Google introduces SearchWiki

[Kay]

Interesting developments are afoot with Google introducing SearchWiki this afternoon.


Today we're launching SearchWiki, a way for you to customize search by re-ranking, deleting, adding, and commenting on search results. With just a single click you can move the results you like to the top or add a new site. You can also write notes attached to a particular site and remove results that you don't feel belong.

Read the official Google Blog and see the demo video here:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/searchwiki-make-search-your-own.html


I like the idea of this very much. Guess which site's top of my delete list.... :D

Thoughts/concerns?

[Fergal]

I wonder how this will impact SEO companies. Possibly not very much, webmasters will still want their site to appear top of the list, before browsers customise their individual search engine results.

Should be helpful for anyone who regularly searches for the same search terms. It might be easier to use this than to bookmark results.

It reminds me of Wikia Search (http://re.search.wikia.com/index.html) that was previously discussed here (http://www.businessadviceforum.com/showthread.php?t=1066).

[Nazreen]

I was so excited after seeing the video that I signed in immediately and made a search on google. Even though it said in the google blog that SearchWiki has already been launched today, I cannot see the SearchWiki buttons after making the search. I liked the feature where you can make annotations to your search results. I also liked the fact that you can see other people's notes on the search results.

I don't think it will have any impact to SEO companies Fergal. It said in the video that it will only affect your search results when you're logged into Google and also doesn't effect the results of other users.

[Webestrian]

Nice effort by google but if its only like bookmarking i won't be using that much.I have got my own social bookmarks.Why would i go for this.
However,if it's really going to effect SEO,then this would be a SEO revolution.But it isn't probable this way,as already mentioned by Nazreen.

@Kay i guess you would delete google.com :D:D

[scifi]

It is a very good application for people like me who loves doing research....
Moreover it will also be helpful to me in my research projects since I can customize search results to me need & nature of projects!!!

[Kay]

The reason I'd like it is for research as well much in the same way as scifi. When I need to write about a specific topic I'm not familiar with, I'm back and forward between different sites I wouldn't normally use researching.

Sometimes I double back on sites unintentionally that were useless the first time round if I'm working on something over a number of days because I didn't recognize it as being one I'd disregarded earlier. But with this, I can just delete them and put the best ones at the top. I think it'll be really helpful in that respect.


@Kay i guess you would delete google.com :D :D

Yep, that was the one Webestrian, how did you guess? lol

[Nazreen]

Nice effort by google but if its only like bookmarking i won't be using that much.I have got my own social bookmarks.Why would i go for this.

I think that it's more powerful than that Webestrian. Aside from the "Delete" function that Kay has mentioned, you can also see the notes and opinions of other users. I always search for reviews of websites that I'm interested in so this would be almost the same thing. But I think that the bad thing is that people might misuse this function and flame/criticize websites who are their competition.

Does your social bookmarks do that?

[Webestrian]

I think that it's more powerful than that Webestrian. Aside from the "Delete" function that Kay has mentioned, you can also see the notes and opinions of other users. I always search for reviews of websites that I'm interested in so this would be almost the same thing. But I think that the bad thing is that people might misuse this function and flame/criticize websites who are their competition.

Does your social bookmarks do that?

O yes.The searchwiki is in action now.Its better.I thought it would be just like personal search result customization and we wont be able to see others' comments.This feature would be helpful.:)
But i guess this would turn out to be more a curse than a blessing coz now people would also hire others to make comments/reviews (i,e. fake comments) about their websites.:rolleyes:

[Fergal]

...now people would also hire others to make comments/reviews (i,e. fake comments) about their websites.:rolleyes:

That's exactly what I was thinking. However, Google have always been very active in their efforts to prevent webmasters manipulating search results. Hopefully they will have clever ways to prevent this from happening.

[Nazreen]

SearchWiki has just been up for a couple of days and there's already been a lot of abuse on it's comments feature. One example is a comment on www.johnmccain.com, it says "ur old...really old...i dont like u but i dont like that palin character even more...glad u lost congrats old loser". You might also want to check out the very nasty comments for en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush or even www.whitehouse.gov. I won't say it here because some of the comments are really very bad.

By the way, I've made a comment on Business Advice Forum. Can anyone check if you can also see my comments?

[Fergal]

I don't appear to be able to view public comments on any site. The options I have are to visit the site, promote, remove, cached, similar pages and to make a comment. Am I missing something?

[Nazreen]

I don't appear to be able to view public comments on any site. The options I have are to visit the site, promote, remove, cached, similar pages and to make a comment. Am I missing something?

I think SearchWiki is down again. It doesn't seem to work for me again.

Anyway, to view other's comments, the link for this is at the bottom of the search results and should be near the "add" link.

[Webestrian]

Same here.It isn't working for me too.

[scifi]

I don't appear to be able to view public comments on any site. The options I have are to visit the site, promote, remove, cached, similar pages and to make a comment. Am I missing something?

http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=bush&btnG=Search&swm=2
Nazreen had already given your answer but to be more precise....
To view comments made by others you have to click on the link provided at the bottom of the page featuring;.....
See all notes for this SearchWiki
I have also provided link at the top for your convenience....
But wiki is working fine for me....!!!!

[Fergal]

Thanks for that, I can see the comments now.

Nazreen I can't see your note for Business Advice Forum. What search term did you use to list the forum?

Search Wiki seems to slow down searches for me, anyone else experience that?

[Nazreen]

I googled using the texts "business advice forum" Fergal. If I remember correctly, I also did it using "business forum" and the comment is still showing.

I've attached my google search together with this post. Unfortunately, the Searchwiki buttons and links are not appearing but at least you can still see my comment in the attachment.

[Fergal]

Thanks for your kind comments Nazreen. Unfortunately I can't view them in Google. I made a comment myself and I can see it, but nothing else for "Business Advice Forum".

Are you using Google.com or a different Google page?

[Nazreen]

...Are you using Google.com or a different Google page?

I used both google.com.sg and google.com Fergal. My comments are showing for both of these sites.

I think that the google development team is still fixing the bugs in SearchWiki. There are still a lot of bugs so we should wait until they've finally cleared all of these up.

[Big_0n3]

This is a great news for all. Google ads a new site to his collection. Now you can rank your searches. Very good tool