A few days ago Google added real time search to its main page. To check it out just go Google.com and run a search for anything that has recently been getting public attention for example “President Obama”. You will notice an unobtrusive live streaming results box inserted into the general search results. Almost like watching a stock ticker this stream will constantly update with new information as it comes in. The sources for this new information include Twitter, Facebook, news sources, newly updated websites, etc.
Real time search has been a focus and goal of Google’s for years; the inclusion of this real time window was a gigantic step in that direction. Many people attribute the wide success of Twitter to its ability to connect people, businesses, and news in real time. In this day and age the Internet has become a constant river of information. The real time search box from Google gives us a jumping off point into that river, one from which we can observe the rivers flow and no longer be limited by a frozen image of its currents.
So how do these new additions to our Internet experience effect us? One clear way is reputation management. Most successful business are already leveraging Internet marketing to promote their brands. Real time search results allow us a finger on the lifeblood of the Internet. When a company pays for space on a billboard it can be difficult to measure that investments return and impact. Imagine if that business knew every time a driver commented to their passenger about their billboard and what they said about it. Real time search shows that communication is growing, bringing us closer together, and closing the information gap between businesses and their customers.