Hallelujah! A Viewzi Conversion Story.

Photo by Angela Sevin.

Months ago, when I first got an invite to the closed beta program to take Viewzi for a spin, it still had some wrinkles to iron out (and, admittedly, it still does). I remember thinking, “Well, this is gorgeous and all, but Google is way faster.”

And now I work here. Something must have changed my outlook, huh?

I imagine that a lot of people probably have a reaction similar to mine when they first use Viewzi, and that reaction is probably the single greatest hurdle for us (and any alternative search method) to overcome: that, for the majority of people, the benchmarks of a successful search experience are speed and relevance. These are the metrics that The Big Search Engines have focused on heavily, and therefore trained us all to identify as the measure of success. And, in large part, these are qualities that we all appreciate and demand for certain search activities (even us Viewzers!). We’re busy folk, and getting information fast is often the most necessary of requirements.

Google is great. Viewzi does not want to be Google. Or be like Google. Or ‘beat’ Google. One look at the Viewzi search model and it’s clear that it is nothing like a big search engine, and can’t compete with the efficiency and horsepower they harnesses. Viewzi certainly doesn’t give speed and relevance short shrift, but for us search isn’t just about efficiency, algorithms, and page loads measured in milliseconds. Viewzi is about context.

Context is the gem in the Viewzi crown, and the brilliant mind-shift that we are proposing to the world of search. Once I understood this one fundamental principle, my mind began to quickly see where Viewzi could take search. Not only could search results be visually rich and populated by information from hand-picked expert data sources (instead of the entire internet), it could make information discoverable in a way I haven’t seen done before.

Imagine searching for a city name; you might be looking for the weather (or anything, really), but Viewzi could also serve up a Local Events View (still working on that one) in addition to the Weather View, offering a map full of weekend activities in that city. Surprise, surprise; it wasn’t what you were expecting, but darned if it didn’t give you some great options for the weekend.

Imagine searching for “iron man”; the context of this search term could be that you want to see the movie trailer, or read reviews, or—heck—shop all the Iron Man comic books. C’mon—how cool would a Comic Book View be? Get ready to rediscover the joy of comic book collecting! Again, it’s probably not a way to view search results that you would have expected, and certainly not an option you would be offered by a traditional text-based search service.

Not only do Views strive to present information in a more interesting, enjoyable, appropriate and context-sensitive way, they can also open the door to discovery. Discover local events. Rediscover a love of comic books. There are a lot of possibilities here.

There are so many facets to every search that we have a board literally spilling over with View ideas. The more Views that get built, the more context and discoverability searches will have. We’re cranking away!

But the greatest thing about Viewzi is that it’s still just in beta. We are listening to feedback, refining interfaces, tweaking processes and throwing ideas against the wall. Whether it be designing new Views (for even more contextual coverage!), thinking up iPhone-specific Views, planning a Dashboard/desktop widget or extending the capabilities of built-in browser search fields to allow launching your search in your favorite Views from there, we’re always thinking of the next way we can make Viewzi more integral to our collective search habits and needs.

This platform has huge potential. I see it in a far different light than I did a few months ago. My passion is finding ways to bring that “a-ha!” moment of Viewzi clarity closer to the surface—more immediately digestible and understandable to (new) users.

Do you have a conversion story? I hope so!