Maryam Kamvar

A large scale study of wireless search behavior: Google mobile search

We present a large scale study of search patterns on Googles mobile search interface. Our goal is to understand the current state of wireless search by analyzing over 1 Million hits to Googles mobile search sites. Our study also includes the examination of search queries and the general categories under which they fall. We follow users throughout multiple interactions to determine search behavior; we estimate how long they spend inputting a query, viewing the search results, and how often they click on a search result. We also compare and contrast search patterns between 12-key keypad phones (cellphones), phones with QWERTY keyboards (PDAs) and conventional computers.

What's up CAPTCHA?: a CAPTCHA based on image orientation

We present a new CAPTCHA which is based on identifying an images upright orientation. This task requires analysis of the often complex contents of an image, a task which humans usually perform well and machines generally do not. Given a large repository of images, such as those from a web search result, we use a suite of automated orientation detectors to prune those images that can be automatically set upright easily. We then apply a social feedback mechanism to verify that the remaining images have a human-recognizable upright orientation. The main advantages of our CAPTCHA technique over the traditional text recognition techniques are that it is language-independent, does not require text-entry (e.g. for a mobile device), and employs another domain for CAPTCHA generation beyond character obfuscation. This CAPTCHA lends itself to rapid implementation and has an almost limitless supply of images. We conducted extensive experiments to measure the viability of this technique.

“Your Word is my Command”: Google Search by Voice: A Case Study

An important goal at Google is to make spoken access ubiquitously available. Achieving ubiquity requires two things: availability (i.e., built into every possible interaction where speech input or output can make sense) and performance (i.e., works so well that the modality adds no friction to the interaction).

Deciphering Trends in Mobile Search

Understanding the needs of mobile search will help improve the user experience and increase the services usage. An analysis of search data from a large US carrier showed that cell-phone subscribers are typing longer queries in less time and clicking on more results.