Real time search seems like one of those things that would be really cool to have. Once Google redefined search in terms of the way results were organized, we eventually found ourselves wanting search results organized in yet another way–time. Old news is no news, and typical search had few ways in which to filter through the results based on the time at which the information had become available.
Yes, the recent nature of web content doesn’t necessarily make it more relevant. But it’s also a very necessary filter option for web search in an era where there’s massive amounts of data available at our finger tips, and limited ways in which to parse through all the information the web has provided.
Many have latched onto the real time trend in the past few weeks, from FriendFeed to TweetMeme. Facebook even added Immediate notifications so you don’t have to wait to see who tagged you in a photo. OneRiot is among the latest to jump onto the real time bandwagon, bringing us real time Twitter search capabilities.
This means that search results will update in real time, and you’ll be able to get a true handle on trends, buzz, and the actual pulse of the web. Other features for OneRiot’s real time search is the filtering out of spam and duplicate links, the ability to see who first shared a particular link on the social web, expandable conversations, and filters to toggle between regular and real time search.
So is the real time trend here to stay? I’m sure the more we use real time options for things like search, update services, social media aggregators and social networking activity, the more we’ll continue to tweak it and make real time more attuned to our specific needs. I think this is yet another layer hat’s been added onto search and news dissemination.
With the amount of information being shared in a given millisecond on the social web, it’s easy to see the necessity of real time, but it’s also important to recognize the need for attributing real time as another filter instead of a primary definition for web search or social media sharing. Coupled with archiving, custom search filters and other organizational tools, the real time search trend will continue to flourish.