What a cool phrase. In case you haven’t seen it, this NY Times article is really cool. It talks about Google Trends and how it is creating an ability to see into the future by analyzing people’s search terms and assuming each of those represents a person’s intentions. String the intentions together, look for trends, and you can essentially watch the tide shift right beneath you.

This is a very cool concept, even cooler that John Battelle wrote about it way back in 2003. I am still somewhat on the fence about whether or not I completely agree, but it is certainly causing my brain to work. The thing I’m struggling with is that my search habits are based completely on reaction. Usually I’ll see something on the web, or in that wacky “real life” and seek more info. Certainly you are seeing my intention to learn more, but usually I’m prompted by something else to do so.

This did, however, remind me of a REALLY cool site called PubSub that allows you to search the future. “Traditional search stores data and then allows you to find documents within that store of data. PubSub operates by first storing your subscription query, and then watching for new information that matches it.”

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