Some Comments on Google Instant

Google Instant is the new UX interfacing the user with Google's search results. The idea is to show users results to queries that they may be trying to make before they make them. Here are my initial thoughts:

• GI relies on you typing informative words early in the query in order to get the most predictive bang for the buck. However, interogative expressions (in SVO languages) tend to have the least informative elements at the front ('what...', 'how...', 'who...', etc.). This suggests that the experience reinforces the GPL (grunting pidgin language) model of web search rather than the natural language model of search (asking naturally formed questions).
• GI is another reinforcement of preferential attachment. I'm not quite sure what I want, maybe if you show me something that is a popular result for the most popular completion of my half formed query I will take it anyway, also adding more popularity to the query and the result. While this may or may not be a good or bad thing, it may drive results to what is satisfactory rather than what is optimal. It would be fascinating to see a comparative analysis of the query logs pre and post GI.
• GI doesn't (yet) work with special operators like 'filetype' or 'site' - a type of query that I regularly do - I'm sure that will be coming in the future as the product matures.
• One of the biggest design challenges of GI is the transition from the home page to the results page. I don't think Google has quite nailed that issue and I find the transition somewhat jarring currenlty.

Google Instant looks like a fascinating experiment, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm currently on the fence about it and leaning slightly to predict that it will go through many iterations before it really takes of.

Comments

[(``-_-´´) -- Fernando]

I'm waiting to see how browsers will actually implement this.
When will Chromium/Chrome 7 put GI in Omnibar, and FF4 in Awesomebar or Search Bar (werent they merging both?!).
I'm one of those ppl that NEVER use google homepage unless to play with a doodle.

Are there so MANY users using google search page instead of browsers native function?