The next step, the next generation of search. When search tools tap into social networks of friends and colleagues to give you the most relevant results yet! Finally, personalised search results seem to have arrived for the Internet masses.

Eurekster claims to be the first search engine to use social networks, which gather information from a user's circle of friends and contacts to improve the quality of search results. When Google goes to work it ranks the results to your questions by what it’s formula’s think is the most relevant information, but this new Search Service thinks your friends' opinions should be more important.

Eurekster's whose name plays off other popular services that also link people online, including Napster, the file-sharing music program, and Friendster, the social networking site, is busily combining two of the Internet's hottest and most popular trends - “Search” and “Social Networking”.

So how is Eurekster different?

It seems that "word of mouth” is the most common way we filter information in everyday real life Eurekster.com allows Internet users to gather together and invite their friends to try this type of search engine. Then the group of friends and friends-of-friends becomes a “social network” whose Internet search queries influences the results of the rest of its members.

Eurekster allows searchers see the most popular searches for all users and for those in their own “personal” network. Once users join Eurekster, they can invite others to their search networks and grow it out in size.

Just like a normal search engine Eurekster gets results, only it ranks them according to the interests both you and your friends have shown through your previous searches. For example, if a lot of people in one social network use Eurekster to look for information about their favourite sporting hero – say Kieren Perkins, the websites they visit most will rise to the top in any future Kieren Perkins searches.

Eurekster will also list searches that other members of your social network have made, and recent websites they have visited. What Eurekster is really trying to do in this instance is say “your particular network of friends is interested in looking at this or that, therefore you should be, too, so go ahead, have a “peek” at it as well". Fortunately, for privacy reasons it doesn't state who made them or where they went on the web.

So would Eurekster be seen as a replacement for Google?

Eurekster is not a replacement for Google, or any other search engines that index the web. In fact Eurekster works to refine the results that are provided by Google and others.

Where did this idea come from?

It really has its genesis in personalised searches where a person will get back a list of results that takes into account some of their particular demographics. As an example, if you had registered yourself as a man, you might see a different set of search results when searching for flowers than you would get if the system knew you were female.

Experimental testing by the company “Direct Hit” found that in a search for "flowers," men it seems typically wanted sites that allow them “send” flowers. Some observers would suggest inevitably that was because they have been up to no good again and should be making amends.

However, women on the other hand would often want sites that let them order flower seeds or plants for gardening purposes.

Eurekster's twist on this concept is to provide personalised results based not on who you are but whom you know. Friends, colleagues and anyone in your Eurekster social network will influence the type of results you see.

What about privacy – is that a potential problem here when it comes to “sharing”?

While I’m very fond of my friends and colleagues I’m not sure I would want them to see everything I search for, especially if you are a small “network” of friends, it's fairly easy for others to guess who might have looked for what. Having said that, the larger your network becomes, the more anonymous you become – anyway your actual name is never displayed alongside a query or a site that you have visited.

Anticipating some privacy concerns, Eurekster has included a box that users can check if they don't want their query to be listed. The service also will not list queries that appear related to pornography.

But if some users forget to check the box, Eurekster has the potential to create awkward moments, once again especially if the social network is small. Ahemm, which one of you searched for the "Paris Hilton video"?

Ultimately, anyone with serious concerns about privacy may shy away from the service, something Eurekster recognises. In order for it to work properly, it does need to monitor what you search for and what you visit. The company hopes the promise of anonymity and extra tools to explicitly keep some things private will satisfy most concerns.

Where to from here?

The potential of using your friends or colleagues could be quite enormous. As an example, Eurekster might be used by a scientific or medical research organisation, where many people might do similar medical-related queries. With Eurekster’s approach it would be possible for all employees to be linked together and benefit from the searches and selections made by their colleagues.

Librarians are always being asked for assistance. Eurekster would let librarians to collaborate invisibly with each other and share what they've found to be the best for various queries.

Arthur Hissey
Computer Research & Technology
www.crt.net.au