jimbeetle - 3:51 pm on Oct 29, 2010 (gmt 0)

Whitey from yesterday:

That's my problem , the two types of search experience priorities that need to behave differently in e commerce are : - mobile - search and dial the business - desktop - search and interact with the business' website If you force folks onto their phones , Google may loose the desktop business. If you give users a local experience , they are better off using their phones and ultimately they don't need Google for that.

Yeah, but we know that this is all part of Google's huge move into mobile, coming sometime "this Fall." In fact, I think Marissa Mayer's "Fundamental Shift in Search" line during the Google Instant presentation signals an actual fundamental shift in Google's core mission. I thought this as soon as I finished watching the presentation (and actually mentioned it to tedster the next week).

I think the old "Index all the world's information and make it universally accessible" is out; the new mantra is "Give them what we think they want as fast as we can."

The one thing that stood out in the Instant presentation was that many of the sample searches did not require an actual visit to a website, the answer was in the SERPs. Fast, convenient, no click thrus, perfect for the person on the go. And if you think about it, many of G's search services [google.com] are aimed directly at mobile.

We know that Google dropped a good part of the web from being searchable with the Mayday update. There are many many comments around the web about how difficult it is these days to do research-oriented queries*. Matt Cutts has talked about it as a quality move, which in part it might well be. I see it more as a need for speed move to better serve mobile users, the folks who most likely do not perform such searches.

I do agree that G will lose part of the desktop/research type of business, but I do think this is calculated. They've run the numbers, they believe they know what direction the better part of search is going and they're leaving their old search philosophy behind.

I also think this is a bit more than the local search aspect. One other comment from the Instant presentation that made me take notice was "book title, movie titles, song lyrics are great searches for Google." Wow, not something like the date a famous historic person served in a specific place? That got me to thinking of what Google's user base actually is. We've heard that many folks did not notice Instant at first, and that most folks haven't noticed any changes in the quality of results. I toyed around with a few phrases to describe it. "General" search and "Consumer" search didn't quite fit the bill, nor did any others.

I'm calling it "Lifestyle" search.

*I found it quite ironic when Mayer talked about no longer having to visit a library to do research. Thanks, Marissa, I've had to visit the library twice in the last three weeks because I can no longer use Google to find the information I need. Good thing I have a world-class one within walking distance.