Thinking about the Yellow Pages today and all the funny headings and I was reminded of my first introduction to the Yellow Pages directory advertising product. I was in Berkeley, California at the time attending Sir John Gielgud’s Classical Theatre School. I had won a scholarship and had decided the Berkeley campus would be more interesting than the campus in London, England. Being a prairie girl and used to sun, it was sort of a no-brainer of a decision to make since it was always raining in London. So off to California it was.

Telegraph Avenue was a cultural shock. This was the 80’s but obviously only for me. In my memory I can still smell the incense. It is something I will never forget. According to a male classmate from Fiji (who incidentally wore a skirt to school) the incense had a strong influence on our classes in the Bay Area. Yes, this sweet tobacco smell was incense he told me.

I recall being introduced to the healing arts when I tripped down a flight of stairs and sprained my ankle before a performance. A group of people laid their hands on my ankle and with closed eyes hummed and healed my foot. I was miraculously cured for the performance – though stiff and limping the next day.

But it was the movement – improvisational classes that caused me the most anxiety. We had to lie on our backs with our eyes closed while our classmates rolled over us. It’s supposed to break down barriers and create trust but I was terribly shy and found the idea embarrassing so I found a way to phone in sick to avoid the class. Yup, so sorry I was on my death bed and couldn’t make it in for the “roll”. I must have had phone messages from everyone “Hope you are ok”. “We missed our Canadian, eh?!”.

I took the day off to live in the real world. I had coffee at a bus stop where I did research watching real people. Then I decided I would go to a health spa, have a suntan, go in the hot tub…you know, that kind of thing. I was going to take a mini holiday on my day off school. So, I looked up “Tanning” places in the Yellow Pages. I phoned for directions and got on the Berkeley bus headed north with my gym bag and towel around me neck. It was a long bus trip. In fact, I was the only one on the bus when the bus driver turned to me and said “This is it”. I was in an industrial area which really smelled. I found myself at a “Tanning Factory” where they beat animal hides and not a “Tanning Spa”  where I thought I was headed. (Yikes!)

I suppose I should have clued in when I phoned for directions. The woman on the phone was so abrupt, “What are you bringing in?” she asked. I answered rather quietly “Well just myself”. You see I always liked to be incognito at aerobic places. If the instructor said “Girl in the pink, higher”. I never returned.

Well, I got back on the bus (same driver) going back the other direction and I was back at school the next day “feeling much better”. But one thing I thought about was if I ever had a reason to advertise in the Yellow Pages I would make sure I was under the correct heading. Ironically, years later I found myself designing advertising for the Yellow Pages and yes, even recommending headings.

Marc Tellier, the CEO of Yellow Pages Group recently said in the Globe and Mail that the fastest growing heading in his Yellow Pages for several years in a row now is “Tatoo Parlours”.  Isn’t that remarkable? I would have no reason to reference that heading but you see everyone has a different use for this product including, Mr Tellier.

In December, Google launched an updated version of their page-ranking technology to incorporate Twitter feeds and real-time search results. Once again, the search giant ended the year (not to mention the decade!) with an important breakthrough in the world of search engine optimization.

Search engines used to be an information seeker’s haven providing  “instant-access education”. But now Google’s algorithm update has turned the search engine into a valuable resource and means to simplifying life. The combination of algorithm tricks and filters, GPS technology, mobile use and real-time search results has resulted in a truly powerful next generation search engine. Suddenly the frustration of the daily commute to work can be reduced with the help of up-to-the-minute Tweets on traffic jams.

Next generation search has also become more intuitive.  According to an article by Technology Review, if you’re in Boston and you begin your search with the letters “R” and “E”, the results will suggest various “Red Sox” outcomes. Yet if you’re in San Francisco and type in the same two letters, the suggested results will give you the REI retailer.

Real-time search has also brought new geo-location marketing opportunities. For example a restaurant now has the opportunity to capitalize on time-specific, talk-to-the-tummy promotions just before lunch.

A study by the  Society for New Communications Research revealed that 74% of consumers choose companies and/or brands based on other customer’s experiences shared online.

Up-to-the-minute information on what the trend of the moment is through instant access to social media “talk” has become an interesting marketing opportunity. According to Bing, one of the hottest topics on Twitter at the end of January was Haiti. This is valuable information. Some companies capitalized on this “Buzz” by jumping “into the conversation” with an update on what they were doing as a company to help.

Real-time search marketing opportunities will continue to grow.  We are moving more and more towards an integrated world where everything is indexed and can be queried in any number of ways; and from a myriad of portable devices. From this perspective real-time search in the future will be about query “relevance”.

The impact of mobile and portable computing devices is changing not only the way we communicate ‘on-the-go’ but it is driving the future of search and stimulating a flurry of new product developments and upgrades. These include increased processing power, enhanced voice and visual applications, and location aware search technologies. It’s all about faster search with fewer key strokes.

The days of dialing “411” and asking for a number are over. Voice search is handled by an automated “Stepford” woman who responds to queries without losing her melodious tone and who shows no sign of dismay when connecting you to the Tanning Factory (for animal hides) instead of the Tanning Salon (for a suntan appointment). You will notice the days of “411″ refunds are also over. Supervisors are impossible to locate.

But, as we grapple trying to find the holy grail of voice recognition we have to consider that the semantics of search over a mobile device are very different from those of an internet search. Mobile search is more focused on navigation, weather, direction and local search. Mobile searchers are more ready-to-buy and they want fast, accurate, information that can be acted on immediately. Scrolling is “out”. For one thing, the screen is too small. Mobile search is also special. A mobile phone is always with you and it knows where you and your friends are.

So if voice-enabled search is destined to be “big” (perhaps even a game changer), why are we doing such a poor job with developing the technology?

Well, according to Melvin Hunt, co-founder of Novartis Technologies, one of the biggest challenges facing the future of voice search are the idiosyncrasies of differing pronunciations and accents making voice recognition difficult at best. Only 30% of stored speech is repeated which means results are not delivered the first time. Users also show only a 10% click thru which is a dismal statistic to report.

However, in spite of the challenges Google has made inroads as have Vlingo and Dragon Naturally Speaking. These speech-to-text innovators are committed to breaking through these past barriers to entry.

Google’s Nexus One allows you to Tweet, Text or send an email via voice while driving. Vlingo lets you control your mobile phone with the power of your voice allowing you to voice search dial, to search the web, or send a text message as well. Then there is Dragon Naturally Speaking which is a cool application that creates a voice profile of you to better understand your vocal idiosyncrasies. It’s known for its accurate dictation, simple navigation commands, numbered commands, and fast response time. It also boasts a 300,000 word dictionary.