Thing #18 - Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

I decided to look at what is new in the Search area, thinking I may find a new search engine for students or myself. Like everything else in Web 2.0, the search engines are now able to be customized to search only the areas you want, and then you can share the results with others. Other users can also modify your lists. I looked at Rollyo. You can create your own search engine by specifying categories and tags; you can even look at what sites are popular with other users and quickly add those to the list you search from.

This is another example of creating a product with your own "circle of the wise". It is similar to del.icio.us, except that the group of bookmarks you have under any one tag can be searched by keyword. For example, if you have some expert health sites that you trust, you can search all of them for any new condition you want to research. I really like that fact that you can pick and choose from others' suggestions.

One possible caution about this type of tool is that you can limit the answers you receive by the type of sites chosen to be in your search engine. This may not be a problem when you are searching for facts, like diseases or history. But if you are trying to form opinions about a social issue, like economics or homelessness or ethics of cloning, etc., you have to be sure and include sites that have both sides of the issue.

There were ads on the search results, but not any more than the typical search engine. I think I would like to use this site personally, but it may be a bit much for younger students, who haven't developed their evaluation skills fully. High school students would probably love the customizing feature, but may still benefit more from Nettrekker or databases for their projects.