Google Instant and Feross Aboukhadijeh

In a bid to stay ahead of the competition provided by the likes of Yahoo! and Bing, Google have recently launched a new development of their search engine called Google Instant. When using the old version of Google, the search engine would try to predict what you might be looking for while you were typing and would suggest a list of options. Google Instant takes this concept a step further, by actually showing search results for these suggestions while you are still typing your query.

Google have stated their belief that the new method of searching will shave 2-5 seconds off the time it takes to conduct a typical search. While this may not seem a huge amount of time, it is just another way in which the company is attempting to give their search engine the edge over their rivals’, by making it ever easier and quicker to find what you are looking for. With Google now involved in, amongst many things, the production of mobile software (Android), web-browsers (Chrome) and social networking (Buzz), it is sometimes easy to forget that the company started as, and is based around, a search engine.

In response to the launch of Google Instant, Feross Aboukhadijeh, a 19 year old student at Stanford University in California, bet his friend that he could create a similar search function for the website YouTube in just an hour. He lost the bet, as it took him closer to 3 hours, however his website, YouTube Instant, became an instant hit on the web, receiving 715,000 visitors in its first 6 days.

YouTube Instant works in the same way as Google Instant; when a user begins to type a search query, the page will predict what is being searched for and begin playing a video before the user has even finished typing.

Aboukhadijeh has himself admitted the site may not be as helpful as the Google version, as it may be distracting to have unwanted videos start playing while you are trying to find what you’re looking for. Despite this, the website has proved popular, and while Aboukhadijeh lost his bet, it seems that his new website has hugely boosted his profile within the world of IT.

A news of the website spread around the Internet, YouTube CEO Chad Hurley wrote a message to Aboukhadijeh on Twitter, offering him a job. It is not yet known whether he has accepted this offer, as he is currently in the middle of his studies, as well as already having interned at Facebook during the summer.

Regardless of whether or not he takes the job at YouTube, Feross Aboukhadijeh has demonstrated how quickly one good idea can change somebody’s life, and open up a world of opportunities in an instant.

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Categories: Technology (Articles)

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