Monday, January 19, 2009

Is the future of Search looking more Sci-fi?



Search engine is like a guiding stick on the big wide world on the Internet. We have all come to depend on it at some point, personally I just find it easier to browse pages without having to remember exact URLs. Luckily there are so many apps available to help users to keep bookmarking their favourite websites with ease on tools such as Delicious and Digg.

I came across an interesting article about the future for search and how artificial intelligence could have a major role in how information will be segmented.

It is a cool prospect, especially with the rise of citizen journalism aka Blogs and web 2.0 technologies think Forums but improved with social functions ie. Facebook and Myspace etc. People are essentially finding information about topics from all kinds of different places and in marketing terms, the brands would ideally want to achieve reach and scalability to maximise their market presence.

So what does all these changes mean for the search domain?

Google is still the largest force to be reckoned with, but that could very well be about to change very soon, with a rise of start ups offering a different search experience. Think multimedia, more than links and social apps/Mobile scanning, all making the info search experience richer and more importantly relevant to what the user wants to see in the first place.

The fundamental difference would be Google's current ad model is one based on the largest ownership based on referrals thus setting the power of its influence. However, if the social influence gets so wide and spread out, the power of one will surely diminish over time... so keep an eye out on how you find your info next.

Will Google reign or will the old fashion way of asking a friend prevail?

Only time will tell but it should be exciting nonetheless...Let's not forget the web will always grow around people

- jeff yiu

1 comment:

  1. Good article Jeff, I think we'll see consumers want more from their search in the months to come, many users are fed up of seemingly inaccurate search results, and millions of useless links. I think I'd much rather ask 100 people within my digital community on Twitter or through Yahoo Answers which bar to go to in Surry Hills than do a Google search on my mobile. the ability to tap in to user experience is far more powerful that effectively 'classified listings' about bars/restaurants - whatever. Time will tell.

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