ResourceBlog Article: My Take on the Blogger Purchase

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Sunday, 16th February 2003

My Take on the Blogger Purchase

Web Search--Google
Google Makes an Acquisition: Blogger
Blogger, the wonderful software that I use to publish ResourceShelf (hundreds of thousand also use it to publish on the web) was purchased on Thursday by Google. Blogger's parent company, Pyra, was developed in its founder's kitchen. As Dan Gillmor correctly observes, "Google is known best for its search capabilities, but the Pyra buyout isn't the company's first foray into creating or buying Internet content." What this means for Blogger users as well as Google is tbd. Ev Williams, the creator of Blogger, adds a few, very few, details on his blog. He writes, "This has been in the works for almost four months. Much of it, in excruciating uncertainly. But now I can talk about it! That doesn't mean I know much. For example, about the question: What happens now?" Thanks to C.S. for the news tip.
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Updated 2.18.03
A Few Comments About Google/Blogger/Bloogle?
I've said on ResourceShelf and during presentations that the most important thing about weblogs is the software. Anyone with a keyboard and a server (actually you don't even need a server since Blogger also runs Blogspot) can publish on the web. The learning curve is almost non-existent. With Blogger, you're be up and running in a matter of minutes. No HTML coding, no software to load, is needed. Just type, press the publish button, and you're done. Want to see for yourself? Head to Blogger and try publishing a blog...It's free!...Acquiring Blogger and the team who developed/manage it to Google's Intranet/Enterprise/Search Services is a primary reason behind the acquisition. It's another service they can market and offer clients. It's something no other search company is offering. Pardon the overused term but it has plenty of synergy. Now you cannot only use Google to search your company's content you can also use it to quickly publish the content itself both inside and outside the company. Remember, when Google does something everyone notices...As far as allowing the public to use Blogger? Why not. They have the infrastructure plus more good publicity and name recognition for them. The question is do they need anymore?...I've seen speculation that it will allow to add more content to Google News. If this was the main reason behind the acquistion of Blogger, it makes little sense. Google's could add weblogs to their news database or their main database at any time. They didn't need to buy the company. The crawling and recrawling is not the issue. They already crawl many blogs on a daily basis, including this one. Heck, they could have purchased Daypop (Dan Chan deserves a few $$$). It makes even less sense since so many weblogs are published using other blogging software like Radio Userland and Movable Type. Bottom line: Google Wants the Software! Btw, Dan Chan the creator and sole proprietor of Daypop also offers a weblogging tool, we:blog. It's free.
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Here's the Full-Text of the Google's Announcement About the Purchase of Blogger:
"Google recently acquired Pyra Labs, developers of Blogger -- a self-service weblog publishing tool used by more than one million people. We're thrilled about the many synergies and future opportunities between our two companies. Blogs are a global self-publishing phenomenon that connect Internet users with dynamic, diverse points of view while also enabling comment and participation. In the coming weeks, we will report additional details. Blogger users can expect to see no immediate changes to the service."

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