TechSmec.com

Google Denies Ebay Competition Rumours

October 26th, 2005

Google has moved quickly to scotch rumours that it is about to launch an eBay-like classified or auction service.

Internet rumours multiplied yesterday after screenshots were posted online showing a Google interface that could potentially, with the eye of faith, be the genesis of an online classified sytem.

If you actually take a step back and look at what the page actually says (and what the service is apparently called - Google Base) then it appears that Google is actually soliciting you to add just about anything to a massive online database. Admittedly one of the suggestions is to upload details of a car for sale, but that sits alongside the idea that you could upload a database of protein structures (not commonly found on eBay).

The page also implies that results from Google Base might one day appear in the main search engine listings. Google is trying to index the world!

The official Google blog flatly denies the, frankly rather boring, eBay rumours, but does confirm the much grander plan of storing user-submitted content. “We are testing a new way for content owners to submit their content to Google, which we hope will complement existing methods such as our web crawl and Google Sitemaps. We think it’s an exciting product, and we’ll let you know when there’s more news,” says the blog.

Entry Filed under: Online Life