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Former Google exec deems mobile search ineffective

Deeming mobile search ineffective, former head of Google product marketing Sanjeev Agrawal has come up with a new approach to information on the go: Aloqa.

Aloqa reverses the traditional institution of search where a user must already know what they are looking for, type it in and sift through results. Instead, Aloqa pushes relevant information to mobile phones based on an approximate understanding of where the user is and what he or she wants in real time.

?Aloqa is simplifying mobile search and discovery,? said Sanjeev Agrawal, CEO of Aloqa, Palo Alto, CA. ?The premise is simple: It is hard to search on your mobile phone and most people never find out about the myriad of opportunities that might be relevant to them when they are out and about.

?When you are on the go, you shouldn't have to constantly keep using your phone as a browser to pull information,? he said. ?Instead, you should just be proactively informed of things around you that you care about, wherever you are, without having to enter a keyword or your location.

?With Aloqa, you can just look at your phone and without ever touching your keyboard see what's around you in real time.?

The Aloqa service is currently in beta in the United States and Germany for Android and select BlackBerry devices.

The service eliminates virtually any action taken by the user, but rather, Aloqa takes action for the user.

From any place, at any time, users can glance at their phone to see which friends, favorite businesses, events such as music concerts, local offers and other interesting activities or places are nearby.

?One way to think about the service is that it works like a top-notch real-life assistant would ? ?I know my boss is roughly around New York's Greenwich Village, or around San Francisco's SOMA (South of Market Street) district or close to Munich's Beer Garden,?? Mr. Agrawal said.

?So even before he asks, let me just be proactive and send him a list of interesting coffee shops, restaurants, what people are Twittering about close by,? he said. ?He can use what he wants and ignore what he doesn?t.

?The difference between us and a human assistant is of course that we are always at your service, get no days off and never fall sick.?

Aloqa aggregates user-relevant information by taking into account location, expressed or inferred preferences, social relationships, and popular places and events in the area.

Notifications include preferred fast food places, gas stations nearby, friends from the user?s social network who are in the vicinity, parties, movies, theaters and activities nearby, places to take kids and WiFi hotspots.

Aloqa also presents opportunities to marketers through its cross section of channels that create social experiences for users.

The company claims that this network of channels that engage continuously with the customer gives marketers and advertisers the chance to close the loop with the content that users want.

?We know that a lot of searches that happen on the Web have local intent,? Mr. Agrawal said. ?If it were easier to search on the phone, the volumes of mobile search might be much higher than they are today.

?After all, when mobile, people have as much of a need to find things as they do when at a PC,? he said. ?Mobile as a platform has the advantage that it knows where you are, time of day, day of week, and over time can learn a lot about your preferences and friends.

?Done right, the right result can be presented to the right user at the right time and place.?