Google Labs has a wide variety of products in development that “aren’t quite ready for primetime” in their own words. From new search innovations to public transit guides, music playlists and even mapping Mars, we’ve taken an in-depth look at what Google’s got brewing.
SEARCH
Google is experimenting with several new ways to enhance their core search engine, most of which involve further integration of other Google services into results pages. In addition to offering new levels of functionality, there are several clear opportunities for significant additional ad revenue in the current beta search products.
This option lets you see search results in a timeline format. For example, searching for “Google” will show you a timeline history of the company, linking you to relevant search results for the year. Another application of the timeline view is people search; for example, searching for “LeBron James” will present you with links to sites at important points in his career – from being named Ohio Player of the Year in high school to his recent first appearance in the NBA Finals. Not surprisingly, most of the links that make it into the timeline view are from well-known web sites, such as Wikipedia or NBA.com. To do a timeline search, type “search term view:timeline” into any Google search box.
This option lets you see search results on a map. For example, searching for “NASCAR” will bring up a list of NASCAR race tracks. Clicking on an item on the map will bring up additional information and links, such as a site to buy tickets. The map view seems to work better for search terms without a ton of listings – for example, a search for “Burger King” brings up only about a half dozen locations in the US, when there are of course thousands of Burger Kings. To do a map search, type “search term view:map” into any Google search box.
Experimental Search Results Pages
Google is experimenting with two different search results views that purists might feel adds some clutter to the standard interface. The first, called “Left-hand search navigation” separates the search results into three columns. The left-side features two main features: search for the same topic within other Google products (for example, search for “airplanes” in patents, products, or blogs) and conduct related searches (for example, “history of airplanes”). Then, in the center are the standard Google search results, and on the right, sponsored links.
The second search results experiment feels a bit more like the current Google interface, with the only major difference being a small box above the sponsored links on the right. The box contains some of the same links as the left-hand search (related searches, search in other ways) but does not take up nearly as much space, and would probably draw a much less dramatic reaction from users if it were actually released.
Competing with the likes of 1-800-FREE-411, Google is testing a completely free, ad-supported voice search service. The number - 1-800-GOOG-411 - functions much like any 411 service, asking you to first specify a location, and then a business name. GOOG-411 will then connect you free of charge to the desired business. The voice recognition had no problem recognizing “Strasburg, Virginia” and “Great Wall Restaurant”. An estimated $7 billion market, GOOG-411 would appear to be one of the bigger potential revenue generators in Labs.
AGGREGATING USER DATA
In its efforts to organize and make useful the world’s information, Google has collected a ton of data on what users are searching for and accessing. Through several products in Labs, Google is gaining even more data and presenting it in news ways.
Although it has emerged as one of the most popular RSS readers, Google Reader is still technically a part of Google Labs. The service allows you to manage your RSS subscriptions, share your reading list with others, and recently added the option for offline viewing. Given Google Reader’s popularity and consistent stream of new features, we will likely see it in the “Graduates of Labs” column soon. Between Google Reader and the recently acquired FeedBurner, the company is a dominant player in RSS, owning tons of information on what people read and how they consume information.
Google Music Trends keeps track of what songs are popular according to users of Google Talk that opt to participate in the service. The service shows the most played songs in more than a dozen different genres and several countries. With only a tiny share of the instant messaging market, Music Trends is looking at a fairly small subset of users, making some of the data a little difficult to believe. For example, 10 of this week’s top 20 songs are from Linkin Park, who has no songs in the current iTunes 10 most downloaded.
Google Trends charts the popularity of search terms over time, and lets you compare them versus other terms. Additionally, Google Trends includes reference points where an item of news may have impacted the trend. In the graph below, you can see the rise in popularity of searches for “Facebook” recently, with letters corresponding to different news articles listed beside the graph. Additionally, you can filter the trends by region, or drill down to a specific time period. To compare the search popularity of different terms, you simply enter a comma between search terms, for example, “Facebook, MySpace”.
LOCALIZATION
Google is getting plenty of bang for their buck out of Google Maps, utilizing the same interface for a variety of products in Labs. Online mapping represents a large market for local advertising, helping explain Google’s interest in developing useful products for getting around town … or around Mars.
Currently in testing in a few select cities, Google Transit helps you get from Point A to Point B using public transportation. For example, the service will tell you how to walk to the nearest bus station, which bus to get on, and how much the trip will cost. Additionally, you can specify what time you are leaving or what time you need to arrive at a location and Transit will determine the most appropriate route. The service currently covers about a dozen cities in the US and all of Japan.
If you don’t have time for mass transit, Google Ride Finder can hook you up with nearby taxis, limousines, and shuttles in about a dozen large metro areas. The service shows where vehicles are currently positioned along with the name of the operator and a phone number to reach them.
Google’s stated goal is “to organize the world’s information …” but apparently, the world just isn’t big enough anymore. The company’s inter-galaxy expansion now includes Google Mars, which functions essentially the same as Google Maps, but on the red planet. Google Mars lets you view the map in three different views – elevation map, actual images (called “visible”), and infrared. Additionally, Google Mars has preset listings of canyons, mountains, dunes and more for guiding your exploration.
PERSONALIZATION AND ACCESSIBILITY
The quicker pages load and the more options you have to access Google, the more searches you will conduct and the more AdWords you will click. At least that would seem to be the thinking behind a variety of personalization and accessibility tools that are currently in Labs.
Web Accelerator is designed to speed up web pages primarily for broadband users. The service enhances your connection by making use of Google’s massive computer network, storing copies of frequently viewed pages, and several other methods. Accelerator also keeps performance statistics, allowing you to track how much time it has saved you.
Google and Firefox have a long-standing friendship, making it no surprise that the company offers a variety of applications to enhance the functionality of the Internet Explorer competitor. For example, Browser Sync synchronizes your browser settings across multiple machines. There is also an app for Google Notebook users, a tool that shows blogs about the page you’re looking at, and a “send to phone” feature for sending yourself text messages from the Web.
For the HTML impaired, Google offers a simply WYSIWYG web page editor. The service features drag and drop options for inserting images, manipulating text, and adding hyperlinks. Additionally, users get their own subdomain at yourname.googlepages.com.
CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, Google’s product pipeline appears to be broad, deep, and quite healthy. Google Reader and GOOG-411 should be ready to “graduate” this year, while the company’s experiments in search will continue to be closely watched. Additionally, with Google reportedly planning to add close to 3,000 employees this year, the flow of new products into Labs can be expected to continue.
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technorati tags:GoogleLabs
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