I read about Google's new search tool on Mashable this morning. Can you believe this? Google is refreshing the search results page while you type your search query. Check out this video, be sure to maximize it to full screen to get the full effect.
While I'm at it, I should show you one of my favorite Google search videos, perhaps because I'm into romantic comedies (don't laugh). I think this showed up as a Superbowl ad last year.
A screen shot of my Hugh Grant Google search.
Notice I selected "Latest" for my time frame.
I think one of my favorite features of Google search is the "Latest" feature on the search page. It's simple to use, just type your query in the search box as you normally do, then select the "Latest" option and watch the magic happen. I searched for Hugh Grant because I saw his name as a trending topic on Twitter. When I clicked "Search" a steam of links came pouring in from several sources all over the Internet, but mostly from Twitter. I generally use this feature when I want to view a trending topic from multiple perspectives. This feature will not work very well on topic that people are not currently writing about, but it's great when you want the scoop on something.
Here's a quick tip - Did you know the search bar is also a calculator? Type a math expression and Google will calculate it for you instantly. I even tried it with Google's Chrome browser that allows you to search via th address bar. At first I entered a simple problem like 3+2*8 and "19" showed up without me having to hit the enter key. In case you thought the answer was 40, go back and review the order of operations.
It turns out you can do most of the calculation that a typical scientific calculator can do, which is plenty for most of us. For more information on this cool feature, check out Google's calculator help page.
This photo is courtesy of Panoramio. It was
one of the photos that enticed me to visit
this hotel resort.
During my upcoming Hawaiian vacation I plan to take lots of photos. Most of the photos will be of my family, but I'm planning to take several shots of the beautiful surroundings. If I Geotag these photos I can include them on Google search results by uploading them to Panoramio. Panoramio is a photo sharing site that was bought by Google a couple of years ago. When you upload your photo to Panoramio you are also enabling the service to link your photo to Google maps, then when someone searches for that particular place they will see your photo along with everyone else who also submitted photos of that location. I used this service to help make a decision about which resort to choose in Hawaii. Instead of looking at the resorts photos, I thought it would be more helpful to get a visitor's perspective of the place, so I visited Google Maps and entered the name of the Hotel (The Mauna Lani on the Big Island). As I suspected there were dozens of photos submitted by visitors showing the lush landscapes and beautiful grounds of the Hotel.
If you click on the map you'll get more information
including reviews from customers.
The last topic I'll talk about in this post is Google's local business search. These days people are using the Internet to not only find product to order and have shipped, they are also using it to find local services. For instance, I just encountered back spasms for the first time. I was in extreme pain and I had no idea what to do. My wife suggested calling an acupuncturist. I never visited one so I turned to Google to find a good one. I searched for "San Clemente Acupuncture". Google first presented me with a map of the area and pins placed at acupuncture locations. If I click on the map I will have a host of detailed information including customer reviews, photos, videos, and maybe even coupons provided by the business.
The advantage for the tech-savvy business is most small business owners have no idea they can have full control of their listing for free, it's like having free advertising for people that are already looking for you. Hopefully as time goes by more businesses will take advantage of this free tool, which will make searching on Google even more effective.
Image via CrunchBase
Just tried the math thing...cool!
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