google

In WPP-owned research company Millward Brown's annual study of the world's top-100 brands, Google came out on top for the second straight year, registering a 30 percent increase in the value of its brand to maintain the ranking. Google's market capitalization is $169 billion as a I write this, but the value of its brand?

$86 billion.

I think that means I can't even afford one pixel of its logo. That's one heck of a brand.

Which are the other top-10 brands? General Electric, Microsoft (but going down according to other research), Coca-Cola, China Mobile, … Read more

According to an article in the Financial Times today, Google has reneged on a commitment to improve the way it manages consumer data in light of its DoubleClick acquisition. There are compelling reasons for Google's delay, as Eric Schmidt points out in the article, but there are even more compelling concerns that demand immediate action.

European regulators cut Google some slack based on its word that it was going to immediately look into ways to boost privacy. A year into that pledge, Google has done little, by its own admission:

The issue came to the fore last April with Google's announced plan to buy DoubleClick, an Internet company which delivers many of the ads consumers see online and which plants many of the cookies that sit on personal computers. The combination of Google's records of a consumer's Internet searches with DoubleClick's information from cookies prompted complaints that one company would hold extensive data about a large proportion of the world's Internet users.… Read more

It occurred to me today that open-source infrastructure providers (e.g., commercial providers of open-source operating systems, databases, application servers, etc.) may have much in common with telecommunications infrastructure providers (like cable, wireless, etc. providers).

Everyone uses their stuff, and generally at a rate that doesn't quite match the value of the benefits derived from it.

Early on we pay a premium for broadband Internet or support for still-buggy but cheaper open-source software. Over time it becomes commodified and our willingness to pay decreases.

What's a company to do?… Read more

In this week's EIC Squared podcast Larry Dignan and I discuss Google's uplifting quarter, the mysterious Mac clone, and Microsoft's hybrid software strategy.

Google made the market move, with a stellar quarter, which should give Microsoft even more incentive to bring Yahoo into its camp. With quarterly earnings season in full swing, Larry notes that international sales and a weak dollar are helping out U.S. technology companies.

The Mac clone from Florida-based Psystar continues to be shrouded in mystery. The site has been down and the company isn't processing orders, but it says it will … Read more

ComScore, an analyst firm left holding the bag when Google's financial performance far exceeded analyst expectations, scrambled Friday to reconcile its pessimistic statistics with reality.

At the heart of the matter is a key Google advertising performance measurement called paid clicks--the number of times Web searchers clicked on one of the ads Google shows alongside search results. On Tuesday, ComScore reported Google's paid clicks grew 1.8 percent from the first quarter of 2007 to the same period in 2008. But on Thursday, Google said the growth actually was 20 percent.

The gap prompted Google Chief Executive Eric … Read more

Update at 1:15 p.m. PDT April 18: Google ends trading day up 20 percent, capturing largest one-day gain

Update at 10 a.m. PDT April 18: Google's gains have now reached 21 percent.

Google's shares closed with a 20 percent gain Friday, marking the largest-ever one-day gain for the Internet giant.

Google's stock closed at $539.41 per share, up $89.87 from the previous day when Google reported after the market's close its first-quarter earnings and blew past analysts' estimates.

During intra-day trading Friday, Google's stock rose as high as $545.11 … Read more

Microsoft confirmed that it is planning a subscription service that combines the consumer version of Office with its OneCare security suite.

Code-named Albany, the product has a single installer that puts Office Home and Student, OneCare, as well as a host of Windows Live services, onto a user's PC. As long as users keep paying for the subscription, they are entitled to the latest versions of the products. Once they stop paying, they lose the right to use any version.

The product is aimed at consumers that want a simple way to have access to Microsoft's productivity suite … Read more

LAS VEGAS--A year ago Wednesday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt delighted an audience of TV and radio broadcasters when he promised to roll out a system that would mean the end of piracy at YouTube.

"We are in the process of developing tools which are called 'Claim Your Content,'" Schmidt said at the National Association of Broadcasters 2007 conference. "If people tell us this is a licensed copy, our computers will automatically detect that an illegal copy has been uploaded and then automatically delete it."

Schmidt went on to say YouTube was "close to turning this (system) on&… Read more

The American economy may be teetering on the edge of recession, but it appears for now that the high-tech economy is not.

Google Thursday afternoon joined the list of tech bellwethers reporting healthy first-quarter earnings and signaling confidence in the rest of 2008.

Tuesday, Intel was positively bullish in its forecast for the rest of year. Wednesday, IBM was the same. Now you have the most important company in PCs and servers, the most important business tech company, and the most important Internet company all saying the same thing: We're confident in the rest of the year, "regardless … Read more