The Future of Search: Personal, Persistent and Implicit

The world of search is changing before our eyes - from one where there is one right answer for all people at a specific instant to another where an answer to one's query can differ based on who they are, their social graph, their location, or even the time of day. No matter how fantastic the algorithms, combined with measured human editing, the assumption that there are "correct" responses to single word queries or short phrases for all is practically gone. That's why users are increasingly using multiple search terms in their queries, and modifying the searches until they find a satisfactory result. Pile on the conundrum of how to approach the world of real-time, social feedback, and geolocation, and a simple If A then B problem starts to look a lot more like calculus.

At the IFA home electronics event in Berlin, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was widely quoted following his remarks where he said the future of search is well beyond the Web, but through all your information, and done automatically, as you "walk down the street", the example saying that the smartphone would be "doing searches constantly."

While some may think this is Google over-reaching its boundaries and extending its view into every step of our waking lives, it's not evil that is seen here, but instead evolution, the same evolution that is the future of products like my6sense.

Stated directly:

• The traditional search market is powered by one time explicit search.
• The future search market is powered by persistent implicit search.

What do I mean? An explicit search is one where you are clearly searching for something specific and you are taking that action. It is often one done for a specific occasion or time. Today, I may search for "movie times Inception Sunnyvale" to find when the film is playing in my area. I may never search for that again.

A persistent explicit search is one where the query is known and unchanging, but continues over time. For example, take Google Alerts. You may have a persistent explicit search on your name or your company, and every time Google News has a positive hit, you get an update.

An implicit search is more vague, keying off related activity or your own interests and alerting you to things you might want to know. Blinkx, the video search engine, was talking about leveraging implicit search back in 2006 with a tool it calls Pico, which found relevant results to display alongside your usual activity. Tools like this, including Google Reader Magic, some aspects of TiVo recommendations and Amazon, are implicit, showing related items you didn't search for outright.

Enter the world of persistent implicit search - and think about how this could be applied. What about dating? What if over time, a digital algorithm figured out who your soulmate was, and was constantly searching to find if they were around the corner from you? What if you were looking for a new car or a new dress or a new home, and your smartphone alerted you that the right place at the right price had just become available?

As humans, we are in a state of persistent implicit search. We are always looking for things that may make us more comfortable, more happy, more rested, more rich or more successful. The trick becomes training the machines to think like humans, and to mimic that human ranking function that separates the good noise from the bad noise and brings you the right information at the right time, even if you didn't look for it yourself.

Any time you have a big company (like Google) talking about getting to know you even better, based on information discoverable, either public or private, it is not surprising to hear cries of concern over privacy. Schmidt was careful in his comments to say this new search would be "with your permission - this is personal search, for you and only for you". You opt in and you get the new world of personal, persistent, implicit search, which can find you the right answers anywhere you are from any device.

The world is no longer one where there is one right answer for everything. Google knows that, and so do the rest of the search engines, big and small. But Schmidt is talking about it clearly and correctly. It's very close to the language I've seen Barak Hachamov of my6sense use when he and I discuss the future of the apps and the API. This direction is more than just cool apps. It's about the future of discovery and artificial intelligence. Watch and see which companies get the transition right, and which are solving for yesterday's needs and problems.

Disclosure: I am the vice president of marketing at my6sense, which is also a Paladin client.

Seidio Triples HTC Evo Battery Life, Adds Some Bulk

One of the more consistent knocks against the HTC Evo, the Android-powered phone I've been using every day since my switch from iPhone is that it's battery isn't fantastic. Some found it so poor as to completely recommend against buying it, despite all the other features it does have which make it one of the more intriguing smartphones to debut in 2010. Just behind the concerns about its battery? Issues with its size - leading some to say it's just too big, mocking it with comparison's to Gordon Gekko's cell phone in the epic 1980s film Wall Street.

I have found a battery which really does let the Evo go all day. But guess what? It actually makes the phone even thicker, meaning for a few more hours of talk time, you're jamming a phone reminiscent of the size of a Sony PSP into your belt holster.

One Day's Use Shows 17 Hours On Before Recharge

For just over $60, you can purchase a battery designed for the HTC Evo, from Seidio, called the Innocell 3500 mAh Extended Life Battery for HTC EVO 4G. The standard battery for Evo is 1500 mAh, so it's no surprise the larger battery gives the phone a lot more power for a lot longer.

Somewhat nervous about the bulk of the device, but more curious about how long I could use the phone, I had to get one. (Remember, no battery is good enough) While previously, I had scared up a full day's worth of use of the phone while running the stock Android UI, the return of HTC Sense following an OTA update in 2.1, and continued Sense through 2.2, has drained the capability of the device, forcing me to be around chargers all day. Most Evo owners have perfected the art form of avoiding draining the phone's battery, or have just resigned themselves to being plugged in often. Having the new battery means this is no longer an issue.

A battery's capacity seems to flow downhill. Once out of the full "green" state, it isn't too long until an Evo battery can get to half-full, less than half full, and start to go amber, followed by red, and periodic warnings of low battery at 15% and 10% capacity. But with the Seidio battery, green lasts a very long time, and I don't have to think about micromanaging my own use. The first day I used the battery, it easily went the full 17 or so hours I had it active, before settling in for the night, and I don't chase power outlets any more. I don't worry about lengthy phone calls, or tapping in to Advanced Task Killer to reduce drain.

The thicker Evo is amusing. The new battery comes with a specialized case that replaces the standard Evo backing. Take the old one off and put the new one on, and you can easily see it's both thicker and heavier, even though it surprisingly feels good in the hand when using to talk, or when turned horizontally to send e-mail, browse the Web, play videos or games.

After using the Evo when I first got the device, it made my old iPhone 3G feel like a cheap toy. Add this battery in the mix, with its extra heft and thickness, and it reinforces that feeling of brute strength. You may not win any fashion awards with this backside growth, but the availability of all-day power cannot be overstated. I'll take the extra ounce for all-day access.

The Retail Experience Continues to Lag Online Convenience

The last few months in the Gray household have been ones of change. We moved out of our condo at the end of July, squeezed for space with our rambunctious two year old twins, and threatened further by the promised arrival of baby number three. As discussed previously, we tapped Redfin to help us with our home search, and finally found a fantastic place. Since then, baby number three, Braden, has arrived, ahead of schedule, and you also saw the news of my VP of Marketing role at my6sense. So change is in the air, indeed.

The arrival of Braden and move to the new home set other things in motion. We needed to get a larger car to hold three car seats at once, and we have a home that needs furniture. Unfortunately, one still can't download either, and the acquisition of both car and furniture has required venturing into the world of retail. The two different ways we went about getting both have remarkable difference in terms of fulfillment and speed, and unsurprisingly, the one that starts with the Web has the happier ending.

My wife and I have a list of "to do" items on our fridge to get our home into good shape. On the top of that list was furniture for the living room, family room, dining room and eventually, patio furniture, in some distant future. In early August, I set off to a department store to pick out sofas, love seats or anything we could sit in that would fit well with our home. That Friday, after my initial reconnaissance, my wife and I returned, and made our picks.

Despite the furniture being on the showroom floor, including the right configurations and colors, this did not indicate the items were available at their warehouse. We were promised an update in days, and shipping as soon as the following week.

The next Monday, I checked in and found that of the eight items, three were available, four more would arrive in the warehouse by August 27th, and one more by September 9th. On August 28th, I called, and found those items had not in fact arrived, but were delayed through September 3rd. So our rooms remain empty.

Today, I called to set up a delivery date. Surprise! The items are further delayed until September 27th, and the one laggard was now September 15th. This means the items are at least a month delayed from the previous date, and all we can do is wait. Something tells me that had I just purchased the same or similar items from Amazon.com or another online retailer, the Earth would have been moved to make my date, and they would be aggressively updating me if changes happened. Not so with tired old department store.

Luckily, this fate did not befall us when looking for a car. Needing to trade in our Toyota Rav-4 and purchase a larger car (or ... minivan), I heard an ad for AutoTrader.com that was made for folks just like me. A new program at tradein.autotrader.com lets you enter the right information on the car you need to trade in, and they will deliver a guaranteed price. While on the site, you can also say what car you are looking for and get people to call you with an offer. Sure enough, it was a slam dunk.

On Thursday night, I put in the data for our Rav-4 and got a guaranteed quote. On Friday afternoon, I got calls back from local car salesmen with offers that matched my needs. On Saturday, my wife and I went in and not only traded in our old car, but bought a new one. We took it home and the car is already in our driveway.

The contrast in these two experiences could not be more clear. The first, which does not operate on Web speed or simplicity, is dragging along with fingerpointing and excuses. The second, which let the Web do much of the hardwork of negotiation, discovery and introductions, made things happen overnight that could have taken weeks or months in years past.

I've long held to the belief that I should be doing as much of my shopping online as I can, or leveraging the Web wherever possible. Time and again, I find myself getting annoyed when the rest of the physical world doesn't work on my timelines, to my real-time expectations and efficiency. Online does. The best Web sites in the world with top notch customer service make things happen, and those dinosaurs that act as if the Web is just a marketing brochure aren't going to keep their edge for too much longer. I've had it with incompetent retail laggards - and can't endorse AutoTrader.com enough. It flat out works.

Review: Spotify, Sonos Partner for Wireless Music Nirvana

With Spotify making seemingly infinite music available on every device on demand, as well as sharing my friend's playlists, through Facebook-connected social profiles, it's a rare time that I even open my old standby music library, iTunes, except when I need to plug in my iPad and sync up. I take Spotify with me in the car when I play music via Android on my HTC Evo. I have Spotify on my laptop, and yes, on the iPad. Until a few weeks ago, just about the only missing place I couldn't get Spotify was through the three Sonos S5 systems I have in my home. That the two services would eventually come together was a near certainty, as one has the most promising on demand music library in the world, and the other has the best setup for playing music sourced from the Web.


  
Three Sonos S5 Players, Linked, Featuring Spotify
(Screenshots from iPhone app on iPad)

A few weeks ago, before today's more official announcement, I got access to new firmware that updated all my Sonos S5 systems, bringing Spotify support, complete with playlist integration, and search. This combination means, if I want, I can group together these systems, from the family room to the living room, and my upstairs office, have all of them playing the same music, and I can pull practically any music out of thin air.

Pulling ABBA from Spotify on Sonos

Search for a track on Spotify, or an artist or an album, and hit "Play Now" or "Add it to the Queue" and the music in the cloud becomes the music in your home - wherever you have speakers, be they small, on your phone or computer, or larger, now embedded in Sonos.

Searching Depeche Mode on Spotify Via Sonos

Demoing Spotify and Sonos connectivity wirelessly on the iPad is almost like magic - with a futuristic feel whereby I can, with a few taps, summon any song from any era and have it filling my house with music. A swipe to the right, and my entire home rises in volume, all players at once, turning an otherwise domestic venue into an understated dance club, with the sound echoing from room to room.


   Playing Spotify Playlists and Searching Underworld On Sonos

After the quick firmware update to my Sonos machines, all linked together by a Sonos SoundBridge attached to my wireless network, Spotify was added as a service to each device, adding on to previous support for Internet radio, terrestrial radio, localized stations, satellite radio through Sirius XM and also Last.fm. I didn't have to update every single application, but every Sonos app, from the iPad to my desktop, could see Spotify supported.

As existing Sonos owners know, one of the more futuristic bits about owning one of the company's S5 players is the complete lack of physical media. The devices feature simple up/down volume buttons and a mute button atop the unit, looking more like a speaker than central music hub. There's no spot for CDs, no radio dial, no vestigal digital clock, and clearly no cassette deck. Just pure music and attention to serious aural detail. Bringing Spotify to this physical media free wonderland just makes sense.


   Searching for New Tracks on Spotify And Adding to My Queue

For those, like me, who own multiple Sonos devices, you can also set different players to feature different songs at the same time, should that strike your fancy. You can play rock and roll upstairs and lounge music downstairs. Similarly, you can tap into Spotify to point that music library toward different devices. One source, but two musical streams at the same time.

Spotify only acknowledged the partnership with Sonos a few hours ago, and for most people in the US, waiting for Spotify to launch officially in this country is still a dream, but for those of us who have gotten early access, thanks to generosity from the company's head of special projects, Shakil Khan, whom I interviewed at LeWeb 2009, we're already living the digital dream. It works, and the combination of the two offerings is amazing. It's no wonder I'm not buying music from iTunes at all.