A few links for Wednesday morning:
The New York Times reports on Google’s new Ad Planner, a streamlined analytics client for ad buyers. TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld and SearchEngineWatch ask if Google Toolbar data is being used in these new aggregate data. I’m not sure why this is surprising or noteworthy – one would have to assume that Google is utilizing all of its identifiable data sources – Toolbar, Analytics, Adwords, Properties (yes, including this blog). Perhaps it is Google Toolbar’s unique scope of data collection that is interesting – unlike session- or cookie-based services that can only track you across properties, Google Toolbar allows for total monitoring. If you need a mental image, session-based tracking is akin to being caught on surveillance tape, whereas use of the Google Toolbar is like wearing the surveillance camera.
Technology Review has posted a new edition exploring Web 2.0. There’s a lot of content here to digest, including articles on The Business of Social Networks, Facebook’s technical architecture (a true skill of the company), Twitter, medical data and so on. Dive in and enjoy.
Finally, news that Facebook has partnered with Visa to create a network for small business. Obviously targeting Facebook’s emergent 35-plus population, you’re supposed to use the Visa network to schmooze business contacts and so forth. I’m not sure if this was leaked before embargo, because as I clicked around the Visa network on Facebook I got a bunch of 404’s. Even though this is the opposite of exciting, I’m going to keep my eye on this – a big success here could be a huge validation for Facebook. I’m skeptical, though; huge, impersonal idea and networking markets are often races to the bottom, as opposed to the spaces of proper discourse executives imagine.
Post-script: Check out Lilly Nguyen et. al.’s new invention, Twitflicks. Using Flickr images, Twitflicks visually represents public Twitters. Fascinating.
Fred Stutzman is a doctoral student, researcher and teaching fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science. He studies how people use social media.
