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Google has released the results from a study on query suggestions for mobile search. The study tested search queries for phones with a numeric keypad. Typically, a 15 character query requires approximately 30 key presses to perform, according to the study.

But when query suggestions are added to the mix, workload and key presses declined while enjoyment increased. However, the suggestions did NOT decrease the amount of time spent querying a search.

Google has already implemented query suggestions for the iPhone.

Related Reading:
YouTube Adds Query Suggestions for Search
Yahoo Unveils Upgrades to Mobile Search Platform
Firefox To Add Search Suggestions To Search Toolbar

Viacom President and CEO Philippe Daumann joined Kevin Johnson, President of Microsoft, onstage last Wednesday at the Microsoft advance ‘08 client sumnmit to discuss the Future of Search. They didn’t discuss copyright infringement or Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube. Perhaps they should have.

Google, YouTube’s owner, claims the $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit questioning YouTube’s ability to keep copyrighted material off YouTube.com threatens the free exchange of information on the Internet.

Google’s lawyers filed papers on Friday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan in response to Viacom’s lawsuit alleging that the Internet has led to “an explosion of copyright infringement” by YouTube and others.

Viacom filed its lawsuit last year, asking for damages for the unauthorized viewing of programming from MTV, Comedy Central and other networks, including such hits as “The Colbert Show” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

In papers submitted to a judge late Friday, Google claimed YouTube “goes far beyond its legal obligations in assisting content owners to protect their works.”

By seeking to make carriers and hosting providers liable for Internet communications, Google said Viacom “threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information, news, entertainment and political and artistic expression.”

Google said YouTube was faithful to the requirements of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying the federal law was intended to protect companies like YouTube as long as they responded properly to content owners’ claims of infringement.

On that count, Viacom says Google has failed miserably.

The Associated Press reports that in a rewritten lawsuit filed last month, Viacom said YouTube consistently allows unauthorized copies of popular television programming and movies to be posted on its Web site and viewed tens of thousands of times.

Viacom said it had identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of copyrighted programming — including “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “South Park” and “MTV Unplugged” episodes and the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” — that had been viewed “an astounding 1.5 billion times.”

The company said its count of unauthorized clips represents only a fraction of the content on YouTube that violates its copyrights.

It said Google and YouTube had done “little or nothing” to stop infringement.

“To the contrary, the availability on the YouTube site of a vast library of the copyrighted works of plaintiffs and others is the cornerstone of defendants’ business plan,” Viacom said.

YouTube has announced the addition of query suggestions for search. In case you’re not aware, query suggestions are search suggestions that pop up once you start typing a search.

The announcement said that you have to opt in to the suggestions using the “advanced” link next to the search button. But I’m getting suggestions without doing the opt in.

YouTube has also added a contact importer and improvements to the inbox.

Related Reading:
YouTube Videos Now Part of Google Maps Search Mix
Google Launches YouTube Insight - Google Analytics Lite

All those media pundits who said Google is a publisher are wrong.

Google isn’t a publisher. Google is a broadcaster. The 4th Network.

Or maybe just a search factory. We’ll know for sure soon.

On Monday, May 19, 2008, Google will webcast the “Google Factory Tour of Search” from Mountain View, CA and their Googleplex headquarters. Featured will be VP Marissa Mayer and product directors R.J. Pittman, Carter Maslan, and Johanna Wright among other Googlers certain to make cameos.

The focus? Google Health. Not “health” as in “stock price” but Google Health as in Google Docs.

Google promises an insider’s perspective on Search. You can’t be any more of an insider than webcasting from Google’s black box. Plus, the speakers will provide an update on Google Health.

You can find videos of executive talks and much more on the Official Google Channel on YouTube.

photo credit: Sydney Morning Herald

Google has been busy on the legal, tech and policy front lately, and there’s a primary theme running through all of their pursuits: Google loves wide open spaces.

First up, as is being widely reported, Clearwire and Spring are combining their wifi and broadband services. But did you know Google is one of the companies behind the $3.2 billion deal? They’ve teamed with Comcast, Intel Capital, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Trilogy Equity Partners to create the new company.

Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum is part of the deal. And spectrum is something at the top of Google’s wish list lately. Google didn’t win any of its bids on a recent FCC spectrum auction. And last week, Google raised concern that Verizon will not keep its spectrum auction space open afterall.

Google is also facing resistance to its plan for “white spaces.” Several sports groups including the NFL, NBA and NASCAR are now lobbying the FCC to not open up “white spaces” on TV spectrum. Google wants them opened up for wireless. The groups are concerned about signal interference for things like coaching headsets and referee microphones.

In a different kind of open battle, Google is saying that it won’t settle a lawsuit brought by Viacom over copyrighted material, according to Business Week. David Eun, vice president in Content Partnerships at Google told Dow Jones newswires that they plan to go all the way to the Supreme Court with the case. Viacom brought the $1 billion suit after the two companies couldn’t reach a licensing agreement for content on YouTube.

Whether it’s content or spectrum, Google wants to keep things out in the open. They’re going to great lengths to make it happen, and while corporations may not be thrilled, consumers are likely to be happy should Google meet its open goals.

Related Reading:
Google’s New Wifi Push Will Drive Mobile Search

Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder of Future Now Inc., will be giving the keynote presentation at SES Toronto on Wednesday, June 18, 2008. He was also a speaker at SES London earlier this year.

While in London, I interviewed Bryan about web analytics, Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Yahoo (MicroHoo), converting visitors into buyers, his new book, and where to find the best pizza in Brooklyn. The video below takes advantage of YouTube’s high-quality video toggle button to give you a significantly better view of that interview. Check it out.

Bryan Eisenberg, Future Now, at SES London 2008 on SEO

So, what will Bryan be talking about at SES Toronto? Well, he’s the publisher of Future Now’s award-winning blog, GrokDotCom, so you might want read some of his latest posts to get a sense of his point of view.

Bryan is also a columnist for ClickZ, so you might want to read “Recession-Proof Your Online Marketing” to get a sense of his scientific approach.

However, Bryan is currently working on his next book, Always Be Testing, due in September 2008. So, I’ll bet we’ll get a sneak preview of his latest insights at SES Toronto.

Then again, maybe SES Toronto Conference Chairman Andrew Goodman, will show Bryan where to find the best pizza in Canada and that will be the subject of his keynote presentation.

Now, let me think. Always Be Testing or the best pizza in Canada? My money is on the book.

In a recent episode of South Park, the characters set out to create a viral YouTube video to earn their millions. In today’s Searching for Meaning column, “100 Million Theoretical Dollars,” Kevin Ryan advises marketers looking for 100 million real dollars that capitalizing on the connection between traditional placement and search can be as easy as lip-syncing Romanian dance music.

On Saturday, Microsoft formally withdrew its proposal to acquire Yahoo. With the Microsoft-Yahoo mashup scrapped (for now), who are the hidden winners and losers?

I’m not talking about the stockholders, advertisers, employees, CEOs, management teams, boards of directors or other stakeholders of Google, Yahoo or Microsoft. They are the obvious winners and losers.

No, I’m talking about the hidden winners and losers – or, at least the ones that have been hidden in plain sight. I may have missed some. I’ve been busy. (I’ve got a day job.) But, here are the ones I was able to find on Sunday:

Hidden Winners of the Scrapped Microsoft-Yahoo Mashup

The biggest hidden winner is AP photographer Mark Lennihan. His May 4, 2007 file photo of a Times Square news ticker flashing a headline about Microsoft above a billboard for Yahoo became one of the most used images in Google News to illustrate stories about Microsoft’s unsolicited bid for Yahoo.

Another hidden winner is the Flickr group photo pool, “Microsoft: Keep You Evil Grubby Hands Off Our Flickr.” Its About Us statement reads, “THIS GROUP WILL STOP MICROSOFT FROM BUYING YAHOO! AND DESTROYING THE FLICKR WE KNOW AND LOVE OR WE WILL DIE TRYING.” Put down the camera, son. It’s over.

Kevin Ryan on the Microsoft Yahoo bid (Associated Press)

The final hidden winner is Kevin Ryan, the global content director for Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch. His comments to AP on what the possibility of a Microsoft-Yahoo conglomerate means for the online marketplace ranks #1 in YouTube if you search for the two-word term, Microsoft Yahoo.

Hidden Losers of the Scrapped Microsoft-Yahoo Mashup

The biggest hidden loser is the Y-Que T Shirt Superstore. While it ranks #1 in Google Product Search for MircoHoo, that wasn’t as popular at term as “Microsoft Yahoo,” according to Google Trends. And now it’s stuck with a bunch of funny t-shirts commemorating the takeover of Yahoo by Microsoft.

Another hidden loser is Kevin Heisler, executive editor of Search Engine Watch. What was he doing Saturday night at 9:59 p.m.? He was posting a story to the Search Engine Watch Blog entitled, “Microsoft Withdraws Yahoo Offer; Yahoo Responds.” He should have been out watching Iron Man, like Deborah Richman.

Steve Ballmer going crazy

The final hidden losers are the Rapid Response Team at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide and the staff at Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher. Do a search for Steve Ballmer on Google. See the YouTube video of Steve going crazy? I’ve got four words for public relations professionals: Search Engine Reputation Management.

Fredrick Marckini, chief global search officer of Isobar, will be giving the opening keynote speech at SES Toronto on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. Fredrick also gave the opening keynote at SES London back in February.

While he was in London, I interviewed him about his keynote speech on search engine marketing trends and his duties at Isobar. You can get a pretty good idea of Fredrick’s perspective by watching the YouTube video below — which has just been posted in its entirety. (A portion of Fredrick’s interview was included in our Day 1 roundup.)

And, as you’ll see, YouTube’s recent site updates now enable you view the high quality video by just clicking on the television icon below and to the right instead of using the format 18 code.

Fredrick Marckini at SES London on Search Engine Marketing

You can also get a sense of Fredrick’s point of view by reading: Fredrick Marckini iProspect Exclusive SEO Interview with Dan Horton.

Fredrick Marckini founded iProspect in 1996 and is recognized as a leading expert in the field of search engine marketing. He has authored three of the SEM industry’s earliest books, including Secrets To Achieving Top-10 Positions (1997), Achieving Top-10 Rankings in Internet Search Engines (1998), and Search Engine Positioning (2001). He is considered one of the pioneers of search engine marketing and was named to BtoB Magazine’s Top 100 Marketers 2005 and 2006 lists.

Fredrick is a frequent speaker at industry conferences around the country including: Search Engine Strategies, ad:tech, the iMedia Summit, Search Insider Summit and the eMarketing Association Conference. He has written bylined articles for Search Engine Watch, CMO Magazine, BtoB Magazine, iMedia Connection, ClickZ and numerous other publications. He has been interviewed and profiled in a variety of media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times of London, Inc., Investors and Business Daily, Internet Retailer, National Public Radio, and others.

Fredrick serves on the Board for the Ad Club of Boston, and was a founding Board Member of the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO). He earned a bachelors degree from Franciscan University in Ohio.

Google frustrated Wall St. bears, earnings whisperers, and the world’s most bearish bloggers today by beating analysts’ earnings estimates.

Listeners on the Google conference call could virtually hear the sound of much gnashing of teeth from naysayers who cried doom and gloom this quarter.

The news was so good you’d think Quattrone was in the house.

Google blew away all revenue predictions, posting $5.19 billion for the first quarter, a 42% increase over the first quarter of 2007 and an increase of 7% compared to the retail and holiday-driven fourth quarter.

We’ll have more on what the Q1 call means to search marketers later. (It’s all good.) But first: the biggest dissappointment was the early departure of Paul Kedrosky of Infectious Greed fame who had to drop off the call early to catch a flight in the middle of live-blogging commentary.

Paul showed how far off the mark Citigroup analyst Mahaney was:

“Here is how Google came in versus one cheat sheet (Mahaney’s at Citi) floating around out there:

* Net revenues — Forecast $3.54b / Actual: $4.0b
* Earnings — Forecast: $1.76b / Actual $1.83b
* EPS: — Forecast: $4.50 / Actual: $4.84″

Paul also had some of the best and funniest con call commentary on his blog, so we’ll share a few blog bytes with our readers (and the few remaining GOOG bears out there). Paul’s capital expenditures (CapEx) comment came pre-call just after Google announced earnings results to the media (and the world):

What. in. the. world. are. these. GOOG. guys. building?

Google CapEx in Context. Moon base Theory, Redux.

For you conspiracy theorists — Google’s building a moon base! Google’s building a moon base! — here is the last five quarters of Google’s re-spiraling CapEx …

Sergey tipping 100 improvements in search introduced in quarter. Not to be rude, but does this deserve so much time?This is awfully inside search-baseball for the opening of an earnings call.

Wait. Sergey talking mobile. Something coming? News? Oh, language versions. Mobile search traffic “growing rapidly”. Great, glad to hear that. I was so worried. YouTube? “Mobile video traffic growing rapidly” too. Another load off my mind. Not.

Ten hours of new video going up onto YouTube every minute. No idea what that actually means in monetization, but it’s a great stat for future presentation porn. Whoa, and Dunkin’ Donuts uses YouTube.

Catch Paul on CNBC tomorrow morning — and for breakfast?

Rumor has it Google will be serving crow for any bears who wander by the Googleplex.