April 1, 2008 (Vol. 28, No. 7)

URL:
http://www.omgili.com

Rating:
Strong Points: Interesting search engine
Weak Points: A lot of noise to signal

Summary:
Here’s another site that is a bit hard to encapsulate and, to be honest, it doesn’t have a strong science component, though aspects of it clearly touch science. My reason for including it here is its unusual focus (“Find out what people are saying”) that goes to the heart of what Web communications should be all about. Teasers on the opening page give clues about the site’s functions—Tap into people’s Personal Experiences; Solutions to Problems; Ideas and Opinions. What I like about Omgili is also partly what I dislike about this site—It’s like a search engine focused on blogs. If 90% of the blog material is junk (possibly a conservative estimate), then there is a lower signal-to-noise ratio to deal with. There are ways of doing this, though, and hopefully the organizers of the site will employ them. The few searches I did looked promising, and an advanced search function also helps to sort through undesired material. Check it out and let me know how you like it.

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