Google's Real-time Search: Be informed in no time, or at least very little time.

In a recent post I gave my opinion about the problems I see with real-time search. I do concede that Google probably is aware of all my concerns surrounding real-time search and that they probably feel the benefits it provides outweigh the problems it may cause, and so do I.

In my previous posting on this issue I claimed that a lot of the information coming through the real-time feed does not hold a lot of relevance in that some of it either was either not all that credible, or was simply capitalizing on a particular hot topic on Twitter, as well as all the random chatter from Twitter users. I admit that this may particularly have been the case because I used Tiger Woods as my search example. Using Tiger, or any celebrity or that matter, would have had the same results through a real-time search as what I found.

The Relevance Test

For this article I took a look at another issue that has a lot of conversation surrounding it; Healthcare Reform.

With this topic, as may be expected there were a lot more links to known news sites and less twitter banter about the topic. I found several interesting articles within a matter of minutes, seconds for some, of their posting.

Here are three headlines I found while searching, two of which I found to be very interesting and informative, the third supports my earlier blog argument about the problems of real-time search relevancy, in this case however I do not fault the author of the article.

CNBC Stock Blog — 4 Stocks to Benefit From Health Care Reform ...

Sanders to introduce amendment stripping 'Cadillac' tax from ...

Tiger Woods and the thorny matter of racial identity

The first two articles one comes from a reputable news source, and the other from a political blog both were good examples of how real-time search can increase the speed in which we are informed.

In the third example this article was in the real-time feed because he mentions health care reform in the first few lines of the opening paragraph to help emphasis his point about Tiger Woods. The author may be trying use this as a keyword to drive traffic or he may not. I only found health care reform used only the one time in the article.

More Relevant Information

The speed in which relevant information, as was the information I found in my first two examples, as well as exposure to numerous new sources is what makes real-time search great. The increased speed of how information is delivered could lead to an increase of informed conversation about important issues.

Google's real-time search still has some bug's but overall provides a valuable resource to web surfers.

Google's real-time Search: Future of Search or Useless Information Overload? Part 2

In my previous blog posting I pointed out a few problems I see with real-time search. This is a continuation of that post.

Irrelevant Information
The articles associated with the other two headlines I mentioned above have nothing to do with the news surrounding Tiger Woods and appear to be taking advantage of his current popularity in the media and on Twitterto drive readers to their articles. If the scandal surrounding Tiger Woods was not currently happening, these articles would likely not have been released at this time. This provides a problem for people who are trying to find relevant information about Tiger Woods.

Anyone can go on Twitter and see what the trending topics are and then create an article using the keywords of that topic without it having any real relevance to the discussion. These types of articles end up cluttering the stream with information that is irrelevant to the primary reason someone is searching for a particular topic. I see this as a problem in that a hot topic on Twitter will be driving the content that is being created for the web.


The Tiger Woods Blog Experiment
As an experiment, we even created a blog about “The Top 3 reasons Tiger Woods should not design your website” and sent out a tweet. Interestingly enough, we did not see it come up in the real-time stream, which led to questions about how Google determines what is real-time worthy and what is not, or how it determines who is relevant enough to actually quote as a real time source. We speculated that it may be looking for other keywords that are associated with the Tiger Woods scandal, but at the same time, several Twitter jokes about Tiger showed up in the stream that did not seem to contain any other keywords.

It did not take long for us to get a “WTF?” comment on our blog for the same reasons I've discussed about how people take advantage of a current hot topic and don't offer any relevant content.

One Bright Spot
I must be honest and say that I personally have not been following the Tiger Woods scandal and was able to learn through the real-time search that as a result of all of this mess he is losing some of his endorsements, which in my opinion is somewhat newsworthy. Look for my post on the positive applications that real-time search provides within the next few days.

By Google providing information in real-time, it becomes the searchers' responsibility to filter out all the useless information—and misinformation—that comes through the real-time feed in order to find what they are truly looking for. We have always had to do this with information on the Internet, but not to this degree.

Through Google's regular search algorithm, high-ranking sites are determined based on quality content. With information being provided at such a rapid pace, it seems it would be almost impossible to be able to determine the quality and relevancy of all the content that comes through its real-time search results, as my examples also suggested. I know real-time search is still in its infancy, but until some improvements are made, it is very likely that news junkies and gossip hounds may be the only ones who regularly use it. The rest of us will quickly find better ways to spend our time online.

Google's real-time Search: Future of Search or Useless Information Overload? Part 1

No matter how you look at it, Google's real-time search is exciting. With information on newsworthy and not-so-newsworthy topics updating in a matter of seconds and coming from social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, the way we search the Internet may be changed forever. Look for the Latest results on Google's results page to see the real-time feed.

Real-time search opens up a world of useful implications, but the ability to spread time-wasting fluff or real-time misinformation can cause a lot of problems.

The Tiger Woods Test
To ascertain what kind of information is being delivered through Google's Real-Time Search, I decided to search for “Tiger Woods.”

Under the Latest results for Tiger Woods,* some of the headlines I found included:

“Tiger Woods Mistress Jaimee Grubbs Slept with George Clooney”—TransWorldNews

“Tiger Woods and President Obama...Two Reputations, Two Reputation management Challenges”— socialmediatoday

“How to Dress Like Tiger Woods | Fibers.com”

These three headlines and the corresponding articles all or illustrate a problem that I see with the real-time Web.

Sensational Headlines and Potential Misinformation
The first headline is something you would read on a tabloid as you are waiting to checkout at the grocery store. And the only source TransWorldNews, the website the first headlined linked to, cites to support its headline was “sources say...” Now, I am not saying that this article was not reporting the truth, it is possible that it was, but how many people may blindly accept it as truth without really looking at where it is coming from and who is saying it? Any unnamed source should raise red flags among readers.

The problem with the credibility of information on the Internet has always been an issue, however now it is being brought to you even faster and from potentially even more unreliable sources. Inexperienced and younger Internet users may have a difficult time knowing what is reliable information and what is misinformation.

One aspect of Google's regular search algorithm includes the amount of links to a websites content coming from other websites. This is an attempt by Google to place more importance to a particular piece of information, or at least show that several other trusted websites see this information as valid. By providing real-time streams of information before it has had a chance to be validated by the Internet community, the line between good information and bad information becomes less defined.

* Not all topics will have a Latest Results on Google since relevancy is based upon how much others are talking about the topic. However, as more people start to use various social media outlets, more topics will have a real-time stream.

Why you should get a Facebook and Twitter account even if you hate them.

First off, if you do not have a Facebook or Twitter account, I know you know someone who does. You may not understand why it is important to know where your friend Bob went out for dinner, or that your old college roommate just bought a new car. You may look at all the tweets and status updates as useless information overload, but you may want to reconsider.

Sure, most of the information communicated in this manner comes across as trivial and unimportant, and truth be told, most of it is. The important factor is how it is communicated. Facebook status updates and tweets happen very quickly, and with even a relatively small network of followers and friends, they can reach a large amount of people in a manner of seconds. Interesting tweets are often retweeted and can increase the amount of people that see your tweet significantly.

Search engines, like Google and Bing, in an effort to increase the relevancy of the information they provide are now providing real-time searches by including feeds from Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sources. Google is even using the information from individuals' own online social circles to help provide more relevant, personalized search information. That means when you are searching for a new restaurant to try out, where your Facebook friend Bob ate dinner last night suddenly becomes a bit more relevant.

So why should your small business get Facebook and Twitter accounts?

1) Both services are free—you will probably not find cheaper advertising than through social media other than word of mouth, of course. It does take time to maintain your accounts and to get your initial message out to the masses as well as build an online network, but once you do get the message out, it can quickly turn into word of mouth as your message is passed on to the friends of people who find your message to be important or interesting.

2) The speed at which you are able to reach your customer base. As soon as you post your tweet, it goes directly to your friends and followers. By using a services like bit.ly, which helps you create short links that work with Twitters' 140-character posting limit, you can see how many people are clicking on your links. Often, you can even see immediate responses after sending out your tweet.

3) Build relationship with your clients and customers. One of the great aspects of social media is the increased communication between your business and your clients and customers. They can leave comments and feedback on your Facebook page or blog. Having increased communication and interaction with your customers will help you better know the needs of your customer base.

These are only a few of the benefits of using social media. Sure you may have to sort through a lot of trivial status updates and tweets from your friends and followers, but with the benefits of low-cost advertising, speed of delivery, and the ability to build relationships with your clients and customers, you would be at a disadvantage over your competitors if you opt to not use it.

Google Chrome now available for Mac and Linux users

Tuesday Google announced that their web browser, known as Google Chrome, is now available for Mac and Linux users. The Internet giant also announced that over 300 extensions are now available for Windows and Linux as well.

Google Chrome for Mac

Google wanted to make sure it had a secure and fast browser that would work well with Mac OS X. There are a few differences between the Windows version and the Mac version of Chrome, including the lack of extensions, cookie manager, and bookmark manager. These are things that Google hopes to later incorporate as part of the Mac version of Chrome.

Google Chrome for Linux

Chrome for Linux was also designed with speed and stability in mind. As Linux is an open source operation system, Google took advantage of the open source community in generating the code for the Linux version of Chrome.

Google Chrome Extensions

Now Chrome is customizable for Windows and Linux users through extensions. Google now has over 300 extensions to help customize the Chrome browser to make it more useful or visually appealing. Web developers will be able to create their own extensions for Chrome.

Professional Website Design: What to Expect

A Website with Purpose

When conceiving your website, before you think about colors, pictures, or even format, take a few moments to consider why you are wanting a website in the first place. What is the purpose of your site? The reason defining a purpose is so critical to the success of your site is that it helps immeasurably with the creative process. With a clear purpose in focus, talented designers can apply their skills and talents in crafting that result. They can create with the end in mind. They won't waste time and creative effort in trying to mix and match things that ultimately don't apply or could detract from your goal.

Here are some purposes that may apply to your future site.

• Catalog Information
• Educate on Issues, Events, Places, or Things
• Encourage Discussion
• Entertain
• Facilitate Cooperation Among Different Groups
• Foster Working Collaboration Between Colleagues
• Give Cause to Take Political Action
• Inform about a Subject
• Provide a Platform for Communication
• Sell a Product or Service
• Tout Important Findings or Research
• Store and Display Pictures or Images
• View Videos

How to Prepare for Your Design Interview

One technique designers at HIT Web Design use to facilitate excellent web design is to conduct a design interview early in the process. This interview is a critical step to getting the design off to a good start. The designer's job is to find out from you what your purpose is, and how you envision accomplishing that purpose.

To make the most of your interview, you should prepare. You will be alerted ahead of time by the designer that your interview is coming up, so take advantage of that time. Collect all of the doodles you may have sketched out for your site, and compile all those long lists of what you want.

Next, organize your thoughts. Don't worry about “how” it is all going to work. Instead, focus on your purpose. Clearly define exactly what you want to achieve, and leave the mechanics up to the designer. Of course, you may have seen examples of things you like, or you may be well versed in design yourself, so be sure to share those things and your ideas, but remember your designer is educated on the latest techniques and design tricks of the trade, and it is possible that he or she may have a solution to accomplishing your goal that you may never have considered.

On the other hand, you may know nothing about website design. That's OK, too. What matters is that you convey your purpose clearly. The designer will do the rest. The last thing you want to do is to tell your designer “I don't care—it's up to you, you're the designer.” By shrugging off this opportunity (and your responsibility) you open the door to wasted time, money, and effort on both sides of the table. Obviously, involving you, the client, early on is critical—after all, it's your website, you have to approve it before it goes live, and you should be incredibly happy with the results when it does.

A clear purpose and effectively communicating it to your designer during the interview helps insure your ultimate success.


• Design with the end in mind for best results with your new website.
• A designer / client design interview sets the stage for successful web design.
• HIT Web Design encourages interactive design processes.

Top 3 Reasons Tiger Woods Should Not Design Your Website

Top 3 Reasons Tiger Woods Should Not Design Your Website

1. Not Enough Focus on the Links
When Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts were asked to weigh in on the most important elements of getting good rankings on search engines, they said it was links...and links, and links.

2. Lack of Design Standards
The internet is a haven for creativity, and the ingenuity of designers will no doubt constantly evolve and continue to impress. Nevertheless, when it comes to usability and function, there is a strong case for adhering to a “standard of design” when developing websites.

3. Inability to Drive…customers to your site
There are definitely a myriad of ways to market your website and your web based business. Some of those you might overlook because you may not think of a website as part of a traditional media campaign. Some of the least expensive and yet surprisingly effective ways of marketing your sites are some of the oldest in the book.