Google To Revive Realtime Search, Thanks to Google+

by Ben Parr

Google Realtime Search is coming back soon, and it will include data from Google+ and other social sources.

Realtime Search was, until last month, the search giant’s method of delivering relevant data from Twitter, Facebook and other social media services in real time. Whenever a major current event made headlines — such as Osama bin Laden’s death — Google Search would start displaying tweets and Facebook updates from users talking about the recent developments. It made Google‘s search engine more relevant during major world events.

It didn’t last, though. Google took Realtime Search down in July after it failed to come to an agreement with Twitter for continued access to Twitter‘s firehouse of data. Without a constant stream of tweets, the product was far less useful. 

“The value the product was providing was not enough,” Google Fellow Amit Singhal said about the decision to turn off the feature during a search panel in Mountain View, California.

When asked about if or when Realtime Search would return, Singhal responded by saying the Google Search team is “actively working” on bringing the product back. He added that the team was experimenting with adding data from Google+ and other sources. It seems as if Google doesn’t believe it needs Twitter data to deliver a compelling real-time search offering.

Danny Sullivan, the panel’s moderator and Search Engine Land editor in chief, also asked the panel why the Google+ stream doesn’t have its own search engine (it’s one of the social network’s most requested features). 

“We are on it,” Singhal responded. 

Google Optimizes Search Page for Tablets

 by Christina Warren

Google has optimized its search experience to better serve iPad andAndroid tablet users.

The new interface refinements align with some of the other changes Google has been making to its products like Gmail and Google+.

The redesign is minimal, but the focus is clearly on making content more accessible for touch-based users. The search button is larger, and content has more white space as well as a more visual look and feel.

On the Google Mobile blog, Google says the rollout will be headed to the iPad and Android 3.1+ tablets in 36 languages. On our iPad 2 running iOS 5 beta 4, we didn’t see the update initially, but it appeared on our device a few minutes into testing.

To access to the new look, just access Google.com in your web browser.

What do you think of the new tablet look for Google search? Let us know.

Google’s Valentine’s Day Doodle Through the Years [PICS]

by Amy-Mae Elliott

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Happy Valentine’s Day to all you romantics out there! Google has set the mood on its infamously sparse homepage today with a brand new Google Doodle to mark this special day of lurve.
Google’s first Valentine’s-themed Doodle appeared way back in 2000, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to take a look back at the search giant’s efforts through the years.
Have a meander through the gallery below to see the evolution of Google’s V-Day Doodle over the past 11 years and let us know your favorite design in the comments.

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Image 1 of 11

2011

Pop artist Robert Indiana is the inspiration behind this year's Doodle, with the search engine's logo emulating Indiana's iconic "love" sculpture.

Pop artist Robert Indiana is the inspiration behind this year's Doodle, with the search engine's logo emulating Indiana's iconic "love" sculpture.

2011

1

Last year Google pulled double duty with its Feb 14 logo. Marking both the Winter Olympics and V-Day, Google picked pairs skating as the sport to highlight with a heart carved in the ice to the right of the logo.

2010

2

Most of the world saw love birds perched on a gold band in 2009...

2009

3

... While the U.S. got a decidedly more modern "X" and "O" to represent some hugs 'n' kisses.

2009 (U.S.)

4

A sweet old couple holding hands appealed to your sense of romance in 2008.

2008

5

Google goes naughty and nice in 2007 with a chocolate dipped strawberry.

2007

6

Hearts and flowers in 2005 make a pretty twist on the classic logo.

2005

7

A year later and the Google vowels are puckering up for a smooch.

2004

8

Google integrated hearts as the "Os" in the logo to celebrate V-Day in 2003.

2003

9

Google stayed cute in 2001 with a teddy-themed doodle.

2001

10

Google chose a cutesy Cupid to grace its first ever Valentine's Doodle in 2000

2000

11

View As Slideshow »

2011

Pop artist Robert Indiana is the inspiration behind this year's Doodle, with the search engine's logo emulating Indiana's iconic "love" sculpture.

---

2010

Last year Google pulled double duty with its Feb 14 logo. Marking both the Winter Olympics and V-Day, Google picked pairs skating as the sport to highlight with a heart carved in the ice to the right of the logo.

---

2009

Most of the world saw love birds perched on a gold band in 2009...

---

2009 (U.S.)

... While the U.S. got a decidedly more modern "X" and "O" to represent some hugs 'n' kisses.

---

2008

A sweet old couple holding hands appealed to your sense of romance in 2008.

---

2007

Google goes naughty and nice in 2007 with a chocolate dipped strawberry.

---

2005

Hearts and flowers in 2005 make a pretty twist on the classic logo.

---

2004

A year later and the Google vowels are puckering up for a smooch.

---

2003

Google integrated hearts as the "Os" in the logo to celebrate V-Day in 2003.

---

2001

Google stayed cute in 2001 with a teddy-themed doodle.

---

2000

Google chose a cutesy Cupid to grace its first ever Valentine's Doodle in 2000

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Google Launches Chrome Extension to Block Websites From Search Results

by Ben Parr

Google has released an experimental Chrome extension that attempts to curb the proliferation of so-called content farms.
The extension, Personal Blocklist, adds a new link underneath any Google search result that lets users remove an entire website from search results.
Personal Blocklist also places a link at the bottom of search result pages affected by the extension so users can still see the results they’ve blocked. Users can also manage their block lists by clicking on the extension’s icon.
Google says that this Chrome extension is all about curbing the rise of content farms, websites that create vast quantities of low-quality content and rely on search for their traffic. When users block such a site, that information is transmitted to Google, where it could potentially be used as part of the company’s complex search algorithms.
In other words, Google is debating whether to use explicit user feedback and human input in its search algorithm. It’s a move that’s definitely out of character for the famously algorithmic-centric company, but it has had limited success in stopping content farms — often characterized as sites like Yahoo’s Associated Content or some of Demand Media’s properties (though Google doesn’t call out anyone specifically) — from dominating search results with low-quality articles created on-the-cheap.
Last month, Google’s Matt Cutts outlined the company’s plan for combating search spam, emphasizing recent changes to the algorithm and a redesigned document-level classifier as just the start of its anti-spam efforts. However, Google also admitted that there has been an uptick in search spam, mostly from the content farms.
We welcome Personal Blocklist extension as a great tool for personalizing search results, but it’s also an admission that Google hasn’t quite figured out how to weed out the content farms. Google is hoping that an injection of human input can help it clean up its search results pages.

Anti-Spam Search Engine Blekko Averaging 1 Million Queries Per Day

by Jennifer Van Grove

Blekko’s alternative, human-curated search engine now averages 1 million queries a day and between 10 to 15 queries per second just three months after launch, according to January figures the startup released Monday.

Blekko’s secret sauce is its slashtags — topic tags auto-fired or appended by users to queries to limit search results to those from curated sets of websites. Blekko is reporting that there are now more than 110,000 human-curated slashtags.

Blekko CEO Rich Skrenta sees the figure as proof that the slashtag approach is resonating with users. “We’re happy at how quickly users have adopted the idea of a new search engine and have created so many quality slashtags just three months since launch,” he says.

With 66.6% market share in the U.S., search is Google’s domain to lose. Blekko’s plan of attack has been crafting a narrative that paints the upstart as renegade, most recently by eliminating all results from 20 content farm sites it labelled as spam.

In previous conversations, both Skrenta and Blekko founder Mike Markson appeared grounded in the reality that Blekko would not be making a dent in Google’s search share anytime soon. Still, at launch, the pair shared that Blekko’s model is such that it could be a profitable company at 1 million to 2 million queries per day. Having hit the smaller end of the spectrum, the question is whether the startup will begin to employ ads on the currently pristine site to start generating revenue.

Blekko has raised $24 million since being founded in 2007. Earlier this month, the startup released an iPhoneand Android application with features similar to those available on the web.