Zeitgeist

Larry Page on Tour: Our Big Bets Do Work Out

Liz Gannes in News on May 23 at 12:49 pm PT

Google CEO Larry Page is on a public speaking rampage this week.

Larry Page on Speed: “There Are No Companies That Have Good Slow Decisions”

Peter Kafka in Media on September 27, 2011 at 9:47 pm PT

“There are only companies that have good fast decisions.” Gotta go faster, says the Google CEO, as Eric Schmidt nods approvingly.

Viral Video: 2010 As Told Through Google Products

Liz Gannes in Social on December 9, 2010 at 10:10 am PT

For 2010, Google dressed up its annual Zeitgeist list of fastest-rising search terms with nifty HTML5 data visualizations and a music video that sums up the year while demonstrating uses of all sorts of Google products.

Google Street View: Chronology of a Cock-Up

John Paczkowski in News on October 29, 2010 at 3:30 am PT

Much as Google would like Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to follow the Federal Trade Commission’s lead and close his inquiry into the inadvertent collection of user data by its Street View cars, that seems unlikely. Blumenthal, whose office is spearheading a multistate investigation into Google’s Wi-Fi data-gathering debacle, says he has no plans to end it simply because of some announced improvements to the company’s privacy practices.

Winklevii Vs. Zuck: Who'd You Rather?

Kara Swisher in News on October 5, 2010 at 11:18 am PT

The Facebook movie might have performed slightly below box office expectations last weekend for Sony movie unit Columbia Pictures, but it certainly has invaded the mainstream zeitgeist. Still, BoomTown was quite surprised to see a mention of “The Social Network” on one of my favorite celebrity sites, TMZ.com.

Google Zeitgeist: Cirque du Soleil and Free Google TVs

John Paczkowski in News on September 14, 2010 at 9:54 am PT

Quite an Oprah moment at Google Zeitgeist today. A source who’s attending the event–which is wrapping up today in Paradise Valley, Ariz.–tells me that attendees got a doozy of a parting gift: A Google TV/Bravia/Dish bundle–with complimentary Geek Squad installation!

Search Users Evidently Just a Bunch of Megan Fox-Ogling, WWE-Patronizing Nascar Fans

John Paczkowski in Social on December 1, 2009 at 9:31 am PT

If our search engine queries are, on some level, a reflection of who we are as a people, then we are a sorry, sorry lot indeed. Google, Microsoft and Yahoo all released their lists of the top search queries for 2009 today and they reveal us to be a nation of celebrity-obsessed, swine flu-suffering, vampire-loving, Megan Fox-ogling, Lady Gaga-humming, World Wrestling Entertainment-patronizing Nascar fans.

Van Natta Takes Playlist CEO Job, With New Investment by Pittman

Kara Swisher in News on November 10, 2008 at 9:00 pm PT

Former Facebook exec Owen Van Natta will take the CEO job at a music discovery site called Playlist, a move that had been speculated last week, after he did not end up taking another position as head of MySpace Music. Van Natta’s arrival at Playlist was not the only news for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up–former AOL exec Bob Pittman’s Pilot Investment Group is also investing an undisclosed amount of money in Playlist, and Pittman will join its board. The site, which has been called Project Playlist, had previously raised several million dollars. The new round of funding super-sized that, sources said, hovering at about $18 million. “Discovery around music is exploding on the Internet,” said Van Natta to BoomTown, in an interview this afternoon, giving it as his main reason for joining Playlist.

GOOG at $398? Clearly, You're Dyslexic.

John Paczkowski in News on September 29, 2008 at 10:30 am PT

The financial turmoil beating the United States economy into submission has finally begun to beat Google, the Great and Powerful, down as well. Which must come as something of a shock to CEO Eric Schmidt who earlier this month claimed the financial meltdown was unlikely to affect Google.

GOOG at $398? Clearly, You’re Dyslexic.

John Paczkowski in News on September 29, 2008 at 10:30 am PT

The financial turmoil beating the United States economy into submission has finally begun to beat Google, the Great and Powerful, down as well. Which must come as something of a shock to CEO Eric Schmidt who earlier this month claimed the financial meltdown was unlikely to affect Google.