Is Google Going into the Classifieds Business?
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There's more to an automat than meets the eye, especially when that automat is Google Automat. The search engine giant's patent application featuring this new service started the rumor mill working overtime. Just what does Google have up its sleeve?
Traditional media trembled when the likes of eBay, Craigslist and others started making a splash online. These companies made their business from web versions of classified advertisements, which have always been part of the bread-and-butter of newspapers. The newspapers retaliated, with mixed results, by taking their entire publications, including the classified ads, online. Now, it looks like newspapers and their rivals have a new reason to start shaking in their boots, and its name is Google.
To understand the full context, we will first need to do a little backtracking. Back in June, rumors started flying about Google’s plans to offer a new service. Dubbed Google Wallet, the new service was expected to compete with Paypal, despite the search engine’s vehement denials that it was readying a rival online payment service. The name has since changed to Google Purchases, and in early November, more rumors started flying that the service was close to launching.
In late October, Google began testing a service designed to allow users to post and make searchable any type of content. A Google spokeswoman explained that “This is an early stage test of a product that enables content owners to easily send their content to Google. Like our Web crawl and the recently released Google Sitemaps program, we are working to provide content owners an easy way to give us access to their content. We’re continually exploring new opportunities to expand our offerings, but we don’t have anything to announce at this time.” The service, dubbed Google Base, caused many bloggers to speculate that it was Google’s way of sticking its toe in the water, preparatory to offering a full-fledged e-commerce site.
There is one final tie-in with these two services. Though discovered recently, it dates back nearly two years, to a Google patent filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office made initially in March 2004 and published in late September 2005. It has not yet been approved, but “Google Automat,” as it has been dubbed, may already have classified ad publishers running scared. More than anything else the search engine giant has done so far, it represents the possibility of a move into this lucrative field.
Next: Details of the Patent Application >>
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