If you've been to Google's
If so, it wouldn't be too surprising. Earlier this year, Wired's Steven Levy got an inside look at how the Google search team fine-tunes its algorithm for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Reading it, you get the sense that Google understands there's much to be done to make search as universally useful as it could be.
We've also seen this theme play out on the Web. Google has begun personalizing some search results while delivering others in real-time in an effort to combat the effects of Twitter and Facebook. Timeline tools also help to sharpen results, and every click makes the engine smarter.
What does any of this have to do with the colored balls flying around Google's home page today? Potentially nothing. Or they could represent how modules of information connect to each other to create meaning. Google could be saying it's found a way detect patterns in results.
The Big G doesn't do this today, nor do any of its competitors. Pattern recognition has instead been the domain of business intelligence software from SAP
But does it have to be this way? Can't consumers profit as much from patterns as businesses? Certainly Microsoft
Meanwhile, smaller BI software suppliers such as Actuate
Could Google change the game still further? We'll know more with tomorrow's press event, but I wouldn't bet against The Big G.
Now it's your turn to weigh in. Do you think Google will get better at pattern recognition? Let the debate begin in the comments box below.