We've just noticed that Google has introduced a bit of Ajax into its main property Search, by way of integrating Maps on some searches. This feature has been around since December 2006, but the blogosphere's response was surprisingly low. Given it marks the first time Google has used Ajax in its main property, we think this small addition means a lot. The animated picture below shows the feature:
This feature hints that Google may be about to use more AJAX technology in their main property. Google has always tried to keep the Search interface as simple and lightweight as possible, and so has stayed away from using AJAX in Search. But if AJAX can be integrated into search, it probably won't take long for us to see SearchMash innovations - like the infinite scrollbar - being integrated too. Also note Google's recent push for personalization in search results. This all points to Google actively responding to its hundreds of search 2.0 competitors.
Another important consequence is that this is yet another step towards the Semantic Web, as Seth Godin described it as his dream. These are baby steps towards future web applications that communicate and understand each other. Remember our previous coverage of the Gmail - Google Docs integration. And Gmail is well integrated with other products, like Maps and Calendar also.
However, we should note that this new Ajaxified search feature is not fully deployed yet - only a small percentage of returned results come with mapped addresses - but it's a good start.
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Google Search AJAXified.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1957
"La enésima y penúltima novedad de Google. Como muestra la captura, algunas búsquedas generan resultados que incorporan enlaces a mapas. He probado con bastantes cadenas semejantes al ejemplo, sin ningún éxito. De hecho, la única que ha cons... Read More
Here is a summary of the week's Web Tech action on Read/WriteWeb. Top Web News It was a relatively quiet week in Web news. There were various mobile announcements from the 3GSM conference in Spain and some product releases (e.g.... Read More
Comments
Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all Read/WriteWeb posts
Yes, I've noticed it too but nobody on the blogosphere has really blogged about it. I guess when Google does something new today everybody knows anyway as everybody Google's so why bother writing about it.
Posted by: Ali | February 10, 2007 4:04 PMIs it really Ajax or simply DHTML? I didn't dig into the source but it feels a lot like simple DHTML to me.
Posted by: RBA | February 10, 2007 4:16 PMthat's ajax! firebug says so! but no xml!
[Editor's Note: Sorry Jake, but I had to remove the code you pasted - it was mucking up the formatting here.]
Posted by: Jake Wolpert | February 10, 2007 4:32 PMYes this is AJAX, see the source codes, it's under the ManyBoxes object.
Posted by: Emre Sokullu | February 10, 2007 6:34 PMI can't help but wonder what innovative ideas they'll slap into search by using AJAX concepts.
Posted by: Devon Young | February 10, 2007 7:08 PM@Devon; SearchMash...
Posted by: Emre Sokullu | February 10, 2007 7:27 PMA bit OT: What does the "Note this" under each search result mean? I haven't seen it before.
Posted by: Retal | February 11, 2007 3:59 AM@Retal: Google Notebook - you need to be signed up to it and logged in to your Google account to see it.
Posted by: Emre Sokullu | February 11, 2007 5:33 AMI use Google Notebook quite a lot, besides Google Search, Homepage and Blogger, Notebook is the Google Tool I use the most. Its very nicely integrated into the browser framework.
Posted by: Leith @ Birth of a Startup | February 11, 2007 11:43 PMThis is a nice feature from google, does anyone know if there is a small trick how to make it work for websites? eg I have a client that would like this for his website, but I have not found any reference as how this can be activated or make it work? any help or tips would be appreciated...
Posted by: Matthew | February 23, 2007 12:23 AMhii nice info but can any body tell how it will help in seo
Posted by: Alexis | March 1, 2007 1:40 AMgoogle's hidden private project
Posted by: Anu | March 8, 2007 8:57 AMsee http://devshots.com