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The Search: How Google and Its Rivals…
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The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture (original 2005; edition 2005)

by John Battelle

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1,3252714,178 (3.71)4
[In this book, the author] explores the history of Web search companies and portals, including AltaVista, GoTo, Excite, Lycos, and, to a fuller extent, Yahoo. However, his primary focus is the development of Google and its search technology. An introductory look at basic online search technology segues to an examination of Google's own search algorithms. Interviews with Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt provide insight into the corporate rationale of Google. For the most part, the examination of Google is neutral. However, the author directly challenges the company's acquiescent stance on online censorship in China as well as Google's ambiguous privacy policy, and in so doing, directly challenges the company's motto "Don't be evil." [The author] contrasts Google's initial venture as primarily a search company to its ever-increasing forays into media development and delivery. The implications of the industry's research into smarter searches, through the development and application of personalized, predictive, and semantic technologies, are also discussed. An easy-to-read and well-organized examination of Google's history, this book is for computer science and business collections as well as for general readers.-http://www.booksinprint.com.… (more)
Member:FogCreek
Title:The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture
Authors:John Battelle
Info:Portfolio Hardcover (2005), Hardcover, 320 pages
Collections:Your library
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The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture by John Battelle (2005)

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English (21)  French (3)  Italian (1)  German (1)  Portuguese (1)  All languages (27)
Showing 1-5 of 21 (next | show all)
Thisis a history of search and search engines with a focus on Google. Battelle also discusses the social significance of search.

I found the most interesting part of the book to be the history of different search engine companies and how their attitude towards search changed over time. The basic overview of how search works might be interesting to people who do not know it already. The commentary on the effect of search had the potential to be interesting but was not -- it came across as scattered and not nearly as deep as Battelle was trying to make it sound.

I found the book engaging; Battelle clearly knows the subject. At the same time it was annoying to read. Battelle writes like a journalist and that style does not scale to a book. He is always looking for conflict between people and companies and uses too many cutesy stories. It gets tiring after awhile and makes the book feel shallow. Still, if you want to read a history of search companies, this is a good resource.
  eri_kars | Jul 10, 2022 |
The latter part is better the things on what the future in search can bring etc, but if you have followed much of the stuff aroung google SEO and search in generel there isn't much new. ( )
  henrikll | Aug 8, 2014 |
The Search is a good, but not great, book detailing Google's ascension to the top of the search world. It's interesting to hear the background story of how Google came about, and some of the other companies whose efforts paved the way.My only complaints with the book are that the author appears to be rather biased in favor of Google and that now, a few years after publication, some of the insights are a bit dated (though to be fair, that is to be expected with a book about such a fast-moving company in a fast-paced industry).Battelle only briefly touches on some of the potential imperfections of Google, but you can almost feel that he's forcing himself to put those brief sections in place simply to appear less biased. Not that I am opposed to Google, in fact, I have a lot of respect for them, but I would've enjoyed a more objective look. ( )
  tkadlec | Jan 20, 2011 |
Not so much a company biography of Google as a thoughtful examination of the increasing role that the Internet is playing in business and society and of the importance of being able to sort through the seeming unlimited information on the Web. ( )
  dickmanikowski | Jun 26, 2010 |
This book caught my eye at a book sale a few weeks ago. Even though it’s now almost 5 years old (eons in technology years), it still has plenty of usefulness as a history of the development of search technology and of Google, the company whose name has become synonymous with “search”. Remember Archie, Gopher, and Veronica? AltaVista, Lycos, HotBot, and Excite? Battelle places each one in a chronological narrative of search beginning in the early 1990s. Battelle’s comparison of Google’s approach to search with Yahoo’s approach to search is particularly useful to me as a librarian who frequently uses search during a typical workday. Most of the book, though, is devoted to the rise of Google. Recommended for any reader interested in the history of the Internet and search technology. ( )
1 vote cbl_tn | Jan 28, 2010 |
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[In this book, the author] explores the history of Web search companies and portals, including AltaVista, GoTo, Excite, Lycos, and, to a fuller extent, Yahoo. However, his primary focus is the development of Google and its search technology. An introductory look at basic online search technology segues to an examination of Google's own search algorithms. Interviews with Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt provide insight into the corporate rationale of Google. For the most part, the examination of Google is neutral. However, the author directly challenges the company's acquiescent stance on online censorship in China as well as Google's ambiguous privacy policy, and in so doing, directly challenges the company's motto "Don't be evil." [The author] contrasts Google's initial venture as primarily a search company to its ever-increasing forays into media development and delivery. The implications of the industry's research into smarter searches, through the development and application of personalized, predictive, and semantic technologies, are also discussed. An easy-to-read and well-organized examination of Google's history, this book is for computer science and business collections as well as for general readers.-http://www.booksinprint.com.

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