There is a new search engine called Kosmix, which is putting a new spin on web searching. Their plan is to create a “Home Page for Every Topic.” What this means is making a web site that contains links to relevant information on that topic. Their website is organized in a set way containing relevant categories for the topic and results in those categories. As of yet they can only create these “home pages” for queries in three specific areas: travel, health, and autos. Their plan is to eventually spread into more and more categories.

The search engine is powered by an algorithm that categorizes pages and returns the most targeted content to the user. The entire process is done algorithmically, unlike other similar search engines like Mahalo which uses editors to help create the results. The main problem facing Kosmix, is that there are many more specialized sites that may have more pertinent information, simply because they focus on their topics exclusively.  

It seems like an interesting idea, but in order for it to work well, it seems like computer understanding of language needs to progress significantly. It is not that easy to categorize some web sites, and it frequently will be hard to actually get the pertinent information in the appropriate places.