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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 by Andy Beal

Microsoft Research Shows Glimpse of New Search Products

What’s this? Microsoft might actually be working on something innovative in search? No way!

Yes, way!

According to SeattlePI, Microsoft showed a pair of new search related products at its recent TechFest event.

One, SearchTogether, is an Internet Explorer plugin that puts a sidebar into the browser. It’s meant for collaborating on multiple computers, possibly in different locations. In the sidebar, each person can see and follow the Web searches that a friend or co-worker has conducted related to their project or common interest. It uses a Windows Live ID login.

The other, CoSearch, is designed for collaborative searching on a single computer. For example, a person using a mobile phone in the room can control a cursor on the computer screen to click on a link and transfer the result to the phone, even as the people using the PC follow a different link.

Hmm, I’m not sure I’d want to see what a co-worker searched for during their lunch break, would you? ;-)

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5 comments on “Microsoft Research Shows Glimpse of New Search Products”

  1. Search Engine Optimization Journal Says:

    March 5th, 2008 at 10:50 am

    It will be interesting to see the popularity of a product such as this. Imagine you search for something private one day…completely forgetting that this feature is enabled — quite embarrassing. A bit intrusive eh?

  2. Jayson Says:

    March 5th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    I don’t know - this might catch on for businesses and students (high school, universities). I would find value in this right now at our company and even at my last company. This also seems like a great idea for group and team projects at universities and high schools.

    You never know, Search Together might help companies regulate the surfing employees do - good bye pointless surfing and hello productivity.

    I can’t see the CoSearch idea catching on but??

  3. Steven Bradley Says:

    March 5th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    Collaborative searching is not for me, but I can see where it would be useful for teams working together. Of course being able to turn it off easily would be a requirement.

  4. Piper Says:

    March 6th, 2008 at 12:27 am

    While I can definitely see some useful applications of this technology, I cringe at the thought of having yet another source of incoming information.

  5. Nicole Says:

    March 6th, 2008 at 12:39 am

    Both sound useful. In case of CoSearch, would there be multiple cursors on the screen? That could get confusing.

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