Google tests "Wiki of Search"

SE land has coverage of Google testing more integration of user feedback into search results,
Google Rolling out "SearchWiki". Calling this a "Search Wiki" is exaggerating since users can't enter notes. It points to Google trying to leverage their large audience more effectively using explicit user feedback.

It's a step in in the direction Eric Schmidt outlined back in the 2006 analyst day presentation. From the notes on Slide 8:

• Encourage our large user base to actively contribute metadata that leads to better search results
• Wiki of search: empower users/experts to improve search results in their domains of expertise — create a million verticals
• Effectively integrate user feedback (ratings, comments, tags) into search

It's exciting to see some innovation in this area. It's a logical next step for Google to collect explicit feedback from users on the quality of results. For example, not that I dislike my blog ranking highly, but a search for [Kleinberg memetracker] could be improved by moving memetracker.org higher.

In somewhat related news, Microsoft recently showed a research prototype U Rank, see their blog, that leverages your social network and let's you organize and edit search results and share them with others. This is closer to a "wiki of search", but in the limited context of a social network.