What does the world want? According to John Battelle, a company that answers that question -- in all its shades of meaning -- can unlock the most i...
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reviews
Jan 09, 2007
Otis
rated it: 
Most stuff in this book I already knew (90%). But hearing it in a cohesive story is a great way to fodder new ideas - if you wanna think about the internet and where its going, its a great primer - and a quick read too.
Hearing the the Goto/Overture story was interesting. While it sounds obvious, its an impressive insight by Bill Gross that traffic with an intent (ie search traffic) is worth more than random traffic, and that if you played arbitrage in the middle you could make a lot More...
Hearing the the Goto/Overture story was interesting. While it sounds obvious, its an impressive insight by Bill Gross that traffic with an intent (ie search traffic) is worth more than random traffic, and that if you played arbitrage in the middle you could make a lot More...
Jul 20, 2009
Daniel
rated it:
I read this book a few years ago and decided to re-read it to see if its insight into the veritable cultural force still holds its relevance. Though it is already dated by today’s standards (the book’s most recent publication was five years ago), it is still a very interesting read.
John Battelle is a definite Google fanboy, taking only slightly critical angles when necessary, and giving the internet supergiant heaps of kudos where deserved. The book deals with Google’s history only More...
John Battelle is a definite Google fanboy, taking only slightly critical angles when necessary, and giving the internet supergiant heaps of kudos where deserved. The book deals with Google’s history only More...
Jul 09, 2009
Scott
rated it: 
Why I Read this Book: The Internet search industry is dominating our web experience and Google is leading the pack. I wanted to understand this phenomenon as best as possible. This is a must read for anyone who currently has an online business/website or who is looking to create one.
Review:
Anyone who is reading this must be somewhat familiar with the Internet and with Internet search (that is probably how you got here). The truth of the matter is that even to the non tech More...
Review:
Anyone who is reading this must be somewhat familiar with the Internet and with Internet search (that is probably how you got here). The truth of the matter is that even to the non tech More...
Mar 12, 2010
Bakari
rated it:
John Battelle's The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture, asks this question on page 13: "What, in the end, might search tell use about ourselves and the global culture we are creating together online?" That to me is a profoundly interesting question, but Battelle's book doesn't explore it nearly enough. He raises all the right questions in the first chapter of his book, but then he takes readers off into a story about the decision
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Jun 27, 2011
Matt
rated it:
A cool look at the evolution of the internet through search engines - not just Google, but also the earlier-generation Webcrawler, Excite, AltaVista, etc - and the respective business models behind them. Much of the book details how Google went from 2 employees to thousands, from private to public, and managed unprecedented amount of growth, though the chapter I found most interesting was "Search, Privacy, Government, Evil". Even though it was written in 2005, the issues presented -
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Mar 03, 2010
Al
rated it:
(My review from HardKnockMBA.com)
So this was an interesting pick (it was on the top of the stack) for my first read in this endeavor, primarily because it isn’t necessarily a ‘business book’ in the traditional sense, so I had to approach it a bit differently, but it still proved rather insightful, and an enjoyable read for a techie like me.
The Search goes over the tale of how the search industry came about, starting with Archie and Gopher then Yahoo and GoTo and finally t More...
So this was an interesting pick (it was on the top of the stack) for my first read in this endeavor, primarily because it isn’t necessarily a ‘business book’ in the traditional sense, so I had to approach it a bit differently, but it still proved rather insightful, and an enjoyable read for a techie like me.
The Search goes over the tale of how the search industry came about, starting with Archie and Gopher then Yahoo and GoTo and finally t More...
Apr 05, 2011
Bojan
rated it:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was well written and provided enough information to keep me glued to it. However, I was really hoping to find out more about Google than what would be possible from Google's own PR machine. The early search engine history and the development of that technology is probably the more fascinating part of the book. Which is ironic, since the book is supposed to be primarily about Google. My guess is that the author sacrificed the ability to write about more
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Nov 18, 2011
Netz
rated it:
atpit, i'm really new to this kind of reading. this only being my second book of this kind.
i was surprised, how easy "John Batelle" made this book for the reader, or in my case listener, to understand.
upfront i was a little afraid that a history of algorithms & semantic could be a little tedious - but it wasn't! not at all.
this is a good insight into the business side of search, showing how google,coming in late, fared to other big guns. it really is amazing how a More...
i was surprised, how easy "John Batelle" made this book for the reader, or in my case listener, to understand.
upfront i was a little afraid that a history of algorithms & semantic could be a little tedious - but it wasn't! not at all.
this is a good insight into the business side of search, showing how google,coming in late, fared to other big guns. it really is amazing how a More...
Apr 23, 2010
Every day, with a click, hundreds of millions of people search: for news, for deals, for jobs, for love. Google has become the primary gateway for instant knowledge. Its archives are, increasingly, the “database of the world’s intentions,” to use John Battelle’s apt phrase. Battelle lucidly explains the search technologies (such as PageRank, kind of an instant measure of webpage popularity) that fueled Google’s rise to dominance. He also traces the personal histories and goals of its founders. T
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Jan 10, 2011
Gayathri
rated it: 
Its an excellent book which looks at how search has evolved as a part and parcel of computer parlance. In the process, it shows how Google has become what it is today. The constraints based on which the two graduates developed the super effective algo became the market drivers for them. How Google tried to be "ethically correct" while choosing the ad space marketing scheme.
It also talks about not so famous in terms of search., but people who really made ground breaking changes lik More...
It also talks about not so famous in terms of search., but people who really made ground breaking changes lik More...
Aug 03, 2008
Michael
rated it: 
I first used the internet sometime around 1993, when it seemed gopher was still where all the good information was, or maybe I just wasn't in the know since most of my direction was from a deadtree book of listings. I quickly grew to love the internet in college, and Altavista was the clear best choice for search until someone introduced me to Google and I saw it was clearly better. I have been paying attention to things technical and their social ramifications since 2000.
Thus ther More...
Thus ther More...
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Jun 10, 2009
Ummu Auni
rated it:
Watak Utama:
Ini adalah buku 'non-fiction', maka tidak wujud watak-watak melainkan yang benar.
Tentang Apa Buku Ini:
Industri 'pencarian' @ 'search engine' pada masa kini. Sangat menarik, digarap daripada kisah sebenar tentang industri tersebut. Permulaan mengisahkan 'evolving trend' industri ini, kisah-kisah 'search engine' sebelum Google, kisah Google, kejayaan yang dikecapi Google, cabaran-cabaran lain yang dihadapi Google, terutamanya berkaitan dengan kemasukan syarikat More...
Ini adalah buku 'non-fiction', maka tidak wujud watak-watak melainkan yang benar.
Tentang Apa Buku Ini:
Industri 'pencarian' @ 'search engine' pada masa kini. Sangat menarik, digarap daripada kisah sebenar tentang industri tersebut. Permulaan mengisahkan 'evolving trend' industri ini, kisah-kisah 'search engine' sebelum Google, kisah Google, kejayaan yang dikecapi Google, cabaran-cabaran lain yang dihadapi Google, terutamanya berkaitan dengan kemasukan syarikat More...
May 02, 2008
Ricardo
rated it:
Buscar es la historia del desarrollo de motor de búsqueda, desde los inicios de internet hasta google y lo que venga como búsqueda perfecta. Está lejos de ser un libro técnico, sino que es casi una novela llena de emociones, desafíos y aventuras. Logra comunicar las emociones de los innovadores y emprendedores que han desarrollado esta industria. Tiene aristas de negocio, científicas, tecnológicas y hasta políticas.
No se entenderá el fenómeno cultural/económico que es internet si no More...
No se entenderá el fenómeno cultural/económico que es internet si no More...
May 28, 2007
Seth
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John Battelle expends a vast amount of his energy and my time describing the history of the web and search in general before finally getting to the real point of the book "how Google and its rivals rewrote the rules of business and transformed our culture." For roughly the first 180 pages, I was tempted to cast this book aside, but when I crossed that boundary, I found his analysis of the potential for search as a knowledge and economic commodity both engaging and exciting.
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Jan 05, 2011
Jonathan
rated it:
Along with "Googled," "The Search" is a very thorough introduction to something a lot of people want to know: how does Google make money? However, it is also a solid narrative on the birth of internet searching in general, and its importance. Kudos to the author for showing that search (including its ad-supported incarnations) is not a Google invention per se. It was also particularly helpful for a non-technical reader like myself to appreciate some of the underlying mechanis
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Apr 26, 2011
Deccancoffee
rated it:
Search changed our life! and google did it well than any other company. understood the basic necessity of finding the information in fast growing information webpages. people find relevent information through a window of google. if a webpage isn`t ranked by the google pagerank than it isn`t worth having information. startup companies can learn a lot from this book, how to get funds from venture capitalist and design a revenue model without hurting the business.
Jul 19, 2007
Sean
rated it:
This book is two things – first, it is a detailed and interesting look at how searching online has changed over the last ten years, and how the refinement of the process has made the internet the usable tool it is today. It’s a pretty basic idea, really, if you can’t find shit, the internet is basically useless.
Secondly, the book is a look at what makes Google* so special. If Batelle is to believed what makes Google different is a, a belief in the ability of science fixing any probl More...
Secondly, the book is a look at what makes Google* so special. If Batelle is to believed what makes Google different is a, a belief in the ability of science fixing any probl More...
May 03, 2010
Tim
rated it:
The Search is a good, but not great, book detailing Google's ascension to the top of the search world. It's interesting to hear the background story of how Google came about, and some of the other companies whose efforts paved the way.
My only complaints with the book are that the author appears to be rather biased in favor of Google and that now, a few years after publication, some of the insights are a bit dated (though to be fair, that is to be expected with a book about such a fas More...
My only complaints with the book are that the author appears to be rather biased in favor of Google and that now, a few years after publication, some of the insights are a bit dated (though to be fair, that is to be expected with a book about such a fas More...
Feb 06, 2010
Jamie
rated it:
Probably would not have finished this book except that I was stuck in an airport for a long time and only had this book to read. While a lot of it was very interesting, the writing style made it quite boring. I hope to find other books that are more enjoyable to read about a company I find quite fascinating.
Jan 27, 2009
Adam
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It's rare for me to find a non-fiction book I can find as engaging as a novel, but The Search managed to grip me from beginning to end. If you want to understand the technology that allows Google to make bazillions and where it'll be going in the future, read this book.
Nov 25, 2008
Ramona
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This book was a better history of Google than the official "biography" I read on Google. It had more related stories, like sub-plots, that made for a richer experience. Most of the business related information was not new or incredibly interesting, but the search history was.
Jun 02, 2011
Yury
rated it:
Very solid introduction of Google and its founders. Details how the company began, its philosophy and what makes it different. Explains how Google in a short time changed not just search results but how we obtain information and transformed advertising at the same time.
Jun 07, 2011
Jaime
rated it:
I enjoyed the book as it described the core of what I believe most businesses and everyday users of the internet miss. The internet is all about the search.
I wasn't so interested in the histories of Google, but rather the mechanics and principles of the book.
I wasn't so interested in the histories of Google, but rather the mechanics and principles of the book.
Jan 26, 2009
The coolest thing this book has taught me so far is Google Zeitgeist, the annual collection of search queries for each year giving an overall view of the world's searching needs/wants. http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeit...
Mar 03, 2009
Even though this book is quite old in computer terms (2005) it gives you a good summary of how. . . and why search engines work. I learned a lot about how Google and Yahoo make their money. It was really interesting and not too technical.
Feb 02, 2012
Andy
rated it:
Considering my day-to-day work involves tweaking and optimizing websites for search, as well as dealing with content strategy for the web, "The Search" is a must-read for me. I'm also a follower of John Battelle's blog.
Jul 05, 2009
Jeff
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An excellent look at the backbone of the internet's role in our lives and the guys who brought it to us. You wouldn't think that the history of search engines would be so interesting, but it's a n eye-opening story.
Nov 02, 2009
Kimberly
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Pretty technical at times but a truly fascinating story not only about how google was born but how search engines have changed our lives and our anthropological makeup. Kind of want to go work for google now.
Nov 26, 2007
Manda
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The Search is an amazing book! It has somehow managed to tell the story of Google's overnight success and its continuing potential in a novel like manner that is easy to follow. It tells an incredible story about the past, present, and future of search technology, and the enormous impact it is starting to have on marketing, dating, media, pop culture, shopping, job hunting, people finding, civil liberties, and just about every other element of human interest.
This book is a must rea More...
This book is a must rea More...
Aug 25, 2009
Imam
rated it:
Smart young and innovative guys, called "Google Guys", Larry Page and Sergey Brin, they will inspired many young generation to be an "Infopreneurship". Nice Book.
