Search Variables

Scoble thinks he’d like to have access to all the variables behind search engine result rankings, and Battelle agrees. Hmm... these are smart guys, but I think they’re both wrong on this one. Experience shows that most users won’t even open up an “advanced search” facility, they just want to type their 1.3 words into the search window and let the search tech do its stuff. And I’m one of them. I bet that most times, I’m going to get good results with less fuss & bother by carefully selecting the search terms I type in than by fiddling with knobs on the side of the engine. Because human language offers a much more subtler and more sophisticated set of controls and variables than any software I’ve seen.