A few weeks ago, my fiancé and I decided to move the date of our wedding up from April 2010 to September 2009. I have absolutely no idea how to put a wedding together, so I’ve obviously turned to my dear old friend the Internet to find some answers… quickly.

I find myself searching for lists of this and that on a daily basis. Take for instance my bridal quest for the perfect flowers – I’d like to find a list of flower types with a photo and some additional information. Enter Google Squared!

Google Squared is a product that allows users to research information quickly and efficiently by offering a neatly packaged online spreadsheet that pulls information from multiple webpages in response to search queries. So, when I search “flowers,” I receive a comprehensive list of just about every blossom on Earth, which also includes an image, description, genus, order and kingdom. I don’t need the last three tidbits of information, but I do want to know the seasonality of the flowers as it will help me to stay within my wedding budget to use Fall flowers. So, I simply type “season” in the add columns field and can get rid of the unnecessary columns if I choose.

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After years of discussion and speculation around a business deal between Microsoft and Yahoo!, an agreement has been reached that strengthens both companies and creates heightened competition against Google. In the deal, Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, will power Yahoo! search on all of Yahoo!’s sites, while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.

Other key highlights of the agreement:

– The deal will become official in 2010, pending regulatory approval, with a term of agreement for 10 years. Full implementation is expected within 24 months following approval.

– Microsoft will compensate Yahoo! through a revenue sharing agreement on traffic generated on Yahoo!’s network.

– The agreement impacts each company’s search business only. The companies will continue to compete in other areas and maintain their own separate display advertising business and sales force, as well as individual web properties, products, email, instant messaging and other aspects of their business.

The companies have set up an informational website with more details about the agreement at: www.choicevalueinnovation.com.

Our Thoughts

As the search marketing strategist for many of the world’s largest advertisers, GroupM Search and its brands welcome this deal and the value it brings to our clients. We’ve always said that competition, scale and innovation are important to large advertisers in any market. Microsoft is back on the map with their innovation and technology developments which have catapulted Bing into a compelling alternative with improved consumer experience and advertiser opportunities. That technology, coupled with the audience and service Yahoo! brings, has the potential to deliver a more relevant search platform with better efficiencies and opportunities for advertisers, as well as increased volume in search queries.

“We like what we’ve seen with the enhancements behind Bing, and know that Yahoo has a terrific structure for agency service within their sales force. If focus continues on development in these areas, then the industry can expect a more competitive marketplace than ever before,” said Chris Copeland, CEO, GroupM Search – The Americas.

“A 30 percent market share is a giant step forward, and Microsoft is the better positioned company between the two against Google to develop technology. The success of the agreement and growth for the companies will lie in the innovation Microsoft is hinting to with Bing and how that will come to life.”

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Well, isn’t this a doozey? So I write an entry about what I think are Twitter’s five and ten year plan, and all of a sudden, TechCrunch comes out with enough inside information on Twitter’s goal for global domination that I had no option but to revise my initial entry. Then, as I submit this for publication, Reuters manages to scoop an interview with Biz Stone prior to his appearance at the Fortune Brainstorm: TECH conference.

So here’s the deal – Twitter is growing up (read as: Twitter is working on being monetizable) and every major player in the Internet/Entertainment space wants to be its surrogate parent. Facebook already made a play for Twitter but was rejected like Madonna in Malawi. Google’s taking the slower approach and looking for more integrated solutions. Now, from the flurry of information I just read on TechCrunch, everyone else from Microsoft to Oprah want a piece of the action. But Biz Stone made it clear that Twitter will not be bought and assimilated, but rather will work as a stand alone partner whose capabilities can complement any of the other companies.

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Starting my usual morning routine usually consists of a GIANT cup of coffee. As I began getting my coffee buzz, I stumbled on an article discussing a new search engine. In my previous post, I asked the question of what will they think of next? Unbeknownst to me at the time I was writing that post, another new search engine was preparing to launch June 15^th.

It is called Spezify.com and is a VISUAL based search engine. The interesting thing about this search engine is that it pulls data from MSN, Yahoo!, eBay, Amazon.com and Twitter. This engine gives search results in three ways: text, video and images, all with the option of turning off bits and pieces. Whether you want to see text only, images only, or if you only want to pull data from Twitter, Spezify.com will allow you pick and choose how you want to see interesting tidbits.

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In Korea, Naver is by far the largest and most widely used search engine, currently taking 75% of the search market, with Daum (14%) and Yahoo (4%) trailing behind. Two weeks ago, Naver went beyond its borders and relaunched its web portal in the Japanese market, for a second time. On January 31st, 2005 Naver officially stopped its service in Japan. It wasn`t mentioned as to why it pulled out, but the industry assumption was that it just wasn`t able to make a name for itself in the fiercely-competitive Japanese market, with Yahoo and Google combined accounting for over 85% of the search share.

What`s Unique About Naver in Japan?

Naver in Japan has been operating a closed beta version of its portal since June 15th, recruiting a group of around 5,000 local Japanese internet users to evaluate and test out the new service, which has received positive feedback to-date. Naver’s Japanese portal certainly has a much cleaner UI (user interface) than its Korean version. On the front page, hot search queries are placed prominently using flash showing current search themes. The use of flash is also carried through onto the search results pages mimicking a Windows Vista type style, which adds some nice visual impact. Key services from its top page are the usual web, image, video and blog search services, as well as a question-and-answer message board, and matome, (meaning “arranging” in Japanese), allowing users to edit their search results as well as create new pages dedicated to a certain topic, enabling users to add a variety of content, links, images, etc., which will then be exposed as search results. Kind of a blend of Wikipedia and search. Continue reading »

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