This image made internet headlines in 2004 when it won a photoshop contest on Fark.com. The theme of the contest was ‘Google in 15 years or more. He predicted (somewhat conservatively that this was Google in 20 Years (2024 for the mathematically challenged). So the question is how far has Google and underlying technology come in 8 short years?, how close are we from Google being able to answer such fundamental queries of life that we face every day?
So lets look at the components of the image.
myhouse.google.com : already here in the form of Google Aps, hundreds of thousands of individuals, businesses and non-profits are already using the ‘My-Google-Services’ as their solution for mail, collaboration and engagement.
Image Search : Google Search is integrated with the ever more powerful Images and the maturing Google Goggles is every more able to identify tangible objects from a flat image. Google can recognize ‘my keys’ able to distinguish from ‘someone-elses-keys’
Natural Search : Using everyday language has always been a mainstay of the power of Google, identifying and removing obscenities from search string is bread and butter. Even better to add an obscenity as a tag can serve to help Google identify the natural meaning intended.
Location : Items, images, people have already come together under Google Places, the ultimate location tagging system that drives engagement and navigation through the Google plateau of services.
Okay, so a crude review of components and I’m quite satisfied that the technology is in place to deliver the accurate results (including an image) when you search ‘my F***ing keys’ the question is do we have a solution (or how far away are we) to combine these systems to deliver such a profound result?
And this is where are, it can be done, but currently isn’t. Individual can simply photograph their life, tag everything and piece it all together but this is obviously not a viable solution. So a mashup opportunity is out there. I look forward to seeing the final piece, and I don’t expect it to take a further 12 years!
