Swicki Search Technology Revisited
September 17, 2008
When first launched in 2005, the swicki self serve product was one of the first to let anyone build custom search engines. Now, a number of search providers offer custom search tools for developers (Yahoo's BOSS is one of the most recent entries into this market), and now there are plenty of established search destinations for specific verticals.
Unlike every other search product on the market though, swickis add a layer of community behavior to search results. Every search, vote, click, and comment made by a user is recorded by the swicki. This community information is then combined with matching algorithms to serve community powered search results to the next user.
There are two reasons for a web user to return to a swicki. First, a swicki is a verticalized search destination, specializing in a particular type of information. Second, a swicki displays community behavior directly on the results pages, explicitly telling a user which content to view first.
Over the last three years, we've seen developers, bloggers, and webmasters leverage swicki technology to make highly-trafficked swickis around a variety of topics, all of which have also generated significant revenue for their builders.
As niche social networks continue to grow, and as search marketing continues to prove to be one of the most lucrative advertising markets on the web, we're confident that developers will continue to find exciting and lucrative new ways to use swicki technology, and that general web users will continue to adopt specific swickis as destinations for custom search.
Thanks to everyone who has made a swicki over the last three years, and who has continued to use swickis for custom web search. We are currently as excited as ever about our community search product, and hope that you find exciting and helpful ways to leverage this technology as well.
If you have any further question or concerns about the product, please don't hesitate to email us.
