Google continues its effort to personalize search results, this time with Google Video. After adding a page of recommended videos, now the search results can be personalized. For an ambiguous query like “grid”, the top results were:After tailoring the results to my interests (using my previous queries, ratings, videos watched), there’s a big change. In-grid’s music videos are no longer in the top results (the two videos were moved to #6 and #7).

When most people think of the Google brand, they get a warm fuzzy feeling. Indeed, Google is one of the top influential brands in the world, but not everyone feels butterflies in their tummy, when they think of Google.
In fact, when it comes to offline advertising channels, Google is finding that it’s brand is more of a hindrance, than help, when it comes to negotiating deals with radio, TV and newspaper markets. As the NYT highlights, many

Nothing creates more speculation on Google’s next products, than spying on their open job vacancies.
Digit Online is doing just that and, based upon what they’re seeing, makes some (not so) far-fetched predictions on Google’s television ambitions.
“The Google VOD [video on demand] experience is something that they could easily convince Comcast or Time Warner or Cox or insert cable provider here that that’s something

It’s official, we are definitely in the middle of a massive multi-industry war on the level of the RIAA/filesharing and other major technology wars of recent memory. Today, the war entered its third major stage, with many of the opposition joining forces to announce a YouTube competitor, coming this summer.
The chronology:
Pre-war ops: Various companies and startups enter the video sharing arena. YouTube (2/15/2005), Revver (11/2005), Br

Google announced last month that Google Video will become a search engine that will include videos from different video sites. For the moment, Google Video includes YouTube videos in the search results.Because YouTube is much more popular than Google Video, it has much more videos, so most search results will contain a lot of YouTube videos

I just read an interesting MarketWatch piece on the issues Google faces with the policing of copyrighted content on YouTube. Because YouTube allows videos to be uploaded, without first being screened or approved, it’s very easy for a pulled clip to be replaced within minutes.
“It’s now a game of whack-a-mole,” said John Palfrey, a Harvard law school professor, and executive director of the school’s Berkman Center For Internet & Society.

I’m jealous that Palfrey was giving\ the opportunity to provide MarketWatch with such a cool sound-bite, but it certainly sums-up the game YouTube is playing, perfectly

Google Video’s homepage added arrows for each category so you can browse more videos without leaving the homepage. This is a nice trick to fit more content in a limited space and could be used in Google Video’s right sidebar, so you don’t have to scroll too much to see related videos or the playlist.If you use orkut, you have another way to discover videos: directly from your friends

So you want to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Some information is available for free (the web), other information requires subscriptions or should be bought (books), there’s information too hard to find (rare documents) and information too personal (your emails).The first content acquisition for Google was Usenet, a collection of bulletin-board messages

Google Video shows a full page of recommended videos. “Recommendations are based on your search history, ratings and viewing patterns.”Like in the Interesting Items for You Google gadget (what a long name!), Google mixes videos popular in your region with videos related to what you usually watch.For each recommended video, there’s a “Not interested” button that removes the video and might improve the quality of Google’s recommendations in the future.

The BBC is reporting YouTube will shortly launch an advertising revenue share model with users who upload their own unique videos.
Following a model that has helped Revver gain popularity, YouTube founder Chad Hurley indicated the goal was to “reward creativity” of users that upload popular content.
The system would be rolled out in a couple of months, he said, and use a mixture of adverts, including short clips shown ahead of the actual film.

Also coming is a new system to identify copyrighted material.
The company…was currently working on “audio fingerprinting” technologies to identify copyrighted material…

I’m guessing the identification of copyrighted material would come before the revenue share rollout

Google has just announced the first step in integrating Google Video with newly acquired YouTube.
Google search results already include links to content that’s hosted on YouTube. Starting today, YouTube video results will appear in the Google Video search index: when you click on YouTube thumbnails, you will be taken to YouTube.com to experience the videos

When the partnership between Google and the NHL was first announced, there was much fanfare — people were excited about the prospect of watching their games any time they wanted.  These videos were planned to be "free for two weeks", however it ended up being "free until the partnership died", if that's what actually happened.
For [...]

VideoSift has created a site counting down the top 100 web videos of 2006, 99 of which are from YouTube and Google Video (mostly just YouTube). Here are my favorites of the entire list, which can provide hours of time-wasting entertainment:
#38 - Brilliant Mime Routine + Natalie Imbruglia

Via: VideoSift
#52 - David Blaine Street Magic - SATIRE

Via: VideoSift
#98 - a couple gets kinky in the bedroom

Via: VideoSift
#43 - Monkeys - A Short Movie About What We Are

Via: VideoSift
#90 - adorable animated dog takes care of baby, loves cheese

Via: VideoSift
#8 - judson laipply: evolution of dance

Via: VideoSift
57 - Must love jaws

Via: VideoSift
#93 - Casting for the Xbox360 “Shootout” Commercial

Via: VideoSift
#30 - Simpsons Live!

Via: VideoSift
#42 - The Internet: “A Series of Tubes”

Via: VideoSift
#45 - Trick-or-Treater Scared Witless by Dummy Scarecrow - Poor Fellow (15 secs)

Via: VideoSift
#12 - Best home made lightsaber duel ever!
Via: VideoSift
#80 - I think this Xbox is the best present I ever bought for you
Via: VideoSift
#99 - Progenitorivox - the drugs I need

Via: VideoSift
#37 - Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV

Via: VideoSift
#53 - This Kid Wants Someone To Play Football With Him

Via: VideoSift
#33 - The Art of Motion - Nice Stop Motion Action
Via: VideoSift
#87 - “There will come soft rains” animation of Ray Bradbury story

Via: VideoSift
#85 - Animated short - Gerald wakes as a woman (en femme) (warning: nsfw? animated boobs)

Via: VideoSift
#64 - Broken Escalator: Somebody help me - please! There are two people stuck on an escalator and we need help!

Via: VideoSift
#25 - stephen colbert swallows a banana and totally loses it

Via: VideoSift
#56 - Roller Coaster + Bowling == Fun

Via: VideoSift
#35 - Skateboarding Dog

Via: VideoSift
#44 - Rube Goldberg - amazing.

Just heard from Google that they are adding new features to Google Finance today.
New features include:

Enhanced Charts: Comprehensive charts now display up to 40 years of historic data for US stocks.
Market Trends: A “top-mover” module on the Google Finance homepage now highlights the market’s top moving companies (featured categorically by price, market cap, volume, and queries).
Customizable Portfolios: Store multiple portfolios and upload information from other online portfolios to Google Finance

ClickZ reports that Coca-Cola has signed a deal with YouTube to allow users to create custom video messages for the holidays.
What I find interesting is that this is a deal with YouTube. The significance? It was only a few weeks back that Coke did an ad deal with Google Video, so why not simply continue with that arrangement?
It’s clear that YouTube will replace Google Video and we may even see Google winding-down Google Video in the coming months, as they push YouTube’s more hip brand.
Pilgrim