November 27, 2007 at 6:16 am
· Filed under Search News
Google has announced that it is well underway in its plan to index the Human body. This news was announced by Google VP of Product Development Eric Hind who commented:
“We’re happy now to extend search to information about human bodies, mine and yours, inside and out, from the number of follicles on my head to the length of the President’s toenails.”
Google’s body scanning project, code named “Google Body” is in partnership with US public entities such as transport departments and public libraries who place scanning equipment in high traffic entrances.
This news has brought about concern from various privacy advocacy groups who claim that early adopters of Google Body include insurance companies and recruitment firms.
Responding to privacy concerns, Google stated:
“We are very concerned about user privacy, and that’s why we will not make publicly available any information about anybody who let’s us know they do not want to participate by wearing an Opt-Out headband when in public. Google archives information about those individuals, but does not make it searchable.”
Access to Google Body is currently by invitation only as the system is still in Beta but its expected to be launched soon.
Google unofficially announced that it has acquired Zingku, a mobile social networking and communication platform, this is according to the unofficial Google Operating System blog.
The Zingku service allows users to create and exchange invitations, mobile flyers as well as pictures with friends over the phone. Zingku also allows users to integrate their mobile phones with a personalised website allowing them to easily upload and dowload items back and forth.
No official statement has been officially published, but according to Google:
“it is true that we acquired certain assets and technology of Zingku. We believe these assets can help build products and features that will benefit our users, advertisers and publishers.”
With the highly anticipated launch of Google’s i-phone, this latest move reaffirms Google’s commitment to conquer the mobile space.
Iran has decided to block access to Google search and Gmail service. This is supposedly part of a “clampdown on material deemed to be offensive” as reported by the Mehr news agency.
Hamid Shahriari, secretary of Iran’s National Council of Information said, ”I can confirm these sites have been filtered.”
Similar to China, Iran has very tough censorship laws banning websites that promote sexual and politically sensitive content. Iran also censors sites discussing women’s rights.
Iran’s latest censorship laws are part of an ongoing clampdown on an internet-savvy society attempting to embrace western ideals and habits.
Will it last? Maybe for a while, but this is exactly what will inevitably bring down the current leadership… but lets wait and see…
Yahoo! and Bebo, the UK’s largest social network, have forged an exclusive strategic partnership. As a result, Yahoo! will sell the majority of Bebo’s display advertising in the UK and Ireland. This is Yahoo!’s first agreement of its kind with a social networking site, which will substantially increase the inventory available to it.
This partnership will enable Bebo’s sales team to continue and to deepen its focus on offering sponsorship and engagement marketing solutions, including brand integration in its groundbreaking entertainment properties such as the online drama, Kate Modern and the recently announced, Sofia’s Diary.
The partnership also brings Bebo users the power of Yahoo! Answers - a community-driven knowledge service that has grown to a global audience of 90 million and 250 million answers. Yahoo! Answers will be integrated into Bebo’s website, allowing users to ask and answer questions posed by other users within the Bebo community and beyond.
Yahoo! and Bebo have also announced the development of a new Bebo Toolbar that will enable Bebo users to monitor their social network even when they are not on the Bebo website.
This exclusive partnership is the next step of our ongoing strategy to build the largest and most effective online advertising network. Bebo joins our existing partners, Eurosport and Vodafone as part of that ad network, which also includes the BlueLithium publisher network and advanced targeting tools, and the Right Media ad exchange. Working with Bebo gives advertisers the opportunity to reach the important 13-24 year-old age group.
Yahoo! and Bebo will begin to roll out the initiatives outlined in the agreement during the 4th quarter of this year. Yahoo! began providing search on Bebo in May this year in a previous deal, which is extended under this new agreement
