Wink: People-Powered Search Engine Leveraging User Participation

Wink: Revolutionizing Search with People Power

TechCrunch introduces Wink, a groundbreaking search engine that leverages user participation to deliver superior search results. Unlike traditional search engines, Wink integrates user-generated metadata through tagging, rating, and sharing, aiming to provide fresher, more accurate, and spam-free results.

Core Functionality

At its heart, Wink is a search engine that enhances results by incorporating user input. The primary mechanisms for this are:

• Tagging: Users can assign tags to search results, categorizing and describing them.
• Rating: Users can rate results on a scale (e.g., 0-5 stars), helping to identify quality content and flag spam.
• Sharing: Users can share their tagged and rated results, creating a collaborative knowledge base.

How it Works

Wink's search results are initially powered by Google and Wikipedia. Users can then interact with these results by tagging and rating them. A zero rating, for instance, can help block spam and eventually remove undesirable content from the index.

This aggregated user-created metadata significantly improves the relevance of results for the entire community. Wink has also integrated data from del.icio.us bookmarks to enrich its results with tagging content from the outset.

For future queries, results that have been tagged and rated by users appear prominently above the standard search results.

User Collaboration and Customization

Wink fosters a collaborative environment where users can:

• View User Tags: Search results display users who have tagged them, allowing others to discover expertise.
• Subscribe via RSS: Users can subscribe to the tags and ratings of specific users whose preferences align with their own.
• Create 'Search Sets': Similar to services like Rollyo, users can create custom sets of links and tags related to specific topics, showcasing their expertise.

The "People-Powered" Advantage

Wink's CEO, Michael Tanne, emphasizes that the platform's value grows with user contribution. By encouraging users to tag, rate, and share, Wink aims to create a self-improving search ecosystem. This approach directly addresses the limitations of purely algorithmic search by incorporating human intelligence and collective curation.

Market Context

Wink's emergence is timely, coinciding with Google's own explorations into user-generated metadata, such as its bookmarking product. The article highlights the growing recognition within the tech industry that user-generated metadata is crucial for enhancing search results.

Availability

Wink is currently available in private beta. Users can request an account through their homepage.

Related Content & Events

The article also touches upon related TechCrunch content, including a demo at Web 2.0, Google's tagging initiatives, and upcoming TechCrunch events like "TechCrunch All Stage" in Boston.

Key Takeaways

• Wink offers a novel approach to search by integrating user participation.
• Tagging, rating, and sharing are central to its functionality.
• User-generated metadata is key to improving search relevance and reducing spam.
• The platform fosters collaboration and allows for personalized search experiences.
• Wink is positioned as a competitor in the evolving search landscape, particularly against Google's user-data initiatives.

This innovative model promises a more intelligent and community-driven way to navigate the web.