future

The Near-Future of Search

Happy New Year!

It seems appropriate to write my first blog post of the year on possibilities. Here on the Magnify team we get uber excited hearing about new apps and how the internet is changing and fluxing, even as we sleep.

We have to admit, making a search online still takes  much effort and analysis on our part, before we even type in our search terms. But what if instead of coming up with key words, we needed only to speak in conversation and have our computer autonomously select, from our language and tone, key words to search on?

And, what if in the chaotic midst of preparing a four-course roast dinner we could simply turn to our ‘wired fridge’ and demand ‘port reduction’ and set the computer to work? Seconds later, the waterproof screen embedded on our fridge door would display instructions on how to make the sauce, from our favourite cooking website, along with a live chat linked up to a chef-help-line. And if we added the word ‘twitter’ to our demand, the ever intelligent fridge might send off a quick tweet ‘help! with port reduction?’. Imagine a fridge taking care of those trivial but extremely practical posts one makes on a daily basis?! We may not be too far off…

Photo by Mike Warren, Flickr

This article by Google VP, Search Products & User Experience, Marissa Mayer, is a flex-your-brain exercise in imagining the future of search, and how our devices could (will) become an even more integrated part of our lives.

In the article, Marissa describes Google’s ideal search engine:

“Your best friend with instant access to all the world’s facts and a photographic memory of everything you’ve seen and know. That search engine could tailor answers to you based on your preferences, your existing knowledge and the best available information; it could ask for clarification and present the answers in whatever setting or media worked best.”

Katy

Tags: future, google, search, smart fridge