Top 10 Funniest Google Search Suggestions
Posted By Ben Goulding, 8 March, 2010 | permalink
The Google Suggest tool is a great tool that shows you suggestions that Google thinks you are searching for, as you type. However, Google’s somewhat unusual sense of humor often comes out with the suggestions it comes up with. Here are the top 10 funniest Google search suggestions.
1. I like…
Yeh, me too. Personally, I think it’s the best way to impersonate a dinosaur.
Yahoo! Owns Google?
Posted By Ben Goulding, 16 February, 2010 | permalink
Yes, that’s right, Yahoo! dissed Google on Twitter after Google launched ‘Google Buzz’. When will these internet giants ever grow up? There’s only one way to settle this – RAP BATTLE!
Comments Off | Posted in: Business | InternetGoogle Ad Spoof: Is Tiger Woods Feeling Lucky Today?
Posted By Ben Goulding, 16 February, 2010 | permalink
As Tiger Woods recovers from a car accident and contends with reports of philandering, Slate V imagines what the golfing great might be typing into that familiar white search bar (with apologies to Google’s new ad campaign).
(Youtube Link)
Google Maps Navigation (Beta)
Posted By Ben Goulding, 29 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
A demonstration of Google Maps Navigation (Beta), an internet-connected GPS navigation system that provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps on Android 2.0 phones.
1 Comment | Posted in: Internet | Sci/TechGoogle Street View Guys
Posted By Ben Goulding, 16 October, 2009 | permalink
A funny video from College Humor about the Google Street View guys. The Google guys drive around in the Google vehicle taking shots of every street in the world. They should make this a series.
4 Comments | Posted in: Entertainment | InternetThe Cultural Subversion of Barcode Art
Posted By Ben Goulding, 8 October, 2009 | permalink
Invented by Bernard Silver in 1948, the barcode went on to become one of the greatest success stories of the late 20th century, adorning most commercially available products around the world. Its omnipresence in modern society makes the barcode particularly appealing to artists, many of whom have featured it in their works.
Barcodes are a ubiquitous part of modern capitalist society, but there are artists out there who actually use them subvert that culture. Click the link for a collection of the greatest pieces of art which incorporate barcode design, from Banksy and graffiti to barcode buildings and advertisements.
Link (Thanks Andy!)
Comments Off | Posted in: Business | EntertainmentGoogle Logo Celebrates Barcode Anniversary
Posted By Ben Goulding, 7 October, 2009 | permalink
Today is the 57th anniversary of the first patent of the barcode and to celebrate, Google has changed it’s logo to a barcode, which when scanned with a barcode scanner would read ‘Google’.
The first patent for the barcode was filed by inventors Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver. The original patent applied to a system that encodes data in circles and can be scanned in any direction. Through the years, this system has evolved into the rectangular barcode with strips of black and white line which is what we normally see on various items.
1 Comment | Posted in: Internet | News | Sci/TechDo You Know What A Web Browser Is?
Posted By Ben Goulding, 6 October, 2009 | permalink
While many of us may think we know what a web browser is, do we really have a clue? Google tries to explain what a web browser is and then sends an employee out to Times Square, New York, to find out if the general public know what they’re talking about when it comes to browsers. The results are astonishing!
(Youtube Link)
(Youtube Link)
Via Mashable
Comments Off | Posted in: InternetGoogle Introduces “Fast Flip”
Posted By Ben Goulding, 15 September, 2009 | permalink
Google has unveiled “Fast Flip” – a service which enables users to read popular news stories, just like you would a newspaper.
At first glance, it looks pretty cool, although can it bring print readers online? Your thoughts.
Take a look at Google Fast Flip.
1 Comment | Posted in: Internet | NewsGoogle Street View Animation by Google Japan
Posted By Ben Goulding, 10 September, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
An adorable animated video explaining Google Street View by Google Japan.
Comments Off | Posted in: InternetIs Google Messing With Our Minds?
Posted By Ben Goulding, 13 August, 2009 | permalink
If I were to ask you, “what is your favorite search engine?”, you’d probably say “Google”, but why? There are plenty of search engines on the web, all doing pretty much the same thing, but most of us think that Google is the best.
I urge you to take the “blind search engine test.” Simply type in your search query, and you will be presented with three columns displaying the search results of three different search engines for that query. You then decide which search engine you would chose, purely based on the search results. The search engines are Google, Yahoo and Bing, however their logos aren’t displayed until you have completed the test.
From this, I hope to find out whether we use one particular search engine just because of it’s name and logo, rather than the quality of the results that it yields.
Which search engine did you end up choosing?
2 Comments | Posted in: InternetGoogle Maps Driving Simulator
Posted By Ben Goulding, 2 August, 2009 | permalink
Geoquake has released a 2D driving simulator on Google Maps. Using the Google Maps API for Flash, you are able to check out different locations from around the world including Manhattan, Las Vegas, London and Tokyo Station.
The only problem is that it’s slightly unrealistic. You can drive through any object, be it a building, tree, swimming pool or traffic. Perfect for getting to your destination in super quick time!
Comments Off | Posted in: Entertainment | Internet | Sci/TechGoogle Debunks Youtube Myths
Posted By Ben Goulding, 21 July, 2009 | permalink
With pessimism surrounding Youtube’s performance, Youtube’s owner, Google, set out to prove it’s critics wrong. On the YouTube Biz Blog Google writes “we can debunk the top five myths about YouTube we repeatedly see.”
Myth 1: YouTube is limited to short-form user-generated content.
Google’s rebuttal: “The world premiere of Joy Luck Club director Wayne Wang’s film, “The Princess of Nebraska,” was viewed 165,000+ times during the first 48 hours — the equivalent of landing the 15th spot on Hollywood box office charts.”
Myth 2: YouTube videos are grainy and of poor quality.
Google’s rebuttal: “We already have more HD videos than any other video site.”
Myth 3: Traffic, growth, and uploads are bad for YouTube’s bottom line.
Google’s rebuttal: “With revenue estimates ranging from $120 million to $500 million, and costs on an equally large spectrum, it seems people can pick any number to fit any theory they have about our business. The truth is that all our infrastructure is built from scratch, which means models that use standard industry pricing are too high when it comes to bandwidth and similar costs. We are at a point where growth is definitely good for our bottom line, not bad.”
Myth 4: Advertisers are afraid of YouTube.
Google’s rebuttal: “Over 70% of Ad Age Top 100 marketers ran campaigns on YouTube in 2008. Advertisers just want control, so we’re continuing to develop tools and targeting products that give advertisers more control over where their ads appear on the site.”
Myth 5: YouTube is only monetizing 3-5% of the site.
Google’s rebuttal: “This oft-cited statistic is old and wrong, and continues to raise much speculation. Monetized views have more than tripled in the past year, as we’re adding partner content very quickly and doing a better job of promoting their videos across the site.”
It seems Google had a lot of steam to let out and it sure did that. Has this stopped the critics in their tracks though? I think not.
1 Comment | Posted in: Business | Internet“I’m feeling lucky” button costs Google $110 million
Posted By Ben Goulding, 18 July, 2009 | permalink
Have you ever noticed that little button on Google, next to the main search button? Well, if you haven’t, it’s called the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. This button, unlike the ordinary “Google Search” button, takes users directly to the top search result. So in essence it saves them about 1 second…and this costs Google $110 million per year!
Because the button doesn’t display search ads, Google doesn’t get paid and with over 100 million searches per day, it soon adds up.
“It’s possible to become too dry, too corporate, too much about making money. I think what’s delightful about ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ is that it reminds you there are real people here,” Google executive Marissa Mayer explained.
Luckily only about one percent of searches are done using the lucky button, but is it really worth $110 million?!
1 Comment | Posted in: Business