Google real-time: potential PR disaster or opportunity?
Posted by Danny Whatmough on Dec 08, 2009
It’s been coming for ages and yesterday Google finally announced the introduction of real-time search. This will allow you to see ‘real-time’ results from social networks in normal Google search rankings (see the video above for a detailed look and how it will work.
I already think ‘real-time’ will be the big social media trend in 2010, so this move by Google is significant.
However, it also feels slightly rushed; I don’t think the user interface is particularly slick or intuitive (or useful), but the company had to do something to respond to Bing’s efforts and Twitter’s own search platform, and this is the first attempt (though it certainly wont be the last).
But what does (or could) real-time search mean for brands and PRs? Is it an opportunity or a disaster waiting to happen?
The potential opportunity
There is a clear opportunity here for brands that are active on Twitter or other social networks with ‘real-time’ interaction at their core. If you are tweeting about a certain topic, trend or incident, then this will potentially come up in search results, giving the searcher awareness of your account. Obviously for popular searches the amount of noise suggests that it will be almost impossible to be heard. But as the service matures and real-time results are included in less popular searches, the potential of being found becomes far greater, especially if influence becomes a ranking factor (or one option at least).
The potential disaster
But on the other hand, the risks become greater too. Imagine how real-time results in searches could severely escalate crisis management situations. If you think of incidents like the Habitat fiasco, real-time results takes this beyond just a Twitter trending topic into a totally new sphere. This is not a bad thing in itself – it is yet another example of media democratisation – but could potentially be very damaging for brands if not handled correctly.
How to prepare
It’s usually impossible to totally predict what disasters might occur, but in terms of real-time search, making the most of it and staying on top of it when things go wrong, relies on having a presence there in the first place.
By using these social tools to engage with customers and prospects – empowered by real-time search – brands will be able to learn about problems or issues quicker, build strong relationships with users and broaden the reach of social media interactions.
Comment by Clare Siobhan Caller December 8, 2009 @ 4:07 pm
I really enjoyed this post – especially the potential outcomes it could have for PR practitioners. It seems there's so much more to worry about now PR is changing it's role to become more web-based, but also so many more opportunities.
The video itself struck me as a little bizarre for Google as I'm not used to seeing them produce such slick videos. I'm not sure if I prefer this new style or the more 'loveable but dorky' style used for the Google Wave promo video. I agree with you that the real-time search looks a little 'scrappy' at the moment, but I think that's just the way Google does things – start with a very basic interface and then make it amazing later on. I'm sure that Google Wave is taking a similar route.
I look forward to seeing how real-time with shake up search engines and social media!
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Comment by Danny Whatmough December 9, 2009 @ 5:50 am
Thanks for stopping by Clare. I agree with the points you make. It's hard to see how this will all pan out in the future, but I'm certain it's a big move that will really propel Twitter in particular into public consciousness…
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