Twitter Hires Ex-Googler, Has Plans to Launch Ranking Algorithm

Twitter is looking to become a Google competitor in real time search by announcing plans to build a search ranking algorithm. The algorithm will assign a “reputation” score to certain tweets and use this to deliver the most relevant results to searches.

Currently, search.twitter.com simply performs a text match and returns all posts that mention the keyword you’ve searched for. The down side of this is that for popular terms, many times you will just see re-tweets and low value content from hundreds or thousands of users. By assigning a ranking system to these results, you’ll be able to see the most meaningful results first.

The changes were announced by Santosh Jayaram, who recently joined Twitter after managing search quality operations at Google. Jayaram said that not only will Twitter launch a ranking algorithm; they will also begin scanning the links included within tweets and start indexing this content.

This could see Twitter become a serious competitor to Google in the field of real time search. By indexing external links it will help to make twitter a more complete index about what’s happening in real time across the web.

Yahoo! Directory Giving Away Free Renewals

In the world of SEO, three directory listings have been seen as pivotal to any serious optimization/link building campaign:

1. DMOZ
2. BOTW (best of the web)
3. Yahoo! directory

Murmurs emerged this week that Yahoo! was giving away free renewals to its famous directory. A directory that would normally cost site owners $299 for a listing.

My first thoughts were – “interesting move for a company whose financials have been a little worse for wear of late”…shareholders will love this strategy.

Barry Schwartz and Loren Baker have both covered the discussion, and they raise a good point. While the directory probably offers a reasonable revenue line, it’s not exactly a key focus moving forwards.

It might have reached a point where administration costs don’t align with the focus and revenue potential of the service, and accordingly the company is re-organizing the way it is managed.

At this stage there has been no formal statement from Yahoo! about the complimentary renewals – so it could be a glitch in the system rather than a deliberate strategy for all we know.

Here’s one of the comments from the forum discussing the free renewals

I’ve always had 3 websites that I paid for inclusion into Yahoo Directory. Now, 2 of the three are no longer listed under my Yahoo account (the backend where my billing info etc. is).

I noticed this after realizing I wasn’t charged for them towards the end of last year. But the listings are still active in the directory – they show up in the same categories, everything just like when I was paying for them.

The funny thing is, my oldest website which was listed in Yahoo Dir first, still shows up in my account and I am still paying for it.

While it’s great for those that are receiving the free listings, and disappointing for those still having to pay…I can’t help but think that the Yahoo! Directory is on a downward spiral.

Its value to SEO/ranking is questionable these days…and with freebies being issued, you have to wonder how long it’s going to exist in its current form. While I’m sure it won’t hit the deadpool anytime soon…I can’t see it being reincarnated into anything useful either….

It’s rapidly becoming “just another one of those directories that used to be good….”

New Google Voice – Telecoms beware

Executives in the major telcos will be feeling heat as Google unveiled their latest communications move this week – welcome Google Voice.

Google Voice is “an application that helps you better manage your voice communications.” Says the Google product managers.

The new application improves the way you use your phone. You can get transcripts of your voicemail (see the video below) and archive and search all of the SMS text messages you send and receive. You can also use the service to make low-priced international calls and easily access Goog-411 directory assistance.

The Google Voice service is built on the Grand Central platform that Google acquired a couple of years ago.

GrandCentral offers many great features, including a single number to ring your home, work, and mobile phones, a central voicemail inbox that you could access on the web, and the ability to screen calls by listening in live as callers leave a voicemail.

It’s the sort of offering that will really shake up the telecommunications industry. Google has been befriending many of the telcos in an effort to break into the mobile space, but this latest move might have many of them rethinking the relationship.

Google Voice will eventually integrate with Google apps meaning users will have a seedless journey across all Google services – providing a powerful tool for consumers and business owners alike.