Liveblogging from SMX Toronto
What’s next in Search: The Crystal Ball Panel
Moderated by Gillian Meussig
Speakers:
Jeff Lancaster
Rob Garner
Larry Balin
Where is search going?
It’s changing, but it’s not going anywhere.
Mobile search is gonna blow up
Social Sites: Facebook on top. Myspace in the #2 spot isn’t even close.
Social media gaming (i.e. second life) is the “bleeding edge”
Why should we care about Social Media? Social media is more popular than pornography
GPS UBL Universal business listings submit your clients to this company and the’ll update your listings all over the interwebs.
Deep databases
Data mining using info we put out there all the time.
Privacy Issues:
What are governments doing? What will Search industry do? What are the ramifications of the “deep databases?’
- There needs to be an awakening; a realization about all the info available on us.
- Gap between the engines building a profile vs. what the users perceive.
Are we concerned that information about ourselves is out in the open? No one here is overly concerned.
Where do we draw the line between what we’ll put out there and what we’ll keep to ourselves?
Reality: Companies have been capturing our data for years and years. Super markets are the biggest gatherer of market information.
In Canada there are hearings going on right now ruling on privacy laws. the Right People should be in on that decision making.
The Promise
What is good about having all this info out there?
- The web is more mobile and we can get information quickly.
- Jumped the Queue: Location based targeting isn’t being leveraged as much as it could be.
Remarketing and behavioral targeting
We tend to be paranoid. We always think this stuff is insidious. However, deep databases allow marketers to target marketing, so we’ll get less spammy stuff. Better connections with potential customers.
Deep databases could reduce the clutter thrown at us by allowing marketers to focus.
Social Media in Search
How many people have enabled social on their Google profile? (a smattering of hands)
Google’s commitment to social media is huge. Adding social to their ad products. There will be ways to have social ads to the content network.
What are the governments going to do about privacy issues? Legislation is on its way. No one knows what form it’ll take.
Apps? APPS!
In a world that’s going toward apps, the Apple platform becomes the new web. — Alex Langshur
People feel safer on an Apple platform.
People use apps more often than not. Most people here have 4-10 apps.
Apps are the gateway to data. Rather than go through search people use apps so that they can do their super-focused searches w/out misc. stuff.
Which platform should devs concentrate on when building apps? It depends on your demographic.
Palm is on the decline. Blackberry is still a big player. When deciding what to develop, make sure you know who you’re developing for (demographic)
Devs aren’t being given the opportunity to create apps for the Droid.
Windows 7 is coming out and most devs are .net devs.
What’s the next step? Voice activated stuff? How far will voice activation go? Moving from text search to voice search.
Integration of apps is the future.
Censoring the Interwebs
Firewalls: China and AU
Means less competition in the Serps. (giggles)
What’s this mean for the countries that adopt it? It’ll be economically detrimental. It’s not sustainable.
Interesting to find out if countries start charging tariffs for the “commodity” of their citizens’ marketing potential.
Bing/Yahoo becoming a major player in the search market? The merger will shore up the #2 spot.
Takeaways
Integration and combining of information are themes for the future of search.
Don’t forget about the core of your business.
Injection of social into the SERPs is a coming trend.
Everything is splintering off….everything is coming together depending on who was talking.