Sounds like Google is updating or adding upon their TrustRank (which I first wrote about back in April 2005) with a new player ranking to be named later? UserRank maybe? So if that pans out they would have PR, TR and UR.

Maybe that’s the mockingbird we’ll hear in our heads: And UR a fool if you use only Google products/services.

Such profiles are created by Google and gathered from previous queries, web navigation behavior via tracked links and possibly sites visited which serve Google ads, computers with Google Applications installed such as Desktop Search, Google Wi-fi Connection or Sidebar, and personal information which Google identifies which may be “implicitly or explicitly provided by the user.”

Scoble is worried about this:

… imagine a world where the map component, the advertising component, and other components on your Web page report back to Google what you are giving your attention to (and they will, I guarantee that!)

That scenario is not going to happen, Robert. It wouldn’t happen even if Google was the best game in town on all of those things — and they aren’t. And won’t be. Why? Two main reasons:

1) They will never have all the best minds working for them. Don’t now and won’t in the future. Sure they have great search engine minds, but do they have the best adverising minds? The best mapping minds? Money doesn’t buy everyone. Some of the smartest people will remain freelance or work for Google competitors even when the money would be better at Google.
2) users personal choice is highly subjective. Users choose to like or dislike things based on all sorts of their own criteria, some of which doesn’t make any sense. Some might not use Google’s search because they dislike the plain design (I know, doesn’t make sense, but some might feel that way). Google hasn’t proven to be the best on emotions (remember the short CNET ban thing?). This will keep Google in check over the long haul.

#2 though is where this fear, if that’s the right word, breaks down with Google.

I’m not forced to use Google products or services — most of them, I don’t use, in fact beyond a brief test period — which means I won’t be giving my attention to them no matter how many patents they apply for and receive.

- Search? You bet, I want them to track my searches so they can pull in more of the relevant results and offer me even better results. I don’t want to wade through pages of garbage to find what I’m looking for, I want it to be on the first or second page and preferably in view of the screen with little to no scroll. Save me time, win my attention.

- Adsense? Yes, we use it, but we also use YPN and many other non-contexual based, traditional affiliate programs. Adsense doesn’t dominate the real estate on our sites as a whole and never will. We do not believe in an advertising strategy that puts all eggs in one basket, that doesn’t make good sense, no pun intended, and can have tragic repurcussions actually if the program pulls one of those: “we changed our rules” deals. Been there, done that and it always sucks.

- Google Toolbar? Nope, don’t use it any more. Only used it to view PR really and that can be retrieved via a Firefox plugin.

- Gmail? I have specific uses for it and it is a very tiny amount of my attention. They aren’t seeing all our email and never will. They will see a small portion that we decide to use gmail for and that will be hardly enough data to determine my attention.

- Google News? Yes. This is the first place I go to search for general news. It’s not the first place I look for blog related news because they don’t scan many blogs there. I like this service and group this with their search as the best place to find current event news in a no-frills interface.

- Google Maps? Not really. Will use it to look up a few things, but we have Microsoft Streets & Trips with GPS locator which works the best offline. All these online map services instantly become worthless when there is no connection to access them. When do you need to find something? Usually when you are out and about on the road .. and not usually when you are wired. It is *THE* major achille’s heel for all online map services, not just Google.

- Blogger? Sometimes. We use them for two blogs. One of which is almost never updated (my very first blog, actually) and the other is to write about Gmail-related happenings. The gmail blog is better content and update wise, but neither is something that a significant amount of time/energy will be going into.

- Froogle? Not the first place I go when I want to do comparative shopping, I go to the online store directly. I can count the Froogle searches I’ve done on one one hand in 2005.

- Orkut? Who? Haven’t used it since it came out.

- Google Video? I might upload a video or two, but am more interested to see when/if they do the Google Wallet and see how I might be able to use that. PayPal could use some significant competition.

I could go on and on because Google has many products/service but I think my point is clear. Google doesn’t really have that much of my attention online. Frankly, Microsoft has more of my attention. I’m typing on a screeen that is powered by Windows, the wireless mouse I’m using is from Microsoft. Beside me is a Tablet PC by who? Microsoft.

So, truth be told, Microsoft has more of my attention on a daily basis than Google does.

Google does have a percentage of it, a small percentage really in the scope of a full day. They do in the web search, but their Blog search they sure don’t. I’ll hit Technorati, Feedster or IceRocket before Google for blog related searches.

Bottom line: the field is wide, wide open for some existing (Yahoo, MSN, etc) search engine to come in or some great affiliate program and I’ll be happy to move that direction and leave Google’s offerings in those areas behind. Google hasn’t dominated this user’s (me) attention and never will.

I don’t like to use the word never, so let me now repeat that for emphasis: never.

And who needs AttentionTrust as long as we have personal choice? Nobody, not Microsoft, Yahoo, Google or ___ can patent that as long as I’m living in a democracy.

How much of your attention does Google have on a daily basis, really? Are you worried about them on this one? Or is this more about them trying to keep their search ahead of the competition? What do you think?

Did this post make you go hmm?

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