With John Battelle’s new book poised for the bestseller list, and the unrelenting stream of breathless news announcements emanating from the monopolistic search engine, web portal, software company, advertising firm, cash machine, etc., how can Microsoft, Yahoo or AOL ever expect to dampen Google’s mighty mojo? Google news comes in all shapes and sizes — from new products and innovations to strategic partnerships/acquisitions to financial maneuvers.
Just today, two new products from Google broke into the public domain: an in-browser online video playback feature and a new blog search engine. Like Microsoft or GE or Kraft, for that matter, industry segment leaders needn’t do much to capture the attention of their loyal gaggle of beat reporters. Even so, the quality of the “news” emanating from Google just seems to resonate better. It’s nice as a PR person to have something substantive to communicate.