Big internet companies are all pussies

microsoft yahoo aolBet your company!

Startups need to go all in and bet their companies to be able to start their business. They have no idea if it will work but in order to be successful they need to put all their efforts into what they are doing and go all in with their gut.

If they get successful they will go public, start measuring risks and never again bet their company. While this may be wise and safe, this will never lead them into the next big thing. They will never get the rush of having to do it right. Never get to put all their resources into one thing. Ultimately they will never takes us one big step forward. It’s like we are moving baby steps.

On my last post I ranted about Google Search Plus but what Larry Page is doing is betting a lot into this move. He is not going all in and betting his company because no one will call and even if they did he is the player with the biggest stack on the table, so he would never lose it all.

Even if I complain about the move and generally I don’t like what this brings to Google Search Results. I like the move. It shakes things. I only complain when I love a product. And I love Google… Honestly do. I may not agree with them many, many times. But I like what they bring to the table. Even if they turn out to be evil. They already gave the world so much innovation that it would be a positive score in the end.

I double dare any other big tech industry to risk at least that much. Go against Google. Facebook start a Search Engine and force your users to use it. Microsoft start a Social Network and make it a default real time dynamic background on all windows. Yahoo go all in against You Tube and bring us internet TV. We all see you can make stable money and at times lose a bit. But we need to be amazed. We need the WOW. We need YOU to take the human race forward.

Why there is no real competition to Apple or Google? Who is willing to do a phone with only one button? Who is willing to force users to use their products? Who is willing to make the next big thing and fail? Who is willing to risk it all?

You guys monopolize all the best tallent and resources. The best engineers, the best teams, the biggest amount of money from investors. Don’t put it to waste doing trivial products. Give us things we don’t know that could exist. Give us our hidden dreams. Give us the feeling of being happy that a product exists…

Google “Search Plus” calls Facebook to the search game

Doing this to my above fold results for Michael Arrington:

Google Search Results for Michael Arrington

is absolutely ridiculous.

The most interesting result for Michael Arrington for me right now is uncrunched that you can find deep down:

Google Search Result uncrunched deep down

If this is what Search Plus is about, I pass.

There is a lot I agree with what Danny Sulivan points out but my main issue is having Google SERPs all cluttered with junk (ads and Google+ ‘suggestions’).

If it wasn’t enough to have to put up with this:

Google Search Results full of ads

Now we combine that with Google+ and we get this:

music Google Search

This will push results from all content providers down and provide users with a confusing interface. I am not talking about rankings, we all know Google is the best at ranking stuff, I am talking about the interface, the simplicity. That’s why we all got so addicted to it. My mom got it, first time.

Now, I get the obsession with Social. Future rankings will be Social. It’s obvious, but content providers don’t want our Google + Posts to rank. We want our pages to rank. That’s how we make a living. Google has a monopoly and it’s all fine as long as they play nice. Abusing that is calling competitors to step up. Best candidate: Facebook.

Why Facebook and not Bing. Because Microsoft is awful at Social. They had the best Social Network (MSN Messenger – Portuguese Post) a few years ago and never knew what to do with it. Any future search engine will need a great Social Network behind or something new someone will create that uses people to rank stuff.

The way things are heading, I wouldn’t be surprised if Facebook would come up with some better interface than Google is actually moving towards.

I think that Google is playing with fire. If content providers stop getting the amount of traffic they get from Google they will start looking elsewhere, blocking content from being crawled, promoting other alternatives and start the REVOLUTION.

Pirataria Online

Após ver estas declarações o Sr.Gago subiu muito na minha consideração.

É bom saber que alguém consegue distanciar-se e ver realmente o que se está a passar.

A pirataria online é a prova que o sistema de venda dos conteudos não é o melhor e precisa de ser repensado desde a sua raiz. Digo eu :)

MusicBox – Web App Portuguesa do Ano

MusicBoxFoi lançado esta semana o MusicBox do grupo PT.

Acabadinho de lançar e para mim a melhor Web App lançada este ano em Portugal. Tem todo o potencial para completamente revolucionar o mercado da música e trazer alguma ordem ao caos da pirataria.

O que é?
Um serviço que permite escutar (internet stream) legal de milhares de músicas via computador, TV meo, telemóvel.
Permite ainda descarregar legalmente músicas (10 músicas por mês no pacote mensal).

Quanto custa?
Para clientes PT 4.99€/mês
Outros 6.99€/mês

Neste momento o serviço é grátis por 3 meses para clientes meo, sapo, tmn.

Estou neste momento a experimentar o serviço e embora ainda não tenha testado todas as funcionalidades para mim é a Web App Portuguesa do Ano.

O potencial está lá todo. Este serviço resolve um problema real dos utilizadores: Ouvir e descarregar música, simples, legalmente e por um preço acessível.

Desde que o catálogo de músicas seja vasto, o preço se mantenha e as aplicações funcionem sem problemas de maior este serviço tem tudo para ser uma verdadeira revolução na forma que os Portugueses ouvem música.

Open Reply to Bing Webmaster Tools Survey

Bing Team,

I got your email requesting for me to help you improve Bing Webmaster Tools by taking a moment and tell you about my experience.

I tried to follow your instructions and help you with my humble opinion.

Why didn’t I finish?! Well, I did it almost half the way (+/- 10 minutes) but then I got stuck in the question “Which country do you live in”. None of the given answers had Portugal in it and I had no way to move past it without lying. As I didnt want to lie I stopped.

About the survey, I am not an expert on that kind of things but I am sure that there is a much better and valuable way to do it. I explain.

I will start by sayng that making all questions mandatory is just the wrong way to do things when you are asking for “help”.

Some of your questions:
How often do you (or others at your company) sign into the Bing Webmaster Tools?
No need to ask, just track it with your analytics

Which of the following Google Webmaster tools do you use most often?
Don’t be so specific. Why would I want to tell you about my Business with Google.

Next please evaluate some specific characteristics of Google using a scale of 9 to 1
Again!!! Stop obsessing with Google. Focus on what you are doing

What range of revenue do you earn each month from your use of third-party content ads?
Revealing that is not something I would like to do while “helping” you. I need to choose from one of the pre filled options and there is no way to move past it.
This is plain wrong and more so when I only had chosen Adsense on the previous question about who provided ads for my website(s).

Which search engines does your organization or the organizations you represent pay for search advertising?
Why would I tell you that? That is one of the things most companies hide.

OK… But to help you I am going to give you my general feeling about Bing/MSN.

I own, manage and develop a few websites. Most of them are not targeted to an english speaking audience. I am looking into the stats of one of them (Portuguese) and most of its traffic is organic. Last 30 days the site had 1.379.686 page views. From all the organic traffic Bing sent 1% (14.603 page views).

This happens to all the non english websites I run. Only the english ones have around 10% of organic that comes from Bing (that is +/- your market share and thats what I expected for all my websites).

So… or all the other search engines are doing things wrong or you are.

In sum:
The problem that I as a webmaster have with Bing (Webmaster Tools and over all Search Engine) is that it doesnt bring me a relevant traffic volume. And its even pointless to go into Bing webmaster tools when I am working with websites that are not aimed for the an English speaking audience.

I would sugest that you get the international versions working properly and work for more search engine market share.

I believe that is really all you need. All the rest is just fine.

All the best,
Hugo Gameiro