The innovative and ingenious creators of Google Maps, Jens and Lars Rasmussen, have been busily developing Google’s newest communication and collaboration tool-Google Wave.  For the past two years, the brothers have been in Australia developing the new tool for communicating over the Web.  They exhibited their work for developers in San Francisco on Thursday.

Essentially, Google Wave is an application operating in a Web browser that creates a shared online desktop for two or more users to easily interact and exchange messages and information, similar to instant messaging or email.  The users are able to share and edit rich documents including images, formatted text and graphics.  A cool feature of Google Wave is the ability for users to drag and drop widgets into a Wave, and play a game together, publishing results to the Web or saving them.  According to Lars,
“It is a communications and collaborations tool.  We call it a Wave.  It is equal measure document and conversation”.

A novel concept from the bright minds behind the sensational Google Maps, Wave will be available in late 2009.  Google is making the tool available to developers immediately, to incite them to build new apps for it.  Rumor is that developers at Google have created a Wave that follows the Twitter messages of the user.  It has the potential to become a convenient place where people can keep up with various mail and instant messaging accounts.  Google is certainly making waves, and showing that internet browsers have become dominant enough to be used as a platform to develop multifaceted apps-a potential blow to the desktop.  Relayed by Deep Blue Interactive, South Florida web design and online marketing firm. 

Thursday a German data protection official threatened search powerhouse Google with “unspecified sanctions” should the company not conform with the country’s strict privacy laws regarding the use of Google Street View.

German data protection regulator for the city of Hamburg, Johannes Caspar, relayed that officials were leaning toward using force to pursue unspecified sanctions unless Google provided written guarantees agreeing to alterations before 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday.  Google’s German headquarters is located in Hamburg.

It seems the two entities are of differing opinion when it comes to 12 points involving the operation of Google’s Street View.  One example is that in Germany, there are privacy laws in place that forbid distribution of pictures taken of individuals on their property without their consent.

Currently, Google is posting the captured data and removing it when a subject/property owner makes a complaint.  Some are concerned about Google’s handling of the data it records that has been removed.  In Germany, private citizens may also sue Google in German court for unauthorized filming.

In the city of Kiel on the Baltic Sea, residents placed stickers on their doors last year warning Google not to film their property on Google Street View.  Google has been diligently compiling photos of France, Italy, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and more in Europe since 2008 for its new Street View feature.  Thus far, approximately 300 people in Germany have voiced complaints to officials regarding the filming.

Google has not yet determined a date for introducing Street View into Germany, which is the largest of the European economy.  Both sides are working to resolve the impasse.  Relayed by Deep Blue Interactive, South Florida web design and online marketing firm.

The latest ComScore results from April are not suprising, Google holds the lead in the world of search with 64.2 percent, placing Yahoo at 20.4 and Microsoft pulling in at 8.2 percent.  The word dominate comes to mind here.  Yet it is not Google’s style to adhere to auto-pilot, they are continually improving and tweaking their search technology.  Yahoo has been doing the same.

Recently in San Francisco, Yahoo touted its progress with its own search developments, calling the presentation “The End of The 10 Blue Links”.  Speakers included head of Yahoo Labs and Yahoo Search Strategy Prabhakar Raghavan, Vice President for consumer products Larry Cornett, and Senior Director for mobile search Lee Ott.

Yahoo showcased the highlights of the methods the company has used to evolve its search strategies over the years.  Previously, answers to queries for a sporting event, theatre inquiry, celebrities and more would provide neat rows of blue links. Yahoo determined, in large part due to its mobile search tactics, that users were most interested in locating information when searching for things, such as location, show dates and times, etc rather than simply another link. 

For that reason, Yahoo has been working to increasingly provide boxes of information rather than links commonly displayed in its search results, complete with photos and or video when available.  Mr. Raghavan explained Yahoo’s web evolution as a move from a Web of pages to a Web of objects-a more tangible Web. 

 This is possible thanks to algorithms and Search Monkey.  Search Monkey allows publishers to flag information on their pages directly to Yahoo, making it easier for the search engine to process. Yahoo is striving to meet and exceed the intent of its search users, and will continue to evolve over time.  Relayed by Deep Blue Interactive, Fort Lauderdale online marketing and Web development firm.

Google has found itself in murky waters over its online advertising practices.  There are companies who are livid about the methods Google allows paid ad placements to operate.  Google defends its practices, citing the effectiveness of competitive trademark usage. 

Geico, American Airlines and other large corporate entities have filed suit against Google regarding the competitive uses of their respective trademarks (those suits were settled).  Brand owners consider the usage abuse of their brands, and say that it confuses customers and increases the cost of doing business.

Google is unphased by the commotion and lawsuits.  In fact, this month, Google spread its policy of permitting anyone to purchase someone else’s trademark as a trigger for an online advertisement to 190 new countries.  Google will also allow limited use of trademarks in the text of some search ads, regardless of if the owner of the trademark objects.

Google maintains that the changes will lead to ads that have more relevance to the user.  An example being that if someone entered “Dell” into a query, not only would the official Dell website appear, but other sites who sell Dell products.

Microsoft and Yahoo allow similar uses of trademarks within the text of their online advertisements, although they do not allow the controversial method of utilizing trademarks as triggers for competitor ads.  Dynamics of trademark usage are up for a unique interpretation on the internet.  Google functions for its users, the ultimate in search technology, if a Google user is searching for a product, they will also be provided with competing products with potentially lower prices.  Relayed by Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale interactive marketing solution.