Google Look A Bit Different Today? It's Not Your Eyes
By Channel Web
Did Google and Google SEO look a bit different when you first opened it this morning? Did everything look just a bit bigger, but you blamed it on that double latte you had?
Starting late Wednesday, Google (NSDQ:GOOG)'s home page and search results pages feature larger text for Web surfers whose eyesight just isn't what it used to be. Most prominent is the larger search box and the larger "Google Search" and "I'm Feeling Lucky" buttons below it.
The "supersizing" of the Google page elements was announced in a blog post Wednesday by Marissa Mayer, Google vice president of search products and user experience. "Although this is a very simple idea and an even simpler change, we're excited about it -- because it symbolizes our focus on search and because it makes our clean, minimalist home page even easier and more fun to use," Mayer said in the blog.
The blog also offers a link to 17 slides showing the evolution of the Google home page from November 1998 to a sample of an October 2007 home page in Arabic.
Wal-Mart Sets Outside Offerings in Online Mall
By The Wall Street Journal
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., borrowing a page from Amazon.com Inc., Monday began offering merchandise from lesser-known retailers on its Web site in exchange for a share of the revenue.
The world's largest retailer by revenue said it added nearly one million new items to Walmart.com from other sellers as part of a new online mall, known as Walmart Marketplace.
Wal-Mart customers can purchase the products through Walmart.com, but Wal-Mart never touches the merchandise: its partners ship from their sites and handle exchanges and returns.
"Our vision is to make Walmart.com the most visited and valued online site," said Kerry Cooper, Walmart.com's chief marketing officer. Terms of the agreements weren't disclosed.
The move is part of an emerging effort by retailers to embrace the techniques that have made e-commerce companies such as Amazon and eBay Inc. successful. Adding outside merchants allows Walmart.com to considerably widen the range of products it sells, without taking on additional inventory.
Scot Wingo, one of the many keynote speakers of the night said, "Even the mega players can only manage so much selection". Scot Wingo, is the chief executive of Channel Advisor, a company that advises retailers on selling across a variety of Web sites.
Other traditional retailers have similar alliances, including Sears Holdings Corp., which began selling 130,000 Whitney Automotive Group auto parts last year through Sears.com.
Early participants in Wal-Mart's online mall include CSN Stores LLC, an online retailer that sells through websites such as Cookware.com, and Dreams Inc., which sells sports apparel through StarStruck.com.
Wal-Mart.com's expansion isn't likely to shake up the industry. But it could signal the arrival of new marketplaces from traditional online retailers and perhaps even social-networking and search sites.
Google Executive to Quit
By The Wall Street Journal
Google Inc. announced that Kai-Fu Lee, president of Google Inc.'s China operations, is resigning from the company after working to establish the Internet giant as a formidable player in the country.
Mr. Lee will be succeeded by two Google executives, the company said. Boon-Lock Yeo, currently director of Google's Shanghai engineering office, will run engineering for Google China. John Liu, who currently leads Google's sales team in greater China, will assume Mr. Lee's business and operational responsibilities.
Mr. Lee left Microsoft Corp. to join Google in 2005 to develop the company's operations in China, where Google was later than some of its rivals to establish a beachhead.
Mr. Lee's hiring kicked off a legal battle between Microsoft and Google. Microsoft, alleging Mr. Lee violated his employment contract, filed suit against Google. Google countersued, accusing Microsoft of "a shocking display of hubris," according to court documents. The companies settled privately in 2005.
Google said Mr. Lee is leaving to work on his own venture. "With a very strong leadership team in place, it seemed a very good moment for me to move to the next chapter in my career," Mr. Lee said in a statement.
During Mr. Lee's tenure, usage of Google products, including its search service, has grown among Chinese users. The company has also launched some products unique to the market, including an online music service. In announcing Mr. Lee's departure, Google said it was nearly doubling the size of its sales force in China in response to strong growth.
But Google continues to confront a range of headaches in China, which, as the country with the largest number of Internet users, is critical to its growth. Google still trails Chinese search leader Baidu by a wide margin. In the second quarter of 2009, Google drew around 20% of Chinese Internet searches, compared with Baidu's 76%, according to iResearch, an Internet research concern.
Google has also continued to clash with Chinese authorities, who have selectively blocked services such as its video-sharing site, YouTube.
