Search 3.0: The Hive Mind is Providing the Answers.
Facebook and Twitter are now driving a significant amount of traffic to web sites. Enough to make Google and Yahoo just a teeny bit nervous. Heck some sites are seeing more traffic from Facebook than from Google. Google and Facebook are still complementary, but that may be shifting. We call this shift “Search 3.0.”
Peter Hershberg broke down Search 3.0 in AdAge recently, defining three levels of social connections: personal/real-life, shared interest (such as those you follow on Twitter), and shared experience (an Amazon or eBags reviewer). People are using these connections to assess the value of their search results. A straight Google search just doesn’t cut it when you can ask your friends, 
their friends, a few professionals you respect and maybe someone who has tried the product. All in one easy inquiry into the hive mind.(Ok, maybe not all queries are best suited for this kind of search.)
On top of that, people can’t seem to stay away from social networks (time spent is up 93%). Which means that their social connectivity is growing and
strengthening. There is a new kind of relevance: personal — defined by your personal network. So you, dear marketer, are going to have to approach things just a little differently.
We also learned that people filter content in a way that Google just can’t. A recent study showed that 25% of posts through the social bookmarking site Delicious have yet to be indexed by search engines. And the tags are 93% relevant. That is high value: relevant AND timely. No waiting for spiders to catch up.
What does this mean for you? Social media is critical, like it or not. Twitter or something like it won’t go away (as much as you might want it to). And Search as we know it has changed. Nervous yet? It’s time to start experimenting. And make a few mistakes while you’re at it — the risk-taking window is wide-open.
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June 14th, 2009 at 10:01 am