Google launches real-time search
Friday, September 03 2010 by Catherine Ferguson
Google has advanced its real-time search offering by creating a homepage for its data. The features were first launched in December 2009, but the search giant has now created a set of new tools that will make monitoring information all the more easier.
In its official blog, Google revealed that the changes will make it simpler for people to understand and refine their search results. For example, they can apply geographical limitations on the data and also narrow them down in relation to a specific time period. "So if you're traveling to Los Angeles this summer, you can check out tweets from Angelenos to get ideas for activities happening right where you are," the post explained.
Another change is that Google Alerts has now had its content updated, meaning people can keep in the loop about certain topics with greater ease. "Now you can create an alert specifically for 'updates' to get an email the moment your topic appears on Twitter or other short-form services," the blog stated. Email volumes can also be monitored so alerts are only set out over defined periods.
In response to these changes, Jake Hird, senior research analyst at Econsultancy, suggested that there could be some issues with this new search feature. For example, he proposed that nobody is aware of what information is being indexed and what processes the data must undergo to get to this stage.
"It's something that will develop over this year and it will become a lot clearer, but at the moment it's still a very grey area," Mr Hird stressed. The difference between the old model and the new one is that results can be retrieved much faster, which enables companies to monitor their search visibility.
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http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/google-realtime-search-new-home-with.html
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