Referencing the old joke wherein the great tastes of peanut butter and chocolate collided for the first time, it looks like the world’s premiere search engine (Google) will soon combine with everyone’s favorite microblogging service (Twitter). If that doesn’t sound like sweet, delicious digital candy to you, well, I’m not sure you’re reading the right column.
In a blog post aptly titled “RT @google: Tweets and updates and search, oh my” Google VP of Search Products and User Experience laid out the deal:
We are very excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results. We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you’ll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.
You know what this means for the lesbian community? We’ll be able to google the nearest queer bar and get directions along with a snarky assessment of the crowd, all in one go!
This is progress, people.
In other Twitter-worthy news, my addiction to following every geek/tech blogger on the planet led me to find this little bit of internet joy from Wired‘s UnderWire blog. Behold Klenginem, a guy who dresses up as a klingon (the fierce aliens from Star Trek), goes to conventions, and raps Eminem songs in Klingon! The best part: He actually does a pretty good job emulating the rapper’s tone and delivery, but with the added bonus of doing so in a fictional language.
If Klenginem isn’t quite your style of inane musical act, might I suggest the latest from Improv Anywhere — a musical set in a Queens grocery store.
It’s a beautiful bit of concentrated, harmless lunacy that really must be seen. The site has some excellent reaction footage from bystanders that was cut from the “production” itself, so be sure to check that out as well.
