Google Porn Search On Cell Phones
Google gave two computer scientists access to more than a
million of its mobile search records in research aimed at
understanding the unique needs of wireless Web surfers. Judging by
the results, what users really need is a porn portal, as more searches
were for smut than anything else.
Google gave two computer scientists access to more than a
million of its mobile search records in research aimed at
understanding the unique needs of wireless Web surfers. Judging by
the results, what users really need is a porn portal, as more searches
were for smut than anything else.
The research was first reported in the New
Scientist last weekend, but it didn’t go into much
detail. The full paper (PDF,
or Google
cache if you prefer HTML) was published earlier this month and has
some interesting material based on a random sample of searches made through an unspecified U.S. carrier (Sprint or
Cingular) in 2005. Among the highlights:
-
More than 20% of Google searches from cell phones
are for “Adult” content, whereas the comparable figure
for PDAs is less than 5%. The researchers believe this is because
PDAs are used more for business, phones for entertainment.
-
Most users leave the Google site after performing a
search. But porn searchers are noticeably more likely than others to
stick around (and search for more porn).
-
The text input system on cell phones is so bad that
each search takes a whole minute. Most of that time is spent
entering the query term through a numeric keypad.
The scientists compare their figures with a 2002 study published
in IEEE Computer (again, PDF
or Google
cache). Using data from the Excite
search engine, this found that “Adult” queries fell from
17% in 1997 to 8% in 2001.
More recent figures for desktop searches
are hard to find, but Larry Page’s comments in a Time
hagiography last week suggest that not much has changed since
the Excite days. He claimed that only a “single-digit”
percentage of Google users searched for porn. (Google itself doesn’t
publish much data, except for the heavily edited Zeitgeist
lists.)
The proportion of mobile users performing
“Adult” queries could also fall as (and if) the wireless
Web goes from a geek toy to something more mainstream. The
researchers actually mention this in the paper, and I think they’re
right. Pornography often drives technology. The wireless Web is
just the latest example.
Google probably won’t actually launch a mobile porn
portal. It’s already fighting two high-profile lawsuits over
the issue: The White House wants to use the easy availability of porn
on search engines to justify online censorship and mandatory
government tracking of Internet users, while a porn site says
Google's thumbnail
images harm its mobile market.
The business may not be particularly profitable anyway. Google
makes only a few cents per click from porn ads, compared to more than
$10 from real estate brokers in some cities, and $50 (yes, fifty
bucks a click!) from sites selling
cell phone records.
More likely, Google will try to encourage other uses for the
wireless Web. Maps are the real killer apps. They’re already
the most
popular use for home broadband connections, and they have obvious
appeal to people moving around. Google,
Yahoo, and
Microsoft just need to get their
new mapping apps working on mobile devices, though that could take a hardware upgrade.
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