Google reminds me of an atomic explosion. When these bombs go off, they suck everything in sight into a giant mushroomn cloud which then rains radioactive particles in its shadow. Google seems to suck in all the innovation it can and then spatter the world with an endless array of 'free' services. A bit frightening, but jolly good for users and advertisers alike.
This week, it announced another useful facility, its Google Co-op Custom Search Engine which you can embed straight into your web pages or blog (same thing, I know). If you have a Google account, you create a search box which restricts (or prioritises, but I haven't made that work yet) searching to your favourite sites or parts of sites. Instead of an unfocused deluge, your users have a good chance of finding what they want at the first attempt.
If you have multiple websites, forums, blogs and so on, then you can cast a net around them and provide access to any of this content through a single Google-style search box.
Or, if you are part of a special interest group, you can give the group a one-stop-shop for searching all the relevant websites. Not only that, but you can give colleagues permission to add their own suitable sites.
You can also provide 'refinement labels' to help users further filter their results. You can customise the result pages to reflect your own house style. But, you won't be surprised to learn, you will be obliged to carry a Google graphic and allow advertisements to appear.
It's neat. It's easy to use. And it provides Google with even more fissionable material.
PS It's English-only at the moment.
Nothing like a bit of misrepresentation then an attack is there?
ReplyDeleteI actually said: "for users and advertisers alike." I also said "and allow advertisements to appear" - most people would read that as an advertising opportunity. ie in the results.
Why should people use the API service if they can use something designed to be easy?
40 years in software has taught me not to be snobbish about ease of use.