Comments on: Will Real Time Search Work?

By: Dan Cooper

Dan Cooper — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:46:07 +0000

I have found the whole real time search functions on twitter to be a great way of finding opinions, rather than more factual info that google spits out.

However, its the age old problem that negative comments are much more likely to be aired than positive ones. Maybe not so much around new product launches, as there will be excited hype around new features etc.

If you are trying to find info on a particular brand/product, people are naturally commenting on below par service such as ‘Went to the store today…took 2 hours to get served by an untrained staff member’; rather than saying ‘Went to the store today…queue waiting time was of a satisfactory length’.

But deffinately agree, there is huge potential there waiting to be tapped, and i for one don’t think brands are fully embracing there opporunities.

By: Anthony Kenny

Anthony Kenny — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:43:40 +0000

I agree Craig I think that it can serve as an answer engine and on reflection if these trusted sources that you end up following steer you in the right direction then real time search could take you through the whole buying cycle from information seeking through to purchase.

Still the question of trust and credibilty is an issue but perhaps there could be a points or voting sytem for people who provide good and valuable information therby ridding any sapmmers.

By: Craig Broadbent

Craig Broadbent — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:58:24 +0000

i find real time pretty fascinating because if it takes a hold it will make the crawl process look pretty archaic. think that’s why Google have rushed in - they know this is where search is heading and they need the technology to compete and not lose ground to the likes of Twitter or Facebook.

but realistically how far can real time go? As you say Mark for timely issues you can lack credibility, moderation and context, but i think where it can excel is as an answer engine from a trusted source. if you have a question that can be answered quickly and sources you trust (e.g. followers on Twitter, friends on FB etc) then it’s the natural place to search.

developing trust and credibility on a larger scale will be an interesting development…

By: Mark Dolby

Mark Dolby — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:44:35 +0000

Nice Post! I think that this all comes down to the subject you are searching on. If you want to see the latest updates on an event such as the Iranian elections or information coming out of a conference then real time is great and should stretch beyond Twitter to services such as AudioBoo.

However, as has been pointed out by news organisations over the last few days, the use of such real time content can be dangerous as it can lack source credibility, moderation or context!