Real Time Searching
Monday, August 24, 2009 by Sam
There is a huge drive at the moment towards making internet searching capable of reflecting real time information. This ability to sort results by real time has given Twitter a huge advantage over other search engines, even to the point where people look to them for breaking news updates. Their list of the top 10 trending topics, updated in real time, gives an insight into what has people talking. These topics can range from world news, to people posting their opinion on the latest blockbuster, or even a video on YouTube that’s gone viral. Facebook recently followed suit, allowing users to opt-in to a searchable public timeline of their status updates.
A few months ago, Google, the world’s most popular search engine, allowed users to filter search terms according to date. Being able to differentiate results that were posted recently and those from a year ago has the potential to create a new user experience where time sensitive terms will return the appropriate results posted recently. At the moment, results are merely sorted by relevance, which can be frustrating if you’re looking for information on a developing story.
This focus on gaining information in real time is an example in the way that technology is shifting the way in which we process information. Rather than wait for a traditional news media such as newspapers and news agencies, we have become cyborgs, extending our senses so that we may both broadcast and receive information ourselves. However, the paradox is, at the same time, this flood of information means that we are limited in the information we can physically process, and many people will select information based on what others are talking about, rather than sorting through everything.
A few months ago, Google, the world’s most popular search engine, allowed users to filter search terms according to date. Being able to differentiate results that were posted recently and those from a year ago has the potential to create a new user experience where time sensitive terms will return the appropriate results posted recently. At the moment, results are merely sorted by relevance, which can be frustrating if you’re looking for information on a developing story.
This focus on gaining information in real time is an example in the way that technology is shifting the way in which we process information. Rather than wait for a traditional news media such as newspapers and news agencies, we have become cyborgs, extending our senses so that we may both broadcast and receive information ourselves. However, the paradox is, at the same time, this flood of information means that we are limited in the information we can physically process, and many people will select information based on what others are talking about, rather than sorting through everything.
Excellent point - we really haven't talked about this aspect of temporality and it's a very significant aspect of current shifts in digital culture: thanks for raising that.