Archive of thenextweb.com
Written on 2nd July 2009
4 COMMENTS 
Martin Bryant, Co-founder, Social Media Café Manchester
FriendFeed has completed its conversion to an entirely realtime service by launching Realtime search. As of now you can type in a search query and see results from right across FriendFeed stream down in realtime.
When FriendFeed moved to a realtime feed in April some users resisted the change. Keeping track of incoming items can be much harder as they stream down your screen. Difficult, that is, until you get used to using the handy ‘Pause’ button. However, few could fail to see the value of realtime search results. Want to monitor what people are saying about anything, as they say it across the whole Social Media landscape? FriendFeed can now do it quickly and stably.
That’s not all – they’ve added a widget to display realtime search results in your own webpage. So, why not, here’s what people are saying about The Next Web right now:
Besides being a really awesome spectacle, realtimes search will be a huge boon for businesses monitoring what people are saying about their products, journalists monitoring news and much, much, more.
FriendFeed has completed its conversion to an entirely realtime service by launching Realtime search. As of now you can type in a search query and see results from right across FriendFeed come up in realtime.
When FriendFeed moved to a realtime feed in April some users resisted the change. Keeping track of incoming items can be much harder as they stream down your screen. Difficult, that is, until you get used to using the handy ‘Pause’ button.
However, few could fail to see the value of realtime search results. Want to monitor what people are saying about anything, as they say it across the whole Social Media landscape? FriendFeed can now do it quickly and stably. (more…)
Written on 18th June 2009
3 COMMENTS
Martin Bryant, Co-founder, Social Media Café Manchester
Google is reportedly set to launch a new way to browse its News service. Flipper will let you view the results of your searches in a magazine format. This more visual way to browse the news should make it quicker to get a feel for which stories you want to read. It should be a natural format for quick scanning on a touchscreen device like the iPhone.
It’s not only Google News that needs an overhaul though. Another important search tool from Mountain View is in desperate need of some TLC. Over the past few months Google Blog Search has gone from being a useful resource for scanning the state of the blogoshere to difficult-to-navigate bucket of spam blogs and automatically generated Delicious link lists.
If you’re searching for what blogs are saying about a particular subject you need to cut out all the spam and automated nonsense and just get down to what matters – original content, indexed quickly. It’s unclear why it’s happened but Google Blog Search is now longer fit for purpose.
Nearly 24 hours ago here at The Next Web we published a story called “Stop Hating on IE6! You’ll hurt its feelings!” You’d think Google would have indexed it by now? Apparently not. A search for the phrase “Stop hating on IE6″ returns four results – all of them contain references to our post but none of them are the actual post. In fact, the references to the orginal post are from people’s Twitter streams, embedded in their blogs.
So, if you want to find a post in Google Blog Search you’ll have to go via someone’s tweet, via their own blog. Rival blog searcher Twingly finds the original post straight away.
While Flipper looks like a nice new way to use Google’s existing search technology, ta search technology that appears to be crumbling away.
Google is reportedly set to launch a new way to browse its News service. Flipper will let you view the results of your searches in a magazine format. This more visual way to browse the news should make it quicker to get a feel for which stories you want to read. It should be a natural format for quick scanning on a touchscreen device like the iPhone, too.
It’s not only Google News that needs an overhaul though. Another important search tool from Mountain View is in desperate need of some TLC. Over the past few months Google Blog Search has gone from being a useful resource for scanning the state of the blogoshere to difficult-to-navigate bucket of spam blogs and automatically generated Delicious link lists.
(more…)
Written on 8th June 2009
2 COMMENTS
Martin Bryant, Co-founder, Social Media Café Manchester
One of the most interesting things about the web in 2009 is the ease with which people can be tracked across the internet. The Backtype system we use here at TheNextWeb frequently gets people talking as it ‘magically’ pulls in comments people have left about our posts around the web.
Similar web voodoo has been employed by new service DailyPerfect. Originally announced in January, the service from Louis Kanganis and former Skype staff Asko Seeba and Ahti Heinla has now gone live.
DailyPerfect asks you to do just one thing; enter your full name on their front page. With just that information, it analyses publicly available information about people with your name from across the internet. This ‘digital footprint’ includes websites, forums, social networks and the like. From here it displays a list of current news stories from around the web that it thinks you will be interested in.
I was particularly keen to see how it would handle my results. My namesakes include a notorious Australian mass murderer and a man who writes Chess simulation software ; would it think I was interested in nothing but killing and boardgames?
Well, the results were surprisingly good. It brought up a large number of reviews of iPhone apps and a variety of tech news, meaning it obviously correctly guessed my interests. A couple of stories about deaths and chess did creep in but it’s very easy to fine-tune the results through rating the topics it thinks you’re interested in.
The site is intended as a demonstration of their API that allows developers to harness this personalisation technology in their own projects. It’s being targeted at sites with lots of content and lots of users. For example, a large news site like the New York Times could ask visitors to type in their name and retrieve stories relevant to them.
In the past month we’ve seen Wolfram Alpha and Google Squared launch. DailyPerfect is another example of the automated, interpretative search technology that’s going to change the way we use the web forever.
Written on 7th June 2009
36 COMMENTS
Zee, Editor in Chief at The Next Web, Principal at WeDoCreative.
Now, this is rather fascinating. Technophobe Louis Gray (clearly I’m being sarcastic) shared a link to a site called Blind Search that lets you search all three major search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing) simultaneously, the twist is that it shows the results from all three without indicating which results are from which engine – you simply select which of the three is your preferred set of results.
I tested it with a number of various search terms and almost every time selected a different search engine to the last. I couldn’t help but laugh.
Now, what this might prove is that in general, most people could cope just fine no matter what search engine they used. What’s even more conclusive however is that it’s not just about search any more, it’s about the family of services and products accompanying search, the ancillary products, and we all know who wins there.
Microsoft’s most successful ancillary product is likely either Hotmail, MSN Messenger or Live Maps. Yahoo; either Delicious, Finance or Flickr. Google; Gmail, Docs, News, Calendar, Gtalk, Reader Maps and not to forget Picasa, Earth, iGoogle and of course, Wave.
It’s almost laughable the array of quality products and services that accompany Google Search in comparison to their competitors. It’s why I know it will take something seriously special, revolutionary even, to tear my finger tips away from typing Google.com to find what I’m looking for. Whilst Yahoo and Microsoft battle away STILL trying to get search right and fight for their 17% search market share, Google were at this point years ago and have spent the last few years developing innovative, reliable and yes – revolutionary – products, the majority of which are free to use. Whilst Google continue to do this, they’ll have my business, and yours, for a long time to come.
Written on 1st June 2009
29 COMMENTS
Zee, Editor in Chief at The Next Web, Principal at WeDoCreative.
French entrepreneur Loic Le Meur has really delved into Microsoft’s new search engine (our thoughts here) this morning. After Googling himself, his next point of call was to test the search engine’s porn capabilities.
After disabling the adult filter (which is only two clicks away with no verification required), Bing’s new video search turns into every teenagers dream…not another click required… see for yourself!
Written on 28th May 2009
19 COMMENTS
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Serial Internet Entrepreneur
The world is abuzz with the news that Microsoft is about to launch a serious Google competitor somewhere in the next days. Unfortunately Microsoft has gotten such a bad rep when it comes to launching, and growing, web services that it is hard to find an optimistic blogger out there.
Is there anyone in the world who thinks that Microsoft’s new Search Engine, named Bing, will seriously compete with Google?
Of course they have a 100 million dollar ad budgets to inject their new service into our brains but that only sets expectations higher. Because no matter what their ad budget is, no one will ever consider leaving Google unless Bing’s results are substantially better than Google’s.
Peter Drucker famously said that “For new technology to replace old, it has to have at least ten
times the benefit.”
That means that Bing doesn’t have to be twice as good as Google but more than 10 times as good before people will switch. Somehow I just don’t see that happening.
It does make me very anxious to try out Bing. Somehow I can’t imagine Microsoft going through all this trouble for a mediocre product. The must have SOMETHING that makes them this optimistic.
If they don’t, all Bing will be known for in a few months will be it’s acronym: “But It’s Not Google”
Written on 26th May 2009
1 COMMENT
Pieter-Paul,
Language is an obvious barrier for foreign companies trying to tap into the Chinese Internet market. Many foreign entrants have underestimated its impact and the distinct market characteristics it has resulted in. To name two: language has contributed to the autonomous character of the Chinese web and as lots of netizens are not familiar with the commonly used Pinyin input system they prefer to click instead of type.
In some cases also the name of a company entering China can be a problem. In this respect Facebook is not very lucky with its name: some people say that in Pinyin it sounds like ‘fei si bu ke’ which means ‘doomed to die’. Also Google has not proven to be a good name. Zhang Tao, International Sales Manager at Baidu, expressed: “I believe that around 15 percent of the Chinese people cannot spell Google.” To cope with this – to make it easier for Chinese netizens to remember – Google has acquired the domain name G.cn back in 2007.
Back in 2006 Google was looking into adopting a Chinese name. Eventually it was decided the 
official Chinese name was to become Guge (谷歌), which means ‘Harvesting Song’ and sounds very much like Google in Mandarin. Google’s officials said it expresses “the sense of a fruitful and productive search experience in a poetic Chinese way.” Alternative sound-likes opted by Chinese netizens that filled in an online poll at news portal Sina.com were: NoGuge, Gougou (dog dog), Goule (enough), Gugu (auntie), Gugou (ancient dog) and Gege (elder brother). (more…)
Written on 25th May 2009
6 COMMENTS
Zee, Editor in Chief at The Next Web, Principal at WeDoCreative.
Microsoft have seemingly accepted they’ve lost the search engine battle, however the software giant have yet to accept they’ve lost the war and are believed to be relaunching their new search product this week.
We posted early last week, that Microsoft would be launching their new search engine during the All Things Digital this week. The name floating around at that point was “Kumo”.
Now, according to an AdAge article, “Kumo” might in fact be “Bing” which, in my opinion, has a better ring to it. The rebrand will play a large part in Microsoft’s new $100 million ad campaign which will see commercials for the revamped search engine appear on the web, TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.
What we do know is that on March 2, Microsoft filed two trademarks for “Bing” – one for “web site links to geographic information, map images, and trip routing”, which implies Bling might in fact be a mapping tool of sorts. But, the company also trademarked Bing as a “computer search engine software” , leaving us all guessing.
One thing, we’re certain most will agree on is that no matter how many revamps and rebrands, its the functionality behind the search app that counts and without it – Microsoft will increasingly seem like clueless marketers looking for answers.
Written on 21st May 2009
2 COMMENTS
Zee, Editor in Chief at The Next Web, Principal at WeDoCreative.
Google Suggest has updated to include top level search results, results from your search history, the ability to remove suggestions from your search history but most significantly ads.
Google explains:
“Similar to the navigational suggestions, sometimes we detect that the most relevant completion for what you’re typing is an ad. When an ad is shown, we mark it with the text “Sponsored Link” and a colored background, as on the results page.”
This introduces an entire new product line for Google, one that doesn’t disrupt the user but provides advertisers and Google with another spot of lucrative advertising space. You’ve got to give the search giant credit where its due, it’s a clever move, primarily because its a blatant ‘win win win’ situation for user, Google and their devoted advertisers.
Another neat little update sees Google have introduce “navigational suggestions” which show the site your most likely looking for without having to actually search for it. For example, when searching for Google Calendar, you can simply click on the top results in the suggested results without the need to actually view any further search results. Not a game changer by any means, but a time save? Indeed.
We’ve still yet to see Google introduce suggestions into iGoogle, something which I’m eagerly awaiting.
Image Credit: Google OS
Written on 20th May 2009
8 COMMENTS
Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Serial Internet Entrepreneur
The Wall Street Journals reports that Microsoft is expected to announce their new Search engine effort during D: All Things Digital.
Apparently Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer himself will announce a search engine code named Kumo.com (empty page).
From the WSJ:
“For months, Microsoft has been testing a prototype of the new search engine, code-named Kumo, with Microsoft employees. The technology is designed to cut down on the length of typical Web searches by grouping the results of a search for, say, a particular model of car into helpful categories like parts, used car listings, online discussion forums and videos showing the vehicle.
Microsoft is planning a major advertising campaign to promote the new search engine and has hired the agency JWT, a unit of London-based WPP PLC, to develop a campaign for the product, people familiar with the matter say.”
Of interest is that Microsoft hired Crispin Porter & Bogusky to design a $300 million ad campaign to rebrand Microsoft a while ago but decided to use JWT for this product. Can’t wait to see what it does and how it compares to all the other supposed Google Killers.
Anyone remember Cuil? Or Wolfram?
What will we say about Kumo in a few months?
Screenshot from Mashable:
The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show off, the future of the Web. (More info 
