11 Apr 2010

Google Now Highlights Top Links Cited in Status Updates

Google has made a small tweak to its real-time search tools, which scours Twitter, Friendfeed and public Facebook status updates. Now when you search for any keyword and refine your search results to either "recent" or "updates," the search engine will also extract the most cited links for that particular keyword.

Here is an example (see above images). A status update search for Tiger Woods pulls up recent tweets on the left and "top links" on the right. If you click any "all mentions" link this pulls up related status updates pointing to that particular URL. This can be invoked for any URL with a simple "link:" command and I imagine it would be a snap to create a bookmarklet to execute such a search against any web URL.

I have always felt that Google is the company to beat in real-time search and this is another example of how they're going to continually enhancing their feature set. Good stuff.

19 Dec 2009

Search the Live Web with Two Simple Bookmarklets


I have become addicted to Google's new real-time search feature. It's an incredible window onto the world's psyche. However, it's somewhat lacking in one small way.

By default, Google doesn't serve up real-time results for most searches. It only does so for topics that are in the news or the conversation zeitgeist. For example, as of this writing, a search for the phrase "Google" doesn't turn up any real-time results. Compare this with any of the terms listed on Google Trends, all of which will automatically feature real-time results. 

If you want to easily access Google real-time results for any query, all you need is two simple bookmarklets.

The first bookmarklet once triggered will reveal the latest status updates from Twitter, Jaiku, Facebook and others. If you select text on a page it will automatically pull it into a query. If you don't select any text, the bookmarklet will pop up a box for you to enter a query.
javascript:x=escape(getSelection());if(!x)%7Bvoid(x=prompt('%20-%20Google%20Real-time%20Updates:',''))%7D;window.location='http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=en&tbo=1&output=search&tbs=mbl:1&q='+x
The second bookmarklet is broader - it pulls in all real-time results from blogs, news sources and Twitter and like the one above will work on pre-selected text or a new query.
javascript:x=escape(getSelection());if(!x)%7Bvoid(x=prompt('%20-%20Google%20Real-time%20Search:',''))%7D;window.location='http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=en&tbo=1&tbs=rltm:1&q='+x
Both bookmarklets should work in various browsers. I tested them in Safari and Firefox. All you need to do is create a bookmark with the precise URL listed above. (For some reason I can't get javascript code to link properly on Posterous, otherwise I wold have done so.)
12 Dec 2009

Three Observations from Le Web

Earlier this week I attended Le Web in Paris. It was my first time at the conference. Loic and Geraldine Le Meur did an awesome job bringing together a mix of Americans and Europeans for what, as far as I can tell, is the only truly global Internet industry event. Here are my three takeaways coming out of Le Web...

One of the great untold stories is just how much Facebook and Twitter are growing off-site. Facebook announced they reach 60 million through Facebook Connect. Meanwhile nearly half of Twitter's activity takes place away from Twitter.com - they reported. Both platforms are quietly becoming a social operating systems for the web, not just their own sites.

Second, nowadays no two people see the same Internet. This was a key point that Facebook made, saying that we increasingly discover online content not just by algortihms but via the "lens of friends." Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd brought this to life through rich, moving stories. Google's Marissa Mayer went a step further saying that the future of news is a "personalized news stream." This trend has major implications for marketers and PR pros who are accustomed to reaching everyone the same way - it's simply not possible anymore.

Finally there's a ton of energy around the live web. It feels like everyone from Google to governments gets its import. Perhaps Queen Rania of Jordan summed it up best when she said: "real time is the new prime time."

Le Web was a great conference. If you can, I recommend trying to go at least once. Not only was the content good but the networking was too. I got to meet many European startups that are all quietly innovating.

2 Dec 2009

Is the Caffeine Effect Already Hitting Google Alerts?

I subscribe to an ego search via Google Web alerts, which is separate from Google News alerts. Normally, I get one or two of these a day - typically after one of my columns go live or when I post here. 

However, in the last couple of days the activity has picked up and now the alerts are bringing in many many more results. I have a feeling this is tied to the roll-out of Google Caffeine, the search engine's next-gen algorithm, which is now live on one data center but will expand after the holidays. Anyone else seeing this? Did Caffeine already get integrated with Google Alerts?


Steve Rubel's Posterous

Steve Rubel (bio) is SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, a division of Edelman - the world's largest independent PR firm.

He is charged with helping clients identify emerging technologies and trends that can be applied in marketing communications programs. Rubel also explores these topics on his site and in monthly columns for Forbes.com and Advertising Age. He can be found on Twitter and Facebook as well.

Steve can be reached via email at steverubel@gmail.com.

Note: Everything posted on this site is Steve's personal opinion. It does not represent the views of Edelman or its clients.

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