Even as search becomes all-but-synonymous with the Internet for many users, there’s a paradoxical and growing sense that it’s failing. We have incredibly high expectations for search but that’s partly because it has been very successful to date. Every quarter or so it seems a new, would-be David comes out to challenge Googliath.
The newest one is Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales, who is planning to launch a Wiki-based search engine called “Wikiasari.” Here’s his public statement on the motivation for and foundations of the project:
“Search is part of the fundamental infrastructure of the Internet. And, it is currently broken.
Why is it broken? It is broken for the same reason that proprietary software is always broken: lack of freedom, lack of community, lack of accountability, lack of transparency. Here, we will change all that.
There have been some amazing projects in recent years which have matured now to the point that a new alternative is possible. Wikia is funding and supporting the development of something radically new.
Nutch and Lucene and some other projects now provide the background infrastructure that we need to generate a new kind of search engine, which relies on human intelligence to do what algorithms cannot. Just as Wikipedia revolutionized how we think about knowledge and the encyclopedia, we have a chance now to revolutionize how we think about search.
Help me out, spread the word. I am looking for people to continue the development of a wiki-inspired search engine. Specifically community members who would like to help build people-powered search results and developers to help us build an open-source alternative for web search.
Wikipedia is an amazing success story that nobody could or would have predicted. So maybe Wikiasari holds the same promise but my sense is that it will have to look and act quite different from Google or Yahoo! to gain usage, but at the same time be as simple to use.
Some would argue that Wikipedia has already “jumped the shark” in terms of expanding to cover trivia and celebritites.
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Greg Sterling is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the local marketplace.
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6 responses so far ↓
Keith Eysmun on Dec 28, 2006 at 11:37 am
I think Wikiasari is going to fail in a HUGE way. Search is not broken. Human editors are not going to be better than algorithms (and even if they are Google can easily get more of them than can Jimmy Wales). I write more about this at http://keysmun.blogspot.com/2006/12/why-wikiasari-will-fail.html
Sal S. on Dec 28, 2006 at 12:58 pm
“Search is not broken”
It’s not broken however, in the evolution cycle, it hardly made it’s first baby steps.
I’m amazed search professionals look at search today and thing this is as far as it goes. We have so much to do, so much to move forward.
Keith Eysmun on Dec 29, 2006 at 3:44 pm
Everyone says that, Sal, but could you give some examples? And I don’t me stupid examples like, “we need search engines to be able to guess when we mean bass the fish vs. bass the beer vs. bass the electric instrument vs. bass the acoustic instrument vs. bass the voice.” Those examples are dumb because a consumer wanting information on bass the fish doesn’t just enter “bass,” or if he does he immediately re-searches for “bass fishing.”
Esopo on Jan 4, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Keith,
We need search engines that can produce results for:
“Were there any more wars with the French after 1850?”
Probably any adult in the US can answer that question in a heart beat, but a search engine fails miserably. We need search engines that can understand humans. So far the best way we can search for that query is something like:
“US history war Franceâ€
The results of that query on any search engine will hardly yield a direct response to the question in the user’s mind. We can easily expect half the high-school kids looking for that information to fail in their search.
The SEs are not to blame though. It is not their fault, they are just not advanced enough but we are moving forward. That’s what we’ll be seeing in the future, smarter SEs that can understand humans better and thus produce better results.
And about the bass thing,
We are already there. Search engines can tell if you mean bass the fish or bass the musical instrument based on the profile they have on you. I’m not sure to what extent they will be comfortable implementing it in their search results, but they are already targeting results to your locale info.
Robert J. Handley on Jan 6, 2007 at 11:37 pm
In attempt to represent the voice of today’s young adult constituency, I would like to express my thoughts on the future of Wikiasari and furthermore on the innovation of Internet Search Engines. Whether or not Wikiasari succeeds with its proposition to take the limelight from google.com is entirely dependant upon its ability to hit the market with an eye-catching, controversial bang. According to Catherine Holahan of Businessweek magazine, aside from Jimmy Whales’s current web encyclopedia powerhouse Wikipedia.com being “one of the Internet’s top 15 online destinations worldwide”, the Wikiasari project is financially backed by the Omidyar Network which is owned by Internet mastermind Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay. These are successful, tech savvy entrepreneurs who are at the top of their game. They are the best of the best. So, to answer the question of Wikiasari’s fate, the new and improved search engine has already begun its climb to the top simply by challenging Google. People will be eager to find out which search engine is really the best. What will answer their question better than checking out Wikiasari? Nothing. That’s exactly what people will do. What people fail to understand is that the search engine business is entirely based on hits. That’s right, hits. To understand this concept, let’s take a quick look at the current industry leader, Google. Why do people use Google to help them find what they are looking for on the Internet? Simple. People use Google because other people say Google is the best. Why did millions of Yahoo customers start using Google? Personally, I switched because I heard somewhere, from someone, that Google was better. What people have to remember is that search engine consumers include everyone who uses the internet. Whether you are the CEO of an Internet marketing company researching your competition, or a college student like me drowning in beer and homework (That’s right, I put beer first), the search engine known as the “best” will get your business. Wikiasari will prosper and rise to the top just like the people behind it because it will challenge Google with the claim of simply being a better search site. As long as Wikiasari maintains its claims for facilitating improved, more consistent search results and continues to advertise itself as the Internet’s most efficient, reliable search engine, it is only a matter of time before its popularity surpasses that of Google. With the economy struggling, people are desperately trying to find cheaper, more efficient products. This mind-set doesn’t limit itself to tangible items. It includes things like social services, interest rates, and yes, even Internet searching options. Although Google will remain a strong contender in the search engine business, its recent collaborations with new companies like Youtube.com will eventually lead the multi-million dollar company in other unique directions; one of which I am currently creatingïŠ. Happy searching and cheers to Wikiasari.
–Robert J. Handley
UC Santa Barbara undergrad–Global Studies
globalnirvana@gmail.com
Esopo on Jan 8, 2007 at 10:52 am
Robert J. Handley,
Your argument holds less water than a beer cap. The assumption that people become loyal to services on the sole basis of apparent popularity is not very convincing.
Curiosity generates initial hits, but if the goods are not worth it visitors don’t come back.
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