i'll "share" some thoughts .....

Ok smuggs .... I'll do you a favour & "share" some thoughts, with you .... But promise to, "read it slow", OK ??

"If YOU THROW ENOUGH MUD ....... A certain amount sticks"?

< "Google may take some action here and there, but I believe that they actually like a little mud in the main organic results for commercial terms. Why? Because less than stellar organic results (from practices like web spam) mean higher CTR's on their paid links and more juice for their quarterly earnings.

"A little irrelevance is good for paid links and paid links is how Google makes money." If you want to be seen in Google, you have to pay to play - and create an Adwords account. How else are you going to be "seen"? In other words, it's pay to play - the old economy reasserting itself with a vengeance.

This is a fascinating subject - how far can you con the public without being rumbled? >

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/10/google_microsoft_redux/

And from with that article .... The point I'd like to make is ......

< ......... "how far can you con the public without being rumbled"? >

I have hinted a number of times, that Google's fate remains in the hands of the 'old world' media. They helped make Google and when they are ready, they will in turn, surely "break" it, accordingly.

The concept of a "content consortium" is more than just a thought. It will happen. Just as a world Govt will happen, as per DUB's posted article suggests, in time. All forms of content, (traditional print, video, movies, etc) will be offered, "shared" and better utilised by network members (the partners) and accessed accordingly, by their growing "user" base.

Looksmart's FindArticles is simply a "foundation" stone to underpin the "building of a network". And Looksmart's Furl will be an intrical "part", where users will "find - save - & share" from around the web. (In a very much, similar fashion as bee's operate, on their daily routine). The "honey", being the articles of interest saved by Furl users from around the web that will then be "indexed" within FindArticles, and some will go onto being ranked in/on the Looksmart's Vertical results pages, according to their popularity among users. Popular articles attract more users seeking information on the subject matter and users attract adsence (whooops, in time, "contextualised") advertisers, providing the necessary revenues. And it's a concept that will continually grow. New 'content' is pushed out every minute of the day. People want to read it, save it and when 'shared' enough times, the cycle is completed.

It 's formality. Publisher & media Co's have witnessed the growth of Google's adsense revenue over the past 3 or, 4 quarters from around $300m to $900M and are "coming to take 'it' away". As to whether it is one big network or, split into two or, more, who knows?

Looksmart as a seemingly "neutral" type Co (both politically & socially) can and will accomodate whatever side of the camp (yes, just like a Switzerland of the internet) "alliances", as they start to take shape. But "marriages of conveniences" already have many precedents with MSN dumping Looksmart & choosing to work with YAHOO, (Overture), as a prime example. "Cross polinisation". I called it (some 3 - 4 years ago, too), co-petition or, working as, co-petitors!

Click fraud remains "a smoking gun" for Google and can be 'resurrected' when and as, old world media choose to raise this subject. It is and will remain the "flaw" in Google's armour.

Newscorp, (and I'm sure they realise) have the opportunity to "rule the world" (or, at least, on the Net) and should well and truly realise that Looksmart has a precise role to play, in their doing so.

But, only as I see it.

Hunting around yesterday (and I do enjoy it) looking for potential "starters" in "any" (either side?) network "construction site" partners I went down the road of The NY Times's latest "breaking news" suppliers, both Reuters and Associated Press. (The latter's Boss, Tom Curley, if you recall, had a bit to say, of a possible content consortium formation. And Rupert himself said, he didn't know whether they (NWS) were developing a Portal or, a "network", too).

I looked at both their (Reuters and Associated Press's) existing lists of partners and checked just one or, two out to see if their was any "compatibilty" possibility, re; any Looksmart involvement. I'm just going to "drop it" all on here now, and let readers make up their own minds, in relation to my continued enthusiasm of a network or, two, possibilty. I now see NBC "in the equation", also .....

FindArticles in ……Reuters

http://go.reuters.com/nationalNewsCenter.jhtml;jsessionid=YNTD1SDZDGQ5WCRBAEOCFFA

Results 1 - 10 of about 928,000 for FindArticles in Reuters.

Partner US Newspapers

America's leading newspapers trust the Reuters global news team to provide fast, accurate, unbiased and reliable news coverage and news photo images in support of their hometown, editorial operations.

For the best in U.S. city/regional news coverage, visit Reuters client newspaper news sites.

Boston Globe Boston Herald Houston Chronicle Los Angeles Times New York Post The New York Times Newark Star Ledger Orange County Register Philadelphia Inquirer San Antonio Express News San Diego Union Tribune San Francisco Chronicle Seattle Times USA Today Washington Post Washington Times Wall Street Journal

http://www.researchbuzz.org/publicationsarchives/

And Looksmart's FindArticles listings of the above:

Results 1 - 10 of about 213,000 for FindArticles in Boston Globe
Results 1 - 10 of about 296,000 for FindArticles in
Boston Herald.
Results 1 - 10 of about 101,000 for FindArticles in Houston Chronicle
Results 1 - 10 of about 1,510,000 for FindArticles in Los Angeles Times.
Results 1 - 10 of about 2,060,000 for FindArticles in New York Post.
Results 1 - 10 of about 2,390,000 for FindArticles in The New York Times.
Results 1 - 10 of about 834 for FindArticles in Newark Star Ledger
Results 1 - 10 of about 45,600 for FindArticles in Orange County Register
Results 1 - 10 of about 90,900 for FindArticles in Philadelphia Inquirer
Results 1 - 10 of about 31,000 for FindArticles in San Antonio Express News
Results 1 - 10 of about 35,300 for FindArticles in San Diego Union Tribune
Results 1 - 10 of about 147,000 for FindArticles in San Francisco Chronicle
Results 1 - 10 of about 737,000 for FindArticles in Seattle Times
Results 1 - 5 of about 2,300,000 for FindArticles in USA Today
Results 1 - 10 of about 2,190,000 for FindArticles in Washington Post
Results 1 - 9 of about 2,370,000 for FindArticles in Washington Times
Results 1 - 10 of about 943,000 for FindArticles in Wall Street Journal

Results 1 - 7 of about 1,750,000 for FindArticles in Associated Press

http://edition.cnn.com/interactive_legal.html

http://www.enps.com/about/case_studies.aspx

Results 1 - 10 of about 83,300 for FindArticles in Evening Post Publishing – (AP Partner)

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=FindArticles+in+Evening+Post+Publishing&btnG=Search&meta=

Even a Bambi Listing. (Saturday Evening Post - above)

Results 1 - 10 of about 693,000 for FindArticles in Saturday Evening Post

eg's:
http://www.looksmartoldies.com/p/articles/mi_m1189/is_3_274

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=Saturday+Evening+Post&btnG=Search&meta=
- (High F/A's listing)

The Curtis Publishing Company, which owns the Saturday Evening Post, ...

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=%22owns+the+Saturday+Evening+Post%22&btnG=Search&meta=

http://www.curtispublishing.com/home.html

http://www.google.com.au/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial_s&hl=en&q=FindArticles+in+NBC10.com&meta=&btnG=Google+Search

Results 1 - 10 of about 23,600 for FindArticles in NBC10.com
Results 1 - 10 of about 11,500 for FindArticles in NBC11.com
Results 1 - 10 of about 718 for FindArticles in KNBC-TV -
Results 1 - 10 of about 19,100 for FindArticles in nbc4.tv

http://www.nbc.com/nbc/header/Local_Stations/

And already a lot of those above FindArticles results, have been indexed within Looksmart's respective, suitably chosen, Verticals. Anyone (smuggs ?) not sure of what my "gut" feeling is ....Ask a question .....

You're welcomed to ....

:)

LC