Yahoo: Difference between revisions
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{{otheruses4|the corporation|the search engine|Google search|the number 10<sup>100</sup>|Googol|other uses}} |
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{{Infobox Company |
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|company_name = Yahoo! Inc. |
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|company_logo = [[File:Yahoo Logo.svg|250px|Yahoo! Logo]] |
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|company_type = [[Public company|Public]] ({{nasdaq|YHOO}}) |
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|foundation = [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]], [[California]]<br />(March 1, 1995) |
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|founder = [[Jerry Yang (entrepreneur)|Jerry Yang]] <br /> [[David Filo]] |
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|location_city = 701 First Avenue<br />[[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]], [[California]] |
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|location_country = [[United States]] |
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|industry = [[Internet]], [[computer software]] |
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|area_served = {{flagicon|World}} [[World]]wide |
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|key_people = '''[[Carol Bartz]]''', [[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]]<br />'''[[Roy J. Bostock]]''', [[Chairman]]<br />'''[[Jerry Yang (entrepreneur)|Jerry Yang]]''', Co-founder<br />'''[[David Filo]]''', Co-founder |
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|num_employees = 13,500 <small>(Q1 2009)</small><ref name='Yahoo! Investor Relations: Frequently Asked Questions|'>{{cite web |url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/faq.cfm|title=Yahoo! Investor Relations: Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=''Yahoo! Investor Relations'|accessdate=2009-05-04}}</ref> |
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|products = (see [[list of Yahoo!-owned sites and services]]) |
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|revenue = {{decrease}} [[United States dollar|$]] 7.208 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="2009financials">{{cite web|author=YHOO Investor Relations|date=2009-09-01|url=http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:YHOO&fstype=ii|title="Annual Report 2009, Financial Highlights"|work=Yahoo.com|publisher=Yahoo|accessdate=2009-10-07}}</ref> |
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|operating_income = {{decrease}} [[United States dollar|$]] 4.13 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="2009financials" /> |
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|net_income = {{decrease}} [[United States dollar|$]] 4.242 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="2009financials" /> |
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|assets = {{increase}} [[United States dollar|$]] 13.689 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="2009financials" /> |
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|equity = {{increase}} [[United States dollar|$]] 11.250 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="2009financials" /> |
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|slogan = "''Do you Yahoo?''" |
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|homepage = [http://www.yahoo.com/ Yahoo.com] |
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}} |
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{{Infobox_Company |
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'''Yahoo! Inc. ''' ({{nasdaq|YHOO}}) is an [[United States|American]] [[public company|public]] [[corporation]] headquartered in [[Sunnyvale, California]], (in [[Silicon Valley]]), that provides [[Internet]] services worldwide. The company is perhaps best known for its [[web portal]], [[web search engine|search engine]] ([[Yahoo! Search]]), [[Yahoo! Directory]], [[Yahoo! Mail]], [[Yahoo! News]], [[advertising]], online mapping ([[Yahoo! Maps]]), video sharing ([[Yahoo! Video]]), and [[social media]] [[websites]] and services. |
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| company_name = Google Inc. |
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| company_logo = [[Image:Google.png|250px]] |
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| company_type = [[public company|Public]]<br />{{nasdaq|GOOG}}<br />{{lse|GGEA}} |
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| foundation = <!--Creation: [[Stanford University]], [[California]] (January 1996<br />Incorporation:-->[[Menlo Park, California]] (September 4, 1998)<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C2119530 |title=Incorporation document |date=April 29, 2004 |accessdate=2008-09-27}}</ref> |
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| founder = [[Sergey Brin|Sergey M. Brin]]<br />[[Larry Page|Lawrence E. Page]] |
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| location_city = [[Googleplex]], [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]], [[California]], [[United States]] |
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| location_country = |
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| area_served = Worldwide |
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| key_people = '''[[Eric E. Schmidt]]'''<br /><small>([[Chairman]]) & ([[CEO]])</small><br />'''[[Sergey Brin|Sergey M. Brin]]'''<br /><small>(Technology President)</small><br />'''[[Larry Page|Lawrence E. Page]]'''<br /><small>(Products President)</small> |
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| industry = [[Internet]], [[Computer software]] |
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| products = See [[list of Google products]]<br />Help<br />Google Web Search Features<br />Google Services & Tools<br />Google Labs<ref>http://www.google.com/intl/en/about.html</ref> |
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Yahoo! was founded by [[Jerry Yang (entrepreneur)|Jerry Yang]] and [[David Filo]] in January 1994 and was incorporated on March 1, 1995. |
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| revenue = {{profit}}31.3% [[United States dollar|$]] 21.796 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="financialtables">{{cite web |url=http://investor.google.com/fin_data.html |title=Financial Tables |publisher=Google Investor Relations |accessdate=2009-01-23}}</ref> |
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| operating_income = {{profit}}30.4% [[United States dollar|$]] 6.632 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="financialtables" /> |
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| net_income = {{profit}}.6% [[United States dollar|$]] 4.227 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="financialtables" /> |
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| assets= {{increase}} [[United States dollar|$]] 31.768 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="financialtables" /> |
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| equity= {{increase}} [[United States dollar|$]] 28.239 billion <small>(2008)</small><ref name="financialtables" /> |
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| num_employees = 19,665 – <small>September 30, 2009</small><ref name="2009q3results">{{cite web |
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|url=http://investor.google.com/releases/2009Q3_google_earnings.html |
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|title=Google Announces Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results |
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|date=October 15, 2009 |
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|accessdate=2009-10-15}}</ref> |
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| company_slogan = [[Don't be evil]] |
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| homepage = [http://www.google.com/ Google.com] |
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}} |
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'''Google Inc.''' is an American [[public company|public corporation]], earning revenue from [[AdWords|advertising]] related to its [[Google search|Internet search]], [[Gmail|e-mail]], [[Google Maps|online mapping]], [[Google Apps|office productivity]], [[Orkut|social networking]], and [[YouTube|video sharing]] services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the [[Google Search Appliance|same technologies]]. Google has also developed an [[open source]] [[Google Chrome|web browser]] and a [[Android (operating system)|mobile operating system]]. The Google headquarters, [[Googleplex|the Googleplex]], is located in [[Mountain View, California]]. {{As of|2009|03|31|df=US}}, the company has 19,786 full-time employees. The company is running thousands of servers worldwide, which process millions of search requests each day and about 1 [[petabyte]] of user-generated data every hour.<ref name="googlopoly">"[http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-08/mf_googlopoly?currentPage=all Why Is Obama's Top Antitrust Cop Gunning for Google?]". ''[[Wired Magazine]]''. 20. July, 2009. Retrieved on July 21, 2009.</ref> |
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On January 13, 2009, Yahoo! appointed [[Carol Bartz]], former executive chairperson of [[Autodesk]], as its new chief executive officer and a member of the [[board of directors]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=Confirmed: Carol Bartz Named Yahoo CEO: Can She Turn It Around?|url=http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/01/carol_bartz_to.html|year=2009|author=Rob Hof|publisher=''[[Business Week]]''|accessdate=2009-01-14}}</ref> |
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Google was founded by [[Larry Page]] and [[Sergey Brin]] while they were students at [[Stanford University]] and the company was first incorporated as a [[privately held company]] on September 4, 1998. The [[initial public offering]] took place on August 19, 2004, raising [[United States dollar|$]]1.67 billion, implying a value for the entire corporation of $23 billion. Google has continued its growth through a series of new product developments, [[List of Google acquisitions|acquisitions]], and [[Google#Partnerships|partnerships]]. [[Google#Environmentalism|Environmentalism]], [[Google.org|philanthropy]] and [[Google#Corporate affairs and culture|positive employee relations]] have been important tenets during the growth of Google. The company has been identified multiple times as [[Fortune Magazine]]'s #1 Best Place to Work,<ref name="best_company">"[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/full_list/ 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007]". ''[[Fortune Magazine]] (link published by [[CNN]])''. 22 January 2007. Retrieved on January 8, 2007.</ref> and as the most powerful brand in the world.<ref>[http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/optimor/Media/Pdfs/en/BrandZ/BrandZ-2008-Report.pdf BrandZ Top 100 2008 Report] (PDF)</ref> [[Alexa Internet|Alexa]] ranks Google as the most visited website on the Internet.<ref>{{cite web | title = Alexa Traffic Rank for Google (three month average)|author=| publisher = [[Alexa Internet]]| url =http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/google.com|accessdate= 2009-09-06}}</ref> |
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According to Web traffic analysis companies (including [[Compete.com]], [[comScore]],<ref>{{citeweb|title=Fox Interactive Media Ranks #1 in Page Views; Yahoo! Sites Attract the Most Unique Visitors|url=http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1152|publisher=''[[comScore]]''|accessdate=2008-02-12}}</ref> [[Alexa Internet]],<ref name="alexa">{{citeweb|title=Traffic History Graph for yahoo.com|url=http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/yahoo.com|publisher=''[[Alexa Internet]]''|accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref> [[Netcraft]],<ref name="netcraft">{{citeweb|title=Current Web Traffic stats for Yahoo|url=http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.yahoo.com|publisher=''[[Netcraft]]''|accessdate=2008-08-16}}</ref> and [[Nielsen Ratings]]<ref>{{citeweb|author=Suzy Bausch|coauthors=Leilani Han|year=2006|title=Successful Sites Drive High Visitor Retention Rates|url=http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_060511.pdf|publisher=''[[Nielsen Ratings]]''|accessdate=2008-02-12}}</ref>), the domain ''yahoo.com'' attracted at least 1.575 billion visitors annually by 2008.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://siteanalytics.compete.com/yahoo.com/?metric=uv|title=Snapshot of yahoo.com|publisher=''[[Compete.com]]''|accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref> The global network of Yahoo! websites receives 3.4 billion page views per day on average {{As of|2007|alt=as of October 2007}}. It is the second most visited website in the world in May 2009.<ref>http://blog.sfaranda.com/50-most-visited-websites-in-may-2009/</ref> |
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Google's mission is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful".<ref> [http://www.google.com/corporate/ Google Corporate Information]</ref> The unofficial company slogan, coined by former employee and [[Gmail]]'s first engineer<ref>[[History of Gmail#Internal development|History of Gmail]] at Wikipedia</ref> [[Paul Buchheit]], is "[[Don't be evil]]".<ref>[http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-07-16-n55.html Paul Buchheit on Gmail, AdSense and More] Google Blogoscoped</ref><ref>[http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008/03/dont-be-evil-trigger-for-ethical.html Don't Be Evil, a Trigger for Ethical Questions] Google Operating System Blog</ref><ref>[http://www.crazyengineers.com/small-talk/1-cover-story/78-small-talk-with-mr-paul-buchheit-creator-of-gmail-adsense-a-friendfeed Small Talk with Mr. Paul Buchheit - Creator of Gmail, Adsense & FriendFeed!] CrazyEngineers</ref> [[Criticism of Google]] includes concerns regarding the [[privacy]] of personal information, [[copyright]], and [[censorship by Google|censorship]]. |
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== History and growth == |
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=== Early history (1994–1999) === |
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[[File:Jerry Yang and David Filo.jpg|thumb|Yahoo! co-founders [[Jerry Yang (entrepreneur)|Jerry Yang]] (left) and [[David Filo]] (right)]] |
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==History== |
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In January 1994, [[Jerry Yang (entrepreneur)|Jerry Yang]] and [[David Filo]] were Electrical Engineering graduate students at [[Stanford University]]. In April 1994, "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" was renamed "Yahoo!", for which the official [[backronym]] is "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle".<ref>{{citebook|title=Blueprint to a Billion|author=David G. Thomson|pages=155|publisher=[[Wiley-Interscience]]|year=2006|isbn=9780471779186}}</ref><ref>[http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/22707.html Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web becomes "Yahoo!"]</ref> Filo and Yang said they selected the name because they liked the word's general definition, which comes from ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'' by [[Jonathan Swift]]: "rude, unsophisticated and uncouth".<ref>[http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/22707.html Definition of "Yahoo!"]</ref> Its [[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]] was akebono.stanford.edu/yahoo.<ref>{{citeweb|title=The History of Yahoo! - How It All Started...|url=http://docs.yahoo.com/info/misc/history.html|publisher=''Yahoo''|accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> |
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{{main|History of Google}} |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:yahooorgin.png|thumb|right|200px|right|The original yahoo! logo {{deletable image-caption}}]] --> |
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[[Image:Google1998.png|thumb|left|Google in 1998]] |
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[[File:Google’s First Production Server.jpg|thumb|The first iteration of Google production servers was built with inexpensive hardware and was designed to be very fault-tolerant]] |
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Google began in January 1996, as a research project by [[Larry Page]], who was soon joined by [[Sergey Brin]], when they were both PhD students at [[Stanford University]] in [[California]].<ref name="milestones">"[http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/history.html Corporate Information: Google Milestones]". ''Google''. Retrieved on 23 February 2007.</ref> They hypothesized that a [[search engine]] that analyzed the relationships between websites would produce better ranking of results than existing techniques, which ranked results according to the number of times the search term appeared on a page.<ref>Page, Lawrence; Brin, Sergey; Motwani, Rajeev; Winograd, Terry. "[http://dbpubs.stanford.edu:8090/pub/1999-66 The PageRank Citation Ranking: Bringing Order to the Web]". 11 November 1999.</ref> Their search engine was originally nicknamed "BackRub" because the system checked [[backlinks]] to estimate the importance of a site.<ref>Battelle, John. "[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/battelle.html?tw=wn_tophead_4 The Birth of Google]". ''[[Wired Magazine]].'' August, 2005.</ref><ref>[http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/22707.html "BackRub" becomes "Google"]</ref> A small search engine called Rankdex was already exploring a similar strategy.<ref>Li, Yanhong. "[http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/wrapper.jsp?arnumber=707687 Toward a qualitative search engine]." ''Internet Computing, IEEE.'' '''2 (4),''' July-August, 1998, 24–29.</ref> |
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Convinced that the pages with the most links to them from other highly relevant web pages must be the most relevant pages associated with the search, Page and Brin tested their thesis as part of their studies, and laid the foundation for their search engine. Originally, the search engine used the [[Stanford University]] website with the domain ''google.stanford.edu''. The domain ''google.com'' was registered on 15 September 1997,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://whois.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=google.com | title=WHOIS - google.com | accessdate=2008-08-18}}</ref> and the company was incorporated as ''Google Inc.'' on 4 September 1998 at a friend's garage in [[Menlo Park, California]]. The total initial investment raised for the new company <!-- when is 'eventually'? 1998? 2008? --> amounted to almost $1.1 million, including a $100,000 check by [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], one of the founders of [[Sun Microsystems]].<ref>Google. "[http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/history.html Google Milestones]." Retrieved on 12 July 2006.</ref> |
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The Yahoo! domain was created on January 18, 1995.<ref>{{citeweb|title=WHOIS information for: yahoo.com:|url=http://whois.net/whois_new.cgi?d=yahoo&tld=com|publisher=''whois.net''|accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref> Yang and Filo realized their website had massive business potential, and on March 1, 1995, Yahoo! was [[Incorporation (business)|incorporated]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=Inventing Yahoo!|author=David Rapp|year=2006|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/events/articles/web/20060412-yahoo-internet-search-engine-jerry-yang-david-filo-america-online-google-ipo-email.shtml|publisher=''[[American Heritage (magazine)]]''|accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> On April 5, 1995, [[Michael Moritz]] of [[Sequoia Capital]] provided Yahoo! with two rounds of venture capital, raising approximately $3 million.<ref>{{citeweb|author=[[Eric Schmidt]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615737_1616199,00.html|title=The Time 100 - Michael Moritz|publisher=''[[Time (magazine)]]''|accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/timeline.cfm|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080213120416/http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/timeline.cfm|archivedate=2008-02-13|title=Yahoo Company Timeline|accessdate=2008-08-18}}</ref> On April 12, 1996, Yahoo! had its [[initial public offering]], raising $33.8 million, by selling 2.6 million shares at $13 each. |
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Both Brin and Page had been against using advertising pop-ups in a search engine, or an "advertising funded search engines" model, and they wrote a research paper in 1998 on the topic while still students. However, they soon changed their minds and early on allowed simple text ads.<ref>Stross, Randall, [http://books.google.com/books?id=xOk3EIUW9VgC&printsec=frontcover ''Planet Google: One Company's Audacious Plan to Organize Everything We Know''], New York : Free Press, September 2008. ISBN 978-1-4165-4691-7 Cf. pp.3-4.</ref> |
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Like many [[web search engine]]s and [[web directory|web directories]], Yahoo! diversified into a [[web portal]]. In the late 1990s, Yahoo!, [[MSN]], [[Lycos]], [[Excite]] and other Web portals were growing rapidly. Web portal providers rushed to acquire companies to expand their range of services, in the hope of increasing the time a user stayed at the portal. |
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In March 1999, the company moved into offices in [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], home to several other noted [[Silicon Valley]] technology startups.<ref name="165univave">Fried, Ian. "[http://news.com.com/2100-1040-960790.html A building blessed with tech success]." ''[[CNET]].'' 4 October 2002. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> After quickly outgrowing two other sites, the company leased a complex of buildings in [[Mountain View, California]] at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway from [[Silicon Graphics]] (SGI) in 2003.<ref name="sgibldg">Olsen, Stefanie. "[http://news.com.com/Googles+movin+on+up/2110-1032_3-1025111.html Google's movin' on up]." ''[[CNET]].'' 11 July 2003. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> The company has remained at this location ever since, and the complex has since come to be known as the [[Googleplex]] (a play on the word [[googolplex]]). In 2006, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.<ref name="googleplexpurchase">Staff Writer. "[http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/06/19/newscolumn3.html Google to buy headquarters building from Silicon Graphics]." ''Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal.'' 16 June 2006. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> |
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On March 8, 1997, Yahoo acquired online communications company Four11. Four11's webmail service, [[RocketMail]], became [[Yahoo! Mail]]. Yahoo! also acquired ClassicGames.com and turned it into [[Yahoo! Games]]. Yahoo! then acquired direct marketing company Yoyodyne Entertainment, Inc. on October 12. On March 8, 1998, Yahoo! launched Yahoo! Pager,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=173501|title=Stay In Touch With Yahoo! Pager|publisher=''Yahoo''|accessdate=2008-12-08}}</ref> an instant messaging service that was renamed [[Yahoo! Messenger]] a year later. On January 28, 1999, Yahoo! acquired web hosting provider [[GeoCities]]. Another company Yahoo! acquired was [[eGroups]], which became [[Yahoo! Groups]] after the acquisition on June 28, 2000. |
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The Google search engine attracted a loyal following among a growing number of Internet users, who liked its simple design and useful results.<ref name="simpledesign">Thompson, Bill. "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3334531.stm Is Google good for you?]" ''[[BBC News]].'' 19 December 2003. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> In 2000, Google began selling [[advertising|advertisements]] associated with search [[keyword (Internet search)|keywords]].<ref name="milestones" /> The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page loading speed.<ref name="milestones" /> Keywords were sold based on a combination of price bid and clickthroughs, with bidding starting at 5 cents per click.<ref name="milestones" /> This model of selling keyword advertising was pioneered by [[Yahoo! Search Marketing|Goto.com]] (later renamed [[Overture Services]], before being acquired by [[Yahoo!]] and rebranded as [[Yahoo! Search Marketing]]).<ref name="goto strong">Sullivan, Danny. "[http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2166331 GoTo Going Strong]." ''The Search Engine Report.'' 1 July 1998.</ref><ref name="cnet p4p">Pelline, Jeff. "[http://news.com.com/Pay-for-placement+gets+another+shot/2100-1023_3-208309.html Pay-for-placement gets another shot]." ''[[CNET]].'' 19 February 1998.</ref><ref name="glaser">Glaser, Ken. "Who Will GoTo.com?" [http://www.onlinepress.com/ OnlinePress.com].'' 20 February 1998.</ref> Goto.com was an [[Idealab]] spin off created by [[Bill Gross]], and was the first company to successfully provide a pay-for-placement search service. Overture Services later sued Google over alleged infringements of Overture's pay-per-click and bidding patents by Google's [[AdWords]] service. The case was settled out of court, with Google agreeing to issue shares of common stock to Yahoo! in exchange for a perpetual license.<ref>[http://netscape.com.com/Google,+Yahoo!+bury+the+legal+hatchet/2100-1024_3-5302421.html Google, Yahoo bury the legal hatchet], Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com, August 9, 2004</ref> Thus, while many of its [[dot-com company|dot-com]] rivals failed in the new Internet marketplace, Google quietly rose in stature while generating revenue.<ref name="milestones" /> |
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When acquiring companies, Yahoo! often changed the relevant [[terms of service]]. For example, they claimed [[intellectual property]] rights for content on their [[server (computing)|servers]], unlike the companies they acquired. As a result, many of the [[Mergers and acquisitions|acquisitions]] were [[controversial]] and unpopular with users of the existing services.{{Clarify|date=March 2008}} |
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[[File:Yahoo Headquarters.jpg|thumb|Yahoo! headquarters in [[Sunnyvale]]]] |
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A [[patent]] describing part of the Google ranking mechanism ([[PageRank]]) was granted on 4 September 2001.<ref name="patent">Page, Lawrence. "[http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US6285999 Method for node ranking in a linked database]." ''[[European Patent Organisation]].'' 4 September 2001. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> The patent was officially assigned to Stanford University and lists Lawrence Page as the inventor. |
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=== Dot-com bubble (2000–2001) === |
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Yahoo! stock doubled in price in the last month of 1999.<ref>{{citeweb|title=YHOO: Historical Prices for YAHOO INC - Yahoo! Finance|url=http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=YHOO&a=10&b=30&c=1999&d=11&e=31&f=1999&g=d|publisher=''[[Yahoo! Finance]]''|accessdate=2008-11-02}}</ref> On January 3, 2000, at the height of the [[Dot-com boom]], Yahoo! stocks closed at an all-time high of $118.75 a share. Sixteen days later, shares in [[Yahoo! Japan]] became the first stocks in Japanese history to trade at over ¥100,000,000, reaching a price of ¥101.4 million ($94,780 at that time).<ref>{{citeweb|year=2000|author=William Auckerman|title=Yahoo Japan Stock Breaks 100 Million Yen Barrier|url=http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/print.php/289851|publisher=''[[Jupitermedia]]''|accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> |
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===Name=== |
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On February 7, 2000, the Yahoo! domain was brought to a halt for a few hours as it was the victim of a distributed denial of service attack ([[DDoS]]).<ref>{{citebook|title=Computer Security Handbook|author=Seymour Bosworth|coauthors=M. E. Kabay|year=2002|pages=63|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-0471269755}}</ref> On the next day, its shares rose about $16, or 4.5 percent as the failure was blamed on [[Hacker (computer security)|hackers]] rather than on an internal [[glitch]], unlike a fault with [[eBay]] earlier that year. |
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The name "Google" originated from a misspelling of the word "[[googol]]",<ref>Koller, David. "[http://graphics.stanford.edu/~dk/google_name_origin.html Origin of the name, "Google."] ''[[Stanford University]].'' January, 2004.</ref><ref>Hanley, Rachael. "[http://daily.stanford.org/article/2003/2/12/fromGoogolToGoogle From Googol to Google: Co-founder returns]." ''[[The Stanford Daily]].'' 12 February 2003. Retrieved on 14 July 2006.</ref> which refers to 10<sup>100</sup>, the number represented by a 1 followed by one hundred zeros. Having found its way increasingly into everyday language, the verb "[[google (verb)|google]]" was added to the ''[[Merriam-Webster|Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary]]'' and the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' in 2006, meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet."<ref>Harris, Scott D. "{{cite web |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14985574.htm |title= Dictionary adds verb: to google |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060715065927/http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14985574.htm |archivedate=2006-07-15}}." ''[[San Jose Mercury News]].'' 7 July 2006. Retrieved on 7 July 2006.</ref><ref>Bylund, Anders. "[http://web.archive.org/web/20060707062623/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13720643/ To Google or Not to Google (archived)]." ''[[The Motley Fool]] via [[MSNBC]].'' 5 July 2006. Retrieved on 7 July 2006.</ref> |
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===Financing and initial public offering=== |
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During the dot-com boom, the cable news station [[CNBC]] also reported that Yahoo! and [[eBay]] were discussing a 50/50 [[merger]].<ref>{{citeweb|author=Saul Hansell|coauthors=Laura M. Holson|title=The Markets: Market Place; Is the Online Auction King Ebay Going Once? Twice? Not Likely|year=2000|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD81F3BF935A25750C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|publisher=''[[New York Times]]''|accessdate=2009-01-05}}</ref> Although the merger never materialized the two companies decided to form a marketing/advertising alliance six years later in 2006.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo, eBay form Web advertising alliance|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12970936/|publisher=''[[Associated Press]]''|year=2006|accessdate=2008-02-24}}</ref> |
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The first funding for Google as a company was secured in August 1998, in the form of a $100,000 contribution from [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], co-founder of [[Sun Microsystems]], given to a corporation which did not yet exist.<ref name="Bechtolsheim">Kopytoff, Verne; Fost, Dan. "[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/29/MNGLD6CFND34.DTL For early Googlers, key word is $$]." ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]].'' 29 April 2004. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> |
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On June 7, 1999 a round of funding of $25 million was announced,<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20000309205910/http://google.com/pressrel/pressrelease1.html |title=Google Receives $25 Million in Equity Funding |date=June 7, 1999 |location=Palo Alto, Calif. |publisher=Google |accessdate=2009-02-16}}</ref> with the major investors being rival venture capital firms [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]] and [[Sequoia Capital]].<ref name="Bechtolsheim"/> |
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On June 26, 2000, Yahoo! and [[Google]] signed an agreement which retained Google as the default worldwide-web search engine for Yahoo! following a beta trial in 1999.<ref>{{citeweb|title=GoogleAlert #2: Yahoo! Selects Google as its Default Search Engine Provider|url=http://www.google.com/googlefriends/alert2_2000.html|publisher=google.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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The Google [[IPO]] took place on 19 August 2004. 19,605,052 [[stock|shares]] were offered at a price of $85 per share.<ref name="IPO">Elgin, Ben. "[http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2004/tc20040819_6843_tc120.htm Google: Whiz Kids or Naughty Boys?]" ''[[Business Week]].'' 19 August 2004. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref><ref>[http://investor.google.com/pdf/2004_AnnualReport.pdf untitled<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Of that, 14,142,135 (another mathematical reference as [[square root of two|√2]] ≈ 1.4142135) were floated by Google, and the remaining 5,462,917 were offered by existing stockholders. The sale of $1.67 billion gave Google a [[market capitalization]] of more than $23 billion.<ref name="washpost">Webb, Cynthia L. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14939-2004Aug19.html Google's IPO: Grate Expectations]." ''[[Washington Post]].'' 19 August 2004. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> The vast majority of the 271 million shares remained under the control of Google. Many Google employees became instant [[paper millionaires]]. [[Yahoo!]], a competitor of Google, also benefited from the IPO because it owned 8.4 million shares of Google as of 9 August 2004, ten days before the IPO.<ref name="yahooshares">Kuchinskas, Susan. "[http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3392781 Yahoo and Google Settle]." ''[http://www.internetnews.com/ internetnews.com].'' 9 August 2004. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> |
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=== Post dot-com bubble (2002–2009) === |
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Yahoo! was one of the surviving large Internet companies after the [[dot-com bubble]] burst. Nevertheless, on September 26, 2001, Yahoo! stocks closed at a five-year low of $4.06 (split-adjusted). |
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The stock performance of Google after its first IPO launch has gone well, with shares hitting $700 for the first time on 31 October 2007,<ref>[[Daily Telegraph]] Issue 47,409 Business Section Page B5 date, 7 November 2007</ref> due to strong sales and earnings in the advertising market, as well as the release of new features such as the [[Google Desktop|desktop search function]] and its iGoogle personalized home page.<ref name="bowlingforgoogle">La Monica, Paul R. "[http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/25/technology/techinvestor/lamonica/index.htm Bowling for Google]." ''[[CNN]].'' 25 May 2005. Retrieved on 28 February 2007.</ref> The surge in stock price is fueled primarily by individual investors, as opposed to large institutional investors and [[mutual fund]]s.<ref name="bowlingforgoogle" /> |
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Yahoo! formed partnerships with [[telecommunications]] and Internet providers to create content-rich [[broadband]] services to compete with [[AOL]]. On June 3, 2002, [[SBC Communications|SBC]] and Yahoo! launched a national co-branded [[Dial-up access|dial-up Internet access]] service.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Internet Leaders SBC and Yahoo! Launch National Co-Branded Dial Service|url=http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=20046|publisher=att.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> In July 2003, [[BT Group]] Openworld announced an alliance with Yahoo!.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Internet alliance BT and Yahoo!|url=http://www.telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=30241&nr=806|publisher=telecom.paper.nl|accessdate=2008-02-25}}{{Dead link|date=April 2009}}</ref> On August 23, 2005, Yahoo! and [[Verizon Communications]] launched an integrated [[DSL]] service.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Verizon and Yahoo! Launch Integrated DSL Service Combining Broadband Speed with Premium Content|url=http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2005/page.jsp?itemID=29708038|publisher=newscenter.verizon.com|accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref> |
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The company is listed on the [[NASDAQ]] stock exchange under the [[ticker symbol]] '''GOOG''' and under the [[London Stock Exchange]] under the ticker symbol '''GGEA'''. |
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In late 2002, Yahoo! began to bolster its search services by acquiring other search engines. In December 2002, Yahoo! acquired [[Inktomi Corporation]]. In February 2005, Yahoo! acquired Konfabulator and rebranded it [[Yahoo! Widgets]],<ref>{{citeweb|title=Konfabulator 2.1: Ajax additions|url=http://ajaxian.com/archives/konfabulator-21-ajax-additions|publisher=ajaxian.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> a desktop application and in July 2003, it acquired Overture Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries [[AltaVista]] and [[AlltheWeb]]. On February 18, 2004, Yahoo! dropped Google-powered results and returned to using its own technology to provide search results. |
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===Growth=== |
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In 2004, in response to [[Google]]'s release of [[Gmail]], Yahoo! upgraded the storage of all free Yahoo! Mail accounts from 4 [[Megabyte|MB]] to 1 GB, and all Yahoo! Mail Plus accounts to 2 GB. On July 9, 2004, Yahoo! acquired e-mail provider [[Oddpost]] to add an [[Ajax (programming)|Ajax]] interface to [[Yahoo! Mail]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo acquires Oddpost to bolster e-mail|url=http://www.news.com/2100-1038_3-5266019.html|publisher=news.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> On October 13, 2005, Yahoo! and Microsoft announced that [[Yahoo! Messenger]] and [[MSN Messenger]] would become interoperable. In [[2007]], Yahoo! took out the storage meters, thus allowing users unlimited storage. |
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While the primary business interest is in the web content arena, Google has begun experimenting with other markets, such as radio and print publications. On 17 January 2006, Google announced the purchase of a radio advertising company "dMarc", which provides an automated system that allows companies to advertise on the radio.<ref>Levingston, Steven. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR2006011701333.html Google Buys Company To Expand Into Radio]." ''[[Washington Post]].'' 18 January 2006.</ref> This will allow Google to combine two niche advertising media—the Internet and radio—with Google's ability to laser-focus on the tastes of consumers. Google has also begun an experiment in selling advertisements from its advertisers in offline newspapers and magazines, with select advertisements in the [[Chicago Sun-Times]].<ref>Gonsalves, Antone. "[http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175803378 Google Confirms Testing Ads in Sun-Times Newspaper]." ''[[Information Week]]''. " 10 January 2006.</ref> They have been filling unsold space in the newspaper that would have normally been used for in-house advertisements. |
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===Acquisitions=== |
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Yahoo! continued acquiring companies to expand its range of services, particularly [[Web 2.0]] services. Yahoo! Launchcast became [[Yahoo! Music]] on February 9, 2005. On March 20, 2005, Yahoo! purchased photo sharing service [[Flickr]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo actually does acquire Flickr|url=http://blog.flickr.net/en/2005/03/20/yahoo-actually-does-acquire-flickr/|publisher=flickr.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> On March 29, 2005, the company launched its blogging and social networking service [[Yahoo! 360°]]. In June 2005, Yahoo! acquired [[blo.gs]], a service based on RSS feed aggregation. Yahoo! then bought online social event calendar [[Upcoming.org]] on October 4, 2005. Yahoo! acquired social bookmark site [[del.icio.us]] on December 9, 2005 and then playlist sharing community [[Webjay]] on January 9, 2006. |
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{{seealso|List of acquisitions by Google}} |
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Since 2001, Google has acquired several companies, mainly focusing on small start-ups. |
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In 2004, Google acquired a company called [[Keyhole, Inc.]],<ref>"[http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/keyhole.html Google press announcement: Google acquires Keyhole, Inc.]</ref> which developed a product called Earth Viewer, renamed in 2005 to [[Google Earth]]. |
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On August 27, 2007, Yahoo! released a new version of [[Yahoo! Mail]]. It adds Yahoo! Messenger integration. (which includes Windows Live Messenger due to the networks' [[federation (information technology)|federation]]) and free text messages (not necessarily free to the receiver) to mobile phones in the [[United States|U.S.]], [[Canada]], [[India]] and the [[Philippines]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=SiliconRepublic:_Yahoo_releases_new_email_service|url=http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single9082|publisher=siliconrepublic.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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In February 2006, software company Adaptive Path sold Measure Map, a [[weblog]] statistics application, to Google. Registration to the service has since been temporarily disabled. The last update regarding the future of Measure Map was made on 6 April 2006 and outlined many of the known issues of the service.<ref>"[http://groups.google.com/group/measuremap-forums-important/browse_thread/thread/dffb45fd6d9748c1 Measure Map Forum - Known issues]." ''[[Google Groups]].'' 6 April 2006. Retrieved on 10 September 2007.</ref> |
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On January 29, 2008, Yahoo! announced that the company was laying off 1,000 employees as the company had suffered severely in its inability to effectively compete with industry search leader [[Google]]. The cuts represent 7 percent of the company's workforce of 14,300. Employees are being invited to apply for an unknown number of new positions that are expected to open as the company expands areas that promise faster growth.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo to lay off 1,000|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/29/BUJ5UOBFI.DTL|publisher=''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''|accessdate=2008-07-24}}</ref> |
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In late 2006, Google bought the online video site [[YouTube]] for $1.65 billion in stock.<ref>La Monica, Paul R. "[http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/09/technology/googleyoutube_deal/index.htm?cnn=yes Google to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion]." ''[[CNN]].'' 9 October 2006. Retrieved on 9 October 2006.</ref> Shortly after, on 31 October 2006, Google announced that it had also acquired [[JotSpot]], a developer of wiki technology for collaborative Web sites.<ref>[http://www.crackgoogle.com/content/view/23/ Google Buys Wiki Startup JotSpot]. 31 October 2006.</ref> |
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In February, 2008, Yahoo! acquired [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]-based Maven Networks, a supplier of internet video players and video advertising tools, for approx. $160 million. |
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On 13 April 2007, Google reached an agreement to acquire [[DoubleClick]]. Google agreed to buy the company for $3.1 billion.<ref name="DoubleClicknyt"> Louise Stort and Miguel Helft. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/technology/14DoubleClick.html?ref=technology Google Buys DoubleClick for $3.1 Billion]." ''[[The New York Times]]''. 13 April 2007. Retrieved on 13 April 2007.</ref> |
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Yahoo! announced on November 17, 2008 that Yang would be stepping down as CEO.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081118/ap_on_hi_te/yahoo_ceo_change|title="Yahoo's Yang decides he's no longer the right CEO"|author=AP|publisher=Associated Press|date=2008-11-18|accessdate=2008-11-18}}{{Dead link|date=April 2009}}</ref> |
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On 2 July 2007, Google purchased [[GrandCentral]]. Google agreed to buy the company for $50 million.<ref name="GoogleBlog"> Wesley Chan. "[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/all-aboard.html]." ''[[Official Google Blog]]''. Retrieved on 6 January 2009.</ref> |
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On December 10, 2008, Yahoo! began laying off 1,520 employees around the world as the company managed its way through the global economic downturn.<ref>[http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10120253-93.html Yahoo pink slips issued, recruiters circling above | Digital Media - CNET News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> By carefully managing expenses, Yahoo has remained one of the most profitable pure-Internet companies in the world<ref>[http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=YHOO&annual Yahoo! Annual Income Statement]</ref> |
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, and maintains billions of dollars on its balance sheet<ref>[http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=YHOO&annual Yahoo! Annual Balance Sheet]</ref>, despite continued "softness" in the advertising world. |
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On 9 July 2007, Google announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire enterprise messaging security and compliance company [[Postini]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/postini_20070709.html|title=Google to acquire Postini|publisher=Google (Press release)|accessdate=2007-07-18|date=9 July 2007}}</ref> |
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==== Acquisition attempt by Microsoft ==== |
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[[Microsoft]] and Yahoo! pursued [[merger]] discussions in 2005, 2006, and 2007, that were all ultimately unsuccessful. At the time, analysts were skeptical about the wisdom of a business combination.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Forbes|accessdate=2008-02-01|title=Microsoft, Yahoo In Possible Partnership Talks|author=Mary Crane|date=May 3, 2006|url=http://www.forbes.com/markets/bonds/2006/05/03/yahoo-microsoft-partnership-0503markets04.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=Associated Press|title=Microsoft and Yahoo end on-again off-again talks to combine forces|date=May 4, 2007|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/04/business/NA-FIN-COM-US-Microsoft-Yahoo.php|accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> |
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On August 5 2009, Google announced the purchase of video software maker On2 Technologies for $106.5 million - its first acquisition of a public company. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/ir_20090805.html|title=Google to Acquire On2 Technologies|work=Google Press release|date=[[2009-08-05]]|accessdate=2009-08-05}}</ref> |
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On February 1, 2008, after its friendly takeover offer was rebuffed by Yahoo!, Microsoft made an unsolicited [[takeover]] bid to buy Yahoo! for US$44.6 billion in cash and stock.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Microsoft wants to purchase Yahoo|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7222114.stm|publisher=bbc.co.uk|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref><ref name=mstob>{{cite news|title=Microsoft Offers to Buy Yahoo for $44.6 Billion|accessdate=2008-02-01|date=February 1, 2008|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aLsamJL6qUQY&refer=news|publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref> Days later, Yahoo! considered alternatives to the merger with Microsoft, including a merger with internet giant [[Google]]<ref>{{cite news|first=Mick|last=Jason|title=Microsoft May Borrow For Yahoo Deal; Yahoo Opts for Google Alliance|date=2008-02-06|url=http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10586|work=DailyTech|accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref> or a potential transaction with [[News Corp]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Kafka|title=Yahoo-News Corp Still Talking, Deal Still Possible|date=2008-02-12|url=http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/2/yahoo__news_corp__deal_still_in_the_works_|work=AlleyInsider|accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> However, on February 11, 2008, Yahoo! decided to reject Microsoft's offer as "substantially undervaluing" Yahoo!'s brand, audience, investments, and growth prospects.<ref name=yhooreject>{{cite news|publisher=Business Wire|accessdate=2008-02-11|title=Yahoo! Board of Directors Says Microsoft's Proposal Substantially Undervalues Yahoo!|date=February 1, 2008|url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=293129}}</ref> As of February 22, two Detroit based pension companies have sued Yahoo! and their board of directors for breaching their duty to shareholders by opposing Microsoft's takeover bid and pursuing "value destructive" third-party deals.<ref name=breach>{{cite news|title= Yahoo sued for spurning Microsoft|accessdate=2008-02-23 | language=en | url=http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080222/yahoo_shareholder_lawsuit.html|publisher=yahoo.com}}</ref>{{Dead link|url=http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080222/yahoo_shareholder_lawsuit.html|date=August 2008}} In early March, Google CEO [[Eric Schmidt]] went on record saying that he was concerned that a potential Microsoft-Yahoo! merger might hurt the Internet by compromising its openness.<ref>{{cite news|title=Microsoft's moves 'threaten net'|accessdate=2008-03-18|language=en|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7300337.stm}}</ref> The value of Microsoft's cash and stock offer declined with Microsoft's stock price, falling to $42.2 billion by April 4.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Microsoft CEO sets deadline to Yahoo for deal|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN0543364420080405?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0|publisher=''[[Reuters]]''|accessdate=2008-04-10}}</ref> On April 5, Microsoft CEO [[Steve Ballmer]] sent a letter to Yahoo!'s board of directors stating that if within three weeks they had not accepted the deal, Microsoft would approach shareholders directly in hopes of a electing a new board and moving forward with merger talks; this is known as a [[hostile takeover]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=Microsoft sets deadline for Yahoo bid|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23958838/|publisher=''[[MSNBC]]''|accessdate=2008-04-10}}</ref>{{Dead link|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23958838/|date=August 2008}} In response, Yahoo! stated on April 7 that they were not against a merger, but that they wanted a better offer. In addition, they stated that Microsoft's "aggressive" approach was worsening their relationship and the chances of a "friendly" merger.<ref name="friend">{{citeweb|title=Microsoft-Yahoo fight reaches the turning point|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23992701/|publisher=''[[MSNBC]]''|accessdate=2008-04-10}}</ref> Later the same day, Yahoo! stated that the original $45 billion offer was not acceptable.<ref name="friend"/> Following this, there has been considerable discussion of having [[Time Warner]]'s [[AOL]] and Yahoo! merge, instead of the originally proposed Microsoft deal.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo brings two titans to the table|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23519656-643,00.html|publisher=theaustralian.news.com.au|accessdate=2008-04-10}}</ref> |
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===Partnerships=== |
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On May 3, 2008, Microsoft withdrew the offer. During a meeting between Ballmer and Yang, Microsoft had offered to raise its offer by $5 billion to $33 per share, while Yahoo! demanded $37. One of Ballmer's lieutenants suggested that Yang would implement a [[Poison pill#Public companies|poison pill]] to make the takeover as difficult as possible, saying "They are going to burn the furniture if we go hostile. They are going to destroy the place."<ref name="msft_withdrawl1">{{citeweb|title=Microsoft Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Yahoo!|url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/may08/05-03letter.mspx|publisher=''[[Microsoft]]''|accessdate=2008-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|title=Microsoft's Failed Yahoo Bid Risks Online Growth|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05soft.html?_r=4&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin|publisher=''[[New York Times]]''|accessdate=2008-05-06}}</ref> |
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In 2005, Google entered into partnerships with other companies and government agencies to improve production and services. Google announced a partnership with [[NASA Ames Research Center]] to build up {{convert|1000000|sqft|m2|-3}} of offices and work on research projects involving large-scale data management, [[nanotechnology]], [[distributed computing]], and the entrepreneurial space industry.<ref name="nasaames">Mills, Elinor. "[http://news.com.com/Can+Google+beat+the+new-office+curse/2100-1030_3-5884957.html Can Google beat the new-office curse?]" ''[[CNET]].'' 28 September 2005. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> Google also entered into a partnership with [[Sun Microsystems]] in October to help share and distribute each other's technologies.<ref name="googlesun">Kessler, Michelle; Acohido, Byron. "[http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-10-03-google-sun-team_x.htm Google, Sun make 'big deal' together]." ''[[USA Today]].'' 3 October 2005. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> The company entered into a partnership with [[AOL]] of [[Time Warner]],<ref name="googleaol">Mills, Elinor. "[http://news.com.com/What+the+Google-AOL+deal+means+for+users/2100-1024_3-6010327.html What the Google-AOL deal means for users]." ''[[CNET]].'' 28 December 2005. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> to enhance each other's video search services. |
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The same year, the company became a major financial investor of the new [[.mobi]] [[top-level domain]] for mobile devices, in conjunction with several other companies, including [[Microsoft]], [[Nokia]], and [[Ericsson]] among others.<ref name="investors">"[http://mtld.mobi/company/about/investors dotMobi Investors]." ''[[.mobi]].'' Retrieved on 14 October 2007.</ref> In September 2007, Google launched, "Adsense for Mobile", a service for its publishing partners which provides the ability to monetize their mobile websites through the targeted placement of mobile text ads,<ref name="adsense_mobile">"[http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/annc/20070917_mobileads.html Google AdSense for Mobile unlocks the potential of the mobile advertising market]." ''Google''. 17 September 2007. Retrieved on 14 October 2007.</ref> and acquired the mobile social networking site, ''Zingku.mobi'', to "provide people worldwide with direct access to Google applications, and ultimately the information they want and need, right from their mobile devices."<ref name="zingku">Niccolai, James. "[http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137853-c,google/article.html Google Buys Mobile Social Network Zingku]." ''[[PC World (magazine)|PC World]].'' 29 September 2007. Retrieved on 14 October 2007.</ref> |
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Analysts say that Yahoo!'s shares, which closed at $28.67 on May 2, are likely to drop below $25 and perhaps as low as $20 on May 5, which would put significant pressure on Yang to engineer a turnaround of the company. Some suggest that institutional investors would file lawsuits against Yahoo!'s board of directors for not acting in shareholder interest by refusing Microsoft's offer.<ref>{{citeweb|title=A Yahoo Shareholder on What Might Have Been|url=http://www10.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05miller-WEB.html?_r=5&ref=technology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin|publisher=''[[New York Times]]''|accessdate=2008-05-31}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|title=Pressure's now on Yahoo CEO|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/04/MN0B10GOK9.DTL|publisher=''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''|accessdate=2008-05-31}}</ref> |
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In 2006, Google and Fox Interactive Media of [[News Corporation|News Corp.]] entered into a $900 million agreement to provide search and advertising on the popular social networking site, [[MySpace]].<ref name="googlemyspace">Staff Writer. "[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_August_7/ai_n16610613 Fox Interactive Media Enters into Landmark Agreement with Google Inc.; Multi-Year Pact Calls for Google to Provide Search and Advertising across Fox Interactive Media's Growing Online Network Including the MySpace Community]." ''Business Wire.'' 7 August 2006. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> |
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On May 5, 2008, following Microsoft's withdrawal Yahoo!'s stock plunged some 15% lower to $23.02 in Monday trading and trimmed about $6 billion off of its market capitalization.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo Falls After Microsoft Yanks Takeover Bid|url=http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/stocks/yahoo-falls-after-microsoft-yanks-takeover-bid-23007/|publisher=''[[SmartMoney]]''|accessdate=2008-05-06}}</ref> |
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Google has developed a partnership with [[GeoEye]] to launch a satellite providing Google with high-resolution (0.41 m monochrome, 1.65 m color) imagery for [[Google Earth]]. The satellite was launched from [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]] on 6 September 2008.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0633403420080906 Reuters - GeoEye launches high-resolution satellite]</ref> |
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After Microsoft's failed bid to acquire Yahoo!, Microsoft is rumored to be looking at acquiring LiveDoor, a leading Japanese portal and the leading blogging service in Japan, to strengthen its position against Yahoo! Japan. |
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In 2008, Google announced that it was hosting an archive of [[Life magazine]]'s photographs, as part of a joint effort. Some of the images in the archive were never published in the magazine.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Google gives online life to Life mag's photos |url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hpwZcZap0g13zNOf8SxhiGlxYYCQD94I7JBO0 |quote=Google Inc. has opened an online photo gallery that will include millions of images from Life magazine's archives that have never been seen by the public before. |agency=Associated Press |date=[[2008-11-19]] |accessdate=2008-11-19 }}</ref> The photos are [[watermark]]ed and originally had copyright notices posted on all photos, regardless of [[public domain]] status.<ref>http://searchengineland.com/google-to-host-10-million-time-life-unpublished-images-15513</ref><ref>http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/18/2230217</ref> |
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On June 12, 2008, Yahoo announced that it had ended all talks with Microsoft about purchasing either part of the business (the search advertising business) or all of the company. Talks had taken place the previous weekend (June 8), during which Microsoft allegedly told Yahoo that it was no longer interested in a purchase of the entire company at the price offered earlier -- $33/share. Also on June 12, Yahoo announced a non-exclusive search advertising alliance with Google.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yahoo Ends Talks With Microsoft<nowiki>,</nowiki> Signs Search-Ad Deal with Google|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121329534659368693.html|publisher=''[[Wall Street Journal]]''|accessdate=2008-06-12}}</ref> Upon this announcement, many executives and senior employees have announced their plans to leave the company as it appears that they have lost confidence in Yahoo's strategies. According to market analysts, these pending departures are also impacting [[Wall Street]]'s perception of the company.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www10.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/technology/20yahoo.html?_r=5&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin | title="At Yahoo, the Exodus Continues: | author=Helft, Miguel | publisher=NY Times | date=2008-06-20 | accessdate=2008-06-20}}</ref> |
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==Products and services== |
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On July 7, 2008, Microsoft said it would reconsider proposing another bid for Yahoo if the company's nine directors were ousted at the annual meeting scheduled to be held on August 1, 2008. Microsoft believes it would be able to better negotiate with a new board.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/ | title="Microsoft wants to negotiate with new Yahoo board" | author=Liedtke, Michael | publisher=Associated Press | date=2008-07-07 | accessdate=2008-07-07}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Google Appliance.jpg|thumb|upright|Google appliance as shown at [[RSA Conference]] 2008]] |
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{{main|List of Google products}} |
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Google has created services and tools for the general public and business environment alike, including Web applications, advertising networks and solutions for businesses. |
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===Advertising=== |
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Billionaire investor [[Carl Icahn]], calling the current board irrational in its approach to talks with Microsoft, launched a proxy fight to replace Yahoo's board. On July 21, 2008 Yahoo settled with Carl Icahn, agreeing to appoint him and two allies to an expanded board. |
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99% of Google's revenue is derived from its advertising programs.<ref>Google Annual Report, Feb. 15, 2008</ref> For the 2006 fiscal year, the company reported $10.492 billion in total advertising revenues and only $112 million in licensing and other revenues.<ref name="10-K">{{cite web|url=http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000119312507044494/d10k.htm|title=Form 10-K — Annual Report|accessdate=2007-07-14|publisher=SEC|work=EDGAR}}</ref> Google is able to precisely track users' interests across affiliated sites using DoubleClick technology<ref>{{cite news|author=Nakashima, Ellen|title=Some Web Firms Say They Track Behavior Without Explicit Consent|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/11/AR2008081102270_pf.html|date=August 12, 2008|publisher=The Washington Post Company|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=2008-09-01}}</ref> and [[Google Analytics]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Bright, Peter|title=Surfing on the sly with IE8's new "InPrivate" Internet|url=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080827-surfing-on-the-sly-ie8s-inprivate-internet.html|date=August 27, 2008|publisher=Ars Technica|accessdate=2008-09-01}}</ref> Google's advertisements carry a lower price tag when their human ad-rating team working around the world believes the ads improve the company's [[user experience design|user experience]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Vogelstein, Fred|title=Why Google needs better antitrust advice|url=http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/09/why-google-need.html|work=Wired News|publisher=CondéNet|accessdate=2008-09-22}}</ref> Google [[AdWords]] allows Web advertisers to display advertisements in Google's search results and the Google Content Network, through either a cost-per-click or cost-per-view scheme.<ref>https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=adwords&cd=null&hl=en-GB<mpl=adwords&passive=true&ifr=false&alwf=true&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fadwords.google.com%2Fselect%2Fgaiaauth%3Fapt%3DNone%26ugl%3Dtrue</ref> Google [[AdSense]] website owners can also display adverts on their own site, and earn money every time ads are clicked.<ref name="AdSense">{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/adsense/login/en_US/?sourceid=aso&subid=uk-en-ha&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=adsense&gsessionid=O---pJlnnf2wFZF8qu81Lg|title=AdSense|accessdate=2009-10-11}}</ref> Google began in March 2009 to use [[behavioral targeting]] based on users' interests.<ref>{{cite web|author=Helft, Miguel|title=Google to Offer Ads Based on Interests |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/technology/internet/11google.html|publisher=The New York Times|date=March 11, 2009|accessdate=2009-03-10}}</ref> |
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Google has also been criticized by advertisers regarding its inability to combat [[click fraud]], when a person or automated script is used to generate a charge on an advertisement without really having an interest in the product. Industry reports in 2006 claim that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were in fact fraudulent or invalid.<ref>Mills, Elinor. "[http://news.com.com/Google+to+offer+advertisers+click+fraud+stats/2100-1024_3-6098469.html Google to offer advertisers click fraud stats]." ''[http://www.cnet.com/ c net].'' 25 July 2006. Retrieved on 29 July 2006.</ref> |
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On November 20, 2008, almost 10 months after Microsoft's initial offer of $33 per share, Yahoo's stock (YHOO) dropped to a 52-week low, trading at only $8.94 per share.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/SummaryQuote.asp?symbol=YHOO | title="YHOO stock quote - Yahoo! Inc. stock price - NASDAQ.com" | author=NASDAQ | publisher=NASDAQ | date=2008-11-20 | accessdate=2008-11-20}}</ref> |
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In June 2008, Google reached an advertising agreement with [[Yahoo!]], which would have allowed Yahoo! to feature Google advertisements on their web pages. The alliance between the two companies was never completely realized due to [[antitrust]] concerns by the [[U.S. Department of Justice]]. As a result, Google pulled out of the deal in November, 2008.<ref>[http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/31/yahoo-and-google-may-dump-their-deal/print/ ''Bloggingstocks'' "Yahoo and Google may dump their deal." Mclntyre, Douglas. Oct. 31, 2008.]</ref><ref>[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/ending-our-agreement-with-yahoo.html ''The Official Google Blog.'' "Ending our agreement with Yahoo!" Drummond, David. Nov. 5, 2008.]</ref> |
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On November 30, 2008, Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo's Search business for $20 billion.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article5258258.ece | title="Microsoft in $20bn Yahoo deal: | author=John Waples | publisher=Times Online | date=2008-11-30 | accessdate=2008-11-30}}</ref> |
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===Software=== |
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On July 29, 2009, it was announced with a 10 year deal that Microsoft will have full access to Yahoo search engine to be used in Microsoft future projects for its search engine [[Bing (search engine)|Bing]].<ref> http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090729/ap_on_hi_te/us_microsoft_yahoo</ref> Under the deal, Microsoft was not required to pay any cash up front to Yahoo. The day after the deal was announced, Yahoo's share price declined more than 10% to $15.14, about 60% lower than Microsoft's takeover bid a year earlier. |
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The [[Google search|Google web search engine]] is the company's most popular service. As of August 2007, Google is the most used [[search engine]] on the web with a 53.6% market share, ahead of [[Yahoo!]] (19.9%) and [[Bing Search]] (12.9%).<ref name="searchmarketshare">"[http://rankabove.com/p/top-10-search-providers-august-2007/ August 2007 Search Share for Top 10 Search Engines from Nielsen//NetRatings] 26 October 2007. Retrieved on 26 October 2007.</ref> Google indexes billions of Web pages, so that users can search for the information they desire, through the use of [[keyword (Internet search)|keywords]] and [[operators]], although at any given time it will only return a maximum of 1,000 results for any specific search query. Google has also employed the Web Search technology into other search services, including Image Search, [[Google News]], the price comparison site [[Google Product Search]], the interactive [[Usenet]] archive [[Google Groups]], [[Google Maps]], and more. |
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In early 2006, the company launched [[Google Video]], which allowed users to both upload videos, and search and watch videos from the larger Internet.<ref name="video2006">Tyler, Nathan. "[http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/video_marketplace.html Google to Launch Video Marketplace]." ''Google.'' 6 January 2006. Retrieved on 23 February 2007.</ref> In 2009 uploads to Google video were discontinued.<ref>http://googlevideo.blogspot.com/2009/01/turning-down-uploads-at-google-video.html</ref> |
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====Change in direction under Carol Bartz==== |
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Yahoo! has tried to change its direction since chief executive Carol Bartz replaced co-founder Jerry Yang in January of 2009. |
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<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8317476.stm Job cuts help Yahoo profits surge]</ref> |
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Google has also developed several desktop applications, including [[Google Desktop]], [[Picasa]], [[SketchUp]] and [[Google Earth]], an interactive mapping program powered by satellite and aerial imagery that covers the vast majority of the planet. Many major cities have such detailed images that one can zoom in close enough to see vehicles and pedestrians clearly. Consequently, there have been some concerns about national security implications; contention is that the software can be used to pinpoint with near-precision accuracy the physical location of critical infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings, bases, government agencies, and so on. However, the satellite images are not necessarily frequently updated, and all of them are available at no charge through other products and even government sources; the software simply makes accessing the information easier. A number of [[India]]n state governments have raised concerns about the security risks posed by geographic details provided by [[Google Earth]]'s satellite imaging.<ref name="satimgs">Sharma, Dinesh C. "[http://news.com.com/Indian+president+rails+against+Google+Earth/2100-1028_3-5896888.html?part=rss&tag=5896888&subj=news Indian president warns against Google Earth]." ''[http://www.cnet.com/ c net].'' 17 October 2005. Retrieved on 23 July 2006.</ref> |
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In July, Microsoft and Yahoo! agreed to a deal that will see Yahoo!'s websites use both Microsoft's search technology and search advertising. Yahoo! in turn will become the sales team for banner advertising for both companies. While Microsoft will provide algorithmic search results, Yahoo! will control the presentation and personalization of results for searches on its pages. This deal is not expected to be finalised before spring 2010 and is awaiting regulatory approval. |
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Google has promoted their products in various ways. In [[London]], ''Google Space'' was set-up in [[Heathrow Airport]], showcasing several products, including Gmail, Google Earth and Picasa.<ref name="googlespace">"[http://www.google.co.uk/googlespace/ Googlespace Website]." ''Google.'' Retrieved on 26 February 2007.</ref><ref name="heathrow">Donoghue, Andrew. "[http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39237536,00.htm Google turns Heathrow into testing lab]." ''[[ZDNet]].'' 24 November 2005. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> Also, a similar page was launched for American college students, under the name ''College Life, Powered by Google.''<ref name="collegelife">"[http://services.google.com/university/ College Life, Powered by Google Website]." Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> |
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In September, Yahoo! re-launched its web portal, with hopes of boosting both traffic and revenues. The new portal is open to rivals, allowing users to integrate third-party web services like Facebook, Hotmail, Gmail, and AOL Mail into their portal. |
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In 2007, some reports surfaced that Google was planning the release of its own mobile phone, possibly a competitor to [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[iPhone]].<ref name="orlowski">Orlowski, Andrew. "[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/16/google_phone_confirmed/ Google Phone - it's for real]." ''[[The Register]].'' 16 March 2007. Retrieved on 1 April 2007.</ref><ref name="smith">Smith, David. "[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1973885,00.html The future for Orange could soon be Google in your pocket]." ''[[The Guardian]].'' 17 December 2006. Retrieved on 1 April 2007.</ref><ref name="ricker">Ricker, Thomas. "[http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/18/the-google-switch-an-iphone-killer/ The Google Switch: an iPhone killer?]." ''[[Engadget]].'' 18 January 2007. Retrieved on 1 April 2007.</ref> The project, called [[Android (mobile phone platform)|Android]], turned out not to be a phone, but an [[operating system]]. It provides a standard development kit that will allow any "Android" phone to run software developed for the Android SDK, no matter the phone manufacturer. In September 2008, [[T-Mobile]] released the first phone running the Android platform, the [[T-Mobile G1|G1]]. |
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== Products and services == |
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{{Main|List of Yahoo-owned sites and services}} |
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Yahoo! provides a wide array of internet services that cater to most online activities. It operates the web portal http://www.yahoo.com which provides content including the latest news, entertainment, and sports information, and gives users quick access to other Yahoo! services like [[Yahoo! Mail]], Yahoo! Maps, [[Yahoo! Finance]], [[Yahoo! Groups]] and [[Yahoo! Messenger]]. The majority of the product offerings are available globally in more than 20 languages. |
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[[Google Translate]] aka Google Language Tools is a server-side [[machine translation]] service, which can translate 35 different languages to each other, forming 595 language pairs. Browser extension tools (such as [[List of Firefox extensions#Google|Firefox extensions]]) allow for easy access to Google Translate from the browser. The software uses [[corpus linguistics]] techniques from translated documents, (such as [[United Nations]] documents,{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} which are professionally translated) to extract translations accurate up to 88 percent. A "suggest a better translation" feature appears with the original language text in a pop-up text field, allowing users to indicate where the current translation is incorrect or else inferior to another translation. |
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=== Storing personal information === |
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As of December 11, 2007, [[Google search|Google]] and Microsoft's [[Bing (search engine)|Bing]] "store personal information for 18 months" and Yahoo! and [[AOL]] ([[Time Warner]]) "retain search requests for 13 months".<ref>{{cite news|author=Liedtke, Michael|title=Ask.com will purge search info in hours|url=http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071211/BIZ/712110335|work=Journal Gazette|publisher=Fort Wayne Newspapers|date=December 11, 2007|accessdate=2008-08-18}}</ref> |
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On 1 September 2008, Google pre-announced the upcoming availability of [[Google Chrome]], an [[open source software|open-source]] [[web browser]],<ref>[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/fresh-take-on-browser.html Google Blog - A fresh take on the browser]</ref> which was released on 2 September 2008. |
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=== Communication === |
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Yahoo! provides internet communication services such as [[Yahoo! Mail]] and [[Yahoo! Messenger]], Yahoo! Mail is the largest e-mail service in the world with almost half the market share.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo_Tops_Google_In_Mail,_News,_Finance|url=http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2006/05/20/yahoo-tops-google-in-mail-news-finance|publisher=webpronews.com|accessdate=2008-02-17}}</ref> In March, 2007, Yahoo! announced that their email service will offer unlimited storage beginning May 2007.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo! Mail goes to infinity and beyond|url=http://ycorpblog.com/2007/03/27/yahoo-mail-goes-to-infinity-and-beyond/|publisher=yodel.yahoo.com|accessdate=2008-02-21}}</ref> |
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On 7 July 2009, Google announced the project to develop [[Google Chrome OS]], an [[open source software|open-source]] [[Linux|Linux-based]] [[Operating System|operating system]] in a "window of opportunity"<ref>[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html Google Blog - Introducing the Google Chrome OS]</ref><ref>, [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-google9-2009jul09,0,1825716.story Google sees window of opportunity to launch operating system], ''Los Angeles Times'', July 9, 2009</ref>. |
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Yahoo! Mail premium service MailPlus provides additional functionality including POP/SMTP access to Yahoo! Mail accounts, although such functionality is already provided for free by Yahoo! competitor [[Gmail]]. Some MailPlus subscribers have reported difficulties in successfully cancelling their Mailplus (automatically renewed and paid by credit card) subscriptions. Although other areas of the Mailplus web interface appear to function correctly, a blank page appears when users select "cancel service" from the list of options to manage the service. It is unknown whether this error has been an accidental oversight by Yahoo! programmers, or a deliberate attempt to retain Mailplus subscription cash flows as long as possible. |
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===Gmail=== |
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Yahoo! also offers social networking services and user-generated content in products such as My Web, [[Yahoo! Personals]], [[Yahoo! 360°]], [[Delicious (website)|Delicious]], [[Flickr]], and [[Yahoo! Buzz]]. |
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{{main|Gmail}} |
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Gmail is a free webmail, [[POP3]] and [[IMAP]] service provided by Google. In the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Germany]], it is officially called Google Mail. |
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Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007. As of July 2009 it has 146 million users monthly. The service was upgraded from beta status on July 7, 2009, along with the rest of the Google Apps suite. |
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Yahoo! Photos was shut down on September 20, 2007 in favor of Flickr. On October 16, 2007, Yahoo! announced that they will no longer provide support or perform bug fixes on Yahoo! 360° as they intend to abandon it in early 2008 in favor of a "universal profile" that will be similar to their Mash experimental system.<ref>{{citeweb|title=The Evolution of Yahoo! 360|url=http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-1qCkw2Ehaak.hdNZkEAzDrpa4Q--?cq=1&p=49226|publisher=blog.360.yahoo.com|accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> |
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With an initial storage capacity offer of 1 GB per user, Gmail significantly increased the webmail standard for free storage from the 2 to 4MB its competitors offered at that time. The service currently offers over 7350 MB of free storage with additional storage ranging from 10 GB to 400 GB available for $20 to $500 (US) per year. |
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=== Content === |
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Yahoo! partners with hundreds of premier content providers in products such as [[Yahoo! Sports]], [[Yahoo! Finance]], [[Yahoo! Music]], [[Yahoo! Movies]], [[Yahoo! News]], [[Yahoo! Answers]] and [[Yahoo! Games]] to provide media contents and news. Yahoo! also provides a personalization service, My Yahoo!, which enables users to collect their favorite Yahoo! features, content feeds, and information into a single page. |
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In February 2006, Google released Gmail Chat, using the same tools used in Google Talk. |
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On March 31, 2008 Yahoo! launched web portal ''shine.yahoo.com'' another Yahoo! property dedicated to women between the ages of 25 and 54. Yahoo! called this demographic underserved by current Yahoo! properties. |
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Gmail has a search-oriented interface and a "conversation view" similar to an Internet forum. Software developers know Gmail for its pioneering use of the Ajax programming technique. |
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=== Co-branded Internet services === |
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Yahoo! has developed partnerships with different broadband providers such as [[AT&T]] (via [[BellSouth]] & [[SBC Communications|SBC]]), [[Verizon Communications]], [[Rogers Communications]] and [[British Telecom]], offering a range of free and premium Yahoo! content and services to subscribers. |
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Gmail runs on Google Servlet Engine and Google GFE/1.3 which run on Linux. |
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=== Mobile === |
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[[Yahoo! Mobile]] includes services for on-the-go messaging, such as email, instant messaging, and [[mobile blogging]]; information, such as search and alerts; and fun and games, including ring tones, mobile games, and Yahoo! Photos for camera phones. These require software to be installed on the user's device. |
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=== |
===Enterprise products=== |
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Google entered the enterprise market in February 2002 with the launch of its [[Google Search Appliance]], targeted toward providing search technology to larger organizations.<ref>[http://www.google.com/corporate/history.html Google - Corporate Information]</ref> Providing search for a smaller document repository, Google launched the [[Google Mini|Mini]] in 2005. |
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Yahoo! introduced its Internet search system, called oneSearch, developed for mobile phones on March 20, 2007. The company's officials stated that in distinction from ordinary Web searches, Yahoo!'s new service presents a list of actual information, which may include: news headlines, images from Yahoo!'s Flickr photos site, business listings, local weather and links to other sites. Instead of showing only, for example, popular movies or some critical reviews, oneSearch lists local theaters that at the moment are playing a certain movie, user ratings and news headlines regarding the movie. A zip code or city name is required for Yahoo! oneSearch to start delivering local search results. |
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Late in 2006, Google began to sell [[Custom Search Business Edition]], providing customers with an advertising-free window into [[Google Search|Google.com]]'s index.<ref name="csbe2gss">[http://searchengineland.com/080603-095027.php Search Engine Land - Google Rebrands Custom Search "Business Edition" as "Google Site Search"]</ref> In 2008, Google re-branded its next version of Custom Search Business Edition as Google Site Search.<ref name="csbe2gss" /> |
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The results of a Web search are listed on a single page and are prioritized into categories. The list of results is based on calculations that Yahoo! computers make on certain information the user is seeking.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo Gets Ahead of Google in the Mobile Search Market|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20071224203041/http://www.usb4ever.com/yahoo-gets-ahead-of-google-p.html|publisher=2008-02-21}}</ref> |
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In 2007, Google launched [[Google Apps|Google Apps Premier Edition]], a version of Google Apps targeted primarily at the business user. It includes such extras as more disk space for e-mail, API access, and premium support, for a price of $50 per user per year. A large implementation of Google Apps with 38,000 users is at [[Lakehead University]] in [[Thunder Bay]], Ontario, Canada.<ref name="rickwood">Rickwood, Lee. "[http://www.pcworld.ca:80/news/column/8088b6470a01040800f483b40707b39a/pg1.htm Google Apps: Killer software or killer decision?]." ''[http://www.pcworld.ca/ PCWorld.ca].'' 23 March 2007. Retrieved on 25 March 2007.</ref> |
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Yahoo! has announced they also plan to adopt [[Novarra]]'s mobile content transcoding service for the [[oneSearch]] platform.<ref>{{cite web|title=Novarra to transcode for Yahoo's oneSearch|url=http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070724/SUB/70724007/1012/webcast|publisher=rcrnews.com|accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref> |
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Also in 2007, Google acquired [[Postini]]<ref>[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/weve-officially-acquired-postini.html The Official Google Blog - We've Officially Acquired Postini]</ref> and continued to sell the acquired technology<ref>[http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/apps_postini_20071003.html Google Press Center - Google Adds Postini's Security and Compliance Capabilities to Google Apps]</ref> as [[Google Security Services]].<ref>[http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/security/index.html Google - Google Security Services]</ref> |
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=== Commerce === |
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Yahoo! offers commerce services such as [[Yahoo! Shopping]], Yahoo! Autos, [[Yahoo! Real Estate]] and [[Yahoo! Travel]], which enables users to gather relevant information and make commercial transactions and purchases online. In addition, Yahoo! offers an e-commerce platform called Yahoo! Merchant Solutions (also known as Yahoo! Store) and hosts more Top 500 internet retailers than any other hosted e-commerce solution. Yahoo! Auctions were discontinued in 2007 except for Asia.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo to close North American auction site|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18578841/|publisher=msnbc.com|accessdate=2008-10-28}}</ref> |
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==Platform== |
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=== Small business === |
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{{main|Google platform}} |
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Yahoo! provides services such as Yahoo! Domains, Yahoo! Web Hosting, Yahoo! Merchant Solutions, Yahoo! Business Email, and Yahoo! Store to small business owners and professionals allowing them to build their own online stores using Yahoo!'s tools. |
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Google runs its services on several [[server farm]]s, each comprising thousands of low-cost commodity computers running stripped-down versions of [[Linux]]. While the company divulges no details of its hardware, a 2006 estimate cites 450,000 servers, ''"racked up in clusters at data centers around the world."''<ref name="howgoogleworks">Carr, David F. "[http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Projects-Networks-and-Storage/How-Google-Works-%5B1%5D/ How Google Works]." ''[http://www.baselinemag.com/ Baseline Magazine].'' 6 July 2006. Retrieved on 7 February 2008.</ref> The company has about 24 server farms around the world of various configurations. The farm in [[The Dalles, Oregon]] is powered by hydroelectricity at about 50 megawatts.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Google’s Green Agenda Could Pay Off |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/technology/internet/28google.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |quote=Still, a picture of the scale of its data center operations has emerged through various reports. The company is believed to have about two dozen data centers around the world of various sizes. Some, like the one it built in The Dalles, Ore., which is largely powered by hydroelectricity, are among the largest in the industry. Two people familiar with that facility, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that it was operating at about 50 megawatts—enough to power 37,500 homes—but was built to handle even more capacity. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=October 27, 2008 |accessdate=2008-10-30 }}</ref> |
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==Corporate affairs and culture== |
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Yahoo! also offers HotJobs to help recruiters find the talent they seek. |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Googler2-non.jpg|thumb|A [[Vehicle registration plate|license plate]] seen in the Googleplex parking lot.|{{ifdc|1=Image:Googler2-non.jpg|log=2008 29 April}}]] --> |
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[[Image:Schmidt-Brin-Page-20080520.jpg|thumb|left|Left to right, [[Eric E. Schmidt]], [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]]]] |
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Google is known for its informal corporate culture, of which its playful variations on [[Google logo#History of the Google Doodle|its own corporate logo]] are an indicator. In 2007 and 2008, ''[[Fortune Magazine]]'' placed Google at the top of its list of the hundred best places to work.<ref name="best_company">"[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/full_list/ 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007]." ''[[Fortune Magazine]] (link published by [[CNN]]).'' 22 January 2007. Retrieved on 8 January 2007.</ref> Google's corporate philosophy embodies such casual principles as "you can make money without doing evil," "you can be serious without a suit," and "work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun."<ref>"[http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html Google Corporate Philosophy]." ''Google''. Retrieved on 31 August 2006.</ref> |
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Google has been criticized for having salaries below industry standards.<ref>"[http://www.mydanwei.com/query_salary.php?t_salary=google&type=salary&order_by=DATE_DESC Google Employee Salaries Data Survey] —Retrieved from mydanwei.com</ref> For example, some [[system administrator]]s earn no more than $35,000 per year – considered to be quite low for the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] job market.<ref name="salaries">Penenberg, Adam L. "[http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/04/67287 Why Google Is Like Wal-Mart]." ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]].'' 21 April 2005. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> However, Google's stock performance following its [[Initial public offering|IPO]] has enabled many early employees to be competitively compensated by participation in the corporation's remarkable equity growth.<ref name="shinalj">Shinal, John. "[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/22/BUGCL8BS201.DTL Google IPO achieved its major goal: It's all about raising cash for the company and rewarding employees, early investors]." ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]].'' 22 August 2004. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.</ref> |
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=== Advertising === |
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[[Yahoo! Search Marketing]] provides services such as Sponsored Search, Local Advertising, and Product/Travel/Directory Submit that let different businesses advertise their products and services on the Yahoo! network. |
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[[Yahoo! Publisher Network]] is an advertising tool for online publishers to place advertisements relevant to their content to monetize their websites.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Company Overview|url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/overview.cfm|publisher=shareholder.com|accessdate=2008-02-21}}</ref> |
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After the company's [[IPO]] in August 2004, it was reported that founders [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]], and CEO [[Eric E. Schmidt|Eric Schmidt]], requested that their base salary be cut to $1.<ref name="topsalaries">La Monica, Paul R. "[http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/31/technology/google/index.htm Google leaders stick with $1 salary]." ''[[CNN]].'' 31 March 2006. Retrieved on 28 February 2007.</ref> Subsequent offers by the company to increase their salaries have been turned down, primarily because, "their primary compensation continues to come from returns on their ownership stakes in Google. As significant stockholders, their personal wealth is tied directly to sustained stock price appreciation and performance, which provides direct alignment with stockholder interests."<ref name="topsalaries" /> Prior to 2004, Schmidt was making $250,000 per year, and Page and Brin each earned a salary of $150,000.{{Dubious|date=May 2009}}<!--this is salary only, you have to count in stock options--><ref name="topsalaries" /> |
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Yahoo! launched its new Internet advertisement sales system on February 5, 2007 called [[Panama (ad system)|Panama]]. It allows [[advertising|advertisers]] to bid for search terms based on their popularity to display their ads on search results pages. The system takes bids, ad quality, [[click-through rate]]s and other factors into consideration in determining how ads are ranked on search results pages. Through Panama, Yahoo! aims to provide more relevant search results to users, a better overall experience, as well as increase monetization—to earn more from the ads it shows.<ref>{{citeweb|title=New Panama Ranking System For Yahoo Ads Launches Today|url=http://searchengineland.com/070205-090623.php|publisher=searchengineland.com|accessdate=2008-02-21}}</ref> |
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They have all declined recent offers of bonuses and increases in compensation by Google's board of directors. In a 2007 report of the United States' richest people, [[Forbes]] reported that [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]] were tied for #5 with a net worth of $18.5 billion each.<ref>"[http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/54/richlist07_The-400-Richest-Americans_FinalWorth.html The 400 Richest Americans]." ''[[Forbes]].'' 20 September 2007. Retrieved on 22 September 2007.</ref> |
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On April 7, 2008, Yahoo! announced [[Yahoo! AMP!]], an online advertising management platform.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo! Previews Powerful New Online Advertising Management Platform|url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=303352|publisher=''Yahoo''|accessdate=2008-05-31}}</ref> The platform seeks to simplify advertising sales by unifying buyer and seller markets. The service is scheduled for release in quarter 3 of 2008. |
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In 2007 and through early 2008, Google has seen the departure of several top executives. Gideon Yu, former chief financial officer of [[YouTube]], a Google unit, joined [[Facebook]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://venturebeat.com/2008/03/04/facebook-hires-sheryl-sandberg-to-be-its-new-coo/|title="Another Googler goes to Facebook: Sheryl Sandburg becomes new COO"|publisher=Venture Beat|date=2008-03-04|accessdate=2008-03-31}}</ref> along with Benjamin Ling, a high-ranking engineer, who left in October 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/04/news/newsmakers/moritz_google_exec.fortune/|title="Top Google exec jumps to Facebook"|publisher=Fortune|date=2008-03-04|accessdate=2008-03-31}}</ref> In March 2008, two senior Google leaders announced their desire to pursue other opportunities. Sheryl Sandburg, ex-VP of global online sales and operations began her position as COO of [[Facebook]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/04/AR2008030402766.html|title="Facebook Raids Google for Executive"|publisher=Washington Post|date=2008-03-05|accessdate=2008-03-31}}</ref> while Ash ElDifrawi, former head of brand advertising, left to become CMO of [[Netshops]] Inc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/|title="Netshops Inc. Appoints Ash ElDifrawi as Company's First Chief Marketing Officer"|publisher=PR Newswire|date=2008-03-26|accessdate=2008-03-31}}</ref> |
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=== Yahoo! Next === |
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[[Yahoo! Next]] is an incubation ground for future Yahoo! technologies currently in their beta testing phase. It contains [[Internet forum|forums]] for Yahoo! users to give feedback to assist in the development of these future Yahoo! technologies. it was created by Jerry Page and David Shin |
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Google's persistent [[HTTP cookie|cookie]] and other information collection practices have led to concerns over user [[Google and privacy issues|privacy]]. As of 11 December 2007, Google, like the [[Microsoft]] search engine, stores "personal information for 18 months" and by comparison, [[AOL]] ([[Time Warner]]) "retain[s] search requests for 13 months"<ref>{{cite news|author=Liedtke, Michael|title=Ask.com will purge search info in hours|url=http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071211/BIZ/712110335|work=Journal Gazette|publisher=Fort Wayne Newspapers|date=11 December 2007|accessdate=2007-12-11}}</ref>, and [[Yahoo!]] 90 days.<ref>http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/18/business/fi-yahoo18</ref> |
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=== Yahoo! BOSS === |
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Yahoo! Search BOSS is a new service that allows developers to build search applications based on Yahoo!'s search technology.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080400733.html Yahoo Boss Is So Open, It Runs on Google's App Engine - washingtonpost.com]</ref> Early Partners in the program include [[Hakia]], [[Me.dium]], [[Delver (Social Search)|Delver]], [[Daylife]] and [[Yebol]].<ref>[http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleId=49963 Yahoo! Expands Its Open Strategy With BOSS]</ref> |
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U.S. District Court Judge [[Louis Stanton]], on July 1, 2008 ordered Google to give [[YouTube]] user data / log to [[Viacom]] to support its case in a billion-dollar [[copyright]] lawsuit against Google.<ref>[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gvFPgT3MNrzaN7r-Y37eFI-qv4bA Afp.google.com, Judge orders Google to give YouTube user data to Viacom]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7488009.stm bbc.co.uk, Google must divulge YouTube log]</ref> Google and [[Viacom]], however, on July 14, 2008, agreed in [[compromise]] to protect [[YouTube]] users' personal data in the $1 billion copyright lawsuit. Google agreed it will make user information and Internet protocol addresses from its YouTube subsidiary anonymous before handing over the data to Viacom. The privacy deal also applied to other litigants including the [[FA Premier League]], the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation and the [[Scottish Premier League]].<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSP21085220080715 reuters.com, Lawyers in YouTube lawsuit reach user privacy deal]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/15/googlethemedia.digitalmedia?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront guardian.co.uk/media, Google and Viacom reach deal over YouTube user data]</ref> The deal however did not extend the anonymity to employees, since Viacom would prove that Google staff are aware of uploading of illegal material to the site. The parties therefore will further meet on the matter lest the data be made available to the court.<ref>[http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/831528/Viacom-backs-down-YouTube-lawsuit/ brandrepublic.com, Viacom backs down over YouTube lawsuit]</ref> |
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== Revenue model == |
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About 88% of total revenues for the fiscal year 2006 came from marketing services. The largest segment of it comes from search advertising, where advertisers bid for search terms to display their ads on the search results, on average Yahoo! makes 2.5 cents to 3 cents from each search. With the new search advertising system "Panama" Yahoo! aims to increase revenue generated from search.<ref>{{citeweb|title=A Long-Delayed Ad System Has Yahoo Crossing Its Fingers|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/technology/05yahoo.html?ex=1328331600&en=7c66de3983c44830&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss|publisher=nytimes.com|accessdate=2008-02-21}}</ref> |
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===Googleplex=== |
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Other forms of advertising which bring in revenue for Yahoo! include display and contextual advertising. |
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[[Image:Googleplexsouthsidesecondangle.jpg|thumb|right|The Googleplex]] |
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{{main|Googleplex}} |
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Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, is referred to as "the [[Googleplex]]" in a play of words; a [[googolplex]] being 10<sup>10<sup>100</sup></sup>, or a one followed by a [[googol]] of zeros, and the HQ being a complex of buildings (cf. [[movie theater|multiplex]], cineplex, etc). The lobby is decorated with a [[piano]], [[lava lamps]], old server clusters, and a projection of search queries on the wall. The hallways are full of exercise balls and [[bicycle]]s. Each employee has access to the corporate recreation center. Recreational amenities are scattered throughout the campus and include a workout room with weights and rowing machines, locker rooms, washers and dryers, a massage room, assorted [[video game]]s, [[foosball]], a [[piano|baby grand piano]], a [[billiard table|pool table]], and [[ping pong]]. In addition to the [[Recreation room|rec room]], there are snack rooms stocked with various foods and drinks.<ref>"[http://www.google.com/corporate/culture.html About the Googleplex]." ''Google''. Retrieved on 5 March 2008.</ref> |
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[[Image:Googleplex Welcome Sign.jpg|thumb|left|Sign at the Googleplex]] |
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In 2006, Google moved into {{convert|311000|sqft|m2|-2}} of office space in [[New York City]], at 111 [[Eighth Avenue|Eighth Ave.]] in Manhattan.<ref name="manhattan">Reardon, Marguerite. "[http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-6121970.html Google takes a bigger bite of Big Apple]." ''[http://www.cnet.com/ c net].'' 2 October 2006. Retrieved on 9 October 2006.</ref> The office was specially designed and built for Google and houses its largest advertising sales team, which has been instrumental in securing large partnerships, most recently deals with [[MySpace]] and [[AOL]].<ref name="manhattan" /> In 2003, they added an engineering staff in New York City, which has been responsible for more than 100 engineering projects, including [[Google Maps]], [[Google Spreadsheet]]s, and others.<ref name="manhattan" /> It is estimated that the building costs Google $10 million per year to rent and is similar in design and functionality to its [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]] headquarters, including [[foosball]], [[air hockey]], and ping-pong tables, as well as a video game area.<ref name="manhattan" /> In November 2006, Google opened offices on [[Carnegie Mellon]]'s campus in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/technology/10346550/detail.html | title = Google Completes Pittsburgh Office, Holds Open House | date = 17 November 2006 | accessdate = 2008-01-13 | work = [[WTAE]] ThePittsburghChannel }}</ref> By late 2006, Google also established a new headquarters for its AdWords division in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202600809| title=Inside Google's Michigan Office| date=24 October 2007| publisher=[[InformationWeek]]}}</ref> |
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Working with [[comScore]], ''[[The New York Times]]'' found that Yahoo! is able to collect far more data about Web users than its competitors from its Web sites and its advertising network. By one measure, on average Yahoo! had the potential in December 2007 to build a profile of 2,500 records per month about each of its visitors.<ref>{{cite news|author=Story, Louise and comScore|title=They Know More Than You Think|url=http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/03/10/technology/20080310_PRIVACY_GRAPHIC.html|format=JPEG|date=March 10, 2008}} in {{cite news|author=Story, Louise|title=To Aim Ads, Web Is Keeping Closer Eye on You|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/technology/10privacy.html|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Company|date=March 10, 2008|accessdate=2008-03-09}}</ref> |
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Google is taking steps to ensure that their operations are environmentally sound. In October 2006, the company announced plans to install thousands of [[Photovoltaic module|solar panels]] to provide up to 1.6 [[megawatt]]s of [[electricity]], enough to satisfy approximately 30% of the campus' energy needs.<ref name="solar">Richmond, Riva. "[http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B630082C7-5370-46C2-8041-FC3FCA28CA16%7D Google plans to build huge solar energy system for headquarters]." ''[http://www.marketwatch.com/ MarketWatch].'' 17 October 2006. Retrieved on 17 October 2006.</ref> The system will be the largest solar power system constructed on a U.S. corporate campus and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world.<ref name="solar" /> Google has faced accusations in [[Harper's Magazine]]<ref>Strand, Ginger. "[http://www.harpers.org/media/slideshow/annot/2008-03/index.html Keyword: Evil]." Retrieved on 2008-04-09.</ref> of being extremely excessive with their energy usage, and were accused of employing their "[[Don't be evil]]" motto as well as their very public energy saving campaigns as means of trying to cover up or make up for the massive amounts of energy their servers actually require. |
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== Criticism and controversy == |
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===Nazi memorabilia controversy=== |
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In 2009 Google announced it was deploying herds of goats to keep grassland around the Googleplex short, helping to prevent the threat from seasonal bush fires while also reducing the carbon footprint of mowing the extensive grounds.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/mowing-with-goats.html | title=Official Google Blog: Mowing with goats| date=01 May 2009| publisher=Google}}</ref><ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/04/AR2009050400027.html</ref> |
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In 2000 Yahoo! was taken to court in France by parties seeking to prevent French citizens from purchasing memorabilia relating to the Nazi Party. Yahoo! France had already instituted policies preventing the sale of Nazi memorabilia on its site, and prohibiting Nazi-based discussions on its message boards, but the parties sought to have Yahoo! introduce censorship technology to block French citizens from accessing similar material on Yahoo! websites in countries where local laws permitted Nazi related auctions/discussions.<ref name=yahoonazi1>Warner, Bernhard, "[http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/82311/yahoo_has_tough_day_french_court Yahoo Has Tough Day in French Court], 2000/11/08</ref> |
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===Innovation Time Off=== |
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=== Yahoo! paid inclusion controversy === |
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As a motivation technique (usually called Innovation Time Off), all Google engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time (one day per week) on projects that interest them. Some of Google's newer services, such as [[Gmail]], [[Google News]], [[Orkut]], and [[AdSense]] originated from these independent endeavors.<ref>"[http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=about.html What's it like to work in Engineering, Operations, & IT?]." ''Google.'' Retrieved on 2 August 2006.</ref> In a talk at [[Stanford University]], [[Marissa Mayer]], Google's Vice President of Search Products and User Experience, stated that her analysis showed that 50% of the new product launches originated from the 20% time.<ref>Mayer, Marissa. "[http://stanford-online.stanford.edu/courses/msande472/060517-msande472-300.asx MS&E 472 Course: Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar Series]." (video link; an [http://www.stanford.edu/group/edcorner/uploads/podcast/mayer060517.mp3 audio podcast] is also available in [[MP3]] format). ''[http://etl.stanford.edu/ ETL Seminar Series]/[[Stanford University]].'' 17 May 2006. Retrieved on 2 August 2006.</ref> |
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In [[March 2004]], Yahoo! launched a paid inclusion program whereby commercial websites are guaranteed listings on the Yahoo! search engine after payment.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo! Introduces Paid-Inclusion Program|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070927213149/http://www.adweek.com/aw/iq_interactive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000451392|publisher=adweek.com|accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> This scheme is lucrative, but has proved unpopular both with website marketers (who are reluctant to pay), and the public (who are unhappy about the paid-for listings being indistinguishable from other search results).<ref>{{citeweb|title=Paid Inclusion Losing Charm?|url=http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2004/07/64092|publisher=wired.com|accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref> As of [[October 2006]], Paid Inclusion doesn't guarantee any commercial listing, it only helps the paid inclusion customers, by crawling their site more often and by providing some statistics on the searches that led to the page and some additional smart links (provided by customers as feeds) below the actual url. |
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=== |
===Easter eggs and April Fool's Day jokes=== |
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{{main|Google's hoaxes}} |
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Yahoo! has also been criticized for providing ads via the Yahoo ad network to companies who display them through [[spyware]] and [[adware]] which display on-screen pop-ups, generated from adware that a user may have installed on their computer without realizing it, sometimes by accepting online offers to download software to fix computer clocks or improve computer security, add browser enhancements, etc. As an example, users who have allowed their machine to become infected with spyware will see advertising pop-ups generated from advertising distributor [[Walnut Ventures]], who had a direct partnership with [[Direct Revenue]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo's Pop-Up Connection|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_29/b3993005.htm|publisher=businessweek.com|accessdate=2008-02-22}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo's Adware Counterattack|url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2005/tc20051116_941267.htm|publisher=businessweek.com|accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref> |
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Google has a tradition of creating [[April Fool's Day]] jokes—such as [[Google's hoaxes#2000|Google MentalPlex]], which allegedly featured the use of mental power to search the web.<ref name="mentalplex">"[http://www.google.com/mentalplex/ Google MentalPlex]." ''Google.'' 1 April 2000. Retrieved on 22 February 2007.</ref> In 2002, they claimed that [[pigeons]] were the [[Google's hoaxes#2002: Pigeon Rank|secret]] behind their growing [[search engine]].<ref name="pigeonrank">"[http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html The technology behind Google's great results]." ''Google.'' 1 April 2002. Retrieved on 22 February 2007.</ref> In 2004, they featured [[Google's hoaxes#2004: Google Lunar/Copernicus Center|Google Lunar]] (which claimed to feature jobs on the [[moon]]),<ref name="copernicus">"[http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html Google Copernicus Center is hiring]." ''Google.'' 1 April 2004. Retrieved on 22 February 2007.</ref> and in 2005, a [[fiction|fictitious]] brain-boosting drink, termed [[Google's hoaxes#2005: Google Gulp|Google Gulp]] was announced.<ref name="gulp">"[http://www.google.com/googlegulp/ Quench your thirst for knowledge]." ''Google.'' 1 April 2005. Retrieved on 22 February 2007.</ref> In 2006, they came up with [[Google's hoaxes#2006: Google Romance|Google Romance]], a hypothetical [[online dating]] service.<ref name="romance">Fox, Lynn. "[http://www.google.com/romance/press.html Google to Organize World's Courtship Information with Google Romance]." ''Google.'' 1 April 2006. Retrieved on 22 February 2007.</ref> In 2007, Google announced two joke products. The first was a free wireless Internet service called [[TiSP]] (Toilet Internet Service Provider)<ref name="TiSP">"[http://www.google.com/tisp/ Welcome to Google TiSP]." ''Google.'' 1 April 2007. Retrieved on 1 April 2007.</ref> in which one obtained a connection by flushing one end of a [[fiber-optic]] cable down their toilet and waiting only an hour for a "Plumbing Hardware Dispatcher (PHD)" to connect it to the Internet.<ref name="TiSP"/> Additionally, Google's [[Gmail]] page displayed an announcement for [[Gmail Paper]], which allows users of their free email service to have email messages printed and shipped to a snail mail address.<ref name="gmail_paper">"[http://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/more.html Gmail Paper]." ''Google.'' 1 April 2007. Retrieved on 1 April 2007.</ref> |
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Google's services contain a number of [[Easter egg (virtual)|Easter eggs]]; for instance, the Language Tools page offers the search interface in the [[Swedish Chef]]'s "Bork bork bork," [[Pig Latin]], "Hacker" (actually [[leetspeak]]), [[Elmer Fudd]], and [[Klingon language|Klingon]].<ref>"[http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en Language Tools]." ''Google.'' Retrieved on 24 January 2007.</ref> <!--When asked how to get from a location in the U.S. to a location in Europe (or vice versa), Google Maps will provide directions that include an instruction to "Swim across the Atlantic Ocean."<ref name="atlantic">"[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=North+America&daddr=Germany Google Maps]." ''Google.'' Retrieved on 2 May 2007.</ref>--> In addition, the search engine calculator provides the [[Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything]] from [[Douglas Adams]]' ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''.<ref>"[http://www.google.com/search?q=answer+to+life+the+universe+and+everything Google Search Results for 'answer to life the universe and everything']." ''Google.'' Retrieved on 24 January 2007.</ref> As Google’s search box can be used as a unit converter (as well as a calculator), some non-standard units are built in, such as the [[Smoot]]. A newly discovered easter egg is the spell-checker's result for the properly spelled word "recursion". The spell-checker built into Google search returns "Did you mean: recursion?" in a recursive link back to the same page.<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?q=recursion Google results for "recursion"]</ref> Google also routinely modifies its logo in accordance with various holidays or special events throughout the year, such as [[Christmas]], [[Mother's Day]], or the [[birthday]]s of various notable individuals.<ref name="google_holiday">"[http://www.google.com/intl/en/holidaylogos.html Holiday logos]." ''Google''. Retrieved on 21 May 2007.</ref> Other logo switches are based on search terms. For instance, if the term "[[ASCII art]]" is searched, an ASCII art version of the Google logo will appear next to the search box.<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ascii+art&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi= Google search results for "ascii art"]</ref> |
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=== Work in the People's Republic of China === |
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{{rquote|right|''While technologically and financially you [Yahoo] are giants, morally you are pygmies''<ref name=dana>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo in the dock|last= Milbank|first=Dana|authorlink=Dana Milbank|date=2007-11-08|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=20&art_id=56465&sid=16183142&con_type=3&d_str=20071108&sear_year=2007|work=[[The Washington Post]]|publisher=[[The Standard]]|accessdate=2008-02-23}}</ref>|[[Tom Lantos]], chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (2007)}} |
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Yahoo!, along with [[Google China]], [[Microsoft]], [[Cisco Systems]], [[AOL]], [[Skype]], [[Nortel]] and others, has cooperated with the [[Communist Party of China|Chinese government]] in implementing a system of [[Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China|internet censorship in mainland China]]. |
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===IPO and culture=== |
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Unlike [[Google]] or [[Microsoft]], which keep confidential records of its users outside mainland China, Yahoo! stated that the company will not protect the privacy and confidentiality of its Chinese customers from the authorities.<ref>Gunther, Marc. [http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/15/news/international/pluggedin_fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes Tech execs get grilled over mainland China business: Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Cisco, facing attack in Congress, say they're doing more good than harm in China]." ''[[CNN]].'' February 16, 2006.</ref> |
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Many people speculated that Google's [[initial public offering|IPO]] would inevitably lead to changes in the company's culture,<ref>[[Associated Press]]. "[http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2004/04/63241 Quirky Google Culture Endangered?]" ''[[Wired Magazine]].'' 28 April 2004.</ref> because of shareholder pressure for employee benefit reductions and short-term advances, or because a large number of the company's employees would suddenly become millionaires on paper. In a report given to potential investors, co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page promised that the IPO would not change the company's culture.<ref>Baertlein, Lisa. "[http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2004/104043001.asp Google IPO at $2.7 billion]." ''CIOL IT Unlimited.'' 30 April 2004.</ref> Later Mr. Page said, "We think a lot about how to maintain our culture and the fun elements. We spent a lot of time getting our offices right. We think it's important to have a high density of people. People are packed together everywhere. We all share offices. We like this set of buildings because it's more like a densely packed university campus than a typical suburban office park."<ref name="davidvise">Vise, David A. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6742-2004Aug16.html Tactics of 'Google Guys' Test IPO Law's Limits]." ''[[Washington Post]].'' 17 August 2004. Retrieved on 23 February 2007.</ref> |
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However, many analysts{{Who|February 2009|date=March 2009}} are finding that as Google grows, the company is becoming more "corporate". In 2005, articles in ''[[The New York Times]]'' and other sources began suggesting that Google had lost its anti-corporate, no evil philosophy.<ref>Rivlin, Gary. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/technology/24valley.html Relax, Bill Gates; It's Google's Turn as the Villain]." ''[[New York Times]].'' 24 August 2005.</ref><ref>Gibson, Owen; Wray, Richard. "[http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/search-giant-may-outgrow-its-fans/2005/08/25/1124562975596.html3001.asp Search giant may outgrow its fans]." ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]].'' 25 August 2005.</ref><ref>Ranka, Mohit. "[http://www.osnews.com/story.php/17928/Google--Dont-Be-Evil Google - Don't Be Evil]."''[[OSNews]].'' 17 May 2007.</ref> |
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Human rights advocates such as [[Human Rights Watch]] and media groups such as [[Reporters Without Borders]] state that it is "ironic that companies whose existence depends on freedom of information and expression have taken on the role of censor."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/09/china13940.htm|title=China: Internet Companies Aid Censorship|accessdate=2007-02-06}}</ref> |
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In an effort to maintain the company's unique culture, Google has designated a Chief Culture Officer in 2006, who also serves as the Director of Human Resources. The purpose of the Chief Culture Officer is to develop and maintain the culture and work on ways to keep true to the core values that the company was founded on in the beginning—a flat organization with a collaborative environment.<ref name="CCO">Mills, Elinor. "[http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/software/soa/Meet-Google-s-culture-czar/0,139023769,339275147,00.htm Meet Google's culture czar]." ''[[ZDNet]].'' 30 April 2007. Retrieved on 30 April 2007.</ref> |
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Google has faced allegations of [[sexism]] and [[ageism]] from former employees.<ref>Kawamoto, Dawn. "[http://news.com.com/Google+hit+with+job+discrimination+lawsuit/2100-1030_3-5807158.html?tag=nl Google hit with job discrimination lawsuit]." ''[http://www.news.com/ c|net news.com].'' 27 July 2005.</ref><ref>Staff Writer. "[http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071006/google_old_071006/20071006 Google accused of ageism in reinstated lawsuit]." ''[[CTV Television Network|CTV]].'' 6 October 2007. Retrieved on 5 April 2008.</ref> |
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==== Imprisonment of Chinese dissidents ==== |
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===== Shi Tao ===== |
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{{Main|Shi Tao}} |
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In September 2005, Reporters Without Borders reported the following story. In [[April 2005]], [[Shi Tao]], a journalist working for a Chinese newspaper, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the [[Changsha]] Intermediate People's Court of [[Hunan Province]], [[China]] (First trial case no. 29), for "providing state secrets to foreign entities". The "secrets" were a brief list of censorship orders he sent from a Yahoo! Mail account to the Asia [[Democracy]] Forum before the anniversary of the [[Tiananmen Square Incident]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=Jailed Chinese Journalist Wins WAN Golden Pen of Freedom|url=http://www.wmd.org/democracynews/dec06.html|publisher=wmd.org|accessdate=2008-02-23}}</ref> |
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===Philanthropy=== |
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The [http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Verdict_Shi_Tao.pdf verdict as published by the Chinese government] stated the following. Shi Tao had sent the email through an anonymous Yahoo! account. Yahoo! Holdings (the Hong Kong subsidiary of Yahoo) told the Chinese government that the IP address used to send the email was registered by the [[Hunan]] newspaper that Shi Tao worked for. Police went straight to his offices and picked him up. |
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{{main|Google.org}} |
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In 2004, Google formed a not for-profit philanthropic wing, [[Google.org]], with a start-up fund of $1 billion.<ref name="philanthropy">"[http://www.google.org/about.html About the Foundation]." ''[[Google.org]].'' Retrieved on 11 October 2007.</ref> The express mission of the organization is to create awareness about [[climate change]], global public health, and [[global poverty]]. One of its first projects is to develop a viable [[plug-in hybrid]] [[electric vehicle]] that can attain 100 [[fuel economy in automobiles|mpg]]. The founder is Dr [[Larry Brilliant]]<ref>Hafner, Katie. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/technology/14google.html Philanthropy Google’s Way: Not the Usual]." ''[[The New York Times]].'' 14 September 2006. Retrieved on 11 October 2007.</ref> and the current director is Megan Smith.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/technology/companies/24google.html?_r=1&ref=business Google Chief for Charity Steps Down on Revamp ]</ref> |
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In 2008 Google announced its "project 10^100" which accepted ideas for how to help the community and then will allow Google users to vote on their favorites.<ref>[http://www.project10tothe100.com Project 10 to the 100th]</ref> |
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In [[February 2006]], Yahoo! General Counsel submitted a statement to the U.S. Congress in which Yahoo! denied knowing the true nature of the case against Shi Tao.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo's Statement before the U.S. Congress|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/business/YahooStatement.pdf|publisher=nytimes.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> In April 2006, Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) was investigated by [[Hong Kong]]'s Privacy Commissioner for [[Personally identifiable information|Personal Data]]. |
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===Network Neutrality=== |
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On 2 June 2006, the union representing journalists in the UK and Ireland ([[National Union of Journalists]]) called on its 40,000 members to boycott all Yahoo! Inc. products and services to protest the Internet company's reported actions in China.<ref>{{citeweb|title=British, Irish Journalists Urge Yahoo Boycott Over Chinese Cases|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198403,00.html|publisher=foxnews.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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Google is a noted supporter of [[network neutrality]]. According to Google's ''Guide to Net Neutrality'': |
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<blockquote> |
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"Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet. The Internet has operated according to this neutrality principle since its earliest days... Fundamentally, net neutrality is about equal access to the Internet. In our view, the broadband carriers should not be permitted to use their market power to discriminate against competing applications or content. Just as telephone companies are not permitted to tell consumers who they can call or what they can say, broadband carriers should not be allowed to use their market power to control activity online." <ref>[http://www.google.com/help/netneutrality.html Net Neutrality<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
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On [[February 7]], [[2006]], [[Vinton Cerf]], a co-inventor of the [[Internet Protocol]] (IP), and current Vice President and "Chief Internet Evangelist" at Google, in testimony before Congress, said, "allowing broadband carriers to control what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success."<ref>{{cite web|author=Cerf, Vinton|authorlink=Vinton Cerf|title=The Testimony of Mr. Vinton Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google|url=http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Testimony&Hearing_ID=dc5f850f-8c38-4501-9f05-478dcafe63c0&Witness_ID=b9a1d672-ad72-4da8-a7e2-e10b0870935c|accessdate=2008-05-04|format=PDF|pages=8|date=[[2006-02-07]]}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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In [[July 2007]], evidence surfaced detailing the warrant which the Chinese authorities sent to Yahoo! officials, highlighting "State Secrets" as the charge against Shi Tao. The warrant requests "Email account registration information for huoyan1989@yahoo.com.cn, all login times, corresponding IP addresses, and relevant email content from February 22, 2004 to present."<ref>{{citeweb|title=Letter Casts Doubt On Yahoo China Testimony|url=http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/07/30/228254.shtml|publisher=yro.slashdot.org|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|title= Police Document Sheds Additional Light on Shi Tao Case|url=http://www.duihua.org/2007/07/police-document-sheds-additional-light.html|publisher=duihua.org|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|title=Beijing_State_Security_Bureau_Notice_of_Evidence_Collection|url=http://www.duihua.org/press/news/070725_ShiTao.pdf|publisher=duihua.org|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> Analyst reports and human rights organizations have said that this evidence directly contradicts Yahoo!'s testimony before the U.S. Congress in February 2006.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Rights Group Says Yahoo May Have Lied to Congress|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-31-voa18.cfm|publisher=[[Voice of America]]|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area|SF From Marin Highlands3.jpg}} |
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{{Companies portal}} |
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{{col-start}} |
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{{col-3}} |
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* [[Criticism of Google]] |
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* [[List of Google products]] |
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* [[Google China]] – Chinese subsidiary |
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* [[Google File System]] – internal distributed file system |
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* [[Google guidelines]] |
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* [[Google logo]] |
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{{col-2}} |
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* [[Google platform]] – server and system hardware architecture with geographic references |
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* [[Google search]] |
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* [[Google Translate]] – web translator |
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* [[Google's hoaxes]] |
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* [[Googlebot]] – web crawler |
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* [[Google Ventures]] – [[venture capital]] fund |
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{{col-3}} |
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* [[Googleshare]] |
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* [[Google Voice]] |
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* [[Search engine]] |
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* [[TrustRank]] |
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* [[Censorship by Google]] |
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{{col-end}} |
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==References== |
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Yahoo! contends it must respect the laws of governments in jurisdictions where it is operating. |
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<!-- This article uses [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]]. Please use this format in the article text when inserting references. Any external link inserted directly into this section will be swiftly deleted. --> |
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{{cquote|''It's complicated.''<ref name=dana/> |20px|20px|Michael Callaham, General Counsel, Yahoo!, testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee (2007)<ref>Michael Callaham, General Counsel, Yahoo, responding to a request for a promise that Yahoo! would not give in to similar demands by totalitarian regimes</ref>}} |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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== |
==Further reading== |
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* {{cite book|title=The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture|author=[[John Battelle]]|publisher=Portfolio Hardcover|date=2005-09-08|isbn=1-59184-088-0}} |
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{{Main|Li Zhi (dissident)}} |
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* {{cite book|title=The Google Story|author=David Vise and Mark Malseed|publisher=Delacorte Press|date=2005-11-15|isbn=0-553-80457-X}} |
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Criticism of Yahoo! intensified in February 2006 when Reporters Without Borders released Chinese court documents stating that Yahoo! aided Chinese authorities in the case of [[dissident]] Li Zhi. In December 2003 Li Zhi was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for "inciting [[subversion (political)|subversion]]". |
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* {{cite book|title=Planet Google: One Company's Audacious Plan To Organize Everything We Know |author=[[Randall Stross]] |publisher=[[Free Press (publisher)]] |date=2008-09-18 |isbn=1-41654-691-X}} |
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* {{cite book |title=Inside Larry and Sergey's Brain |author=[[Richard L. Brandt]] |publisher=[[Portfolio Hardcover]] |date=2009-09-17 |isbn=1-5918-4276-X}} |
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* {{cite book |title=Googled: The End of the World As We Know It |author=[[Ken Auletta]] |publisher=[[Penguin Press]] |date=2009-11-03 |isbn=1-59420-235-4}} |
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==External links== |
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===== Sued in US court for outing Chinese dissident Wang Xiaoning ===== |
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{{Main|Wang Xiaoning}} |
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| PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IN ADDING MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. WIKIPEDIA | |
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[[Wang Xiaoning]] is a [[Chinese people|Chinese]] [[dissident]] from [[Shenyang]] who was arrested by authorities of the [[People's Republic of China]] for publishing controversial material online. |
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| IS NOT A COLLECTION OF LINKS NOR SHOULD IT BE USED FOR ADVERTISING. | |
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In 2000 and 2001, Wang, who was an engineer by profession, posted electronic journals in a Yahoo! group calling for democratic reform and an end to single-party rule. He was arrested in [[September 2002]] after Yahoo! assisted Chinese authorities by providing information. In [[September 2003]], Wang was convicted of charges of "incitement to subvert state power" and sentenced to ten years in prison.<ref>{{cite news|title= Chinese couple sue Yahoo in US over torture case | date= 2007-04-20| publisher= The Independent | url =http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2465946.ece}}</ref> |
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| Excessive or inappropriate links WILL BE DELETED. | |
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| See [[Wikipedia:External links]] & [[Wikipedia:Spam]] for details. | |
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On April 18, 2007, Xiaoning's wife Yu Ling sued Yahoo! under human rights laws in federal court in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/04/19/BUGU9PB4SG1.DTL&type=printable|title=Suit by wife of Chinese activist|author=Egelko, Bob|date=2007-04-19|publisher=SF Gate}}</ref> Wang Xiaoning is named as a [[plaintiff]] in the Yahoo! suit, which was filed with help from the [[World Organization for Human Rights USA]]. "Yahoo! is guilty of 'an act of corporate irresponsibility,'" said [[Morton Sklar]], executive director of the group. "Yahoo! had reason to know that if they provided China with identification information that those individuals would be arrested."<ref name="sue">{{cite news|title=Advocates Sue Yahoo In Chinese Torture Case|date=2007-04-20|publisher=The Washington Post|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802510.html?hpid=moreheadlines}}</ref> |
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| If there are already plentiful links, please propose additions or | |
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Yahoo!'s decision to assist China's authoritarian government came as part of a policy of reconciling its services with the Chinese government's policies. This came after China blocked Yahoo! services for a time. As reported in [[The Washington Post]] and many media sources: |
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| replacements on this article's discussion page, or submit your link | |
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| to the relevant category at the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) | |
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:The suit says that in 2001, Wang was using a Yahoo! e-mail account to post anonymous writings to an Internet mailing list. The suit alleges that Yahoo!, under pressure from the Chinese government, blocked that account. Wang set up a new account via Yahoo! and began sending material again; the suit alleges that Yahoo! gave the government information that allowed it to identify and arrest Wang in [[September 2002]]. The suit says prosecutors in the Chinese courts cited Yahoo!'s cooperation.<ref name="sue"/> |
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| and link back to that category using the {{dmoz}} template. | |
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=======================({{No More Links}})=============================--> |
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Human rights organizations groups are basing their case on a 217-year-old U.S. law to punish corporations for human rights violations abroad, an effort the Bush administration has opposed: |
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{{sisterlinks|Google}} |
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* [http://www.google.com/ Google.com] |
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:In recent years, activists working with overseas plaintiffs have sued roughly two dozen businesses under the [[Alien Tort Statute]], which the activists say grants jurisdiction to American courts over acts abroad that violate international norms. Written by the [[Founding Fathers]] in 1789 for a different purpose, the law was rarely invoked until the 1980s.<ref name="sue"/> |
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* [http://www.google.com/corporate/ Corporate Homepage] |
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* [http://googleblog.blogspot.com/ Official Google Blog] |
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On August 28, 2007, the World Organization for Human Rights sued Yahoo! for allegedly passing information ([[email]] and [[IP address]]) with the [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Chinese government]] that caused the [[arrests]] of writers and [[dissidents]]. The [[suit]] was filed in [[San Francisco]] for [[journalists]], [[Shi Tao]], and [[Wang Xiaoning]]. Yahoo! stated that it supported [[privacy]] and [[free expression]] for it worked with other technology companies to solve [[human rights]] concerns.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo plea over China rights case|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6966116.stm|publisher=bbc.co.uk|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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* [http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100660&org=NSF On the Origins of Google] |
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* [http://research.google.com/ Google Research] |
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On November 6, 2007, the US congressional panel criticized Yahoo! for not giving full details to the [[House Foreign Affairs Committee]] the previous year, stating it had been "at best inexcusably negligent" and at worst "deceptive".<ref>{{citeweb|title=US rebukes Yahoo over China case|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7081458.stm|publisher=bbc.co.uk|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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* {{cite web |url=http://google.com/ |title=Earliest known google website from 1998 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/19981111183552/google.stanford.edu/ |
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|archivedate=1998-11-11}} – [[archive.org]] |
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=== Chatrooms and message boards === |
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* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/ Google in Depth Archive] by ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' |
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As a result of media scrutiny relating to Internet child predators and a lack of significant ad revenues, Yahoo!'s "user created" chatrooms were closed down in June 2005.<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo closes chat rooms over child sex concerns|url=http://news.com.com/Yahoo+closes+chat+rooms+over+child+sex+concerns/2100-1025_3-5759705.html|publisher=news.com|accessdate=2008-02-06}}</ref> Yahoo! News' message board section was closed December 19, 2006, due to the [[troll (internet)|trolling]] phenomenon.<ref>{{citeweb|title=To Yahoo! News readers:|url=http://news.yahoo.com/page/messageboards|publisher=news.yahoo.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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* [http://www.google.com/holidaylogos.html online museum of google logos] mostly from events and holidays |
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In 2008, an employee of [[Deep Capture]] discovered a vulnerability in Yahoo!'s message boards which allowed board participants to execute [[JavaScript]] on reader's computers as they searched the boards. Yahoo! fixed the vulnerability upon being notified by a ''[[The Register|Register]]'' reporter in September 2009.<ref>Metz, Cade, "[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/08/yahoo_message_board_vuln/ Byrne's naked shorting crusade outs Yahoo! security vuln]", ''[[The Register]]'', Sep 8, 2009.</ref> |
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=== Image search === |
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On May 25, 2006, Yahoo!'s image search was criticized for bringing up sexually explicit images even when SafeSearch was on. This was discovered by a teacher who was intending to use the service with a class to search for "www". Yahoo!'s response to this was, "Yahoo! is aware of this issue and is working to resolve it as quickly as possible".<ref>{{citeweb|title=Yahoo! image search exposes school to porn|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/25/yahoo_school_project/|publisher=theregister.co.uk|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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=== Shark finning controversy === |
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Yahoo! is a 40% owner of [[Alibaba]], which facilitates the sale of [[shark#Shark fishery|shark-derived products]].<ref>{{citeweb|title=Sharks Circle China's Alibaba.com|url=http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2007/gb20070720_756191.htm|publisher=businessweek.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> After investing in Alibaba, Yahoo! executives were asked about this issue, and responded: "We know the sale of shark products is both legal in Asia and a centuries-old tradition. This issue is largely a cultural-practices one."<ref>{{citeweb|title=Moving a Mountain - Eco-Groups Pressure Yahoo! To Divest from Global Shark Finning|url=http://www.thescubastop.com/news/readnews.php?t=1670|publisher=thescubastop.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> However, the "cultural" claim (which is pushed by the trade, as in this article about Disney continuing to offer shark's fin soup)<ref>{{citeweb|title=Disney Hong Kong insists on shark's fin-soup meals |url=http://www.mickeynews.com/News/DisplayPressRelease.asp_Q_id_E_5295Soup|publisher=mickeynews.com|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> has been contested.<ref>{{citeweb|title=The Standard: Disney ducks shark attacks|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/GE25Ak01.html|publisher=thestandard.com.hk|accessdate=2008-02-25}}</ref> |
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As a minority-owner of Alibaba, Yahoo! is not able to directly control that company's actions in China. |
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=== Closing down Geocities === |
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[[Geocities]] was a popular web hosting service founded in 1994. At one point it was the 3rd most-browsed site on the World Wide Web.<ref>{{cite web |title=archiveteam|url= http://archiveteam.org/index.php?title=Geocities}}</ref> Yahoo purchased [[Geocities]] in 1999. Ten years later Yahoo closed Geocities<ref>{{cite web|title=GeoCities Closing|url=http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/geocities/close/}}</ref>, deleting millions of web pages in the process. |
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<ref>{{cite web |title=GeoCities' time has expired, Yahoo closing the site today|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/10/geocities-closing.html\}}</ref> |
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== Financial data == |
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{| class="wikitable" border="3" style="text-align:right" |
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|+ Financial data, US$ million<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.opesc.org/fiche-societe/fiche-societe.php?entreprise=YAHOO|title=Data source |accessdate=2008-03-16 |publisher= OpesC}}</ref> |
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! Year |
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! 2003 |
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! 2004 |
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! 2005 |
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! 2006 |
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! 2007 |
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|----- |
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|align="left"| [[Sales]] |
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| 1 625 |
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| 3 574 |
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| 5 258 |
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| 6 426 |
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| 6 969 |
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|----- |
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|align="left"| [[EBITDA]] |
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| 453 |
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| 1 000 |
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| 1 505 |
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| 1 066 |
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|----- |
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|align="left"| [[Net Results]] |
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| 238 |
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| 840 |
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| 1 896 |
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| 751 |
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| 660 |
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|----- |
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|align="left"| [[Employment#Employee|Staff]] |
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| 5 500 |
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| 7 600 |
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| 9 800 |
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| 11 400 |
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|} |
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== Yahoo! International == |
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{{Mergefrom|Yahoo!Xtra|discuss=Talk:Yahoo!Xtra#Merger proposal|date=December 2007}} |
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<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Yahoo Portals.JPG|right|500px|thumb|Countries with a Yahoo! Portal]] --> |
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Yahoo! is known across the world with its multi-lingual interface. The site is available in over 20 languages, including English. The official directory for all of the Yahoo! International sites is ''world.yahoo.com''. |
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Each of the international sites are wholly-owned by Yahoo!, with the exception of Yahoo! Japan, in which it holds a 34.79% minority stake[http://ir.yahoo.co.jp/en/holder/status.html] and Yahoo!7 in Australia which is a 50-50 agreement between Yahoo! and [[The Seven Network]]. Historically, Yahoo! entered into joint venture agreements with [[Softbank]] for the major European sites (UK, France, Germany) and well as Korea and Japan. In November 2005, Yahoo! purchased the minority interests that Softbank owned in Europe and Korea. |
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Yahoo! holds a 40% stake in [[Alibaba Group|Alibaba]], which manages a web portal in China using the Yahoo! brand name. Yahoo! in the USA does not have direct control over the operations of Alibaba, which operates as a completely independent company. |
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==Logos and themes== |
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The first logo was used when the company was founded in 1995. It was red and had three icons on each side.<ref>[http://www.logoorange.com/logodesign-Y.php "Yahoo Logo Design", Logo Design History]</ref> |
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The logo used on the main page ''yahoo.com'' used to be red with a black outline and shadow, but in [[May 2009]], along with a new theme redesign, the logo was changed to purple with no outline or shadow. |
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Sometimes, the logo is abbreviated with Y!.<ref name="press"> [http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/photos_logos.cfm Yahoo Press Room]</ref> |
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Themes and page designs are different on some international Yahoo! home pages, such as [http://au.yahoo.com Yahoo! Australia]. |
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== See also == |
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* [[Criticism of Yahoo!]] |
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* [[List of acquisitions by Yahoo!]] |
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* [[List of search engines]] |
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* [[List of web analytics software]] |
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* [[Timeline of events for Yahoo!]] |
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* [[Yahoo! Guesthouse]] |
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* [[YMSG]] - Yahoo! Messenger Protocol |
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== Notes and references == |
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{{reflist|colwidth=30em}} |
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== External links == |
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{{Companies portal}} |
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{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area|SF From Marin Highlands3.jpg}} |
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* [http://www.yahoo.com/ Yahoo ''website''] |
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* [http://addresses.yahoo.com/ Yahoo ''addresses''] |
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* [http://calendar.yahoo.com/ Yahoo ''calendar''] |
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* [http://mail.yahoo.com/ Yahoo ''mail''] |
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* [http://notepad.yahoo.com/ Yahoo ''notepad''] |
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* [http://ycorpblog.com/ Yodel anecdotal corporate blog] |
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* [http://docs.yahoo.com/info/pr/milestones.html Corporate milestones] |
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* [http://docs.yahoo.com/info/misc/history.html The History of Yahoo! - How It All Started …] |
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* [http://web.archive.org/web/19961017235908/http://www2.yahoo.com/ Earliest known Yahoo! website from 1996] |
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* [http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/displayevent.aspx?rID=2629&fID=345 ''Jerry and Dave's Excellent Venture'' 'video about the beginnings of Yahoo] |
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{{Yahoo! Inc.}} |
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{{Google Inc.|corporate=yes|products=yes}} |
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Revision as of 08:30, 24 November 2009
![]() | |
Company type | Public Nasdaq: GOOG LSE: GGEA |
---|---|
Industry | Internet, Computer software |
Founded | Menlo Park, California (September 4, 1998)[1] |
Founder | Sergey M. Brin Lawrence E. Page |
Headquarters | |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Eric E. Schmidt (Chairman) & (CEO) Sergey M. Brin (Technology President) Lawrence E. Page (Products President) |
Products | See list of Google products Help Google Web Search Features Google Services & Tools Google Labs[2] |
Revenue | ![]() |
![]() | |
![]() | |
Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Number of employees | 19,665 – September 30, 2009[4] |
Website | Google.com |
Google Inc. is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking, and video sharing services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the same technologies. Google has also developed an open source web browser and a mobile operating system. The Google headquarters, the Googleplex, is located in Mountain View, California. As of March 31, 2009[update], the company has 19,786 full-time employees. The company is running thousands of servers worldwide, which process millions of search requests each day and about 1 petabyte of user-generated data every hour.[5]
Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were students at Stanford University and the company was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. The initial public offering took place on August 19, 2004, raising $1.67 billion, implying a value for the entire corporation of $23 billion. Google has continued its growth through a series of new product developments, acquisitions, and partnerships. Environmentalism, philanthropy and positive employee relations have been important tenets during the growth of Google. The company has been identified multiple times as Fortune Magazine's #1 Best Place to Work,[6] and as the most powerful brand in the world.[7] Alexa ranks Google as the most visited website on the Internet.[8]
Google's mission is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful".[9] The unofficial company slogan, coined by former employee and Gmail's first engineer[10] Paul Buchheit, is "Don't be evil".[11][12][13] Criticism of Google includes concerns regarding the privacy of personal information, copyright, and censorship.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b7/Google1998.png/220px-Google1998.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Google%E2%80%99s_First_Production_Server.jpg/220px-Google%E2%80%99s_First_Production_Server.jpg)
Google began in January 1996, as a research project by Larry Page, who was soon joined by Sergey Brin, when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in California.[14] They hypothesized that a search engine that analyzed the relationships between websites would produce better ranking of results than existing techniques, which ranked results according to the number of times the search term appeared on a page.[15] Their search engine was originally nicknamed "BackRub" because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site.[16][17] A small search engine called Rankdex was already exploring a similar strategy.[18]
Convinced that the pages with the most links to them from other highly relevant web pages must be the most relevant pages associated with the search, Page and Brin tested their thesis as part of their studies, and laid the foundation for their search engine. Originally, the search engine used the Stanford University website with the domain google.stanford.edu. The domain google.com was registered on 15 September 1997,[19] and the company was incorporated as Google Inc. on 4 September 1998 at a friend's garage in Menlo Park, California. The total initial investment raised for the new company amounted to almost $1.1 million, including a $100,000 check by Andy Bechtolsheim, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems.[20]
Both Brin and Page had been against using advertising pop-ups in a search engine, or an "advertising funded search engines" model, and they wrote a research paper in 1998 on the topic while still students. However, they soon changed their minds and early on allowed simple text ads.[21]
In March 1999, the company moved into offices in Palo Alto, home to several other noted Silicon Valley technology startups.[22] After quickly outgrowing two other sites, the company leased a complex of buildings in Mountain View, California at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway from Silicon Graphics (SGI) in 2003.[23] The company has remained at this location ever since, and the complex has since come to be known as the Googleplex (a play on the word googolplex). In 2006, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.[24]
The Google search engine attracted a loyal following among a growing number of Internet users, who liked its simple design and useful results.[25] In 2000, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords.[14] The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page loading speed.[14] Keywords were sold based on a combination of price bid and clickthroughs, with bidding starting at 5 cents per click.[14] This model of selling keyword advertising was pioneered by Goto.com (later renamed Overture Services, before being acquired by Yahoo! and rebranded as Yahoo! Search Marketing).[26][27][28] Goto.com was an Idealab spin off created by Bill Gross, and was the first company to successfully provide a pay-for-placement search service. Overture Services later sued Google over alleged infringements of Overture's pay-per-click and bidding patents by Google's AdWords service. The case was settled out of court, with Google agreeing to issue shares of common stock to Yahoo! in exchange for a perpetual license.[29] Thus, while many of its dot-com rivals failed in the new Internet marketplace, Google quietly rose in stature while generating revenue.[14]
A patent describing part of the Google ranking mechanism (PageRank) was granted on 4 September 2001.[30] The patent was officially assigned to Stanford University and lists Lawrence Page as the inventor.
Name
The name "Google" originated from a misspelling of the word "googol",[31][32] which refers to 10100, the number represented by a 1 followed by one hundred zeros. Having found its way increasingly into everyday language, the verb "google" was added to the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006, meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet."[33][34]
Financing and initial public offering
The first funding for Google as a company was secured in August 1998, in the form of a $100,000 contribution from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, given to a corporation which did not yet exist.[35]
On June 7, 1999 a round of funding of $25 million was announced,[36] with the major investors being rival venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital.[35]
The Google IPO took place on 19 August 2004. 19,605,052 shares were offered at a price of $85 per share.[37][38] Of that, 14,142,135 (another mathematical reference as √2 ≈ 1.4142135) were floated by Google, and the remaining 5,462,917 were offered by existing stockholders. The sale of $1.67 billion gave Google a market capitalization of more than $23 billion.[39] The vast majority of the 271 million shares remained under the control of Google. Many Google employees became instant paper millionaires. Yahoo!, a competitor of Google, also benefited from the IPO because it owned 8.4 million shares of Google as of 9 August 2004, ten days before the IPO.[40]
The stock performance of Google after its first IPO launch has gone well, with shares hitting $700 for the first time on 31 October 2007,[41] due to strong sales and earnings in the advertising market, as well as the release of new features such as the desktop search function and its iGoogle personalized home page.[42] The surge in stock price is fueled primarily by individual investors, as opposed to large institutional investors and mutual funds.[42]
The company is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol GOOG and under the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GGEA.
Growth
While the primary business interest is in the web content arena, Google has begun experimenting with other markets, such as radio and print publications. On 17 January 2006, Google announced the purchase of a radio advertising company "dMarc", which provides an automated system that allows companies to advertise on the radio.[43] This will allow Google to combine two niche advertising media—the Internet and radio—with Google's ability to laser-focus on the tastes of consumers. Google has also begun an experiment in selling advertisements from its advertisers in offline newspapers and magazines, with select advertisements in the Chicago Sun-Times.[44] They have been filling unsold space in the newspaper that would have normally been used for in-house advertisements.
Acquisitions
Since 2001, Google has acquired several companies, mainly focusing on small start-ups.
In 2004, Google acquired a company called Keyhole, Inc.,[45] which developed a product called Earth Viewer, renamed in 2005 to Google Earth.
In February 2006, software company Adaptive Path sold Measure Map, a weblog statistics application, to Google. Registration to the service has since been temporarily disabled. The last update regarding the future of Measure Map was made on 6 April 2006 and outlined many of the known issues of the service.[46]
In late 2006, Google bought the online video site YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock.[47] Shortly after, on 31 October 2006, Google announced that it had also acquired JotSpot, a developer of wiki technology for collaborative Web sites.[48]
On 13 April 2007, Google reached an agreement to acquire DoubleClick. Google agreed to buy the company for $3.1 billion.[49]
On 2 July 2007, Google purchased GrandCentral. Google agreed to buy the company for $50 million.[50]
On 9 July 2007, Google announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire enterprise messaging security and compliance company Postini.[51]
On August 5 2009, Google announced the purchase of video software maker On2 Technologies for $106.5 million - its first acquisition of a public company. [52]
Partnerships
In 2005, Google entered into partnerships with other companies and government agencies to improve production and services. Google announced a partnership with NASA Ames Research Center to build up 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of offices and work on research projects involving large-scale data management, nanotechnology, distributed computing, and the entrepreneurial space industry.[53] Google also entered into a partnership with Sun Microsystems in October to help share and distribute each other's technologies.[54] The company entered into a partnership with AOL of Time Warner,[55] to enhance each other's video search services.
The same year, the company became a major financial investor of the new .mobi top-level domain for mobile devices, in conjunction with several other companies, including Microsoft, Nokia, and Ericsson among others.[56] In September 2007, Google launched, "Adsense for Mobile", a service for its publishing partners which provides the ability to monetize their mobile websites through the targeted placement of mobile text ads,[57] and acquired the mobile social networking site, Zingku.mobi, to "provide people worldwide with direct access to Google applications, and ultimately the information they want and need, right from their mobile devices."[58]
In 2006, Google and Fox Interactive Media of News Corp. entered into a $900 million agreement to provide search and advertising on the popular social networking site, MySpace.[59]
Google has developed a partnership with GeoEye to launch a satellite providing Google with high-resolution (0.41 m monochrome, 1.65 m color) imagery for Google Earth. The satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on 6 September 2008.[60]
In 2008, Google announced that it was hosting an archive of Life magazine's photographs, as part of a joint effort. Some of the images in the archive were never published in the magazine.[61] The photos are watermarked and originally had copyright notices posted on all photos, regardless of public domain status.[62][63]
Products and services
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Google_Appliance.jpg/170px-Google_Appliance.jpg)
Google has created services and tools for the general public and business environment alike, including Web applications, advertising networks and solutions for businesses.
Advertising
99% of Google's revenue is derived from its advertising programs.[64] For the 2006 fiscal year, the company reported $10.492 billion in total advertising revenues and only $112 million in licensing and other revenues.[65] Google is able to precisely track users' interests across affiliated sites using DoubleClick technology[66] and Google Analytics.[67] Google's advertisements carry a lower price tag when their human ad-rating team working around the world believes the ads improve the company's user experience.[68] Google AdWords allows Web advertisers to display advertisements in Google's search results and the Google Content Network, through either a cost-per-click or cost-per-view scheme.[69] Google AdSense website owners can also display adverts on their own site, and earn money every time ads are clicked.[70] Google began in March 2009 to use behavioral targeting based on users' interests.[71]
Google has also been criticized by advertisers regarding its inability to combat click fraud, when a person or automated script is used to generate a charge on an advertisement without really having an interest in the product. Industry reports in 2006 claim that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were in fact fraudulent or invalid.[72]
In June 2008, Google reached an advertising agreement with Yahoo!, which would have allowed Yahoo! to feature Google advertisements on their web pages. The alliance between the two companies was never completely realized due to antitrust concerns by the U.S. Department of Justice. As a result, Google pulled out of the deal in November, 2008.[73][74]
Software
The Google web search engine is the company's most popular service. As of August 2007, Google is the most used search engine on the web with a 53.6% market share, ahead of Yahoo! (19.9%) and Bing Search (12.9%).[75] Google indexes billions of Web pages, so that users can search for the information they desire, through the use of keywords and operators, although at any given time it will only return a maximum of 1,000 results for any specific search query. Google has also employed the Web Search technology into other search services, including Image Search, Google News, the price comparison site Google Product Search, the interactive Usenet archive Google Groups, Google Maps, and more.
In early 2006, the company launched Google Video, which allowed users to both upload videos, and search and watch videos from the larger Internet.[76] In 2009 uploads to Google video were discontinued.[77]
Google has also developed several desktop applications, including Google Desktop, Picasa, SketchUp and Google Earth, an interactive mapping program powered by satellite and aerial imagery that covers the vast majority of the planet. Many major cities have such detailed images that one can zoom in close enough to see vehicles and pedestrians clearly. Consequently, there have been some concerns about national security implications; contention is that the software can be used to pinpoint with near-precision accuracy the physical location of critical infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings, bases, government agencies, and so on. However, the satellite images are not necessarily frequently updated, and all of them are available at no charge through other products and even government sources; the software simply makes accessing the information easier. A number of Indian state governments have raised concerns about the security risks posed by geographic details provided by Google Earth's satellite imaging.[78]
Google has promoted their products in various ways. In London, Google Space was set-up in Heathrow Airport, showcasing several products, including Gmail, Google Earth and Picasa.[79][80] Also, a similar page was launched for American college students, under the name College Life, Powered by Google.[81]
In 2007, some reports surfaced that Google was planning the release of its own mobile phone, possibly a competitor to Apple's iPhone.[82][83][84] The project, called Android, turned out not to be a phone, but an operating system. It provides a standard development kit that will allow any "Android" phone to run software developed for the Android SDK, no matter the phone manufacturer. In September 2008, T-Mobile released the first phone running the Android platform, the G1.
Google Translate aka Google Language Tools is a server-side machine translation service, which can translate 35 different languages to each other, forming 595 language pairs. Browser extension tools (such as Firefox extensions) allow for easy access to Google Translate from the browser. The software uses corpus linguistics techniques from translated documents, (such as United Nations documents,[citation needed] which are professionally translated) to extract translations accurate up to 88 percent. A "suggest a better translation" feature appears with the original language text in a pop-up text field, allowing users to indicate where the current translation is incorrect or else inferior to another translation.
On 1 September 2008, Google pre-announced the upcoming availability of Google Chrome, an open-source web browser,[85] which was released on 2 September 2008.
On 7 July 2009, Google announced the project to develop Google Chrome OS, an open-source Linux-based operating system in a "window of opportunity"[86][87].
Gmail
Gmail is a free webmail, POP3 and IMAP service provided by Google. In the United Kingdom and Germany, it is officially called Google Mail.
Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007. As of July 2009 it has 146 million users monthly. The service was upgraded from beta status on July 7, 2009, along with the rest of the Google Apps suite.
With an initial storage capacity offer of 1 GB per user, Gmail significantly increased the webmail standard for free storage from the 2 to 4MB its competitors offered at that time. The service currently offers over 7350 MB of free storage with additional storage ranging from 10 GB to 400 GB available for $20 to $500 (US) per year.
In February 2006, Google released Gmail Chat, using the same tools used in Google Talk.
Gmail has a search-oriented interface and a "conversation view" similar to an Internet forum. Software developers know Gmail for its pioneering use of the Ajax programming technique.
Gmail runs on Google Servlet Engine and Google GFE/1.3 which run on Linux.
Enterprise products
Google entered the enterprise market in February 2002 with the launch of its Google Search Appliance, targeted toward providing search technology to larger organizations.[88] Providing search for a smaller document repository, Google launched the Mini in 2005.
Late in 2006, Google began to sell Custom Search Business Edition, providing customers with an advertising-free window into Google.com's index.[89] In 2008, Google re-branded its next version of Custom Search Business Edition as Google Site Search.[89]
In 2007, Google launched Google Apps Premier Edition, a version of Google Apps targeted primarily at the business user. It includes such extras as more disk space for e-mail, API access, and premium support, for a price of $50 per user per year. A large implementation of Google Apps with 38,000 users is at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.[90]
Also in 2007, Google acquired Postini[91] and continued to sell the acquired technology[92] as Google Security Services.[93]
Platform
Google runs its services on several server farms, each comprising thousands of low-cost commodity computers running stripped-down versions of Linux. While the company divulges no details of its hardware, a 2006 estimate cites 450,000 servers, "racked up in clusters at data centers around the world."[94] The company has about 24 server farms around the world of various configurations. The farm in The Dalles, Oregon is powered by hydroelectricity at about 50 megawatts.[95]
Corporate affairs and culture
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Schmidt-Brin-Page-20080520.jpg/220px-Schmidt-Brin-Page-20080520.jpg)
Google is known for its informal corporate culture, of which its playful variations on its own corporate logo are an indicator. In 2007 and 2008, Fortune Magazine placed Google at the top of its list of the hundred best places to work.[6] Google's corporate philosophy embodies such casual principles as "you can make money without doing evil," "you can be serious without a suit," and "work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun."[96]
Google has been criticized for having salaries below industry standards.[97] For example, some system administrators earn no more than $35,000 per year – considered to be quite low for the Bay Area job market.[98] However, Google's stock performance following its IPO has enabled many early employees to be competitively compensated by participation in the corporation's remarkable equity growth.[99]
After the company's IPO in August 2004, it was reported that founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and CEO Eric Schmidt, requested that their base salary be cut to $1.[100] Subsequent offers by the company to increase their salaries have been turned down, primarily because, "their primary compensation continues to come from returns on their ownership stakes in Google. As significant stockholders, their personal wealth is tied directly to sustained stock price appreciation and performance, which provides direct alignment with stockholder interests."[100] Prior to 2004, Schmidt was making $250,000 per year, and Page and Brin each earned a salary of $150,000.[dubious – discuss][100]
They have all declined recent offers of bonuses and increases in compensation by Google's board of directors. In a 2007 report of the United States' richest people, Forbes reported that Sergey Brin and Larry Page were tied for #5 with a net worth of $18.5 billion each.[101]
In 2007 and through early 2008, Google has seen the departure of several top executives. Gideon Yu, former chief financial officer of YouTube, a Google unit, joined Facebook[102] along with Benjamin Ling, a high-ranking engineer, who left in October 2007.[103] In March 2008, two senior Google leaders announced their desire to pursue other opportunities. Sheryl Sandburg, ex-VP of global online sales and operations began her position as COO of Facebook[104] while Ash ElDifrawi, former head of brand advertising, left to become CMO of Netshops Inc.[105]
Google's persistent cookie and other information collection practices have led to concerns over user privacy. As of 11 December 2007, Google, like the Microsoft search engine, stores "personal information for 18 months" and by comparison, AOL (Time Warner) "retain[s] search requests for 13 months"[106], and Yahoo! 90 days.[107]
U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton, on July 1, 2008 ordered Google to give YouTube user data / log to Viacom to support its case in a billion-dollar copyright lawsuit against Google.[108][109] Google and Viacom, however, on July 14, 2008, agreed in compromise to protect YouTube users' personal data in the $1 billion copyright lawsuit. Google agreed it will make user information and Internet protocol addresses from its YouTube subsidiary anonymous before handing over the data to Viacom. The privacy deal also applied to other litigants including the FA Premier League, the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation and the Scottish Premier League.[110][111] The deal however did not extend the anonymity to employees, since Viacom would prove that Google staff are aware of uploading of illegal material to the site. The parties therefore will further meet on the matter lest the data be made available to the court.[112]
Googleplex
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Googleplexsouthsidesecondangle.jpg/220px-Googleplexsouthsidesecondangle.jpg)
Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, is referred to as "the Googleplex" in a play of words; a googolplex being 1010100, or a one followed by a googol of zeros, and the HQ being a complex of buildings (cf. multiplex, cineplex, etc). The lobby is decorated with a piano, lava lamps, old server clusters, and a projection of search queries on the wall. The hallways are full of exercise balls and bicycles. Each employee has access to the corporate recreation center. Recreational amenities are scattered throughout the campus and include a workout room with weights and rowing machines, locker rooms, washers and dryers, a massage room, assorted video games, foosball, a baby grand piano, a pool table, and ping pong. In addition to the rec room, there are snack rooms stocked with various foods and drinks.[113]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Googleplex_Welcome_Sign.jpg/220px-Googleplex_Welcome_Sign.jpg)
In 2006, Google moved into 311,000 square feet (28,900 m2) of office space in New York City, at 111 Eighth Ave. in Manhattan.[114] The office was specially designed and built for Google and houses its largest advertising sales team, which has been instrumental in securing large partnerships, most recently deals with MySpace and AOL.[114] In 2003, they added an engineering staff in New York City, which has been responsible for more than 100 engineering projects, including Google Maps, Google Spreadsheets, and others.[114] It is estimated that the building costs Google $10 million per year to rent and is similar in design and functionality to its Mountain View headquarters, including foosball, air hockey, and ping-pong tables, as well as a video game area.[114] In November 2006, Google opened offices on Carnegie Mellon's campus in Pittsburgh.[115] By late 2006, Google also established a new headquarters for its AdWords division in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[116]
Google is taking steps to ensure that their operations are environmentally sound. In October 2006, the company announced plans to install thousands of solar panels to provide up to 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to satisfy approximately 30% of the campus' energy needs.[117] The system will be the largest solar power system constructed on a U.S. corporate campus and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world.[117] Google has faced accusations in Harper's Magazine[118] of being extremely excessive with their energy usage, and were accused of employing their "Don't be evil" motto as well as their very public energy saving campaigns as means of trying to cover up or make up for the massive amounts of energy their servers actually require.
In 2009 Google announced it was deploying herds of goats to keep grassland around the Googleplex short, helping to prevent the threat from seasonal bush fires while also reducing the carbon footprint of mowing the extensive grounds.[119][120]
Innovation Time Off
As a motivation technique (usually called Innovation Time Off), all Google engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time (one day per week) on projects that interest them. Some of Google's newer services, such as Gmail, Google News, Orkut, and AdSense originated from these independent endeavors.[121] In a talk at Stanford University, Marissa Mayer, Google's Vice President of Search Products and User Experience, stated that her analysis showed that 50% of the new product launches originated from the 20% time.[122]
Easter eggs and April Fool's Day jokes
Google has a tradition of creating April Fool's Day jokes—such as Google MentalPlex, which allegedly featured the use of mental power to search the web.[123] In 2002, they claimed that pigeons were the secret behind their growing search engine.[124] In 2004, they featured Google Lunar (which claimed to feature jobs on the moon),[125] and in 2005, a fictitious brain-boosting drink, termed Google Gulp was announced.[126] In 2006, they came up with Google Romance, a hypothetical online dating service.[127] In 2007, Google announced two joke products. The first was a free wireless Internet service called TiSP (Toilet Internet Service Provider)[128] in which one obtained a connection by flushing one end of a fiber-optic cable down their toilet and waiting only an hour for a "Plumbing Hardware Dispatcher (PHD)" to connect it to the Internet.[128] Additionally, Google's Gmail page displayed an announcement for Gmail Paper, which allows users of their free email service to have email messages printed and shipped to a snail mail address.[129]
Google's services contain a number of Easter eggs; for instance, the Language Tools page offers the search interface in the Swedish Chef's "Bork bork bork," Pig Latin, "Hacker" (actually leetspeak), Elmer Fudd, and Klingon.[130] In addition, the search engine calculator provides the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything from Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.[131] As Google’s search box can be used as a unit converter (as well as a calculator), some non-standard units are built in, such as the Smoot. A newly discovered easter egg is the spell-checker's result for the properly spelled word "recursion". The spell-checker built into Google search returns "Did you mean: recursion?" in a recursive link back to the same page.[132] Google also routinely modifies its logo in accordance with various holidays or special events throughout the year, such as Christmas, Mother's Day, or the birthdays of various notable individuals.[133] Other logo switches are based on search terms. For instance, if the term "ASCII art" is searched, an ASCII art version of the Google logo will appear next to the search box.[134]
IPO and culture
Many people speculated that Google's IPO would inevitably lead to changes in the company's culture,[135] because of shareholder pressure for employee benefit reductions and short-term advances, or because a large number of the company's employees would suddenly become millionaires on paper. In a report given to potential investors, co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page promised that the IPO would not change the company's culture.[136] Later Mr. Page said, "We think a lot about how to maintain our culture and the fun elements. We spent a lot of time getting our offices right. We think it's important to have a high density of people. People are packed together everywhere. We all share offices. We like this set of buildings because it's more like a densely packed university campus than a typical suburban office park."[137]
However, many analysts[who?] are finding that as Google grows, the company is becoming more "corporate". In 2005, articles in The New York Times and other sources began suggesting that Google had lost its anti-corporate, no evil philosophy.[138][139][140] In an effort to maintain the company's unique culture, Google has designated a Chief Culture Officer in 2006, who also serves as the Director of Human Resources. The purpose of the Chief Culture Officer is to develop and maintain the culture and work on ways to keep true to the core values that the company was founded on in the beginning—a flat organization with a collaborative environment.[141]
Google has faced allegations of sexism and ageism from former employees.[142][143]
Philanthropy
In 2004, Google formed a not for-profit philanthropic wing, Google.org, with a start-up fund of $1 billion.[144] The express mission of the organization is to create awareness about climate change, global public health, and global poverty. One of its first projects is to develop a viable plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that can attain 100 mpg. The founder is Dr Larry Brilliant[145] and the current director is Megan Smith.[146]
In 2008 Google announced its "project 10^100" which accepted ideas for how to help the community and then will allow Google users to vote on their favorites.[147]
Network Neutrality
Google is a noted supporter of network neutrality. According to Google's Guide to Net Neutrality:
"Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet. The Internet has operated according to this neutrality principle since its earliest days... Fundamentally, net neutrality is about equal access to the Internet. In our view, the broadband carriers should not be permitted to use their market power to discriminate against competing applications or content. Just as telephone companies are not permitted to tell consumers who they can call or what they can say, broadband carriers should not be allowed to use their market power to control activity online." [148]
On February 7, 2006, Vinton Cerf, a co-inventor of the Internet Protocol (IP), and current Vice President and "Chief Internet Evangelist" at Google, in testimony before Congress, said, "allowing broadband carriers to control what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success."[149]
See also
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References
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Google Inc. has opened an online photo gallery that will include millions of images from Life magazine's archives that have never been seen by the public before.
{{cite news}}
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Still, a picture of the scale of its data center operations has emerged through various reports. The company is believed to have about two dozen data centers around the world of various sizes. Some, like the one it built in The Dalles, Ore., which is largely powered by hydroelectricity, are among the largest in the industry. Two people familiar with that facility, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that it was operating at about 50 megawatts—enough to power 37,500 homes—but was built to handle even more capacity.
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Further reading
- John Battelle (2005-09-08). The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-59184-088-0.
- David Vise and Mark Malseed (2005-11-15). The Google Story. Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-553-80457-X.
- Randall Stross (2008-09-18). Planet Google: One Company's Audacious Plan To Organize Everything We Know. Free Press (publisher). ISBN 1-41654-691-X.
- Richard L. Brandt (2009-09-17). Inside Larry and Sergey's Brain. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-5918-4276-X.
- Ken Auletta (2009-11-03). Googled: The End of the World As We Know It. Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-235-4.
External links
- Google.com
- Corporate Homepage
- Official Google Blog
- On the Origins of Google
- Google Research
- "Earliest known google website from 1998". Archived from the original on 1998-11-11. – archive.org
- Google in Depth Archive by The Daily Telegraph
- online museum of google logos mostly from events and holidays
- Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from March 2009
- Companies in the Nasdaq-100
- Companies listed on the Nasdaq
- Mobile Payment
- Internet history
- World Wide Web
- Human-computer interaction
- Hypertext
- Cloud computing providers
- Companies based in Mountain View, California
- Companies established in 1998
- Websites by company
- Internet companies of the United States
- Web service providers