Predicting Behavior Through Search Analysis

Just read a very interesting and well written piece by Oliver Burkeman at the Guardian on the ability of aggregated search data to potentially predict future behavior and attitudes.

He cites my favorite concept from John Battelle’s book The Search, which is about how the clickstreams of queries behind search creates a “Database of Intentions”. I’ve posted before on how this could revolutionize the fields of cultural anthropology and consumer research.

If you haven’t read The Search, it should be at the top of your list for reading in 2008. A truly fascinating book.