MikePadgett.com

Google stories

— Bits and pieces about recent developments in the world of Google.”

This week I came across some points of interest regarding Google.

Firstly, there’s Google Video, yet another Beta that pushes the boundaries of the web.

For some time we’ve heard all about this shining concept of Video On Demand, and this is the highest profile example of it to date.

One of the top rated videos on the Beta site when I browsed it was “Russian Climbing”. This ridiculously dangerous sport – commonly known as “parkour” in France, where it was invented by bored hellraisers – looks a bit like extreme skateboarding, only without a skateboard.

The protagonist – seemingly impervious to pain or bodily risk – treats the shells of buildings as his playground, legging it between them, climbing all over them and jumping off their rooves. Mad as a bike.

Up next, Andy Rutledge decided to have a crack at redesigning the Google homepage a few weeks ago, proving himself also impervious to risk as a designer.

“What Google does not do well is apply design appropriately to its search engine interface.” says the Creative Director from Texas, reasoning that it’s easier to achieve success with a poor design that’s simple.

So he manfully steps up to the edge of the roof to take a leap himself, evidently responding to a current trend across the Web of complaints about criticism without alternative propositions (which is fair enough, by the way).

Andy’s proposition is bold and well-conceived, though I think that the Google homepage’s reputation as a master of understatement would be threatened even by the splash of Microsoft blue.

Google’s simplicity is key to its success. But the fact that search engines are the main method of using the Internet today is not to everyone’s taste. In A List Apart’s user-polled most hated things about the Web (the Valentine’s Day Massacre), there are a few strikingly negative comments.

“I have been searching for hours, and the only things I found were things I already knew” complains respondent Thomas Bleijendaal, whilst Ian Corey comments, “search for ‘tsunami victim’ on Yahoo!. The first listing on the page will offer you ‘The best deals on tsunami vicitims.’”. Anthony Ina says of Search Engine Optimization: “I now have people that don’t even know how to view source asking if the alt tags have keywords in them”.

There’s no doubt that Google’s profits fund interesting and occasionally exciting side projects. Let’s hope those bods keep developing their core business too.