Recently in Search...

By Betsy Carpenter, Coordinator, Marketing & Strategic Partnerships

Ok, so this may not be exactly a week after my last "This Week in Search" entry, but close enough. And why wait with recent studies, stats and articles released all the time, there is always a lot to catch up on, so let me fill you in...

• Google's CEO Eric Schmidt dropped a hint for the future of Google saying, "Wouldn’t it be nice if Google understood the meaning of your phrase rather than just the words that are in that phrase? We have a lot of discoveries in that area that are going to roll out in the next little while.” Is semantic search in Google's future? I guess we'll have to stay tuned.
• Watch out mobile! The CyberFraud investigators are coming and they are not playing nice. Mobile Messenger, a California-based mobile content seller will pay Florida's Attorney General $1 million to avoid charges that its online offers violated the state's consumer protection laws.
• All are waiting for the announcement of the new chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Many say the probable appointee is current FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz. If appointed, it is the general feeling that the FTC will take a much more serious stance on online privacy issues such as behavioral targeting.
• A bug in Google's broad match was uncovered recently...read all about what's happening in your campaigns in George Michie's "widget" example.
• Google ended 2008 with a 63%-72% share of the market depending on which source you reference. Bottom line, Google's share grew while others held constant or decreased.
• Facebook in a relatively short span of time has now doubled the total users of rival social network site, MySpace. And to think, according to the new Stealing MySpace book, MySpace could have acquired Facebook in 2005 for a cool $75 million! Oh to have been Chris DeWolfe then...
• Microsoft's Steven Ballmer says they are still interested in Yahoo search deals despite 2008's on again off again drama. Ballmer seems optimistic in fact now that Carol Bartz has taken the lead.
• Although this may seem obvious to many, noting the recession and many recent job layoffs, comScore has reported job search engines as the fastest growing US search category of 2008. At the head of the pack is CareerBuilder.com with Yahoo's Hot Jobs and Indeed.com rounding out the top three.

Well, that's all I got...for now. Until next time, stay classy!