Wikia - Human Powered Search Engines

Open source search engines like Wikipedia's may not kill Google, but they could bring us closer to search nirvana. Here are some pros and cons.

After much hype, Wikia has finally unveiled an alpha version of its "human powered" search engine. Many in the blogging community have been quick to post scathing reviews on the launch, criticizing the engine's shallow inventory and highlighting the fact that many of the much trumpeted social components haven't been incorporated as part of the initial launch, says Alex Vlasto at iMedia Connection.

Although the integration of social elements within search is a good thing, the biggest problem will always be fraud - spam.

He concludes with the thought that open source search is definitely an exciting development. "For me, however, the really exciting component is not so much the transparency of the algorithm but rather the way users can rank, and in turn influence, listings that are displayed."

Read: Wikia, Google killer or dead in the water?