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Maybe we have reached the end of "generic search"? Searching the web shopping for a product is distinctly different from asking various fact finding questions,

Maybe we have reached the end of "generic search"? Searching the web shopping for a product is distinctly different from asking various fact finding questions, which is different from searching for an error message from a library etc. Personally I would prefer if those distinct tasks were served by distinct providers, with different (and transparent) business models, using different levels of underlying human curation and/or other optimizations as appropriate for each sub-domain. E.g. for "facts" I would want a wikipedia+ type tool with a lot of curation. I am not looking for somebody to sell me something, just one answer that settles the fact. For code related stuff I would want primary sources only (hence a manual pre-selection of what is being indexed). There is obviously room for more commercially oriented product search and in this domain search could be an ad-sponsored marketplace / catalog, but without the atrocious personal profiling practices. The idea that it is "optimal" to have just one URL for interacting with the entire online universe no matter who your are and what you are after is a bit strange.

ricardo81 4y ago
Search bars in browsers can pretty much be the tool you describe, simply add the engines for each. I think part of the potential issue is the cognitive burden of pre-deciding which search engine you want to use for every search.
- college_physics 4y ago
  A simple dropdown menu in the search bar would do it for me. When coding, select option 1, when shoping option 2 etc. On desktops this could be even pre-selected for the user based on desktop activity. From the backend perspective this could be implemented with a generic url and passing parameters that engage with different parts of the search engine but the importance of the business model that supports the development of each search sub-domain should not be understated... Its hard to see how these different modes can coexist and flurish under one corporate structure

ricardo81 4y ago

Search bars in browsers can pretty much be the tool you describe, simply add the engines for each. I think part of the potential issue is the cognitive burden of pre-deciding which search engine you want to use for every search.

college_physics 4y ago
A simple dropdown menu in the search bar would do it for me. When coding, select option 1, when shoping option 2 etc. On desktops this could be even pre-selected for the user based on desktop activity. From the backend perspective this could be implemented with a generic url and passing parameters that engage with different parts of the search engine but the importance of the business model that supports the development of each search sub-domain should not be understated... Its hard to see how these different modes can coexist and flurish under one corporate structure