Here’s something interesting, a new study from the University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future has found that a growing number of people no longer believe that search results are reliable and accurate. The survey found that only 51% of people trust information provided by search engines, down from 62% in 2006. Google, as the most popular search engine in the United States, isn’t trusted by nearly half (49%) of the people who use it.
That indicates to me that there is room for competition and brands that have a better value proposition. For instance the problem with Google and other search engines are that massive algorithms run in the background in an attempt to make search results more relevant – completely eliminating the human element. Once thing that I find quite nice about eBay or StumbleUpon is that they are largely based upon the suggestions of other users. I trust in my fellow browsers opinions to help me decide what is relevant to me.
What might be nice is a predictive search engine based on other user’s search patterns. The more I search, the more valuable the search engine becomes to me. This creates value in the brand and in the service as it pertains me.
The ultimate question becomes can I have a relationship with a screen? And if I answer is yes, what would that relationship be?
