Microsoft has a quiet test running in its research labs that may be of interest to some of my search geek readers. It requires registration, alas, but it might be fun to check out. Called “U Rank” here’s a snip from an email sent to me from Microsoft:
Some of the interesting features of U Rank include:
Create the perfect search results for you: Put results in just the right order and add images and video results for added context.
Annotate results: Write notes to summarize important information under each URL.
Short-cuts: Move your favorite sites up; then put an ! in front of the query and go straight to the top result.
Lists: Keep lists while you’re researching (“hotels for my next trip”, “DSLRs for me”)
Collaboration: Share URLs with friends (“related projects”, “our reading list”)
Recommendations: Tell your friends what you like (“best books,” “favorite restaurants”)
The goal of the research project is to learn more about “how” people use search technologies, like whether they take advantage of the ability to edit search results and how they share the results over time with friends and family.
Update: Microsoft contacted to to clarify: it has no intent of implementing this until they learn from the test and if the test goes well…