Google Buys Pyra: Blogging Goes Big-Time

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000802.shtml#000802' target='_blank'>http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/col...02.shtml#000802</a><br /><br /></div>"Weblogs are going Googling. Google, which runs the Web's premier search site, has purchased Pyra Labs, a San Francisco company that created some of the earliest technology for writing weblogs, the increasingly popular personal and opinion journals. <br /><br />The buyout is a huge boost to an enormously diverse genre of online publishing that has begun to change the equations of online news and information. Weblogs are frequently updated, with items appearing in reverse chronological order (the most recent postings appear first). Typically they include links to other pages on the Internet, and the topics range from technology to politics to just about anything you can name. Many weblogs invite feedback through discussion postings, and weblogs often point to other weblogs in an ecosystem of news, opinions and ideas.<br /><br />"I couldn't be more excited about this," said Evan Williams, founder of Pyra, a company that has had its share of struggles. He wouldn't discuss terms of the deal, which he said was signed on Thursday, when we spoke Saturday. But he did say it gives Pyra the "resources to build on the vision I've been working on for years." Part of that vision, shared by other blogging pioneers, has been to help democratize the creation and flow of news in a world where giant companies control so much of what most people see, hear and read. Weblogs are also becoming a valuable communication tool for groups of people, and have begun to infiltrate the corporate, university and government spheres."<br /><br />Since Pocket PC Thoughts started out as a blog using Blogger, this news strikes a chord deep within me. As long as Google doesn't screw up the Blogger spirit and functionality, and makes it better, I couldn't be happier for Evan.

[Rirath]

has been to help democratize the creation and flow of news in a world where giant companies control so much of what most people see, hear and read.

What internet is he using? My daily news comes from folks like Blue from Bluesnews, the PPC Thoughts team, Penny Arcade, Slashdot and etc. Even the big names like CNN are just journalists. I really don't think it has "democratized" the news either... it's just increased the number of websites where people talk about what they had for breakfast that morning, while not having to learn much html to do it.

[garrans]

One of the things that the likes of CNN / BBC / Local News does is work through the vast amount of "news" to a manageable level. Blogs are great but also have the propensity to include every bit of "information" the writer feels is important.

While its nice to say that they are "democratizing" the availability of information you still need aggragators (sp?) that combine, reduce, filter the information to what "I" want.

I don't however subscribe to the notion that "they" tell us what we want and feed it to us. We vote with our TiVo's and our remotes. If we don't want it, we switch channels / find a new site.

Availability of more Blogs will just mean more "data" available. This is why I like Pocket PC Thoughts. They provide "information" & opinions not data.

[jeffmd]

can someone tell me where the hell google gets money from? its not like it bombs you with 80 gazillion adds, and it has some of the most comprehensive and largest search engines in the world.

[malcolmsharp]

can someone tell me where the hell google gets money from? its not like it bombs you with 80 gazillion adds, and it has some of the most comprehensive and largest search engines in the world.

Easy... pay for placment! You can buy placment for certian searches. It also sells it's tech to companies for internal search and indexing.