On the web, to make reference without making a link is possible
but ineffective – like speaking but with a paper bag over your head. -
Tim Berners Lee, in Links and Law: Myths
Google Acquisitions
posted @ 1:11 am in [ Search Engines and Directories ] by William Slawski
With
all of the recent acquisitions by Yahoo! and Google, I decided to take
a closer look at some of the companies that Google has purchased.
I’m glad I did. I came across a couple of papers I hadn’t
seen before, and learned a little more about some of Google’s
employees that I didn’t know.
Android
Android (August 2005), software for mobile telephones
Founded by Andy Rubin, accompanied by Andy McFadden, Richard Miner, and Chris White.
Akwan Information Technologies
Akwan Information Technologies (July 2005)
Google Press Release: Google Continues International Expansion, Opens Offices in Latin America
The
office in Sao Paulo, Brazil follows the acquisition of Brazil’s
Akwan Information Technologies Inc. in July of this year. Akwan has
become Google’s R&D centre in Brazil.
An example of the type of research being conducted by the people at Akwan: Distributed Processing of Conjunctive Queries (pdf)
Dodgeball
Dodgeball (May 2005), social-networking software for mobile devices
Founders Dennis Crowley and Alex Rainert, see: Google Buys Social Networking Firm and The Future of Wireless
Urchin Software
Urchin Software (March 2005), Web Analytics software
Google Press Release: Google Agrees To Acquire Urchin
Urchin is a web site analytics solution used by web site owners and
marketers to better understand their users’ experiences, optimize
content and track marketing performance.
Patent Applications:
System and method for tracking unique visitors to a website
Abstract:
A
system and method for analyzing traffic to a website is provided that
is based on log files and that uses both server-side and client-side
information channeled through one source to create a more complete
picture of activity to a website. In one preferred embodiment, a sensor
code is embedded in a requested web page, and sends information back to
the web server where the website resides. This additional information
is logged along with normal requests.
System and method for monitoring and analyzing internet traffic
Abstract:
A
system and method for monitoring and analyzing Internet traffic is
provided that is efficient, completely automated, and fast enough to
handle the busiest websites on the Internet, processing data many times
faster than existing systems. The system and method of the present
invention processes data by reading log files produced by web servers,
or by interfacing with the web server in real time, processing the data
as it occurs. The system and method of the present invention can be
applied to one website or thousands of websites, whether they reside on
one server or multiple servers. The multi-site and sub-reporting
capabilities of the system and method of the present invention makes it
applicable to servers containing thousands of websites and entire
on-line communities. In one embodiment, the system and method of the
present invention includes e-commerce analysis and reporting
functionality, in which data from standard traffic logs is received and
merged with data from e-commerce systems. The system and method of the
present invention can produce reports showing detailed “return on
investment� information, including identifying which banner ads,
referrals, domains, etc. are producing specific dollars.
Zipdash
Zipdash (December 2004) Provides navigation assistance for road traffic on mobile in real time by GPS.
See: Navigating by phone and Google acquires traffic info start-up Zipdash
Where 2 Technologies
Where 2 Technologies (October 2004), Internet mapping
Brothers
Lars Eilstrup Rasmussen and Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen are from
Google’s Sydney office, and have been actively involved in the
patent applications behind Google Maps, and using Geographic location
information. Before then, they were with Where 2 technologies. See: Take browsers to the limit: Google, and Google Maps and AJAX vs WithStyle – the Australian Legacy, and Assigning Geographic Locations to Web Pages.
Keyhole
Keyhole (October 2004), imagery by satellite
Google Press Release: Google Acquires Keyhole Corp
Keyhole’s
technology combines a multi-terabyte database of mapping information
and images collected from satellites and airplanes with easy-to-use
software.
Picassa
Picasa (July 2004), software of management of photographs on line
Google Press Release: Google Acquires Picasa
Google Inc. today announced it acquired Picasa, Inc., a Pasadena, Calif.-based digital photo management company
Ignite Logic
Ignite Logic (May 2004), design of turn key legal sites. Puzzling acquisition, though founder David Ferguson has an interesting past.
Genius Labs
Genius Labs (October 2003), Biz Stone was Genius Labs. He is no longer with Google.
Sprinks
Sprinks (October 2003), paid advertising
Kaltix
Kaltix (September 2003), Research on personalized search, from Taher Haveliwala, Glen Jeh, and Sepandar Kamvar.
Google Press Release: Google Acquires Kaltix Corp.
Kaltix
Corp. was formed in June 2003 and focuses on developing personalized
and context-sensitive search technologies that make it faster and
easier for people to find information on the web.
Patent application:
System and method for presenting multiple sets of search results for a single query
Abstract:
A
system and a method that manages a user query by a single interaction
between a server and a client. A plurality of clients send queries for
search results to a server. The server receives these queries and
performs multiple searches to generate multiple sets of search results.
These sets of search results are ranked, consolidated and passed to the
requesting client. The client stores these multiple sets of search
results. The client then displays these search results in accordance to
the boundary defined by the user. This boundary defines the portions of
the search results that the user desires to view. The user may
re-define the boundary. The client identifies the search results
corresponding to the boundary and displays them.
Applied Semantics
Applied Semantics (April 2003), contextual advertising
Google Press Release: Google Acquires Applied Semantics
Applied
Semantics’ products are based on its patented CIRCA technology,
which understands, organizes, and extracts knowledge from websites and
information repositories in a way that mimics human thought and enables
more effective information retrieval.
Patents:
Meaning-based advertising and document relevance determination
Abstract:
The
present invention is directed to a system in which a semantic space is
searched in order to determine the semantic distance between two
locations. A further aspect of the present invention provides a system
in which a portion of semantic space is purchased and associated with a
target data set element which is returned in response to a search
input. The semantic space is created by a lexicon of concepts and
relations between concepts. An input is associated with a location in
the semantic space. Similarly, each data element in the target data set
being searched is associated with a location in the semantic space.
Searching is accomplished by determining a semantic distance between
the first and second location in semantic space, wherein this distance
represents their closeness in meaning and where the cost for retrieval
of target data elements is based on this distance.
Meaning-based information organization and retrieval
Abstract:
The
present invention relies on the idea of a meaning-based search,
allowing users to locate information that is close in meaning to the
concepts they are searching. A semantic space is created by a lexicon
of concepts and relations between concepts. A query is mapped to a
first meaning differentiator, representing the location of the query in
the semantic space. Similarly, each data element in the target data set
being searched is mapped to a second meaning differentiator,
representing the location of the data element in the semantic space.
Searching is accomplished by determining a semantic distance between
the first and second meaning differentiator, wherein this distance
represents their closeness in meaning. Search results on the input
query are presented where the target data elements that are closest in
meaning, based on their determined semantic distance, are ranked higher.
Neotonic Software
Neotonic Software (April 2003), email customer support Case Study
from neotonic, about how they helped Google in the days before the
purchase. Google also hired David Jeske, who was the co-founder of
Neotonic and the former director of engineering for eGroups.
Pyra Labs
Pyra Labs (February 2003), editor of Blogger, blogging platform
Outride
Outride (September 2001), a Xerox PARC spinoff, data-mining and semantic analysis. See: Personalized Search: A contextual computing approach may prove a breakhrough in personalized search efficiency (pdf) and Personalized Search
Google Press Release: Google Acquires Technology Assets of Outride Inc.
Outride,
a spin-off from Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), was created to
apply state-of-the-art model-based relevance technology to the
challenge of online information retrieval.
Deja
Deja.com (February 2001), Purchase of their usenet archive and other assets, which become Google Groups.
Google Press Release: Google Acquires Usenet Discussion Service and Significant Assets from Deja.com
–>
8 Responses to “Google Acquisitions�
-
Search Engine Journal » Google Acquisitions : Papers, Employees & Patents Says:
December 20th, 2005 at 12:18 pm
[…]
has compiled all of this info together in a nice little post on SEO by
the SEA entitled : Google Acquisitions. With all of the recent
acquisitions by Yahoo! and Google, I decided to tak […] -
СоНоты » Blog Archive » Ожерелье Google Says:
December 20th, 2005 at 4:23 pm
[…]
Декабрь 2005 00:23 by Maxime
Блог SEO by the SEA
публикует
список компаний
и технологий,
приобретённых
Google. Также отмеч�
[…] -
Jim Hedger Says:
December 20th, 2005 at 6:05 pm
Great list. Thank you for compiling it. This post is a must-read for anyone interested in Google, especially SEOs and SEMs.
-
William Slawski Says:
December 20th, 2005 at 10:37 pm
Thanks Loren, Maxime, and Jim.
Maxime, thanks for the information about Rada Mihalcea. I do need to look more into what she has been doing. She’s been busy, hasn’t she?
-
randfish Says:
December 21st, 2005 at 11:30 am
Brilliant stuff, Bill. Gotta get this out to the people.
-
William Slawski Says:
December 22nd, 2005 at 2:30 am
Thanks, Rand.
I’ve
been trying to get some perspective on what they might do in the
future, in terms of acquisitions, based upon what they’ve done in
the past. I’m not sure that it is a good approach. The Google of
even 2003 seems to be a different company in may ways then the one we
will see in 2006.But it was fun to dig a little deeper into their corporate history, and I may be doing some more.
-
SEO by the SEA » Can Google Read Your Mind? Processing Predictive Queries Says:
December 22nd, 2005 at 10:45 pm
[…]
ersonalization to make those results more relevant for the person
searching. In my recent Google Acquisition post, one of the companies I
mentioned, Kaltix, specialized in personalization and speeding u
[…] -
Korakot Says:
December 26th, 2005 at 3:04 pm
Let’s also do an ‘open-source’ aquisition list.
This is done by hiring the top developer
of an open source project.
For example, Python and Gaim.
