Google Generates $33M Yearly in South Dakota

Google provides what they call a conservative estimate of the economic activity they generate in each state of the Union. Google says $54 billion a year moves around thanks to its search and advertising tools. Now that's not including the economic activity that occurs when I Google "rain barrel downspout diverter," find one that fits the tank I liberated last fall, and order it from Home Depot. That $54 billion is just the money that changes hands when we click on the sponsored links on searches or the Google ads on various webpages.

South Dakota hears the jingle of "just" $33 million—0.06%—of that Google economic activity. We have 0.26% of the national population, so we seem to be lagging in bidding for search terms and buying Google ads to make a buck. Compare the two states that claim the biggest chunk of the Google pie, California and New York. California has 12% of the nation's population but rakes in 26% of the Google bucks. New York has 6.4% of the nation's population but claims 11.7% of that economic activity.

There are twelve states total whose percentage of Google's economic activity exceeds their percentage of the U.S. population. In other words, 11 states and D.C. ring up more Google cash per capita than the national average:

State	Google econ. activity per capita
Dist. Columbia	$423.58
Washington	$420.16
California	$381.48
Massachusetts	$333.66
New York	$322.39
Illinois	$247.86
Utah	$231.63
Connecticut	$211.18
Nebraska	$192.58
Nevada	$192.58
Arizona	$181.93
Delaware	$180.77

South Dakota's annual per capita Google cash is just $40.62, which ranks us 41st nationally. Being a rural state doesn't mean you can't make money with Google ads—consider that Utah and Nebraska have landed spots in the top ten for per capita activity. It may be that South Dakota businesses are more dependent on local markets and don't see as much advantage in casting the wide 'Net for online business as they do in advertising in traditional local media to reach their mostly nearby customers.

Google says some 2200 South Dakota advertisers and website publishers engage Google's advertising services. Google spotlights Aberdeen's KitchenTuneup.com as an example. With franchises across the country and in Canada, Kitchen Tune-up is in a good position to take advantage of such broad Web exposure.

Still, the South Dakota businesses that are taking advantage of Google advertising are generating less economic activity per business than the national average. Each participating South Dakota business generated $16,500 in Google cash (the Madville Times is dragging that average way down). That amount ranks us 36th nationally on that score, so our Google-inclined businesses are making more of Google than counterparts in some other states. But compare our take to the national average of $35,431 in Google cash per participating business. The highest per-business performance is in Nebraska, whose 5000 Googly businesses generate $69,200 each in direct Google economic activity.

$69,200 per business: for you big operators, I suppose that's peanuts, but wowza! if I could generate even half that with ads here on the blog, I'd quit my day job. Must blog harder!

Check the complete state-by-state data and my calculations yourself on my homemade spreadsheet (you're welcome!).

Online Liability and the End of the Web as We Know It

I'd like to believe further commentary on House Bills 1277 and 1278 is now just postscript... but as Mr. Powers warns us, the fight for free speech online in South Dakota has only just begun.

So as we brace for whatever controls the South Dakota Legislature tries to impose on the blogosphere next, let's see what Google says about an alarming judicial ruling in Italy [cross-posted from my DSU blog].

Yesterday a Milan judge convicted three of four Google executives charged with violations of Italy's privacy code. In 2006, some punks posted a video of themselves bullying an autistic kid. Google removed the video when notified by Italian police, but the court still pressed charges against the Google employees. The Google guys got out of defamation charges, but Google says the convictions establish a criminal liability for Internet providers that could destroy the Web:

Common sense dictates that only the person who films and uploads a video to a hosting platform could take the steps necessary to protect the privacy and obtain the consent of the people they are filming. European Union law was drafted specifically to give hosting providers a safe harbor from liability so long as they remove illegal content once they are notified of its existence. The belief, rightly in our opinion, was that a notice and take down regime of this kind would help creativity flourish and support free speech while protecting personal privacy. If that principle is swept aside and sites like Blogger, YouTube and indeed every social network and any community bulletin board, are held responsible for vetting every single piece of content that is uploaded to them — every piece of text, every photo, every file, every video — then the Web as we know it will cease to exist, and many of the economic, social, political and technological benefits it brings could disappear [Matt Sucherman, "Serious Threat to the Web in Italy," Google Blog, 2010.02.24].

Google is appealing the convictions.

Google Offering Fast Fiber Net: Madison, Apply Now!

Google continues its quest for world domination with a pilot project to build an experimental fiber-optic network. Their initial trial would serve 50,000, maybe 500,000 customers in various communities around the United States. Google says it will run fiber to the home for a "competitive price."

And what would you get for hooking up to the beast? Downloads at one gigabit per second.

What does that mean? My residential service from Sioux Valley Wireless, robust as it may be, comes in at no more than one megabit per second... usually more like 600–800 kilobits. One gigabit per second is over a thousand times faster than my current service on its best day.

If you're in Madison, you might be getting faster service than I. Midco's "Ultimate" broadband service gives you up to 50 megabits per second for $125 a month. Google's proposed network would still be 20 times faster. In other words, the hi-def full-length movie that takes Midco's highest-paying customers maybe 15 minutes to download could blast through Google fiber to your hard drive in less than a minute.

Jeepers—I'd be satisfied just to watch Hulu without pauses. Any faster, we'll be teleporting people through that pipe.

Google's idea is to install a super-zoomy network to support the development of bigger and better applications and more opportunities for everyone to profit. The first example they give is rich 3-D medical imaging and videoconferencing to help rural hospitals connect with faraway specialists. The possibilities for rural medicine, education, and commerce are as big as your imagination and desire for data.

Google isn't even trying to crowd out other providers. They want to build an open network accessible to multiple service providers. Google figures this pie is big enough for everyone to share.

Google is asking communities that would be interested in having the fastest community Internet in America to send them an e-mail and make their pitch. Um, Madison? I'm thinking getting the Google fiber network would be a really good idea. Let's do it!

I've forwarded the Google Fiber Request for Information to the Madison City Commission, the LAIC, and a member of the Lake County Commission. I've also submitted my own nomination for Madison... and you can too! Residents and community groups are welcome to nominate their towns for this project.

Google's taking pitches until March 26. Madison, forget doubling the lanes on Highway 34. Let's try double-double-double-double-double-doubling the lanes on our information highway!

Google to China: No More Censorship

I love Google. The company found Chinese hackers were targeting companies and Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Google is now considering some hard-line foreign policy:

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China [David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer, "A New Approach to China," The Official Google Blog, 2010.01.12].

Google vows to do no evil. If Google follows through with this statement, it will be doing some active good on behalf of human rights.

I wonder: is Google's announcement the first step into a geopolitical era when private corporations will be able to impose effective sanctions on nations? And if other Internet companies follow Google's lead (as some rights groups hope), could withdrawal of Internet services affect modern nations the way OPEC squeezed America with the oil embargo in the 1970s?

---------------------------------
Update 21:25 CST: Glyn Moody suggests the Chinese will just shrug and clamp down even more. Moody sees more possibility that Google's move may provoke other Western companies (and countries?) to consider putting principle over profit in dealing (or not) with China.

Google Sends Texas Kids to Madville Times... for Algebra Help

At 2:19 this afternoon, some poor soul on the Dallas County Schools network Googled this question:

stephanie's phone plan charges her a price that is directly proportional to the number of minutes she talks. one month she talked 2010 minutes and paid $67. if she talks 1400 minutes, how much will she have

Google's first response: my blog.

Sorry, kids. When Google doesn't know the answer, it apparently turns to me. I'm flattered. Assuming the question concludes, "How much will she have to pay?" the answer is...

1. ...less than $67, since she talked less, right?
2. ...found by using fractions!
3. ...sure to bubble up in the comment section, as I bet my readers will enjoy an algebraic diversion.

And if my readers can't get it, well, I'll provide an answer after supper in the comment section. Enjoy! Thanks, Google!

Google Launches Do-It-Yourself Electronic Medical Records

Why wait for Uncle Sam to computerize medical health records when we can do it ourselves? Google is adding a new sharing feature to its Google Health service. Google launched Google Health last spring to help people keep track of their own prescriptions, allergies, test results, and other medical details. The new feature allows users to specify individuals with whom they want to share this information: family members, physicians, pharmacists, whoever you think might need to know this information.

Google's Sameer Samat gives a very simple example of how this service could help:

Just a few years ago, my father suffered a minor heart attack and was sent to the ER. I arrived on the scene in a panic, and was asked what medications he was taking. To my surprise, I had no clue. If my father had a Google Health account, and had shared his profile with me, I would have been up-to-date on his current medications [Sameer Samat, "Google Health: Helping You Better Coordinate Your Care," The Official Google Blog, 2009.03.04].

Those of you who believe in reforming health care through personal responsibility rather than government programs, well, here's your chance. Get your data on Google Health!
--

Google Honors Jackson Pollock

My lovely wife points me toward Google's homepage today:
Very cool. Three cheers for my favorite 20^th-century artist!