things you won’t typically find me doing:

1. Watching any YouTube video longer than 3 minutes–who has the time for that?

2. Watching Conan O’Brien–I don’t normally stay up that late.

So, trust me when I say that all 48 minutes of Conan’s interview at the Googleplex is worth watching. I laughed so hard, I may have to start drinking coffee at night so I can stay awake when Coco debuts on TBS–that, or just set the DVR. ;-)

Enjoy! Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim