This Week In Search: June 17
Google overload this week with all new search updates. Yahoo and Facebook launch apps while Apple tries to get social. Vancouver suffers from a major meltdown.
New Google Features
Google has developed image and voice search for desktops as well as Instant Pages, which will load webpages instantaneously.
With Instant Pages, Google hopes it will significantly affect search times by shaving off four to ten seconds.
Using it to search the Vancouver riots populated the results page as soon as we started typing “Vancou” into the main Google homepage. Google appears to be flexing it’s “psychic muscle” with this newest offering.
Voice and image search are very familiar to mobile users.
With this, Google hopes their popularity continues into the desktop users. In the next few weeks expect to see tiny microphones next to the search bar as well as the option to drag and drop pictures.
Territorial Wars: Facebook vs. Apple
Facebook gets mobile and Apple gets social.
Huh?
Details have been released about a Facebook photo-sharing app that will combine the elements of all popular photo-sharing apps. With Facebook already being the most popular platform for sharing pictures, breaking into the mobile scene will solidify their dominance.
Apple’s plan to enter the social scene needs a bit more work, but the idea is interesting. The concept is to connect iOS users in the same vicinity with similar interests. Sounds like another way to raise privacy concerns.
Stay Classy Vancouver: The Power of Social Media
By now it is well known that the Canucks lost and Vancouver literally took a beating. The power of social media has stepped in to regain control and clean up the humiliated city. Over 11,000 people are expected to help. At least one culprit has indirectly turned himself in.
Yahoo’s AppSpot is intended to help users find apps easily within the App Store and the Android Market. App Search is essentially the same except it is a browser-based tool. They build recommendations from looking at what you already have on your smartphone. Good to see Yahoo trying to make apps more discoverable.
Back to Google News: Search Lists and ‘Me on the Web’
Google will now present a list of related searches alongside a user’s search queries. Once a user clicks a link from the initial search list another list of results will show and so on.
With Me on the Web, Google makes it easier for people to manage their web identity and control information about themselves online.
Gotta +1’d this!
