RKG Logo 434-978-4300

Google Finance launched today. The site looks really slick, and promises to be a real help researching publicly traded companies.

An early article at Forbes.com mentioned how Google intends to favor algorithms over editors when selecting news items to accompany a company’s information:

Google correlates stock performance, in charts and in timelines, overlaid with news stories culled from 4,500 sources. A computer algorithm determines which story to display, just as it does with its main news and core search sites. “We wanted to remain a neutral body,” says [senior product manager for Google Finance, Katie] Stanton.

Forbes points out how

in contrast, Yahoo’s financial news relies on three dozen top editorial brands.

Google scrapes the web and cedes editorial judgement over to the machines, while Yahoo carefully arranges publishing deals with the best and most reputable news sources.

Neither approach is inherently better or worse.

It is interesting, however, to see how both of these web giants continue to reflect their roots as they grow.

Google was born from algorithms, Yahoo was born from human editors, and those earliest influences still reverberate.

(Update: Google will have human moderators for their message boards, to avoid stock market pump-and-dump misinformation schemes. But original observation still stands: their lead news content will be machine-chosen.)

If you like this post, consider subscribing to our RSS feed. You can also have new posts sent to you via email.


Related Posts

No Comments Yet

Your comment will be first!

Your Comment

Tags

RKG

Trackback

http://www.rimmkaufman.com/rkgblog/2006/03/21/google-finance-googles-algorithmic-origins-vs-yahoos-editorial-origins/trackback/

Email Updates

Categories

Recent Comments

  • George Michie: Kevin, Marc, thanks for your comments. Help is coming, but not the solution. There are a number of instances when the CTR on the...
  • Marc Adelman: George, You have been an advocate of “the advanced control option” for years now. Depressing right YEARS! Eh…listen...
  • Kevin Hill: Is what they really need is a fourth match type. Here’s google’s help documentation on broad match: This is the default...
  • Kevin Micalizzi, Dimdim Web Conferencing: Jim (& George)- We still offer a free version of Dimdim. Just click Sign Up Now at the top of the...
  • Tomas: indeed, i can’t talk about it either… :)
  • Philip Price: Thank you for the RegHack, it worked for me, tho at first when i made the reg file with the information i copied from above i also...
  • George Michie: Sorry Jim, this post was written in 2007. Apparently some of those products are gone.
  • Jim: Hey, I checked two products like dimdim and cutepdf but none is free. What are you talking about free and open source?
  • George Michie: If they keep hearing the same message, and seeing evidence in the data to back it up, something will have to give. There is hope on...
  • Tomas: I’ve been having the same argument with Google for months now and in the end there does seem to be a feature in the algorithm that...
  • George Michie: Doesn’t have to be, it can be intra-adgroup as well.
  • Josh: George – I take it you’re referencing a scenario where your exact-match keywords are not listed as negative exact match keywords...
  • George Michie: Melissa, you’re right, it’s always happened to varying degrees, particularly since the advent of extended broad match....
  • Mel66: I don’t think this is a bug. It’s been happening for years. It *is* impossible to manage, and I can’t help but wonder if...
  • George Michie: Thanks Matt, Sometimes humor serves a purpose.

Blog Stats

  • Posts: 948
  • Words: 451,089
  • Comments: 2,875

Administration