by Ms Manu

Created on: July 11, 2009   Last Updated: July 24, 2009

On Google.com's minimalistic clear and crisp home page we come across an interesting element, almost looking like a prank. It's the big 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button, right next to the 'Search' button. Clicking on it automatically takes the user to the web page of the first search result. It is useful for navigational queries, when users are looking for a particular website and there is a single good result, e.g.: Gmail, Wal-Mart, play Michael Jackson moonwalker, download Firefox, where you are taken to the webpage of Gmail login page, Wal-Mart home page, YouTube page with the moon walker video and the download page of Firefox respectively. The same concept has been extended in Google toolbar and Chrome browser with 'browse by name' facility. If all it does is go to the first search result why does this button have to have such a fancy name? Google Inc's co founder

Sergey Brin explains, "The reason it's called 'I'm Feeling Lucky,' is of course that's a pretty damn ambitious goal. I mean to get the exact right one thing without even giving you a list of choices, and so you have to feel a little bit lucky if you're going to try that with one go".

Sources say Google Inc is losing about $110 million in revenue per year due to this button, as about 1% of the searches by pass the search result page and Google is unable to display Ads on these, and online Ads being one of the biggest revenues of it. Purists also feel that this button is an eyesore on the otherwise elegant home page. Web usability experts say that the total usability of the Google search page is reduced due to this button as it does not convey its purpose and meaning clearly and leaves the users confused.

So why is Google playing 'Dirty Harry (1971)' in its home page? In Vice President, Search Products & User Experience, Marissa Meyer's words "You know Larry and Sergey had the view, and I certainly share it, that it's possible just to become too dry, too corporate, too much about making money. And you know what I think is really delightful about Google and about the "I'm Feeling Lucky," is that they remind you that the people here have personality and that they have interests and that there are real people,". But experts believe it is to put a 'probie' face to an otherwise gigantic power house of computer industry all set to monopolize it.

Absurd but interesting is the premise behind this button in today's web search. It indicates a future where the search engines would be evolved enough to directly take the user to the correct answer to the user's query, maybe then the users don't have to feel so lucky to accurately find what they are looking for on the web and Google can remove the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button.

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