SHARE

2007: Search Rungs and More Than an iPhone Frenzy

In the tech world, the year is finishing much like 2006, with Google still dominating the search landscape despite increased competition from heavyweight players like Yahoo and Microsoft and innovative startups like Powerset and Hakia. Competitors would have had a much better chance if the search giant instead stood still during the year (as if […]

Written By

David Needle

Dec 19, 2007

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

In the tech world, the year is finishing much like
2006, with Google still dominating the search landscape despite increased competition from heavyweight players like Yahoo and Microsoft and innovative startups like Powerset and Hakia.

Competitors would have had a much better chance if the search giant instead stood still during the year (as if that was going to happen).

In May Google announced what it said were “the critical first steps” to giving users universal
search capability. The idea is to enhance basic search functionality so that it’s sophisticated enough to draw on all the different media types and information sources and present individual users with the best results for all of them. The result was a horizontal bar of navigation links for Web, Images, Video and results from Books.

Google said it can now significantly enhance results where it has rights to copyrighted or access to public domain content. Video includes results form its own Google Video and YouTube properties. Book results tap what Google vice president of search products and user experience Marissa Mayer said is one of the company’s “most under appreciated assets.” Google has a database of over a million book titles available for viewing.

In 2007 Google also made public a Web site where users can try out search tools still in development at Google
Experimental. One example gives search results in either a timeline or maps formats.

The iGoogle home page debuted in 2007. If you like the simple, uncluttered look of the classic Google search page, iGoogle probably isn’t for you. Similar in some ways to a classic portal or home page with feeds of select information, the iGoogle page gives registered users a way to get personalized results.

One simple example, if your registered address is in Southern California and you type in a query for surfing equipment, the top results will be local to the zip code you registered. Google said it’s looking iGoogle to a much deeper level of personalization. For example, if you typed in a query for Broadway shows, it would know your preferences (comedy, tragedy, etc.) and come back with top results best suited to those interests. “That’s what we’re shooting for,” said Mayer. “A search engine that understands ‘me’.”

This article was first published on InternetNews.com. To read the full article, click here.

Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA

FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
Top 10 AIOps Companies

FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
What is Text Analysis?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
Top 10 Chatbot Platforms

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
Finding a Career Path in AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science

FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2020

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality

FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020
Anticipating The Coming Wave Of AI Enhanced PCs

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 05, 2020
The Critical Nature Of IBM’s NLP (Natural Language Processing) Effort

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
August 14, 2020

SEE ALL
ARTICLES

David Needle

David Needle is a veteran technology reporter based in Silicon Valley. He covers mobile, big data, customer experience, and social media, among other topics. He was formerly news editor at Infoworld, editor of Computer Currents and TabTimes, and West Coast bureau chief for both InformationWeek and Internet.com.

2007: Search Rungs and More Than an iPhone Frenzy

David Needle

Recommended for you...

Company

Categories

2007: Search Rungs and More Than an iPhone Frenzy

RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS

David Needle

Recommended for you...

Company

Categories