Web 2.0 Summit Roundup: Rose Demos Oink, Google Analytics Gets New Tool, MC Hammer Challenges Google Search

[ Vic Gundotra and Sergey Brin at Web 2.0. ]

On the last day of the Web 2.0 Summit, Milk CEO Kevin Rose demonstrated Oink, Google Analytics launched Flow Visualization and, believe it or not, rapper MC Hammer announced that he's launching a search engine.

Oink, a mobile application for iPhone, lets you rate specific elements of a place, like beer at a bar or tea at a lounge.
 
"Those other sites like Google Maps and Yelp, they don't tell you a whole lot about what's inside of that place," Rose said. "You have to read pages of reviews to get at what it's really known for, we're gonna skip all that."

Google SVP of Advertising Susan Wojcicki introduced Google Analytics' new tool: Flow Visualization. The tool creates a visual map that shows web publishers where people are clicking on a website.

"It will help data be told in a very simple way," Wojcicki said. "Flow Visualization will show us, simply and very visually, how people move around on sites."

Rapper MC Hammer announced his new search engine, WireDoo, with the motto of "Search once and see what's related." Hammer is aiming to recreate search by letting users search relational terms.  
 
“It’s not a competitive attempt to recreate search,” Hammer said while on stage. "...You can always make things better. There’s always a next version. Do we really need another search engine? Of course not. But if something can be an added value, then we’ll find a definite use for it.”

Sorry MC, but Google might not let you touch this.

Meanwhile, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor tipped his hat off to Google+, saying the social network has a "really good strategy."

Earlier this month, Google Software Engineer Steve Yegge ranted about Google+, and how it doesn't understand platforms.
 
“That hurt,” Gundotra said. He added, “It gave the outside world a view of what we do internally. Larry and Sergey have fostered a culture of open debate and open dissent. I think it is one of the things that make Google great. And is why we didn’t fire him.”

In response to Sean Parker's comment that it would be hard to get people on Facebook to shift to Google+, Gundotra said, "Your mom and friends, guess what, they are already on Google," implying that they might eventually make the switch.

He also said, "The point Sean made is right. The incumbent has a huge advantage. If you play the same game it is hard to win. We are going to play a different game.”

Read our highlights of day one and day two here. 


CONTACTS & LINKS

Kevin Rose, CEO at Milk
Twitter: @kevinrose
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kevinrose
Google+: https://plus.google.com/110318982509514011806/posts

Susan Wojcicki, SVP of Advertising at Google
Google+: https://plus.google.com/102923147893327767382/posts
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/susan-wojcicki/9/6a9/b13

Bret Taylor, CTO at Facebook
Facebook: www.facebook.com/btaylor
Twitter: @btaylor  
Google+: https://plus.google.com/103111382143198287157/posts

MC Hammer
Twitter: @MCHammer  

Vic Gundotra
Google+: https://plus.google.com/107117483540235115863/
Twitter: @VicGundotra
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/vic-gundotra/a/490/b57   

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