On 15th birthday, Google introduces new search algorithm ‘Hummingbird’
The Google Doodle page celebrating Google’s 15th birthday.
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Updated: Fri, Sep 27 2013. 10 52 AM IST
San Francisco:
Google Inc.
celebrated its 15th birthday on Thursday with a trip down memory lane,
and an update to the search engine formula which helped spawn the tech
giant.
The company took journalists on a tour of where it all started—Susan Wojcicki’s garage in Menlo Park, California, where Larry Page and Sergey Brin began working on Google in 1998. Wojcicki is currently a Google vice president.
A Google+ page, meanwhile, included a photo album of the original home search page, and collected dozens of birthday wishes.
But Google, which has grown into one of the world’s
biggest companies, was not content to just look at the past. It
announced an upgrade to its main search engine, with new ways to
integrate its use across different devices.
Since 1998, the tech world has changed dramatically and Google said its search engine has been constantly improved.
“The world has changed so much since then: billions of
people have come online, the Web has grown exponentially, and now you
can ask any question on the powerful little device in your pocket,” said
Google Search chief Amit Singhal in a blog post.
“You can explore the world with the Knowledge Graph, ask
questions aloud with voice search, and get info before you even need to
ask with Google Now.”
Singhal said the change includes “a simpler, more unified design on mobile devices.”
“You’ll also notice a new look and feel for Google Search and ads on your phones and tablets,” he added.
“It’s cleaner and simpler, optimized for touch, with
results clustered on cards so you can focus on the answers you’re
looking for.”
Danny Sullivan
of the tech blog Search Engine Land said the upgrade of main search
engine is based on a new algorithm with the code name “Hummingbird”,
which he said is “especially designed to handle complex queries”.
Google unveils major upgrade to search algorithm
Google search expert Amit Singhal outlines his vision
Google has unveiled an upgrade to the way it interprets users' search requests.
The new algorithm, codenamed Hummingbird, is the first major upgrade for three years. It has already been in use for about a month, and affects about 90% of Google searches.
At a presentation on Thursday, the search giant was short on specifics but said Hummingbird is especially useful for longer and more complex queries.
Google stressed that a new algorithm is important as users expect more natural and conversational interactions with a search engine - for example, using their voice to speak requests into mobile phones, smart watches and other wearable technology.
Hummingbird is focused more on ranking information based on a more intelligent understanding of search requests, unlike its predecessor, Caffeine, which was targeted at better indexing of websites.
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“Start Quote
Amit Singhal Senior VP, Google SearchWe just changed Google's engines mid-flight - again”
It is more capable of
understanding concepts and the relationships between them rather than
simply words, which leads to more fluid interactions. In that sense, it
is an extension of Google's "Knowledge Graph" concept introduced last
year aimed at making interactions more human.
In one example, shown at the presentation, a Google executive
showed off a voice search through her mobile phone, asking for pictures
of the Eiffel Tower. After the pictures appeared, she then asked how
tall it was. After Google correctly spoke back the correct answer, she
then asked "show me pictures of the construction" - at which point a
list of images appeared. Big payoffs? However, one search expert cautioned that it was too early to determine Hummingbird's impact. "For me this is more of a coming out party, rather than making me think 'wow', said Danny Sullivan, founder of Search Engine Land.
"If you've been watching this space, you'd have already seen how they've integrated it into the [predictive search app] Google Now and conversational search.
"To know that they've put this technology further into their index may have some big payoffs but we'll just have to see how it plays out," Mr Sullivan said.
The news was announced at an intimate press event at the Silicon Valley garage where founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page worked on the launch of the search engine, which is fifteen years old on Friday.
At the event, the search behemoth also announced an updated search app on Apple's iOS, as well as a more visible presence for voice search on its home page
Ajeet Kumar
PGDM
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