Google's Results to Become More Ask-Like With Orion Purchase?
Due to: sales meeting this morning, call with PreFound, MSI branding meeting and THEN a product development meeting, today is a quick-post day. UNFORTUNATELY!!!

Because some big stuff is happening.

Google bought Orion.

I wrote about Orion on September 9th, calling it similar to Ask in that it clusters concepts for easy drilling down or out (this is my favorite part of Ask - the zoom in, zoom out function. Full Disclosure - Ask sponsors this blog).

Warren Duff wrote about Orion too - I'm pretty sure he was the basis for my post then.

(oop - nope, it was VNU net I was responding to.)

So Google hired the person behind Orion, Ori Alon.

I will explore and write more later.

Update:
Note Marissa's comments regarding Ask's concept-zoom function (from blogoscoped):
"'Do you want to know what I really think of this? It’s interesting, but not really useful.' She adds that the majority of users don’t really want to narrow their search, they want an instant answer, and that for those users Google gives the fastest results."

Will the Orion purchase result in a Mayer about face? Well, it depends on how much Google overtly uses conceptual zooming.

Also... if concept-zoom is really Google's direction here, and ONE HIRE/purchase means it can gain this functionality (both HUGE SPECULATIONS ON MY PART) then Ask had best keep flexing that hustle muscle.

(also - did Google recognize how used zoom functions are on Google maps? Will we start seeing an idea-map kind of search ever where we navigate ideas, get 30,000 foot views and then drill down conceptually to the memes that build thought?)

Also - call if you want to discuss... my meetings are done :) 919-433-3139
Garrett French - MarketSmart Interactive | permalink | +marktd |