Cool

As we enter 2007 we're all keenly aware of how quickly things are changing on the Web. I've seen many 'Best of 2006' lists some with predictions for the next year, and I assume you have too. I won't bore you with another 'best of' but I can't help but wonder where we'll find ourselves next year at this time. One of the major considerations for me has to be regarding SEO; where will search engine development take us next? In short; who will be the next Google?

I've come across a beta version of a new search portal/appliance called hakia, which states that they are "building the Web's new "meaning-based" search engine" in hopes of improving search efficiency. One of their taglines is "You should never search after searching."

The idea is to be able to type in complete sentences similar to what one might enter into 'ask.com' (previously Ask Jeeves) and get results that are presorted in to categories or "galleries". This is an overview from their site:

"Meaningful Categorization of Search Results (Galleries):
For short queries such as cancer or Winston Churchill, hakia presents search results in a categorized format to provide meaningful variations of the subject. Each gallery has 10 categories on the average, that is equal to running 10 queries in conventional search engines.

Highlighting Best Sentences:
For complex and longer queries, hakia highlights relevant sentences that best corresponds to the meaning match of your query. Try Why did Enron collapse? You do not have to open the documents to see the quality of the results - a key to saving your time!

Complete Text Snippets:
hakia often displays uninterrupted sections of Web pages in search results that provide a full point of view of the content. Presenting complete snippets enables you to evaluate instantly the search results and saves you significant search time.

Now, I know what you're thinking; "Come on Kevin, no search engine can beat Google!" Well maybe not, but I decided to give it a try. I entered [How many students are there at Case Western Reserve University?] and found this snippet of text, fourth down in the results:
"Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a research-oriented institution with more than 9500 students (more than half of which are graduate students)." Clicking on this link led me to: http://www.answers.com/topic/case-western-reserve-university , which provided me with... well, more than simply information on our student body.

Of course, I could have found that page with Google, MSN, Yahoo, or any number of currently available search engines. It's worth noting however, that I probably wouldn't have found it that high in the results, or been provided with the information without even clicking further.

I thought I'd give it another try and searched for two of my favorite jazz trumpet players. Entering simply their names, Chet Baker and Miles Davis (no quotes necessary) gave me just about the best pages of results I've ever seen, or could imagine. It returned a different data set than Google or Yahoo, and just may provide an alternative for academic researchers. Try it yourself and let me know what you think.

For what it's worth, they plan to launch this site officially sometime in 2007. Watch for it.