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1-800-Google Launches
The Webguy wrote to mention a C|Net article talking about Google's newest toy - Local Voice Search. The service is dirt simple: you call a 1-800 number and, via voice recognition software, say the category of business you're trying to reach. You can also try for a specific name, though the C|Net blogger had some problems with that. The Google Blog has been updated with details as well: "Google Voice Local Search lets you search for local businesses from any phone and for free. If you're in the US, call 1-800-GOOG-411 and say what you want to find. Here are some of the features -You can find a business listing by category. Just say "pizza," for example. You can send the listing details to your mobile phone via SMS. The service is fully automated, so it doesn't rely on human operators. It connects you directly to the business, free of charge."
It's impressive to think the resources it would take to run this service. I wonder what software they use to do the voice recognition.
x86, oh yes, I'm pro.
Why? Doesn't Google do enough? Is anybody but me reminded of the dot-com boom? Big companies doing too much at once, gaining money/people at an alarming rate, and then inevitably crashing and burning. With every "BETA" they release I get more and more afraid one day I'll go to open my GMail and get a "Google has gone into Chapter 11" message or some such.
Sex. Drugs, and Unix.
Well, one idea is that they could sell what company shows up first in your area when you ask for "Pizza." That ought to be worth a lot.
sure. you pay to have your business listed preferentially.
If no business is preferential or there is a "tie" then the user gets a short voice advert "while we find your numbers" and gets connected.
On a related note I got bored/frustrated with Delta airlines automated attendant some time ago and had lots of fun. Got into a sorta dialogue with the blasted thing then managed to end up in some sort of maintenance mode. Couldn't change any settings (required password, lord knows I tried) but I could monitor status.
-nB
whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
Does this sign you up for phone spam?
To me, it sounds like they are planning a slow takeover of VoIP by offering tidbits of functionality here and there, to regroup them all in the future as a mega-package...
I think it's been pretty clearly established by now that Google is not very concerned about the short term money-making prospects of most of the products that it launches. In the long term, ads can be added to anything, and there is probably even some less-tangible value to running a free service that people like and use. Besides, this was probably a 20% project that a handful of people got together and created in their free time--there's little to lose even if it turns out to be a catastrophic failure.
There are so many threads lately where everybody whines about software companies that can't see anything other than the bottom line, even if it means getting sub-par workers to do a sub-par job. This is the other end of the spectrum, which is presumably what we'd all like to see more of. Why should you insist on questioning or worrying about what the short-term bottom line is? Given their earnings history, I'm plenty confident that Google is worrying about the money in the places it actually matters.
Not releasing products & changing the world.
Google also recognized the term "brewpub", and located my favorite one, too! :-)
Sadly, they didn't understand my search for, "beer and hookers." But my search for "prostitites" in Scottsdale resulted in a response of, "We didn't find any exact matches, but here are a couple that come close ..." I got a kick out of the fourth listing they provided, which was for the Alliance Defense Fund,. . . (no joke ;-)
An an unrelated note, if all of use call this number tonight, do you think it might be a first to "slashdot" a telephone? ;-) If we can slashdot Google's number, we should have CowboyNeal post a Telemarketer of the Week's number on slashdot ... try to bring down some truly useless and evil people,... :-)
Anyone else think the voice is creepy? It's more realistic than other automated voice systems, but still doesn't sound human. Maybe they hit the uncanny valley.
The voice was a guy though; perhaps that's what I think is wrong. All the other automated voices I've heard (local transit system, 1-800-free-411, etc; have all used female voices. Perhaps the softness of a female voice helps gloss over the realism flaws in the voice?