Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

Google have released a new 'game', whereby in conjunction with a random partner, you agree on labels for random images you're both presented. You basically keep suggesting labels until one matches a suggestion from your partner, and then move onto the next image.

It's nothing too amazing, but it kept me entertained for about half an hour...my top score was 700.

It becomes obvious quite quickly that trying to be too descriptive jut doesn't work, and that the lowest common demoninator is most often the first match (e.g. 'man', 'landscape',' two'), but there is an 'off limits' list, that I assume is stopping you from re-labelling with 'established' words.

http://images.google.com/imagelabeler/


(technical things follow)
From a technical point of view, it's quite an interesting application. It is, as far as I'm aware, the first thing that google have released that uses GWT (Google Web Toolkit)- which basically compiles Java code into Javascript, for running in a browser.
It also runs as a single web-page, with no refreshes, and it is an application for which this actually works- such applications prevent the browser's back-button, and bookmarking from working in their normal manner, but you're not going to want either of these when playing.
It still relies on polling to check what your partner is doing, rather than keeping a single connection open as is becoming the trend, but from a user's point of view it's fairly seamless.

Re: Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

You and a guest scored 900 points.

Re: Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

Also from the topic I thought you were advertising dynamo label maker.

Re: Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

You and kna scored 1200 points.

Re: Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

I'm always paired with morons, what's up with that?

Re: Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

This is actually an awesome idea.

Re: Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

It's a pretty inspired bit of social engineering really.
Make an internet fad, make it fun and, co-incidentally, make the participants do all your work for you! For free! In their lunch breaks!

I'm not having a go at it, just pointing out that once again Google have produced something which engages their users in ways other software companies can only dream about. It's almost depressing how regularly they do it - stop hogging all the good ideas damnit :(

Re: Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

Im skeptical whether this does anything useful though, everything goes down to man men woman women etc I had one picture that was of a senate/offical looking meeting with everyone sitting. Neither of us had any clue what it was about or what to call it, a woman in the foreground had a bright pink shirt. We both matched pink. The colour pink almost certainly had nothing to do with the proceedings.

Re: Labelling images was never so much fun!
 

I think the idea is that images will be shown again and again to different pairings. If enough people agree on "meeting", "congress", "conference" or whatever then "pink" will probably be lowered in relevance or dropped entirely.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is being tied into a pagerank-type system, very much how their core web search works.