Google Base Beta Service Goes Public

Google late Tuesday officially launched into beta its Google Base listing service that enables users to upload all types of information and make it searchable online. The service acts as a giant Web database for everything from recipes to classifieds, but should eBay and craigslist be worried?

According to product manager Bindu Reddy, Google Base is simply an extension of the company's existing efforts to collect and organize content. Base joins other Google services like Sitemaps, Print for books, and Google Video.

"Anyone, from large companies to website owners and individuals, can use it to submit their content in the form of data items. We'll host the items and make them searchable for free," Reddy said.

Uploads will primarily be handled through the online interface, although larger organizations can make bulk item uploads using XML. Google Base will not impose its own XML scheme for categorizing items, but it will recommend tags and attributes based on popularity. Users can then add their own tags to aid searches.

Example items include job and rental listings, items for sale, academic data like a database of protein structures, or even recipes. Standard Google searches, including Froogle, may even include Google Base items, but only if their relevance is high.

News of Google Base surfaced last month and led to much speculation over whether the search giant was endeavoring to take on eBay and craigslist. But the auction and classified powerhouses don't need to be worried just yet, says TechCrunch author Michael Arrington.

"This is not a very interesting application in its current form. It's like a 1985 dBASE file with less functionality. It's ugly. It's centralized content with less functionality than ebay or craigslist," Arrington said. "The content is not integrated directly into Google search results, but 'relevance' can bump it up into main and local search (and froogle)."

Still, Google is pleased with the initial offering and plans to expand the service over time. "This beta version of Google Base is another small step toward our goal, creating an online database of easily searchable, structured information," added Google's Reddy. "As always, we welcome your feedback and ideas."