Google

We’ve previously mentioned the browser wars and the Microsoft anti-trust browser case, and this week sees the initial limited roll-out of Microsoft’s “web browser choice screen” for European users. In a nutshell, the European Commission ruled that bundling Internet Explorer (IE) with the Windows operating system was a big no-no and forced Microsoft to give users the choice of which browser they wanted to use. Read more…

The big news this week, is the event at Google headquarters to demonstrate their much hyped operating system on Thursday, which promises to be the first major confrontation in the new browser war which was triggered by the release of Google Chrome earlier this year.

The relationship between the major players in the online world has always been described in overtly bellicose terms, but in the continuing fight for online supremacy, the battle ground has shifted from the traditional Battle of the Browser, to a fully-fledged global World Wide Web War. Google is making a bold move in challenging Microsoft’s OS dominance, but the old war horse still has some fight left, as evidenced by Microsoft moving in on Google’s search dominance with Bing and their deal with Yahoo. Read more…

Since the advent of the internet, the ways in which people choose to communicate have changed dramatically. With the evolution of social media, these changes have accelerated even faster. Read more…

Foviance has launched its first Google Analytics (GA) training course with analytics expert Helen Birch.
If you are new to Google Analytics and want to learn the basics, the training course will enable the novice user to become confident using the GA reporting tool.

The course runs for one day in central London on Tuesday, August 18th 2009.

If you would like to book a company training day for your new or advanced users of GA please get in touch.

Podcast by Ronan Tighe

Welcome to the first episode in our new Innovations series.

Foviance Consultant, Ronan Tighe talks with Charles Cohen, CEO of Probability plc. Probability is the recognised leader in the emerging segment of mobile phone gambling games.

In this podcast with Charles, a number of very interesting and current topics are discussed including; the challenges of designing for mobile, the impact of Apple and Google’s entrance into the mobile space, the user experience of current mobile games and the upcoming innovations that will change the experience for both users and companies.

• Episode title: An interview with Charles Cohen, CEO, Probability plc.
• Episode number: 1
• Series: Innovation in eGaming
• Duration: 25 minutes

Listen now:

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Or, download Interview with Charles Cohen podcast, 17.5mb

Alternatively you can also read the Podcast transcript.

Back to Gaming podcasts

About our ‘Innovations in eGaming’ podcast series

The ‘Innovations in eGaming’ podcast series highlights companies within the industry that are doing something different. By talking to those responsible for this innovation, we aim to inspire others to push the boundaries of what is possible.

The podcast also deals with the challenges and opportunities that come with being innovative and also how innovation impacts on the user experience. It could be argued that in recent years there has been a real lack of innovation within the gaming industry.

Foviance hopes that by talking with people within the industry who are pushing innovation within their organisations, we can learn from their mistakes and be inspired by their successes.

Google’s Street View, which was launched a couple weeks ago, raised privacy concerns because some members of the public are identifiable (for instance, in compromising positions) despite images being processed using face-blurring software. Indeed, the day of its release, we quickly identified two Foviance members engaged in rather mundane activities outside our London office. However, the fact that Google responds quickly to privacy complaints by pulling off offending images reassures many, so I think the privacy concerns will not have much impact on Google’s strong brand perception. Read more…

With all the blog posts popping up on Google’s Latitude service, I thought I would comment on the user experience aspects.

First thing to say is it isn’t exactly new. There is precious little difference with existing services such as Brightkite or Loopt. It is only that Google is the enemy of the hour which has made everyone go crazy about it.

As a result, like the others, it doesn’t work unless your browser is open. For many people that is not very often at all and so this is not an application that is going to change the world overnight. It’s time may come, but not until mobile devices use the browser to access more services as a matter of course.

The blog hype has all been about big brother and stalking, which is a little wide of the mark. Google is so paranoid about its public image they have even supplied a video to show how the privacy settings work. In essence you chose who can see your location on a person by person basis and when a contact requests your location information you can accept or deny each individual request.

The main advantage Google has over its rivals is the integration of other Google services like Gmail that allow you not only to see where contacts are but also communicate with them. A concern is the impact this will have on battery life.

Of all I have read my favourite comment about Latitude was from a momoLondon member. He was concerned about how he was going to explain to his girlfriend that he didn’t want her to know where he was. Not a problem that can be solved with technology but as it happened he then revealed that he didn’t actually have a girlfriend anyway. I wonder why!

Blog by Ronan Tighe

A couple of months, after the launch by Google of their new browser Chrome, it’s now worth taking a moment to analyse the effects that it has had, and will have, on the browser market. Although Chrome’s current market share of around 1.4% may seem insignificant, its launch is extremely interesting and another example of how Google keeps trying to improve the already excellent user experience of their products.

It is worth understanding Google’s motivations behind launching Chrome. The reasons Google provided in their initial blog post were to add value to users and drive innovation on the web. Although Chrome is still very much in development, it’s clear that in one area in particular they have succeeded with those goals.
Anyone who has used Chrome will confirm that it runs JavaScript applications very fast, a lot faster than both Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox. It’s clear from this that Google wants to improve the current user experience of their online applications such as Gmail, Maps and Docs.

A faster browser will also enable users to browse more pages in less time. Google naturally hopes this will increase the chances of users clicking on their adwords, which is still the source of the majority of their revenue. By raising the bar in terms of browser speed, and by making the code used to develop Chrome open source, Google hopes that IE and Firefox will catch up.

The big question of whether Chrome can actually challenge IE or Firefox in terms of market share remains to be seen. IE users have traditionally been lazy in switching browsers; there are still a large chunk of users still using IE6.

Firefox’s users are also unlikely to swap due to the multitude of extensions available, many of which have become an essential part of the browsing experience. If Google continues to innovate, and manufacturers such as Dell and HP start selling PC’s with Chrome pre-installed, it could pose a real threat. This isn’t likely for awhile though. In the meantime, Google will be satisfied with the initial effect Chrome has had. Even if it doesn’t succeed, by motivating IE and Firefox to improve the experience of browsing, it will only mean more users will click on those lucrative adwords.

Essentially Google has looked at the user experience of their products, tried to improve and take control of something which they had previously little control over, but had a major impact on the experience – the browser. Other companies would do well to learn from this. They need to consider ways in which they can improve touch points that their customers currently have with their brand, that they don’t control and may be responsible for reducing the overall user experience.