Google this week released its Instant Search feature, which displays live search results as soon as you begin typing.  By providing results before a query is complete and removing the need to hit the “enter” key, Google claims users will save two to five seconds per search.

Are we too impatient to wait a matter of seconds for our search results? What’s feeding our new-found need for speed? And why does Google feel the need to answer our questions before we’ve even asked them?

Faster connections

The flow of information around the Web has accelerated rapidly over recent years. The most obvious cause is that our Web connections have become significantly faster over time.

This isn’t merely a result of greater broadband penetration, but also the near-ubiquity of 3G networks. Not only have we become accustomed to fast connections in our homes, but we’ve become conditioned to a similar experience on the go.

The real-time Web

To Web users, however, this trend has been most evident in the “real-time Web” movement. Services like Twitter and Facebook now deliver messages from our friends in seconds.

And while most breaking news stories were previously sourced from mainstream media outlets — taking hours to propagate via blog posts and emailed links — significant news events can now spread through Twitter in a matter of minutes.

Often, stories also enter the news cycle via on-the-ground reports posted to social networks. This significantly accelerates the news-gathering process and the speed at which important information reaches consumers.

In short, these quick status updates between friends have conditioned us to expect immediate access to information — whether that’s breaking news or simply knowing what our friends are up to. Why should we expect anything less from search engines?

Enabling discovery

Social networking services have fostered another change in consumer behavior; one that puts Google at a real disadvantage. As a greater volume of timely, relevant information is delivered to us via status updates from friends, we spend less time searching.

What’s more, many social sites now use our social connections to recommend content to us without the need to seek it out.

This so-called “discovery” trend, of which iTunes Ping is the most recent example, threatens to usurp the search box. If relevant information is delivered to us without extra effort, why type words into a box?

Google Instant Search is tackling the discovery problem, too: With every letter you type, Google serves up suggestions of what you may be looking for. Search for “tech company,” and Google provides suggestions for “tech company news,” “tech company valuation,” and “tech company names.”

What’s more, this feature enables truly personalized discovery by taking into account your search history, location and other factors — Google is essentially emulating social networks by trying to predict what we’re looking for without the need to submit a fully-formed search.

Next up: Google Predictive Search?

Google is unlikely to rest on its laurels now that Instant Search has been released. The only way the company can truly compete with social discovery is by going one step further.

What if instead of guessing your intent while you search, Google could predict your needs before you search? That’s likely the next evolution of Google search, according to statements from Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

“The next step of search is doing this automatically. When I walk down the street, I want my smartphone to be doing searches constantly: ‘Did you know … ?’ ‘Did you know … ?’ ‘Did you know … ?’ ‘Did you know … ?’ ” Schmidt said at the IFA consumer electronics event in Berlin, Germany, this week.

“This notion of autonomous search — to tell me things I didn’t know but am probably interested in — is the next great stage, in my view, of search.”

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Google and Apple are vying for the rights to stream Hollywood blockbusters and this season’s hottest TV series as they rush to bring pay-per-view services to computer screens and connected TVs across the globe.

According to an August 29 article in the Financial Times, Google is trying to secure deals with Hollywood’s top movie studios for a new YouTube on-demand service that could be launched as early as the end of 2010.

“Negotiations have been ongoing for several months, but have taken on greater urgency in recent weeks, amid intensifying competition between media and technology companies over the digital delivery of film and TV programming,” wrote the Financial Times‘ Matthew Garrahn and Richard Waters.

Insiders also believe Apple is set to launch a new and improved Apple TV device – a device they believe will connect to existing TVs to provide access to the internet; movies and videos downloaded through iTunes; and may eventually provide a gateway to specially designed applications for your TV through Apple’s App store – later this week.

An August 2010 report on the adoption of Web-to-TV in the US by market researcher In-Stat predicted there will be more than 200 million web-enabled consumer electronic devices in US households by 2015 while an April 2010 report by The Convergence Consulting Group showed that more than 800,000 people in the US have unplugged their cable TV subscriptions in favor of web-based TV programming over the last two years.

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HTC will release Google Chrome OS tablet on the 26th of November through Verizon network, states Downloadsquad blog. Assumptions have been made about Verizon’s supporting and promoting the tablet heavily, to pitch it against the Apple iPad.

But no information, regarding the new tablet, has been given by either HTC or Verizon . Otherwise, it is likely to have regular features, like an embodied WiFi, multitouch screen, a bluetooth and a webcam, states the blog.

Google has earlier, used the Android 2.2 (Froyo) for the smartphone. Android 2.2 is also expected to be used in the upcoming slates by Samsung and Motorola. But the most attractive feature of HTC’s tablet will be the Google Chrome operating system.

The Chrome OS will be used for the first time for a slate. Until now it had only been used in netbooks, though analysts had affirmed its utility in both power netbooks and tablets.

Earlier in the year, Eric Lin, spokesperson from HTC, had not denied the possibility of HTC’s entering the tablet market, stating that HTC will eventually launch a tablet which will be substantially unique and not merely an old machine with a new name.

Though speculations have been made about the tablet’s capability of succeeding as a low cost Internet connection device, there are doubts about it being sufficiently capable of giving competition to Apple iPad’s OS. To make it a success in the tablet market, it will have to priced at a considerably low rate, states Jack Gold, of the Technology Analyst Firm, J.Gold Associates.

Is this compatible to Android?  Anyone knows?  Please let me know.

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A permanent suspension of Google’s e-mail services(Gmail) in Iran.It has been announced by Iran’s telecommunications agency.And it has also revealed that a national e-mail service for Iranian citizens would soon be rolled out.

It is not clear what effect the order has had on gmail in Iran. Google has not yet commented about the announcement.

Is this a censorship?  Why U.S. government doesn’t say anything loudly?  but when Google said they want to pull out of China, Why the U.S. Government say something loudly?  An ugly political show.

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If you have an AdWords campaign set up to reach searchers using Google’s mobile search, you’ve got a new feature to enhance your efforts. Google is enabling click-to-call phone numbers in the ads that appear on mobile web browsers.

Google Jan. 28 took its AdWords click-to-call ad program out of beta, offering advertisers a potentially lucrative new way to connect with their target audiences through high-end smartphones with HTML Web browsers.

Click-to-call ads let advertisers add local business numbers alongside their destination URLs in mobile search ads. When users of smartphones, such as Apple’s iPhone or Google’s Nexus One, search for a local business from their mobile phone and stumble upon ads that have these numbers, smartphone users can click on the ads’ phone numbers and a call is automatically generated. If a smartphone user is searching for a local pizza place on their mobile device, then they can now simply click on the ads phone number and order up their favorite pie.

Since Google’s mobile click-to-call ads are generated based on location, if your company is a chain, an ad will be served up with the closest location to a user – and will contain the appropriate phone number. This Adword feature is important because it allows users to find out the most approriate phone number when the company has multiple shops.

How to utilize this Adwords feature?  To add click-to-call in mobile AdWords ads, simply set up location extensions and add your business phone number. Then make sure your campaign is set up to appear on mobile devices with full Internet browsers.

Google explained its rationale for offering such ads, and how searches made on mobile devices differ from those on computers, in a blog post:

“When people search for goods or services using their mobile phones, they often prefer to call a store rather than visit that store’s Website. Whether they’re placing a direct order, making a reservation or inquiring about services, the ability for prospective customers to easily call your business is a key distinguishing feature of searches made on mobile phones versus computers.”

BroadPoint AmTech analyst Benjamin Schachter said in a research note advertisers pay the same cost-per-click for a call as they would for a “click-through” to the destination URL.

Schachter added that a meaningful percentage of mobile queries are for phone numbers or local information, making a phone number associated with an ad a highly relevant component on a search engine results page.

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Microsoft and Apple are reportedly discussing the possibility of changing the iPhone’s default search engine from Google to Bing, which experts say could be a significant change in the fast-growing mobile search marketplace.

BusinessWeek quotes anonymous sources as saying that “talks have been under way for weeks,” and that Microsoft was a “pawn” in the deepening feud between Apple and Google. The competition has been growing fiercer since Google began competing with Apple in the mobile market with its Android OS and Nexus One smartphone.

Additionally, BusinessWeek says that Google is in danger of suffering financial losses if the rumored move to Bing is made, since AdMob reports that most mobile advertising in the U.S. is viewed on iPhones and iPod Touches. The iPhone is the most popular smartphone in the U.S., so any changes to its default programming are likely to produce measurable shifts in mobile search figures, according to analysts.

So, is there any new opportunities for mobile search engine optimization (SEO)?  I think search engine optimizer and SEO company should think about this especially if their clients want to get exposure in mobile phones.

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Google’s Nexus One phone may have been one of the most anticipated devices of the last few weeks. But since the smartphone’s launch last Tuesday, it has left a string of unhappy customers in its wake.

Nexus One has been plagued by consumer complaints including spotty 3G connectivity, a high early termination fee, poor customer support from Google and problems with the touchscreen.

“There are some aspects of the experience that Google didn’t think through as carefully as they should have,” says Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research. “This has implications for the store they have launched and their future ambitions for it. Google, clearly, has a lot of work ahead of it.”

Google introduced the Nexus One as the first device to be sold by the search company itself, rather than a manufacturing or carrier partner. The Nexus One, which runs Android 2.1, has been designed by HTC and works with T-Mobile’s network in the United States.

But contrary to initial speculation, the device isn’t free. It will retail for $180 with a 2-year contract with T-Mobile. An unlocked version is also available for $530 — a price similar to most other smartphones — and that version will work on other GSM phone networks worldwide as well as AT&T in the United States, although with some limitations.

The difference, though, is the Nexus One is available only through Google’s online store. Unlike with a Motorola Cliq or a HTC G1, users can’t walk into a T-Mobile store and buy the Nexus One.

They can’t even count on T-Mobile’s customer service representatives in store or the company’s phone support to solve their problems.

It’s a strategy that has backfired on Google. The company’s support forums are full of customer complaints around the Nexus and the company’s poor service.

“A lot of complaints and frustration that people are expressing would normally be handled by going back into the store or by calling the support help line,” says Golvin. “Having a physical location where you can take your phone back helps customers and Google seems to have underestimated that.”

“Solving customer support issues is extremely important to us, because we want people to have a positive Nexus One experience,” says a Google spokesperson. “We are trying to be as open and transparent as possible through our online customer help forums.”

Many of the customer complaints are centered about the device’s inability to connect to T-Mobile’s 3G network. The Nexus One does not pick up the 3G network or keeps switching to the slower EDGE network, say some users.

A Google spokesperson says the company is aware of the problem. “We are aware of the issues that have affected a small number of users and are working quickly to fix any problems,” the spokesperson told Wired.com in an email. “We hope to have more information soon. When we do, we will post it to the user forum.”

Add to all this Google’s decision to charge a separate early termination fee in addition to the one charged by T-Mobile. Nexus One customers who bought the subsidized, $180 version and then decide to cancel their contracts will have to pay $200 to T-Mobile.

But Google also charges users a $350 “equipment recovery fee” if you give up on the contract within 120 days.

Including all charges, Nexus One customers who want to bail early will end up paying $550. That’s significantly higher than the controversial $350 early termination fee imposed by Verizon last year.

“Google provides a subsidy for devices purchased with T-Mobile USA service. If a consumer cancels service after 14 days, Google recoups this subsidy in the form of an equipment recovery fee,” says the Google spokesperson.

“After 120 days, the equipment recovery fee will no longer apply. This is standard practice for third party resellers of T-Mobile and other operators, and you will find similar policies for other mobile service resellers. The T-Mobile early termination fee is separate and handled by T-Mobile.”

Despite the problems, Google can bounce back, says Golvin. Customer dissatisfaction is likely to be just a small speed bump in the road for Google’s mobile ambitions, he says.

“Google tends to have a bit of a Teflon coating,” says Golvin. “People tend to cut them a lot more slack — as they do with Apple — than they do with their mobile operator.”

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Over at MIT’s Technology Review, they have the goods on how Google ranks tweets. Ok, like your regular old organic results, they didn’t learn the secret sauce. But they did get some good info on how you can optimize your Twitter account so your Tweets have a better chance of appearing in real-time search results.

Reputation is key. Who follows you determines reputation. If your followers have a lot of followers, that gives more authority to your tweets.

“You earn reputation, and then you give reputation. If lots of people follow you, and then you follow someone–then even though this [new person] does not have lots of followers,” his tweet is deemed valuable because his followers are themselves followed widely, [Google Fellow] Amit Singhal says. It is “definitely, definitely” more than a popularity contest, he adds.

“One user following another in social media is analogous to one page linking to another on the Web. Both are a form of recommendation,” Singhal says. “As high-quality pages link to another page on the Web, the quality of the linked-to page goes up. Likewise, in social media, as established users follow another user, the quality of the followed user goes up as well.”

But Singhal also told Technology Review it’s not a popularity contest. They also have to weed out the noise. Hashtags make that task difficult. And sorting through trending topics when so many people are Tweeting is a challenge, too.

Singhal pointed out that Twitter the only source of real-time information for Google. Sources such as blogs and news are also relevant and being weaved into the real-time search experience.

Takeaways:

1. Cultivate your following on Twitter.
2. Don’t overdo the hashtag.
3. Be comprehensive in your real-time efforts. Don’t just focus on Twitter.

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Responding to a highly sophisticated cyberattack on opponents of the Chinese government, Google said Tuesday that it is no longer willing to operate a government-censored search engine in China — and may shut down its Chinese operations altogether.

Google’s stunning announcement could cost the company billions of dollars in lost future revenues, since experts said it’s unlikely the Chinese government — which broadly filters Web content and blocks access to social networking sites such as Facebook — will back down and open up what has been dubbed “the Great Firewall.”

But the search giant’s move may pressure other U.S. Internet companies doing business in China to take a stance on government censorship, and it will almost certainly complicate U.S.-China relations.

In a lengthy posting on its official company blog Tuesday afternoon, Google said it had uncovered a “highly sophisticated and targeted” cyberattack in December originating in China against Google and at least 20 other companies in which hackers attempted to gain access to the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

Google said those attacks, combined with Google’s subsequent discovery that the Gmail accounts of dozens of Chinese human rights advocates in the United States, Europe and China were being “routinely accessed” by unknown third parties, prompted the company to reassess whether the world’s leading search site should continue to operate in the world’s biggest internet market.

Google’s withdrawal from China would come with a major financial cost; its stock was already sinking in after-hours trading Tuesday. While Google is a distant second to the Baidu search engine in China, the rapid growth of the Chinese market means future lost revenues could be enormous.

“Its future value certainly will be huge, just by virtue of the sheer size of the market. The opportunity cost to Google might be many billions of dollars over time if they were to pull out — almost certainly,” said analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence. “I just think it’s kind of a courageous move of integrity.”

The surprising move could reset Google’s image back to its “Don’t Be Evil” idealism after recently taking on, in the eyes of some, the appearance of an Internet juggernaut seeking to control the world’s information.

“In a world in which we are so used to public relations massaging of messages, this stands out as a direct declaration. It’s amazing,” said Jonathan Zittrain, professor of Internet law at Harvard Law School and co-director of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

The Berkman center worked with Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and United Kingdom-based mobile phone company Vodafone, as well as human rights organizations and investment groups, to develop a code of conduct for operating in countries that censor Internet activity.

“There is something special about the Google brand and the accommodations it made with the Chinese government to let Google China go forward was almost in friction with that. I sense an almost relief from the company saying, ‘Why do we have to do this?’ ” Zittrain said. “I think the Chinese are going to say, ‘Bye-bye Google.’ But just think about what happens if Google’s engineers set about making information as accessible as possible in China.”

Other analysts, however, said Google’s lack of traction in the Chinese market might have made the decision easier.

Google’s declaration and the accusation of China-based cyberattacks will further complicate U.S.-China relations, said Susan Shirk, a former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration responsible for U.S. relations with China. “It adds to the already difficult agenda we have with China. It’s not going to be easy.

“I presume that Google has pretty strong evidence, otherwise they would not make this public statement and declare battle with Beijing,” Shirk said.

A Google spokeswoman said the company would not reveal the identity of the other companies targeted, but said they included companies from the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors.

Google does not have evidence that the Chinese government was behind the attacks, she said, but “we do know it originated in China.”

San Jose software-maker Adobe Systems is investigating what appears to be a related incident, which Adobe described in a statement as “a sophisticated, coordinated attack against corporate network systems managed by Adobe and other companies.” Adobe said it didn’t appear that any sensitive information had been compromised.

While Google filtered some information on its Chinese Web site, Google.cn, its filtering efforts were far less extensive than those of its China rival, Baidu.com, the country’s largest search engine, said Rebecca MacKinnon, an expert on Chinese censorship.

“It certainly has been looking like it has been in a no-win situation,” she said, adding that Google had apparently concluded: “If we are making public declarations about upholding our users’ interests, at some point we have to stand up for our users’ interests.”

Google, which refused to place its servers in China and did not offer services that required it to collect personal data on users, most likely believed the hacking put users at risk, MacKinnon said.

The move, she added, “is an unprecedented situation” and will reverberate in China.

“It certainly sends a message to people in China when the world’s biggest Internet company says China’s policies for controlling the Internet are not acceptable,” she said. “When Google stands up and says things have gone too far in China — people are going to think seriously about that.”

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