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Google, Bing, and Blekko Talk Spamish
Long long before in web years, before there was spam filters in email, our inbox was mostly filled with spam. Now thanks to spam filters, we are able to see the main email in the inbox.
Is this the story with web search today? Article spam, content farm, 10 articles on how to tie your shoe, how to build a brick wall, watch the above Big Think video on Spam!
Lot of talk of direct or primary spam in search results, i.e. links of sites ranking high on search engines which are of poor or spam quality pages. But I see the real issue, and bigger one to deal with, is of secondary spam, which are good sites or web pages maintaining or trying to manipulate their position to the top by submitting spam articles to many article and other related websites, just only to give their main site or web page a boost of some link juice through some aptly placed keyword links. Worst even, is these operators resort to article spinning where they try to fool and trick search engines by producing tons of other articles spun by re-arranging words and/or structure of the sentences used and combination’s there of. Search engines have to really get smarter here, and this is easier said than done.
There is a fine fine line with black-hat and white-hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques, with a lot of overlap, what is right, wrong or evil is left for lot debate. Read the case of penny links in the New York Times article - The Dirty Little Secrets of Search. Another high profile article on Overstock.com was posted on the Wall Street Journal - Google Penalizes Overstock for Search Tactics.
Also, what about search engines turning a blind eye to secondary spam as detailed above, because these sites or web pages are used by the search engines themselves profit for the clicks through link advertisements placed on these pages. So, we really need some separation of search and ads, if you may, to really keep the objective or intent of search engines clear.
On a philosophical side, the real issue here is something higher - human nature. Can search algorithm get smarter than human nature. Again, my friends, victory is just an illusion, as human nature is always trying to be victorious. Now that gets into programming human nature?
Microsoft’s Bing needs Bong to Goog Google?
Microsoft is searching for an answer to a tough search problem - gain market share in the online search space totally dominated by Google. It is reported naming its newsest search incarnation as Bing (www.bing.com). The previous incarnation - Live (www.live.com) - is now dying a premature death, and the earlier incarnation - MSN Search (www.msnsearch.com) - did never really live that long to make any impact in the search world.
So what Microsoft really needs for its Bing search engine is Bong, to make its search results and search market share piping hot, so that more and more searchers ”Bing it”… :)
Read more and also at some suggestions for Mr. Softy
See the video preview, some interesting features, but Microsoft still has a big challenge to change the default Google it habit…
Your Tweets makes Twitter worth more than $1 Billion?
Michael Arrington reports on TechCrunch that his sources have got word that Twitter Wouldn’t Sell For $1 Billion USD.
TechCrunch sources says that Google is interested in acquiring Twitter, and has had talks with the company about a deal. Google’s internal valuation, however, would value the company at a token premium above Twitter’s last round of financing valuation, around $250 million. Some Twitter insiders want the deal, but TechCrunch sources say CEO Evan Williams wouldn’t sell even for $1 billion.
Kara Swisher from All.Things.Digital reports in her blog BoomTown that the deal is not there and this is not new for TechCrunch reporting, especially related to Google.
On July 28, 2008, TechCrunch reported: “Google In Final Negotiations To Acquire Digg For ‘Around $200 Million,’” and said there was a letter of intent signed.
While the pair did hold ultimately unsuccessful talks, they never got even close to final.
And on February 6, 2008, TechCrunch had a post with the headline, “Rumor: Is Google About to Buy Bebo For $1 Billion To $1.5 Billion? Or Will it Be MySpace?”
Hmm, not so much on the about to buy Bebo. In fact, Google was never in what could be described as serious talks, and Bebo was sold to AOL, the lone bidder, for $850 million a month later.
Thus, the third time is, no surprise, not a charm either.
