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Google Sees Growth in Maps and Mail, Disaster in Products

google-november-2007-traffic.png

comScore has released statistics on the performance of Google’s various properties over the last year, and TechCrunch provides these handy reference charts.

google-november-2007-growth.png

As always, Google search is the big boy, with Google Images the only other vertical that performs spectacularly. However, strong growth in Google Maps and Gmail mean that the two have a shot of breaking out of the pack and joining those two.

In the third tier are Google News and Google Video, one growing slightly, one sinking slightly. Guess moving around Video and changing its focus every few months hurt Video, though not as much as you’d expect. The fourth tier has Books, Earth and Groups, which enjoyed moderate growth, Scholar, which sank 32% due to neglect, and iGoogle, which exploded and grew over 250%. iGoogle is Google’s success story for the year, which is great news for the struggling personalized homepage product category and Google’s Gadget developer ecosystem.

There are the also-rans at the bottom, including Blog Search, the Google Directory (shockingly still popular than many of the others), Google Talk (most neglected product of the year), Calendar and Finance. Google Product Search is Google’s biggest failure, losing 73% of its users from when it was Froogle. A year ago, Froogle had a good ten million unique visitors and a nice brand name, now it has maybe two million and two generic names. Google killed Froogle, and hurt itself badly with this one.

Missing from this list is another Google success story, Google Reader. This suggests that Reader, while disrupting the RSS market, is too small to make the list, or that comScore screwed up (since we know Reader had a ton of growth). Also: No Google Apps or Google Docs, no Blogger or YouTube or SketchUp or Desktop.

It’s important to note that, of the 17 Google products listed, the only ones being monetized are Web Search (#1), Gmail (#3), Google Maps (#4) and Product Search (to a very small extent). Not making any money are Images (#2), News (#5), Video (#6), Earth (for the most part), Groups, Books, iGoogle, Scholar, and any of the others. Google would love to monetize Images, News and Video, but the amount of content it doesn’t own in there makes it damn near impossible to do so and not get sued.

December 25th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | iGoogle, Reader, Talk, Google Video, Google Book, Blogsearch, Product Search, Finance, Calendar, Google Earth, Google Maps, Services, Google Images, Search, Groups, Froogle, Google Scholar, Google News, Products, Gmail | no comments



Google Scholar, Now In Spanish

Google launched a Spanish-language version of Google Scholar, called Google Académico’, reports Dirson. This gives a place for important academic papers published in Spanish. Google is inviting editors and librarians to participate, since, if they sell their papers online, this is a damn easy way to drive traffic while sacrificing nothing.

I wonder if Google’s considering the idea of using its new machine translation to translate the papers, so that English users can take advantage of some great Spanish papers, and vice versa. Collecting the world’s information isn’t enough, if only parts of the world can understand parts of the information.

May 5th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Scholar, Search, General | no comments

Hosting sponsored by GoDaddy

Uncle Google Wants YOU!

Google has for a short while being showing Google Scholar as one of their tabs if they detect your IP address as coming from a college of some sort. According to Anthony, they’re taking it to the next level, trying to recruit graduates right from the Google front page:


(click to enlarge)

As you can see, it says “Graduating? Come work with us.“. I wonder where the link points to, if there’s a special landing page. Still, its a pretty good idea.
(via Digg)

April 28th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Scholar, Search, General | no comments

Google Scholar Sort By Date

Google Scholar recently added a “Recent articles” feature that lets you sort papers by ranking them both by a combination of date and citations. Typically, Scholar only sorts by citation rank, and this will make it easier to find current papers. You can see it in action here.
(via The Google Blog)

April 26th, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Scholar, Search, General | no comments

Windows Live Academic Search

Competing with Google’s Scholar service, Microsoft launced Windows Live Academic Search.

Windows Live Academic is now in beta. We currently index content related to computer science, physics, electrical engineering, and related subject areas.

Academic search enables you to search for peer reviewed journal articles contained in journal publisher portals and on the web in locations like citeseer.

Academic search works with libraries and institutions to search and provide access to subscription content for their members. Access restricted resources include subscription services or premium peer-reviewed journals. You may be able to access restricted content through your library or institution.

We have built several features designed to help you rapidly find the content you are searching for including abstract previews via our preview pane, sort and group by capability, and citation export.

The available content is a collection of articles and information from about 10 different publisher resources. Data is provided by (amongst others) the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Association for Computing Machinery, and publishers Elsevier and John Wiley & Sons.

The search system is a cooperative effort between the publishers, Windows Live Search and industry association CrossRef.

http://academic.live.com/

April 16th, 2006 Posted by Coolz0r | Google Scholar, Microsoft, General | no comments

Google Shows Scholar To, Uh, Scholars

Neil posts that users within his university network in England are seeing Google Scholar inserted among the regular Google tabs. I wonder if Google is doing this with all sorts of known university IP addresses? Of course, I remember once seeing Scholar in there randomly, so it could just be that. If you see a Scholar tab, let me know.

If you want to add/remove/edit Google tabs in Opera or Firefox, check out Kamambe. Now with Digg and Technorati tabs.

February 23rd, 2006 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Scholar, Search, General | 7 comments



Google Scholar Goes To Scandinavia

Google Scholar (GS) has begun an international push today with the addition of content in two languages as well as new interfaces for four countries, SearchEngineWatch reports.

New countries for Scholar : Denmark - Finland - Norway - Sweden

From [SearchEngineWatch]

January 11th, 2006 Posted by Coolz0r | Google Scholar, General | 2 comments

links for 2005-11-09

November 8th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | PPC, Google Scholar, Google Local, Search Marketing, Google Print, Groups, Yahoo, Advertising, AdWords, Search, Microsoft, General | one comment

Google, Sun Rumors And Open Source Development Initiative

Google Funds Open Source Development Initiative
at Two Oregon Universities [read]

Talk of Sun-Google Hosted Productivity Suite: “Way off Base” [read]

On Google Print and Google Scholar [read]

October 25th, 2005 Posted by Coolz0r | Google Print, Controversy, Google Scholar, General | 2 comments

Google Survivor

Philipp posts a good question: Which Google service would you take with you to a deserted island?

Now, the obvious answer is to take things that can get you off the island, like Google Earth, Google Talk, and Froogle (to buy a boat). The humorous answer? Google Moon, PigeonRank and some Google Gulp. So, to be original:

  • Google Answers, for assistance with outthinking the other castaways, and knowing which foods are poisonous.
  • Google Scholar, so I can become smarter while I’m stuck there.
  • Google Video, to aleviate boredom.

October 6th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Video, Talk, Google Earth, Google Scholar, Humor, Froogle, General | 8 comments

Google University

Google has a page at Google.com/university that has links to all things Google that could prove useful to college students. Included are links to Gmail, Google Talk, Google SMS, Google Maps, Google Toolbar, Google Scholar and Picasa, as well as some tips for using Google. Students can also get a Gmail account just by giving any .edu email address.
(via Search Engine Journal)

September 14th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Scholar, Products, Google Maps, Toolbar, Talk, Services, Picasa, Email, Gmail, Tools, Search, General | 5 comments



Google Scholar Adds Access To College Libraries

Google has added specialized access to Google Scholar from university libraries.

The Google Scholar Institutional Access allows universities to offer specialized resources to students and faculty through Google Scholar. The idea is that these universities, which already subscribe to vast resources of information that the general public cannot access freely, can sign up to use Google Scholar to access all of that information, none of which is available in the public version of Scholar.

From the press email:

If, for example, a student at the Harvard University is researching the prion protein, changes in the structure of which can cause mad cow disease. With the new feature, additional links will appear in many Google Scholar search results that will lead to her own academic library’s resources. Links corresponding to online journals that the library has licensed are highlighted, so she may be only one click away from the full text of the articles. For journals that are available only in print, she may be able to find their location more easily in the library.

Access to the program is free to all libraries that have a link resolver that can detect authorized users. In many ways, this makes Google a superengine for all of these major databases, kind of of like a free Google Search Appliance for universities.

Google promises it will not share access data with third parties, as is its policy. The FAQ says that the process should be quick and easy for most schools, involving the use of XML. Users off campus can also access the material.

These users will need to configure their affiliation in their own preferences and then it’s up to you to authenticate them.

So, which schools are already signed up? I found:

  • Harvard University (FindIt @ Harvard)
  • Stanford University (Find It @ Stanford)
  • Stanford University Medical Center (Find It @ Stanford Med)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT Access)
  • Yale University (Yale Access)
  • California Institute of Integral Studies (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • California Institute of Technology (Caltech Access)
  • California Lutheran University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of California (UC-eLinks)
  • University of Southern California (USC Article Linker)
  • American University of Beirut (AUB eText)
  • Austin Peay State University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Bethel University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Brandeis University (GetIt @ Brandeis)
  • Brigham Young University Idaho (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Canterbury Christ Church University College (Canterbury Access)
  • Central Missouri State University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Central Washington University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Chapman University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Colgate University (Colgate Article Linker)
  • College of Saint Benedict, Saint John’s University (CSBSJU Access)
  • Dalhousie University Libraries (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • DePaul University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Dominican University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Duke University (Duke Access)
  • Emory University (FindIt @ Emory)
  • Fairfield University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Florida Gulf Coast University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Hamline University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Hampton University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Kyushu University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Long Island University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Marywood University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Minnesota State University - Mankato (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Montana State University-Billings (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Northern Michigan University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Northwest Missouri State University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Radford University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Reykjavik University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Rockhurst University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Technische Universität München (TUM SFX)
  • The University of Iowa (UIowa InfoLink:Full Text)
  • University of Arizona (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of British Columbia Library (UBC eLink)
  • University of Calgary (UofC Access)
  • University of California (UC-eLinks)
  • University of Canterbury (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Hawaii at Manoa (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Illinois - Chicago (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS eText)
  • University of La Verne (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Limerick (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Manitoba (UM Links)
  • University of Michigan (Availability at UMichigan)
  • University of Michigan-Dearborn (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Missouri - St. Louis (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Montana - Western (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Montevallo (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Montevallo (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Oklahoma Libraries (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Oregon (UO FindText)
  • University of Pennsylvania (PennText)
  • University of Pittsburgh (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Portsmouth (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Rhode Island (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • University of Southern California (USC Article Linker)
  • University of St. Thomas Libraries (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Utah State University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Valparaiso University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Vermont College of the Union Institute and University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (WU Article Linker)
  • Western University of Health Sciences (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Yale University (Yale Access)
  • Yeshiva University - Main Profile (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Albion College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Assumption College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Bates College (Bates Article Linker)
  • Berry College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Boston College Libraries (FindIt@BC)
  • Caldwell College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Canisius College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Canisius College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • College of Saint Benedict, Saint John’s University (CSBSJU Access)
  • Daniel Webster College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Dartmouth College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Delaware Valley College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Grinnell College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Hampshire College (Hampshire Access)
  • Hillsdale College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Ithaca College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Lake Land College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Lansing Community College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Marist College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Moraine Park Technical College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Mount Royal College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Naval War College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Normandale Community College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Occidental College - Article Linker (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Phillips Memorial Library - Providence College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Ramapo College of New Jersey (Ramapo eText)
  • Touro College (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Union College - Schaffer Library (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Vermont College of the Union Institute and University (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • School of Visual Arts (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • St. Andrew’s School (Full-Text @ My Library)
  • UT-Houston School of Public Health (Full-Text @ My Library)

Wow, that is a long list! Don’t bother signing up for any schools you aren’t affiliated with, unless you like login screens you don’t have the password for. You can indicate your preference for up to three schools in the Scholar preferences.

So, what if Google takes this concept to the user? What if you could tell Google which databases you have access to, such as Lexis Nexis, New York Times archives, pay porn sites, intranets, and Google would index all of that stuff for you. That info, which you already have access to, would be added to your Google searches, something no one else would see. That has to be an eventual goal of Google’s, and I love it.

May 10th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Scholar, Search, General | 3 comments

Google Scholar Gets Advanced Search

Resource Shelf has the news that Google Scholar now has an advanced search interface. You can now search for specific authors, publications, or by date (the last one being especially important), as well as limiting your search to the title of the document and show 100 results at a time. Google also has a page with tips for using the search. You can also use the author: and intitle: operator to make those sorts of searches from the regular Google Scholar search box. Of course, as Resource Shelf points out, it still needs work, since some searches still turn up articles outside the date range.

December 28th, 2004 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Google Scholar, General | no comments