Google's Secret Searchers
By Richard Koman - June 3, 2005
Hank van Ess reveals on SearchBistro.com that Google operates a secret worldwide network of search testers - humans not bots - to make sure that sites are properly placed in Google's search results. Does this mean that Google's vaunted algorithm is really a whole bunch o' clickmonkeys?
What is it? It's a lab of humans from all over the world (from China to The Netherlands, from Korea to Brasil) They are paid to check search results of Google every day. Most of the employees, called international agents by Google, were recruited through universities all over the world. The aim is to avoid spam, to get the right sites at the top of the listing and to test new features, not shown to the public yet. I call it Google's Secret Evaluation Lab, but the real title is less adventurous; 'Rater Hub Google'.
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Comments
Tom Foremski on 10 Basic Digital Publishing Skills Journalists/Anyone Should Know...
Yes, you can change the video size to whatever you'd like. Just take a look at the embedd code.
Cog on 10 Basic Digital Publishing Skills Journalists/Anyone Should Know...
I think I would pass almost all of them, but how do you resize a youtube or other embedded video to fit a web page's size?
I know you have to keep the dimensions proportional, but can you just change the height and width, or is there something else you have to follow?
Mike on Startups In LA... Building The West Coast Corridor Of Innovation - 1400 miles Long
There is no place like the West Coast for innovation
Sandy Kotch on Startups In LA... Building The West Coast Corridor Of Innovation - 1400 miles Long
I love the feeling of innovation for 1400 miles- that is the West Coast! Having moved from San Francisco to Santa Monica in the late 90s and being in start-up modes with companies for a majority of that time, it is great to confirm my true feelings all along - that we are in the innovative crux: California! Couldn't agree more that the creative energy in LA is bound to drive the technology her
Tom Foremski on Social Media Is Not About Conversations... It's About Something Much More Amazing
David: I don't think the problem is finding a new term for a stilted conversation, but that 'conversation' is misleading when applied to social media because it's about something that is much more exciting and amazing. Conversation is a red herring when it comes to understanding this next phase of the Internet...
David Shantz on Social Media Is Not About Conversations... It's About Something Much More Amazing
I beleive that the nomenclatures may be what's failing us.
None of our current lexicon really fits exactly:
A CONVERSATION is really an exchange of ideas, with each response being dependant on the other and with the overall context...
A DISCOURSE is more of a formal debate.
PUBLICATION is as you say, to make content available publicly (but seems not to have enou
Doug Millison on Social Media Is Not About Conversations... It's About Something Much More Amazing
I enjoyed reading this. McLuhan is worth re-reading, especially his book THE MECHANICAL BRIDE. Digital media are bringing us back to something like the manuscript era, where readers were usually writers who compiled their own books. Now we're creating & compiling our own "books" -- sometimes we call them "blogs" -- by mixing text & image & sound/music online. My "prose+comics scrapbook" form
Bud Gibson on Social Media Is Not About Conversations... It's About Something Much More Amazing
I agree with your bounds on what constitutes non-conversation, but somewhere in between is conversation. Ten to fifteen comments is often quite interactive. There are also side conversations that can happen in those large comment streams you mention. I've particularly seen this in some buzz threads.
Another small point of contention: you're using a term, publishing, which is increasingl
Seth Grimes on Social Media Is Not About Conversations... It's About Something Much More Amazing
Personally, I think "conversation" works quite nicely, but I'd guess I'd define "conversation" more expansively than you do. Actually, I kind of like the WordNet definition: "the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc." (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=conversation), which fits what we're doing on/with social media.
In any case, I wouldn't
Dave Kellogg on Social Media Is Not About Conversations... It's About Something Much More Amazing
I love the McLuhan quote.
If you read the comment streams on blogs, it's usually not a conversation.
It's usually what an old boss of mine used to call "parallel independent conversations" which is very much in line with the notion of two-way publishing.
Chris Dymond on Social Media Is Not About Conversations... It's About Something Much More Amazing
Question for me is: is it sufficient and to the greatest benefit for legal frameworks to simply consider social media as publishing, or should they adapt to consider a new category - something like a 'permanent conversation'?
In other words should it hold people accountable in the same way it does when the act of publishing and hence the motivations of the publisher are clear? Seems to
Andrew on Farmville valued $1B More Than Twitter By The Smart Money
The Microsoft deal with Facebook included an advertising deal--the $240M was for a share of the company and for the ad deal.
Thus, saying they bought at a valuation of $15B is significantly inaccurate.
Tom Foremski on Tech Giants Struggle With Copy And Paste...
George, sarcasm sometimes gets lost in translation, my apologies.
Daphne on Analysis: Could $GOOG Face Problems Outside Of China For Its Opposition To Chinese Government?
The Chinese governement has this stigma attached to it, basically don't mess with them. If google is mad enough to take them on, I wouldn't put it past them buying google and sacking the moron who made the decision.
George on Tech Giants Struggle With Copy And Paste...
And that significant lead will result from...adding something Apple has already added?
And that make sense to you?
Steve "@PodcastSteve" Lubetkin on Dirty Little Secrets: Social Media Is Terrible At Promoting Products
Tom, you and I are of the same mind on this. I am so tired of reading blogs or listening to podcasts or watching video embeds about social media people using social media to talk about social media. I really want to hear about specific business uses of social media. As I've said frequently, we need to remember that these tools are just communications channels, and we'll all be better off when w
Tom Nocera on Analysis: Financial Times Says GOOG Has Detailed Plans To Close China Search
An excellent analysis, Tom Foremski. I think there could be a great long term benefit for Google by its foray into China. By the timing of its very prominent presence there, coming during the great boom in Internet usage and awareness, Google's retreat, may become a kind of catalyst in the long term memories of tech savvy Chinese...the leaders of tomorrow. I forecast a triumphant return for G
Jonathan Mendez on Why Ad Networks And Exchanges Will Never Help Publishers
Great post. I believe publishers can have advertising supported businesses. In fact I don't think that's debatable. First though they need better tools to leverage their audience data and their own ad matching systems. Essentially they need to build a new improved display channel. New pub controlled networks could then emerge that would crush the performance of what exists today. Then all the
Tom Foremski on Is the Future Of News Dependent On The Generosity Of Billionaire Philanthropists?
Eric, What's wrong with making a reasonable profit as a news organization? I agree with you that there is a race to the bottom going on because the econopmics of online news continue to worsen.
At some point, we have to figure out how to reward news organizations doing a good job otherwise we are in serious trouble as a society. That's what I would like to see Mr Hellman's money go to
Tom Foremski on Techmeme's Gabe Rivera Is More Editor Than Aggregator...
Gabe: You should get a press pass and if you don't, you should ban SXSW stories from Techmeme. (SXSW gets very noisy, you'd be doing us all a big favor :)
Gabe on Techmeme's Gabe Rivera Is More Editor Than Aggregator...
Tom, two points:
1. You are a strange man.
2. Press passes cost $299? You sure? In any case I wasn't offered one. Please reread my tome on this matter: http://twitter.com/gaberivera/status/10238453895
Eric Westby on Is the Future Of News Dependent On The Generosity Of Billionaire Philanthropists?
Money is neither noble or ignoble. It is value-neutral.
You seem convinced that this project will be exclusively funded by the ultra-rich; obviously BANP's hope is that the community will step up and slowly allow the organization to be weaned off Hellman's seed money. I wish them luck -- but to be honest, the track record for local endeavors of this type isn't great so far. Still, I res
Tom Foremski on Techmeme's Gabe Rivera Is More Editor Than Aggregator...
Danny: I agree... But press passes aren't free this year. They cost $299. Gabe can afford $299.
Marshall Clark on The Dirty Little Secret About Marketing...
This sums it up perfectly:
'Advertising doesn't sell stuff' by Dave Trott
http://digg.com/u1Ps9L
Tom Foremski on Is the Future Of News Dependent On The Generosity Of Billionaire Philanthropists?
Eric: What's so noble about a non-profit status in regards to news organizations? What's so noble about relying on handouts from billionaires to produce local news?
If we can develop profitable news business models then we will have competition, and that is good for news, good for everyone.
San Francisco used to have more than a dozen daily newspapers. Each one trying to compe
Eric Westby on Is the Future Of News Dependent On The Generosity Of Billionaire Philanthropists?
While I'm no fan of the way the BANP has acquitted itself thus far, your comment that "There's plenty of 'non-profit' media businesses around, the largest local one is the San Francisco Chronicle." is glib to the point of meaninglessness.
As I'm sure you're aware, an organization's not-for-profit status is far more germane to its mission than to its ability to generate revenue. The Chro
Danny Sullivan on Techmeme's Gabe Rivera Is More Editor Than Aggregator...
Free the Gabe 1! The Techmeme 1?
Seriously, if there are any TV editors getting passes, then Gabe should. Press isn't just defined by writing stories.
Judy Shapiro on GOOG's Chief Economist Hal Varian Has No Solution For Newspapers
Actually, there is good news for publishers ... And it involves creating engagement experiences with the content rather than trying to sell content directly. (see some examples in this AdAge article: http://micurl.com/xijmu)
The key is create an experience that broadens the one:many experience of today's newspaper expereince with a socially connec
Judy Shapiro on Dirty Little Secrets: Social Media Is Terrible At Promoting Products
It is "underground" now because the consultants are pretending Social Media is a big "secret" worth $22K/ day (see my post on this - Is Chris Brogan Worth $22K?http://micurl.com/wpFeo)
As a client trying to buy social media services -- it is too hard today. There many little "bits" running around without a mature understanding of how to create value through a programmatic marketing ap
Ian Lamont on Techmeme's Gabe Rivera Is More Editor Than Aggregator...
I think many PR/communications professionals are still getting their heads around the new media world order. What's surprising here is this happened at SXSW.