Questions not answers: a novel mobile search technique

Mobile search is becoming an increasingly important user activity. In this paper, instead of investigating the most efficient and effective ways of providing search results, the answers, we consider the value of giving access to previous queries, the questions, relating to a user’s location. By exposing what other people have searched for, the aim is to provide useful insights into a location’s character. To consider the value of the approach we deployed two mobile probes in a large-scale field study involving 391 participants. Our experiences suggest that presenting users with other people’s in situ queries influences their information seeking interactions positively. Author Keywords Mobile search, social software, location