Getting Granular: The DigitalGrit Blog

CNET: Microsoft and Google in Enterprise Search Battle

"Enterprise search is our business, it's our house and Google is not going to take that business," Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer, told a conference of more than 7,000 business partners here Thursday.

'Nuff said. Read the article.

So Much Yahoo/Google/Microsoft News, who can keep up??

Lot of search engine news today...I'll just share some AP links (wink, wink!) and the headlines:

• Yahoo, eBay Join Forces in Partnership - Internet powerhouses Yahoo and eBay are joining forces in an alliance that further defines the battle lines in an online brawl with rivals Google, Microsoft and AOL.
• Microsoft to License InfoUSA Database - Microsoft Corp. has agreed to license infoUSA Inc.'s business listings database to beef up the software company's online local search offerings, the companies said Wednesday.
• Google, Dell in Deal on PC Software Package: Source - (Reuters) Google Inc. and Dell Inc. have reached an agreement for the No. 1 personal computer maker to factory-install a package of Google software on its systems, shoring up a test-run between the two companies, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

And there's probably more that I've missed. There was one item about AOL enhancing its search now that their users are taking off the training wheels and going broadband en masse, and something else about Google partnering with media-favorite MySpace.

But who the heck can keep up? I think I need an intern just to aggregate search engine news!

So Much Yahoo/Google/Microsoft News, who can keep up??

Lot of search engine news today...I'll just share some AP links (wink, wink!) and the headlines:

• Yahoo, eBay Join Forces in Partnership - Internet powerhouses Yahoo and eBay are joining forces in an alliance that further defines the battle lines in an online brawl with rivals Google, Microsoft and AOL.
• Microsoft to License InfoUSA Database - Microsoft Corp. has agreed to license infoUSA Inc.'s business listings database to beef up the software company's online local search offerings, the companies said Wednesday.
• Google, Dell in Deal on PC Software Package: Source - (Reuters) Google Inc. and Dell Inc. have reached an agreement for the No. 1 personal computer maker to factory-install a package of Google software on its systems, shoring up a test-run between the two companies, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

And there's probably more that I've missed. There was one item about AOL enhancing its search now that their users are taking off the training wheels and going broadband en masse, and something else about Google partnering with media-favorite MySpace.

But who the heck can keep up? I think I need an intern just to aggregate search engine news!

Has Yahoo! Bought Technorati?

Dave Berlind at ZDnet Blogs got this funny error message while trying to access Technorati:

If you zoom in, you'll see a Yahoo! 404 message. Berlind admits, it could be a browser bug...or the cat's gotten out of the bag a little early!

It would be a smart move on Yahoo!'s part. By integrating both del.icio.us and Technorati in their "My Web" Web 2.0 offering, they'd be getting the heart and soul of the social web under one roof, so to speak. Both sites are considered best-of-breed and both have ridiculously loyal followings. By acquiring these established sites, rather than reinventing the wheel, Yahoo! would be building a strong following for My Web.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Berlind was not able to repeat the above error, and fully admits that it may be a bizarre browser error. But what if it's not?

[Cheers to Ben Barren and The Blog Herald for the tip.)

Has Yahoo! Bought Technorati?

Dave Berlind at ZDnet Blogs got this funny error message while trying to access Technorati:

If you zoom in, you'll see a Yahoo! 404 message. Berlind admits, it could be a browser bug...or the cat's gotten out of the bag a little early!

It would be a smart move on Yahoo!'s part. By integrating both del.icio.us and Technorati in their "My Web" Web 2.0 offering, they'd be getting the heart and soul of the social web under one roof, so to speak. Both sites are considered best-of-breed and both have ridiculously loyal followings. By acquiring these established sites, rather than reinventing the wheel, Yahoo! would be building a strong following for My Web.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Berlind was not able to repeat the above error, and fully admits that it may be a bizarre browser error. But what if it's not?

[Cheers to Ben Barren and The Blog Herald for the tip.)

More Sparring in the Search Wars: Yahoo Unveils New Homepage

The reporters who cover tech news this must be exhausted this season. Every five minutes there's another headline about Yahoo, Google or Microsoft!

This *minute* it's about Yahoo. After two years, they've redesigned their homepage. It's slightly cleaner, slightly more modern. It's not as sleek as, say, MSN, but not gritty nuts-and-bolts like Google, either. It's also not a HUGE difference. See for yourself:

Yahoo sees the change as huge, however, and the page will not be the default Yahoo home page right away. According to Yahoo! COO Dan Rosenzweig: "Any time you touch the most visited page on the Internet, it's going to feel like a big change, and we think this is a really big change.''

Jupiter Analyst David Card disagrees. According to the AP:

... Card believes Yahoo's upgrades won't impress younger, cutting-edge Web surfers who are spending an increasing amount of time hanging out at MySpace.com. "They didn't really push the envelope very hard.''

To be fair, it is a big change for Yahoo. Apart from the sleeker look, the new design allows users "pull down interactive menus giving them snapshots of weather, traffic and movie information as well as providing instant access to the site's popular e-mail, instant messaging and music services."

More Sparring in the Search Wars: Yahoo Unveils New Homepage

The reporters who cover tech news this must be exhausted this season. Every five minutes there's another headline about Yahoo, Google or Microsoft!

This *minute* it's about Yahoo. After two years, they've redesigned their homepage. It's slightly cleaner, slightly more modern. It's not as sleek as, say, MSN, but not gritty nuts-and-bolts like Google, either. It's also not a HUGE difference. See for yourself:

Yahoo sees the change as huge, however, and the page will not be the default Yahoo home page right away. According to Yahoo! COO Dan Rosenzweig: "Any time you touch the most visited page on the Internet, it's going to feel like a big change, and we think this is a really big change.''

Jupiter Analyst David Card disagrees. According to the AP:

... Card believes Yahoo's upgrades won't impress younger, cutting-edge Web surfers who are spending an increasing amount of time hanging out at MySpace.com. "They didn't really push the envelope very hard.''

To be fair, it is a big change for Yahoo. Apart from the sleeker look, the new design allows users "pull down interactive menus giving them snapshots of weather, traffic and movie information as well as providing instant access to the site's popular e-mail, instant messaging and music services."

Search Insider Thinks Microsoft Could Beat Yahoo and Google in Search Wars

In today's Search Insider, Bill Wise provides three great reasons why Microsoft could beat Yahoo and Google on the Search Engine battleground:

• Ad targeting that can turn any advertiser's head;
• The money to buy their way to the top;
• Content that will drive eyeballs towards MSN Search.

His points are more than valid. I've always thought that Microsoft could at least retain a decent-sized piece of the pie, contrary to Yahoo!'s assertion that MSN has "no chance. The search business has been formed." At the end of the day, Microsoft has the resources to do pretty much anything, both financially and technologically.

Read the article and let us know what you think.

Search Insider Thinks Microsoft Could Beat Yahoo and Google in Search Wars

In today's Search Insider, Bill Wise provides three great reasons why Microsoft could beat Yahoo and Google on the Search Engine battleground:

• Ad targeting that can turn any advertiser's head;
• The money to buy their way to the top;
• Content that will drive eyeballs towards MSN Search.

His points are more than valid. I've always thought that Microsoft could at least retain a decent-sized piece of the pie, contrary to Yahoo!'s assertion that MSN has "no chance. The search business has been formed." At the end of the day, Microsoft has the resources to do pretty much anything, both financially and technologically.

Read the article and let us know what you think.

Microsoft on Entering the Search Battleground: It'll Take Time To Catch Up to Google and Yahoo (But we'll get there!)

In a week overflowing with news and rumors about Google and Yahoo!, Microsoft has made an announcement of its own -- No, they're not buying Yahoo! (or vice/versa), on the contrary, they have announced a five-year plan to catch up to the big guys. Recognizing that they're a late entry to the game, Microsoft will aggressively attempt to grab a honkin' slice of the online advertising pie:

"I don't think you will see some overnight transformation," [Microsoft CEO] Ballmer said. "It is going to have to be longer term. It makes sense for us to talk about five years."

Microsoft is making a big push into Web services and has vowed to keep investing in a variety of technologies as it seeks to transform the way both businesses and consumers operate on the Internet.

... At the core of this plan is Windows Live, an advertising-funded, one-stop shop for services from e-mail, to instant messaging, to blogs that targets the fast-growing online ad market. Forrester Research projects online advertising will grow to $26 billion in 2009 from a current $15 billion.

"We are a little bit late in the game," Ballmer said. "But at the end of the day it is going to be about the ability to create a mass marketplace for buyers and consumers....We are hard at work on our own core services where at the heart we want the users to be in control," Ballmer said. "There is a whole set of things we are doing to let the user be in control."

The game is heating up. Let's see if Microsoft can hold its own. Read the whole article. (UPDATE: Here's an even better article.)