Rumors
abound that Google is setting up a new service that might blow away
Craigslist, eBay, and -- of course -- newspapers in terms of classified
advertising. Apparently a few people spotted the elusive new
"Google Base" service when it was up temporarily. (You can try your luck at
base.google.com.) Over at
Ars
Technica,
Ken Fisher has written a good
overview
of what Google Base is supposed to be. He claims to have seen the
homepage, and grabbed this content from it:
"Google Base is Google's database into which you can add all types of
content. We'll host your content and make it searchable online for free.
Examples of items you can find in Google Base:
- Description of your party planning service
- Articles on current events from your website
- Listing of your used car for sale
- Database of protein structures
"You can describe any item you post with attributes, which will help
people find it when they search Google Base. In fact, based on the
relevance of your items, they may also be included in the main Google
search index and other Google products like Froogle and Google Local."
Yeah, I can see how businesses that rely on classifieds might shudder at
that. But at this point, it's only a rumor. Yesterday, Google's own
blog issued a
vague
semi-denial that, I think, leaves room for this rumor to be
accurate. This is one to watch.
