阿米特·辛格回看10年谷歌搜索技术发展
十年前，谷歌以每股85美金上市，并在第一天交易日就售出2200多万股的股票，价值272亿美元。
今天，谷歌市值已经超过当时的15倍，达到约3970亿美金，这主要归功于其蒸蒸日上的搜索广告业务。根据NetMarketShare的数据，谷歌控制了大约68%的全球桌面搜索市场和大约91%的移动搜索市场。
艾米特·辛格在14年前加入谷歌，现任高级副总裁，负责谷歌最核心的搜索排名团队。在谷歌+的一篇文章中，他分享了过去十年谷歌10个最重要的搜索技术。
1、自动完成文本框
自动完成搜索查询的文本框存储了几十亿个关键词，但谷歌却为此花费了诉讼费：本月初，香港法院批准当地的一名商人杨受成以诽谤罪起诉谷歌，因为他的名字被谷歌的自动完成功能关联到一个叫做“三元组”的犯罪集团。
2、翻译
辛格提到谷歌每天处理80种语言的几千亿条翻译。翻译的质量并不很好但作为探索语言的基本方法还是非常好用的，当然它会变得越来越好。
3. 方向和交通
通常搜索只是用于对网页的搜索，但是我们非常出色的地图团队却做到了对真实世界的搜索，辛格说。但做到这一点非常的不容易，谷歌面临了很多阻碍：公众的抵制、安全顾虑、监管的怀疑以及无线信号数据收集的丑闻。如果有一张地图能够给谷歌指引一条明路，让它既能发布好的产品又不会与用户产生隔阂，那该有多好。
4. 通用搜索
在谷歌实施通用搜索之前，它维护了多个不同的“纵向”搜索引擎，例如视频搜索，书籍搜索。通用搜索将这些链接汇集在一起使其能够从网页搜索对话框中同样能被搜到。这是一项非常大的进步，因为这项技术能够击败很多特定于某些领域的搜索公司，比如旅游或本地搜索。通用搜索把每一个特定搜索引擎变成一个功能添加到原功能表里，只要谷歌收购一两家公司即可。
5. 移动和新屏幕
搜索过去只是桌面产品，但是它现在也已经移动化。然而桌面搜索基础上还要加入一些新的可选择的搜索模式，谷歌已经开始做这方面的工作，如声音搜索。
6. 声音搜索
人们都不愿在移动设备上敲字，但幸运的是对于谷歌和他的用户，讲话识别和自然语言理解已经做得越来越好。
7． 行动
谷歌的搜索应用能够完成一些任务，这些任务大多用在安卓设备上。比如，现在通过谷歌助手，当你进入到每一个特定的位置，你能够得到提醒。
8. 知识图谱
为了帮助谷歌搜索在文档里寻找关键词并理解问题，谷歌能够构建知识图谱。但如Picasso所报道，计算机是没有用的，他们只能给你答案。 (IMB的沃森能够以问题的形式构建答案。)
9. 为你而定制的信息
关于谷歌搜索，如果你允许，能够访问你的Gmail邮箱，能够提供关于航班预定或行李发送的答复。这是平衡隐私和方便性的典型例子。历史为鉴，切勿触碰隐私。
10. 在你必须问之前回答
通过谷歌Now和谷歌搜索，你能够获得相关信息的最新状态，比如交通堵塞，即将到时的预约，这些都不需要问即可获得回答。最终的做法是，不用想就能完成购买。
辛格最后总结说，我们在10年中走了很长的路，不仅是在谷歌，还包括其他一些通用或特定的搜索应用，这些都远远好过那些多年以前的10个蓝色链接。
Google’sPublic Decade: 10 Search Innovations
Google’s Amit Singhal looks back at10 years of search improvements.
Ten years ago, Google went public,offering its shares for $85. The company sold more than 22 million shares onits first day of trading, leaving it valued at $27.2 billion.
Today, Google is worth almost 15times as much, about $397 billion, thanks to its thriving search advertisingbusiness. Google controls about 68% of the global desktop search market andabout 91% of the mobile search market, according to NetMarketShare.
Amit Singhal joined Google 14 yearsago and is now senior vice president at the company in charge of its coresearch ranking group. In a post on Google+, he shareswhat he considers to be the 10 most significant search developments over thepast 10 years.
1. Autocomplete
Autocompletion of search queries has saved billions of keystrokes. But it couldcost Google in legal fees: Earlier this month, a Hong Kong court allowed Albert Yeung Sau-shing, a local businessman, to sue Googlefor defamation because autocomplete suggests his name is associated withorganized crime groups called “triads.”
2. Translations
Singhal notes that Google handles billions of translations a day in 80languages. It’s not perfect but it’s very good as a basic way to explorelanguages that would otherwise be baffling. And you know it will get better.
3. Directions and traffic
“Search used to be just about webpages, but our amazing Maps team made itpossible to search the real world too,” says Singhal. Getting to thispoint, however, wasn’t easy. Google ran into its share of roadblocks: publicresistance, security concerns, regulatory skepticism, and a WiFi data gatheringscandal. If only Google had a map that could show it the way to launch aproduct without alienating people.
4. Universal search
Before Google implemented universal search, it maintained a variety of distinct"vertical” search engines, such as Video Search and Book Search.Universal search brought those links together so they could be searched fromthe Web Search box. It was a major improvement and a blow to specialty searchcompanies that focused on a particular industry, such as travel and localsearch. Universal search demoted every specialty search engine to a feature itcould add at any time, perhaps with an acquisition or two.
5. Mobile and new screens
Search used to be desktop product. Now it’s mobile, too. But search beyond thedesktop requires alternative modes of input. Google is already on that, withVoice Search.
6. Voice search
No one likes typing on mobile devices. Luckily for Google and for its users,its speech recognition and natural language comprehension keeps getting better.
7. Actions
Google’s Search app can perform a limited number of actions, mostly usingAndroid devices. You can tell it, for example, to remind you ofsomething when you’re in a particular location, with the assistance of GoogleNow.
8. The Knowledge Graph
To help Google Search move beyond finding keywords in documents tounderstanding questions, Google built (and acquired) the Knowledge Graph. Butas Picasso reportedly said, “Computers are useless. They can only give youanswers.” (Then again, IBM’s Watson can phrase answers in the form of aquestion, Jeopardy-style.)
9. Info just for you
Google Search, if you let it, can access your Gmail, to provide answers aboutflight reservations or package deliveries. It’s a perfect example of thetradeoff between privacy and convenience. If history is any guide, never bet onprivacy.
10. Answers before you have to ask
With Google Now and Google Search, you can get updates about relevantinformation, such as traffic jams or upcoming appointments, without evenasking. The endgame: Make purchases without even thinking.
“We’ve come a long way in 10years—on Google and so many other general and specialized search apps, it’s nowso much better than just the 10 blue links of years past,” Singhalconcludes.
That is, when those blue links ofyears past haven’t been erased under the “rightto be forgotten.”
