The future of search is verbs

I like the simplicity of this statement. It’s a catchphrase for the concept that most of the time people aren’t searching for information just for the sake of it, but because they want help in making a decision or carrying out some action.

Here’s the quote in full, as reported by Esther Dyson:
“Bill Gates uttered one of the smartest things he has ever said: “The future of search is verbs.” But he said it at a private dinner and it never spread. To me, the meaning was clear: when people search, they aren’t just looking for nouns or information; they are looking for action. They want to book a flight, reserve a table, buy a product, cure a hangover, take a class, fix a leak, resolve an argument, or occasionally find a person, for which Facebook is very handy. They mostly want to find something in order to do something.”
Via www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/dyson23/English

Image via Flickr CC thanks to Andrew Hefter www.flickr.com/photos/andross/3353830887/

I have borrowed the above little post from Lynette Webb the Google Insights Manager who I have posted about before here and here. For those of you who don’t follow her on Flickr, get on it. She’s got some great pithy one liners from smarty pants peeps and pairs them with poignant pics [not sure why the alliteration but run with me on this one]. Anyway, she’s worth a look in.