Apple iPad: The Future at Your Fingertips

Welcome to the new world of internet intimacy and the acceleration of image-based search.

I watched the unveiling of the Apple iPad with some genuine excitement the other day. At the end of the presentation, I can honestly say that I was underwhelmed. The iPad is just a big iPhone…so what?!?

And then I thought…wait a minute…the thing is a big iPhone…that changes everything! (Well, not really, but it does have some interesting implications.)  What has really resonated with me is the concept of intimacy. With Steve Jobs demonstrating the iPad from a cushy looking chair, engaging the internet with his finger, it dawned on me what has just happened. The internet became a much less cerebral place. No longer is your interactivity with content tempered by mouse navigation, the internet reacts to your finger. It is instinctual, organic and perhaps even a little impulsive.

So, what exactly happened when Steve Jobs gave us the finger? Well, he just made the internet more visual. What makes you want to reach out and touch something more? A gorgeous picture, or a line of text? A blue link or a well-crafted image? Me, I think it is all about pictures when it comes to slate based computing (like the iPad). I think that the physical connection between user and screen meets at the image.

What does this mean for search? I believe that we are at the very beginning stages of a shift to a world of hybrid search engagement. Depending on your device, you may get a more visual search interface (iPad, iPhone, Android Phone…anything touch based) or a more text based interface (laptop, desktop, anything keyboard driven).

Google and Bing are all over this stuff. Google is ingratiating images into SERPs and AdWords. Bing has an interface that presents images really nicely. I predict that image based search and interactivity is going to skyrocket this year.

I am thrilled that Steve Jobs just gave me the finger.

Tim Kilroy is Vice President of Natural Search at PM Digital.