Vicky Lalwani

We all know about Google News, surely most of us have used it at least once. So the question is - how does Google monetise from it?

From a new article that was on Google News, I recently read that Marissa Mayer (Vice President Search Product and User Experience, Google - pictured) stated that Google News generates US$100 million in revenue.

I scratched my head going - “A hundred mil? How?”

Surely she had accidently slipped her tongue with that figure. Google simply directs any one who clicks on a new link straight through to news publisher’s site.

Also the News section is an ad-free area so Google isn’t making any ad-revenue which the company is ever so famous of normally doing.

But then I used Google’s search engine to begin my research - I found this - http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/07/22/whats-google-news-worth-100-million/

The figure comes from a referral technique, where it is assumed that Google News funnels readers to the main Google search site. So while we don’t realise this, it’s one way of Google’s free service, that somehow in the background makes money.

And this article is a perfect example. I read about the news headline at Google News (an ad-free environment) and it took me to Forbes. I read the article there, but I was intrigued. So what did I do, I went to Google search to get my research results (an ad-full environment).

This sort of ad-free service at one side to somehow lead us to the opposite end with ads, is a how Google News makes it’s US$100 million revenue referral.

So if Google is making $100 million from its News service, will the news publishers ask for that extra bit of cash? Clearly they already get traffic from users through Google, but if it wasn’t for them, Google wouldn’t have had the content in first place.

The same will come about when Google launches it’s digital consumer health records, a service that allows people to store and access their medical records online. At first there were thoughts of having ads around this service - but it was later decided that they are better off. This is because Google is hoping that the Google News strategy flows through - where it assumes that someone using Google to store medical records, will likely use Google Search when it comes to finding medication, doctors, hospitals or even to just general research.

The above almost defines the Google ecosystem.

I came across this article, on The Big Chair, that was written earlier this year - and I laughingly agree with Conrad Walters on this following extract from the article:

10 things that won’t change in 2008

1. Google will still have access to more information about you than your mother has.
2. The DVD drive on your computer will still be ideal for holding your first cup of coffee while Windows Vista loads.
3. Internet filters will still require children to help their parents view the websites they want.
4. Spammers will still exploit the inverse relationship that exists between IQ and greed.
5. Social networking sites will still be the best place for identity thieves to refine their craft.
6. People will still visit Second Life trying to discover if there’s something to do other than to see if there’s something to do.
7. YouTube will still be the definitive source for guidance on how to train cats to flush a toilet.
8. Mobile phones will still come with a choice of 200 ring tones, none of which anyone wants.
9. Broadband in rural Australia will still involve paper cups and string.
10. Video iPod users will still squint into postage-stamp screens and convince themselves they’ve enjoyed watching something.

Mark Cohen bought this article to my attention. It states that LimitNone, a company that developed an application, about a year ago, would allow users who use Microsoft Outlook to export all its contents into Gmail.

Back in 2007, LimitNone demo’ed the software to Google’s senior executives and were assured by Google that they would not roll out a competing product, but would instead work with LimitNone to roll it out.

However, all that changed when Google produced its own Google Email Uploader, an app similar to LimitNone’s gMove.

Originally LimitNone’s app was called MY GRATE, but on Google’s recommendation they renamed it to gMove.

“Google claims its core philosophy is ‘Don’t be evil’ but, simply put, they invited us to work with them, to trust them — and then stole our technology,” said Ray Glassman, CEO of LimitNone, in a prepared statement.

LimitNone claims the damaged to be worth US$1 Billion

Don’t be evil eh?