Visual sorting with Live Search

Through Live Search, Microsoft’s search engine, you can drag visuals from your search results to a side panel, the so-called ‘clipboard’. This clipboard is saved, even after starting a new search. Thus you can easily use different ways to find the best picture. Here you see and example of searching for Santa Claus (dc, Dutch). In this seemingly simple function, we can see some hidden trends: first of all, brands are linking to people’s visual thinking, second, brands start remembering what we possibly find interesting (I call that the brand memory), and third, brands share that with us openly. This can totally inspire brands.

Thus every brand at its own website could easily make a ‘sticky function’ apart from its shopping cart, as if in a physical store you are capable to temporarily remember for someone everything that person picks up, touches, or even looks at a little bit longer. Everything you find interesting, you can sort of mark, and drag to a ‘clipboard’-like function. Call it the dialogue memory, session memory, or just brand memory. You could place a box under this: related items, based on what others have put in their box. And you could make different boxes. If for example you are looking for a birthday present for Jean, you can drag a couple of options to your box, and share that with friends: what do you guys think? And they could drag items to the same box. Or if you are looking for a location for a weekend outing, you can share it with friends. Or if you are looking for a house, you can share it with your partner or family members. You then get a sort of ‘shared’ box with a brand then. And this is only what I came up with in a couple of minutes. I think the possibilities are endless.

And of course this is only the beginning. If in the future we can drag physical objects into the virtual world, we can point to and pick up things all day long. A rummage culture? But a fun one! The world is only getting more beautiful…

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