Call me now: 650 273 5600The wrist watch is making a come back with the Kempler and Strauss W Phonewatch. This mobile phone wrist watch comes with a LCD touchscreen, a MP3 player, 640 by 480 camera, 128 by 104 video, bluetooth headset communicator, and 100 hrs of battery life. Now we all can pretend to be 007 or Agent 99 talking to our wrist watch. And the good part is that this nifty gizmo only costs $199 US.
Planning a vacation getaway, to purchase a new cell phone, or wondering what the hottest Christmas gift is for an eight year old? Why not turn to your social network – your contacts on Gmail, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Friendfeed for advice? According to socialnomics.com 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations and only 14% trust advertisements.
We have all plugged in search queries into Google and other search engines and been frustrated by the results. Social Search, which is any search aided by a social interaction or a social connection, has not translated well to the internet medium. It is because search is a private activity and people are not comfortable letting everyone in their social network know what they searched for. Remember the Facebook “Beacon” fiasco?
Early social search pioneers like Eurekster, founded in 2004, have experimented with many approaches as well, prior to the development of their technology. “Swicki” enables a user to build and customize a vertical community around a particular topic. With the collaboration between groups of people searchers can obtain quicker and more relevant results than a generic search engine.
Google recently launched Social Search a product that allows users to search relevant public content from within their social circle indexed by Google from social sites. This means your search query may now include opinions, and other information related to the search term from within your social network. You need to be set up with a Google profile but from there it is quite simple to get your own Personalized Search Results.
Let’s say you are interested in going to Hawaii but don’t know which island to go to or where to stay. In the old days a travel agent would provide you the options. Today a search on the internet is the norm. But plugging in Hawaii on Google or Bing to obtain a list of places, reviews and histories, does not satisfy your query. This is because you are really searching for advice. Your search can only be sufficed through a Social Search.
Google Social Search acts as a type of conduit and taps into your network, grabbing public information from contacts who have travelled and written about Hawaii which is then displayed as part of your search results.
There is no question social search is taking us in some exciting directions. Companies like Google and Microsoft along with a whole host of smaller innovators like Eurekster and Spoke are constantly making changes to fine tune search relevancy. Our social connections will very likely influence our search results. However, there is a balance to be found between algorithmic and human search. Opt-In will be very important.
Social Search is being called the next revolution in search. It will be fascinating to watch this race play out. The fine line between privacy and performance will continue to be tested.
What do business leaders and elite athletes have in common? Mental toughness and a belief in self even under the most inhumane and trying of circumstances. Making it to the top is a result of careful planning and the setting and reaching of many little goals along the way. Success is a journey not a desination. When you reach the top you can never rest on your laurels but rather, must continually reinvent yourself to stay ahead of the pack. There is nothing worthwhile done without risk.
Building a business is like sailing.When you are sailing you encounter all sorts of challenges with wind, weather and equipment. To discover a rainbow both sun and rain must exist. I like to think a rainbow is the wake-up call to rouse the sailors, throw off the bow lines, rig the sails, and catch the winds to explore, dream and discover. Remember that childhood song, "Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue..."? Here is a favorite Irish Saying which I find inspiring: " For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer".
Peter Drucker said that the best way to predict the future is to invent it. We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.
