WebProNews (www.webpronews.com) announced on October 19 that the search engine leader Ask Jeeves (www.ask.com) has selected Telcontar's Drill Down Server (www.telcontar.com/demos/dds.html) to power its Map Search function on the Ask Jeeves web site. With Telcontar's DDS spatial software platform combined with NAVTEQ map data (www.navteq.com), Ask Jeeves will provide its users with access to city maps and driving directions. The Telcontar Drill Down Server (DDS) enables location-based service providers the ability to easily integrate digital maps and traditional database content drawn from multiple sources for fast, accurate access to the user. The DDS provides flexible, patented spatial searching, geocoding and routing for LBS applications that include mapping and directions, navigation, fleet tracking, trip planning and real-time traffic information.
The Associated Press (www.ap.org) announced on October 19 that America Online Inc. unit AOL Europe and the search engine giant Google Inc. (www.google.com) have signed a new multi-year agreement that will provide AOL users with targeted advertising from the search engine giant's AdWords advertisers, and will allow Google advertisers to target ads based on AOL members search requests.
PRWeb (www.prweb.com) announced on October 19 that Chris Hines, developer of Charlotte, North Carolina’s first minority-owned search engine www.supersurge.com, was in fact born to a poor sharecropper’s family. Hines himself has said that his early years were spent in a loving but very poor environment and that at the age of 13 things went suddenly black after he developed cataracts and was essentially helpless. The South Carolina Commission for the Blind paid for the surgery his parents could not afford and not only restored his sight but his faith in humanity.
The Atlanta-based search engine optimization company Prominent Placement (www.prominentplacement.com) announced on October 19 that it has examined individuals’ web search statistics related to the US Presidential election and analyzed how the two major party candidates fared. Prominent Placement began its web search analysis on October 12 to determine how potential voters are conducting political-related web searches. The SEO company has found that searches on the key phrase “John Kerry” outnumber searches done on the key phrase “George Bush” by a 4-to-1 margin, and “George W. Bush” by a 2-to-1 margin.
Mainichi Daily News (http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp) announced on October 19 that the two founders of the search engine giant Google (www.google.com), Sergey Brin and Larry Page, flew into Tokyo to introduce themselves to Japan's media and to promote a number of projects in Japan, including the establishment of a research and development center. And while Brin and Page didn't announce specific details about when the center will go into operation, they did say that a Japanese version of Google's desktop search tool released internationally last week was being hurriedly developed.
BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk) announced on October 19 that an Australian journalist kidnapped in Iraq was freed after his captors checked the popular Internet search engine Google (www.google.com) to confirm his identity. John Martinkus was seized in Baghdad on October 16, the first Australian held hostage in Iraq since the US-led invasion. But his captors agreed to release him after they were convinced he was not working for the CIA or a US contractor.
Victoria, British Columbia-based StepForth Placement Inc. (www.stepforth.com), a Canadian Internet company specializing in Search Engine Placement, has been chosen by Time Inc. (www.timeinc.com) to provide consultation services to increase the visibility of their websites. By engaging StepForth to consult on the websites of Fortune Magazine (www.fortune.com) and Business 2.0 (www.business2.com), Time Inc. will also be able to improve the websites of Time Magazine (www.time.com), In Style, People (www.people.com) and Parenting (www.parenting.com).
Following quickly after the beta release of its new Desktop Search technology, the search engine giant Google (www.google.com) unveiled on October 18 the latest product in its ever-growing line of search utilities, Google Life Search. After installation on a computer in a user’s apartment or home, Google Life Search uses a stream of magnetically targeted electrons to index a user's memory. The results are then accessible through a web browser. Google based the software on its Internet search engine, and technology it acquired from MindScan, which it picked up with money raised in its IPO. It takes up to three days to index a person's entire brain, during which time the person must remain motionless in front of the computer.
The search engine KaZaZZ! (www.kazazz.com) announced on October 18 the launch of its online auction network KaZaZZ! Auctions (www.kazazz.com/auctions), which allows consumers the ability to buy and sell a wide variety of products and services online. The new auction site includes a simple interface, free membership and a $10 free credit for signing up as a new member. In addition, all fees related to the new auction network will be waived until January 1, 2005.
JobsInSearch.com (www.jobsinsearch.com) announced on October 18 its official launch as a specialist job site for the search engine industry. The site features job vacancies with companies who provide search engine related products and services. By only advertising jobs that are related to the search engine industry, JobsInSearch.com offers a targeted service for job seekers and recruiters.
