On the 7th of December Google began the first phase of offering a real-time search capability, incorporating Twitter feeds into search results. As way of keeping a finger on the pulse of news and comment, it has certainly made many people sit up and pay attention – not least of whom is Tiger Woods.
Real-time Tops Rankings
The Twitter community has latched onto the Tiger Woods story with a vengeance; as of the 10th of December any search for ‘Tiger Woods’ also brings up a scrolling ‘Latest Results’ section along with standard website listings. As well as a significant amount of Twitter feeds, there are a great deal of other new stories and articles being brought up too.
The quality of these ‘news’ sources varies a great deal, ranging from broadsheet website articles to cheeky Twitter jokes aimed squarely at Tiger Woods’ and his recent alleged foray into the world of minor car crashes and bouts of infidelity. While many organisations are taking advantage of the Tiger Woods column inches – it is the relentless Twitter feeds which have capably demonstrated how real-time search can work as regards the hot issues.
Reputation Management
Google has also made deals with both Facebook and Myspace, which should see even more feeds added to the real time mix. For those charged with reputation management, the fact that a single person’s potentially negative opinion broadcast on any of these feeds can trump a long established website – albeit for a short period – means their job has just got much more challenging.
This access to the very latest Twitter feeds could arguably gauge immediate public reaction on a subject better than anything else. These uncensored (relatively) gut reactions can be cruel, funny or enlightening – but because of the immediacy of Twitter, the voices of normal people are brought to the world instantly. There are few newspaper editors propagating any particular view – instead, there are thousands of ordinary people with real opinions, sharing them with each other and the web.
Tiger Woods has found himself at the centre of the very first real-time storm, but there are likely to be many larger stories ahead that will find voice on Twitter, Facebook and others. At the very least, topical jokes will spread around the globe faster than ever before.
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