The Future of Search

As it prepares for a highly-anticipated IPO this spring, Google still dominates the search industry. But it's tough at the top: since 1995 no company (remember AltaVista and Inktomi?) has remained the invincible king of search for more than a few years at a stretch. Now, on top of the usual business uncertainties, the search business is being roiled by a new wave of technological change. Google rivals with names as familiar as Microsoft and as obscure as Dipsie, Mooter, Vivisimo, Groxis, and Nutch are offering intriguing new interfaces and ranking techniques -- not to mention indexes that are as large as Google's, or larger. But Google, too, is working on innovative ways for users to access its search results. Whichever company comes out on top a few years from now, the experience of searching the Web is certain to be very different -- and with billions in advertising revenue up for grabs, the stakes could hardly be higher. We'll talk with representatives of major search engine companies about emerging advances in search technology and how they'll change the way business and consumers use the Internet.