SearchMash let users search the Internet in different ways. Specifically, it let searchers reorder results and see the top three image results next to Web results. SearchMash also recognized classes of proper nouns and displayed refinements for them and adjusted for spelling mistakes.

New Methodology

Google wasn't immediately available for comment. But Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, could only speculate on one reason Google made SearchMash extinct: It was no longer needed.

"SearchMash was a fairly low-visibility site where Google experimented with search technology," Sterling said. "Google must feel they can get those experiments in a different way through more effective methodology."

Could that methodology be Google's new SearchWiki?

Google announced the new service last week that aims to give users more control over search experiences. SearchWiki lets users add, delete, resort or comment on search results for any query to create customized search results.

The Genesis of SearchWiki

Google is marketing the new service as a way to "mark up" Google search results. For example, if a searcher is an avid skier whose favorite ski-gear site is in the fourth or fifth position, SearchWiki allows moving it higher. Or if the favorite site isn't included, SearchWiki can add it and even add some notes about any site. SearchWiki is available to signed-in Google users.

"These modifications will be shown to you every time you do the same search in the future. We store your changes in your Google account. If you are wondering if you are signed in, you can always check by noting if your username appears in the upper right-hand side of the page," Cedric Dupont, a Google product manager, and Corin Anderson, a Google software engineer, wrote on the Google blog. "The changes you make only affect your own searches. But SearchWiki also is a great way to share your insights with other searchers."

Google said SearchWiki is an example of how search is becoming increasingly dynamic by giving people tools that make search more useful. The company has been testing bits and pieces of SearchWiki through live experiments.

SearchWiki in Action

According to Sterling, SearchWiki is fairly unobtrusive, but people who engage with it might see an improved search experience, or at least a more interesting search experience. Those who don't engage won't be affected.

"I would love to see what people do. Do those engaged users start demoting things and removing different links for certain types of searches? It will be fascinating to see it," Sterling said. "Google has the luxury of having so many users that even a small percentage will give interesting information."

It may only be a small percentage that Google woos to SearchWiki. Sterling doesn't expect mainstream masses to use the tool, at least not in this phase of its launch. But the possibilities are promising.

"There's a lot of data that could come out of this that could help with search results over time," Sterling said. "It may even offer information about the accuracy of Google's algorithm."