Did you think the launch of Google’s Universal search back in 2007 was revolutionary?

Well it looks like the introduction of Universal search formed baby steps to Google’s new search feature called Search options.

Google’s search options adds an extra layer of dynamic filters to the search engine result page (SERPs) – with a single click a search result has extra filters (on the left) that shows your search query results as Video, Forum posts or Review only results. You can also further filter your results by time or choose to display more text on the description area of the SERPs.

I think the most impressive features are the Wonder Wheel, which is a visual SERP that suggests similarly search queries visually, and the Time Line option that displays search results by time with a graph that shows search volume over time.

Here is an example:

• You search for ‘Nikon D90 review’ on Google
• Filter the search to display the mention of ‘Nikon D90 review’ from only forums
• Then further add a filter to display SERPs in the last 24 hours
• Finally arrange the results to display the by time using the Sort by date option

You will get this search result i.e. Nikon D90 reviews on forums only in the last 24 hours with the newest forum post display first.

Google want us to see its new search options feature as:

a tool belt that gives you new ways to interact with Google Search, and we plan to fill it with more innovative and useful features in the future.

It really makes things interesting.

Google Search Has Changed Forever with Google Search Options is a post from: Fuzz One Media

So how can you leverage Twitter to aid your decision making? 

My advice is not only geared towards managers or business owners but the ever growing populace of Twitter Republic. Well… my the simple answer is to ‘Search’.

I would give you a simple example of how I used Twitter to make a decision on choosing a hosting company (a decision I am very happy to have made).

One of my sites on a shared hosting package on 1&1 internet was generating huge amounts of traffic.  I got several emails from the 1&1 tech support team to switch my hosting package to either a 1&1 dedicated hosting package or another hosting package. If I did not take any action, I faced the risk of having my 1&1 hosting account shut down.

In a frenzy, I started to email a couple of my friends and contacts who also have high traffic websites to seek their advice on an ideal hosting company to switch to. The feedback I got was quite mixed – ranging from regrets on their current choice of hosting providers to really over priced options.

I then headed to Google and started to run searches like ‘best web hosting’ & ‘robust web hosting’. I was bombarded with either highly optimised websites/blogs that were more or less sales pitches and Pay Per Click ads that I just didn’t really trust. I nevertheless started to make a shortlist.

I then had a ‘light bulb’ moment – to search on twitter! So I started to search through twitter’s hard to find search facility using terms like ‘web hosting’ , ‘best web hosting’ and then my list of top hosting companies. One hosting company kept popping up – it was Media Temple. I then started to probe tweets about Media Temple and started to get real time feedback on their service from their customers on Twitter. This to me was the key deciding factor to go ahead with them. I then rang their sales team and their pitch tallied with the feedback I got from fellow twitters.

I have also used this technique to find email broadcast providers and to verify real time facts. The beauty of Twitter is that it is largely organic, viral and moves with time.

If you are unsure about a product or service, try Twitter – Search, Research and Reach Out to fellow twitters for advice.

For business owners now is the time to embrace Twitter.

How I use Twitter to make Decisions and Answer Questions is a post from: Fuzz One Media