14 DAY TRIAL // Inspired by the new Google Instant features, a Stanford university student has created a website, which applies the same principles to YouTube search.
By now you're probably all too familiar with the enhancements recently introduced by Google to its Web search page.
The new features are collectively called Google Instant and not only do they deliver search results on-the-fly, but actually predict what users intend to search as they type.
Google's Vice President of Search Product and User Experience Marrisa Meyer referred to these changes as a true fundamental shift and they were generally well received by users.
However, one Stanford student named Feross Aboukhadijeh decided to take it even further and see how the same concepts would apply to YouTube.
The result? YouTube Instant - a search service, which auto-suggests YouTube movies in real time and automatically starts loading them as the user formulates his query.
The proof-of-concept is pretty neat and even if it will probably never become an official feature on YouTube, as it is way too bandwidth intensive, it still has some applicability.
It's not hard to image how the same techniques could be used to enhance the awesome interactive ads people have already created through YouTube.
One such example is a recent Tipp-Ex commercial called "A hunter shoots a bear", where users can replace "shoots" with anything they want in order to see different outcomes of the story.
The search-as-you-type feature could be leveraged in this case to load the alternative endings in real time for an even more powerful effect.
Feross, who describes himself as a Web development and computer security enthusiast, announced his 'YouTube Instant' service on Twitter a few hours ago. Feel free to let him know what you think about it at @FreeTheFeross.
