For years we dreamed of a day where, you said to your computer:
“Computer- tell me everything there is to know about ______________.”
And the computer would then show you all details, movies, pictures, related stories and text regarding that subject. The first thing I think of is the scene in Star Trek II (or many previous Star Trek episodes), where Kirk needs to get up to speed on some data or planet.
I also think of Wall E, where the Captain asks the computer (voiced by Sigourney Weaver)-
Captain: “Define Earth.”
Computer: “Earth, the surface of the World...”
So this type of computer search engine is years away right? Well, no, actually. It’s available right now! If you go to www.qwiki.com right now- it’s right there! This is qwiki.com:
Qwiki at TechCrunch Disrupt from Qwiki on Vimeo.
I thought that this might be a fad, but after playing a few of these videos, it becomes quite addictive. I showed a couple of them to my 5 year old daughter, and, what’s remarkable, is she and I stayed at the computer for an hour putting in new search terms.
She said:
“I want to learn about... the heart.”
“I want to learn about... carbon dioxide.”
“I want to learn about... the blood.”
And this just kept going on for about an hour until, finally I had to put the kid to bed.
This really is a remarkable new way to get information. I showed a class of fourth graders last week, and they bombarded me with search requests about the State of Illinois. Funny, but I’ve never heard kids screaming at me to do a Google search for them.
Anyhow, check out www.qwiki.com . It’s in alpha invite phase, but you should get your invite fairly quickly if not immediately. If not, ask me for an invite on Twitter @drezac, and I’ll send one your way. I have unlimited invites.
This is my Top 1 Search Tool for the unforeseeable future.
