Google Image Labeler
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Google Image Labeler is a feature, in form of a game, of Google Image Search that allows the user to label random images to help improve the quality of Google's image search results.
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[edit] History
On August 31, 2006 <ref>Digg</ref> <ref>Google Blogoscoped</ref> <ref>Slashdot</ref> Google launched this service, as a beta.
Luis von Ahn developed the ESP Game <ref>Human Computation - Google Video</ref>, a game in which two people are simultaneously given an image of the same picture, with no way to communicate. The ESP Game has been licensed by Google in the form of the Google Image Labeler.
[edit] Rules
The user will be randomly paired with a partner who is online and using the feature. Users can be registered players who accumulate a total score over all games played, or guests who just play for one game.
Over a 90-second period, the user and his/her partner will be shown the same set of images and asked to provide as many labels as possible to describe each image you see. When the user's label matches the partner's label, both will earn points and move on to the next image until time runs out. It is possible to pass on an image but both users must agree to do this.
Labels that have been agreed on by many previous users show on a red forbidden list and cannot be used in that round.
After the 90 second time expires, the user can see the user name of the opponent, their score (with which both are credited), their cumulative score to date and a view of the images they have matched or agreed to pass in that round.
The images themselves then link to the websites where those images were found and can be explored for more information and to satisfy curiosity.
All the opponents label attempts can be revealed to understand what their perceptions of the images were.
The game keeps the high scores of registered users and these are displayed both for the day and for "all time". Highest all time scorers are users called wordgirl and tuki makeeta.
Google is betting on users' competitiveness to rack up high scores to swell the number of images ranked.
This is not designed simply for fun. Though the feature is enjoyable for the users, it is also a clever way for Google to ensure that its keywords are matched to correct images. Each matched word will help Google to build a accurate database used when using the Google Image Search.
[edit] Tricks of the game
After playing a few times you realize that whenever there is a black-and-white picture it's good to use the labels black and white or old. When there is a soldier, many people use the label war. If a female who appears to be 16 to 30, the many people type woman and then girl. When there are stars, space is a good label. If there are more than two persons, the first label is almost always people. If nothing occurs to you, then use the predominant color.
[edit] Abuse
Less than a month after the launch the game began to be abused <ref>Nas Raja in Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO</ref>. It appears as if Google is getting spammed with standard words from the following list: abrasives, accretion, bequeathing, calamus, carcinoma, congenita, diphosphonate, entrepreneurialism, forbearance and googley. Although these words often appear as partner responses at the end of a round, some say it is unlikely that these are actual responses from players of the game.[citation needed] Because players can see the responses of their partner at the end of each round, they learn that other players often use these words. They may then incorporate these words into their answers for entertainment and a sense of social belonging.
[edit] References
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