Market Opportunities Unlimited (MOU) Blog

Google Checkout, out! Google Wallet, in!!

search engine land is reporting that Google Checkout is no more.

 

(Google Checkout allowed online users in the USA to easily checkout at the websites of their favorite e-tailers by just using their username and password vs them having to fill out numerous forms during the checkout process).

 

Apparently, Google notified all Google Checkout users on Thursday that Checkout was being merged into Google Wallet.

 

Google Wallet is an Android app that makes your phone your wallet.

 

It does this by storing your credit card information (info) as well as info from Google Offers (Google's coupon site), that enables you to pay for goods at point of sale (POS) terminals using any Android device.

 

All you have to do to pay, is to first locate merchants that bear the Citi MasterCard PayPass logo via the Google Wallet site or app), then go to a reader at the merchant's POS terminal and tap your Android device on the reader.

 

(An example of how this is done, is shown in the video above).

 

The merchant/vendor gets paid but doesn't see your credit card information.

 

Or

 

If you don't have a Citi MasterCard, you can fund your Google Wallet (account) via Google's prepaid card (aka Google Prepaid Card).

 

Google Prepaid Card can be funded using any of your other credit cards and comes with $10  from Google.

 

(You still have to tap your Android device on the POS reader, to enact payment, however).

 

You can also:

 

1) Pay for goods online by going to the sites of merchants that carry the Citi MasterCard PayPass logo.

 

2) Redeem coupons at the point of sale, via Google Offers coupons  from the merchant, that is stored in your Google Wallet account.

 

To learn more about Google wallet from the:

1) Consumer end, please click here

2) Merchant end, please click here.

 

Right now, Google Wallet only works in the USA.

 

(I would like to thank phonescoop for the use of their YouTube inset video and Taekwonweirdo for the use of his Flickr photo above).

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

1) Google Wallet website, accessed November 18,2011

2) Article, "Google Checkout Is Dead, Long Live Google Wallet", by Greg Sterling, SearchEngineLand.com, November 17,2011 

Google Moon Contest: $30 Million Prize, Who Should Win?

Google now has a moon contest going on, called the Google Lunar X PRIZE.

 

They are offering prizes totally US $30 million to privately-funded teams that can build a robot that can land on the moon's surface, explore the Moon by moving at least 500 meters (~1/3 of a mile), and return (beam) high definition video and imagery back to earth.

 

According to the contest rules, the aim of the contest is to foster in a new era of lunar exploration, aka Moon 2.0, which thrives on being international and participatory, and derives much of its strength from the cooperation and collaboration between civil space agencies and private firms"

 

The website for the contest is http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/ 

 

There are four (4) categories of prizes:

1. A grand prize of $20 million. To incentivise teams to work quickly, this  will change to $15 million when a government-funded mission successfully explores the lunar surface, currently projected to occur in 2013


2. 2nd prize of $5 million for the team who next-completes the contest objective.


3. $4 billion in bonus prizes including the robot's ability to operate at night; travel more than 5km over the lunar surface,;detect water and precision-land near an Apollo site or other lunar sites of interest (such as landing/crash sites of man-made space hardware).


4. $1 million to the team that demonstrates the greatest attempts to promote diversity in the field of space exploration.

 

According to Wikipedia article,"Google Lunar X Prize", twenty-nine (29) teams have officially registered.

 

They have been encouraged to get funding from private sources - such as customers, investors, sponsors, and donors. However, teams are  encouraged to seek government customers who'd be willing to purchase services and data at commercially reasonable rates.

 

One of the great things about this contest is that the public gets to see the prototypes that the teams have been working on since 2006 and see how far the teams have progressed...

 

...Which really makes the Google Lunar X PRIZE site rock!

 

Technology lovers, professionals, managers and business owners - if you want to see the future of technology, you've just got to check this site out!

 

You can get great insights into how technology is progressing where space exploration is concerned...and maybe you can also foresee possible applications here on earth. :)

 

Unfortunately the deadline for entries to the contest closed on December 31,2010. (Remember this contest started way back in 2006).

 

But the Google Lunar X PRIZE site is well worth a visit, you'll definitely learn a lot! 

 

By the way, which teams do you think have the greatest potential of winning and getting the top prizes?

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

1) Article, "Google Lunar X Prize", via  Wikipedia.org, accessed November 4,2011

2) Preview of Google Moon Contest via Current.com, accessed November 4,2011

3) BBC World Service programme, Science in Action coverage of team Moon Express, (a team in the Google Lunar X PRIZE), November 3,2011

Google Adsense Makes Brave Move

Two (2) months ago, Google Adsense did something that I consider to be groundbreaking for a US-based company...it increased the number of countries in which international publishers can get paid via Western Union,  to 71.

 

(Google AdSense is one of the advertising arms of Google, where  publishers of all sizes can earn money by displaying targeted Google ads on their websites or blogs.

 

Western Union is a global payment network that allows persons to send and receive money and pay bills online, in person or by phone in over 200 countries across the world).

 

Google first introduced Western Union as an additional  payment option, way back in October 2007.

 

At that time, only publishers in  Argentina, Chile, China (Mainland), Colombia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, and Romania could receive their Adsense review via Western Union.

 

[The usual method for international publishers to receive Adsense revenue is by cheque (check)].

 

With Western Union Quick Cash, Google publishers can now receive  their revenues in cash and they have up to 3 months to withdraw monies earned.

 

This is a much better value proposition than having to wait weeks to receive a check, then deposit it and then have to wait up to six (6) weeks for that cheque to be processed in your home country.

 

This move by Google once again proves why they're way ahead of other US-based e-businesses: they take their global partners and consumers seriously...

 

...so seriously that global stock markets believe in their management acumen and so continue to reward them richly:

 

Google's  stock price is $578.65...yes friends, that $578.65 for 1 Google stock!

 

It has steadily increased by 98% over the past 3 years:

 

On November 3,2008 Google's stock price was $292.16, today, 3 years later it's at $578.65!

 

I just love seeing technology companies with a global customer focus, do well, don't you? :)

 

Gillian