Rethinking Mobile Search: Could People-Powered Mobile Search Produce Better Results? » mobilegroove

An avalanche mobile content and all the cool stuff we self-publish on blogs and destination well under the radar of most mobile search engines requires a new paradigm that emphasizes human judgement over human algorithms.

Against this backdrop, I have decided to explore the advance of solutions from companies such as Wapple – designed from the ground up to make publishing a no-brainer – and the impact on the mobile Web. (Scott Beaumont, Co-Founder of Mippin, will also make his debut with a guest column next week that walks us through the procedure to mobilize MSG and the bigger reasons why publishers should get involved.)

My take: A lot of content to explore at our finger tips and an increased need for mobile search services that find – and monetize – it. Taptu tops the list – but I see other companies on the horizon that likewise understand the pivotal importance of putting people back in the equation.

I detail this argument in my column for EContent magazine here. One company I’m watching in ChaCha, a mobile search and answers service that launched a year ago this month. (By way of background, ChaCha has developed a “search-with-a-guide” process that lets stumped searchers connect with a live person – in real-time and via an instant message chat for answers in the form of relevant links and results.)

In fact, my associate Peggy Albright and I have spent the last weeks testing ChaCha voice search against the likes of Google and Vlingo and will have the results for you later this month. Keep posted for analysis that may surprise you and a post from Peggy chock-full of our observations and frustrations.

Disclaimer: Taptu has collaborated with MSG on a white paper.

Tags: ChaCha, EContent, Mippin, Mobile Search, Taptu, Vlingo, Wapple, white paper

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 7:24 pm and is filed under Content Discovery, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Research, Mobile Search, Personalization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.