There is this so much hype surrounding Wolfram Alpha like every new product shares prior to its release, but W|A has already created much more for being touted as Google Killer. And everyone around is busy visualizing trying to fit the tool as per own needs, but still on initial sneak peek of this search tool, there are couple of points worth pondering.
Is Wolfram Alpha going to relinquish online brand presence and marketing concept considering the way it presents search result
If I search for say keyword “best shoes” than of course it is going to return me shoe results from different brands like Nike, Reebok, Puma, Bata, Action (my local vendor ?) in list form. But then where does the classical online brand marketing comes in picture here, since the way web and search has taken shape is people follow links they visit the brand websites browse across different sections, in process websites are able to showcase there new offerings and products. While even customer is able to explore and ultimately end up buying s
So in that manner is W|A a luxury search in making, like I am only interested in what is presented and I don’t wanna waste my time going around exploring.
Alright lets talk on W|A strength; scientific or demographic data.
How is Wolfram Alpha going to collate scientific data for regions with minimal digitization.
Thanks anikarenina
Like if I search for “Weather of Village xxx In India” or “Population density for xxxx in Myanmar”, then yes surely its going to take help of some third party vendor APIs and it does to give back results, but real question is will it be able to fetch data across all such regions across world where data digitization is not strong. Other way is over a period of time W|A is able to find probable business partners who are ready to get the work done of data collation and distribution, meanwhile we need to use Google or Yahoo for the needs and come back again later when they are ready.
If wolfram Alpha is going to give me the data that Google anyway provides but only in a structured and meaningful manner, then what’s the differentiation. Its like Google engine at back-end and front-end as Wolfram Alpha.
I understand there are going to be many if & but flying around surrounding Wolfram Alpha, with ultimately everything boiling down on D-day – when Wolfram Alpha will be released later this month in May.,
At this moment, we can only hope for is Wolfram Alpha to be a big new technological invention for the decade, generating value and fostering innovation around web like Google is successfully doing for years.
A sneak peek in Wolfram Alpha in making, from man himself – Stephen Wolfram
Stephen Wolfram discusses Wolfram|Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine
A 1 hour 45 min video where Stephen Wolfram discusses the crux behind the idea and engine
Wolfram Alpha sneak preview
A shorter version 10 min hands-on the Wolfram Alpha