One very convenient recent enhancement to the Google Toolbar is the addition of autocomplete to the search box. So, when you start typing "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" you only need to get the first eight letters correct to find what you're looking for:
But beyond reading the minds of poor spellers, what can we learn from the Google Toolbar?
What are people looking for online?
How do i get . . . - a passport
- gmail
- a gmail account
- there
- pregnant
- to
- rid of spyware
- a copy of my birth certificate
- screen name
- a patent
For those looking for gmail accounts, just
drop me an email so I can send you an invite. You're going to have to look elsewhere for passports, birth certificates, patents, and pregnancies.
The web is a wonderful place to find answers for questions you'd feel dumb asking your friends, such as:
What does a . . . - aids stand for
- name mean
- am stand for
- a.d. mean
- ad hoc mean
- aarp stand for
- producer do
- tulip represent
- an accountant do
- social worker do
Google is inconsistent with their consideration of the letter 'a' in the autocomplete. Sometimes they count it as a standalone word, sometimes as the first letter of a word.
I happen to know a social worker, Sue, who's husband, Jason, works at an accounting firm. He doesn't happen to be an accountant, but he think he knows what they do. Here what they say accountants and social workers do:
What a social worker does: "The basic tenant of social work is to support and assist your clients in becoming self-sufficient. In maintaining that self-sufficiency the milieu is extremely important, so assisting them in obtaining a healthy support system can bring about positive change."
What an accountant does: "An accountant prepares statements and represents the financial position of a company. This can include performing journal entries, auditing, tax compliance, and controlling."
I hope that clears things up a bit. You're on your own figuring out what tulips represent.
Who are people looking for online? According to the Google Autocomplete, a few popular searches include:
Who is . . . - mike jones
- who
- god
- the stig
- on the dime
- jesus
- ip
- who is the teacher of the enrichment class in the 1986 tv series head of the class
- who is the voice of ivy in the 2001 movie cats dogs
I can help with the [Who is IP] question. Try [whois IP] instead. I have no idea why the extraordinarily long phrases popped up in the last example.
What has the autocomplete feature taught you?
1. Posted by: Robin Nemeth on January 8, 2009 10:31 AM:
If I understand properly how it's working, google's auto-complete has taught me just how desperately the people who decide what news to cover and what news not to cover, on my television news programs (in between pharmaceutical commercials) are to keep the word 'autism' out of the public's awareness.
When I’ve typed 'Jett T' into a Google web search, the auto-complete's dropdown menu the last few days has almost ALWAYS included the word 'autism'. But listen to the man on your telly when the story is reported. The word ‘autism’ is verboten.
I've noticed a Google news search, on my upstairs computer, gives me a dropdown menu that says 'jett travolta autism media' when I begin typing 'Jett T.'. But down stairs my auto-complete isn't working. How is this set?