tag:,2008:/1/tag:72.47.210.69,2006://1.5036- 2008-08-07T05:07:45Z Comments for Google's Structured Data Search Play Movable Type 4.1 tag:72.47.210.69,2006://1.5036 2006-09-26T00:47:47Z 2007-12-16T23:16:21Z Google's Structured Data Search Play Google is making some bold moves to bring structured data into the mainstream search box. And in the process, it appears to be running over the top of microformats, the Web community's open standards for structured data. Not to mention the challenge this will ultimately represent to eBay. According to a PC Advisor report,... Richard MacManus http://www.readwriteweb.com google base

Google is making some bold moves to bring structured data into the mainstream search box. And in the process, it appears to be running over the top of microformats, the Web community's open standards for structured data. Not to mention the challenge this will ultimately represent to eBay.

According to a PC Advisor report, Google plans to extend the product search capabilities on its main Google.com search engine in the fourth quarter. The main change is in product search, where Google Base will be brought to the fore. When a product search is done on Google.com, users will be presented with another search box to refine their query (like an 'advanced search'). After the user refines their query, Google takes them to a second page populated with product results from the Google Base listings service - i.e. from structured product data. This is already happening with real estate queries, but will be expanded into other product types.

"Ranking will be determined by the attributes that the sellers listed for the product as well as by relevancy," according to analysts at the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA) Summit in San Francisco this week (where the news broke).

Google has no plans to monetise this product-search capability with display ads or listing fees - but that could change.

Beyond Froogle: shopping in the search box

froogleThe plan also involves de-emphasizing Froogle as a destination website and moving its comparison-shopping capabilities to Google.com, because most product searches happen on Google.com. Although Danny Sullivan thinks Google will still need a standalone shopping search brand.

PC Advisor summarized:

"From the beginning, Google said that Base isn't meant as a destination website, but more like a database to feed information to Google search sites, like Google.com. To stress this point, Google recently removed the search box from the Google Base site."

Google Base as a database of structured data has had the potential to be disruptive to Google search ever since it was released. If what was reported from the eBay conference is on the mark, then this will be a significant upgrade to Google Search (or perhaps enhancement is the better term).

Like Steve Rubel, I wonder if this is putting Google on a collision course with eBay. But then I never underestimate the power of a centralized and focused community like eBay (as edgeio is finding out).

Implications for marketers

Fergus Burns of Nooked and John Battelle have both discussed Google Base recently. From the Nooked blog:

"To push the envelope out a bit, people should pay attention to what Google are up to.

The Google Base project is the key to marketers. This quote from a recent analyst conference call with Google management on Google Base

“Through that integration, the overall Google experience will become much more structured, much more refined, and much more precise. It’s a real improvement in end-user quality.”

John Battelle has 2 great examples - Real Estate and Travel of what this looks like in Google Search."

As Fergus summarized, marketers will need to offer feeds on a per product/brand/category basis and support additional attributes from google base and microformats.

Where to for microformats?

The big question in all this is how microformats (the industry standard for structured data) will play alongside Google Base structured data. Right now it seems like Google is going its own route, so where does that leave microformats?

]]> tag:72.47.210.69,2006://1.5036-comment:39257 Comment from Joshua Porter on 2006-09-25 Joshua Porter http://bokardo.com Hmmm...I'm always skeptical of formats being controlled by one company.

Microformats are controlled, of course, by Technorati. They've gotten great adoption, and were smart to move to a ".org" domain, but the decision makers are all Technorati guys.

Do we really want one company to control formats, whether it's Google, Technorati, or anybody else?

]]> 2006-09-26T03:35:58Z tag:72.47.210.69,2006://1.5036-comment:39258 Comment from Richard MacManus on 2006-09-26 Richard MacManus http://readwriteweb.com/ Great point Josh. But at least the process for discussion and building microformats is open (via their wiki pages and other community aspects). It's true though that Technorati has a lot to gain by their acceptance.

]]> 2006-09-26T07:46:56Z tag:72.47.210.69,2006://1.5036-comment:39259 Comment from Al on 2006-09-26 Al http://www.folknology.com/blog/1/1/ Well GData is based on open standards primarily Atom. But it also inderctly supports RSS of course.

Not That I am saying that GData is not controlled by Google it actually is. They have extended the standard by using the google namespace to provide object descriptions or MetaData. It would be better if Google could submit this to an open standards body or at least ask users/develoeprs what they want. That way more developers might be likely to jump on the band wagon.

Overall I think GData is a brilliant idea, but it being just a google extension to atom worries me a little. I would like to see the over players ; Microsoft,Yahoo, eBay, Amazon etc.. sharing such a vocabulary.

P.S. I also like microformats and use them regularly.

regards
Al

]]> 2006-09-26T09:28:23Z tag:72.47.210.69,2006://1.5036-comment:39260 Comment from Chris Messina on 2006-09-30 Chris Messina http://factoryjoe.com/blog I just want to comment on Joshua's comment... Microformats are greatly supported by and leveraged by Technorati, but they are not controlled by Technorati. To say so is a complete lie, especially in contrast to the control that Google asserts over GData.

Microformats are derived from an open, community process, even more accessible than the W3C's work (y'know, the folks behind HTML). Their adoption is voluntary, but anyone can use them, anyone can build a search engine around them, and anyone can extend them (though the community at large may reject, in practice, such changes).

Furthermore, I have approached Google many times about supporting and publishing microformats, only to be rebuffed that "they're too easy such that they're not interesting" (a quote from an engineer) to not being given an answered when I pushed them on supporting microformats in Blogger. The best response I've gotten has been a request for a driving directions microformat.

In any case, it greatly concerns me that, just at the moment when individuals should be regaining control over their data, Google moves towards a data model that has very little, if any, community input when clearly another community initiative is gaining traction, adoption and supporters worldwide.

]]> 2006-09-30T17:54:59Z tag:72.47.210.69,2006://1.5036-comment:39261 Comment from Tesfaye Alemayehu on 2006-10-02 Tesfaye Alemayehu I do not have HTML and i do not how to creat and use if any one help me i am ready to study

]]> 2006-10-02T10:35:17Z tag:72.47.210.69,2006://1.5036-comment:39262 Comment from Joshua Porter on 2006-10-02 Joshua Porter http://bokardo.com Chris, I suppose it's how you define "control". :)

]]> 2006-10-02T15:14:52Z