Auto correct: Annoying hindrance?

You can’t fail to have missed Google’s introduction of web 2.0 code in its search functionality. As my colleague Jemma pointed out, type in the search field and it’s not too long before it’s second guessing what you’re looking for. Not a bad addition and research respondents definitely like it.

Compare that to the same functionality initially utilised in ebay’s search function and it’s a completely different experience. Tap tap tap on the keyboard to look up and see a mess of letters and a drop down with ‘No suggestions’. Perseverance leads to the word I was typing and finally a list of suggestions.

You may have had similar experiences with refreshes in areas of pages that show, update or manipulate (almost) live data. Facebook is another example with feeds updating real-time as the update happens from a user click or a system trigger, there is a momentary pause, an animated ‘updating’ visual appears and the new information loads.

Expedia’s latest search functionality has a similar feel when filtering search results. Occasionally the functionality of the whole page is suspended while one area is updated and this is the cause of some frustration. Likewise, on slow connections or where there is a technical ‘hic-up’, the area fails to complete the update leaving a gap in the page. If that was the bit you were interested in it can be very annoying and potentially harmful for business.

I was recently looking for hotels on Expedia and the filters took so long to update the search results (and more frustratingly one parameter at a time) that I abandoned the site in search of another provider.

These developments have the potential to create much richer experiences, and whilst the intention is to help not hinder users to get latest information or updates, get it wrong and the downsides can be damaging.

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