The Appification of Search: Dr. Frankenstein Is Back in the Innovation Basement
February 7, 2018
When I need information, I want to define my area of interest. I want to select a database which is likely to contain relevant information. I want to receive results and short summaries. I want to work through the content which conforms to my query. Time consuming and difficult work. But that’s how I roll down the information highway.
I noted a write up from Google called “The Keyword.” The story or marketing piece tells me that when I look for an airline flight, I will be able to book that flight from the search results.
Sounds like a great idea.
As I stated in the opening paragraph, I want to work through results. In the case of looking for a flight, I want to check different departure and return dates, available airports, number of stops, layover times, etc.
Once I locate a particular flight, I check the cost of that flight using different online services.
The reason? I have been flying around for more than a half century, and I have learned how an uninformed decision can set up an overnight in February in the Minneapolis St Paul airport. Believe me that’s not a great place to sleep as the snow falls and the meeting in Fargo becomes essentially impossible.
The write up states:
We’re evolving the way our hotel search works on smartphones to help users explore options and make decisions on their smallest screens. The new hotel search experience includes better price filtering, easier-to-find amenity information and the ability to book right from Google.
Some of the folks looking for flights will find convenience and a small screen ideal for their needs.
Not for me.
I do not trust one stop shops. I do not trust aggregators. I do not trust information assembled when ad dollars may be fluttering like those Minnesota snow flakes. I have learned that Southwest flights and some European carriers data require a visit to the airline’s Web site. Some human travel agents still consolidate tickets for wild and crazy “groups.”
But my principal concern is that online trust is no longer an operating assumption for me. Unless I slog through the data, I lack the information necessary for an informed decision.
Appification of search is one more shift from locating information, processing it, and making an informed decision.
Thank you, Mother Google. But no. I don’t want search results to be an app. I want search results to be one component of data collection and a precursor to analysis. Also, I like a big screen.
Stephen E Arnold, February 7, 2018
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