This post serves mostly as a continued discussion from the eight-company-wrap-up lecture about the five webs.
We took a look at our personal data that Google provides to us in its dashboard and learned about all the things Google collects about us (assuming we're signed in). This article talks about what else Google plans on adding to its feature set to, essentially, grab more data about us.
One feature it highlights is the ability to use pattern recognition in searches for photos. You can search images based on what the images are, not by the text captions or file names. Or, you post a picture of a waterfall, you can then later search "waterfall" and your photo will appear in the results. I find this to be uninteresting but I give Google credit (?) in finding more ways to learn more about us.
While the reviews are still mixed on the feature's accuracy, Google could take this feature a step further and monitor which pictures we post, when we post them, which images we search, where we search them - essentially learning what we're "looking at" rather than what we're actively typing into a search box. Perhaps this is Google's attempt and one-upping Pinterest (who just secured more money at a $4bn valuation) since Pinterest hasn't focused on making money yet. If Google can make accurate and significant conclusions on how we view/search images, then perhaps retailers (I love the retail industry!) will be more in-tune with the going-ons at Google+ over Pinterest - where people complain about half of the pins leading to dead links.
So I think an interesting question here is what can Pinterest do now? Can they hope to be bought out by someone like a Google who can figure out how to monetize? Is there anything they can do independently other than watch Google invade their space?
ReplyDeleteI think someone will see what Google is doing, follow their lead and purchase them. Facebook already has Instagram. Maybe Amazon or Microsoft is in play here?