Google’s not in its usual place ahead of the pack; you could almost compare the search giant to a runner who somehow got his feet stuck in the starting blocks. But, following Yahoo and Microsoft, Google’s finally unveiled some things related to the Summer Games.
2008 Summer Games on Google is described on the Official Google Blog as “a site that features a number of our products to help you stay updated on Summer Games happenings.” The site appears to work just fine.
Medal Count With Google Maps
Where Google falls (farther) behind is with the site’s accessibility. Yahoo and Microsoft put most of their Olympic content a click or two away from their traditional homepages, while Google’s Summer Games 2008 is stuck at http://www.google.com/landing/summergames2008/index.html#source=sgob Random folks won’t find it.
A similar problem seems to be affecting YouTube’s Summer Games channel. Although it offers content from impressive sources like the Associated Press, The New York Times, Getty Images, and Reuters, there have only been around 1,300 channel views.
Google seems to lack athlete-focused information, too, whereas both Yahoo and Microsoft offer special profiles and stats following normal searches.
Oh, well. Assuming Google’s not waiting until the absolute last minute to reveal something, this state of affairs is at least comparable to the upsets that can make the Olympics so interesting.
UPDATE: Ha. Google’s homepage now provides a link to its main Summer Games offering.
