Search: Google vs. Twitter
03. Mar, 2009 
12 Comments
Search is the gateway to the web and Google has undoubtedly dominated this arena for quite some time. With a current share of 85% of web searches, Google has become the leader in connecting people to the web.
Google Search
Google search is incredible, no doubt about it, and until recently was the only source I used for searching the web. Google can’t index everything, but does a pretty good job connecting results with queries. Notice I said “pretty good”. For the most part, I can find what I’m looking for – but not always. Let’s say, for instance, I want to see what people are saying about our “economic crisis” in real time. Hmm, can’t do it. Google indexes websites, not conversations. Sure, you could argue that Google indexes Blog comments, forums, and other discussions online… But not in real time.
Twitter Search
Say hello to Twitter, or more specifically Twitter Search. Twitter Search allows you to search for what people are talking about right now.
Example
For example, let’s say I just finished watching the latest episode of 24 (my favorite TV show) and want to see what people are saying about it online.
- Google Option: If I use Google search, I may stumble across a few websites on 24 and might (if I get lucky) find a couple threads with some comments where people are talking about the latest episode. But, it’s a needle in the haystack at best, and most likely buried behind a trail of clicks and dead-ends.
- Twitter Option: And what about Twitter search? It’s easy – I simply enter “24″ in the search field and click search. Not only do I find what people are saying about 24, but it’s in chronological order. So I have no problem finding the most recent conversations.
Conclusion
Google search has it’s advantages, don’t get me wrong…but Twitter search has uncovered a whole new level of search capabilities. Being able to see what people are talking about in real time is incredibly valuable. And, yes…much more valuable then seeing what people are saying about Jack Bauer. :)
Ok, so what? Should I stop using Google and just use Twitter search? No. They both have their purpose, but the fact of the matter remains – the more Twitter becomes mainstream the more valuable it becomes.
Bonus
Ohh, and if you’re a Firefox user (which you should be) take a look at this for integrating Twitter search with Google search. It’s a simple greesemonkey script that plugs into your Firefox browser adding Twitter search results to the Google search results page.
In my opinion that’s like comparing apples to oranges.
You won’t walk into a library to search for opinions about a footballgame, that ended just a few seconds ago.
I agree with the comment above. Any web search requires a critical eye recognizing that you don’t always know how credible your sources are. However, so far my experience with Twitter demonstrates a good portion of the content is considerably less substantive than what Google comes up with–unless it’s a link to something Google would have come up with anyway.
Google is a great search engine when the query is for information, opinionated or not. But the information has to be a lot more generalized than about a particular episode of 24 or a movie. Twiiter search is indeed great at getting you opinions on a particular/specific thing.
So I’d consider the two complimentary rather than competitive search facilities.
@Stakker – You’re absolutely right. Maybe I should have clarified that a bit more. I’m not trying to convey the similarities between Google and Twitter – quite the opposite really. I’m simply analyzing their differences and pointing out the benefits of each. Sorry for the confusion. :/
@Allison – Again, I couldn’t agree more. I think the emphasis here is on the conversation not the website content.
@Ashwin – Yes!
Thanks for the heads up regarding Twitter Search.
Twitter Search still has a long way to go before being anywhere near as useful as Google’s search (not that Google’s search is near perfect either). Twitter Search doesn’t have any means of sorting or valuating its results save for one: recent-ness.
You can get a little better filtering via Advanced Search (I will admit the Attitude Quantity is intriguing), but a) who wants to do that, and b) there’s still no ranking of results.
I’ve only recently started searching through Twitter, and it’s been a good way to find new people to follow, answers to questions & questions to answer.
TwitterSearch sounds good, and as an avid Firefox fan, I’ll definitely be looking into the addon you mentioned. :)
I liked your analogy. Showing how to effectively use Twitter for searches vs Google. I’m new to Twitter and found this helpful. and yes I’m a little slow being I just started tweeting
Twitter would obviously be a better place to search what people are talking about on Twitter. But all you to do is change the question just a little bit and twitter search becomes mostly no help. “What are people saying about 24 on IMDB?”
Most searches on google are not “what are people saying”? Lets try “What’s the price of Tea in China?”
The twitter search gives me one person saying it 2 dollars US for 25 bags. What level of confidence should I put in that one post?
Searching google I found a range of answers including links to places I could buy said tea.
Interesting comparison. I’ve recently found myself using Twitter for searches more lately, although certain search terms tend to yield a lot of spam. Thanks for the info on the Firefox script.
Great Comparison. But Google is the ULTIMATE. :D
I like the twitter search too, it is easy to search the interested topics in twitter but of course I like Google search because it has info about everything.