INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Last May, Google launched a new events feature designed to help web searchers more easily find things to do nearby, while also challenging
Facebook dominance in the local events space
Today, Google is updating event search with personalized event suggestions, and well as a new design that puts more event information
directly in the search results.
When the feature first launched last year, Google said it was built in response to the millions of search
queries the company saw daily for finding local events and activities.
However, it was also clearly an area where Google had ceded ground to
The social network said last fall that 100 million people were using Facebook Events on a daily basis, and 650 million were using it across
Those numbers have surely grown since.
The original design for Google events search offered web searchers a list of events they could filter
Meanwhile, the event listings themselves were powered by data fromEventbrite, Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, Meetup, Vividseats, Jambase,
LiveNation, Burbio, Allevents.in, Bookmyshow.com, StubHub, Bandsintown, Yext and Eventful.
Now, Google is returning these event results in a
new format — instead of more standard search results, they appear as cards, each with a little bookmark icon you can click on to save the
event details for future reference.
In addition, when you tap on one of the event listings& cards, you&re directed to a more
information-rich page, offering the date, time, location and shortcuts to save the event, buy tickets, get directions or share it with
The design looks even more like a Facebook event page, albeit without a discussion section for posts and comments.
Clicking on the &Get
tickets& button will pop up a window that links to ticket resellers for the event in question — like Ticketmaster or StubHub, for
example.
As users continue to click, browse and save events, the system will also be trained to know what sort of events users like.
This
data will be used to power the new personalized recommendations feature, found in the bottom navigation bar &For You& tab, which organizes
suggested events by category, like &concerts,& &festivals,& &shows,& free events and more
This page also will show you trending and popular events in the area, if you need ideas.
The feature is not currently live for everyone, but
is rolling out to mobile users over the next few days, says Google.
