Once again, a good piece from Stefanie Olsen, this time on audio and search. Recall how I am always on about how search will become the interface to media? From her piece today on NPR’s decision to optimize their sound files for search engines:
The stakes are enormous, not just for the search engines, but for content owners hoping to harness the Internet, stand out in the online information glut and attract new audiences. The winning search companies could become the gatekeepers in a new era of media increasingly defined by consumers’ ability to seek out programming on their own terms and consume when and how they want.
Featured companies include SingingFish and StreamSage.
Stefanie’s presumption is correct. Cataloging and indexing multimedia content is the only way to create a full 360 web that will get us to the next phase of the web.
When we are able to index and search the full web, we can get a 360 degree view of our information options and perhaps discover new sources. In addition our need to address the accessibility issues of the internet can be helped or solved in ways by multimedia search to say help the sight impaired.