Gmail is DOWN :O
2 comments so far | by Dave ShawIf you're new here - welcome to Bloggle. Bloggle is an unofficial Google news blog providing a humourous slant on the day's most important, interesting and quirky Google news. You may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I know using a picture from the Fail blog is a bit of a no-no but it had to be done in this case because…Gmail is down (as of 10.58am UK time). I’m getting a 502 Server Error. I have no clue what this means. Of course the blogosphere will now go crazy with this news. You heard it here first. I heard it first on Blogoscoped.com forums.
Update: Twitter is going crazy with reports of Gmail being down. Fun fun fun.
Dear Google, when does not a blog become a blog?
2 comments so far | by Dave ShawConfusing title?
I’ve not written here for a while, but I thought I’d break my silence and feed my blogging hunger by complaining about Google Blogsearch. I love it (usually) but recently I’ve spotted some annoyances that seem just plain unfair.
When is a blog not a blog?
Do a ‘london hotels’ search in Google Blogsearch and you’ll see what Google is calling ‘Related blogs’ sitting proud at the top of the results - presumably what Google says are the most relevant blogs for this term. The problem is, these sites aren’t blogs at all, just companies selling their product. You might disagree, but as far as I’m concerned, there is no way these are blogs in any sense.
So how did they get there? Looks to me like they just added an RSS feed of their products to that page. Pretty neat way of getting some greater exposure. They also appear in blended search on Google.co.uk if you do some derivates of ‘london hotels’.
Google Map’s Pegman hits the Big Screen
1 comment so far | by Dave ShawGoogle released a new UI for Google Maps yesterday. The new interface features a pop out Pegman who is now draggable on to the map. Dragging Pegman on to a StreetView-able location will launch StreetView in full screen view. Holding Pegman over a StreetView-able location will show a preview of that location.
There is also a new compass feature that lets you change the viewing direction simply by dragging your mouse to the desired angle.
When in StreetView, the old map interface exists as a mini map in the bottom right corner, but this can be extended to half the screen.
As a result of all this, gone is the ‘StreetView’ box next to the old ‘Traffic’, ‘Satellite’ and ‘Terrain’ boxes.
Watch the video for all the features and to listen to Pegman tell you about all the features himself, visit Blogoscoped for a comparison with the old UI, or read the Google LatLong blog for a full overview of the features.
Make SearchWiki more annoying with sound!
1 comment so far | by Dave ShawPlenty of people hate SearchWiki. There’s a nice round up at Search Engine Land. It’s well documented that Google haven’t provided an off switch for SearchWiki but they have been thoughtful enough to have made the sound effects an opt-in feature!
Want to make your Google experience even less enjoyable? Then head to Google Labs and enjoy the sound (and animation) of an explosion every time you hit that promote button. Apparently, the sound effect was recorded by Sergey himself which of course makes it completely bearable.
[from Google Blogoscoped]
Does it matter what Michael Arrington thinks of SearchWiki?
4 comments so far | by Dave ShawOver the past few days, high profile bloggers like Michael Arrington and plenty of others have been shouting loudly about their dislike of Google’s new SearchWiki and calling for Google to include an off switch. Many rejoiced over the weekend when SearchWiki was down thinking it to be a Google U-turn, only to be disappointed when it returned an hour later. But does Arrington’s (or any other tech blogger’s) opinion matter? Do Google care?
First we must answer the question, what’s Google’s intention with SearchWiki? Is it:
(a) For Joe the Plumber to help him find that web result the second (or nth) time he enters his favourite search query
(b) For the tech elite (”I’m a mac”) to participate in helping Google provide great results
If it’s (a) then…
No, Arrington’s opinion matters as much as your score in Super Mario Bros when you’ve just lost your last life.
Sure, it’s valid. Let’s be clear, I’m not saying Arrington shouldn’t have said what he said, or that what he’s said isn’t relevant, or even that he’s wrong. But does it *matter*? Do Google care?
Firstly he’s not an average user, and neither is any other tech blogger (or any blogger for that matter). A few SEO’s have been vocal about SearchWiki too, but again they aren’t your average user.
Second, the influence they have, whilst significant, isn’t an audience of average users. TechCrunch has a lot of readers and significant influence…but influence within tech circles. Perhaps that’s unfair (maybe ‘tech circles’ isn’t a well defined phrase) but I’m guessing TechCrunch readers aren’t your average Google user either.
Third, Google made a a lot of noise about this. Bigger than even a site like TechCrunch could ever make. Sites like BBC and the NY Times picked up the story. Many blogs picked up the story and fell into line with a ‘We love Google’ stance. Wouldn’t Arrington’s (and others’) stance be drowned out by all the noise?
Google haven’t made SearchWiki for the mac tech elite. They’ve made it for Joe the Plumber who wants to make sure that when he enters that search query again tomorrow he won’t spend all his time searching through the results again. That’s why Arrington’s opinion doesn’t matter, however well founded it might be. Google don’t care.
But if it’s (b) then…
Yes we can it does matter, as importantly as eggs in pancakes.
Seriously, Joe the Plumber isn’t ever going to realise Google have changed something like this - it’s only going to be ‘I’m a mac’ who ever uses (and complains) about something like this.
Sure, the tech elite aren’t the majority of Google users, so if Google make them angry and they flock to Live its not a disaster. They probably don’t click on PPC ads anyway. But isn’t this kind of feature a feature made for these types of people? People like Arrington, tech bloggers and their readers? If they don’t use it, who will? If most people don’t even realise that the links they’ve been clicking on at the top of the search results are really paid ads (apparently most people don’t), are they really going to spot a small change to the Google interface?
Once you’ve made your mind up about that then there’s more to consider.
Google’s mistakes
Do they really want to influence search rankings with this kind of voting system? If so, it’s a mistake to make it available only to users with a Google Account. Is it a dig at Digg? Then it’s a mistake not to allow a user to see changes another user has made.
What do you think? Do you love it or hate it? Why have Google done it? Does Arrington’s opinion matter to Google?