A couple of days ago we posted screen shots of a new search interface being bucket tested by Google that lets users vote up or down on search results. The resulting interface was very Digg-like, and included a total vote count, etc.
Today Adrian Pike, the CTO of startup Tatango, noticed that the interface changed yet again and now includes user comments. Like Digg, each comment has an up or down vote feature as well, and Google is using thumbs up and down icons that are exactly the same as those on Digg. The comments show the username of the person leaving it, and clicking on it shows their Google account profile.
Also, Google shows the total number of votes both up and down on each result. If you hit the X down vote button, the result is immediately pulled off the screen.
He sent in the screen shot above as well as two videos. We’re working on the videos and will post them shortly.
Update: First Video, where Pike’s access to the new search features was temporarily disabled. The new interface subsequently came back up, we are still uploading that video:
Update 2: The second video is here.
beginning of the end of google
i doubt it
It wouldn’t make sense for them to use that. It would be gamed so easily.
Well Scour (the social search engine that launched 2 days back) already did this. They have the voting (up or down) and they have a comment system that lets you report or vote up certain comments over others.
I think they’re all borrowing heavily from Digg, it’s a system that works.
The condition of being unsettled or unresolved
What makes you say that?
I give two thumbs down to this idea. It makes my stomach turn to think of Google’s results looking like this
I totally disagree. I think this was needed. This adds more fidelity to the relevance of results when you search for a particular term. And I am pretty sure that Google has the resources and technique to get the real signal out of all the spam noise that will be created out of this.
It’s basically a human saying whether the result that showed is relevant to the keyword he/she searched for or not. This should help filter some of the crap out.
They are not the first to do this: http://www.koolseek.com
All of you Microsoft haters are gonna start changing your tune
THis is the end
This is the end of Google as a Web 1.0 search service, and first baby steps as a Web 2.0 search service where Google may fail. Big players are already there like FaceBook, Digg. They provide content-oriented (not just page-oriented) search results. For example check out one content-oriented Web 2.0 search service for digital content and 3D models: 3DSN.com.
Sample seach for, say, Apple iPhone:
http://3dsn.com...amp;category=13
Search results are based on content, not on number of keywords found on page and repeated over and over to make page rank look higher.
I’d like to say, Im the first to make a comment here ! sb:)
Google is always playing off of their major hits ideas. One site pops up first on their search with a good idea so they use it. Not that its a bad thing… I mean is that bad if Google offers so many different great capabilities…NO… at least not for me.
http://1337shad...ir.blogspot.com
I think it’s dumb for you to say they’re becoming like Digg. That voting system was used long before digg was around, and a tonne of websites do it now. Peronsally, I’ll never use that UI, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing to implement for a lot people that aren’t too good with picking the right search terms for what they want.
He is not saying that Digg came up with it first. He is saying its dig like. He is like describing something blue and saying. Its blue like the sky. Was the sky the first thing that was blue? I don’t know. He is using Digg as a land mark. But then again. I might be wrong and your comment still valid.
Holy smokes, that’s really cool
Golly gee whiz! I think it’s neato keen.
We need a good word to describe the technology that underlies digg. “Social media site” just doesn’t have oomph, and so people are left with comparing all social filtering technology to digg. Digg is a trademark, a company, a website and a technology so the comparisons get very confusing or downright misleading, like the headlines of this series of articles.
My proposal – call the technology “social shovels” or shovels for short. Give digg credit for being first to develop it by allusion.
Digg is special because the entire community comes together to bookmark. Google’s version will space it out enough so that the community aspect is null.
“Well if its working great why not to copy it” Google
“Business is always about competition” Big Brother
Well Micheal, they need to set a standard for peopel to understand, we are the first generation to grsp the etiquettes of UI. You can’t keep changing icons , we wouldn’t know what they mean.
Wow, didn’t know Digg invented ajax threaded commenting.
speaking of which, when did techcrunch get threaded replies?
Looks like just a few minutes ago… Cool!
yeah, we literally just integrated it now.
Very nice.
Is it possible to follow your comments Michael ? Is there a rss feed or something to follow the comments of the Techcunch bloggers ?
Thanks !
“Tech crunch looks more digg like every day”
Are you kidding me? Google, what are you drinking. Google is not social. There’s a reason. It’s supposed to be UNbiased. Voting adds bias via democracy. Whatever happened to the robot touch? ACK!
Why can’t Google be short of social site. I don’t think this is an attempt for Google to get into the being social. I think they are trying to improve searches. What is better then having a human feed back on a search?
go back to non threaded replies
this suck
threaded comments. woot
see
http://www.tech...ture-of-search/
it’s an incredible video
I guess “Don’t Be Evil” doesn’t include ganking others UI ideas.
Hmm. I really want to test this out for my self. Does anyone know how?
this threaded comment was techcrunch made or who made it?
Isn’t it inaccurate to give digg credit for a voting system that is more similar to reddit’s? In fact, the commenting system that you praise as being so ‘digg-like’ was in fact a reproduction (intentional or not) of reddit’s.
It came months after reddit’s (http://blog.red...2/comments.html) superior implementation. Despite the reddit founders not knowing of digg in the month they developed reddit, we can safely say digg can’t claim such ignorance. Not that they’ve ever mislead anyone — just folks like you who keep parroting the untruths.
pls restore the old comment UI for techcrunch..i dont seem to like comments in bold.also pls color michael arrington comments in blue
If they do it that way, I think some people will be turned off by it. Just more crap to read when looking for results.
Its great that google is constant improving its standard even the voting system so far is very good because the most spammer will get down by this voting system. I like this and bookmarking your page here http://lindsayh...tumbleupon.com/
As soon as the people start to decide what’s good, Google search results will turn into a liberal piece of bullshit tripe exactly the calibre of Digg and Wikipedia. Tens of millions of people will move to a search engine that isn’t skewed by the convenient idiots of the world.
i wonder why they would do something like this?
interesting
Jay Stevens
http://www.best...mondaysales.com
give me box unthreaded comments.
also, i just want to search for stuff. goog, please don’t be stupid and succumb to web 2.0 stupidity in your search results.
give me back unthreaded comments, i meant. can we opt out of this?
Google is good for what it’s known for..Search.
http://blabtech.blogspot.com
One of the differences with Digg is that the voting often takes place once you reach the full site that you clicked, thanks to the Digg widgets that webmasters place on pages.
With the Google interface, will everyone vote up and down based purely on the Page Title, URL and description, or will we come back to Google, search again, and then comment on a site that we like?
If this Google feature takes off, I wonder whether they will have voting widgets to add to our sites, although that would take it out of the context of the search query (unless that is carried through from the referrer).
Interesting times.
PPPLLEEEAASSSEEEEE add this google, I would love to be able to get ranked for thumbs ups and comments. Thanx for opening the door for black hatters even more!
Yep, as the poster above said, this will open the door to black hat big time, teams in India poping up and voting on a site from Diff IPs and Proxies.
Also leads to a lot of spam i would have thought, lets see what happens
What a bad idea! Who says internet users are objective!?
Google needs to stick to what it does best and leave Digg to do what it does best…
Finaly i can visit sites people find good, i will save my time!
Dude, is he for real or what? Fascinating indeed.
JT
http://www.FireMe.To/udi
This is Google jumping the shark. A very historic moment.
Wow, that guy presses down way too hard on his mouse. He must go through several every week.
This is the start of a new kind of search. In a way it is good because it is the user who has to decide if the result is relevant or not. Also, I believe Google is going to incorporate web semantics in the future which will give a whole new meaning to search.
I am not worried about Black Hats or people trying to manipulate the results because Google is not that dumb. I am sure they have figured out a way to for that.
The interface is a lot like Scour’s – a search engine I use exclusively for work as it pays you for searches (I do literally hundreds of searches every day for my business), as it has comments as well as up or down vote capabilities.
look like the beginning of the end of digg.
Wow! I just noticed it myself in my SERPS. I’m liking it alot. But have noticed very little comments on the listings. Wonder how many people this is being tested on?
this idea sucks. it can still be manipulated by webmasters.
I think this is a GREAT idea! Search algorithms can never beat the power of communities comprised of human beings!
Can’t wait to see this feature on my google!
Why is anyone surprised at this? The Page Rank algo was designed to measure user intent. This is just another step down the same path. Google has always been a social search engine. That’s why they are who they are. They were social before anyone was even describing social media.
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It’s not a new concept, but I sincerely hope that they can come around a better UI instead of fudging up the clean cut interface we’re all used to.
I just wonder what stops people to hire 50 guys in India that just give your site thumbs up and leaving smart comments. Then you have a lot of proxies so they can vote several times on same site. It feels like this system is very easy to manipulate.
Looking at archives like this one makes you realize how good the source is. Good job guys!
digg is dead. its nothin but sp@mm
Digg has really gone a long way and I’m sure it will only get better. Yeah, it’s being used a lot for spam, but I’m sure the founds will know what to do. If it was hurting them, they’d have shut it down, but I doubt it is.