Google Licenses Australian Algorithm - What’s in it for Google?
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Allon has been quoted as saying that Orion would improve “the speed and focus of internet searches with is, as we all know, an invaluable service.” That much is obvious, and probably reason enough for Google to latch on. But there are other points to consider here.
Think for a moment just how wonderful a search like this would be when going through books. It’s practically designed for anyone looking for information rather than, say, the website of a particular company. When you add in the fact that it turns up related keywords and topics, you have the makings of a good research paper assistant. Given that Google is working on a project that involves digitizing the content of many volumes of books, you can see how this kind of algorithm would be immensely helpful.
That helps the academic community, but there are also good, commercial reasons for Google to want this technology. If it has the side effect of making people stay longer on Google’s site, rather than clicking off to find their answers, then Google can serve more ads. Remember that well over ninety percent of Google’s revenue comes from advertising.
While MSN and Yahoo! have portals with their own content to help make their sites “sticky,” Google doesn’t have a portal unless you’ve customized the home page (though it certainly has a variety of services, from groups to blogs to email, and more coming out every day). As one analyst wondered, “Could Google be looking to create a mega-site that could provide the answers – and the information – to absolutely anything?”
You probably think that sounds a little grandiose. But remember the search engine’s mission statement: “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Licensing the Orion technology could bring Google one step closer.
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