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Did you know that Google has an army? With troops, battalions and even a Naval operation.

Generals Larry and Sergey have been whipping their adversaries in battle for some time now.
Specifically with online search.

Then Google established a new squadron to engage in hand-to-hand combat with an online checkout service. They named this initiative “Google Checkout”. I fondly refer to it as Geckout.

Today, for the first time, I noticed that Google is promoting Geckout on the Google homepage.

This is not to be taken lightly. This is not a flippant test by Google. We’re talking prime real-estate. As prime as you can get, considering the fact that Google is so economical with every letter.

In case you did not receive the web 2.0 memo, allow me to share it with you: Web 2.0, specifically blogs, are becoming more mainstream everyday. Major news sites already have blogs; including CNN, USA Today & ABC.

This morning I noticed whilst googling a topic on Google News, that there is now a new option called “Search Blogs”. Here’s a screen shot.

Let me put this into perspective; Google News traditionally will pull info from various news sources. Today, the search engine is recommending that to get the latest info/news for the topic you’re searching, you ought to be searching blogs as well!

At the end of yesterday, 60 people from Gap Inc visited my site. I know this thanks to Google Analytics, which FYI, has just launched a special feature just for Geckout! That’s a huge chunk of my traffic. Dang. I really hope they stay in business!

My call for human writes has been heard in the Netherlands. In the linkdump. I think this is a good thing. Maybe not.

And Page Six of the NY Post continues to torment Keith Olbermann. In case you lost count, this is the 4th time in the span of (less than) a month.

Earlier today, I called Google, with the request that they send me a Google Checkout T-Shirt.

Just got an email reply. I erased the name of the sender….as google is very concerned with private data…

Here it is:

As you know, today is my Jewish birthday. FYI, I am Jewish. I also blog a lot about Google Checkout. Today, my friend JP tells me that Google sent him a Geckout Tshirt.

This makes me green with envy. JP knows this. And now he is doing a good job making me jealous.

I will not allow this. So, I just placed a call to Google and spoke with a Product Marketing Manager. I explained to him the circumstances; my geckout infatuation, my birthday wish and Werlin’s free T-Shirt. I told him that I must get a Google Checkout T-Shirt.

The fellow at Google was very courteous. He took down my email address. Will keep you posted!

Last night, I blogged about Google Checkout running a new promotion. Guess what? Today, I read about it on the Google Checkout blog. Duh.

Is the Google Checkout gang reading my blog? Doubt it. Why would they? It’s full of trash. But, I did beat them on reporting their latest promo scoop.

The blog title is funny: Now it really pays to use Checkout. Using my Talmudic deduction skills I deduce the following; NOW it pays to use geckout. But yesterday, admittedly, the product was a wee bit crappy. Of course Dror used the word “really”. As in totally. As is, like, you should just know, dude, that Google Checkout is so cool.

Also, the post also says to “Look for the “$10 off” Google Checkout button when you’re shopping online”. Have not seen any such thing. Do I need to be wearing a 3D glasses to see the latest button???

Google Checkout has so far been a dismal failure. If I had to give it a numerical rating, it would not be a zero. Rather, I’d give it a googol..as in a-hundred zeros. There is a lot to say on this topic. Don’t want to bore you. Needless to say, the product is far from where Google would like it to be.

During the past few months, it has become evident that Google Checkout is desperate. I will demonstrate yet another sign of desperation. For those of us who read The Search by John Battelle, we know that Google never spent money promoting their search product.

Google search exploded because it was good. And so the gospel of google spread without formal advertising.

When was the last time you recall Google ever advertising their products? The only place you will see ads for Google…is on Google itself…not a small medium either when you’re the largest search engine in the world! Just to give you an example, if you make a google search for the term “affiliate marketing“, you will see a google ad for AdSense.

This non-external-ad-trend has been broken. This evening, I saw a banner on gawker.com promoting Google Checkout. The banner even had a special offer & a customized landing page.

Make no mistake, Google can afford to buy ads. They can even afford a gigantic office in NYC. However, given Google’s previous successes with bypassing typical ad-spends, this banner ad speaks volumes.

The good thing of having a celeb endorse your product is all the PR. The bad thing is the possible bad PR that a celeb can stir. That’s why it’s always safest to have a dead celeb promote your product. Right? Wrong!

I love doing that…the whole right/wrong thing! Anyways, Gap enlisted Audrey Hepburn to promote their brand. Today, there is gossip involving the late Ms. Hepburn.

BTW, Google Checkout took things to a WNL. (whole nuvva level). Who is touting Geckout on the Google blog? Odimo. They were recently delisted from Nasdaq. Solid company (worldofwatches.com & ashford.com) Promoting Geckout. Rocking. Next Google Checkout endorsement….from Enron.

To me, this is big news. Google Checkout has added copy to the shopping cart icon. Allow me to explain. Please. Be patient. This will be quick.

At the end June, Google Checkout went live. From that time one, Google has continued adding merchants to their rooster roster.

Now, when you make a Google search for a particular product, if the merchant uses Google Checkout, the checkout icon will appear along the ad. The intention is to inform consumers that the merchant uses Geckout.

However, one of the flaws with the shopping cart icon was that unless you worked in ecommerce, most people were clue as to what the heck the icon represented. For most people, they would consider the google shopping cart icon to be nothing more than a UFO; unidentified foreign object. Again, unless someone is in the business media, or in online marketing, the icon was something right out of the Da Vinci Code.

Today, I noticed that Google had the sense (Google Ad Sense!) to add text to the shopping cart icon. The text reads: Google Checkout Accepted.

This is a step in the right direction for Google Checkout. Up until now, for the most part, Google has been busy educating the merchants. It’s also important to inform the potential shoppers about too!

If you are in dire need of cash, Google Checkout has expanded their merchant referral program. Here are the new guidelines for participating in the program:
1) you need to be breathing
2) you must be breathing either from your nose, mouth or ears.

In other Google Checkout news, several weeks ago, without the consumption of alcohol, I decided to name Google Checkout: Geckout. Sheer brilliance. I know. Thanks.

Then there was the need to add street credibility to the new term. So, I went to Urban Dictionary and submitted my entry. Now, the word geckout has officially been registered!