---
title: "Weekly Wrapup: Google Wave Hands-On, Microsoft Bing Goes Live, Real-Time Cellphone Data, And More…"
date: 2009-06-06
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "ReadWriteWeb"
    url: "/category/readwriteweb.md"
tags:
  - name: "2009"
    url: "/tag/2009.md"
---

# Weekly Wrapup: Google Wave Hands-On, Microsoft Bing Goes Live, Real-Time Cellphone Data, And More…

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/rww-logo-150.jpg)In this edition of the Weekly Wrapup, our newsletter summarizing the top stories of the week, we have one of the very first hands-on reviews of Google Wave, we check out the new Microsoft Bing search engine, analyze another new Google product called Squared, look at what applications will be built on top of real-time cellphone data, take a nosey at the latest eBook trends, and much more. We also update you with the latest from our new channel [ReadWriteStart](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/), dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs.

## Subscribe to Weekly Wrapup

You can subscribe to the Weekly Wrapup [**by RSS**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://feeds.feedburner.com/readwriteweb/weekly) or **by email** (form below).

**RWW Weekly Wrap-up Email Subscription form:**

## Introducing the ReadWriteWeb Guide to Online Community Management

**Our First Premium Report for Businesses**

![rwwguidepromo150-1.png](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/rwwguidepromo150-1.png)Recently we released our first premium report: [The ReadWriteWeb Guide to Online Community Management](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/reports/). It’s been in the works for more than four months and we believe it’s unlike anything else you’ve seen. Businesses seeking to engage with online communities on their own websites or all around the social web will find the guide invaluable in getting up to speed on the state of the art and making sure their employees have the foundation they need to be effective.

[![](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-but23.gif)](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/plugins/PaymentProcessing/pay.cgi?__mode=paypal_pay&id=1)The end product is in two parts. Part one is a 75 page collection of case studies, advice and discussion concerning the most important issues in online community. Part two is a companion online aggregator that delivers the most-discussed articles each day written by experts on community management from around the web. The Guide is [available for purchase at a price of $299](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/reports/). (You won’t be charged until you complete a few simple steps on that page.) You can download a [free sample section of the report here](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/rww-reportmay09-teaser-1.pdf).

## Web Products

[**Google Wave: Our First Hands-On Impressions**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_wave_our_first_hands-on_impressions.php)

![google_wave_logo_jun09.png](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/google_wave_logo_jun09.png)When [Google Wave](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://wave.google.com/) made its [public debut](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_wave_google_tries_to_reinvent_email.php) last week, it created quite a stir, but without being able to get a hands-on look at the product, it was quite hard to really grasp the implications of what Google was trying to do. This week, we got access to Wave, and after testing it for a while, we can confidently say that Google is indeed on to something. The developer sandbox version we have access to is still a bit rough around the edges, and quite a few functions are still unavailable.

[**Bing Goes Live – Is it More Than Just Hot Air?**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/bing_goes_live.php)

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/bing_preview.jpg)Microsoft’s new search engine [Bing](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.bing.com/) unexpectedly went live at the start of this week, including a re-direct from http://www.live.com – previously Microsoft’s ‘personalized start page’ destination. So search has usurped a Netvibes-like start page as Microsoft’s default homepage for its web services.

In [last week’s launch announcement](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/bing_it_is_microsoft_rolls_out_its_new_search_engi.php), Bing was being bandied about as Microsoft’s latest attempt to steal market share away from Google. In particular, according to Microsoft, Bing will focus on four verticals: making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition, and finding a local business. We took the new search engine for a test run.

*See also: [Microsoft’s Bing is Now Mobile, Too](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/microsofts_bing_is_now_mobile_too.php) and [How to Add Twitter Search to Bing](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/add_twitter_search_to_bing.php)*

[**Google Squared Goes Live: Who Knew Structured Data Could Be So Unhelpful?**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_squared_is_live_who_knew_structured_data_co.php)

![GoogleSquaredLogo.jpg](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/GoogleSquaredLogo.jpg)Three weeks ago Google demonstrated a new product in Labs called Google Squared; it’s a search engine that creates structured data from big piles of information and lets users compare various things by their attributes. There have been suggestions that [Google Squared will crush Wolfram Alpha](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/search_options_google_search_evolves.php). Well, [Google Squared went live this week](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.google.com/squared) and while it’s a great idea, in reality the service doesn’t look very useful. It doesn’t look like it’s going to crush anyone. The user interface is inflexible, the data is odd looking and it’s hard to imagine using Squared regularly. It’s a great idea but we’ll see where it goes.

[**Ficly: AOL’s Fiction Community Gets a New Face**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2009/06/ficly-aols-fiction-community.php)

![ficly_aol_jun09.jpg](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/Ficlylogo.jpg)Need to get the creative juices flowing? Put down the peyote and pick up your laptop. [Ficly](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://ficly.com/) is a collaborative writing community where members can buck their writer’s block and contribute to shared works of fiction. Armed with 1,024 characters, Ficly users issue story challenges, start new story stubs and add sequels and prequels to existing stories. It’s a grade school English exercise without the bullies.

[**OhPan’s Recommendation System for News Comes to iPhone**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ohpans_recommendation_system_for_news_comes_to_iphone.php)

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/ohpan_icon.jpg)[Ohpan](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://ohpan.com/), the scrolling news ticker web site [we covered a few months prior,](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ohpan_the_new_stuff_is_always_to_the_right.php) recently released an iPhone application which uses their same recommendation engine technology to deliver you the best content. As with [their main web site](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://ohpan.com/index.html), the iPhone app lets you rate the content you see to allow Ohpan to learn your preferences. However, the app also takes advantage of the iPhone platform to offer localized content as well as some other unique features.

[**Atlassian Announces Confluence 3.0 & Plugin Exchange, Acquires GreenHopper**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/confluence_30_adds_activity_streams_status_updates.php)

![LOGO_Atlassian.png](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/assets_c/2009/06/LOGO_Atlassian-thumb-149x39-5533.png)Leading enterprise software provider [Atlassian](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://atlassian.com/) announced this week the launch of Confluence 3.0, an upgrade to the wiki platform that we named one of [the top 10 enterprise products of 2008](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_10_enterprise_web_products_2008.php). The new release significantly enhances the social networking side of Confluence, adding activity streams and Twitter-like status updates. Atlassian has simultaneously debuted the [Plugin Exchange](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://plugins.atlassian.com/), allowing users to download, rate, and review hundreds of 3rd party plugins, including the popular [GreenHopper](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.atlassian.com/greenhopper/) plugin for JIRA that it just acquired. All three announcements are part of the lineup for the company’s sold-out user conference, the Atlassian Summit.

***SEE MORE WEB PRODUCTS COVERAGE IN OUR [PRODUCTS CATEGORY](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/products)***

## A Word from Our Sponsors

We’d like to thank ReadWriteWeb’s sponsors, without whom we couldn’t bring you all these stories every week!

- [Mashery](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=18168__zoneid=11194__cb=ad38f1da70__maxdest=http://www.mashery.com/?utm_source=RWW&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=BA_V1) is the leading provider of API management services.
- [WeeBiz](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=90492__zoneid=11190__cb=d7c0a3a0f9__oadest=http://www.weebiz.com/), a business community where you can find and share new business opportunities.
- [Domain.ME](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=90495__zoneid=11196__cb=e0a6a8e8d7__oadest=http://www.domain.me/), the official registry for all .ME Domains.
- [Mollom](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=83508__zoneid=11194__cb=19c8c1901d__oadest=http://mollom.com/), stop comment spam and build your community.
- [Semantic Technology Conference](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=60378__zoneid=11195__cb=1ce3bb1f30__r_id=3dc0b12653b8c647558cbee5293266da__r_ts=khi8v2__oadest=http://www.semantic-conference.com/), the future of the Web, IT, search, business.
- [Crowd Science](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=18161__zoneid=11191__cb=5e8bd20179__maxdest=http://www.crowdscience.com/welcome/) gives you detailed visitor demographics.
- [hakia](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=74818__zoneid=11194__cb=63c0bdca61__oadest=http://hakia.com/) is a semantic search engine.
- [Rackspace](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=18138__zoneid=11199__cb=a56cb1d09a__maxdest=http://www.rackspace.com/solutions/index.php?CMP=readwriteweb_ros_ban_125x125_smb_mar_generic) provides dedicated server hosting.
- [Socialtext](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=26137__zoneid=11197__cb=aa3e9e4f5d__maxdest=http://www.socialtext.com/offers/freewhitepaper.php) brings you 5 Best Practices for Enterprise Collaboration Success
- [Aplus](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=42990__zoneid=11190__cb=cc56ebacea__maxdest=http://www.aplus.net/?CID=RWW_smallbiz_125x125) provides web hosting services for small business hosting needs.
- [MediaTemple](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://d1.openx.org/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=18147__zoneid=11197__cb=82584f04c3__maxdest=http://www.mediatemple.net/?utm_campaign=rww&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=readwriteweb.com&utm_content=bluebug) provides hosting for RWW.
- [SixApart](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.sixapart.com/) provides our publishing software MT4.

## ReadWriteStart

*Our new channel [ReadWriteStart](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/), sponsored by [Microsoft BizSpark](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/BizSpark/), is dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs.*

[**Building an Advisory Board**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2009/06/building-an-advisory-board.php)

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/build_board_jun09a.jpg)*This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please [click here](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2009/05/startup-101-our-serialized-how-to-build-startup-book.php).*

This is part of your [pre-financing team-building](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2009/05/building-your-team-pre-financing.php). The term “Board” may be confusing here. This is *not* a Board Of Directors: that is the subject of a later chapter. Nor is it a couple of your buddies. Nor is it someone who gives you one specific bit of advice. Also, don’t look at this as a brand-building exercise by throwing big names on your website. Look for people who really complement your skills, really believe in what you are doing, and, as a by-product, open doors and bring some credibility.

***SEE MORE STARTUPS COVERAGE IN OUR [READWRITESTART CHANNEL](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/)***

## Web Trends

[**US CIO Kundra Calls for Web 2.0 Co-Creation of Knowledge With Citizens**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/us_cio_kundra_calls_for_web_20_co-creation_of_know.php)

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/jobwire/USPres_logo.jpg)The US Government’s Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra, called this week for a radical new approach to government information technology, focusing on utilization of consumer-type Web 2.0 tools that can “tap into the vast amounts of knowledge…in communities across the country.”

“We’ve got to recognize that we can’t treat the American people as subjects but as a co-creator of ideas,” Kundra was quoted as saying by [Government Computer News](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://gcn.com/Articles/2009/06/01/Web-Kundra-pushes-Web-2.0-adoption.aspx?Page=1) writer Wyatt Kash. “We need to tap into the vast amounts of knowledge…in communities across the country. The federal government doesn’t have a monopoly on the best ideas.” That’s exciting, if it’s more than just words.

[**The Emerging World of Real-Time Cellphone Data**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/real-time_cellphone_data_emerging_world.php)

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/world_cellphone_data.jpg)At ReadWriteWeb we’ve been following with interest the projects of the [MIT SENSEeable City Lab](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://senseable.mit.edu/), which is producing some excellent analysis and visualizations of [cellphone data in urban centers](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/real_time_cities_or_info_porn.php). MIT refers to this data as “digital footprints,” because it essentially tracks the movement and sometimes actions of people in an environment. Our most recent post looked at what cellphone data revealed about [who attended the Obama Inauguration](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/obama_inauguration_check_out_these_real-time_visua.php) in January.

Recently we spoke to Andrea Vaccari, a research associate at the lab. He gave us a fascinating glimpse into the coming world of practical apps built on top of digital footprints.

[**Report: EReader and EBook Market Ready for Growth**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/report_ereader_and_ebook_market_ready_for_growth.php)

![kindle_logo_mar09.jpg](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/images/kindle_logo_mar09.jpg)According to a [new report](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,54463,00.html) from [Forrester](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://forrester.com/), the eBook and eReader market has now hit a point where it is ready to break out of its niche and become a mainstream phenomenon. In the report, Forrester’s Sarah Rotman Epps argues that while early readers like the Rocket eBook in 1998 and the Sony Librié in 2004 failed to garner a large enough audience, today’s consumers have embraced mobile, on-the-go media consumption thanks to the prevalence of MP3 players and handheld video games. Thanks to this, consumers are now also more likely to buy electronic goods than ever before.

*See also: [Is Google Getting Ready to Enter the eBook Market?](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/is_google_getting_ready_to_enter_the_ebook_market.php)*

[**Ten Years After Napster, Musicians Are Still Getting Screwed**](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ten_years_after_napster_musicians_are_still_gettin.php)

![](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539im_/http://www.readwriteweb.com/napster.jpg)Ten years ago yesterday, Napster revolutionized commercial music by – we’re all grownups; let’s call a spade a spade – democratizing piracy. Without doubt, consumers in 1999 needed better access to music. They needed the opportunity to preview full tracks, to pick and choose songs from an album, and to have instant gratification through online downloads. And ten years later, consumers still have all those lovely perks. Napster ate it (thanks, [Metallica](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2000/04/35670)!), but Kazaa sprang from its ashes. Then there was Limewire and its cadre. Due props to Apple for monetizing the system as it stood when the [iTunes store](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes_Store#Background) came on the scene, but users are now ridiculously entitled about what kinds of readily available (a.k.a. easily stolen) files they are willing to pay for and their justifications for stealing media. Yet musicians, as much as they’ve tried to adapt, are still getting screwed by the Internet and their fans.

***SEE MORE WEB TRENDS COVERAGE IN OUR [TRENDS CATEGORY](https://web.archive.org/web/20090825194539/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/trends)***

That’s a wrap for another week! Enjoy your weekend everyone.

*Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/weekly_wrapup_google_wave_hands-on_microsoft_bing.php))*