Your Instant Analysis of Google Instant
By Harry McCracken | Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 9:09 pm
What’s the consensus on Google’s new results-as-you-type Google Instant interface? I’m not sure if there is one. When I asked my pals on Twitter (where I’m @harrymccracken) for their initial take, I got lots of feedback–but it included raves, rants, and acknowledgements that it’ll take time to form a solid opinion.
After the jump, what folks had to say.
@Joshuakarthik
I think it's very impressive. They're right. Once you've gone 'Instant', you'll wonder how you ever searched any other way.
@GadgetGav
It saves one mouse click over existing suggestion method. Pointless.
@anis_salvesen
Google Instant reminds me of kid game where someone steps exactly in your footsteps as you walk. Jury's still out here.
@drachenstern
spiffy trick, seems like they'll be able to improve the concept, almost obvious in hindsight (web2.0), clones in 3 ... 2 ...
@craigi
Google Instant is impressive. In my mind, it's their first real search innovation since relevant search results.
@ashleymayer
Sexy visually, but I can't decide whether the live search results will be distracting or useful in practice.
@BenjaminZAMayo
It's distracting for now, but I can see how it will be useful once I get my head around it a bit.
@NotASwoo
It definitely has some glitches, but as somebody who changes and tinkers with Google searches often, it's a nice addition.
@larryv
Nifty, but not useful for me. I search via Safari search field or LaunchBar 99% of the time.
@reneritchie
Google has more engineers and ideas than they have consolidated strategic vision.
@gwachob
My initial reaction: digital version of motion sickness.
@Adam_Mahle
not quite sure if i like it yet... it's neat... but almost distracting.
@mollienothnagel
I like the idea of 'course correcting' keyword strings while typing to get the results I want.
@TrevR
re: Google Instant--while cool technically speaking, find it a bit annoying and distracting from a user point of view
@theMCooper
It's like Autocomplete Me after a run in with BALCO!
@CatDow
Google Instant...novel but point? I use Chrome, never go near the homepage these days.
@refinery_hq
Super, if you use google.com, which I don't (I use Chrome address bar).
@pwrome
Google instant is so instant I keep thinking when I hit 'Backspace' my browser is sending me back to my last search query!
@secretsushi
I think 'instant' is pretty incredible. Its not just about the page reloading.
@patrozoo
I think it's amazing. Google has proved that they still are the no.1 search company. It's fast and slick, love it!
@Cosmosis
It may shift how I traditionally search: moving me from my Firefox search bar, back to the Google homepage proper.
@MAlexJohnson
Pretty splashy way to harvest tons of real-world language data if #Google plans to do a speech interface.
@rob_schmitt
It's mind-numbingly fast. And useful. And a little disconcerting, but I'm sure that'll pass.
@tech_2010
I love Google Instant, it eliminates my need to hit Enter on the keyboard to complete a search & also eliminated the need for the back button on my browser while searching
@JoshNursing
It's superb and an engineering feat. I can't wait to have it on images, videos and have Twitter results integrated.
@Sparky1999
I was pleasantly surprised to see it active here in Qatar. Really fast, but I rarely use G from its homepage.
@Baerwb
I like it. But it still thinks I'm in Johnson City when I'm not while Bing knows I'm in Kingsport...
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September 8th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Any modifications to Google homepage are meaningless for a power-user. I can't even remember the last time saw it, because I always search using Firefox/Chrome's search capabilities, and 99% of time I'm just using "I'm Feeling Lucky" from the address bar. For the majority of people who do waste time by going through the homepage (and don't know how to craft good searches), it probably would be a useful feature. Unfortunately, such people are unlikely to change their behavior enough to actually benefit from it.
September 8th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
Absolutely hate it. Fast typers will get a seizure from how many dang times the page changes. Very distracting!