Google "sandboxing" Sites

[Adrian]

August 15, 2005 1:48 PM PDT
Bloggers: Google 'sandboxing' sites

Two recent blogs seem to put rumors to rest about whether Google uses a "sandbox" on some new Web sites in an attempt to filter out sites that might be fake or spam. In a Threadwatch.org blog, DougS wrote on Sunday that a Google engineer acknowledged at the Search Engine Strategies conference last week in San Jose, Calif., that Google places some new Web sites, "regardless of their merit, or lack thereof, in a sort of probationary category" for six months to a year to "allow time to determine how users react to a new site, who links to it, etc."

He wasn't the only one to get such information from the show. In his SEOMoz.org blog from Friday, Rand Fishkin writes of two instances in which Google engineers discussed the matter at the conference. Fishkin notes that he and others told Google engineers that ranking new Web sites at Google is a "pain" since the inception of Google's use of the sandbox. Apparently, Google's spam team calls the process something else, he wrote. "They felt it was having a remarkable effect on the quality of the index" and indicated "that a 'filter must be tripped' for a site to be 'boxed,'" Fishkin writes.

Google did not return an e-mail seeking comment. (Google representatives have instituted a policy of not talking with CNET News.com reporters until July 2006 in response to privacy issues raised by a previous story.)

Regardless of what it is called, not everyone is happy with the outcome. "From my perspective, not only does the sandbox exist, it was designed to do exactly what we see it doing--dampening the ability of Web sites in Google's index to rank for anything at all, based on the triggering of a filter that tags a site as 'over-optimized' or 'unnatural,'" Fishkin wrote.
Posted by Elinor Mills
credit (http://news.com.com/2060-10812_3-0.html?tag=nefd.bl)

[ColinSick]

Very interesting. Thanks Adrian.

(Google representatives have instituted a policy of not talking with CNET News.com reporters until July 2006 in response to privacy issues raised by a previous story.)

That is too damn funny. What a bunch of bitches. :lol:

[ColinSick]

Google Plans to Raise $4B in Stock Sale
Thursday August 18, 5:56 pm ET
By Matthew Fordahl, AP Technology Writer
Google Plans to Offer Another 14.2 Million Shares, Worth About $4 Billion

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- A year after its blockbuster debut as a public company, Google Inc. said Thursday it plans to offer another 14.2 million shares, currently worth about $4 billion, as competition heats up with rivals Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.


The Internet search leader said it will use the proceeds for "general corporate purposes," including possible acquisitions. Google added that it currently has no agreements or commitments to make a material purchase.

Google's stock price has more than tripled since the August 2004 initial public offering at $85. It fell $5.11, or 1.8 percent, to close at $279.99 Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The secondary offering would raise nearly 2.5 times the $1.67 billion generated by the first IPO.

"The stock is at a nice price and they should be taking some money as a result," said Mark Stahlman, an analyst at the investment bank Caris & Co.

Google spokesman David Krane declined to comment further on the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Literally, the document speaks for itself," he said in an e-mail.

The company's financial results have mirrored the impressive gains in the stock price.

In its most recently reported quarter, Google's earnings more than quadrupled to $342.8 million. Revenue doubled to $1.38 billion.

In all of 2004, Google earned $399 million, or $1.46 per share, and had revenue of $3.19 billion. As of June 30, the company held $2.95 billion in cash.

Analysts have questioned whether that growth can continue at such a high clip, given the aggressive competition of Yahoo and Microsoft for space on personal computer desktops and advertising dollars. In the past year, Google's rivals have launched improved search engines, better e-mail systems and a spattering of applications aimed at capturing eyeballs.

In its filing Thursday, Google said it expects its revenue growth rate to decline over time and anticipates "there will be downward pressure on our operating margin."

But Google has not stood still.

It has branched out from Internet search to desktop search, increased storage space in its free e-mail service to more than 2.5 gigabytes and buffed up its local search and map-based services. It also provides a video search tool, a Web browsing accelerator and a shopping comparison site.

Google recently increased its 2005 capital expenditure forecast to more than $700 million from more than $600 million. It also added more than 700 additional employees and said the number is not viewed as an anomaly by the company, which had 4,183 workers at the end of the second quarter.

In a research note released a day before Google's secondary offering was announced, Merrill Lynch analyst Lauren Fine said that the company's growing revenues could offset increases in operating expenses but that there could be some downside "should Google not surprise as much as it has in the past."

The company also has been the subject of countless rumors, including plans to introduce an Internet telephone service. If any turn out to be true, the company could be expected to increase its capital spending even more.

"The mistake here is people think that Google is somehow an advertising company and therefore in the media business. They're not," Stahlman said. "They're in the infrastructure business. There's a lot of infrastructure that they need to build."

The latest registration document filed with the SEC is briefer than the paperwork filed in advance of last year's IPO. It does not state when the secondary offering will take place.

There's also no folksy letter to potential investors from the company's founders or mention of the company's motto of doing no evil. There's no word on whether Google will again use a Dutch auction that was designed to more fairly distribute initial shares in 2004.

But it does stress Google remains an unconventional company, with a focus on long-term prospects over short-term results. It says investors can forget about dividend payments. And there's also some of Google's trademark quirkiness.

The exact number of shares to be sold -- 14,159,265 -- happens to be the eight digits beyond the decimal point in the mathematical value Pi. Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, were raised by math teachers and studied computer science at Stanford University.

Following the stock sale, Google will have about 191.1 million class A shares outstanding. Including about 101.7 million class B shares with more voting power -- of which 79 percent are held by co-founders Page and Brin, and CEO Eric Schmidt -- Google's outstanding stock will total about 292.8 million shares.

Morgan Stanley & Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston are managing the proposed offering, along with underwriter Allen & Co. The underwriters have the option to purchase up to 600,000 additional class A shares to cover over-allotments.

Google's filing also cited a potential problem that many companies might like to have.

As it warned in the initial offering last year, Google said the sudden lavish wealth of employees who own stock "has created disparities" in the work force, which could fracture the culture. Or some rich employees might decide there's no more reason to keep working. Replacing them could be costly or disruptive.

[ColinSick]

The exact number of shares to be sold -- 14,159,265 -- happens to be the eight digits beyond the decimal point in the mathematical value Pi. Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, were raised by math teachers and studied computer science at Stanford University.

What a bunch of geeks. Couldn't they use their math skills for something more useful? Like gambling? :lol:

Seriously, if I was a GOOG shareholder I would be livid pissed about this. Secondary offerings are usually bush league tactics reserved for shady companies. GOOG should know better. They prefer to dillute their shareholders value instead of finding alternative methods of financing. Bad move in my opinion.

[Adrian]

The exact number of shares to be sold -- 14,159,265 -- happens to be the eight digits beyond the decimal point in the mathematical value Pi. Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, were raised by math teachers and studied computer science at Stanford University.

What a bunch of geeks. Couldn't they use their math skills for something more useful? Like gambling? :lol:

Seriously, if I was a GOOG shareholder I would be livid pissed about this. Secondary offerings are usually bush league tactics reserved for shady companies. GOOG should know better. They prefer to dillute their shareholders value instead of finding alternative methods of financing. Bad move in my opinion.

In my best yoda voice. Greed, Powerful it is. The dark side google has become.

[ColinSick]

In my best yoda voice. Greed, Powerful it is. The dark side google has become.
LMFAO! :lol: :lol:

Good one Adrian.

[mrosson]

LMFAO! :lol: :lol:

Good one Adrian.

But how do you "become" a dark side? :lol:

[ColinSick]

I think Yoda speak is often filled with backwards "subject/verb" agreement. :)

[Adrian]

I think Yoda speak is often filled with backwards "subject/verb" agreement. :)

Right you are, hmmm. With the new adsense link and the stock I think google, is becoming to big for it's britches. Once the other big two work out there search engine bugs. They will be on a down turn. Me thinks :).

[ColinSick]

Right you are, hmmm. With the new adsense link and the stock I think google, is becoming to big for it's britches. Once the other big two work out there search engine bugs. They will be on a down turn. Me thinks :).
Wise Adrian you are. :)

[Yoda]

Wise Adrian you are. :)

Wise Adrian he is, The truth he speaks. Wise in the force he is. :innocent:

[ColinSick]

Wise Adrian he is, The truth he speaks. Wise in the force he is. :innocent:
Yoda.........you are 2 for 2 on solid posts.

Keep it up. I wouldn't expect less. :)

[Adrian]

Yoda.........you are 2 for 2 on solid posts.

Keep it up. I wouldn't expect less. :)

That sig is awesome. It goes to show there ia a broad range of clickbank products.

[ColinSick]

The Ultimate Vertical Leap Super Package :lol: :lol: :lol:

[ColinSick]

Google's $4 billion move has Silicon Valley buzzing

By Michael Bazeley, Mercury News Fri Aug 19,11:04 AM ET

What's Google up to now?

Silicon Valley's favorite parlor game -- guessing what's happening behind the doors of the Googleplex -- swung into high gear Thursday after the Mountain View Internet giant announced plans to raise more than $4 billion through a second stock offering.

The sale, announced in a filing with regulators, would more than double Google's cash reserves to about $7 billion. And it could position the search leader to expand into whole new markets through big-ticket acquisitions, reshaping the competitive landscape among Internet companies.

``They're going to have so much cash sloshing around,'' said Philip Remek, senior equity analyst with Guzman & Co. ``You can buy a lot with that.''

The announcement of a second stock offering came on the one-year anniversary of Google's initial public stock offering, in which it raised $1.67 billion. Observers at the time questioned whether the company's $85 per share IPO was too rich for investors. But Google shares have been in high demand ever since, with the price surging over $300 at times.

Google shares closed Thursday at $279.99, down 1.79 percent.

Unlike last year's IPO, which took four months to complete and underwent intense scrutiny from the
Securities and Exchange Commission, Google's second offering could happen much more quickly, possibly in a matter of weeks, experts said.

The company's plans to sell 14,159,265 shares of of its own stock -- the figure is the first eight digits that follow the decimal in the value of pi -- at an undisclosed date. The company said the proceeds would go toward ``general corporate purposes, including working capital and capital expenditures.'' In addition, Google might use the proceeds for ``acquisitions of complementary businesses, technologies or other assets.''

Analysts and other Google-watchers said the company will be able to expand beyond its core advertising business, possibly by acquiring competitors or other companies.

International expansion also is key to Google's growth, and some observers predicted an aggressive push into the Chinese market, where competition is heating up.

One theory has Google buying Skype, the Internet phone service that is rumored to be on the block for as much as $3 billion.

Google's competitors Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft have been beefing up their instant messaging products by adding voice calling features. Google could buy Skype and turn it into a supercharged instant message service with text, video and audio features, said Standard & Poor's analyst Scott Kessler.

``That's a compelling combination,'' Kessler said of Skype. ``They're moving very quickly into video, and they could integrate that in. They could do a lot of neat things with a super IM client.''

Other speculation centered around the fact that Google has been buying up unused fiber optic networks around the U.S. and abroad. Is the company aiming to become an Internet service provider of some sort?

Kevin Lee, executive chairman of Did-it, a search engine marketing firm, said Google could get into the ISP business by buying AOL. Or it might have its sights set on eBay, which competes with Google over merchants seeking to sell their goods online.

EBay had a stock market value Thursday of about $54 billion, so such a move would be a huge undertaking.

``Clearly, if you're going to raise that much money, even eBay is a target,'' Lee said. ``That's a big nut, but it might be within their grasp.''

To date, Google has made mostly modest acquisitions, typically technology start-ups with just a handful of employees. Last year, the company spent $56 million in cash and stock to acquire four companies. In those cases, the company was seeking specialized technology or engineering expertise.

China also offers a tantalizing opportunities. The online market is small but growing quickly, and local and international companies are moving fast to stake out their positions.

Google has announced plans to open a research and development center there. The question is whether Google will try to expand its presence by itself, or invest in or acquire a Chinese partner.

In fact, Google may not have any definitive plans for the money. The company may simply want to pad its bank account so it can respond if the right opportunity comes along. Microsoft, for example, has about $38 billon in cash.

Google's stock sale is not a ``secondary offering,'' commonly used by insiders to sell off their investments in a company. Google itself is issuing the shares, in this case, and all the proceeds will go back to the company, minus any commissions paid to the deal's underwriters.

``I think it's a smart thing to do,'' said Francis Gaskins, an IPO expert. ``Microsoft has lots of money in the bank, and they're on their biggest competitors. It makes sense.''