Today, we look at yet another new “niche” search engine, thise time revolving around Omgili.com which plans to create a search engine that looks for specific content-rich returns for its users.

The engine will scour forums and websites for knowledge rich returns based on what you are looking for. It will also connect you to other users who are searching for the same thing.

Site creator Ran Geva notes “I came up with the idea for Omgili from the need to find a better way to search for knowledge in the world of discussions and opinions.” He goes on to add “Usually making a search on Google/Yahoo/MSN will return about the same type of results, [but] using Omgili you find relevant results but from users like you and me.”

I took a few test runs on the site, and was mixed on my feelings with the returns. On a more generic subject search, the top few sites returned were forums and sites that I often frequent related to the topics at hand. But when I got down to some more specific searches, and utilized quotes, I hardly got anything back on what I was looking for, while I know that google or yahoo would have given me exactly what I was looking for.

It is possible that Omgili.com’s spiders and cachings programs have not yet fully digested the web, and that in time Mr. Geva’s plans will come to fruition. For now though, it is just another search engine clamoring for attention, and will most likely remain unheard over the roar of the Google and Yahoo monsters.

Wired has posted about a new search engine, Pluggd, which is currently in beta testing and available as a demo to test out.

The basic principle behind the new site engine is explained by Wired’s Eliot Van Buskirk:

“First, the company uses parallel servers to churn through audio, performing a speech-to-text analysis of each file at faster-than-real-time speeds. The company also maintains what it calls a “concept map,” a database that tracks associations between words by analyzing Pluggd’s speech-to-text transcripts and looking for words that often show up in the same contexts. This tool also studies text web pages, so the concept map learns to associate words faster than Pluggd can analyze audio files.”

As podcasts, digital radio broadcasts, and audio in general exponentially grow across the web, a search engine like this will become vitally important in finding recorded information. Programs that can analyze audio have been around for a while, but if Pluggd succeeds in its mission, it will be like nothing else available on the web (until someone else builds a mirror of it).

There is a new search engine, ChaCha Search, that is currently in the beta testing phase and offers the standard search bar as well as a new way to find the information you are looking for.  This is their “search with guide” offer, that according to their info page connects you with a real person who will do a specific search for your query.  So instead of having to browse through the tens or hundreds of sites returned with a regular search engine, this live person will just give you “quality, human approved results”.

According to their info page:

By searching with a Guide your query is sent to a real person who is skilled at finding information on the internet and knowledgable on the subject at hand so that you get the few exact results you want, not the millions of results you don’t.

After giving the “search with guide” option a few times, I’m a little hesitant to say I was actually typing back and forth with a real person, but most likely a ‘bot that is able to do more and more specific searches as it asks more questions.  If you are bored, try to stump them.

With the holiday seaon in full bloom, it is easy to get wrapped up in the shopping frenzy, especially when dealing with online shopping.  Fortunately there are a bountiful amount of search engines out there that claim to find you the best deals, but unfortunately, many of them fail to measure up to.

Over at Investment Judge contributor Steven Stoeterau has compiled an informative pro’s and con’s list when confronted with the overwhelming information from deal search engines and deal websites.

When you think you’ve found the deal of the day and whip out that credit card, take a breather and remember these helpful hints.  In the long run, they could save you some green.

It has long since been a practice on the web for the-less-than-scrupulous to “typo squat”, that is to register a domain name that is similar to a high-profile site, and wait for surfers to type the address incorrectly and get to that site.  Now, the self-proclaimed Web Professor, Scott Horne, has created a search engine that will break down an entered domain and search for possible typo domain names, and then further break down if those domains are free or if they are currently registered.  It is a great way to check and see if anyone is trying to steal traffic from your business and maybe find a few domains similar to yours you may want to register yourself.  Check out what Horne has created for yourself at his Typo Squatter Search Engine.

Using the Google Co-op platform, VDoogle allows you to search through many popular video sites all at once.

The full list of video sites it searches through includes the usual sites such as YouTube and Google Video, as well as a few others I’ve never heard of such as Bolt.com and vSocial.com.

Since the site uses Google Co-op, the search results are formatted just like a normal Google Search, which is a definite bonus in my eyes. Though that red color scheme is a bit jarring on the eyes.

          From NEWSWEEK:

Under terms of the agreement, Baidu [China’s leading search engine] will promote Paypal Beibao, PayPal’s service in China, as the preferred payment method on Baidu. In return, eBay EachNet will use Baidu as the exclusive search provider on eBay EachNet.

The two companies also plan to develop a co-branded toolbar. They expect to test text-based search advertising on eBay EachNet in the first quarter, and plan to implement it by the second quarter.

This partnership works as a win-win situation for the two companies, as Baidu has been feeling some heat from rival search engine Taobao which has a connection to Yahoo, and there were rumors of eBay China being sold. This new relationship should help to strengthen both companies’ grasp in the Chinese market.

Everyone loves free shipping.

Not everyone loves the game you sometimes have to play when ordering from Amazon and are just short of the free shipping quota. There’s no internal search function to find inexpensive items, which makes sense from a business POV, I suppose.

That’s where Amazon Filler Item Finder fits in, though. It’s a search engine that helps you find lower priced items (under $15, to be specific) you can add to your order in order (good grief, sorry about that) to qualify for free shipping.

Let’s say I needed to add the paltry amount of $11.16 to my order. Well, a quick search reveals many items worth just that much. After a quick perusal of the results, I definitely would have to addThe Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead to my cart. Well, if I didn’t already own it, that is. Damn I love zombies.

That’s a surprisingly zombie-laden cluster of search results. I wonder if there is some type of connection.