There have been a number of articles about another new Google service, a database which is available for anyone to post a wide range of materials. The examples they give are recipes, the classic use for home computers according to the company hype in the late 70's and early 80's ; events; news; items for sale.
There is a very interesting list of what you cannot post:
-aids to passing drug tests
-body parts
-bulk marketing
-cable descramblers
-counterfeit designer goods
-dialers
-mirror site promotion
-drugs (mushrooms, yage, etc)
-fake documents
-gambling
-hacking/cracking sites
-keywood stuffing
-illegal knives and weapons--probably switchblades
-miracle cures
-mod chips
-multi-level marketing
-other people's personal info
-child porn or 'non-consensual' material
-wholesale currency exchanges
And, for now, it has to be in English.
Whew!
I signed up and posted a short essay. the help pages assume you do not know much about databases, attributes, and authority files. About fifteen minutes later the essay was indexed, but in this beta phase of the product those items only in the database are not found in a regular Google search.
I think this offers some unique possibilities for loosely formed groups who don't have a web site or for ephemeral gatherings where a site does not need to persist after the event (a garage sale, reunion) is over.
I've been very uncertain about their goals. Craigslist killer? Goodbye newspapers?
It's really just a great big bulletin board with open access and lots of thumbtacks.
I wrote myself a note to try to list what I'd use it for...something that I don't use Craigslist or eBay or my own websites for. So far that list is empty.
I'm sure the failing is mine, and someone else's list may be long.
Posted by: Michael Ward | November 17, 2005 at 12:54 PM