Nokia’s product department should consider Googling itself more often. I don’t mean they should just type “Nokia” in Google and start rifling through the results. Nah. Instead they should type in certain question beginner phrases with their brand name embedded, and let Google do the rest.
You will understand my thinking shortly. It’s a little something I stumbled upon this morning, while I was googling Nokia for some research I’m doing. I found that the actual search results are not nearly as interesting Google’s attempts to complete the sentence, via the Instant autocomplete feature.
Now, you’re probably familiar with Google Instant. But do you know how it works? Google Instant’s autocomplete doesn’t just suggest possible searches — it is actually a reflection of the search activity of all web users and the content of web pages indexed by Google. It shows you the things that other people have searched for, in order of popularity.
Google likes to refer to its algorithmic aggregation of these search trends as “Zeitgeist” — or in English, the spirit of the times. That’s how they are able to tell us what the world searched for every year.
Why is this important? Well, it’s because if we stretched this to its logical conclusion, Google Instant can tell us what the people who use Google (which is pretty much everyone) are interested in. In other words, what the world wants. And in this case, the Google Instant method shows that at the very least, the world is very interested in Nokia phones that run Android.
I started off with Why does Nokia… and the first two searches Google suggests have to do with the questions about why Nokia is not using Android.
Interesting. Then I typed when will Nokia make…
Interesting suggestions here – “make android phones”, “make a comeback”, “make android”, and “make a tablet”.
Make a tablet, seriously? That one slipped under my radar *burn*. Which one of y’all asked for that? Anyways, it does appear that there might be a Nokia tablet on the way. Okay.
By this time, I was having fun and tried out all kinds of other phrases.
Is Nokia…
Looks like Nokia’s aggressive marketing in the dual sim category is paying off here. But what about their insistence on passing off the Asha range as smartphones? I’m not sure everyone is convinced. Hmm, could it be because the Asha range are NOT smartphones? I don’t know, you tell me.
Nokia will…
What this search result lacks in relevance, it makes up for in hilarity. That people get their rocks off watching the Nokia 3310 (a.k.a the Chuck Norris of cellphones) blend is actually a good thing. That phone will live forever. Of course, there’s the Android question in the suggestions again.
Will Nokia…
This suggestion gives Nokia two main choices. Make an Android phone…or go bankrupt.
Can Nokia…
I think it’s safe to conclude that WhatsApp must be Nokia’s patron saint.
Nokia Lumia is…
Ooh. It seems that the people who don’t think Nokia Lumia is a failure think that it might be an Android device. They also want to know if it is any good and are concerned about how much it costs. To be fair, the new Lumias might not have been a breakout hit, but they aren’t failures either.
Why Nokia…
More pontification about failure here. Now boring. And more Android, as well. Oi, Nokia, are you even listening?
Nokia is…
Haters gonna hate. For all of you enemies who think Nokia is dead or doomed, you are so wrong. At least according to Nokia’s Twitter bio, which simply says — “Indestructible. Since 1865”. I wonder, if phones don’t work out, does that mean that the Finish company will simply go back into the paper business?
You’ve got to hand it to Nokia though. Through all the apocalyptic forecasts and doomsaying, they’ve mostly just hung in there, and the recent numbers that have come in show that they’ve clawed their way back into the black. Even if they couldn’t keep their headquarters, it would seem that they’ve at least they’ve kept their sense of humour. Although, I have to say — how Nokia can be laughing at BlackBerry right now truly beats me.
Blackberries make a great snack, but for the world’s best business smartphone try a #Lumia: http://t.co/VW6inAHG pic.twitter.com/rawHWEt4
— Nokia (@nokia) January 30, 2013
So what do you think? Are you one of those people who want to see a Nokia phone running Android? Bear in mind that Google also personalises search based on browsing preferences/history over time, so there’s the slight possibility of skew in my results. But then again, I’m fairly confident that most people’s results will closely mirror mine.
If you do try my above searches and get interesting results, regardless of whether they corroborate or negate this post, please share with us. Here’s an idea — I haven’t tried phrases like “who Nokia”, “where Nokia”, “what Nokia”, “should Nokia” — let’s get creative, people!
