Shiver Me Timbers! Is this the End of Pirate Bay?
March 1, 2018
Admit it! You, like millions of other people, have downloaded an illegal movie, music, book, or other media from Pirate Bay. Is it illegal? Yes. Are you going to be charged? Probably not. Downloading illegal movies, music, books, and other media is not law enforcement’s top priority because they are more preoccupied with more dangerous crimes. Online piracy has been dealt a serious blow and torrent sites like Pirate Bay may sink into the Internet’s briny deep. Read the details in Express’ article, “End Of Pirate Bay? Torrent Sites Left Fearing 2018 Will ‘Kill’ Off Online Piracy.”
Pirate Bay has haunted the Internet ocean for over fifteen years and is a reliable staple for downloading the illegal content of all kind. Law enforcement has tried to sink Pirate Bay and other torrent sites for years, but when one Web site is destroyed another pops up in its place. A non-law enforcement entity will deal a blow to torrent sites: Google. In 2018, Google will launch its new Chrome browser that features an ad-blocker. The ad-blocker automatically blocks autoplay videos and other annoying pop-ups. Why is this bad for torrent sites?
Torrent websites rely on the revenue they bring in from advertising, and the Chrome ad blocker has left some fearing if they’ll be able to carry on. The owner of one torrent site, who did not want to be named, previously told TorrentFreak that the ad blocker could signal the end of torrents. They said: ‘The torrent site economy is in a bad state. Profits are very low. Profits are f***** compared to previous years. Chrome’s ad-blocker will kill torrent sites. If they don’t at least cover their costs, no one is going to use money out of his pocket to keep them alive. I won’t be able to do so at least.’
Law enforcement agencies and governments have tried to halt online piracy for years. As they have wised up to how torrent Web sites skirt the authorities and laws have changed to ensure takedowns, online piracy may be near its end.
Torrent Websites are nearly as old as the Internet. It is hard to imagine the Internet without the more discoverable illicit activities compared to the Dark Web. While Google Chrome and its ad-blocker may be the end for this generation of online piracy, give China, Russia, the Middle East, and Eastern European countries a few months. They will come up with something and it will probably be on the Dark Web.
Whitney Grace, March 1, 2018
Amazon Beats Google for Holiday Advertising
February 28, 2018
When Google first started out, it earned the majority of its income from online ads. Online advertising used to be a surefire way for a regular income, but ad blockers, private browsing, and changes in the Internet of things have made Internet ad profits dwindle from dollars to cents. Google used to be on top, but now Amazon might be angling its way to the top. AdTechDaily published the article, “Amazon Leads The Crowd For Holiday Paid Search Advertising” how who dominated the 2017 holiday advertising market.
The data in the article is about Amazon UK, but the UK usually bears a strong resemblance to its American counterpart. Kantar Media conducted a survey about click rates for UK retailers in the 2017 holiday season. Amazon captured 8.8% of mobile ad clicks and 7.5% of desktop clicks. The data collection for the survey was quite enlightening:
Kantar Media found that 4,259 advertisers sponsored the keywords via text ads on mobile search, compared with 3,798 advertisers sponsoring the same keywords via desktop search. Of these, only seven retailers generated a click share higher than 1% for both desktop and mobile search text advertising. Together, these retailers captured a combined 26% share of all desktop clicks and 28% of mobile clicks on the 990 retail keywords studied.Online giant Amazon.co.uk held a significant lead ahead of Argos, the retailer in second place for both desktop and mobile search ad clicks. Currys, John Lewis and online marketplace AO.com completed the top five in the list.
Google is a competitive advertising marketplace, but large retailers have the deep pockets and large inventories to give them a run or a “click” for their money The retailers sponsor a higher number of keywords based on their inventories, so they can have bigger ad campaigns with bigger budgets. It also does not hurt to have well-known brands in their inventories. Luxury brands are always reliable.
Google is struggling with its online ads, shall we call this the Froogle Fumble?
Whitney Grace, February 28, 2018
No Google Makes People Go Crazy
February 26, 2018
Beyond being the top search engine in the western world, Google has wormed its way into our daily lives with more than one service. Google offers email, free Web storage, office suite software (word processing, presentations, spreadsheets), blogging software, YouTube, online ad services, and many more. If we did not have Google, many of us would experience withdrawal symptoms. So what would you do without Google? TechCrunch posted the article,“That Time I Got Locked Out Of My Google Account For A Month” and author Ron Miller explained how it impacted his life.
Miller, like most of us, forgot his Google password and jumped through the hoops to recover it. After plying the red tape, he was denied access to his account and was simply locked out. The biggest problem was that he did not have any recourse. As a technology journalist, Miller had Google contacts, but without that access, he did not know what he would have done. Miller’s Google contact tried to get support for his case, but for two weeks he was given the runaround. Finally, the PR contact came through and using an alternate email address, Miller finally had access to his sweet, sweet Google data.
Miller learned that there was little he could have done without his PR contact and others locked out of the accounts are SOL. What is a Google user supposed to do?
The only thing I can suggest, and which I think I will do in the future, is to use a password manager and don’t leave it to chance. One day you could click “Forgot Password” and that could be the last time you access your Google account. Your digital life could be hanging by that thin thread called your password, and if you can’t remember it at some point, it is like you don’t exist and you are cut off.
Hey, Google, please make retrieving a password easier!
Whitney Grace, February 26, 2018
Froogle, Froogle, Can You Come Back?
February 24, 2018
When you are shopping for a new product, the first place you usually visit is Google. Google usually lists the top results for products and brands, but it takes a long time to sort through all of those results. (That is nothing new when it comes to search.) Google has decided to help shoppers in their consumer quest, says The SEM Post in the article: “Google Adds Research Search Feature To The Search Results.” While it sounds like Google is about to help researchers finish their homework assignments, the new feature actually adds product images to search results.
The new search feature is similar to the top stories search feature that lists the top news articles based on keyword entries. The product feature, however, lists top and popular products related to a query term. There are some drawbacks, as the article points out, when they searched for “bbq grills” One of the listings was outdated, another was a landing page that required clicking through the Web page for more information, and another only listed a partial date.
It is a good update, but it does need some revisions:
“I think this is an interesting addition, but definitely could use some tweaks to ensure that the articles they pull out are more current – such as under a year old – as well as ensuring what is linked to is useful. And it could serve as a great resource in the future for searchers, especially for those who are trying to get this type of information from third parties rather than from the retailers.”
From a business standpoint, however, this could be a new way Google could sell ad revenue. Companies can pay for their products to show up in this research feature. It is a great idea, but another thing that can be exploited. Perhaps Froogle can come home again?
Whitney Grace, February 24, 2018
Google: What We Have Here Is a Failure to Innovate
February 23, 2018
Google is one of the top technology companies in the world and their services are employed on nearly every computer, phone, and tablet. Google is at the most innovative when it comes to developing new technology, but a former Google insider said the opposite. Steve Yegge writing for Medium explains his Google experience in his article, “Why I Left Google To Join Grab.”
Yegge loved Google and still considered it to be one of the best places in the world to work, but he left for some good reasons:
“The main reason I left Google is that they can no longer innovate. They’ve pretty much lost that ability. I believe there are several contributing factors, of which I’ll list four here. First, they’re conservative…Second, they are mired in politics, which is sort of inevitable with a large enough organization; the only real alternative is a dictatorship, which has its own downsides. Third, Google is arrogant…But fourth, last, and probably worst of all, Google has become 100% competitor-focused rather than customer focused.”
Google has reached the apex of its innovative spirit and has gone the way over all corporations and, arguably, politicians. Google has grown so big and powerful, hires the top players in the field, and controls so many products/services that it does not want to lose face, its employees have ego problems, and they serve the almighty dollar. It is a repetitious pattern that has been playing out for ages. One of the greatest examples was the British Empire. The British Empire became so big and powerful that the resources were spread too thin, the ruling parties were arrogant, the subjects suffered, and those in power never wanted it to change. It sounds like Google, does it not?
Yegge then talked about the new endeavor called Grab and stresses the importance of keeping your ear to the ground in order to make and grow a business. Google has gotten too big, but it still has a lot of powerful and it will be awhile before it falls. Another company will pick up the slack. Someone always does.
Whitney Grace, February 23, 2018
Big Tech Giants Not Bulletproof
February 22, 2018
It’s safe to say that the honeymoon is over for the big tech companies that use big data to the extreme. The likes of Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon had a rough 2017 and things aren’t looking up, according to Forbes story, “Big Trouble for Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple in 2018.”
According to the story 2017 was the year:
We realized that maybe, just maybe, FAGA (Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon) were no different from car companies, real estate brokerages, banks, insurance companies, big pharma and other technology companies – those guys. When FAGA joined the family of “regular” companies they lost some appeal. In fact, if the trend continues, FAGA might even find themselves on the list of some of the most disrespected companies!
2017 made it clear that FAGA exists for their shareholders, partners, executives and customers, in that order. What an awakening for even the love-is-blind crowd: just say it ain’t so! Just another company?
Things are not so rosy for tech companies that once claimed they would change the world. Net neutrality might cause them to drastically shift their business models, and a recent Vanity Fair story pulled back the curtain on Silicon Valley and revealed a hedonistic culture that is a drastic shift in our perception. Does this mean we are in for a tide shift in tech? Mmmmm, probably not. These giants are firmly planted, but it is proof they are not bulletproof.
Patrick Roland, February 22, 2018
Google: Image Search Accuracy
February 16, 2018
Google image search is a hot topic. I wanted to test the functionality of the system because Google killed the “view image” option. Google really wants to be best friends with copyright holders. I took this image of myself:
I loaded it into the Google image “search by image” function. Yep, that’s the little camera graphic for those of my gentle readers who do not understand Google’s wonderful iconography.
Here’s what Google delivered as “similar” and “matching” images.
Notice anything interesting?
I am flattered that Google thinks I look like the female singer Mpume.
With precise image matching like this, Google may want to cease development of its system. What do you think about the thumbnail images. Yep, just like me. Oh, did I mention I am Caucasian? But if Google sees me differently, I go with Google. The company’s “algorithms” are the dope.
By the way, if you want the “old” image search function, try this link.
Stephen E Arnold, February 16, 2018
Google Does a Tim Andrews with Local News
February 15, 2018
Google is one of the country’s leading news providers, because it pulls its stories from many different news sources. While Google provides good news coverage for international and national affairs, local news stories are still better curated by the hometown news. Google is changing its approach to local news says Business Insider: “Google Is Building A Local News Services That Anyone Can Contribute To.”
Google’s new endeavor is called Bulletin and it allows citizen journalists to write, blog, vlog, and share their images straight from a mobile device without an official news outlet. Google wants to ramp up local stories within communities that traditional news outlets would miss.
Google wants to boost its own news service as a viable outlet and connect people with more local information, but the problem with the general concern is accuracy and quality. Google has already been cited for promoting fake news during the 2018 presidential election and providing an outlet for the average joe without valid research is a big issue.
The problem with the Internet is that people who normally are not given a voice have a medium to be heard. This has many extraordinary benefits, but it also has just as many problems. Fake news does need to be stopped, but is would Google Bulletin only be adding fuel to the fire?
The only thing to do is wait and see what happens:
“It’ll be interesting to see how this rolls out and fits into Google’s strategy for grabbing more eyeballs through its News and Search services. Beyond getting people to try Bulletin when they’re starting out reporting local news, it’ll have to incentivize them for sticking around once they get the hang of it and feel the need to grow an audience for themselves.”
Is Google embracing the spirit of the “old” America Online?
Whitney Grace, February 15, 2018
Google: Innovation and the European Hassle
February 15, 2018
Google is allegedly an innovator. Forget the GoTo.com, Overture, and Yahoo ad “emulation” hassle. Forget Loon balloons in Puerto Rico. Forget solving death.
Google has a way to deal with its “chat” efflorescence. Navigate to “A Google R&D Team Wants to Bring Smart Reply to All Your Chat Apps.” Okay, a meta play. What’s interesting to us in Harrod’s Creek is that engineering free time for innovation, acquihires for innovation, and Google X are not sufficiently productive in the gee whiz department.
The write up states:
The Area 120 project will offer its suggested replies right in the notifications from these chat apps. But to be clear, Reply does not offer a standalone app of its own – it’s just a way for people to respond to incoming messages.
Is an auto responder the big hit? Nope. We just flat out did not know about Area 120. Like Area 51, we assume the innovation team is off the radar.
We hypothesize that the deployment of a meta service in order to “roll up” some functionality may catch the attention of regulators in Europe. Keep in mind this is our nagging concern.
Google may have some of the deepest pockets in the world, but that might not be enough if they cannot adapt to the “new” Europe. The EU is pushing back against the search giant for unfair practices and the battle is coming to a head. One thing seems clear, Google is going to have to bend or suffer impossible sounding debts. We learned more from a recent Irish Examiner story, “Google Under Pressure to Avoid Further EU Fines.”
According to the story:
“Rivals say the search company’s offer to auction advertising space doesn’t work because Google wins most of the spots. “The US company has so far said it is giving competitors the same opportunity to show shopping ads from retailers that its own Google Shopping service gets. “Failing to comply with an EU competition order can cost up to 5% of global daily revenue.”
According to the article’s math, that’s a whopping €9.6m a day. We are sure Google doesn’t have it in the budget to incur such a hit. Google’s best solution may be to conform, but that’s not likely to be innovation as Google seems to define the word.
Stephen E Arnold, February 15, 2018
How Yahoo Made Google into a Titan
February 15, 2018
Is it possible that yesterday’s search engine giant actually gave today’s kingpin the job on a silver platter? That’s the way one former exec makes it sound when describing how Yahoo fell from grace and crashed incredibly hard. This story and more were detailed in a recent Inquisitr story, “Former Yahoo Employee: Yahoo’s Idiocy Is Hard to Exaggerate.”
According to former employee Jeremy Ring:
“Yahoo!’s leadership just didn’t see the big dollars that were in search until it was too late…” “Yahoo, in a way, made Google the titan that it is today. “Yahoo contracted out search to Google in 2000 and waited until 2004 to develop its own search technologies. It was too late by then, Google had already become the dominant player.”
It is impossible to deny that Yahoo gave up its seat at the head of the digital table. How a company that was so ubiquitous with the start of the internet revolution has fallen so far, is a little bit comic and a little bit tragic. However, the company is trying desperately to fix it all in the third act of their story. Communications giant Verizon recently bought Yahoo. Rumor has it that Verizon is wanting to get in on the content creation front, like Google is doing with YouTube. If that is the case, Yahoo could be poised for big things. Nostalgia lovers would flip to see Yahoo back in a relevant place in society, but time will tell.
Patrick Roland, February 15, 2018
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