Making it easier to Google yourself

Screenshot: Google

It can be tough having a very common name like David Goldman, especially when I try to Google myself (I’m not that David Goldman, above).

I mentioned this to Vic Gundotra, Google’s SVP of Engineering today, who let it slip that Google has a soon-to-be-announced solution to that problem. 

Hmmm… is this the social product we’ve all been waiting for? Google’s been trying to make search more personal forever. Maybe it’s finally discovered the secret sauce.

So John Smiths of the world, rejoice! You may soon be able to Google yourself with ease. -David

Startup 2011: tech experts weigh in

Some interesting quotes from Startup 2011, Silicon Alley Insider’s annual conference:

Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson on Apple vs. Google: “Android will end up being the device leader in the mobile market.”

Entrepreneur Gina Bianchini on closed vs. open: “Google - they represent the open web, and they represent a business model and are highly motivated that the Internet stays open.”

EDventure’s Esther Dyson on Apple’s competition: “Being the elite player is a nice position as along as they don’t try to be broad. Be the best at what you do – Apple should not attempt to be Google or Facebook. It should stay closed and be different and then they have a chance of succeeding.”

Dyson on whether Facebook will be bigger than Google: “I think they will be. They’re the platform, they own the audience, that’s the thing you can’t reproduce.”

And everyone seems to be weighing in on Twitter’s future:

Dyson: “Most companies don’t’ get murdered. They commit suicide.”

Gilt Groupe CEO Kevin Ryan: “I’d be concerned.”

Business Insider’s Henry Blodget: “Twitter….hallucination or next huge media company?” -Laurie

Tumblrs we love: Emo Juan Uribe speaks

Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from tech video producer Jason Sanchez, who sends us rockin’ ideas for the Tumblr all the time.

Juan Uribe is sad.  Despite winning a World Series ring with the San Francisco Giants last year, Uribe has gone emo — on Tumblr, of course.  The current Dodgers utility infielder is shown sitting against a wall with a dejected look on his face in a series of topical posts on emojuanuribe.com. 

As a huge Dodgers fan, I wanted to find out why Uribe has grown so sad with his new team.   So I did what any journalist would do: I asked him (or at the least his emo Tumblr self).  Emo Juan Uribe admitted he doesn’t usually do interviews, mostly because no ever asks him.  What follows is an unedited interview with the emotionally-sensitive infielder.

JS: Why did you choose to create a Tumblr dedicat

ed to the ongoing sadness of Juan Uribe?  

EJU: You think just because I’m a jock that I don’t appreciate the beauty of creative expression? Like Steinbeck said, “In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable.” Plus, Bud won’t let us tweet during the games.

JS: Uribe won a World Series ring last year and has overall had a pretty respectable, if somewhat unremarkable career.

EJU: I’m sure there’s a question in there somewhere, Jason. Or do you just get off to insulting people via email?

JS: So why is Juan Uribe so sad?

EJU: There it is. Why is Emo Juan Uribe so sad? Why does cancer exist? Why did 20 million men, women and children die of starvation last year while Sex and the City 2 grossed $288 million? Why don’t families eat together anymore? Why does Nickelback sell more albums than Fleet Foxes? Why did the same country that invented space travel also invent the sitcom Alf? Sorry, what was the question?

JS: What can snap Uribe out of his funk?

EJU: Wow, Jason. You’re really getting comfortable around me. The answer to that, Sanchez, I guess would be, getting the chance to play in a real baseball town, like St. Louis. There’s no one famous wearing #5 in St. Louis, is there?

Google Music is now live

Screenshot: Google Music

We’re waiting for I/O to begin, where we expect Google to announce its new cloud music service. But in the meantime, you can request an invitation at music.google.com/music.

Enjoy! -David

Gov’t believes in location privacy (except when it wants to know where you are)

My current location screenshot by CNNMoney

Wired has a great feature on the FBI using GPS tracking devices to keep track of people’s whereabouts without a warrant. In fact, the Obama administration is attempting to overturn a lower court’s ruling that law enforcement must obtain a warrant before using a tracker.

Tomorrow representatives from Apple and Google will appear before a Senate subcommittee to discuss (and defend) the way cell phones track and store the location data of users. - Matt

Google’s best doodles ever!

Image courtesy of Google

Google doodles are always clever. But this might be the best work that the talented group of Google artists has ever created.

Today would have been the 76th birthday of the late Roger Hargreaves, the British author of the popular Mr. Men and Little Miss series of children’s books. In honor of this, Google’s home page features a rotating series of Mr. and Little Miss-themed doodles. (Thanks to my brother Steve for pointing this out to me.)

Steve and I loved these books as a kid (and who didn’t?) and Mr. Rush was always our favorite. So if you, like Bob Geldof, don’t like Mondays, go to Google and click on the home page and keep refreshing. If it could bring a smile to my face (I often resemble Mr. Grumpy) it should cheer you up too. — Paul

NetQin doesn’t cash in on China craze

Chart: CNNMoney

Many China tech companies have enjoyed stellar debuts in their public offerings in the United States. NetQin is not one of them.

NetQin, a maker of mobile security software, priced its offering at $11.50 a share, the high end of its range on Thursday. But the stock fell nearly 20% Thursday and dropped another 8% on Friday. 

But the company’s management team doesn’t appear too worried. I met with chief executive officer Henry Yu Lin and chief financial officer Suhai Ji at CNNMoney’s offices. Ji said the company was a bit surprised by the tepid response to the IPO, especially since it did price at the upper end of its offering range.

It does seem a bit odd. While NetQin may suffered from poor timing, going public on a day when the broader stock market plunged as commodities got dumped, it does appear to have what it takes to succeed for the long haul.

Qulacomm and HTC are strategic investors. VC firm Sequoia is a backer as well. Revenues are up big, but the company (like most tech IPos) is losing money.

It could be a simple case of China IPO fatigue. Renren, aka China’s Facebook, also debuted this week and didn’t live up to the hype. Another Chinese Web security firm, Qihoo 360, also recently went public.

But Ji pointed out that there are so many smartphone users that still aren’t protected from viruses and other bugs. The market opportunity is enormous and entrenched security companies like Symantec, Trend Micro and McAfee (now owned by Intel) still are more focused on the PC market as opposed to mobile.

“The more apps you have, the more potential threats there are,” he said.

Ji added that the company’s software is “platform agnostic.” NetQin, despite backing from Android beneficiaries Qualcomm and HTC, are not betting the ranch on Google.

Even though many people assume the mobile race is all about Google vs. Apple,  said he expects the smartphone market to remain fairly fragmented.

Lin said there should still be room for Research in Motion (BlackBerry and QNX) and Nokia. He pointed out that while many in the U.S. are treating Nokia’s Symbian as if it’s dead because of Nokia’a alliance with Microsoft and Windows Phone 7, Symbian still has a significant chunk of the mobile market in Asia.

Of course, there are risks. And it’s somewhat refreshing to see that investors aren’t bidding up every China IPO just because it happens to be located in China.

Ji conceded that the company needs to do more to make its brand known with consumers and enterprise customers. Li said that expansion in the U.S. and Europe will be key.

Still, NetQin shouldn’t be written off just yet. I wrote not too long ago about a little company called BroadSoft. It too had a poor debut but shares have surged in the months since then thanks to strong earnings growth.

It just goes to show that it’s not the first day or two that counts most for a newly public company. Too many IPOs burn out after big first-day pops. There’s nothing wrong with being the proverbial tortoise. You can still win the race.  — Paul

Google Street View as art

Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from tech video producer Jason Sanchez, who sends us rockin’ ideas for the Tumblr all the time. We’re hoping to recruit him to the dark side soon.

Where Google saw an opportunity to better their street maps, Jon Rafman saw an opportunity for art. Rafman didn’t take any of the pictures at 9-eyes.com (named after the 9 cameras on a pole that Google uses to capture the images for Google Street View), but what he’s done is no less impressive.

He’s combed through the incredible trove of images that Google has amassed for its Street View project and put together a collection of pictures that capture different aspects of life — from the absurd to the tragic to the joyous. 

The Montreal-based artist has turned the collection into a traveling art show, showcasing exhibits in New York and Europe. -Jason

Does your CNNMoney Tech Tumblr experience need more Ghostface Killah?

Yes? OK, then. Click here.

(Click the mask at the bottom right of the page for more info.) Thanks to boyfriend for the tip! -JP