Tag Archive for 'Google'

Google Introduces Real-Time Search

Published
by
Ian Smith
on October 28, 2009
in Author-Ian Smith, Internet tools, Web 2.0 and Web 2.0 Search
. 0 Comments

Google has entered the market of real-time search without making a big deal nor a fancy new search interface.  If you blink quickly, you may miss the search option for content on social media platforms or Web 2.0 applications.

As enter your keyword(s) in Google and see the first page of result, click on the “Show options”  link located below the search box.  The link is highlighted in yellow in Figure 1 posted below.

Figure 1: Google Search Query For “Economic Development” For Real-Time Results
Please Click On Image To Enlarge

Once the link is clicked on, Google provides the option to access results by:

  • Source (ie, video, blogs, reviews, forums)
  • Time period (ie, Any time, Past hour, Past 24 hours, Past week, Past year, Specific date range)
  • Relevancy or date
  • Visited pages or Not yet visited

These options are available on the lefthand side of the result page.  The image below highlights the links to the options.

Figure 2: Google Search Real-Time Search Options
Please Click On Image To Enlarge

To access the real-time results, click on one of the links related to a time period.  In the case of the search query for “economic development”, clicking on “Past Hour” will provide hits from news sites and blogs as seen in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Google Search Real-Time Search Results For Keyword Search, “Economic Development”
Please Click On Image To Enlarge

If the Past 24 hours option was selected, chances are that you will see relevant hits from Twitter.

Google is available at www.google.com

Site Selection Intelligence With Google Street View

Published
by
Ian Smith
on October 15, 2009
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence, Economic Intelligence and Investment Attraction
. 0 Comments

Here is a practical tip for site selection professionals and key decision makers for finding a location a new facility when it comes to investment attraction. Google Street View is a neat tool that allows you to see images at specific address and the surrounding area from a street level view.  The images provided by Google are fairly recent.

The application is very easy to use and can be done in 4 steps.

1. Log onto Google Maps
2. Enter the address of the location that is under investigation. (Be sure to add the city along with the address)
3. When Google provides a general map of the area, place your mouse on the orange stick figure located in the top left hand corner and drag the mouse to the point on the map indicated by the red balloon labeled with an “A”.  Figure 1 and Figure 2 illustrates this process for the address 6200 St. Jacques in Montreal, Quebec.

Figure 1: Stick figure highlighted in yellow to be dragged to Point A on the map, highlighted in green.
Please click on image to enlarge

Figure 2: A street view of 6200 St. Jacques in Montreal, Quebec
Please click on image to enlarge

4. Once you have accessed the image, you are able to zoom in and out to have 360 degree view the existing infrastructure around the specific location.  This is done by using the navigation tool highlight in blue in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Illustration of the navigation toolbar of Google Street View

The idea of using Google Street View for site selection purposes will no doubt provide professionals with a time saving tool and a key resource to gather location information without stepping outside whether it to go across the street or around the world.

To begin using Google Street View, please click here

The Many Faces Of Google For Economic Intelligence: Part 6 - Google Video

Published
by
Ian Smith
on August 18, 2009
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Economic Intelligence
. 0 Comments

In the sixth and last part of the series, “The Many Faces Of Google For Economic Intelligence“, let us take a look at Google Video for relevant information for economic development.

You may wonder what kind of information could be found with Google Video that would benefit individuals such as economic development officers or potential investors?  The answer is pretty simple if you stop and think about it.  With the introduction of video sharing platforms such as YouTube, individuals and organizations are making interesting content available courtesy of videos.  Finding content dealing with different economic development initiatives from different organizations in video format is amazing.

Google Video is a video sharing and searching platform.  In October 2006, Google bought YouTube to make its content available via Google Video.

Google Video

Please click on the image to enlarge.

Case Study:

As a consultant, you are asked by an economic development officer of a remote region to provide an example of mining services hub or network.

Solution:

Going to Google Video and entering the keywords, “mining services network” will allow you to access the following video clip: regarding the Desert Knowledge Australia Mining Services Network.

Did you miss a post from The Many Faces Of Google For Economic Intelligence series?  Please find below the links to the previous five posts:

The Many Faces Of Google For Economic Intelligence: Part 3 - Google Blog Search

Published
by
Ian Smith
on July 24, 2009
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Economic Intelligence
. 0 Comments

Last week, Tools For Thought highlighted the use of Google Finance for economic intelligence and its relevancy to preparing to meet a potential investor for foreign direct investment purposes.  This post will take a look at Google Blog Search.

As the name suggest, Google Blog Search exclusively retrieves relevant posts based on keywords.  Although blog posts may appear in the results from the general search application, it is wise to select the blog search option to avoid the irrelevant hits.

You may wonder in what circumstances would you go to the application for economic intelligence purposes?

Blogs are outlets for individuals to publish their insights on various subjects without depending on a webmasters on a timely basis.  Citizens of towns often start their own blog to voice their concerns on an proposed project that will have definite economic spin offs.

Google Blog Search

Please click on the image to enlarge.

Case Example:

You are interested in reading opinions about the different job creation programs available in Ontario, Canada.

Solution:

Using Google Blog Search, you may find several posts by individuals discussing several issues and expressing their views.  This type of information is often forgotten when collecting economic intelligence for economic development intiatives.

The Many Faces Of Google For Economic Intelligence: Part 1 - Google Alerts

Published
by
Ian Smith
on July 9, 2009
in Author-Ian Smith and Competitive & Internet Intelligence
. 0 Comments

As users of the internet and gatherers of information, we often take such tools as Google for granted.  We expect Google to provide us with relevant information based upon a few keywords that are entered in the general search box.

For professionals working in the field of economic development,  going beyond Google’s simple search function can prove very beneficial and will unearth information that may sway decisions for future initiatives.

In this first part of “The Many Faces Of Google”, this post will discuss the Google Alerts application.

Google Alerts allows individuals with a valid Google account to receive alerts regarding the appearance of keywords on the web.  Google will indicate the appearance of keywords available on:

  • Websites
  • News
  • Blog
  • Video
  • Groups

Google also offers a comprehensive scan where it offers all of tracking services listed above.  The alerts can be delivered  “as-it-happens”, “once a day” or “once a week” to your email inbox or feed service.

Please click on the image to enlarge.

Case Example:

As an economic development officer (EDO), you are interested in the level of usage of various federal incentive programs for small businesses.  How can you evaluate the interest over the next 12 to 16 months?

Solution;

Using the specific name of the incentive programs, you can establish various alert however; some may prove more fruitful that others.  A website alert will return a great amount of program information that may be repetitive for your needs.

*** If you need assistance setting up a formal monitoring service for your economic intelligence needs, please contact Ian at ian@intelegia.com

When Is It Wrong To Have Too Much Info?

Published
by
Ian Smith
on June 5, 2007
in Author-Ian Smith and Competitive & Internet Intelligence
. 0 Comments

Google has been taking heat due to its Google Maps application lately. Google Maps is an application that “is a free, online map service provided by Google. It offers a draggable map for the whole world and offers a route planner and business locator for the U.S., Canada, the UK and Ireland (city centres only).” (Source: Wikipedia)

According to recent reports, Google Maps has been given its users too much information in the form of detail images. The application is providing “street-level” footage when users conducts a query.

This might scare some individuals and well it should. The application does provide you with a bird’s eye view of streets, highways and buildings, in which the general public can used however; it maybe critical information that competitors can used against of companies within the same industry.

Google Docs & Spreadsheets

Published
by
Ian Smith
on May 11, 2007
in Author-Ian Smith and Internet tools
. 0 Comments

A few months ago, one of my friends went through a nightmare of a time when Excel crashed on his computer and could not get the application running in time to finish off a project. Little did he know of Google Docs & Spreadsheets.

Yes, Google has their own versions of word processing and spreadsheets applications. Each tool is web based and compatible with other similar software packages including their respective basic functions (ie, bolding, font adjustment, etc.) A screenshot of the two applications are shown below:

googlewp.gif

Google Docs

googless.gif

Google Spreedsheets

Google Docs & Spreadsheets are available at http://docs.google.com/ .

iGoogle

Published
by
Ian Smith
on May 4, 2007
in Author-Ian Smith and Internet tools
. 0 Comments

Here is a gadget for individuals who are goo-goo for Google.

iGoogle is the brand name that Google has placed on its personalized application to create mini-portals for individuals. The application permits users to have different kinds of content that can be available on their index page as they log onto Google. Some of the content options that individuals may select from include:

  • News
  • Tools
  • Communication
  • Fun & Games
  • Finance
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology

The screenshot below presents the content that is on my iGoogle page.

igoogle.gif

iGoogle is available at http://www.google.com/ig

U.S. Patent Searching With Google

Published
by
Ian Smith
on December 14, 2006
in Author-Ian Smith, Competitive & Internet Intelligence and Internet tools
. 0 Comments

I remember the first time searching for patent information on the United States Patents and Trademarks Office website. With all the difference fields and syntax statements to enter, it was quite complex. Fortunately, with alot of practice, I am able to use the tool with ease now.

Recently, Google introduce a search gateway to the USPTO patent database. The gateway will make life easier to the casual internet searcher. Google Patent Search allows individuals to search for U.S. patents by keyword, patent number, inventor and filing date. The tool is currently in beta testing.

I guess it is a matter of time before Google Trademark Search is online.