Google To Launch iGoogle

At a brunch for journalists (where I am typing this), Google today rolled out new personalization applications and features that are scheduled to go live first thing Tuesday morning.

First, the Google Personalized Home Page, previously known as IG because those two characters are at the end of the Personalized Home Page URL (www.google.com/ig), has formally become iGoogle. If you thought Froogle was a poor product name, be thankful Google rejected Yougle, Fusion, and Mockingbird for the renamed service.iGoogle will be newly available in 18 countries and 15 languages, for a total of 26 languages and "over 40" countries. (I'm not sure why Google can't be more specific here and count a bit higher.)

Second, Google is releasing Gadget Maker to help average users build their own iGoogle gadgets. Gadget-making previously required light coding ability. It's now a menu-driven affair. Among the seven pre-built gadgets in this release is a YouTube gadget.

Google also is starting to use the default address that Google Account users enter into Google Maps to personalize search results by location. This means local search results become more likely for users.

More on this when I have a chance to write it up. Full disclosure: The Grand Marnier crêpe was very good.