Search Engines Try Out New Variations
WSJ
The biggest names in Internet searching are spinning off some siblings -- test sites for trying out new features that could spell big changes for Web search as it exists today.
In September, Google launched SearchMash.com without the Google name, although it is mentioned in the site's privacy policy. SearchMash displays a subset of the normal Google search results in an entirely different interface, with video, blog and image results on the same screen.
IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ask.com recently launched Ask X, at AskX.com, which divides the results page into an unusual three-panel display. Besides the standard search results, users see suggested terms to help narrow or expand the search, as well as results broken down by categories such as news and dictionary results.
Yahoo now uses AlltheWeb.com and AltaVista.com, both of which it acquired in recent years, to experiment with processes like "livesearch," a feature that will start suggesting search terms for you when you type just one letter.
Additionally, Microsoft's Windows Live unit is attempting to provide some entertainment on its recently launched MsDewey.com, a search engine where users pose their queries to prerecorded video clips of an actress playing the role of Ms. Dewey, a brassy and attractive woman in a low-cut black dress. Ms. Dewey pipes back with one of some 1,000 scripted responses pegged to what the user typed, while the search results appear on the side.
The search engines are no strangers to testing new concepts before they hit prime time, and they have operated their own internal test sites and labs for years. But now, they are making their bold new ideas more public and asking users for feedback.
The sibling sites generally package the same set of search results you would find on the branded sites in new ways. For example, the major search engines so far have resisted combining various types of searches -- like image search, video search and local search -- on one screen, worried that consumers would find it too messy. But the spinoffs are embracing that approach.
Another theme: trying to help users refine their searches without having to start all over again. Google's SearchMash, which rotates new features in and out every few weeks, has also experimented with blending in spell-check-adjusted results.
The new moves come at a time when the standard search model hasn't changed much in almost a decade. But Internet users are looking for new ways to search more content -- including proliferating video, blogs, photos and social-networking profiles -- more easily.
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