LocateTV Blog

As we said in yesterday’s post, the vast majority of our private beta feedback involves enriching and refining the quality of our basic search function.

Long gone are the days when deciding between Google, Yahoo and Lycos to power your search seemed like a heady choice. We’re only too aware that the search engine market is a very tricky and crowded one to be plunging into at this time – although it’s also an exciting one. There seems to be a realisation that with so much content out there, specialised search sites are going to be an increasingly important way in which we make the web work for us, ensuring we surf on our own interests rather than drown in waves of stuff.

The past year or so has seen a rash of ‘search agents’ in Beta such as Rollyo and Swicki that produce personalised search results by scanning whichever venues you choose for your interest keywords. A potentially great idea, although after using some of these sites for only a few days they achieved the exact opposite of what they are set up to do: filter. I ended up inundated with content, only some of which was interesting to me, and I’m fed up with tens of email alerts in my inbox when I wake up. Again, simplicity and specialisation seem the way forward, which gives me ever more faith in LocateTV.

Another issue the development team have been considering is what format the actual search box should be in. Do people prefer ‘predictive’ type auto-fill, as at Yahoo, or the ‘did you mean’ suggestion generator a la Google? Or is that all just clutter and it’s better to be left alone to make mistakes at will?!

Just a few of the questions we’ve been facing in trying to give the best user experience. Let us know what you think – hopefully you’ll be the ones to benefit!

Lottie