In the world of internet search technologies, there has arisen a trend where people are constantly looking for the "google-killer" – the "next big thing" in search algorithms or interfaces that will finally vanquish google's market dominance. There are problems with this quest, that render it somewhat unpredictable if not quixotic: first of all, google is a moving target, meaning they are constantly innovating their algorithms and methodologies behind the scenes; second, google, like many other large technology companies, has realized that brand-image is king, and as such, that marketing and design trump genuine innovation and genius (in this, they've learned well from Applecorp).
The technological problem of finding a better "search engine" is daunting, as we are right at the borders of AI (artificial intelligence). Thus, the next step seems to require real breakthroughs in natural-language- (and/or web-meta-language-) processing and interpretation. So-called "semantic webs" come into play – and somebody has to build these huge semantic databases, "tag" them appropriately (i.e. figure out how to automate the "tagging" process), and then spider through them effectively and rapidly.
A recent offering seems to go in the right direction: powerset.com. Right now, it's limited to a small, largely well-formed subset of the World Wide Web – namely, my own favorite haunts at wikipedia. But its ability to make sense of my "natural English" questions and find appropriate articles is pretty amazing. Try it out.
I'm listening to Jason Bentley on KCRW – he's playing The Black Ghosts' "Here It Comes Again." Great track… Jason Bentley rules.
Quote.
"I was bitterly opposed to the measure, and to this day regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." – President U.S. Grant, on the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, in which he served as a decorated junior officer.