Google’s Demo Slam Is Really Nerdy Fun

You’ve got to hand it to Google. They’ve found a way to get others to cleverly promote their sites… then hook me enough to write about it.

I want to hate Google. They’ve become too big and powerful. Then the thing that just happened happens. Hatred gone!

Damn you smart guys!

It started as I was heading to Google to translate some Hebrew I found on a friend’s Facebook wall&#185. Before I could summon Google Translate I noticed a tiny line of text below the search box.

You’ll laugh. You’ll cheer. You’ll actually like tech demos. Demo Slam

Tech demos! This stuff calls out to me. I am so nerdy. It’s geek porn!

Astoundingly, Google has found a way to turn product demonstrations into a spectator sport. Think “Battle of the Bands,” but for tech demos.

The one I was shown pitted two very dissimilar groups.

The first was two young women who ordered Indian food in Hindi using the afore mentioned Google Translate. They typed in the phrases they’d most likely use, kept the browser pages with the translation open, called the restaurant, then allowed Google to ‘speak’ the words on demand.

When their food arrived it was just what they’d ordered!

The second group was four guys who wanted to see if they could convince Google Goggles they were at Mount Rushmore. They built a model mountain then dressed themselves as the Mount Rushmore presidents. Using an iPhone they shot a photo of themselves.

It didn’t work the first time, but with a little tweaking Goggles saw the photo and brought up the Mount Rushmore result!

I’m voting for the Indian food girls, but these were both well done and VERY nerdy.

You’ve got to hand it to Google. They’ve found a way to get others to cleverly promote their sites… then hook me enough to write about it.

&#185 – I didn’t click because it looks like an Israeli Facebook scam! See, we don’t have a corner on the scuzz market. This one has to do with sex and the Israeli version of Big Brother 3.

2 thoughts on “Google’s Demo Slam Is Really Nerdy Fun”

  1. I’m still waiting for Sprint to release that kind of technology on their cell phones! A deaf person can have the phone “listen” to the person speaking and it will “subtitle” on the phone what the hearing person says. Nifty for hard of hearing folks who do not know sign but are rather heavily oral (as in lip reading mind those dirty minds.)
    Another cool thing I am still waiting for, is the phone to come out with a stand and project a laser keyboard onto a surface (table) and its a full qwerty keyboard, just light touch. I am not geeky enough to make this up.

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