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1. Image recognition software: As more and more limited English speakers plug into the internet, language search tools must either adapt or be replaced by visual search tools, such as those used at the online shopping site Like.com. This site allows shoppers to search the product database by first capturing an image of a product either on Like.com's site or any other site, and then searching for that item or a reasonable facsimile instantly. Want the same shoes your favorite actress wore on Oscar night? Capture the image and then search for the same pair or a look-alike. Such image recognition capabilities will have an enormous impact on online retailing for both business and personal use.
2. Desktop search engines: Ever been working on a report and needed a piece of information in an e-mail attachment? Usually this means logging out of the document in order to access the e-mail. Not anymore. Pretty soon all data on the computer will be available for searching through a central search engine located on a toolbar in the browser. Both Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)'s Desktop Search and Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO)'s X1 search tool are available for personal use and may soon be upgraded for business users.
3. Mashups or virtual amalgams: A mashup is a collection of websites or applications from various virtual sources that can be combined into one display. According to The Wall Street Journal's Bobby White, mashups are already tremendously popular among music folks who want to be their own DJ. For under $300, hobbyist DJs can combine portions of different songs into a new song, or mix recorded songs with live recordings. 3-D graphics, video and voice -- all from different sources -- can be combined to build a new and unique product. One mashup business application already in use is Housingmaps.com, which combines Google Maps information with real estate listings from Craigslist to generate up-to-date online maps of current listings with driving directions.
4. Social networking sites: No longer just for teens, these social networking sites can also be used to share best-in-breed business practices. Already LinkedIn.com connects corporate managers in order to help them share information or marketing intelligence across company boundaries.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-26-2007 @ 9:44AM
Jamie said...
Relating to the Google mashup, I also created a google map showing where all the Craigslist websites are located. You can see the results on my website: http://www.aMillionPlaces.com
I did this as part of the development of market demographics on all those areas that I sell to people doing website traffic promotions or marketing and business plans.