"Fast Flip" looks to me like a software emulation of an e-book reader like Kindle.
The FF format is OK but I prefer "printer format" because it shows more informative text per screen.
I think Google is headed down the road of self-immolation, following Yahoo. Google, originally, destroyed the competition by offering lots of information and separating that info from advertising. But Google has fallen prey to the slippery-slope "one-more" fallacy ("One more ad won't be noticed and will add to the bottom line.")
The issue with many so-so web aggregators (web sites that collect and report other web sites)is that the information area has shrunk to a tiny center surrounded by a large area of ads. The Fast Flip interface looks like a strong candidate for this problem. (Move the next/previous page buttons closer to the text. Squeeze the center text in another 10% and look at all of that prime screen landscape open for development.) The problem for web aggregators is that I (as a typical web consumer) have no brand loyalty--once I spotted that Google provided more usable information and was less heavy on advertising than Yahoo then I never went back to Yahoo. Never. Once I find something better than Google then I will never return to Google.
Google has a real problem. Many searches pull up "Bizrate" and other links as the first choices. I have no idea whether Google's search technology is being "gamed"* or they are pulling in a few extra pennys to put some sites first but these sites are weak, bad, and obnoxious ad-shill aggregators. They are not providing practical information. If Google and FF becomes an ad-hog like a lot of sites then a stream-lined competitor will pop up and Google will go the way of other net-zombies like AOL and Yahoo.
Ken *maybe by hemp seeds - see Skinner (1960) and http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html --------------------------------------------------------------- Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. [email protected] Professor Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu Appalachian State University Boone, NC 28608 USA --------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Palij wrote:
Has anyone taken a look at the new "product" by Google called Fast Flip? It's supposed to make reading articles from newspapers and magazine easier. Here's a news article on the website: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090915/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_google_news_flipper And here's a link to Fast Flip where I've selected coverage of Science and Technology: http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/search?q=section:Scitech Note that Google provides news via news.google.com but the Fast Flip format is supposed to make the interface more useful/prettier/etc. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected]
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