Zotero: The Next-Generation Research Tool. Google Custom Search Engine - Site search and more. Maybe Google Should Be Worried About Facebook. This morning we published a great piece by my colleague Alex Iskold that asked if Google should be afraid of Facebook. Alex concluded that, no, Facebook is not in the same league as Google and Larry and Sergey should be breathing easy. I'll briefly offer a contrarian view in light of the massive influx of cash that Facebook received yesterday, and more importantly, who it came from.
Alex argues that in order for Facebook to compete on Google's level, they will need "serious cash. " Yesterday's $240 million investment from Microsoft is not chump change, and if unsubstantiated rumors pan out, the total amount that Facebook raised could be nearer to $750 million. That may still be a marketing error for Google, but enough for Facebook to expand comfortably for awhile. And what if Facebook gets into search? In order to do that, said Alex, "they would have to build their own search engine or partner with someone. " Deepak, a commenter on Alex's post this morning, isn't buying it. Social Bookmarking Services And Tools: The Wisdom Of Crowds That. Taking steps to further improve our privac. Posted by Peter Fleischer, Privacy Counsel-Europe, and Nicole Wong, Deputy General Counsel When you search on Google, we collect information about your search, such as the query itself, IP addresses and cookie details.
Previously, we kept this data for as long as it was useful. Today we're pleased to report a change in our privacy policy: Unless we're legally required to retain log data for longer, we will anonymize our server logs after a limited period of time. When we implement this policy change in the coming months, we will continue to keep server log data (so that we can improve Google's services and protect them from security and other abuses)—but will make this data much more anonymous, so that it can no longer be identified with individual users, after 18-24 months.
Just as we continuously work to improve our products, we also work toward having the best privacy practices for our users. If you want to know more, read the log retention FAQ (PDF).