Google's New Interface, Beyond the Aesthetics

Starting with the fresh look: thumbs up. The new theme is aligned with both Chrome and Wave logos: brighter, cleaner & no longer 3D old school

Moving to the changes on the SERP:


Result Type:
Allow you an easier navigation to the type of results (previously available only on the top of the page), with some new additions: updates, discussions...

Realtime Content

Option to filter by article timing with more realtime results from both twitter and facebook. The below example depicts a scenario of a user looking for updates on the volcanic ashes. New results will appear on-the-fly as they become available

Localisation:
Localization is one of the key areas that Google are focusing on. In addition to giving local relevance depending on the interface you're using (Google.com vs. Google.ae), now you have the option to filter the results to show the ones near you. So here's an example, if you search for Dubai Mall; you'll end up with the official site as a first result:

If you pick the "Nearby" results, the outcome is totally different. You'll end up with all the related local business results

Refined Queries:
Wonder wheel is the name of their product and it helps you refine your search. Here's an example, you're looking for an airline ticket to Lebanon. Enter "Ticket to Lebanon", click search then on wonder wheel. From there, click "Airline tickets to Lebanon" and then "Airlines Fly Beirut": You end up with many options: Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines...

Timeline:
The timeline option gives you both a visualization and a filtering tool to refine your search based on a timeperiod. Here's an example: If you want to read more about "Barack Obama" childhood, start by searching for his name then select "Timeline" from the left pane. The result is a timeline from the 1960 till today, with some snippets of the event that occurred during this period; all you have to do is select the 1960 timeframe and more articles will come up within the selected timeperiod for more specific content

Something Different:
This technology is based on Google Squared, it allows you to find more topics related to your search query. A search for Jimmi Hendrix will result with similar options: Pink Floyd and Janis Joplin! I don't know about you but both are my favorite too, well done Google!

Other features: 
The list goes on to cover searching for sites that contain images related to your search query, previewing the results within the SERP to many others...


To wrap this up, yes the page is a bit cluttered yet it's more options for the users. If you got used to all the Facebook changes you can easily adapt to Google's. It's nice to see all their Labs products translating into usable components. For people who are picky with their search results, the new interface is perfect for them. For those who don't care about accurate relevancy, close your left eye and continue to use the old interface.

Is Google Buzz an Implementation of Wave? A Social Takeover Attempt?

Breaking News: Google started rolling out Google Buzz, as a gradual launch (luckily without the need for invites this time)
Once Google grants you access to Buzz, you will see an additional link to the left of your Gmail Screen (Under Inbox)

For everybody who tried Wave, you'll see a resemblance: from real-time collaboration and communication to embedding all their previous products (formatted text, photos, videos, maps...)
I'm one of many users who played around with Wave after it was launched but eventually lost interest; Rasmussen brothers came up with a great platform, but their Wave came as a standalone; not enough incentive to start using a new mail platform.

Yesterday, Google launched Buzz; a mini-social platform embedded within Gmail: a typical Google easy-to-use  tool where you can effortlessly integrate your multimedia assets, share with your email contacts or even for public; all within your Gmail Interface

For all of the users who were frustrated while using Wave, Buzz is a more Googley approach: same features, more social and within your Gmail interface. It's more user friendly and have a higher potential of becoming mass.

Without breaking anybody's heart, Google is no angel (sorry Googlists), this might be a first step to consolidate our social conversations within their properties. Not that Google SideWiki was a hit, but there's no harm in re-trying, right? Maybe soon we'll updating our facebook/twitter from our Gmail account

Html Anchors within the Natural Search

Google started to pick up Html Anchors within the crawled web pages by displaying a "Jump to" link to take you directly to that section.
An anchor is nothing but a pointer (hyperlink) to a specific section within a page.

An anchor link looks like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantar_Group#Millward_Brown_Group . It's your regular URL with the "#" tag. In this case, it's pointing to the "Millward_Brown_Group" section in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantar_Group page

Here's an example, Google "Millward Brown":

The 4th result is your typical wikipedia!, the main page is Kantar Group; right underneath it, you'll find the "Jump to Millward Brown Group:"
Once you click it, it will take you directly to that section in the Kantar Group page:

Notice the URL, it's an anchor linking directly to the section.

Now, how would that help you? Well, if you own a site with a lot of content, creating anchors will decrease your bounce rate and increase your site's stickiness. It all goes back to providing the relevant content that your user is looking for (with the least effort).

Local trends through Google Suggest

Ever stopped at your Google's Suggest box and took a minute to think what other valuable information it offers? Well, here's something to get you started:

For example, the word "family" shows different interest in the users' behavior in these 3 regions: Google.com, Google.ae and Google.co.in

Google.com

Google.ae

Google.co.in

Google.com depicts an interest in the "family guy" series and the family feud show. If you look at the UAE's outcome, there's an interesting result with around 42MM searches: the family outings. And finally in india, the scene is totally different, the interest is skewed towards family heath.

Same goes for another example i saw online, the word "removing" will show either computer related results or removing stains in Google.com. In the UAE, it showcases two outcomes which validates the local interest  : removing hair and windows piracy/messenger.

So, if you use Google to answer your personal queries then this can be irrelevant to you but if you're looking for insights, keep on digging there's much more than you think.

Google Dictionary

Another service from Google, this time it's a full fledged dictionary: a mixture of the "define:" function and the translator.

If you write "define: artificial intelligence" in the search box, you would end up with this. Comparing it to the new dictionary, you'll find the same web definitions with an added result (Check result here): A new sourceless definition. Googling that same definition will lead to the reverso.net site with results taken from Collins dictionary!

If you want to use the English>Arabic dictionary, you'll end up with the actual translation and the traditional web definitions.

I wouldn't say that this is a replacement for Answers.com but i'm sure Google are up to something. Microsoft's Encarta experience was a failure, let's see what Marissa's team is up to.

Google Caffeine is Live

Google decided that the Caffeine is ready for some real action
It is now being tested on some data centers, so expect some refined and larger implementations
i believe http://209.85.225.103 is one of them; if not blame Google

IAB In-Gaming Ads Measurement Guidelines

With the online gaming attracting more of the advertising investments and with the maturity of the product, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released a final in-game advertisement measurements guidelines document.

The new guideline document covers both static and dynamic in-gaming ads in addition to 3D and mobile environments; it is applicable to both PC and Console games industries.

The guideline details the guidance for the Ad Impressions, reach and frequency.

Ad Impressions: on the duration side, the Ad Impression should last more than 10 sec to be counted and need to be displayed during an active time of playing. On the size level, it needs to be 1.5%+ of the screen size with enough lighting and the angle less than 55 degrees relative to the game screen. In addition to the above, the document covers the sound bit, deferred impressions, session definition and even frequency capping.

Two other measurements were added: the reach and frequency: these metrics are now mandatory for the marketers to better assess their campaigns efficiency.

To read the full document please refer to: http://www.iab.net/media/file/ingame-guidelines-final.pdf

This document will help audit the online gaming industry to further boost its credibility; an industry that is more developed in the US but expected to grow rapidly in this part of the world.