Google launches its SearchWiki semantics plug-in

Today, Google launched its SearchWiki feature, which adds an aspect of personalization and quasi-semantic enhancement.

Several weeks after search startup Semanti Corp launched its Google-centric search plug-in that allows users to tag and rank search results, Google has come out with its own version, SearchWiki. Google's new product is different from Semanti's in that it is primarily intended to be personal. A signed-in user's search results can be re-ranked, deleted, added, or commented upon.

SearchWiki adds just three small icons to the right side of normal Google search results: a "promote" button, a "remove" button, and a "comment" button. The idea is to make repeat searches yield the answers that people most want.

However, like Semanti's product, users have the ability to see the rankings and comments from other users. Through the "See all notes for this SearchWiki" link, a user can cross-reference his query results with another user's. Each user's comments remain his own, and do not affect others' searches.

While it is not an actual semantic search mechanism, the "2.0" nature of SearchWiki allows the efficacy of search results to be tested against other users' satisfaction and preferences -- something like a product review. The function is only available when logged in.