Rev2.org

Google has acquired the Aardvark social search and cloud information network.  Aardvark allows users to ask questions that others in the network can answer, according to their expertise.  Since it’s introduction in 2008, Aardvark has built a strong following of users and has integrated itself into email, Google Chat, and other services to become easy to use.

Aardvark works by allowing users to ask questions, which are sent over the network of other Aardvark users according to keywords within the question, so questions about “pets” go to some users while questions about “banks” go to others.  The users who receive the question can answer and the questioner receives those answers as they come in.  Many questions can receive answers in minutes, all from live people, not machine-generated.

Aardvark has been working on an iPhone app, which may still continue, though it’s likely that this new acquisition will mean Google will want a Nexus One app first.  Current Aardvark users will see no change to their current account, but as Vark and Google updates are made to the app, they will see those implemented.  A new option for allowing Q&A to show up in Google’s Live Search will also be added.

The Aardvark network is now available in Google Labs as well as on Vark.com.

Last year, in November, the Outlook Social Connector was launched and Microsoft entered the social networking game.  At that point, LinkedIn was the only partner, but it was a good start.  Rather than building a new network, ala Google’s Buzz, the Seattle Giant went for combination of existing networks to facilitate easier networking throughout.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced on their blog that the Outlook Social Connector has now stretched from LinkedIn and is including Facebook and MySpace as well.  This big jump means that your Outlook box could become your new FriendFeed and directly compete with Google’s Buzz.

LinkedIn is, understandably, quite happy with this teaming with Outlook.  In fact, the ad-on for the MS email app can be downloaded from LinkedIn as well.  Now that all of this new MS Outlook stuff is out in the public beta phase, a lot of us are expecting more connections to be coming quickly.

The problem here, which will probably change quickly, is that the input to Outlook is only one-way.  So far, the information from LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace is incoming-only and Outlook can’t send updates the other way.  Given the API availability from these networks, however, it likely won’t take long for that to change.  Another thing obviously missing is Twitter, but again, with their API and popularity, it’s likely just a matter of time there too.

The competition for Buzz is obvious and, given the Office suite’s popularity, it could become more than a contender.  While part of the official Office 2010 beta, the Social Connector beta can also be used with 2003 and 2007 Office versions.

Google admitted to BBC News that they made some big mistakes with the new social service called Buzz.  When Buzz released, it faced a sudden (and unexpected) backlash from several fronts, almost all concerned with privacy issues related to the service.  Most of this was probably due to one simple mistake on Google’s part: lack of testing before launch.

Google now admits that they didn’t run the usual trials with external users (users outside of the Google intranet), as they normally do, and that mistake meant there were a lot of things that didn’t get checked “in the wild.”  While Buzz was tested by 20,000 internal Google employees and others with access to the company’s intranet, it was not tested outside of that group, so they had no feedback from Internet users at large.  Until launch, that is.

Now, amid controversy and backlash from users, Google is scrambling to make amends.  Engineers and executives are gathered in a “war room” in the Mountain View, California headquarters of Google, reports the LA Times.  Some changes have already been made and others are coming, all to appease privacy concerns and other user feedback.

Meanwhile, users continue to discuss Buzz and most often compare it to FriendFeed, which it most closely resembles.  Most who make this comparison seem to think that Google copied all of the worst of FriendFeed’s features and left the good stuff out.

If Google really wants to make Buzz better, they should probably listen to those concerns once they’ve completed dealing with the privacy issues.  FriendFeed is a well-known service, but has become marginalized as users find it less and less useful.

Google Buzz was a good idea and could become something great in this space, but will need to incorporate some usability fixes first.  The biggest are filters and changes for those with large lists of friends, whose Buzz box right now fills quickly with no way to control what is “on top” and most relevant.

At the Mobile World Congress 2010 today, Microsoft unveiled the Windows Phone 7 Series, now known as Windows Phone.  A lot of hype and hoopla has buzzed around with this announcement, which came as a surprise to most in the press.  Looking through that hype, the question remains: is this really something new and revolutionary from the Seattle Giant or is it just the same old Windows Mobile with a new name?

The first step is the hardware requirements for the new phone OS itself.  Ina Fried at CNet News covers that well, explaining the strict specifications that Microsoft requires of phone makers.  It’s a first clue as to what MS is planning with this platform.

Microsoft is also designing their own phone, code-named Pink, that is supposed to be out this year – before any third-party phones are released.  This can be seen as either a bold move on their part or a sure way to get phone makers to walk away from the new OS.  Time will tell on that one.

One thing is obvious: Microsoft is worried about Apple’s virtual ownership of the smart phone market and that Google has already stepped up to the plate to compete.  The Microsoft Mobile OS has been showing its age and lack of innovation, losing what little ground it had in the phone market.

MobileCrunch got some hands-on time with the Microsoft demonstrator, though no photography was allowed, and reporter Greg Kumparak gave impressions of the new OS.  From that, we learn some details of the interface for the OS and how it performs.

Putting these two things together, here’s what can be concluded: it’s not just the same old Mobile.  In fact, it’s distinctly new, starting from the ground up, and has a few things you cannot find elsewhere.  The interface appears to mimic many aspects of the iPhone and Nexus One OS, but with a few twists.  Everything is (apparently) customizable and focused on two things: social networking and LIVE integration.

The social networking includes most major apps like Facebook and Twitter as well as connectivity with Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE network of games, avatars, profiles and so forth.  This includes integration with Zune, another of MS’ properties.

Definitely cool to see and how it unfolds will be interesting.  Microsoft is certainly poised to become a big player in the mobile game, but given their history, whether they can succeed at it without getting too bureaucratic and ruining their chances is something that only time will tell.

Google’s new Buzz social networking/status updating/Twitter Killer/Facebook Slayer/doomsday app seems to have a life of its own in the blogosphere.  Even the Apple iPad didn’t get this kind of scrutiny.  Well, OK, maybe it did, but things quieted down quickly once Apple released prototypes to select testers and the bubble was burst and people learned how less-than-functional the thing is.

Google, however, seems to have created a tsunami and they’re determined to keep that tidal wave rolling.  Buzz is still all the, er, buzz, but there are a couple of other new things from Google that are riding that wave too.

In Google Labs is a new test bed for some great features for Google Maps.  Already the King of Internet Cartography, Google is still working to improve things in Maps.  Some cool new features are there if you click the Lab icon from maps.google.com.

A good explanation of the new features available is given at Blogoscoped here.  Some cool stuff includes the ability to drag and zoom into map areas, rotate maps on the screen, and search within a map area for sites, hotels, or whatever.  Very cool stuff.  Another good look at these features in detail can be read at PCWorld.

Another Labs experiment is Google Chart Tools.  Google announced these on the code blog yesterday afternoon.  These are pretty fun, allowing you to take just about anything you’d like and turn it into a chart or graph using one of two free APIs.  The Chart API give image-based charts like pies, graphs, and so forth.  The Visualization API gives interactive charts using a JavaScript library and somefunctionality similar to Google Maps.  Fun stuff.

But what would all this be without some controversy?  Robin Wauters at TechCrunch seems to think that using Google Buzz is like publishing your social security number while mentioning that you don’t know how to get a credit report to find out if you’re being robbed.  Back at Blogoscoped, though, their take is much nicer: only idiots will lose their privacy through Google Buzz, the rest of us will be fine.  Of course, it only takes one idiot suing Google to have them dumb down their defaults to the lowest common denominator, so I guess it’s only a matter of time.

I wonder if there’d be any money in that lawsuit…

Owen Van Natta, CEO of MySpace, stepped down (some say fired) yesterday and two other executives were named as co-presidents to replace him.  John Miller (COO) and Jason Hirshhorn (CPO) were moved to the new positions as the struggling social network tries to find relevance.

MySpace is owned by News Corp, Rupert Murdoch’s media powerhouse.  Murdoch knows information and content.  With huge franchises like Fox and now Avatar, Murdoch has gained solid control over a large chunk of the news, content, and entertainment markets.  His failing is all digital.  Murdoch knows content, but he doesn’t know Internet.

Having sold off other online services, like Photobucket, it’s only a matter of time before Murdoch completely walks away from Internet franchises altogether.

His major foray into the Web, MySpace, is struggling for some kind of identity as competitors like Facebook continue to grow and prosper.  About the only thing MySpace has going for it is MySpace Music, which seems to be languishing as the company tries (again and again) to revitalize itself and become more than yesterday’s has-been teenie bopper hangout.

MySpace still has a large user base and great potential in some areas, but is being drug down by lack of innovation and by its two major attractions: game apps and an increasingly irrelevant Music section.  Indie and unsigned bands fill the music section of MySpace and give it a great base to work from to build a solid niche.  Without a solid Chief Tech Officer, though, that’s not likely to happen.

Neither Miller nor Hirshhorn are CTOs, they’re hands-on corporate bureaucrats.  Innovation won’t happen there.  It may have happened had Van Natta been given free rein to do his thing, but that’s debatable, given his short track record.

So whatever happens, it’s probably a long, painful, slow, ugly goodbye for MySpace as it flounders and, eventually, gives up.