- 07
- May
For those of you who have been to SES conferences in the past, there are definitely distinct differences at the Search Insider Summit. The first observation is the number of people. This conference is definitely more intimate. My second observation is the audience. There is a higher ratio of marketers in the audience which adds a different dimension to the conversation and speaker agendas. My last observation is the content. As the SES conferences have a variety of tactical and skill level sessions, this conference leans towards the strategic. It’s been an interesting first day; here are some of the highlights.
Gord Hotchkiss (Enquiro) kicked off the session as the conference emcee. He talked a little about the dynamic nature of search and said the industry was the nexus of change for online space. He spoke to other technologies which had a similar effect on culture and how it takes time for users to catch up with those new technologies. The TV was being introduced post-WWII and went from 1% household penetration to 90% from 1950 to 1960. However, the true societal impact of television didn’t really happen until the 70s. Similarly, search is in its infancy and although there has been a dramatic impact on culture, it still hasn’t hit the peak. His final comments made the connection between community and connection. The web is now an interconnected group of ideological communities. The innovators who connect and utilize the power of these communities will be the winners. Search is a function or connection to particular communities by matching intent and content.
The keynote session of the day was a mock interview between Bill Gates, played by Dave Wise (author The Google Story and http://www.breakingviews.com/ ), and Esther Dyson, Edventure Holdings, as herself. The crux of the conversation was, “What is the future of search?” Esther discussed how search is currently the conduit to content. The future is the creation of better user applications. This is based on what users want, not how the engines want to display content. Travel sites are good example of companies creating useful applications for users. A memorable quote which sums up this concept of search change would be, “Today we are in the ’search and fetch’ environment and the market will move to a ‘deliver, act and transact.’”
Additional topics discussed within the mock-interview:
The transparency of companies’ usage of consumer user data will go a long way. As more and more media companies, including search engines, begin to use consumer behavior, it is imperative to disclose what the data will be used for.
The integration of the online and offline world is coming. For example, a mobile device will know where a user is located and present options and services based on this data. This is without the user designating their location.
The biggest opportunity for engines is the international marketplace. This may be due to the fact that Google doesn’t have a strong hold on the marketplace as it does domestically. Russia (Yandex) and China (Baidu) have flourishing marketplaces and lots of consumers!
The emergence of the semantic web. The winning company will be able to deliver applications which take into account the personal nuances of users, including language variations, preferences, likes and dislikes. “You can sit in a room and make a better algorithm, but you can’t build something for humans without understanding how humans behave.” Powerset is a good example of a natural language search engine focusing on how humans behave and delivering results accordingly.
A memorable quote by Esther Dyson: “The remainder of the proof is an exercise for the reader.” I think this is a good wrap-up of the thoughts from the discussion. The space is still evolving and it is up to the entrepreneurial minds to evolve the right solutions to the marketplace.
It was an interesting first day in Bonita Springs, FL. I look forward to the next two days of strategic search discussions. For additional information about the Summit, visit the official conference BLOG. For insider updates, check back to Search Perspective.