Enhancements to Google News for Android tablets and iPads

Alongside working on improving the Google News design for smartphones, we have also been looking into enhancing our offering for tablet devices. Today, we are launching a few minor enhancements to Google News for Android tablets and iPads. 

Read More:- http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/enhancements-to-google-news-for-android.html

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We love Lucy

( Cross Posted From The Google Blog) 

Lucille Ball may have been born 100 years ago today, but her jokes are timeless. Having grown up with the comedic genius of “I Love Lucy,” it’s hard to believe that Lucy, Desi, Fred, and Ethel wrapped up the initial series in 1957. Lucy’s creativity, absurdity, and ever-changing facial expressions (especially when she was scarfing down candy, stomping on grapes or touting a new energy drink) have brought joy and laughter to generations of viewers. 

They’re incredibly happy to celebrate her birthday with a doodle to highlight her brilliant career as an actress and businesswoman. Through the old-timey TV live on the google.comhomepage all day on August 6th, you can flip the six channels for a special Lucy broadcast. 

Happy birthday, Lucy — we still love you!

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Inside Google's search office

(Cross-posted on the Google Blog)

I’ve been working with Matt Cutts and Ben Gomes in the same office for over 10 years. We work on search every day, and earlier this week, we took our office talk to the stage at an event hosted by the Churchill Club. Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan moderated our in-depth discussion on search, how it works, and what’s ahead for us in the future. We also reminisced about first joining Google, the time my car ran out of gas as Ben and I discussed a change to the algorithm, and other great memories over the years. 

Come sit inside our office for a chat about Google Search:

Read More:- http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/inside-googles-search-office.html

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How To Use Facebook At Work Without Being Caught ?

( Cross Posted From The All Facebook Blog ) 

Many employers block Facebook on company computers, and even more monitor their employees’ online activities. For those lucky enough to work for companies that do not censor Internet usage, know that being caught playing FarmVille on company time rarely reflects favorably in yearly performance reviews.

To use Facebook from work without tripping the boss’ radar, follow these tips:

Go Incognito — Turn off Chat

This should be blatantly obvious, but if your boss or any of your coworkers are on your friends list, they will know the moment you sign into Facebook because your name will appear in their chat lists — at least, if they are currently signed into Facebook.

Instead of taking the chance, click the gear symbol at the top of your chat window, then uncheck “Available to Chat” before leaving for work in the morning.

Bypass The Company’s Blocked Website List

Most companies use website blockers that are very easy to thwart. We could teach you how to set up a virtual private network, but in the majority of cases this much effort is unnecessary.

First, try the URL http://www.www.Facebook.com. As this is a subdomain of Facebook.com, some employers will not think to block it. If that does not work, try https://www.facebook.com. Sometimes the extra “s” will trick the network server into think the site is secure, and thus safe to allow access.

If changing the URL does not work, the next trick to try is a proxy site. Many network administrators block these, but since new ones appear all the time, one of them is sure to work.

One of the most popular is HideMyAss.com, which has a built-in Facebook proxy. If this one is already blocked, a simple Google search will reveal thousands of proxies. Be aware proxies make their money through intrusive advertisements. Expect pop-ups and pop-under ads when using this method.

Hide The Facebook URL From The Network Log

If your company does not block Facebook, but still tracks every site you visit, using a proxy site is still a great way to hide your Facebook activities.

But while proxy sites also offer the advantage of hiding the URLs you visit, there is an even sneakier way to hide the URL. Go to Google Translate, then enter the Facebook URL. Translate it from English to English. The site will appear masked beneath miles of Google URL code in your company’s network log, yet you should have full access to your Facebook account.

Install A Panic Button On Your Browser

If you plan to use Facebook at work, you need a one-click method to hide your activities from plain sight when the boss or a nosy coworker walks by your desk. The best way to do this is with a browser extension known as a panic button.

Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer all have extensions that work as panic buttons. Once installed, you can either click the button on your browser or use a shortcut key to hide all of your open browser windows, then restore them when the boss walks away.

Be Careful

The main thing to remember when using Facebook at work is to be careful. If your company has blocked Facebook from its servers, take it as a sign that if you are caught surfing Facebook you will probably face disciplinary action.

Personally, I prefer to surf Facebook from my mobile phone rather than using the server at work.

What are your favorite tricks for hiding your Facebook activity?

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Google News highlights unique content with Editors’ Picks

News organizations tell stories online in ways that bring together the best of traditional and digital journalism, whether that involves long-form investigative features, compelling photo slideshows or interactive maps and charts that add new levels of engagement to the day's news. To help connect you to the best works of news publishers, Google News is introducing a new section in the right-hand column of the U.S. edition. The section is called "Editors' Picks,” and it displays original content that publishers have selected as highlights from their publications. This is the latest addition to recent improvements

An array of news organizations, including local, national and niche publishers, are now using Editors’ Picks to display their best, most engaging content. Because Google News relies on algorithms, Editors' Picks will always be just that—picks provided by publishers themselves, and not by Google. 

You can browse a set of publisher feeds that span national, specific and local interests—like The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, the Guardian and The Root, among many others—via the side-to-side arrows next to each publisher's logo. The feeds you see are chosen based on a variety of factors, including your news preferences. If you’re interested in using source preferences on Google News, Editors' Picks helps you do that with the slider that appears just below the articles.

Read More:- http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/google-news-highlights-unique-content.html

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Calling from Gmail now in 38 languages, with lower rates to over 150 destinations

They’re always trying to make it easier for people to connect—whether that means sending an email, chatting or video chatting, you can reach the people you care about from right inside Gmail. Last year, they made it possible for those of you in the U.S. to call any mobile phone or landline directly from Gmail and starting today, they are making this available to many more of you who use Gmail outside the U.S. by offering calling in 38 new languages.

Read More:- http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/calling-from-gmail-now-in-38-languages.html

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Gmail Snooze With Apps Script

( Cross Posted From The Gmail Blog )

Editor’s Note: For a more technical description, see the Google Apps Developer Blog

At Google, we all use email very heavily -- for communicating with other Googlers, for task management, and to mail around funny pictures of kittens. Because of the volume of email we all deal with, a lot of Googlers subscribe to the “inbox zero” philosophy where we try to keep our inboxes empty except for the messages we currently need to deal with.

What is Gmail Snooze?

One feature that some of us really wanted was for Gmail to let you “snooze” an email. Snoozing means archiving an email for now, but having it automatically reappear in the inbox at some specified time in the future. With Apps Script you can extend Gmail to add this functionality and a lot more yourself.

How to set it up

Even if you don't know how to write a script, it's pretty simple. Go to Google Docs and create a new spreadsheet, then choose "Script Editor" from the "Tools" menu. Paste in the following code:

var MARK_UNREAD = false;
var ADD_UNSNOOZED_LABEL = false;

function getLabelName(i) {
  return "Snooze/Snooze " + i + " days";
}

function setup() {
  // Create the labels we’ll need for snoozing
  GmailApp.createLabel("Snooze");
  for (var i = 1; i <= 7; ++i) {
    GmailApp.createLabel(getLabelName(i));
  }
  if (ADD_UNSNOOZED_LABEL) {
    GmailApp.createLabel("Unsnoozed");
  }
}

function moveSnoozes() {
  var oldLabel, newLabel, page;
  for (var i = 1; i <= 7; ++i) {
    newLabel = oldLabel;
    oldLabel = GmailApp.getUserLabelByName(getLabelName(i));
    page = null;
    // Get threads in "pages" of 100 at a time
    while(!page || page.length == 100) {
      page = oldLabel.getThreads(0, 100);
      if (page.length > 0) {
        if (newLabel) {
          // Move the threads into "today’s" label
          newLabel.addToThreads(page);
        } else {
          // Unless it’s time to unsnooze it
          GmailApp.moveThreadsToInbox(page);
          if (MARK_UNREAD) {
            GmailApp.markThreadsUnread(page);
          }
          if (ADD_UNSNOOZED_LABEL) {
            GmailApp.getUserLabelByName("Unsnoozed")
              .addToThreads(page);
          }          
        }     
        // Move the threads out of "yesterday’s" label
        oldLabel.removeFromThreads(page);
      }  
    }
  }
}

Then click the “Save” button and give it a name. In the dropdown labeled "Select a function to run," choose "setup" and click the blue run arrow to the left of it. This will ask you to authorize the script, and will create the necessary labels in your Gmail. Then go to the "Triggers" menu and choose "current script's triggers." Click the link to set up a new trigger, choosing the "moveSnoozes" function, a "time-driven" event, "day timer," and then "midnight to 1am." Click save and you’re done.

Using the Snooze Label in Gmail

To "snooze" a thread, use Gmail’s “Move To” button to move the thread into the "Snooze for X days" label and archive it. Every night, threads will move up through one day of the queue, and at the appointed number of days they will reappear in your inbox, unarchived.

Because this is an Apps Script, you can edit the code any way you like. If you’d like different snooze times or for unsnoozed messages to get starred, you can easily change the code. And if you have an even better idea for how to use Apps Script to improve Gmail, you can post it to our Gallery (Script Editor > Share > Publish Project) to share with the world.

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2-Step Verification: Stay safe around the world in 40 languages

(Cross-posted from The Google Blog )

Earlier this year, we introduced a security feature called 2-step verification that helps protect your Google Account from threats like password compromise and identity theft. By entering a one-time verification code from your phone after you type your password, you can make it much tougher for an unauthorized person to gain access to your account.

People have told us how much they like the feature, which is why we're thrilled to offer 2-step verification in 40 languages and in more than 150 countries. There’s never been a better time to set it up: Examples in the news of password theft and data breaches constantly remind us to stay on our toes and take advantage of tools to properly secure our valuable online information. Email, social networking and other online accounts still get compromised today, but 2-step verification cuts those risks significantly.

Read More :- Click Me

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Catch the London Underground With Google Maps

(Cross-posted from the Google Blog )

Starting today, you can get public transport directions for London within Google Maps. One of Europe’s largest metropolitan areas, London is a major destination for both business travelers and tourists. More than 1 billion passengers are serviced by Transport for London (TfL) every year across over 18,000 bus stops and over 250 Underground stations. 

Let’s say you’re at Trafalgar Square, and you want to visit Madame Tussauds. With a simpledirections search, you’ll see all the possible public transport connections. In Maps, click “Get directions” in the left-hand panel, and then the train icon to see public transport directions. Enter your departure location next to A, and your destination next to B. These can be either street addresses or names of popular places, businesses or restaurants. When you’re done, click the “Get directions” button and suggestions for your trip will appear below.

Read More :- Click Here

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OK Go Play with Chrome Via Google Blog

(Cross-posted from the Google Blog )

They all have a song or a personal soundtrack that speaks to them. But it doesn’t always say exactly what they want it to say.

In All is Not Lost — an HTML5 music collaboration between the band OK Go, the dance troupe and choreographers Pilobolus, and Google—you can embed your message in a music video and have the band dance it out. The band and Pilobolus dancers are filmed through a clear floor, making increasingly complex shapes and eventually words—and messages you can write yourself. 

All is Not Lost is built in HTML5 with the browser Google Chrome in mind. Different shots are rendered in different browser windows that move, re-size and re-align throughout the piece. With HTML5’s canvas technology, these videos are drawn in perfect timing with the music.

OK Go are well-known for their delightfully creative music videos, including Here It Goes Again, their first work featuring half a dozen treadmills, and This Too Shall Pass, based around an extraordinary Rube Goldberg machine—both of which have become extraordinarily popular on YouTube.They’re excited to collaborate with them on another project that finds its natural home on the web.

This project also has a special significance for the team here at Google Japan, who worked on this collaboration alongside OK Go. In the wake of the devastating Tōhoku earthquake, the band suggested using All is Not Lost as a message of support to the Japanese people during this difficult time. 

All is Not Lost is best experienced in Chrome at allisnotlo.st. For web developers curious about how the experience was created, you can read more on the Google Code Blog.

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National Geographic World Championship comes to Google

(Cross-posted from the Google Blog )

It’s summer vacation for many kids, but 51 students from 17 different regions have been spending their time off polishing and fine-tuning their geographic skills to prepare for this year’sNational Geographic World Championship, a biennial geography competition hosted by theNational Geographic Society.

This year, Google is the proud sponsor and on Wednesday, July 27, they’ll host the three final teams from Canada, Chinese Taipei and Russia at our campus in Mountain View, California. The preliminary rounds included a written exam on Sunday and activities at the San Francisco Zoo on Monday morning. Teams ventured to various zoo exhibits and were asked to identify climate maps and geographic locations associated with 10 different animal habitats housed throughout the zoo.

Teams from Canada, Chinese Taipei and Russia will move on to the National Geographic World Championship

Since most of you can’t be here to witness the action in person, they’re going to live stream the finale, hosted by Alex Trebek of the game show JEOPARDY!. Tune into the National Geographic YouTube Channel Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. PDT to cheer on these young competitors from wherever you are in the world.

Through this competition, they aim to inspire the future generation of leaders and innovators to become more geographically literate and have a deeper understanding about the world they live in. They hope you are as excited as they are to see such enthusiasm and passion around geographic education. 

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Celebrating The Creativity Of YouTube’s Partners

(Cross-posted from the Google Blog )

College friends make trick basketball shots into a career. A small blender company gets international attention by blending glow sticks and iPads. A musician goes from bagging groceries to beatboxing around the world. One of the most inspiring things about YouTube is the way people across the U.S. and around the world use it as a way to express their passions—and to turn those passions into careers. 

There are more than 20,000 people in the YouTube Partner Program, and numerous other companies and organizations use YouTube to draw attention to their causes and promote their businesses. Hundreds of people are making six-figure incomes on the site, enabling them to hire editors and producers and create even more original content. They’re helping their Partners grow their careers by running programs like YouTube NextUp and Creator Institute, and working to make the site a better and better place for people to grow businesses and build audiences. 

To shine a light on the many inspiring things happening on YouTube, they’ve put together a report sharing the stories of 20 YouTube Partners who are changing lives, businesses and in some cases, history. You can download a PDF version of “YouTube: Celebrating the next generation of creative video” or visit it online at youtube.com/awesomeytpartners. YouTube is a very special place because of the passion of their Partners and the positivity they bring, and they hope you’ll find these stories as uplifting as they do.

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The +1 Button:Now Faster Via Webmaster Central Blog

(Cross-posted on the Webmaster Central blog)

One of the 10 things they hold to be true here at Google is that fast is better than slow. They keep speed in mind in all things that they do, and the +1 button is no exception. Since the button’s launch, they have been hard at work improving its load time.They’re proud to announce two updates that will make both the +1 button and the page loading it, faster.

First, they’ve begun to roll out out a set of changes that will make the button render up to 3x faster on your site. No action is required on your part, so just sit back, relax, and watch as the button loads more quickly than before.

In addition to the improvements made to the button, they’re also introducing a new asynchronous snippet, allowing you to make the +1 experience even faster. The async snippet allows your web page to continue loading while your browser downloads the +1 JavaScript. By loading these elements in parallel, they’re ensuring the HTTP request to get the +1 button JavaScript doesn’t lead to an increase in your page load time. For those of you who have already implemented the button, you’ll need to update the code to the new async snippet, and then you should see an overall improvement in your page load time.

To generate the new async snippet, use their +1 Configuration Tool. Below, you’ll find an example of the code, which should be included below the last /g:plusone tag on your page.

If you haven’t already implemented the +1 button on your site, they’re excited for your first experience to be a fast one. This is a great opportunity to allow your users to recommend your site to their friends, potentially bringing in more qualified traffic from Google search. To those that already have the button, they hope that you enjoy the improvements in speed.Their team will continue to work hard to enhance the +1 button experience as they know that “fast is better than slow” is as true today as it’s ever been.

If you have any questions, please join them in the Webmaster forum. To receive updates about the +1 button, please subscribe to the Google Publisher Buttons Announce Group. For advanced tips and tricks, check their Google Code site.

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Review your mail forwarding and delegation settings

( Cross Posted From The Gmail Blog )

A number of Gmail settings are the kinds of things you can set and forget — like mail forwarding and delegation. When I was in college, I used filters to forward bills I received via email to my parents (lucky them!). That was useful for a few years, but not so much now that I’ve been paying my own bills for a while.

It can be pretty easy to forget about all the settings they’ve enabled years earlier. So, for about the next week, if you use Gmail's forwarding or delegation features you’ll see a message at the top of your inbox each time you sign in. The notice asks you to review your settings and confirm they’re still what you want.

If things look right, you’re good to go. The message will stop appearing in about a week. If you see any unfamiliar accounts or forwarding setups you no longer need, review your settings and change them as appropriate. Note that any unfamiliar accounts may indicate that your password has been compromised and you should change it immediately.

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Think Quarterly: new insights and perspectives for Google partners

They use research, analysis and insights—from inside and outside Google—to inform their decision-making and their products. They've spoken to a lot of their partners about how to help them access the same insights and conversations that inform their strategies, and today they're announcing a thought experiment for their clients called Think Quarterly. It’s intended to be a snapshot of what Google and other industry leaders are thinking about and inspired by today.

The first edition focuses on the broad concept of “innovation” and provides some perspectives on how it's possible to simultaneously lead and change the direction of an industry. They’ve included content from Macy’s CMO Peter Sachse on the future of mobile retail marketing, Ogilvy & Mather’s Russell Davies on the “Internet of Things,” and their very own Amit Singhal on how science fiction is becoming a reality in search.


Read More:- Click Here

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Customer Service in the Early Days of Google

( Cross Posted From The Google System Blog )

Many people complain that Google doesn't offer customer support for most of its services and it's really difficult to receive an email from Google that actually answers your questions. Here's a story from the book "I'm Feeling Lucky", written by the former Google employee Douglas Edwards. Back in 2000, Max Erdstein was Google's sole customer service rep and he could only use a laptop and a copy of Microsoft Outlook.

Max never envisioned customer service becoming an omnivorous blob consuming all his time, but soon he found himself responding robotically to more than a thousand emails a day from users around the world. Crushed under the load, he could do little than succinctly reply, "Thanks! Keep on Googling!" Non-English emails presented the biggest problem. They had no idea if people wanted to praise us or harangue us. They tried using off-the-web translation software, but it left us more confused than when they began. 

Meanwhile, there were rumblings from sales VP Omid that supporting advertisers and search-services customers should be a higher priority. Could Max help with that, too? After all, unlike users, these people were actually paying us. Max was emptying an ocean with a teaspoon. As the backlog of unanswered emails began to swell, Sergey offered a useful perspective. "Why do you need to answer user email anyway?" he wanted to know.

To Sergey's thinking, responding to user questions was inefficient. If they wrote us about problems with Google, that was useful information to have. They should note the problems and fix them. That would make the users happier than if they wasted time explaining to them that they were working on the bugs. If users sent us compliments, they didn't need to write back because they already liked us. So really, wouldn't it be better not to respond at all? Or at best, maybe write some code to generate random replies that would be fine in most cases?

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Google Image Search Shows More Information About Photos

( Cross Posted From The Google System Blog )

Google's image search engine started to show additional information about photos after clicking the results. The landing page's sidebar includes EXIF data: camera, settings, focal length, flash usage and exposure bias.

"Additional details are found from within the image file, often saved there by the digital camera that took the picture or the application that generated the image. This data can also be manually added or changed after the image has been created. Google doesn't create or change this data in images created by others. The data is saved using the Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) specification and can include details about the type of camera that took the image, the camera settings (like aperture, focal length, exposure length, and flash settings), and the copyright and usage rights associated with the image by the person who created or edited the image," explains Google.

Another change is that you can click "more sizes" for other versions of the image and "similar images" for visually related images. The sidebar also includes the search result's snippet.

The sidebar can also include a list of related searches, which offer a lot of information about the image and help you find similar images:

Google should also add links to the previous and the next search result so that you don't have to go back to the list of results.

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Google Makes Money from Chromebooks

( Cross Posted From The Google System Blog )

While many people think there's a lot of overlap between Android and Chrome OS, the products don't have a lot in common. Chrome OS is a proprietary operating system based on an open-source project and OEMs can't tweak it or add new features. Just like for Nexus One and Nexus S, you get all of the updates from Google. Another difference is that Chrome OS is constantly updated and you can even switch to the beta or the dev channel to try the latest features. Chrome OS has an automatic update feature, so that Chromebooks run the latest version of the operating system.

Google's CFO, Patrick Pichette, mentioned another difference between Android and Chrome OS: "Google is making some money from companies buying computers that run the Chrome operating system." Google came up with an innovative subscription modelfor businesses and schools. Instead of paying for the hardware, organizations can pay $20-$33/device/month and get a notebook, enterprise support, new devices every 3 years or even more often, a Web-based central management console, integration with Google Apps. While enterprise Chromebooks are a lot more expensive than the regular Chromebooks available at Amazon or Best Buy, Google says that the total cost of ownership of a notebook can be reduced by up to 70%. "Chromebooks and the management console automate or eliminate many common, time-intensive IT tasks like machine image creation, application distribution, patching, and upgrades. Additionally, there is no need to purchase licenses for anti-virus, data encryption or data back-up software."

Like Android, Chrome OS also encourages people to use Google's services more often. "People search more when they use the Chrome browser or Android phones, which increases Google's core business," says Patrick Pichette. Android will also offeradditional revenue opportunities. "Nonsearch revenue will eventually arrive for Android as it combines Google Maps, mobile payments with Google Wallet and daily deals with Google Offers."

When they have products that get resounding user and consumer success and that are growing in the hundreds of millions they don't worry. The only question is when and how will they monetize. Everybody's all nervous about the fact it's been 36 months since Android has launched and you only have search (revenue). That's the criticism I hear. The questions that are asked are so short-termish. That's just not the way that Google thinks.

For now, Chromebooks are the perfect Google Apps "thin clients", while Android devices have so many sensors that help you explore the world and make Web services a lot more useful when you are on the go.

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Google Toolbar for Firefox Has Been Discontinued

( Cross Posted From The Google System Blog )

Another Google product bites the dust. This time it's a popular add-on: Google Toolbar for Firefox. Many users were surprised to see that Google hasn't updated the toolbar for Firefox 5, even though it wasn't a difficult task. After enabling the Add-on Compatibility Reporter, most of the features worked well in Firefox 5.

It turns out that Google no longer wants to update Google Toolbar for Firefox, but it doesn't admit that the product has been discontinued.

"Google Toolbar for Firefox is compatible with Firefox version 4 or older. If you use Firefox version 5 or newer, you won't be able to use Google Toolbar."

Google suggests a long list of add-ons that could replace Google Toolbar's features, but the suggestions are too generic. For example, Google links to the search results for [bookmarks sync] or [language translate] in the Firefox add-ons gallery.

A Google blog post offers an explanation: "many features that were once offered by Google Toolbar for Firefox are now already built right into the browser" and thanks the loyal users. That's also true for the IE toolbar, but there are many useful features that aren't included in the browser: auto-translation (a built-in Chrome feature), Google Bookmarks integration, using Google Docs to open documents, smart spell-checking using an online service, highlighting search terms, suggestions for navigation errors (another built-in Chrome feature), custom buttons and gadgets.

You probably remember that Google Toolbar for Firefox was released in 2005, five years after the Internet Explorer version. At that time, Firefox users who wanted to install a Google Toolbar with PageRank support could try an unofficial extension calledGooglebar. Maybe that extension will be resurrected, now that Google Toolbar for Firefox is no longer available. Releasing some of the source code under an open-source license would be helpful.

For now, Google Toolbar still works in the latest Firefox releases if you install the Add-on Compatibility Reporter first and restart the browser. Here's Google Toolbar in Firefox 7 Alpha 2 (Aurora):

Last year, Microsoft's Bing Bar dropped support for Firefox and became an Internet Explorer-only add-on, just like Google Toolbar. Bing Bar is powered by Silverlight, a software for running rich internet applications. A few months ago, Google tested a new Google Toolbar powered by Chrome, but only for Internet Explorer. It's likely that the new toolbar didn't work well in Firefox, so Google decided to only offer an Internet Explorer version.

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Google Directory, No Longer Available

( Cross Posted From The Google System Blog )

Google Directory was the second Google service launched, after the Web search engine. It was released in 2000 to compete with Yahoo Directory, the most popular Web directory at that time. Google used data from Netscape's Open Directory Project, but it added an innovative feature: automatically ranking results.

Here's an excerpt from an article written by Danny Sullivan back in April 2000. "Google is applying link analysis in a new way, to the human powered information of the Open Directory. All I can say is hurray! I've been chanting for an end to the tyranny of the alphabet when it comes to directory listings for some time. Why should sites that begin with an A appear at the top of list, oppressing better quality sites that may simply begin with a letter further down in the alphabet? In many cases, this offers no help to the searcher."

Directories were useful at that time because there theyren't too many high-quality sites and reviewers could keep up with the growth of the Web. Now that the Web has a lot more than a trillion pages, it's impossible to maintain a directory, so algorithmic search engines are the only ones that can scale.

Now Google Directory is no longer available. "They believe that Web Search is the fastest way to find the information you need on the web," says Google.

Google Directory has been irrelevant for many years and very few Google domains still included the service in the navigation bar. Last year, Google dropped the search feature and not many people noticed.

{ via Search Engine Roundtable }

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