Google to shut down Google.cn?

Google today anounced on their blog that, they may close google.cn and their offices in china, according to a post from official google blog

We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that "we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China."

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised

You can read more about from google blog

Twitter Search Deal

The deal between Twitter and search giants Google and Microsoft to blend the microblog into their search results will have a big impact on the search marketing industry. Doug Platts, head of natural search at iCrossing, tells you what you need to know

Its important for travel brands :-

Travel is already one of the biggest sectors in search, both paid and natural, and these deals have potentially massive implications for the sector. One of the big issues for travel marketers is trying to communicate last minute deals in real time. At the moment the best routes are by constantly updating paid search inventory and communicating via your own website. Now that Twitter results are going to be feature in Google and Bing's search engine results pages, however, travel brands can potentially just tweet their latest deals and let the search engines do the rest.

Its going to be big for retailers this Christmas :-

This Christmas online is going to be all about price, and retailers will ideally want to be able to price reactively and in real time, and to be able to communicate these price changes quickly. At the moment they're relying on search engines spidering their sites quickly, but that's never guaranteed. With tweets feeding directly into the search engines, you can now just release new pricing information via Twitter and it will appear in relevant search results in real time.

Twitter becomes important for transactional sites :-

Hitwise recently unveiled figures showing that, while 55.9 per cent of outbound traffic from Twitter goes to media sites, only 9.5 per cent of traffic goes to transactional sites. This is going to fundamentally change with these deals. The attractions of marketing via the newly-increased distribution of Twitter mean that this is likely to fundamentally change as brands jump on board. This could have significant implications for Twitter's business model - instead of covering their service with ads they could potentially just look to sell it as a qualified traffic driving tool.

Customer service becomes more important :-

A lot of brands are already using Twitter as a customer service and research tool - monitoring for negative brand comments and trying to resolve customers' issues raised on the service. With tweets appearing in mainstream SERPs then this is going to be more important than ever as negative customer comments could potentially be exposed to massive audiences via the search engines. You don't want a customer tweet saying ‘I'm never going to shop there again' appearing against your search results. There's a also a black-hat spam opportunity here for the less ethically minded - if you post negative comments about your competitors on Twitter, those tweets could then appear against your competitor's brand search terms.

Twitter's only going to get more important for marketers :-

This announcement shows how important Twitter is becoming to the internet ecosystem. If both Microsoft and Google have decided that Twitter is the only game in town when it comes to this sort of real-time search, then you can take it that it's going to be an ever more important part of the way people navigate the web. If you haven't already got a Twitter strategy in place then you're going to need to get one quickly - Twitter's audience is going to jump massively as a result of this announcement and if you're not on board then you're going to miss the boat.

YouTube to show Movies, TV shows

YouTube has reached agreement with Sony Pictures and other Hollywood studios to show full-length movies and television shows on the video-sharing website, leading technology blogs reported.

TechCrunch, a well-connected Silicon Valley blog, said other studios and media companies which have agreed to allow their content to be posted for free on the Google-owned site include Metro Goldwyn Mayer, CBS, Lionsgate, Starz and the BBC.

The move by YouTube is its latest attempt to bring more professional content to the site known for its amateur videos and to generate revenue.

YouTube already has agreements with MGM, CBS and Lionsgate, but they concern the hosting of only a few shows from their vast archives.

Earlier this month, Universal Music Group and YouTube announced plans to launch a music video website, VEVO.com, featuring artists from the world's largest music company.

Google purchased YouTube in 2006 for 1.65 billion dollars and has been searching for ways to translate its immense popularity into a money-making venture.

Google Ocean

Google Ocean (http://earth.google.com/ocean/), which is included in the newest download version of Google Earth, allows users to explore the high seas with thousands of images of underwater landscapes from volcanoes to sea life.

Users can also watch videos, read stories and contribute photos as they explore the ocean.

Google Earth, which combines satellite photos, maps and information to enable users to explore streets and cities around the world, has been downloaded 500 million times since it was introduced in 2005.

Google's Chrome browser is released

The new rival to Explorer and Firefox, now available for testing in Windows, makes up in exceptional speed for any minor shortcomings. And it's got a nice array of features.

Google's much-anticipated new Web browser, Chrome, arrived today. It's streamlined, has some great new features and is very, very fast.

Chrome, the most talked-about new tech product is ready for download as a free download is officially called a beta test version.

Download Google Chrome from here.

Coming soon: 'Google's Gdrive?

Google Inc is preparing a service that would enable users to store data from their personal hard drives on its computers, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday in its online edition.

Users would be able to house files they would normally store on personal computers -- such as word-processing documents, digital music, video clips and images -- on Google's computers, the Journal said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the Journal, the service could let users access their files through the Internet from different computers and mobile devices when they sign on using a password.

Google launches India Labs, local search

Google India has launched Google India Labs, and two India-centric products, local search and Google local business centre.

Google Local Search promises to be a useful tool for Indian users who are looking for locally relevant information on the Web. With the launch of this product, users will be able to search for information on local businesses such as restaurants, shops, and hotels by simply doing a search on Local Search

Google Local Business Centre allow any business to add its information to Google Local for free. When users search on Google Local Search, the listed business information will be displayed. Local Business Centre already exists in other geographies and has provided owners with means to provide visibility to their businesses.