QVRP » Google

Google to acquire Motorola Mobility

Quintus van Rensburg — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:38:33 +0000

Google and Motorola Mobility today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility. The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android read more »

It’s Google day

Quintus van Rensburg — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:11:21 +0000

Wave and Buzz never amounted to much, but the new Google+ will be a force to be reckoned with. While downplaying the importance of their new service, it might be a game changer in the social sharing business for Google. It is much more than just sharing status and photos, it is a new way of communicating.

Google+ mainly consists of

• Circles – very similar to Facebook’s friends list, but you don’t need to sign up to be part of a circle.
• Sparks – a topical section where you define your own content.
• Hangouts – a place to meet up with your contacts without needing to schedule; video included.
• Mobile – what I like about the mobile component is the instant upload for photos.
• Huddle – a beter chat application

Another great “new” service from Google is Google Takeout, previously known as the Data Liberation Front. This service allows to export your data from Google products. It currently supports Buzz, Contacts, Picasa, your Google profile and some elements of Google+.

Testing general category blocking in Adsense

Quintus van Rensburg — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:59:55 +0000

Part of a small beta test group trying out a new Google AdSense feature called general category blocking.

General category blocking lets you block ads that fall into predetermined categories. At this stage you can only opt out of a set number of categories. The feature is only availbale in the new AdSense interface.

First indications are that this filtering option will not only provide you with more control over the ads on your sites, but will also have a positive revenue impact and may even help with the profiling of users.

Google TV

Quintus van Rensburg — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:02:41 +0000

“The coolest thing about Google TV is that we don’t even know what the coolest thing about it will be.”

Google TV

Google more localized

Quintus van Rensburg — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:20:10 +0000

Google have become better at interpreting search requests after the latest three updates.

Google Suggest are now drilling down further than just the country. The service is now tailored to specific metro areas in the U.S.

Google on location

Quintus van Rensburg — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:42:58 +0000

If you use Google on a mobile device you might find that the search suggestion list makes provision for your location.

The search suggestion list is the terms that appear below the text entry field on Google.

For example:

If you are in London and are looking for a sushi restaurant, first on the search suggestion list will be something like “sushi restaurants in london”.

Across the channel in Paris the same query will have as a first suggestion “sushi restaurants in paris”.

This new mobile functionality will currently only work on iPhones and Android-powered devices.

Google replaces URL hierarchy

Quintus van Rensburg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:53:59 +0000

Some Google search results URL’s is showing up as hierarchies.

A URL that links to a search result was normally given at the bottom of the result. It seems that these URL’s are now replaced with site hierarchies.

For example:

You search for Scarlett Johansson.

At the bottom of the result you may have seen:

http://www.domain.com/example/scarlettjohansson

Now you may see:

Domain.com > Example > Scarlett Johansson

Google Translate add new features

Quintus van Rensburg — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:46:49 +0000

Google Translate recently added two new features to its services.

Instant translations as you type.
Phonetic pronunciations for non-Roman alphabets.

Google now scanning RSS

Quintus van Rensburg — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:28:02 +0000

Google launched a new feature yesterday which enables the search engine to scan RSS and Atom feeds for the discovery of new webpages.

RSS/Atom feeds is a mechanism for content publication and allow readers to easely check for new content from publishers. By scanning these feeds Google will get new pages into their index more quickly than traditional crawling methods.

Adding feeds to current crawling techniques might lead to content being indexed faster.

(source: Google Webmaster Central Blog)