John Battelle's Searchblog

Check it out....great lineup, really looking forward to it.

Will blog as I can, and also, find me on Twitter.

Mike makes a good point here in response to Tim's point of view, and Tim counters here. It's a very interesting debate, one between two folks I've partnered with for some time (Mike's TechCrunch is part of FM, and Tim and I have partnered on any number of things, including Web 2, Make, and several sites that are also part of FM). So I'm a bit conflicted as I watch these guys debate.

However, one thing I will assert: Search is more than a subsystem of Web 2, as Tim puts it. I think search has become the interface to Web 2, and so I agree with Mike that Microsoft should not abandon it. It's how we navigate the world of knowledge, and it's way too early to say we're done with the evolution of that navigation. But as Tim also points out: "a platform beats an application every time". Damn right! That's why I think Microsoft (or Yahoo) should innovate in search, as I pointed out here and here. If Google were to open its platform up, man, then it might well be game over. An open platform that has near monopoly share? Now that's something to ponder.

As promised, I've posted some thoughts on Microsoft's Cashback program over at Thomson's Future of Search site. From the post:

....In essence, Microsoft has taken the affiliate model - where merchants pay channel partners for leads which turn into sales - and turned all of us into potential partners. If it sounds like a crass play to buy your search allegiance, well, it is. But Goto.com was crass too, and it turned into a multi-billion dollar market, the ultimate expression of which is Google. So before you judge it, it's worth thinking about a bit more deeply.

There's no doubt that with Cashback, Microsoft is attempting to disrupt the search marketplace. But there are only a few axes around which you can do that. One, you can disrupt the presentation of search. This is very hard to do, but it's happened before, and will happen again. Secondly, you disrupt the business model of search. And third, you can disrupt how search is created (ie, the secret sauce of relevance). There are startups along every one of these axes of disruption. But with last week's news, Microsoft is focusing on the second one (business model). Unless, that is, you read between the lines. That's when we see the beginnings of disruption along lines one and three as well. ....

.... Lost somewhat in the analysis so far, I think Farecast is a key part of Microsoft's strategy - it's a disruption along the first axis of search - how search is presented. Those of you who have read Searchblog for a while may recall my initial post on that site: Rip Me Off No More. It really struck a nerve, I had more comments on that post than nearly any other in the history of my site. Turns out, people really like a search engine that promises to 1. help them find the best price and 2. does it in a trustworthy, intelligent, and timely fashion. .....

... Is disrupting the business model by paying search customers when they buy something a good idea? I think it is. But it's not going to work unless we trust the search results in the first place. That's where Farecast comes in. In the short term, Cashback will probably goose Mircosoft's user loyalty numbers, which should also boost its share of searches overall. But longer term, the key to winning will be the integration of Farecast-like innovations into Microsoft's offerings. I'd look for these to come in the next year, if not sooner.

Let me know your thoughts...

Thanks for all the feedback on the new design. We're going to push it live this Sunday night and keep tweaking it, there were a ton of good suggestions and we can't get them all in at once. I prefer to launch and iterate, rather than try to get everything perfect.

Secondly, I am going to work on two pieces of writing this week. Both will probably be posted in full at the Future of Search site, but I'll summarize them here as well. The first will be a rumination on what the future might look like if a major like Microsoft of Yahoo opened its index fully (for a tiny bit of background, read this), and the second will be roughly titled "Is the Future of Search About Getting Paid?" That one will be my thoughts on Microsoft's recent news and its deeper implications.

So if you have thoughts on either, let me know!

I started FM three years ago because of what I learned starting Searchblog. And today, FM is giving back to this site. One of our engineers, Ivan Kanevski, who along with many others has helped me troubleshoot the site in recent years, told me that he'd done pretty much an entire redesign of Searchblog in his spare time. I looked at the comps and loved it. I was about to ask him to just push "publish" when I thought, wait a minute, I better ask my readers!

So here's the comp. What do you think? I for one love it. But I said that already, sorry.

Quick poll: Who said that?

This post caught my eye:

If a small team of Silicon Valley millionaires get their way, in a few years, you could have a new option for global citizenship: A permanent, quasi-sovereign nation floating in international waters.

With a $500,000 donation from PayPal founder Peter Thiel, a Google engineer and a former Sun Microsystems programmer have launched The Seasteading Institute, an organization dedicated to creating experimental ocean communities "with diverse social, political, and legal systems."

Wish I could tell you all about it, but the announcement is set for later this morning when I'll be on a plane to a meeting back in the Bay Area. So watch the NYT, the feeds, and here's a story with some details (but no analysis) on PC World or the Seattle PI. I spent a fair amount of time talking about this with execs up there and there's more than just a cash back angle to this story. More this weekend....when I have time to write. Suffice to say, Bill Gates is going to be on stage, a swan song of sorts. This is a big deal for the company, the start of something.

Air travel in the US is starting to feel like bus travel somewhere in Central America, at least from what I've heard. The latest sign that things are amiss? I sit down in my "business class" seat on Alaska and see this staring at me:

As many of you know, next month is our second Conversational Marketing Summit, this time in NYC. The line up of speakers is really fantastic. I'll be interviewing:

- Beth Comstock, CMO of GE
- Rich Silverstein, co-fonder of Goodby Silverstein
- Sarah Fay, CEO North America, Aegis Media Americas
- Wenda Millard Harris, Chair, IAB and President, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Gina Bianchini
Beth Comstock
Rich Silverstein
Sarah Fay

And also coming, either running discussions or presenting, will be:

- Clark Kochich, CEO, Ave A/Razorfish
- Jonah Bloom, Editor, Advertising Age
- Jeff Berman, President, MySpace
- Joanna Shields, CEO, Beb0
- Jon Raj, Chief Digital Officer, OMD
- Jason Kilar, CEO, Hulu
- Gina Bianchini, CEO, Ning

...and a ton of others, including brand managers from Kraft, GM, Samsung, Adobe, EA (a first ever look at Spore!) and many many more. It's going to be so cool.

We're close to sold out (we're limiting it to around 300 again, as we did last year), but there are still tickets available as of this writing. I think the hotel room block (at the Ritz Carlton Battery Park) is already sold out, but I am sure there are other places nearby to stay. This is all part of Internet Week, so a lot of folks will be around for that in any case.

So, what are the issues you want me to ask these folks? It's a very interesting time in the world of online marketing, that much is certain....

...It's bad for Google to do it.

An Indian man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly posting derogatory and vulgar content about Indian politician Sonia Gandhi on Google's social networking site, Orkut. 22-year-old Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid had posted his comments in an Orkut community called "I hate Sonia Gandhi" through an Orkut account associated with his Gmail account. With Google's help, local authorities were able to verify Vaid's identity and make the arrest.

Yahoo caught a lot of shit, including from me, when they helped arrest a journalist in China.

Check out the complete overview here, from Philipp.

...rich media, that is. Third party ad tags are now cool with Google on the AdSense network. That means mo' money. Look at the list of approved third parties:

* Advertiser ad servers: DoubleClick (DFA), Mediaplex
* Rich media agencies: DoubleClick Rich Media, Eyeblaster, EyeWonder, Interpolls, PointRoll, Unicast
* Research firms: Dynamic Logic, IAG Research, InsightExpress, Factor TG

Focus on the middle, my friends. The third line is to prove it out, the first line, well, they own DClick, and Mediaplex is pretty small. What's not there? Atlas. That's owned by Microsoft. I'm sure it was just a technical error.

I will be up at Microsoft this week, meeting with Kevin Johnson, President, and others during the company's Advance 08 conference. I am particularly looking forward to hearing what news comes around search, as Kevin has promised in a note to staff:

"On Wednesday, we will be announcing a major new initiative that our search teams have been driving. We are getting better and better with our core algorithmic search, and at the same time, we are investing to differentiate in vertical experiences and to disrupt the current model."

I will post what I learn by Weds. midday.

Joe Duck, in a post about blog ranking systems:

Ironically I think success has really diminished some formerly great blogs. John Battelle is one of the most thoughtful writers on the web but now he’s way too busy with Federated Media to keep Searchblog as lively as it once was.

Thanks for the kind words, Joe. I've been reading some of my earlier writing, and it's true that I don't have the time I used to to drill down and really think hard out loud. I still do it from time to time - probably about twice a month or so, compared to twice a week back in the day. I really do miss the process of working it out here, and I know over the next year or so, I'll be back to it. Thanks for keeping me honest.

Seems talks are on again and it's either required or in Microsoft's interest to release this statement today:

MICROSOFT ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING YAHOO!

REDMOND, Wash. — May 18, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today issued the following statement:

“In light of developments since the withdrawal of the Microsoft proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft announced that it is continuing to explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online services and advertising business. Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo! an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo! Microsoft is not proposing to make a new bid to acquire all of Yahoo! at this time, but reserves the right to reconsider that alternative depending on future developments and discussions that may take place with Yahoo! or discussions with shareholders of Yahoo! or Microsoft or with other third parties.

“There of course can be no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions.”

Given that Yahoo is close to capitulating to Google and turning over its paid search, I sure hope they are considering this move (Soverture). Microsoft could buy the business (ie, pay what Google would make Yahoo right now), and together the two could hope to improve the results and earn into the deal.

FM has partnered with Chevy to create a site that pulls together the best of sites on the web covering all things green. I've found it a nice way to stay in touch with a subject I'm increasingly interested in. I use the feed to monitor stuff, and then click through when there's a story I want to engage in. Sure, it's an FM project, so all the regular caveats apply. But judge for yourself. And if you don't like it, well, tell me what we can do to make it better.

This is part of an ongoing trend I'm seeing, both at FM and certainly across the web, where marketers are providing a service to their potential customers in the form of supporting authentic media, as opposed to creating their own content and hoping it takes off. I like the trend.

Yet another example here.

Apparently there are all sorts of unofficial brand fan pages on Facebook. This story talks about how one of them, a fan page for Ralph Lauren, was disabled and transferred from the individual who started it to an "official" brand page on Facebook. As far as I can tell, this was done by Facebook at the behest of the brand. To Laruen's credit, it wrote a nice note to the owner (duplicated in the post) and offered him money for his troubles. But I don't think this is a very good idea. A brand should encourage fans to evangelize their brand, not buy them off and shut them down with a $200 gift certificate.