Context sensitive search
Rick Segal on Scoble's search ideas - ScobleSearch.com
Essentially Rick Segal feels it's all about context. Which is fair enough. Rick thinks we should be able to highlight a word in our browsers and right click for context sensitive search option.
I think it sounds great. But it doesn't answer all of Scoble's issues really. After all Google suggest could be seen as a prototype for this type of solution - I know it's not exactly the same, but it's similar enough to use as an example...
Do a search for 'HDTV' in Google suggest, and pretend it immediately suggests 'HDTV manufacturers' and you search for that (in fact you have to type 'HDTV ma' before it suggests manufacturers). The manufacturers still aren't listed. So context isn't everything I'm afraid. You still have to figure out how to weight content differently to the way it is weighted now.
On the other hand a search for 'Robert' in google suggest is a little more promising. It immediately suggests several different Roberts, including Robert Frost and Robert Redford. Interestingly Robert Scoble is not the first Robert suggested. But the real issue here is that there are too many Roberts to list them all in context. So a context sensitive search, to work properly, would have to categorise all the Roberts and suggest something like:
I don't mean to knock Rick's idea - it's a good one. But in thinking about it I think it's deceptively simple sounding.
Scoble pointed out a quote from John Battelle who says 99% of search users never clicked on advance search. Scoble seems surprised. I'm not surprised really given that we already new most searches are one word searches and don't go past the first few results returned.
Creating an interface to a better search to cater for the average searcher will be a challenge.
Essentially Rick Segal feels it's all about context. Which is fair enough. Rick thinks we should be able to highlight a word in our browsers and right click for context sensitive search option.
I think it sounds great. But it doesn't answer all of Scoble's issues really. After all Google suggest could be seen as a prototype for this type of solution - I know it's not exactly the same, but it's similar enough to use as an example...
Do a search for 'HDTV' in Google suggest, and pretend it immediately suggests 'HDTV manufacturers' and you search for that (in fact you have to type 'HDTV ma' before it suggests manufacturers). The manufacturers still aren't listed. So context isn't everything I'm afraid. You still have to figure out how to weight content differently to the way it is weighted now.
On the other hand a search for 'Robert' in google suggest is a little more promising. It immediately suggests several different Roberts, including Robert Frost and Robert Redford. Interestingly Robert Scoble is not the first Robert suggested. But the real issue here is that there are too many Roberts to list them all in context. So a context sensitive search, to work properly, would have to categorise all the Roberts and suggest something like:
- Robert (actors)
- Robert (poets)
- Robert (companies)
- Robert (musicians)
I don't mean to knock Rick's idea - it's a good one. But in thinking about it I think it's deceptively simple sounding.
Scoble pointed out a quote from John Battelle who says 99% of search users never clicked on advance search. Scoble seems surprised. I'm not surprised really given that we already new most searches are one word searches and don't go past the first few results returned.
Creating an interface to a better search to cater for the average searcher will be a challenge.
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