What I'd like to see

While all this new search technology is great, I'd like to see more integration of the different features into one.

For example, I'd like to see the local search paired with the real time traffic updates which Yahoo! has. So that if you perform a search for "pizza" not only will you find pizza places in your area, but you will also be able to see what may be the quickest route to take to pick up your pizza.

It would be ideal if this real time data could be coupled with something like Google's Keyhole to show not only real time data, but have that data superimposed over the cool satellite images Keyhole has.

I'd like to see better media indexing. While Yahoo! is way ahead of everyone in terms of indexing multimedia, I'd like to see it improved (already). For example, with the recent tsunami tragedy I would have liked to be able to find the video that was captured within hours of the event (and it being posted) not days or even weeks. I'm the type that needs instant information while the multitudes of news services are great at providing me up to date print news, I'd like to have the option to see the news video as well.

I'd like to see more free online services. While Yahoo! is getting better at providing more services online, much of their good online content is subscription only. In order to truly win me over, I need more free stuff!

Also, since I am Canada, I'd like to see more of the services offered to Americans available to Canadians.

I'd also like more control over my home page. Not that I'm picking on Yahoo! but with Yahoo! I have less control on where I can display content on My Yahoo! than I do on My MSN. With My MSN I can move content more easily from column to column, but the amount of content I can display is limited. So I like the sources that Yahoo! has, but I prefer the customization of MSN.

Speaking of My MSN, I'd like Microsoft to make more of its web based properties to support Firefox. I use Firefox a lot both at work and at home, and the Microsoft web properties just aren't as easy to use with Firefox as they are with IE. Considering that IE is losing share at a phenomenal rate, I would hope that Microsoft is considering adding support for other browsers to its websites.

I'd like to see more services like Feedster (on which you can search for the latest blog posts and other syndicated content on the web). Or at least I'd like to see Feedster easier to use, and a little quicker in returning results. While it's great that they can index every feed every night, and even include new feeds within a few hours of their submission, I'd like to see a more intuitive user process in place.

Summary

Overall I think 2005 will be another stellar year for search. We will see more avenues open up to those online, not only providing new sources of information, but also new revenue streams. As the world becomes more wired (and wireless) search will continue to play an increasingly important part.