Go Eye to Eye with EyeIn: The First Visual Search Engine

Google may find itself in a pickle. Their newest rival, EyeIn, is the first visual search engine that searches for images and videos that are taken off of social media sites like Facebook and even Instagram. While it may not provide answers to our unanswered questions, it allows users to experience the Internet in an entirely different manner.

The search engine was designed by Israeli company Mobli Media. Founded in 2011, they consider themselves the ” leading player in social media and visual content sharing technologies.” Their CEO, Moshe Hogeg, wants to reinvent how people conduct their online searches.  After all, with billions of people spending hours upon hours on these social media sites, it makes sense to put something together like EyeIn. Already, several websites are calling it the “gold mine” of the search engine market.

How does it work? Well, you type whatever you want into the search bar. It’ll show you what’s trending, or what people have posted, via different social mediums. For instance, if you type in “E3,” it’ll show you pictures and locations of the event. If you click on one of the pictures, it’ll bring you to a page like this. Essentially, you come to realize that EyeIn stays true to what it advertises, “Everything that is happening around the world, as captured by the crowd.” It’s a little frightening at first as this gives companies and governments a method to track us more closely.

Adding onto that issue, BBC mentions that, “”As individuals, we may not choose to post photos showing our every move – but it will become difficult to avoid being caught in the sights of other people’s smartphones.”

Even with these issues, several news sites have begun utilizing Eyein for their articles. News First reports that, “Leading publishers like the Huffington Post, Rant Inc. and more are already embedding EyeIn within their articles to add real-time photos and video, giving readers a look at what the crowd is seeing.” The site would also add that,”It’s an entirely new way for readers to consume content and for publishers to engage their audience.”

It’s interesting to see a search engine like EyeIn take advantage of social media. While it’s innovational to the search engine market, it still has time to polish up any bugs, or issues, that users may have. For those who have tried, what do you think of EyeIn? What are your thoughts on it?