Not so long ago, using maps on the Web was difficult. If you could find them at all, they were ugly and slow to load and came with clunky user interfaces. This has all changed thanks to the Google Map service. In recent years, commercial sites such as Amazon, eBay, and Google have increasingly become platforms that support complex user ecosystems. Using openly published APIs, you can look up an...

To Google or not to Google, that is the question emerging for quality sexual health advice. We can all search the internet without shame or fear of embarrassment, whatever the question. A 2017 UK survey of 3221 people aged 16 years or older found that 41% of internet users go online for health related questions, with half of these (22%) having done so in the previous week. But do smartphones an...

The introduction of Google Scholar in November 2004 was accompanied by fanfare, skepticism, and numerous questions about the scope and coverage of this database. Nearly one year after its inception, many of these questions remain unanswered. This study compares the contents of 47 different databases with that of Google Scholar. Included in this investigation are tests for Google Scholar publica...

Gail Herrera is Assistant Dean for Technical Services & Automation and Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi Libraries; e-mail: [email protected]. The University of Mississippi Library created a profile to provide linking from Google Scholar (GS) to library resources in 2005. Although Google Scholar does not provide usage statistics for institutions, use of Google Scholar is c...

We describe and interpret bidding behavior in FCC Auction 73 for the C-block licenses. These licenses were initially offered subject to an open platform restriction, which was highly valued by firms such as Google. Google entered bids until its bids reached the Cblock reserve price, thereby ensuring that the open platform restriction would be applied to the licenses. Later in the auction, other...