The Many Ways of Searching the Web Together : A Comparison of Social Search Engines

Purpose: This article illustrates and explains the ambiguity and vagueness of the term social search and aims at describing and classifying the heterogeneous landscape of social search implementations on the WWW. Methodology/approach: We have looked at different definitions as well as the context of social search by carrying out an extensive literature review, and tried to unify and enhance existing ideas and concepts. Our definition of social search is illustrated by a general review of existing social search engines, which are analyzed and described by their specific features and social aspects. Findings: The article presents a discussion of social search as well as a comparison of existing social search engines. Social implications: The definition of social search and the comparison of social search engines summarize the many ways people can search the web together and allows for an assessment of future developments in this area. Originality/value of paper: Although different attempts to define social search have been made in the past, we present an argumentation that unifies some existing definitions and which is different from other interpretations of the social search concept. We present an overview and a comparison of the different genres of social search engines