Wikia Search http://alpha.search.wikia.com/

I have written about alternatives to the Google search engine in the past
and while Google does a great job of innovating - they are the giant of search engines (approximately 57% share) and its good to have options.

New Wikia Search engine lauched Jan 7,2008  http://alpha.search.wikia.com/

From Business Week

“What separates Wikia Search from many other Web-search tools, including Google’s, is that it will incorporate human input with methods based on computer programs. A potentially more important distinction is that Wikia will publish the code undergirding the search tool. Opening the source code fits with the growing movement in the field of technology, including within Google, toward open software.

Soliciting User Input

Wales hopes other search companies will follow Wikia’s lead, becoming more transparent in their methods and integrating more user input. “It’s a political statement as much as anything else,” says Wales. “I think that we should be concerned about secret…proprietary software, a small amount of companies controlling a huge amount of flow,” he adds. Wales says Wikia’s goal is to “produce something of decent quality that will impact and push other players in the industry toward more openness.”…