In a significant development for web search, Collecta has recently launched a public beta of its platform, which aims to revolutionize the way users find and access information online. This new approach is particularly beneficial for brand managers looking to organize and harness conversations across the social web.
The rise of Twitter Search has shown that users crave immediate access to conversations tied to specific keywords, irrespective of traditional metrics like authority, Page Rank, or SEO. This marks the dawn of real-time search, shifting the focus from merely finding relevant content to discovering what is being said right now across the web and social media.
As the CEO of Collecta, Gerry Campbell, aptly states, “I want to know what are people saying about my topic, right now. The minute you put rankings and filters on search, it stops representing real-time.” This perspective highlights the need for a search experience that reflects the immediacy of online conversations.
The concept of the Conversation Prism, introduced to map the social landscape, serves as a tool for discovering genuine insights into ongoing discussions across various social networks.
Initially, it was anticipated that brand managers and marketers would utilize search boxes within relevant networks to track past and current conversations. The goal was to create a real-time search window into the social web. Collecta, along with other specialized tools like One Riot, Topsy, and PeopleBrowsr, is working to enhance our ability to listen and engage with the conversations that shape public perception.
While the full realization of real-time search within the Conversation Prism is still on the horizon, it is becoming increasingly imminent. Collecta enables internet search to keep pace with the rapid flow of information from blogs, microblogs, traditional news sites, and social networks, centralizing results into easily digestible, continuously updating streams.
Although not every search necessitates real-time results, Collecta’s technology has the potential to transform user experiences in various applications. This includes monitoring live comments during sporting events or television shows, following breaking news, or keeping tabs on brand and product discussions.
Gerry Campbell emphasizes the need for a shift in how we approach search technology: “The evolution of media needs to catch up to the pace of how people are consuming data now. We need to rethink search from the user perspective, not trying to fit results into existing paradigms and products. We have to start from scratch.”
He further elaborates, “Every minute, stories are told on the web. Yet in traditional search, most are usually ranked out of the results and therefore, people don’t get a chance to see them. With Collecta, you can see these stories break and unfold.”
Unlike other aggregator or search tools that merely compile information from Twitter Search, Collecta has developed a comprehensive ecosystem based on the open messaging standard XMPP. With the recent launch of Google Wave, the relevance of XMPP in the real-time web landscape is only set to increase.