Google Squared launched a few weeks ago , in a bid to collate, aggregate and structure the web’s data. If you run a search of any kind you’ll see it presents data in a tabulated format that resembles a spreadsheet.
It’s been touted as a Wolfram|Alpha killer. Personally, I’m not sure I see that as a relevant statement, for two reasons: 1) I’m not sure Wolfram|Alpha can be killed if it’s not actually alive and kicking yet… and 2) if we were to compare the output and the way the data is structured then Wolfram|Alpha wins hands-down.
However, one thing to note is that almost all the results I got returned were presenting, sites, links and information directly from the source. Take a look at the results for a hotel search ‘hotels in Sydney‘ or one for ‘flights‘ every result is for a hotel or airline themselves… no Expedia, no Kayak, no Opodo, no Orbitz, no Booking.com.
No mediators or content aggregators… except in the Amenities or Cuisine columns…
So… while I don’t think this type of Search will pick up much market share in the public domain, if it DID… does this mean that power will be back in the hands of the product owners and service providers? Does this tabulating of data shift content aggregation from mediators and syndicators to Google, and with it spell the inevitable end for the traditional web middle man?
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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