Yahoo! Mindset

Have you ever really wanted to use a single search engine for both research and shopping but somehow tell the search engine that you're looking for one or the either? Well, now Yahoo! announced something new named Yahoo! Mindset Beta, that lets you do that.

A Yahoo! Research Labs demo that applies a new twist on search that uses machine learning technology to give you a choice: View Yahoo! Search results sorted according to whether they are more commercial or more informational (i.e., from academic, non-commercial, or research-oriented sources).

I tried it out for ipod cases. Since I do not personally own an iPod, I was doing research only. I decided to slide the lever all the way to the right.

The first two results based on that slider action was the organic result #2 and #25, so something did really happen.

But are those results more relevant to my search on iPod cases, in research mode? Well, ipodlounge.com has a wealth of information on iPods, so its relevant. The second research full mode result was from gizmodo.com. That result sent me to a blog entry of a review of cases, very research mode, IMO. Are the results more research relevant in research mode? Yes, try it out without the slider all the way to the right.

This reminds me of the MSN Slider but this version is for the normal user. I opened a Search Engine Watch thread on this topic and I am sure that WebmasterWorld will have a thread in the Yahoo! Search Forum shortly. The Mindset FAQ can be found here and Yahoo! has a forum thread taking place here.