Comments on: Why Google Is a Fair-Weather Friend

By: Gov

Gov — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:20:51 +0000

An alternative to Googlemaps is using deCarta’s internet solutions
Check out the AJAX/JavaScript and our hosted web services.

http://www.decarta.com/products/sss_javascript_API.htm

By: Meg

Meg — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:33:54 +0000

Just because several real estate listings services use Google Maps for free, it doesn’t make them Google’s friends. If anything, it makes them Google’s moochers.

I have long been pissed off with sites like MLS that give listings without addresses. Why do realtors think they “own” a listing? For any other product someone tries to sell, advertising is good – free advertising is even better! Realtors’ role must be to arrange viewings and help negotiate contracts, not too keep a veil of secrecy over inventory – therefore hurting the sellers they’re supposed to represent. The house market bubble has given them a free ride for too long, and the illusion that they somehow have a monopoly right over information. I hope that Google’s offering changes that. If I were a seller, I would list my house with Google myself. And if my realtor protested, I’d fire him!

By: Google may kill Microsoft, but it won’t kill real estate | 1000Watt Consulting

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:11:39 +0000

[...] probably read the posts about Google’s move to make searching real estate via Google Maps slightly less [...]

By: Brendon J. Wilson

Brendon J. Wilson — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:15:09 +0000

This can hardly be surprising – one of the advantages of building a “platform” technology like Google Maps and then opening it up to developers is that the development community essentially becomes a free source of ideas. This outsourced research and development team performs two vital functions: it identifies functionality worth integrating into the platform, and it tests the robustness of the platform (which improves the platform for both the developer, the developer’s competitors, and the platform vendor).

Being a platform vendor is like being a casino: the game is rigged such that the house always wins.

By: Google Maps Enter the Real Estate Search Field « LanCo RE Weblog

Google Maps Enter the Real Estate Search Field « LanCo RE Weblog — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:54:12 +0000

[...] Google Is a Fair-Weather Friend (gigaom.com) [...]

By: FBS Blog » Blog Archive » What is (and isn’t) new with Google Real Estate?

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:17:39 +0000

[...] GigaOm: Why Google is a Fair-Weather Friend [...]

By: roostblog

roostblog — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:00:43 +0000

We like Google for everyday searches, just like the next guy! Here at Roost.com, we live and breathe real estate for the web everyday and think our laser focus is apparent to consumers who use our real estate search engine. So while Google explores this market, we know that homebuyers are best served by a search that provides access to truly current MLS data like ours — it’s the only way to know you’ve got the most comprehensive and accurate information (providing the best shot at locating your proverbial “dream home”). Saving time is also key, underscoring the importance of having everything you need in one place (photos, contact information, comps, mortgage calculator, zestimates, etc.) contained in a clean design that has only the real estate customer in mind. We also think it’s a burden to be continually asked to conduct a sign-up process when you’d like more information on particular homes. It’s all in the details….

Derek Overbey
Sr. Director of Marketing & Social Media
Roost.com

By: Google ‘Real Estate’ Not New « Screenwerk

Google ‘Real Estate’ Not New « Screenwerk — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:44:14 +0000

[...] for properties on Google Maps. Matt McGee wrote it up on SEL and Om Malik offers something of a cautionary note on GigaOM. This was triggered by the launch of real-estate search on Maps in Australia. While the [...]

By: spandana

spandana — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:38:13 +0000

was thinking about this trend for a while now. couple of posts.

http://valleychai.com/blog/2008/internet-innovations/are-search-engines-fair-partners/
http://valleychai.com/blog/2008/silicon-valley-life/google-is-scraping-the-bottom/

also note that the news.google.com grew by highlighting the small/niche sites. after the growth however, they are now dumped and the AP/Reuters comes up on the site. if you are a small publisher, may be you should be glad that you got your traffic spike from google for a few days. or may be you should feel like a used prophylactic.

REMEMBER
* google is smarter than you. shut up and hold your questions.
* if it’s good for google, it’s good for you. shut up and buy the stock.
* google has the right over your content. if in doubt, shut up and count your traffic.
* everything on the web should be free, except AdWords. shut up and enjoy the free youtube videos of jodha akbar.
* if you monetize it, we’ll make the same thing, and give it away for free. gee that sounds familiar.

Google, as the leader in the web world, has the responsibility to set the agenda for the industry that allows the whole ecosystem to grow and be healthy. what it (inadvertantly, in my opinion) is doing is to sucking the oxygen out of the ecosystem (channeling it into adwords) by not allowing alternative monetization models to succeed.

By: Google enters Real Estate market,latest Google news,Latest information,details,comments,reviews and much more at Wackao | Wackao

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:21:34 +0000

[...] While most of companies in the real estate sector use Google maps which are an easy ,free and detailed guide to information there are other options available.Google which was so far a friend in the business for them is now a rival in their business. Google’s revenues has taken a plunge and the profits margin has decreased by quite an amount in the current recession,due to this surmounting pressure the company had to evolve other ways of generating revenue and this is perhaps the best thing which would help people to locate and the Google maps itself.Google has taken a start in Australia and soon plan to enter other markets as US. “Whatever the outcome, it makes perfect sense that Google is taking this route; numerous real estate listings services already use Google’s mapping service and the company needs to find new ways to make money in order to keep its revenue stream growing. If it doesn’t, the company faces the prospect of its stock going south. And Google can’t afford to have its stock sink because it needs that currency to keep its offices stocked with smart engineers.” :Gigaom [...]

By: Riyo8

Riyo8 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:40:25 +0000

I think its a nice move by Google, whatever it be atleast it would benefit those in need!

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:53:36 +0000

1) Just because Google enters a market does not mean it will succeed;

2) There are lots of sources for maps.

By: Tony Wright

Tony Wright — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:01:25 +0000

I’m sure somewhere in Google is a list of search types that are sortable by popularity and revenue per search. Google has already jumped on common searches like weather (search for “weather 98116″), stocks (search for “goog”), local (search for “seattle thai”), and more. They are dabbling in lots of areas (Google profiles for people search for example) and it’s not surprising that they’d hit real estate, where lots of money changes hands online.

From a shareholder value perspective, it makes sense for Google to grab the top slot like this for lucrative search types. Assuming the stuff they put above the search results are marginally good, they’ll get the clicks– it doesn’t matter if Zillow, etc., have better content.

I imagine the only thing that’s stopping google from placing a Google property above search results for all of the most lucrative search types is time, desire, and anti-trust issues.

By: Friends of Dave (friendsofdave) 's status on Monday, 06-Jul-09 21:08:08 UTC - Identi.ca

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:08:17 +0000

[...] http://gigaom.com/2009/07/06/google-is-a-fair-weather-friend/ [...]