The Yak Shack Forum

Google's taking over my PC. First I used Yahoo to search the web, then I was pushed to use google (thanks Mark), then I innocuously chose to use gmail as my mail client (their offer of 2.5 Gig of space to store all my chatter won me over pretty quickly), and following shortly after that I spent hours goggling over GoogleMaps, the world in aerial photography.

Those of you interested in the military might enjoy this enlightening  article:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/14/google_earth_competition_results/

(don't worry, our Military chiefs aren't stupid, the advent of satellite imagery has been so slow that they had plenty of time to build big sheds and warehouses, so I'm quite sure most interesting military hardware is kept in gigantic warehouses these days, although Ships will always be a problem on that one ;) cue Portsmouth Harbour pic:

(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/14/portsmouth.jpg)

Anyway back to the point, the latest announcement is that they really are taking on ebay - let's be honest, we've heard XXX is taking on ebay so many times that we barely listen any more... however, this is different - this is Google!



By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY
Internet search giant Google is encroaching on online auctioneer eBay's territory. Google confirmed Tuesday that it is testing an online marketplace where people could sell products. Photos of Google's planned program, Google Base, began appearing on blogs in the morning.

By day's end, investors sent eBay shares down 3.6%, to $38.01.

In typical Google fashion, the photos offer just a hint of what Google has in store, and the company would not disclose much more.

"We are testing new ways for content owners to easily send their content to Google," the company said in a statement.

Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst at securities firm Hofer and Arnett, said he thinks Google is fashioning an international online classified service, which would have more immediate impact on Craigslist.

Craigslist has regional websites for online listings. It is 25% owned by eBay.

EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said the company had no comment.

Where Google Base would affect eBay is on the "buy it now" section of its website, where goods are sold without bidding.

"Google could easily charge for online classifieds and get a lot of business," Pyykkonen says. "They have the infrastructure to do it."

He sees Google's move as a positive for the Silicon Valley company, because it would allow Google to bring in revenue from something other than search marketing.

"They need more diversification than just paid search," he says.

EBay is the Internet's No. 1 e-commerce site, with 60.7 million visitors last month, according to market tracker Nielsen/NetRatings. Amazon was No. 2, with 39.3 million.

Google, the Internet's most-used search engine, attracted 87.5 million users in October, according to researcher ComScore Media Metrix.

The company is a Wall Street darling. Its stock closed Tuesday at $346.91, down $1.74. It went public at $85 a share in August 2004.

"Potentially, what Google wants to do is more far-reaching than eBay," says Danny Sullivan, editor of the SearchEngineWatch newsletter. "EBay is buy and sell, but Google could put up a database of anything — from jobs to apartments and cars and things for sale, and compete with eBay, Monster, Craigslist and many others."

Yet even Google's popularity does not guarantee it will be able to carve out a huge chunk of eBay's business, Sullivan says.

Google's shopping-comparison site, Froogle, has gained little traction, and its new Google Talk instant messaging hasn't put much of a dent in the competition, he says. "When Google gets into something ... they potentially have a huge audience, but that doesn't mean everything will take off."

If you want some simple explanations for Google (Or if like myself, you NEED simple) check out GOOGLE for DUMMIES.
I was amazed, of course, that's real easy to do. (Wizard Candy swatches have the same effect.)

I'm happy for google ;D I also choose google for my search engine and email client thing. Like all things google, I'll check the their online auction site out when it premieres. I just hope they can get enough sellers. I tried searching other auction sites and couldn't find anything that I wanted on a regular basis. When I did, the bidders went crazy and were paying way too much for something rather common :P

They sound like my kind of buyers.  ;D