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Google RSS Patent

According to a ZDNET story, Google is trying to patent RSS ads. Here is the patent application.

The company's patent request specifically covers the delivery of ads using "an automated ad server." The service "is used to provide keyword- or content-based targeted ads," the application states. "The ads are incorporated directly into a syndicated feed, e.g., with individual ads becoming items within a particular channel of the feed."

The application also covers automated billing, and an "automated targeting and insertion process allows ads to be kept current and timely while the original feed may be considerably older."

This is pretty scary thought as RSS seems to be catching on like wildfire. Will we all have to pay a Google tax to send ads down the RSS pipe? TMC has been offering RSS feeds and custom RSS feeds based on keyword for well over a year now. We have a loyal following of readers (syndicates?) and the numbers grow by the day.

Stay tuned to this fascinating story. Somehow I think Microsoft will get in the middle of this saga very soon.

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Valuing Longevity

I received a resume recently from a friend of a friend and the person had moved positions a great deal. They worded at four dotcoms in as many years. They weren’t at a single location for more that a year in fact.

This got me thinking of a conversation I had with someone who worked out in silicon valley during the 1999 timeframe who told me that they wouldn’t consider someone who stayed at a job for more than a year at a time. They were too stale he told me.

I was pretty amazed by the comment as I know many companies value longevity and loyalty over “career mobility.”

I wonder if the hiring style of the dotcom boom times has reverted back to appreciating loyalty and longevity.

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Off To TMC's VoIP Developer Conference

I am really looking forward to TMC's VoIP Developer conference this week. The products on display at the show are going to be integrated into VoIP products in the next year or longer and that is what excites me the most. I like to see what products will change the VoIP market, well in advance. From HMP technology to wireless and SIP, I am sure there will be lots of really great things to cover at the show.

Oh and open-source is going to be huge at the show with both Digium and Pingtel in full force. The database of registrants is the who's who in technology from top service providers to top hardware and software companies.

More amazing is how widespread our audience will be -- literally from around the globe.

Like I said, I really can't wait to get this show going.

See you there.

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Microsoft Virtual Earth

If there is one area of technology where Microsoft and Google can be compared objectively it is in mapping. It is unglamorous, doesn't generate much revenue for either company and both companies have relatively new entries into this space. So it is more or less a level playing field. When I discovered the recently released Virtual Earth site from Microsoft I was compelled to compare it to Google Maps immediately. I have written about Google Maps before and have always been a fan of the AJAX technology behind it.

I find the two services very similar in nature but in the satellite category Microsoft actually has clearer pictures and it labels the streets while Google doesn't. Unfortunately Microsoft has black and white images as compared to Google's color ones. Truth be told there are green patches representing trees and/or grass on the Microsoft maps.

Google has an interesting hybrid feature that overlays the graphical map of streets over the satellite map. This gives you much of the functionality as having the street names on the satellite image itself.

Microsoft has devoted a bit more time to their mapping solution it seems as there are tools and options. You can save a few useful settings.

Overall I would have to say the advantage goes to Microsoft on this product.

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