Google Now Talks to AIM

This is something we've been anticipating for quite some time now. Google and AOL have now connected their Google Talk and AIM instant messaging networks. The only caveat is that you have to use the chat function in Gmail instead of the freestanding Google Talk program, but that's probably the most common version of Google's IM anyway. When you log into Gmail Chat, you can now sig into your AIM account and talk to all your AIM buddies, easy as pie.

Share Google Reader Items with Friends

Google is getting more social. Case in point: Google Reader now automatically subscribes to the list of shared items from your Google Talk friends list. Your friends will also see your shared items, but you can remove those you don't want to read your favorite posts.

Google and eBay

Google and eBay just announced an advertising alliance between the two companies. Google is now responsible for selling ads on eBay outside the U.S. (Yahoo! has the assignment for eBay U.S.) The interesting thing about this announcement is the emphasis on integrating "click-to-call" technology (from eBay's Skype unit) with Google web advertisements. Interested users will be able to click on a Google ad and immediately be connected to the advertiser, via Google Talk and Skype.

I'm not hip on this whole click-to-call thing. I'm not sure too many consumers will want to talk directly to advertisers, and I'm less sure that many advertisers will want to spend the money to staff a 24/7 call center to handle these click-to-call communications. While there are apparently some market segments where this might make sense (mortgage brokers seem to be keen on the idea), I think this is yet another attempt by eBay to justify its ill-thought-out acquisition of Skype. (eBay has already added click-to-call as an option in its online auctions; sellers are not flocking to embrace it.)

In any case, this is more confirmation that Google is really in the advertising business, not the search business. It's all about the ad dollars, folks.

Google Apps for the Corporation

It was bound to happen. Google is now bundling a suite of applications for corporate use. While this isn't an office suite per se -- and certainly doesn't compete directly with Microsoft Office -- it's still a foray into the corporate world.

The new suite is called Google Apps for Your Domain, and is centered around Gmail; an organization gets to give every user in its domain a Gmail address. Other applications in the suite (all web-based) include Google Calendar, Google Talk, and Google Panel (to manage user accounts, mailing lists, and the like).

Google Apps for Your Domain (AKA Gmail for Your Domain) is currently available as a limited beta test. Click here to learn more and potentially sign up.