A Google A Day: Huh?

     Early this morning, Google announced a new "product" on their official blog. Google announced that, partnered with the New York Times, they would be launching a trivia game. This trivia game, called A Google a Day, is different compared to traditional trivia games in the sense that, unlike normal trivia, you are encouraged to look up the answer.

The "A Google a Day" Homepage

     The website for the project, agoogleaday.com, shows the regular Google homepage, but the bottom fourth of the screen shows a bar with a trivia question. The area above it, with the Google homepage, is actually showing the internet as it was before the question was released, as to prevent cheating. One is supposed to search through Google and the internet to find the answer.

A Sample Trivia Question

     When I first read that Google was partnering up with the New York Times, I immediately thought that it would have something to do with news. A trivia puzzle just, well, seems strange. Anyway, the answer to the trivia question, along with search tips for how to find it, will be posted on the Google a Day website, as well as in the New York Times, the next day. 

     This is what seems to me as Google's first attempt at a game-like program. With Google working on improving Android, cleaning up their search results, and more, it just seems like a strange move, and was definitely unexpected. 

     

Nook follows Kindle with New York Times Paywall

     A paywall for the New York Times website was announced a few weeks ago, and went into affect March 28, 2011. This paywall allows users to read 20 stories per month, and then they must pay for the ability to read stories on the New York Times website. This paywall costs $15 per four weeks, but print subscribers can access all of the stories for free.
     Recently, Amazon announced that those who subscribe to the New York Times via the Kindle will get free access to the New York Times website, just like print subscribers. Now, Barnes and Noble is following suit. Any subscribers to the New York Times on the Nook will now be able to access all of the stories online without a paywall.
     Currently the New York Times iPad app is free and ad supported, but that is not going to last forever. I wonder what the iPad subscribers would get once they have to start paying.
      So if you subscribe to the New York Times via Kindle or Nook, have a good time surfing up the New York Times website, while I carefully count my stories, trying to keep it under 20.