Google Personalized Search Out of the Labs

Google's personal search is out of the Labs. It's based on your search history, like A9 and others. Details at SEW here. One thing that kind of bugs me is Google's unwillingness to call a spade a spade. From the email announcement I got: Personalized Search also now includes…

Google’s personal search is out of the Labs. It’s based on your search history, like A9 and others.

Details at SEW here.

One thing that kind of bugs me is Google’s unwillingness to call a spade a spade. From the email announcement I got:

Personalized Search also now includes several new features, such as:

• Bookmarks & Searchable Labels: Users can now create bookmarks and add searchable labels and notes to any item in their search history to help organize their information. Since these are created through a Google Account, this information is accessible from any computer by signing in to their account.

Er, isn’t this what we’ve been calling tagging for about two years?

5 thoughts on “Google Personalized Search Out of the Labs”

  1. Google just realizes that no one (meaning regular people who don’t “hang out” on the itnernet like we do) knows WHAT a TAG is.

    BUT…

    they do know what a label is.

    – my mom uses labels to organize her closet, books, etc.
    – my dad uses labels to organize his garage, tools, and files
    – my little brother uses labels to organize his school work.

    I think we are the ones who are not calling a spade a spade. Even my grandparents used labels for these exact same purposes. Why can’t we just call it the same thing that everyone else does?

  2. “Tag” has a Scandanavian origin, first recorded in English as a synonym for “label” in 1835. “Label” in French dates from the 17th century.

    English is the richest of all languages because it can borrow these words which are effectively synonyms yet have subtle differences. Since Google is a force unto itself in current usage, “label” it is. They have used “label” in Gmail filing since its beginning, probably about the same time “tag” became popular among the W2.0 set.

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