Wolfram Aplha is just 'another' website

Yes, you read it right. All the hype and talk around the new so called Computational Knowledge Engine - Wolfram Alpha aka Google Killer is nothing more than a euphoria before every new launch. When Cuil was launched, it was also termed as the next 'in' thing. We all know what happened to it. Viewzi also died unceremoniously (well, almost).

After having experienced the new search engine, my point of view on it is very clear, Its just another website and nothing else. When you input any query, you get 'crap' and tonnes of it. The kind of absurd facts and figures that you get would be of no interest to any normal internet user. Take for instance, if you search for advertising. This 'search engine' shows you the input interpretation, typical word frequency, synonyms, narrower terms, broader terms and a complex looking synonym network. Click here to see. What the hell? Mr. Wolfram, I want to search the knowledge on the internet. What you have done is, you have converted a simple dictionary into a complicated looking 'search engine'. I don't need a mathematics based search engine to know synonyms or definitions. Disgusting!

Take another example, I wanted to visit Reliance communications' website. When I typed Reliance Communications, it showed the message - 'Wolfram Alpha is not sure what to do with your input'. See here. Hell. When I typed Reliance, it showed me some absurd details about a US based company. Click here to see.

My reaction - a big thumbs down.

The reason why Google has managed to capture the imagination of the internet audience is -

- Simplicity: Its not about complex coding and algorithms at the back end, the internet user cares a hell about it. You give me what I want, not what you want to show me. Filter the crap. Don't show me irrelevant stuff and most importantly, present it in a simple, easy to digest way.

- Innovation: Google always builds on its existing offerings and simplifies things further. Its ability to innovate has made it what it is today. Showing synonyms and definitions is not innovation. Its using high-tech stuff to take you light years back.

It would be interesting to see whether Wolfram Alpha would be able to compete against Google or not but one thing is clear, someone who prefers simplicity, would stick to Google.

Hail Google!

The latest source of inspiration - Youtube & Google Images

Of late, the way research is carried out in the advertising agencies has changed drastically. Two of the most popular sources of 'reference' that I use are google images and youtube. However, the reference is not just restricted to inspiration but can be seen explicitly in the creative output. Recently I came across an article that talks about the instances when the creative manifestation was very much similar to the orginal source of inspiration (read youtube). Click here to read the article.

Google 2084

When I saw this picture, it reminded me of one of the most atrocious movie of recent times - Love Story 2050...LOL :).

Given Google's dominance in the space and its capability to innovate continuously, the scenario reflected in the pic above is not very unrealistic. Hail Google!

Google goes conventional!

While the Lever's and the P&G's of the world are contemplating a cut in their marketing and advertising budget, Google has surprised one and all by shifting away from its unconventional word-of-mouth way of gathering free bytes.

Recently, Google launched an out-of-home campaign in Japan called “Google de dekirukoto” (”Things you can do with google”). When most of the companies are struggling to convince the ever-demanding consumer to buy their products, Google is trying really hard to educate people about how they can make use of their free services.

Click here to see the campaign.

The 'Bindaas' Search!!!

I 'm loving it... The coming days in the digital space would be full of action and most importantly take digital innovation to a completely new level. Imagine a search engine that combines Yahoo and Google search together, displays alexa ranking and categorizes it based on Tech Cruch posts, Web screeshot views, simple text views, Timeline views, site information view, video x3 view, 3 D photo cloud view and so on. Yes.... the new search engine viewzi does it all.

Viewzi offers a very interactive, innovative way of exploring internet which takes the entire search experience to the next level. The insight behind this new offering is simple - one size can't fit all. The vast information on the internet can't be presented in a boring text format, the way google and Yahoo do.

Try this new search engine, you need to see it to believe it.

Beware Google: Cuil has arrived

Cuil - pronounced as 'cool' (it's just a starting, get ready to be bombarded with the names of new Web 2.0 tools which don't sound like the way they are spelled!!), was lanuched on 28th of this month with a lot of hype around it. Last time, this kind of anticipation was seen during the launch of the i-phone.

Cuil.com is a search engine that provides a never-seen-before search experience. It gives you option to see search in 2 or 3 columns with relevant details. It shows thumbnail size images along with the links, however, their is no option for image search. The search engine backend, depending on the keyword, automatically categorizes the search under various headings.

Despite getting a volcanic start, Cuil is up against the giants like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL who have successfully maintained their oligopoly over the years.

As of now, Cuil has not monetized its services, the way Google does through adwords. Therefore, it needs to be seen how it performs in the long run. The biggest challenege is to have a dedicated pool of users for the advertising campaigns once it launches its ad-displaying services.

Wanna know who is bitching about you?

Recently, I came across a very interesting tool that could add a new dimension to the process of measuring campaign effectiveness. Summize (www.summize.com) is a search engine that tracks the ongoing conversations on Twitter. Imagine, an advertising agency informing its client about the consumer’s attitude, positive or negative, after few hours of a new launch. Simply mind blowing!!! Although, the number of tweets is not large enough to represent the entire digital population, it is still a very useful tool for monitoring a brand.

Just like Google, Summize tracks the conversations through keywords. However, it does not show the total number of conversations.

Despite this, Summize is a great tool that allows marketers to know and understand consumers’ attitude towards their brand.