Tech Trends

Let’s face it R&D is expensive. But what if you changed it into a video game? Works well was my conclusion after being a Google Lab rat in Image Labeler . I dedicated my time to helping Google improve its Image search capacity. Why? They made it into a video game and I needed to beat my high score. I only managed to pull 14^th place as Google’s best Image Labeler and I can only imagine what will happen when Scott and Phillip get a shot at it. I put my odds on Scott taking the high score as I’ve seen his face light up at “1984” Springfield’s All you can play for a flat fee Retro Video Arcade.

Problem - though text is easy to identify and put in context through computer programs - images are far more complex. Google to date has poured millions of dollars into imaging technology. Some of the same technology used for high tech terrorism prevention - such as face scanning technology is being used today by search engines to define the meaning of images. Still, putting context to images is an “art” not yet fully mastered.

Tagging is a start, and without a doubt Yahoo is ahead of this game with the acquisition of Flickr. Still, the database of images isn’t contained by aficionados and quite frankly not that interesting until you actually need one. Searching for images can be frustrating and putting better context to image searching could mean more market share in a fierce Search Engine Market.

Now that we know why it’s important let’s get down to what Google is doing about it….

Google Image Labeler is an online application that matches you with another Googler. A timer gives you and a partner a sense of urgency while you try to match a keyword with the image you both are looking at. You get points for each match - your also get a cumulative score and if you’re good enough a prized position at the top of Google Image Labeler.

Frankly, I’m not sure if there was always another human each time at the other end, but I didn’t leave until I hit the charts with a high score. In the end, Google won with better search results by the greatest computer….a human mind.

One thing I noticed is that the same images were coming up after repeated tests. Sometimes they would change keywords we weren’t allowed to match on. Was Google testing me for personalized results or the larger database?
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