by Mitori Liu
Oct 27, 2022
Story brief:
The global search engine Google has enabled more visualized and immersive introduction to restaurant, neighborhood and city search results, allowing its users to be more immersed while perceiving information.
Story in detailed description:
According to an article on cnbc.com (https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/28/google-search-adds-vibes-immersive-views-for-some-locations.html), the newly-added functions include more history, beaches, culture introduction, and name pronunciation for cities, aerial views for 250 landmarks in the world, and Zoom-in function for some neighborhoods and restaurants. The “immersive views” and “vibes” functions allow users to acquire a basic perception of an area by Zoom-in images and videos, so that they can evaluate if it is the right place for them. The new visualized and immersive functions indicate Google’s efforts in attracting users and preventing them from jumping off to other websites, as human beings usually prefer visuals to simply texts.
Implication:
The Zoom-in functions with holistic views of environments both inside and outside the place would allow users to be better immersed into the area than simple pictures, enabling them to better make their decisions on destination. For further development, designers may consider involving NFTs of landmarks, neighborhoods, and cities to catch more young consumers’ attention, and potentially spark those homebodies and NFT players’ interest of traveling.