Google's edit search results

This morning I had a long conversation with my colleague about Google's new experimental search called "Edit Search Results" and how this simple test indicates Google is about to turn over the keys to Search Engines Results directly.. to... well, you. This conversation was completely hypothetical since we had not seen this mythical experimental creature.. only screencasts from the lucky few invited to participate. That is.. until.. I logged onto Google to start my day, when lo and behold (glorious trumpets) my results had changed.. access granted. I could hardly believe it...

Since I feel pretty lucky to have access (for now.. and a limited time) I think it is only right to share my experiences and thoughts about this brave new world and the impact it will have on consumers and businesses. First, here is now Google explains "Edit Search Results"

This feature allows you to influence your search experience by adding, moving, and removing search results. When you search for the same keywords again while you are logged in to your Google account, you'll continue to see those changes. If you later want to revert your changes, you can undo any modifications you've made.

Pretty simple.. right? No, not at all.. The World Wide Web is a pretty big place and apparently Google needs help in getting the results just right. In this brave new world, the power of "group think" will reign supreme. Here's how the experimental results appear to work.

After logging on to my Google account, my search returns results which contain a digg like voting options,where I can indicate to Google that in my personal search results bring the web address www.google.com to the top when searching on the term "Google. I can also give www.google.com the big heave ho and punish them by banishing them to the bottom of the results. (very cool visual effects on the banishment part..it's like an exploding cloud)

From SEO - Search ...

Cool enough, but the real power is in the ability to leave comments. This is where the social "wisdom of the crowds" thing is brought to a whole new level. Now you get direct feedback on what a site is all about before you even visit the site. And comments can be rated as well, with good comments getting better visibility than the inane, useless ones.

While it may seem reckless to allow anyone to comment on a site, there is some accountability. If you leave comments, then your comment history is transparent to all.. so flamers will be revealed to be just that..