ASSOCIATED PRESS - Feb 6 - Google India has removed web pages deemed offensive to Indian political and religious leaders to comply with a court case that has raised censorship fears in the world’s largest democracy. The action follows weeks of intense government pressure for 22 Internet giants to remove photographs, videos or text considered “anti-religious” or “anti-social.” For India’s ~100M Internet users, the government says, U.S. Internet standards are not acceptable.
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FTC Blasts Facebook, Google Over Violations Of Privacy
TALKING POINTS MEMO – Jan 26 – Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill spoke Tuesday morning at a cybersecurity forum in Washington D.C. and blasted both Google and Facebook for violating user privacy, saying they “learned it the hard way” not to change user privacy settings without express approval from users. In 2011, both Google and Facebook reached separate but similar agreements with the FTC to undergo 20-years of independent privacy audits. Both companies have been found guilty of violating user privacy agreements and managed to dodge fines and penalties, but have been required by the FTC to develop their own internal privacy programs, which will then be checked periodically to ensure compliance. Brill dodged questions about Google’s latest privacy policy change that will create one policy across all of its products.
Google’s 79 Acquisitions In 2011 Cost Nearly $2 Billion
TECH CRUNCH – Jan 27 – Yesterday, Google its 10-K with the SEC and revealed that in 2011, the company spent $2 billion in cash and stocks on completing 79 acquisitions during the year. Several of the larger purchases included ITA Software for $676M in cash, Clever Sense, Katango, and Apture. In the filing, the company states “Acquisitions will also remain an important component of our strategy and use of capital, and we expect our current pace of acquisitions to continue”, so it is not expected for Google to slow down in 2012. In addition, their full-time employee count grew 33% from 24,400 to 32,467.
India Drags Facebook And Google To Court
EMIRATES247 - Jan 16 - India has dragged Facebook and Google to court over ‘offensive material’ posted on its sites. A senior Indian minister has also accused such networks of prioritising US standards over Indian sensibilities. According to the government cases have been registered against 21 social networking sites for insulting its political leaders and religious sentiments. What is really affecting Indian officials are “vulgar” images and texts freely available on social networks depicting India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and other major religious figures.
Google Gets 200+ IBM Patents
MASHABLE - Jan 4 - Google got 217 patents, acquired by way of IBM. While the patents cover a variety of topics, one in particular could give the search giant a new tool for its social network, Google+. The patents cover many different technologies, but they mainly deal with data services like email management, online calendars and transferring web apps between devices. Google had previously received ~ 2,000 patents from IBM over the past year. Social-media watchers might be interested in U.S. Patent 7,865,592: “Using semantic networks to develop a social network.” The patent details how a social network could be leveraged to lead users to find “experts” or like-minded enthusiasts on specific topics.
Google Is About To Enter The Social Enterprise Space
TECH CRUNCH - Dec 25 - The social enterprise has been growing as more and more companies look to incorporate Facebook-like communications among workers. It looks like Google will be entering the space soon. Google’s Vice President of Enterprise Amit Singh tells us that Google will soon bring a more in-depth Google+ social experience to businesses and institutions using Google Apps. Part of 2012 will entail bringing the Google+ social experience to businesses.
Google Joins $250 Million Social Network Fund
ITPRO PORTAL - Nov 14 - Google joined the $250 Million sFund for investing in "small social networking startups" which was started by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), a world leading venture capital firm last year.
by Ravi Mandalia
See full article at ITPRO Portal
Google Mulls Buying Yahoo
MASHABLE - Oct 23 - Google is mulling purchasing Yahoo and has contacted at least two venture capital firms to help buy the company’s core business. Google’s not the only one rumored to be interested in buying the troubled Yahoo. Microsoft, which has a 10-year search deal with Yahoo, is also said to be interested.
Google Killing Buzz to Focus on Google+
PC MAG - Oct 16 - Google will kill off its beleaguered Buzz social-networking product in the next few weeks in order to focus its attention on Google+. Google will also shut down the Google Labs site and replace Boutiques.com and Like.com with Google Product Search later today, as promised, in addition to getting rid of several lesser-known products.
Google in Talks to Acquire Katango
TECH CRUNCH - Sep 29 - Google is in talks to acquire Katango, the Kleiner-backed startup that uses algorithms to automatically sort your friends into different groups, with very little effort required on the user’s part. Katango would be a very obvious fit for Google Because Google+ revolves around grouping your friends into different Circles.
Google Buys German Groupon Clone DailyDeal
TECH CRUNCH - Sep 19 - DailyDeal.de, a German Groupon clone launched in Berlin in Dec '09, has been acquired by Google. DailyDeal did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement. The company offers visitors daily deals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and has raised ~$10M .
by Robin Wauters
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on DailyDealsObserver.
Google Reportedly Willing to Spend Big to Acquire Hulu
READ WRITE WEB - Sep 6 - Hulu is reportedly seeing the most generous offer from Google. Google joins Yahoo, Amazon and the Dish Network in bidding on the company, but is apparently going above and beyond what those companies are willing to offer. The exact numbers are not known, but Google may well be offering "a couple billion dollars more" than the other bidders.
Zynga Sues Google over Vostu Dispute
TECH CRUNCH - Aug 4 - Zynga dragged Google into that lawsuit, apparently because Orkut, popular in Brazil, is hosting the Vostu games that Zynga says are ripoffs. Google, which is a Zynga shareholder, must be thrilled. Zynga has filed a lawsuit in Brazil against Vostu for copyright infringement and unfair competition based on Vostu’s copying of four of Zynga’s games. Zynga is pleased that the Court has reviewed the evidence and found good cause to issue an injunction order requiring Vostu and Google Orkut to cease distribution of four Vostu games – MegaCity, Café Mania, Pet Mania and Vostu Poker – or be subject to fine by the Court.
by Michael Arrington
See full article at Tech Crunch
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Google's Daily Deal: Groupon Competitor Dealmap
READ WRITE WEB - Aug 1 - Google continues its plodding march into the local deals space by acquiring The Dealmap, which aggregates local offers and displays them on a Google-powered map. The acquisition of The Dealmap is a signal that deals will be integrated directly into Google Maps and other location searches. The Dealmap displays offers from major local deals providers, including Groupon, who rejected a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google late last year.
by Jon Mitchell
See full article at Read Write Web
This post also appears on DailyDealsObserver.
Google and Facebook Battle
GUARDIAN.CO.UK - July 31 - It is one month since the launch of Google+, a belated attempt at a social networking tool that invites users to follow friends' activities in their news feed and share favourite content by marking it "+1". Even Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, has conceded that Google has been late to the social networking space. Though Google+ is an intelligent attempt at a social networking tool, it seems a typical Google product in that it is brilliantly, heavily engineered but lacks the human focus required for a social network – the fuel that has propelled Facebook to 750M users. Several hundred research scientists at Google are studying how web users access, interact with and share information.
Judge Rules Against Google & Facebook, in Favor of Wireless Ink Corp
READ WRITE WEB - May 29 - A judge had ruled in favor of Wireless Ink Corp in its social patent infringement suit against Facebook and Google. The company claims that Facebook's mobile service and Google's Buzz infringe on its mobile social networking patent. The claim was not thrown out, and the patent not ruled invalid, so the companies may have to pay Wireless Ink Corp to resolve the matter.
Facebook Admits Campaign Against Google
ZD NET - May 13 - Facebook has admitted to hiring a PR consulting firm to expose and publicize alleged flaws in Google's privacy practices. This move may be indicative of Facebook's fear of its strongest competition, according to an industry marketeer. The company Facebook hired was Burson-Marsteller. The smear campaign focused on Google's Social Circles social networking service, particularly the feature that enables users to view information publicly available of other Google connected users. This is another story in a long running rivalry between the two companies.
by Eileen Yu
See full article at ZD Net
Facebook And Google Mull Skype Deals
REUTERS - May 5 - Facebook and Google are separately considering a tie-up with Skype after the web video conferencing service delayed its IPO. A Skype deal could be valued at $3 to $4 billion. Skype's IPO is expected to raise ~$1 billion. For Skype, the clock is ticking, as large social media and software companies pour into the public markets. On Wednesday, shares of Renren, China's largest social network, surged ~57% in its first day of trade.
by Kenneth Li & Robert MacMillan
See full article at Reuters
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