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Why It Makes Sense For Google To Buy Groupon
The big rumour of the day is that Google may be buying cluster purchasing outfit Groupon for an eye-popping $2.5 billion, not bad for a company that was launched in November 2008 and which already serves 250 markets worldwide.But even that multi-billion pot of money sounds like a bargain when one takes into consideration the fact that Groupon generates estimated revenues of $50 million per month or $600 million annually.
In fact, Forbes has called it the fastest-growing company in web history, one that surpassed Google, Facebook and Yahoo without breaking a sweat.
Unlike Youtube, which Google is still financing, Groupon is already turning a profit by squeezing its partners very hard (taking half of the revenues of every deal).
It fits Google’s plans perfectly, as John Battelle pointed out, since it connects commerce, search, social and small business altogether and is doing exceedingly well in a highly competitive market.
It could be compared to the all-important “glue” that will make Google’s location based services (Google Latitude, Google Places, Google Maps, Google Street View, Google Mobile QR & NFC) coherent.
Some however have questioned the short-sightedness of websites like Groupon which have thrived during the recession and encourage people to find the cheapest deals regardless of the impact these may have on the businesses involved in the process.
A research by Rice University in September found out that more than 40 per cent of businesses surveyed in the study said that they would not be running Groupon promotion again.
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China Sets July 2011 License Deadline For Google Maps
The government of China has set a July 2011 deadline for Google and other mapping services to obtain a license from China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.The license is a part of a new regulation requiring all online mapping service providers to register with the bureau for approval.
China has said that companies that don’t comply with the new policies will be publically listed by the end of March next year. Any companies that fail to comply with the policies and obtain the license before July 1st 2011 will risk legal action.
The government said that the new polices laid down by the bureau will help in upholding the nation’s interests by plugging security leaks and enhancing the level of accuracy in the mapping of the Chinese borders.
A Google representative said in a statement to Computer World that “We are examining the regulations to understand their impact on our maps products in China.”
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Developers Stick Two Fingers Up To Facebook And Google With Chrome Tool
The Google vs Facebook data row has taken another twist after a third party developer introduced a tool for importing contact details into its Chrome browser.Users of both Facebook and Google Gmail have been unable to sync any contact details since the two Internet giants blocked each other from accessing each others data.
The row began when Google blocked Facebook from accessing Gmail, which led to the social network introducing a method around the block. Then, in a sudden u-turn, Facebook blocked Gmail too.
The developer behind the tool said: “Despite what Facebook says, if someone is your “friend” and you can see his/her email address on his/her Facebook info, they are probably OK with you emailing them. Facebook doesn’t let you export this data, so they expect you to click on each of your friends’ pages, copy their email address (or other contact information), and paste it into your email client. Kind of ridiculous? Yes.”
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Google Chrome OS For Consumers To Come In 2011
One very important nugget of information that surfaced at Acer’s press conference a couple of days ago was the fact that Googlewon’t be launching Chrome OS this year.Jim Wong, Acer Vice President, did say that the consumer version of the OS has been reported to next year with Acer likely to release products using the OS.
But Google might do something of its own later this year and this has been confirmed by Engadget whose sources have pointed to the possibility that Google may be planning Chrome OS netbooks for its staff and developers to be used “dog-food”.
It was obviously not Google’s intention to announce the product for the autumn 2010 but ship it in 2011 instead. One can suspect that some issues have cropped up in the meantime, whether strategic or technical.
It is ironic that Gingerbread or Android OS 2.3, will be released in December and may well be widely adopted by tablet and netbook manufacturers leaving Google with a real conundrum.
Don’t be surprised if Eric Schmidt announces that Google Chrome OS is to merge with Android OS before telling you that he never said that this would not happen.
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Google Wave To Be Rescued By Apache
Developers behind Google Wave have filed an application with the Apache Software Foundation to include the programme in the Apache Incubator.Google had introduced Wave as a real-time collaboration project, set to allow users to access mail, communicate via instant messages and create and edit documents in real-time. However, Google had abandoned the project one year after its launch after it failed to take off.
Many developers who had worked on the project continued to develop Wave, making use of itsopen source components. Wave has now been remodelled as a server tool and developers are building a new software package called Wave In A Box (WAIB).
According to PC World, the developers have submitted the tool to the ASF are confident that it would be included in the Apache Incubator as soon as next week.
The Wave proposal submitted by the developers states: “Apache Wave is the project where wave technology is developed at Apache. Wave in a Box (WIAB) is the name of the main product at the moment, which is a server that hosts and federates waves, supports extensive APIs, and provides a rich web client.”
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Google Docs Adds Compact Controls & Drag-Drop Feature To File Uploads
Search giant Google has updated its cloud-based Office rival Docs by adding a new drag and drop feature for uploading documents as well as Compact Controls.In a company blog post, Google said that users will be able to easily upload their documents from their own computers to the cloud by simply dragging and dropping the file into the programme.
The company said: “Today we’re extending that functionality to the file upload page, making it even easier to move your files into the cloud.”
The new drag-drop feature comes after another recent update to the cloud based service, that allowed users to add images to their documents by dragging and dropping the file.
Another new addition to Google Docs is Compact Controls which are designed to save screen space. Users will be able to hide the control bar by going to View > Compact Controls. This particular feature is only available on Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.
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Google Adding Content Ratings To All Android Market Apps
Google has announced that all apps in the Android Market will have to show content ratings, or else be labelled as ‘mature’.In a blog post, Android developer Eric Chu said that the move comes in response to increased requests from users asking for more information on the apps and that Goolge will be showing the content ratings for the apps in a few weeks.
Chu said that the Android Market content policy has not changed, and all apps will be rated according to one of four levels: All, Pre-teen, Teen, or Mature.
“To prepare for this launch, starting next week, developers submitting new or updated applications will be required to include a rating for all applications and games uploaded onto Android Market. In addition, developers will have the next several weeks to add a rating to their existing applications and games,” he said. “Once content rating is visible to users, anyapplications or games that do not include a rating will be treated as ‘Mature’.”
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Google Music Streaming Service Delayed By “Digital Locker” Disagreement
Rumours suggest that Google will not be able to launch its music streaming service in time for the upcoming Christmas holiday period.According to The New York Post, music labels are not sure whether offering users a “digital locker” is a good idea or not.
Under current plans, Google’s new music service would allow users to purchase and store music on a cloud based “digital locker”, that would allow them to access their songs from anywhere and stream music to any device.
The biggest concern music labels have is that users will be able to store both pirated and legal music on the locker.
NY Post sources claim that Google is busy convincing music labels to sign deals on the “digital locker” service and music downloads, which will be integrated into its search engine.
“What’s been holding things up is that the labels will do downloads, but they need to know more about the locker service, and Google really wants to keep the two together,” one source said.
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Google Docs Adds Compact Controls & Drag-Drop Feature To File Uploads
Search giant Google has updated its cloud-based Office rival Docs by adding a new drag and drop feature for uploading documents as well as Compact Controls.In a company blog post, Google said that users will be able to easily upload their documents from their own computers to the cloud by simply dragging and dropping the file into the programme.
The company said: “Today we’re extending that functionality to the file upload page, making it even easier to move your files into the cloud.”
The new drag-drop feature comes after another recent update to the cloud based service, that allowed users to add images to their documents by dragging and dropping the file.
Another new addition to Google Docs is Compact Controls which are designed to save screen space. Users will be able to hide the control bar by going to View > Compact Controls. This particular feature is only available on Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.
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Google Adding Content Ratings To All Android Market Apps
Google has announced that all apps in the Android Market will have to show content ratings, or else be labelled as ‘mature’.In a blog post, Android developer Eric Chu said that the move comes in response to increased requests from users asking for more information on the apps and that Goolge will be showing the content ratings for the apps in a few weeks.
Chu said that the Android Market content policy has not changed, and all apps will be rated according to one of four levels: All, Pre-teen, Teen, or Mature.
“To prepare for this launch, starting next week, developers submitting new or updated applications will be required to include a rating for all applications and games uploaded onto Android Market. In addition, developers will have the next several weeks to add a rating to their existing applications and games,” he said. “Once content rating is visible to users, anyapplications or games that do not include a rating will be treated as ‘Mature’.”
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