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Rev up the rumor mill engines! We’re not sure what the expiration date is on this one either so we better get on it fast. It appears that the fresh, French air at the LeWeb conference in Paris has created an awkward moment for Twitter co-founder and chairman, Jack Dorsey. Let this be a lesson for all you kids out there that words are powerful things and they are also very malleable. In other words, people like to twist them. So what did Jack say? According to the Telegraph During a panel session entitled: ‘European Gang Live’ at LeWeb 09 in Paris, Mr Dorsey was asked if Google was planning on acquiring Twitter. Instead of denying the possibility as expected, he replied: “There have been no announcements.” Mr Dorsey was then repeatedly questioned as to why he had not flat-out denied the possibility of a deal happening between the two companies. He said, “It [the answer] just came to me.” He went onto say: “Twitter is focused on building a sustainable company.” Did you ever see the Seinfeld episode where George says “I love you” to his ‘girlfriend’ and Jerry reminds him, “That’s an awful big matzoh ball you floated out there!”. Ditto for Dorsey. The long and short of this is that now the rumors will fly again as they did earlier in the year (Google did get those real time search results up and running pretty quickly didn’t they?). Even if there was a a note of sarcasm in Dorsey’s voice when he said it we will never know. Thus the limitation of the printed word. He may have said it jokingly but it may be reported without the emotion. Who knows? Either way I suppose this will be something to keep people talking through the holidays because a juicy rumor whether there is a shred of truth in it or not is something that makes the Internet go round. Any thoughts or additions to keep this thing rolling or stop it dead in its tracks?

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Oh No! Google’s Buying Twitter Again?

News flash! Google makes a lot of cash on paid search ads. Phew. I couldn’t keep that ‘news’ in any longer. We are so used to that element of Google and the online space that it is really just viewed as a fact of life and not much else thought is given to it unless you are a PPC ‘guru’ (fyi – if you actually use that terminology to describe yourself (others doing it TO you doesn’t count) just know that people laugh at you behind your back). You buy the ads, people click on them and then you try to figure out if they bought something as a result. Based on the success of this model you would think that the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ mentality would hold sway at a place like Google. Fortunately, it doesn’t. I say fortunately because there is not a lot business products and / or models that have maintained their leadership position by not changing and evolving (remember IBM’s Big Blue train wreck due to not paying attention?). As a result Google is making some adjustments to their paid ads presentation. The official Google blog tells us . Text is often useful, but sometimes videos and pictures are a more effective way to receive information. For example, if you want to learn a magic trick, a video showing you how to perform the trick is likely the best result. So over the past few years, we’ve blended videos, images, maps and more into the search results on Google.com. It also makes sense to provide you with richer types of information in the ads. If you’re looking to buy your mom a new handbag for the holidays, for instance, you might want to see pictures, prices, the addresses of boutiques in your area and a map of how to get there — all within the ad. To provide a better search ads experience, we’ve been developing and testing a variety of new ad formats. These formats are focused on giving you the information you need, while retaining what you love about Google advertising: that the ads are relevant and useful. Hard to argue with that thinking. Here are the examples given on the blog for the new variety of ads you may be seeing. Video in the ad More Links in the ad Maps and directions in ads Images and pricing in ads Chain store locations in ads Comparison ads The post closes with a nice summation from Susan Wojcicki, VP, Product Management While we experiment with new formats, we’ll remain loyal to our core principle : that getting the right ad to the right person at the right time matters. As we continue to think up innovative ways to give you the information you want, you’re likely to see even more ad formats until we pinpoint the most useful, relevant and engaging ones. We’ll keep trying new things until we discover the “perfect” ads that improve your overall search experience. All I have to say to these ads and the thought behind it is ‘well done’. Who needs Rupert Murdoch anyway (Did I just type that? My bad.) Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com – Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!

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These Are NOT Your Grandfather’s Google Search Ads

I think every single one of us could share a frustrating online shopping experience, especially one about trying to find a product you know a retailer offers, but doesn’t show up in their search results. Google wants to make it easier for all of us with their new enterprise offering , Google Commerce Search . To participate, you submit all your data to Google Merchant Center and Google Product Search (via data feeds, direct uploads or the API), and then customize the look and feel of your search engine with Google. Although Google doesn’t mention this in the documentation, I can only assume you have to do something to incorporate the Commerce Search into your site (probably replacing your old search engine). (Oh, and PS, it starts at $50k/yr.) And, now, isn’t that awfully handy? Just in time for the holidays, Google has come out with a solution for you that entails you adding your entire inventory to Google Product Search. They warn us that, on average, a user takes 8 seconds to decide whether to stay on a site (although several other studies have shown that people judge sites in less than a second ). If we don’t have our products indexed with Google, in those eight seconds, we’ll lose all our potential customers! Wait, why, again? (To be realistic, this isn’t even close to being “in time for the holidays.” That would have probably been in June so they could get past the ramp up stage.) And once again, for the visual learners: Obviously, I’m all for better usability on eCommerce sites. But somehow, I don’t think Google really has us in mind as they rolled this out. What do you think? Is this something Google is doing out of the goodness of their hearts, or out of interest for the bottom line?

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All Your eCommerce Are Belong to Google