The best online game: Google Image Labeler

Posted on Sep 27, 2008 in Design, Web Dev | 0 comments

Though not really a “game” per se, I’ve whiled away more time than I care to admit “playing” Google’s Image Labeler. In it, you and a partner (chosen at random from a pool of others also using the service) generate applicable labels describing an image presented to you. Sounds easy, but a few constraints increase the challenge:

1. Excluded labels – On some images, you’re not allowed to enter common labels listed on screen, just like the off-limit words in a game of Taboo (except there’s no horrible buzzer if you do enter them, they just don’t count).
2. Timer – You’ve only got two minutes to play each round, and the timer is right there making you nervous.
3. Points – You’re awarded points for the specificity of the label you and your partner match on (and perhaps also how quickly you match.) The image shown here, or example, netted me 140 points, but something simpler like “car” might only reward 50 points.

When a round is done, you’re presented with a grid of the images you and your partner labelled along with the images’ size and location on the web if you were intrigued by one of the images and want to learn more about it. You also see what label you matched on and your partner’s other guesses, which makes the experience a bit voyeuristic. There’s been times when I thought “what was that guy smoking?” or “wow, is that what that was?!” As for the points awarded, I heard that Google may at some point offer a way to redeem them for prizes but for now it seems they’re just for bragging rights and “identifying contributions from participants.”

So what’s this game/service/tool/”thing” all about? Improving Google’s image search index, of course. By leveraging real human beings’ conceptual models, Google can apply ever-improving labels to the millions of images it catalogues. That way, conducting an image search for “toy car” may now bring up the image above, whereas without Google Image Labeler that image might only be associated with “car” or “nascar” or other less-specific labels. Of course, no online service would be complete without someone trying to break it, which apparently happened.

It’s a pretty ingenious way to take a task that might otherwise have very little participation and turn it into a game with much interest. It’s another example of Google’s ingenuity improving the experience of finding, using, and—in this case enjoying—information. To finish up, take a look at my favorite image:

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