Comparing Visual Search: SearchMe, oSkope, uvLayer, and Viewzi
August 15th, 2008
Let's face it, humans are very visual creatures. So why should we settle for text only search engines? We won't have to any longer. Visual search engines offer the results of your query visually, presenting a graphic oriented interface that, depending on the type of search, shows a large snapshot or a thumbnail-size image of websites or products. Most will offer text results as an aside or as a substitute, but the primary tool these new search engines offer is a visual interface. The benefit of visual search is that it allows for a whole separate layer of information, as well as making the search more entertaining. Read More »
As search engines continue to evolve, new ways of treating the information will come forward. One of the recent evolutions is the visual web, taking traditional text based search results and turning them into visual maps of information. As we can see with the search engine Viewzi, there is more than one way to present information. Viewzi is a visual search engine, meaning that when you search in Viewzi, you are presented with screenshots instead of text results. The advantage of this is that you are able to gather an impression of the information before committing to a click. 
Supporting 16 languages, visual search engine uvLayer takes the search for video and makes it as easy as collecting cards. Truly, this this Flash based interface makes searching through YouTube and Truveo that easy. Simply pluck labeled and movable thumbnails from your search and drop them into the groups you want. Intuitive, logical, and fun. You could not ask for much more from a visual search. 
The first thing you notice with oSkope is a pleasing interface. That may sound petty, but when you consider how visual the results of every search are, a smooth and attractive interface makes a search engine easier to use. The next thing you notice is how oSkope prompts you to select a service from one of the six available; Youtube, Flickr, Fotolia, Yahoo! Images, Amazon, and eBay. For searches across these platforms - by product or image, oSkope is a method of search suited to the visual. 
We have come to rely on the major search engines for our information, but as you have no doubt noticed, search results are ordered by the engines themselves, and no matter what the algorithm, the search results are always text, single lines of description supplied by the website themselves. Rely as we do upon the wisdom of the search engine to put the best on the front page, finding the right page among these one-liners can be difficult. SearchMe has developed another way to handle that information - visually.
