Google Maps: Turn Left At The Light And Kayak 3,879 Miles
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on July 14, 2009 by admin in Technology
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009We knew we’d have to get in a kayak at least ONCE if we drove from Detroit to Sydney, but this is RIDICULOUS.
Google has some serious quirks. We’ve written about the bizarre results of Google’s autocomplete function, and we were surprised to find that there really is a WTF, California. But when we decided to drive from Detroit, Michigan to Sydney, Australia, we were rather surprised to find some serious flaws in Google’s driving direction data. It wasn’t so much that Google was telling us to drive across the northern United States (see image at left), which – when factoring for the curvature of the Earth – probably added at least a thousand miles to the drive. And it wasn’t even when they said we’d have to kayak through the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the Pacific Ocean. What really took the cake was when Google suggested we had to kayak first 2,756 miles to Hawaii: Read the rest of this entry »
Google Autocomplete: Sex, Infidelity, Body Parts
[ 4 Comments ]Posted on June 4, 2009 by admin in Technology
Thursday, June 4th, 2009Google helps us ask the important questions, like…why do men have nipples?
Google’s autocomplete function can provide some interesting insights into human thought and interpersonal relations. Below are just a few examples. Have any odd ones of your own to share? I had no idea that the most pressing “Why Do” question in the world was “Why do men have nipples”. And likewise, I’m surprised that neither gender seems to know if the other likes pubic hair. I’m even more surprised that this the number one suggestion for both. I’ve also always thought kissing was a nice simple thing. But no, it’s rife with suspicions of adultery and safety concerns. And c’mon guys. Why so much harsher than the women?
Don’t Be A Googlewanker
[ Comments Off ]Posted on December 15, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Monday, December 15th, 2008The Internet. I’ve Seen It.
Although Google recently released their 2008 Year-End Google Zeitgeist, I’d like to point out a significant oversight in their methodology: If they were to treat every individual searcher’s name as a single search term, I’m pretty sure the number one search would be a form of Googlewanking. And for the record, if you’re prone to this behavior and find you’ve left an embarrassing trail on line, you might want to try a Googlewashing service. In any case, I think it says something about America that the top searches haven’t changed much since the . People still pretty much search for celebrities, games, and cataclysmic events. Personally, since I have to do a lot of research for clients, I think I’ve actually viewed all the pages in Google (as I joked with a friend the other day: “The Internet? I’ve seen it.”), so I’m always looking for new tools. One of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while is Idée Labs’ tools like Multicolr Search. Click colors and it finds photos that contain them. Or TinEye. Give it an image and it will tell you where the image appears on the web. And for you Googlewankers who haven’t seen the entire Internet yet, maybe you should talk to Ms Dewey, if you haven’t met her before. And since she takes so long to get loaded, here’s your Monday time-waster: MindCards. Annoyingly simple, yet annoyingly hard to score well on.