[jaysonelliot]

Am I the only person who's suspicious of a site that purports to be from Google, yet is not on a Google domain, doesn't work without the "www" and whose credibility comes entirely from the fact that there's a Google logo on it?

EDIT: I'm expecting it to be a real thing, but it's just weird that sources like TechCrunch and Fast Company don't have any statement from the company, just a "tipster," and it's not on a Labs domain like most Google Labs products.

[AlexC04]

and of course the whois information

    Domain wdyl.com:
      Margaret McLaughlin
      76 Ninth Avenue
      New York, NY 10013 US
    
    Administrative contact:
    Technical contact:
    Billing contact:
      
      Margaret McLaughlin
      
      76 Ninth Avenue
      New York, NY 10013 US
      Phone: [phone]
      Fax: 
    
    Record dates:
      Record created on: 2005-09-27 18:18:10 UTC
      Record modified on: 2011-06-24 16:36:56 UTC
      Record expires on: 2011-09-27 UTC
    
    Nameservers:
      myns2.fabulous.com:
        208.48.81.137
      myns1.fabulous.com:
    

Note taht the domain registrar "FABULOUS" is specifically intended as a service for "Domainers" people who buy and park||minimally build out||put up forsale signs on domains with the intention of turning a profit.

Check out the terms of opening a Fabulous account:

    Request Membership

    To be eligible for a Fabulous account we require 
    that you meet at least one of the following:

        Domain portfolio must generate US$750+ per month
        Transfer 750+ domains to Fabulous

    If your portfolio generates US$750 a month or you are
    willing to transfer 750+ domains to Fabulous, please 
    complete the form below.

So WDYL.com on a domainer's registrar and also a pretty shitty site? Yeah, more than just a little suspicious. I'm feeling pretty secure in saying that it's 100% not google .. but I'd love to know a little more about this Margaret McLaughlin I bet a search would turn up a number of other domains that she's got her whois information tacked on to.

EDIT oh my ... would you look at that. 76 Ninth Avenue in New York is apparently Google's new Manhattan office! Maybe it IS google.

Damn. Now I've gone from thinking it's fake to thinking it has some chance of being real.

[jaysonelliot]

Well, the address on the whois record is just down the street from my office. I could stop by there this afternoon and see who's behind this.

EDIT - Never mind, I see that's the Google CoHo. Guess we'll just wait and see.

[dododo]

it is hosted by google:

   $ host www.wdyl.com
   www.wdyl.com is an alias for ghs.google.com.
   ghs.google.com is an alias for ghs.l.google.com.
   ghs.l.google.com has address 209.85.147.121

   $ whois 209.85.147.121

   Google Inc. GOOGLE (NET-209-85-128-0-1) 209.85.128.0 -209.85.255.255

and the domain wdyl.com is registered to someone who purports to have an @google.com email address.

but ghs.google.com seems to be the host used by google apps:

http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=48090#K

and as another answer suggests, the dns hosting is suspect. doesn't seem like google...