Google Algorithm In Need Of Serious Overhaul For Mobile Web?
By Dianne See Morrison - Thu 10 Jan 2008 06:02 AM PST
Much has been written about Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and its proposed mobile operating system Android. USA Today has a long feature article looking at what’s driving the mobile web and concludes that in the scramble for the advertising and e-commerce dollars that will inevitably migrate from online to mobile web, Google’s mobile operating system play is all about Google trying to keep its grip on consumers “under the guise that the wireless industry isn’t providing an open environment for applications”.
It’s not a particularly new conclusion, but the article also quotes Dan Olschwang, CEO of start up JumpTap, which has developed a search engine and search advertising platform for mobiles, as saying Google’s problem isn’t the lack of an open operating system for mobile devices, but that the internet search behemoth’s basic search algorithm will need a “serious” overhaul if its going to serve mobile users. Olschwang noted: “If somebody asks, ‘Where is the closest gas station?’ they need that information now, and they don’t need 20,000 results.” He concluded that while Google won’t “completely fail”, it won’t be “nearly as successful as they are on the (desktop) Web”.
Moreover, it looks like network operators are still skittish as to how much advertising a subscriber is willing to take. USA Today quotes T-Mobile’s chief development officer Cole Brodman as saying the network will not “blanket its customers with advertisements from Google or any other company”. Brodman added: “Mobile phones are personal and private, and we want to ensure that we are speaking for the consumer in terms of any advertising…Just getting blasted with search results and banner advertising is not something most consumers will accept.”
Posted in: Companies, Google, Operators, T-Mobile, Mobile Adv & Mktg, Mobile Search
