A recent series of newstories on the explosion of interest in social search in the large search players, likeGoogle and Microsoft, is underscoring the hope that a new approach will lead to better search results.

Getting back 161,997 hits when you search for "blues" can be reduced by social cues: if you are an active member of a music circle, the request likely means blues music, whereas if you are a practicing psychologist you are more than likely to be interested in depression, and an artist might be searching for the perfect color.