The evolution of search.

Ready for a bit of history? James Wright - Head of Insights at Wilderness takes us on a tour of the gradual transfer of search power, from Google to social platforms.

The way we search for information has transformed over the past few decades. From the early days of basic search engines like Yahoo to the dominant force of search that is Google, the internet has continually evolved to meet our search needs.

In recent years a new force has emerged: social media, shifting power from Google and changing how we discover information.

The new era of personalization

As Google improved its algorithm and gathered more data about users, search results became increasingly personalized. Factors such as location, search history and online behavior began to influence content displayed to users. This personalization aimed to provide a more tailored search experience, but also began to raise huge concerns around privacy and data protection.

While Google dominated the search world, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram grew in popularity across the masses. These platforms had a shared focus on connecting people and curating content. As they grew, an evolution into powerful search engines began.

An early example is hashtags on Twitter and Instagram, allowing users to categorize content and discover related posts with ease. Facebook also introduced a new way of finding information within the platform by allowing users to search for posts, photos, and even friends based on specific criteria. Social media search would now provide a more real-time and personalized approach, tapping into the collective knowledge of social networks.

Read the rest of the article on The Drum here.