The Search Ch. 4-7

The next few chapters entailed a few interesting histories, including Google's start with Page and Brin. Though it seemed as if they had a wonderful technology, they just couldn't make a profit from it. But as they developed a paid ad search plan, it seemed to fall into place.

Bill Gross' tale of GoTo and Overture seemed amazing as this was the first time I've ever heard of him. He seems like a modern day genius, but I believe because of his impatience and perhaps unluckiness, he never made it on top as a giant like his competitors, Gates, Page, and Brin. I remembered when GoTo actually had the best search results back in high school and soon, I never noticed it anymore. Overture came to and I always thought it was weird how Yahoo! search results had said, "Powered by Overture". I thought nothing of it usually, as the results were the most important thing and at that time, the most relevant it could get.

The section about targeted ads from television or UPC readers on cell phones were particularly interesting considering they were written a few years prior and what would seem like a glimpse into a more efficient and fast-paced future. I feel that this type of targeted ads technology will not only be more effective that current measures, but far more economic as the chances of a sale increases dramatically given the right context. UPC readers on cell phones would appear to benefit the consumer more on a scale where businesses will have to compete on many marketing factors, notwithstanding price.

The Search Ch. 1-3

After finally finishing up chapters 1-3, I came away with a broader, yet at the same time, narrower view on search. What it is capable of, the motives and dollars behind it, how it works, what the government can do with it, and what was most interesting, its history.

The origins of Excite, Yahoo, Lycos, AltaVista were all interesting sections as I distinctly remember using every single one of these search engines. They all had their pros and cons and it seemed like none of them were perfect. I loved AltaVista for its translation service, Excite and Lycos for its search alternatives, and Yahoo for its directories, games, and free email. However, none of them compared to Google when I first tried it.

Introduction

Hello Prof. Mortimer. I understand that I was delinquent in submitting my introduction, so I'll simply do it here in order for you to get to know me better.

Name: David (Chiwei) Kuo
Major: Information Technology
Class Year: 5th
Interests: Web design / development
Marketing Experience: Only a few classes
Aspirations for this course: To improve my understanding and active knowledge in marketing, especially those internet-based.